Gerhard: Don Quixote (complete ballet); Suite from Alegrías; Pedrelliana BBC Philharmonic & Juanjo Mena

• Roberto Gerhard (1896 - 1970): Alegrías Suite:
• 1 Gerhard: Alegrías Suite: I.Preámbulo 02:10
• 2 Gerhard: Alegrías Suite: II. Jácara 02:20
• 3 Gerhard: Alegrías Suite: III. Farruca 05:07
• 4 Gerhard: Alegrías Suite: IV. Jaleo 03:05
• Pedrelliana:
• 5 Gerhard: Pedrelliana 11:31
• Don Quixote:
• 6 Gerhard: Don Quixote: [Introduction] 00:30
• Don Quixote, Scene 1:
• 7 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 1: Don Quixote’s Room 00:53
• 8 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 1: Don Quixote’s vision of Dulcinea 03:04
• 9 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 1: Sancho Panza 00:55
• Don Quixote:
• 10 Gerhard: Don Quixote: Interlude I (The Plain of La Mancha) 00:52
• Don Quixote, Scene 2:
• 11 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 2: A Wayside Inn 03:01
• 12 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 2: The Vigil at Arms 01:31
• 13 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 2: The duel with the muleteer 01:31
• 14 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 2: The ‘knighting’ of Don Quixote 00:59
• Don Quixote:
• 15 Gerhard: Don Quixote: Interlude II 01:12
• Don Quixote, Scene 3:
• 16 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 3: The Plain of La Mancha - The Windmills 01:29
• 17 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 3: The village barber and his basin 02:13
• 18 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 3: The Golden Age 02:44
• 19 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 3: The galley-slaves 02:22
• Don Quixote:
• 20 Gerhard: Don Quixote: Interlude III 00:56
• Don Quixote, Scene 4:
• 21 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 4: The Cave of Montesinos 03:09
• Don Quixote:
• 22 Gerhard: Don Quixote: Interlude IV 00:33
• Don Quixote, Scene 5:
• 23 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 5: The Prison 03:23
• 24 Gerhard: Don Quixote, Scene 5: Dulcinea revealed as Aldonza 02:10
• Epilogue:
• 25 Gerhard: Don Quixote: Epilogue 03:32
• Total Runtime 01:01:12

Info for Gerhard: Don Quixote (complete ballet); Suite from Alegrías; Pedrelliana

Der Katalane Robert Gerhard studierte Klavier bei Granados und war der einzige spanische Komponist, der bei Arnold Schönberg studierte. Es dauerte jedoch über zwanzig Jahre, bis er sich der Zwölftonmusik zuwandte. In der Zwischenzeit brachte sein Schaffen dem spanischen Stil einen neuen Fokus und eine neue Präzision (die eher auf Strawinsky und Bartók zurückzuführen ist). Alle Werke auf diesem Album wurden in dieser Zeit komponiert. Sein Ballett Alegrías aus den frühen 1940er Jahren war ursprünglich für zwei Klaviere konzipiert, entwickelte sich aber bald zu der hier zu hörenden viersätzigen Suite. Die vom Flamenco inspirierten Sätze sind paarweise miteinander verbunden und zeigen Gerhards Brillanz und Humor gleichermaßen. In dieser Zeit beschloss Gerhard, den hundertsten Geburtstag seines ersten Lehrers, Felipe Pedrell mit der dreisätzigen Symphonie »Homenaje a Pedrell« zu feiern. Gerhard gelang es nicht, eine Aufführung des Werks zu erreichen, aber 1954 wurde er eingeladen, den letzten Satz für ein Konzert des BBC Symphony Orchestra zu überarbeiten, das zu Pedrelliana wurde.

Gerhards Ballett über Episoden aus Cervantes’ Don Quijote entwickelte sich fast ein Jahrzehnt lang, von einem Werk für Kammerorchester für eine Tourneegesellschaft (die wegen des Krieges aufgegeben wurde) über eine Version für den Rundfunk und eine erweiterte Orchestersuite bis hin zu dem hier aufgenommenen Werk in seiner vollständigen und endgültigen Orchestrierung für Aufführungen am Royal Opera House im Jahr 1950.

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Juanjo Mena, Dirigent

Juanjo Mena
began his conducting career in his native Spain as Artistic Director of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in 1999. His uncommon talent was soon recognized internationally with appointments as Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic and Chief Guest Conductor of the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 2011 he was named Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, which he led for seven seasons, taking the orchestra on tours of Europe and Asia and conducting annual televised concerts at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. His BBC tenure featured, notably, “thrilling” (The Guardian) performances of Bruckner Symphonies, a cycle of Schubert Symphonies and set new standards for the interpretation of Spanish and South American repertoire. He held the position of Principal Conductor of the Cincinnati May Festival, the longest running choral festival in North America, served by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, until 2023. His tenure reinvigorated the Festival’s repertoire with previously unheard music and new commissions (Julia Adolphe, James MacMillan, Missy Mazzoli, Ellen Reid, James Lee III), and expanded its audience both in numbers and in demographic reach.

A sought-after guest conductor, Juanjo Mena has led Europe’s top ensembles including the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, London Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and the Dresden Philharmonic among others. He also appears regularly with all the major orchestras in his native Spain. Following his North American debut with the Baltimore Symphony in 2004, he has conducted most of the continent’s leading orchestras. They include the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Toronto Symphony Orchestras. In Asia, he is a regular guest conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo.

During the 23/24 season, Juanjo Mena returns to North America to lead the Teatro Real Orchestra (the Royal Opera of Madrid) at Lincoln Center, after their triumphant debut at Carnegie Hall in 2022. Other guest performances in North America this season include returns to the New York Philharmonic with Hilary Hahn as soloist, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony and Montreal Symphony. In Europe, he returns to the Spanish National Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and the BBC Philharmonic, while his most recent debuts have included the Dallas Symphony and the Czech Philharmonic.

In the world of opera, Juanjo Mena conducted a new production of Arthur Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake with Marion Cotillard in the leading role, paired with Debussy’s La damoiselle élue staged by Madrid’s Teatro Real in 2022. His operatic work includes Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Richard Strauss’ Salome, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle and Schoenberg’s Erwartung as well as productions of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in Genoa, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in Lausanne, and Beethoven’s Fidelio and Britten’s Billy Budd in Bilbao.

His latest release of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos has been described by The Classical Review as “intensely musical,” “impressive” and with a “spectacular sound”. Mena’s rich discography with the BBC Philharmonic on Chandos also includes an acclaimed Gabriel Pierné release selected as a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Weber Symphonies, Ginastera’s orchestral works to mark the composer’s centenary, and new reference recordings of lesser performed Spanish repertoire including Arriaga’s orchestral pieces, works by Albéniz, Montsalvatge and Turina, as well as three discs of works by Manuel de Falla featuring his opera La Vida Breve. In 2012 Juanjo Mena recorded Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony with the Bergen Philharmonic for the Hyperion label, a disc said to “utterly redefine the terms under which past/current/future Turangalîlas need to be judged” (Gramophone).

Juanjo Mena studied conducting with Sergiu Celibidache following his musical education at the Madrid Royal Conservatory where he was mentored by Carmelo Bernaola and Enrique García Asensio. In 2016, he was awarded the Spanish National Music Award. He lives with his family in his native Basque Country.

Booklet for Gerhard: Don Quixote (complete ballet); Suite from Alegrías; Pedrelliana