Espadero: Piano Music, Vol. 1 José Raúl López

• Nicolás Ruiz Espadero (1832 - 1890):
• 1 5 Grand Transcriptions: No. 5, La traviata 08:11
• 2 Preludio 01:34
• 3 5 Grands Transcriptions: No. 3, Un ballo in maschera, Op. 46 02:46
• 4 Innocence-caprice, Op. 23 04:56
• 5 5 Grands Transcriptions: No. 1, Poliuto 12:50
• 6 5 Grands Transcriptions: No. 2, Faust, Op. 51 02:41
• 7 Pureza y calma 03:56
• 8 Ossian Polka 03:14
• 9 Sur la tombe de Gottschalk, Op. 68 12:40
• 10 Valse idéale, Op. 60 05:03
• 11 Souvenir d’autrefois (Nocturne), Op. 11 06:47
• 12 5 Grands Transcriptions: No. 4, Il trovatore, Op. 44 07:06
• Total Runtime 01:11:44

Info for Espadero: Piano Music, Vol. 1

In this second volume of his survey of Cuban composers for the piano, Jose Raul Lopez presents the work of Nicolas Ruiz Espadero (1832–90), the most prominent name in Cuban music in the second half of the nineteenth century, both at home and abroad. Espadero’s output ranges from delicate Chopinesque salon miniatures to barnstorming Lisztian operatic paraphrases that demand a fearsome virtuoso technique to do justice to their high-Romantic swagger. José R. López is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Keyboard Studies Program at Florida International University in Miami. Dr. López is the President of the South Florida Chapter of the American Liszt Society, inaugurated in 2010 at FIU and was recently appointed Honorary Secretary of The Alkan Society, based in London. He has performed throughout the United States, Italy and Central and South America with orchestras, in solo recitals, and with chamber groups in summer festivals such as the Music Festival of the Hamptons in New York and the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. Active throughout South Florida, he has been a featured performer in the Florida International University’s Music Festival; ISCM New Music Miami Festival, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, Coral Gables’ Mainly Mozart Series, University of Miami’s Miami Festival, and as founder and co-director of the Deering Estate at Cutler’s “Chamber Concert Series,” entering its 12th year.

José Raúl López, piano

Jose Lopez
is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Keyboard Studies Program at Florida International University in Miami, Florida and is the President of the South Florida Chapter of the American Liszt Society at FIU, inaugurated in 2010. He has performed throughout the United States, Italy and Central and South America with orchestras, solo recitals, and chamber groups in concert halls, summer festivals such as the Music Festival of the Hamptons in New York and the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. Active throughout South Florida, he has been a featured performer in the Florida International University’s Music Festival; ISCM New Music Miami Festival, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, Coral Gables’ Mainly Mozart Series, University of Miami’s Miami Festival, and as founder and co-director of the Deering Estate at Cutler’s “Living Artist Concert Series.”

Activities have included performances through villages around Lake Como, Italy for the 2008 International Convention on 12-tone music and a paper on piano works by Riccardo Malipiero as part of the proceedings at the Villa Vigoni German/Italian Center. Dr. López’ recording of the complete solo piano music by Riccardo Malipiero was released in the summer of 2012 and has received favorable reviews by critic Tim Smith in The Baltimore Sun and Fanfare magazine. His upcoming project is devoted to the complete transcriptions of French Romantic composer Charles Valentin Alkan on the Toccata Classics label.

A versatile pianist and enthusiastic performer of chamber music, Dr. López was a founding member of the Dalbergi Trio, has collaborated as a member of FIU’s resident new music ensemble, the Nodus Ensemble, and was the orchestral pianist with the Florida Philharmonic for 13 years. He is currently active performing and recording new and old obscure works for piano and strings along with solo piano works. His interest in contemporary music features frequent world premieres and collaborations with composers along with his pursuit in resurrecting rarely heard works by Romantic and Classical composers. Dr. López received his MM and DMA degrees from the University of Miami School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Rosalina Sackstein, a former pupil of Claudio Arrau and Rafael de Silva. He has recorded for SNE, Albany, Innova and Toccata Classics record labels.

This album contains no booklet.