Ponce: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2 Álvaro Cendoya

• Manuel María Ponce (1882 - 1948):
• 1 Rapsodia cubana I 12:04
• 2 Guateque 02:38
• 3 Suite cubana: I. Serenata marina 03:09
• 4 Suite cubana: II. Plenilunio 04:26
• 5 Suite cubana: III. Paz de ocaso 05:37
• 6 Preludio cubano 01:25
• 7 Elegía de la ausencia 02:57
• 8 Cubana (Danza de salón) 01:41
• 9 Moderato malinconico 02:19
• 10 Scherzino (Homenaje a Debussy) 03:04
• 11 Intermezzo No. 2 04:33
• 12 Preludios encadenados 07:01
• 13 4 Piezas "Suite bitonal": I. Preludio scherzoso 03:12
• 14 4 Piezas "Suite bitonal": II. Arietta 02:25
• 15 4 Piezas "Suite bitonal": III. Sarabande 03:57
• 16 4 Piezas "Suite bitonal": IV. Gigue 02:43
• Total Runtime 01:03:11

Info for Ponce: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2

Manuel Ponce was one of Mexicos most prolific and decorated composers and remains highly esteemed and popular today. Forced to leave Mexico during the Revolution, Ponce settled in Cuba and soon absorbed the islands seductive Caribbean sensuality and subtle dances, also expressing melancholic nostalgia for his homeland in the Elegía de la ausencia. Exploration of new compositional techniques while in Paris resulted in significant works such as the Suite Bitonal, particularly valued for its original aesthetic and inspired lyricism.

Álvaro Cendoya, piano

Álvaro Cendoya
The son of a Basque father and an Iranian mother, Álvaro Cendoya was born in San Sebastián in 1960. He first studied at the local Conservatories and then in Madrid. Subsequently he moved to Buenos Aires, where he studied the piano for three years with Bruno Leonardo Gelber and later continued his piano studies in London with Noretta Conci and Peter Feuchtwanger.

In 1989 he won the prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music at the international Premio Jaén competition. In 1993 he appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Santander Palacio de Festivales, winning critical praise.

He made his début in Geneva in 1995 with the orchestra of that city in the Victoria Hall and a year later made his London début at the Wignore Hall. He went on to give recitals at St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John’s Smith Square and again at the Wigmore Hall in 1998. Álvaro Cendoya has also appeared in South America and different European countries, and from 2001 to 2003 appeared annually in Iran, giving recitals and classes. Under the auspices of the Instituto Cervantes he gave first performances in the United States in 1999 at the University of Connecticut of works by César Cano and Tomás Garbizu. In May 2000, under the same auspices, he played at the American University of Beirut, and in 2001 at the Conservatories of Shanghai and Beijing. In the same year he made a recording of Latin-American Hispanic Music, and for Naxos two recordings of music by the Basque composer Garbizu (8.557630 and 8.572096) and one of Ignacio Cervantes’ Danzas cubanas (8.572456). He is a professor at the Basque Conservatory of Music.

Booklet for Ponce: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 2