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Elisenda Fábregas

Two performances in Spain
Goyescas (2009) for flute, viola and piano
Ensemble Gaudi
Orfeo Maones. Temporada de concerts de JJMM de Mao - May 13, 2011

Auditori Municipal de Terrassa (Barcelona) - June 14, 2011

Goyescas (2009) for flute, viola & piano is an arrangement of the original flute & guitar piece of the same title for the Ensemble GAUDI of Barcelona (Sofia Martinez, flute, Joan Felix,viola, and Isabel Felix, piano.)

This work is based on five paintings by Francisco Goya.
See GOYAS' PAINTINGS

Ensemble Gaudi premiered Goyescas at the Festival Internacional de Musica (Concerts de Mitjanit) de Sitges (Spain) on June 28, 2009. A subsequent performance took place on February 10, 2010, at the ESMUC (Escola Superior de Musique de Catalunya) in Barcelona. More recent performances of this work have taken place at La Pedrera de Caixa Catalunya in Barcelona on August 21 and 22, 2010.

Goyescas consists of seven movements (the first two are attaca.) The duration is about 21 minutes.

I.     Pregón
II.    La familia de Carlos IV (The family of Charles IV)
III.   Las majas en el balcón (The maiden on the balcony)
IV. El sueño (The dream)
V.    La fragua (The foundry)
VI.   Toque
VII. La gallina ciega (Blind man's bluff)

Read full PROGRAM NOTES

Goyescas will be available by Hofmeister MusikVerlag later this spring. Until then, score is available from Hidden Oaks Music Co.

Joan Felix, Isabel Felix, Elisenda Fabregas, and Sofia Martinez after the Spanish premiere of Goyescas for flute, viola and piano on June 28, 2009 at the Sala d'Or of the Palau Maricel (Concerts de Mitjanit) in Sitges.

Three performances in England
Voices of the Rainforest (2007) for flute, cello and piano
Marsyas Trio
Burgh House, Hampstead, London - July 3, 2011, 3:00 PM
Warwick Road United Reformed Church, Coventry - July 26, 2011, 1 PM
Molley Valley Arts Alive Festival
St. Martin's Church, Dorking, England - October 6, 2011, 13:00 PM.

Marsyastrio Photo Marsyastrio2 Photo

Voices of the rainforest is a loose representation of a day in the life of the rainforest. This work came about as a result of my life-long fascination and love for nature. A recording of actual sounds of insects, barking frogs, birds, and the singing of natives of the Papua New Guinea rainforest was the final inspiration for this work. It consists of five movements:

I. Awakening
II. Sago gatherers
III. Evening rainstorm
IV. Voices of 'inside' night
V. Night spirits.

The slow movement (Voices of the night) uses both the alto flute and the regular flute. However there is a version for regular flute only.

Read full PROGRAM NOTES
Published by Hofmeister MusikVerlag. Available for sale.

Voices of the Rainforest (2007) for flute, cello and piano
Meininger Trio
MusikfestStuttgart (Germany) - August 31, 2011

Voices of the rainforest for flute (alto flute), cello and piano (2007) was written for the Meininger-Trio.
The premiere of Voices of the rainforest took place at WDR Concert Hall in Cologne, Germany, on March 15, 2008. This concert was broadcasted on April 26, 2008, on WDR's program Nachtmusik. The pre-premiere took place at the Ibero American Institute in Berlin on March 14, 2008. This concert was sponsored by the Spanish Embassy in Berlin and the Oro Verde (Tropical Rainforest Foundation)

The premiere recording of Voices of the Rainforest will be released this June by the Meininger-Trio on Haensler Records. This recording features also music by Libby Larsen,Chen Yi and Kate Waring. Here is a sneak preview of its cover and contents!

Premiere in Poland Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (2011) Opole Philharmonic of Poland Boguslaw Dawidow, Music Director and Conductor Roberto Trainini, cello November 25, 2011
Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (2011) was written for cellist Roberto Trainini, the Opole Philharmonic of Poland and Maestro Boguslaw Dawidow. It consists of a one single movement although four sections can be clearly distinguished. It is a dramatic work in nature and it follows the classical format of a dialogue between the cello and the orchestra. The orchestra is used generously but the cello shines throughout in various sparingly orchestrated passages and a cadenza.
Premiere in South Korea Terra Mater (2011) Wonju Philharmonic Young-Min Park, Music Director and Conductor October 20, 2011
On October 20, 2011, the Wonju Philharmonic (South Korea) conducted by Maestro Young-Min Park will premiere Terra Mater for symphony orchestra. The concert will take place at the Concert Hall in Wonju. Terra Mater is a compact one movement dramatic work for symphony orchestra (approx. 10') that deals symbolically with the creative and destructive powers of nature. Terra Mater follows the footsteps of Voices of the Rainforest (2007), another work dealing with nature. However the content and gestures of Terra Mater have a deeper sense of urgency. I have always felt that the earth is an organism just like we are, and as such it deserves our respect. If we fail to take care of the earth it may lead to our own destruction. Beneath the dramatic gestures of Terra Mater there is an underlying and compelling lament that surfaces at crucial points of the piece connecting the various strains and providing structure. I have wanted to write an orchestral work on this topic for long time and I welcome this opportunity with excitement. The recent weather events in all parts of the world make nature a 'hot' topic and I am eager to make a contribution in musical terms. I live now in Seoul and last summer I had the chance to experience the Asian monsoon season; it was apparently one of the hottest and rainiest summers on record in Seoul. This extreme Korean weather reminded me of the Texas summer storms at most violent. To me there is nothing more awesome and overwhelming than the power of nature. I can understand how ealier civilizations, much more connected with nature than we are, worshipped many elements of the physical world with its capacity to create and destroy.

Three performances in Germany
Gacelas de Amor (2009) for soprano, flute and piano
(poetry by Federico Garcia Lorca)
Jörg Waschinski and the Meininger-Trio
Grunstadter Sternstunden - September 4, 2010
Bingen - September 5, 2010
Muenchen at the Gasteig, Kleiner Saal - October 14, 2010

Gacelas de amor (2009) is based on three poems by Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca (from the collection Gacelas, from Diwan del Tamarit (1931-1934). In his Gacelas, the passionate and sensual voice of Lorca burns with maximum intensity. The Gacelas are amorous and erotic in nature and portray metaphorically both the suffering and ecstasy brought by 'romantic' love. Musically this work is set in an evocative but subtle Spanish musical atmosphere with modal overtones.

This work was commissioned by Christiane Meininger and written for Jörg Waschinski, male soprano; Christiane Meininger, flute; and Rainer Gepp, piano. See full concert program.
The premiere took place at the Center for International Light Art in Unna (Germany) on June 18, 2009. Read Concert review (in German) -(in English).

Rainer Gepp, Elisenda Fabregas, Jorg Waschinski and Christiane Meininger after the premiere of Gacelas de Amor on June 18, 2009.

This concert was sponsored by the American Embassy, the Zentrum for Information und Bildung in Unna, the Center for International Light Art in Unna (Germany) and a travel grant from the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University

Homenaje a Mompou (2006) for piano Festival of Song 2010 Max Lifchitz, piano Auditorio Centro de Estudios Norteamericanos in Barcelona (Via Augusta) July 7, 2010
*Homenaje a Mompou (2006)* was commissioned by Marcel Worms who performed this work in Europe and in the U.S. including the Fundacio Frederic Mompou in Barcelona. On April 18, 2010, Max Lifchitz performed Homenaje a Mompou as part of the North/South Consonance Concert Series at Christ and St. Stephen's Church on New York City's Upper West Side. This concert was sponsored in part by New York Women Composers PROGRAM NOTES Published by Hidden Oaks Music Co. Additional information on Catalan composer Federico Mompou.
Voces de mi tierra for flute, cello and piano Performance at Tapiola Symphony Concert Series in Finland Hanna Juutilainen, flute Huilu Tuija Rantamaki, cello Naoko Ichihashi, piano May 27, 2010
Voces de mi tierra was written for the Meininger-Trio and was premiered at the 15th International Bodensee Festival in Meersburg, Germany, on May 24, 2003. Voces de mi tierra has received many performances in the US and Europe including Bargemusic in Brooklyn (NY), Cactus Pear Music Festival (Texas), Mendelssohn-Festtage 2005 - Kammermusik im Schumann-Haus, Leipzig; Potsdamer Festspiele SansSouci, Potsdam, Brandenburg (Germany); Bodensee International Music Festival in Bad Waldsee, Germany. Chamber groups that have performed Voces de mi tierra include the Meninger-Trio (Germany), Trio Murali (Belgium), NeoArs Sonora (Spain), All Season Chamber Players, Toki Ensemble, neoLit Ensemble, Terzetta Trio, Davanti Trio , Kathryn Master and friends, and Terra Voce. Published by Hofmeister Musik Verlag.
I. El Cortejo (Courtship) II. Noche en la Alhambra (Night in the Alhambra) III. La moza y el gitano (Scherzando) (The peasant and the gypsy) IV. Gigue. PERFORMANCE HISTORY PROGRAM NOTES
Meininger-Trio's recording of Voces de mi tierra for flute, cello & piano is available on the Haenssler PROFIL EDITION label distributed by Naxos.

Sonata #1 for Violin and Piano
Kobayashi/Gray Duo -Albany Records - TROY 1081
Just Released!
See review in Strings Magazine (March 2009 issue)

Sonata #1 for violin and piano (1994) has been recorded by the Kobayashi/Gray Duo on the album Feminissimo!. This album also includes music by Pauline Viardot-Garcia, Emma Lou Diemmer, Meira Warshauer, Grazyna Bacewicz, Vitezlava Kapralova, Florence Price, Signe Lund and Anna Priscilla Risher.

Sonata #1 for violin and piano is published by Hidden Oaks Music Company (VP101).

Kobayashi/Gray Duo has been performing Fábregas's sonata since 2003, including: South African College of Music, University of Cape Town; Gildenhorn Recital Hall, University of Maryland; 2005 Music Teachers National Association in Seattle; International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM) 15th Annual Chamber Music Concert in Washington, D. C.; and 2006 ASTA/NSOA National Conference in Kansas City, MO.

Goyescas for flute and guitar (2009)
Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
Marina Piccinini, flute and Emanuele Segre, guitar

Goyescas was written for flutist Marina Piccinini and guitarist Emanuele Segre and was premiered at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society on January 23, 2009. It is based on five paintings by Francisco Goya. Concert program.

I.     Pregón
II.    La familia de Carlos IV (The family of Charles IV)
III.   Las majas en el balcón (The maiden on the balcony)
IV. El sueño (The dream)
V.    La fragua (The foundry)
VI.   Toque
VII. La gallina ciega (Blind man's bluff)

GOYAS' PAINTINGS

PROGRAM NOTES

Published by Hidden Oaks Music Co.

The Flaming Rock for SATB Chorus and String Quartet (2007)

Cantori New York with Mark Shapiro conducting
NEW YORK Premiere! March 7, 2009, at 8:00 PM
Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88th Street, New York City

The Flaming Rock (La Roca Llameante) was commissioned by the Allegro Chorale and Orchestra Inc. (Nyela Basney as Artistic Director) and was premiered in Midland and Odessa (Texas) on November 17 and 18, 2007. The original seed of inspiration for this work came from a fantastic myth of the Omaha Native-American Nation of the creation of the world. The myth contains a powerful central image of a rock exploding and rising through the water, bursting into flames and vaporizing into the air in clouds thus providing a home for all the spirits existing in the mind of Wakonda, the maker of all things. The text is bilingual - both English and Spanish text are used in its entirety.

Homenaje a Mompou for piano (2007)
Marcel Worms, piano

Homenaje a Mompou was commissioned by Dutch pianist Marcel Worms. The premiere took place at a Mompou Festival in Amsterdam in November 2007 and subsequent concerts in Holland, including Hertogenbosch, and the U.S.

"I have always felt very close to Mompou's music. I performed for him in Barcelona in 1978 right before going to study piano at the Juilliard School in New York City. A few years back, Mompou had performed and lectured on his music at The Juilliard School and he was well remembered and respected there. Mompou was a very imposing and tall man, with very large hands, but with a very gentle and quiet personality. While in New York I studied and performed most of Mompou's music. The Catalan melodies in his music made me very nostalgic of my country. Later on, the study of Mompou's music proved to be a powerful influence on my own compositional style. When in the summer of 2006 Marcel Worms approached me with the idea of writing an Homage to Mompou for the 25th anniversary of his death I was thrilled!" (Elisenda Fabregas)

Homenaje a Mompou is a set of three short pieces:

I. Crits en el carrer (Screams in the street)
II. Tengo una muneca vestida de azul (I have a doll with a blue dress)
III. Jocs de carrer (Street games)

PROGRAM NOTES Available for purchase

Colores Andaluces (2006) for cello and piano
is now published!

Colores Andaluces for cello and piano is now published by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag in Germany.

At one of the performances of Voces de mi tierra by the Meininger-Trio, Francoise Groben, the cellist, praised my treatment of Spanish music. The result was this collection of short pieces in the Spanish style. Francoise Groben premiered this work at Celloherbst in Germany on October 13, 2006.

PROGRAM NOTES Available for purchase

Eric Himy - Homage to Mozart 2006

Recording of Elisenda Fabregas Hommage à Mozart (Premiere 2006) by pianist Eric Himy; recording also includes works by Mozart, Salieri/Himy and Ramette. Audio #1; Audio #2 Score published by Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag Leipzig. Also available for purchase here Program notes 2006 Performances of Hommage à Mozart CD Review