OUR LATIN MUSICAL TALENT ROSTER
2019-2020
MuchiMusic is one of the leading artistic management companies in Latin America, specializing in the field of classical music. We work around the world and nurture some of the most legendary personalities as well as the young rising talent through personal management. Throughout our long history, we have built our reputation on the care we devote to all aspects of artist careers, our relationships with promoters and venues around the world, and each of the projects we manage. Everything we do is for the passion for classical music and the performing arts, and the desire to offer high quality performances to all corners of the world. Our main goal: to work for music and make people happy.
ROSTER 2019-2020 PIANO CONDUCTORS JOSHUA DOS SANTOS GERARDO ESTRADA CHRISTIAN GOHMER IVÁN LÓPEZ REYNOSO JESÚS MEDINA
RICARDO ACOSTA
ALFREDO ARJONA KRISTHYAN BENÍTEZ
VOICES CÉSAR DELGADO, tenor JOSUÉ CERÓN, baritone
SILVIA NAVARRETE JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO ALFREDO OVALLES ROLANDO VALDÉS ALEJANDRO VELA
VIOLONCELLO SANTIAGO CAÑÓN VALENCIA
CARLOS PRIETO
HARP EMMANUEL PADILLA HOLGUÍN
ENSEMBLES CUARTETO CHROMA CUARTETO RUVALCABA
CONDUCTORS
JOSHUA DOS SANTOS GENERAL MANAGEMENT Upon making his international debut in “Voices from Latin America Festival” at Carnegie Hall in New York, participating in the Mahler Project accompanying the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, being a Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and constantly conducting in South America, the United States, Asia and Europe, the young Portuguese-Venezuelan Conductor Joshua Dos Santos, is forging a vast international career which continues to rise. Dos Santos is known to be one of the most experienced and versatile young Venezuelan Conductors of his generation. His mastery of Latin American, classical and contemporary repertoires has launched him to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the Concert Season for Young People held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Furthermore, he has been Music Director of innumerable world premières in the “Latin American Music Festival” in Caracas, Venezuela. He has also worked in close collaboration with Maestros Charles Dutoit, Neeme Järvi and Pablo Heras-Casado. Joshua´s conducted the Simón Bolívar Symphony of Venezuela in Los Angeles having a relevant role in the Orchestra’s Tchaikovsky Festival. After this he made his in critically acclaimed debut Mexico conducting the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra with Alexei Volodin as soloist, and made his first appearances in Chile with the National Youth Symphony Orchestra. He also returned to Uruguay with the Sodre National Youth Orchestra. he made his debut in Sweden with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, he led the world première of the piece “On Fire” by French composer Benjamin de la Fuente with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France at the “Présences Festival”. He collaborated closely with his main mentor, Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, in the production of Puccini’s La Bohème at La Scala in Milan. His recent engagements include his debut with the Malaysian Philharmonic in Kuala Lumpur. Joshua resides in Madrid, Spain.
Richard Strauss: Also Spracht Zarathustra Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela
GERARDO ESTRADA Gerardo Estrada Martínez is one of the rising conductors of great international range. The winner of the "Golden Baton" in the International Conducting Competition 3.0 (Paraguay Spain), has been distinguished in other international contests, such as the International Danube Conducting Competition (Budapest, Hungary), where he obtained the Second Place and the Special Award of the Orchestra, and the International Black Sea Conducting Competition (Constanta, Romania), where he was a finalist and obtained the Special Award of the Orchestra. Born in Caracas, Venezuela he learnt conducting from outstanding teachers of Venezuela and Spain, graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Due to his experience in the world famous “El Sistema” Orchestras in Venezuela, he obtained unique orchestral and educational practice in his home country. This motivated him to teach young generations of musicians, which he still does successfully on the international level. He has performed with outstanding orchestras on prestigious stages of such countries as Spain, Portugal, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic, etc. His extensive repertoire includes music from different periods, from ancient to contemporary music, and different genres, such as opera, ballet and symphonic music. His interpretations of symphonic - choral sacred music which he performs with a special touch, were highly praised by critics. A special emphasis in his repertoire is put on Latin-American music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Maestro Estrada is a conductor in permanent search of excellence. Every move of his baton transmits his infinite love for music. But the main thing is that Gerardo Estrada strongly believes in transforming power of music and the powerful effect it can have on people. He believes that music can help create a better world.
Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol Moscow State Symphony Orchestra
CHRISTIAN GOHMER Maestro Christian Gohmer is nowadays Artistic Director of Solistas Ensamble del INBA, the most important vocal group in Mexico. He served as Music Director and Conductor of the Sonora (Mexico) Philharmonic Orchestra during 2014 and 2015. During his tenure, this organization was considered one of the most innovative ensembles in the Country with Season Concerts, tours in various Mexican cities and Arizona (USA). Gohmer also founded Tempus Fugit in 2006, a chamber orchestra devoted to perform chamber and contemporary operas, with which he has recorded a vast catalogue of CDs comprising Twentieth Century repertoire and world premieres from Mexican composers. Young Maestro Gohmer is considered one of the most active Mexican conunder the tutelage of Maestros Enrique Diemecke, Enrique Patrón de Rueda ductors of the new generation, appearing with symphony orchestras, opera productions and contemporary music throughout his native Mexico. He holds a degree from the Fine Arts Superior School of Music, he began his musical studies on violin and continued with conducting studies and Alan Paris. He attended several Masterclasses with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, ensemble recherche and Diavolus in Musicæ, among others. His outstanding work has led him to conduct prestigious ensembles such as the Fine Arts Theatre Orchestra and Choir, Mexico City Philharmonic, National University of Mexico Philharmonic (OFUNAM), the Fine Arts and the University of Michoacan Chamber Orchestras, the Symphony Orchestras of the University of Guanajuato, Nuevo Leon Autonomous University, National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, Xalapa, Oaxaca, Puebla, Hidalgo, the State of Queretaro Philharmonic, and the contemporary music ensemble CEPROMUSIC. From 2006 to 2009 he was Music Director of the Superior School of Music Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with distinguished soloists as Jorge Federico Osorio, Simone Kermes, Christophe Dujardin, Tarja Turunen, Francisco Ladrón de Guevara, Erika Dobosiewicz and Cuauhtémoc Rivera. He has conducted on the major concert venues and Festivals in Mexico, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego and Tucson (Arizona). Víctor Rasgado: Concerto for tuba and orchestra Faustino Díaz / Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra
IVÁN LÓPEZ-REYNOSO 27-Year old Maestro Iván López-Reynoso has privilege of being the youngest Conductor to appear at the Teatro Bellas Artes in Mexico City which he shares with late Maestro Eduardo Mata. López-Reynoso possesses a musicianship and a solid temperament proved in numerous leading ensembles in his native Mexico. In Europe, Iván has conducted the Oviedo Filarmonia, the Filarmonica Gioachino Rossini in Pesaro (Italy), and in his native Mexico has been a frequent guest with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra and Choir of Mexico's Fine Arts Palace, the Xalapa, Minería, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato University and National Polytechnic Institute Symphony Orchestras, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Mexico City, Jalisco and National Autonomous University of Mexico (OFUNAM) – with which he served as Assistant Conductor for two Seasons-, as well as the Carlos Chávez, State of Mexico and the University of Mexico’s Eduardo Mata Youth Orchestras. A gifted opera conductor, Maestro López-Reynoso made his operatic debut in 2010 at the age of 20 with Nozze di Figaro. Since then, he has led an extensive number of productions in Mexico and abroad: Aida, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Bastien and Bastienne, La Bohème, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, El Gato con Botas, Il Maestro di Capella, La Serva Padrona, L’elisir d’amore, Madama Butterfly, La cenerentola, La Traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto and the Mexican premières of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory and Il viaggio a Reims as well as Donizetti's Viva la mamma. In 2017 Iván has been named Erster Kapellmeister of the Staatstheater Braunschweig in Germany, becoming the first Mexican conductor to have an artistic position in a European opera house. This year he also received the appointment of Interim Music Director of the Aguascalientes (Mexico) Symphony Orchestra. Born in 1990 in Guanajuato, Mexico, López-Reynoso studied violin with late Gellya Dubrova, piano with Alexander Pashkov, choir conducting under maestro Jorge Medina and he graduated Summa Cum Laude in Orchestra Conducting under maestro Gonzalo Romeu. He has since taken part in numerous master classes among which Alberto Zedda, Jean Paul Penin, Jan Latham-Koenig and Avi Ostrowsky. Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Suite UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra
JESÚS MEDINA Jesus Medina is one of Mexico’s outstanding conductors. He is Music Director of The UANL Symphony Orchestra in Monterrey (Mexico) since January 2010, he served as Music Director of The Fine Arts Chamber Orchestra in Mexico City (2002-2010) and founder and Music Director of The Milenium Sinfonietta (2008-present). Medina was also Music Director and Conductor of some important Mexican orchestras as the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico) and the Queretaro Philharmonic Orchestras. In a short period of time, he has become one of the most sought-after conductors of his country, regularly guest conducting Mexico’s most prominent orchestras. Abroad he conducted orchestras in the United States, Brazil, Singapore, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Venezuela, Serbia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Colombia. Future engagements includes concerts in Italy, Argentina, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Spain, Colombia and Israel. Itzhak Perlman, Joaquin Achucarro, Alexander Markov, Angel Romero, Horacio Gutierrez, Elmar Oliveira, Pierre Amoyal, Jean Louis Steuermann, Alessio Bax, Conrad Tao, Jens Lindemann, Nathaniel Rosen, Mark Peskanov, Konstanty Kulka, György Sándor, Pascal Devoyon, Javier Camarena, Fernando de la Mora, The Vienna Schubert Trio, Nikita Storoyev, Vladimir Viardo, are some of the soloists that have played under his baton. He has conducted operas like Lucia de Lamermoor, La Cenerentola, L’italiana in Algieri, as well as ballets like Romeo and Juliet, Carmina Burana, Nutcracker, Oneguin, Giselle, Don Quixote, Carmen, or zarzuelas (La Revoltosa). He conducted La Camerata de las Americas numerous times in Mexico’s most relevant music Festivals with repertoire ranging from the baroque to avant-garde. He has recorded with La Camerata three CD’s: Sabor Latino; another with the world première of the ballet Dias de Muertos by Mexican composer Eugenio Toussaint; and Gauguin. This CD was nominated to the Latin American Grammy 2001, for Best Classical Album. In 1991 he was awarded the Prize of the Mexican Union of Music and Art Critics as Best Conductor of the Year, and in 2004 he received the “Gaviota” Prize from the Latin-American Association of Critics. Medina studied conducting under Charles Bruck at The Pierre Monteux School in Maine, USA, and previously with Enrique Diemecke and Fernando Lozano in Mexico City. Respighi: Pines of Rome Nuevo Leon Autonomous University Symphony Orchestra
PIANO
RICARDO ACOSTA GENERAL MANAGEMENT Pianist and composer born in Torreón, Mexico, he studied under the guidance of Mariana Chabukiani for over a decade. In 2009 he was accepted at the Interlochen Arts Center, where he studied piano with Dr. Michael Coonrod and composition with Dr. John Boyle and Dr. Cynthia Van Maneen. He also studied conducting with Octavio Mas-Arócas, conductor of the orchestra of that institution at that time.
In 2012 he was accepted and awarded a scholarship at the Eastman School of Music in New York to study piano and musical composition under the guidance of Barry Snyder, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon and Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez. He has performed as a soloist and composer in several orchestras such as Camerata de Coahuila, Música Nova, Toluca Youth Symphony, Michoacan Symphony Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra and Eastman Philharmonia under the baton of Maestros Ramon Shade, Brad Lubman, Neil Varon and Dmitri Orlov. He has participated in the Moscow Summer Music Festival, the CCM International Festival in Prague and in the series of the Gilmore Master Class Festival. As a composer he has attended master classes and private lessons with Steven Stucky, Marilyn Shrude and Shulamit Ran.
In 2016 he received the prestigious Scholarship for Excellence in Arts from the Swiss Government. Ricardo Acosta began his Master's degree in 2016, supported by this scholarship in Bern, Switzerland, with Professor Tomasz Herbut.
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit (Ondine)
ALFREDO ARJONA GENERAL MANAGEMENT Born in Mérida, México, Alfredo Arjona did not begin playing the piano until he was twenty and studying at the University of Veracruz in México.
From Veracruz, he went on to receive his Concert-Diploma at the prestigious Queen Sofía School in Madrid under Dmitri Bashkirov. Later he studied with Joaquín Achúcarro at Southern Methodist University where he earned his Artist Certificate, Master’s in Piano Performance, and Master’s in Piano Pedagogy. Additionally, he has been invited to perform in master classes throughout the world for eminent figures such as Abbey Simon, Andrew Litton, John Perry, György Sándor, Menahem Pressler, Andras Schiff, Leon Fleischer, Emile Naoumoff, and Jorge Federico Osorio. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas under the guidance of Dr. Pamela Mia Paul. Alfredo Arjona’s first prizes came in 1992 at the “City of Xalapa” Piano Competition and in 1994 at the Second Guanajuato Piano Competition and, in 1996, he personally received the Queen Sofía-Cátedra Piano Award from her Majesty herself. The National Foundation for Culture and Arts in México has twice bestowed upon Mr. Arjona its prestigious grant for both his performances and research, and at SMU, he was elected by the faculty both to the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society and to receive the Roy and Sue Johnson Award in memory of Maurice Acers. Mr. Arjona has given recitals in Madrid, Barcelona, Santander, Lisbon, Rome, Vienna, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Mérida, Xalapa, Cordoba, Orizaba, and Puebla, and he has been invited to perform with the Xalapa, Yucatán, Sinaloa and Guanajuato Symphony Orchestras, Jalisco Philharmonic, Yucatán Chamber Orchestra, and the Southern Symphony Orchestra. He has also made multiple appearances at festivals such as the Cervantino International Festival, “Su Majestad el Piano” International Festival, the Santander Festival, “Despertar del Mayab en el Siglo XXI,” “Primavera Cultural del Mayab,” and “Otoño Cultural” Festival.
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (excerpts) Yucatán Symphony Orchestra. Juan C. Lomónaco, conductor
KRISTHYAN BENÍTEZ GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Grieg: Piano Concerto Teresa Carreño Symphony of Venezuela. Christian Vásquez, conductor
Born in Caracas, 30-year-old Kristhyan Benitez began his steps toward a musical career at the age of four with Olga Lopez, pupil of the legendary Magda Tagliaferro. Three months later, he played for an audience of 2000 people at the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex in Venezuela. Jose Antonio Abreu, Founder Director of “El Sistema” describes Kristhyan as “one of the most important and brilliant leaders of the Musical Movement in Venezuela and the whole Continent”. He has won top prizes in several national and international piano competitions, including countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, France, Venezuela, USA, Germany, and Austria among others. Kristhyan received the “Jose Felix Ribas Award”, the highest honor given by the President of Venezuela in 1998. Kristhyan has appeared at some of the world’s most prestigious stages such as Philharmonie (Berlin), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), Town Hall (New York), Ehrbar Saal (Vienna), Salle Cortot (Paris), Amadeo Roldan Theater (Havana) National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Alice Tully Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), with performances throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the United States. He has performed under the baton of Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, Benjamin Zander, Patrick Lange, Carlos Riazuelo, Felipe Izcaray, Giancarlo Guerrero, Piero Gamba, and Eduardo Marturet. His orchestral engagements include the Simon Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, San Francisco Symphony, La Havana Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Miami Symphony, among others. He has recorded a CD with the Berliner Symphoniker under the baton of Maestro Eduardo Marturet playing Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto in 2001. In 2017 he released Miniatures, a live recording album of pieces from Russia, Mexico and Venezuela. His next Album will be released on 2018. Following his early studies with Olga López in Caracas he the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. He went on to receive the prestigious “International Master for Piano Artist” at the École Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris, France and the Fondation Bell’Arte in Brussels, Belgium, studying with acclaimed teachers such as Phillipe Entremont and Nelson delle Vigne in 2006. In June 2017, Benitez made a 11 cities tour around China, where he received outstanding reviews by the Chinese audience, playing in the most important halls of the country including the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Next engagements include a second tour in Asia (Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo),
SILVIA NAVARRETE GENERAL MANAGEMENT Silvia Navarrete is renowned as one of the most representative Mexican pianists. She has studied in Mexico City, Vienna and Paris giving recitals and concerts in her native country as well as in America, Europe and Asia. She has also performed as a soloist with the principal orchestras of Mexico, the National Orchestra of China, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Shanghai, the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina, the Talich Chamber Orchestra and the "The Moscow Virtuosi" conducted by Vladimir Spivakov. Her emotional expression, quality of sound and deep understanding of styles have been frequently underscored by music critics. In recent years she has focused on researching Mexican and Latin American piano music and has brought to light a number of unknown pieces of historical and musical significance recorded in her nine compact discs. The Mexican Union of Theatre and Music Critics awarded her "Best Record of the Year" for Latin American Music for Piano, Vol. II in 1999 and Aires Mexicanos in 2006. These recordings led to national and international recognition and performances for the Casa de América in Madrid, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Colloquium on Reform and French Intervention during the Second Empire in Brussels and the Tones over the City Festival in Prague. Silvia Navarrete has been honored with prizes and recognitions including First Place at the Music Weeks International Competition in Tours (France); a Medal of Honor from the French Government making her a member of the Order of Arts and Letters. In addition she is a member of the prestigious Consejo de la Crónica in Mexico. During the last year she received the "Coatlicue prize" for Women in the Arts and the FONCA (National Fund for Culture and the Arts) award for her promotion of Mexican music. Gonzalo Curiel: Piano Concerto No. 1 (1st. Movement) UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra. Alun Francis, conductor
JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO Jorge Federico Osorio has been lauded throughout the world for his superb musicianship, powerful technique, vibrant imagination, and deep passion. He is the recipient of several international prizes and awards, including the prestigious Medalla Bellas Artes, the highest honor granted by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts. Osorio has performed with many of the world’s leading ensembles, including the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico; the Israel, Warsaw, and Royal Philharmonics; the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), Moscow State Orchestra, Orchestre Nationale de France, Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. He has collaborated with such distinguished conductors as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, James Conlon, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Juanjo Mena, Jorge Mester, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Robert Spano, Klaus Tennstedt, and Jaap van Zweden, among many others. His concert tours have taken him to Asia, North, Central and South America and Europe, where he has performed in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Torino.
Jorge Federico Osorio selected recordings
United States festival appearances have included the Hollywood Bowl, Mainly Mozart, Newport, Grant Park, and Ravinia, where he performed all five Beethoven Concerti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Conlon in two consecutive evenings. A prolific recording artist, Osorio has documented a wide variety of repertoire, including a solo Brahms CD that Gramophone proclaimed “one of the most distinguished discs of Brahms’ piano music in recent years.” Recordings with orchestra include Beethoven’s five Piano Concertos and Choral Fantasy; both Brahms Concertos; and concertos by Chávez, Mozart, Ponce, Rachmaninov, Rodrigo, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. Osorio’s acclaimed solo recordings on Cedille Records include the recently released Final Thoughts – The Last Piano Works of Schubert & Brahms; Russian Recital with compositions by Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich; Salón Mexicano, comprising music of Mexican composers Manuel M. Ponce, Felipe Villanueva, Ricardo Castro, and José Rolon; an entire disc devoted to music of Ponce; a 2-CD set of Debussy and Liszt; and Piano Español, a collection of works by Albéniz, Falla, Granados, and Soler that received glowing reviews internationally and marked Osorio as one of the world’s great interpreters of Spanish piano music. An avid chamber music performer, Osorio has served as artistic director of the Brahms Chamber Music Festival in Mexico; performed in a piano trio with violinist Mayumi Fujikawa and cellist Richard Markson; and collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Ani Kavafian, Elmar Oliveira, and Henryk Szeryng. He began studying the piano at the age of five with his mother, Luz María Puente, and later attended the conservatories of Mexico, Paris, and Moscow, where he worked with Bernard Flavigny, Monique Haas, and Jacob Milstein. He also studied with Nadia Reisenberg and Wilhelm Kempff.
ALFREDO OVALLES GENERAL MANAGEMENT Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Alfredo’s start with music came at a very early age. According to his father, he asked for piano lessons as a gift for his 5th birthday. Not being from a musical family, his first experience of how a piano sounded did not come from classical music, but instead from an old videotape of a Queen concert that was always lying around the family’s home. Alfredo started his formal music education with Professor Carlos Urbaneja in the “Juan José Landaeta” Conservatory of Music and in the Mozarteum School of Music in Caracas, and at the same time he was also gaining a lot of valuable experience playing keyboards, arranging and writing songs in rock and pop bands in Caracas. For Alfredo, “growing inside seemingly different universes made music seem like one single world, where borders were very blurry and performances in one genre could be informed by the experiences gained in a different, apparently unrelated type of stage”. Alfredo is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician internationally. Engagements have taken him to Belarus, Germany, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the Dominican Republic, among others, performing at wonderful venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Wiener Konzerthaus, and King’s Place in London. He had the pleasure of performing not only solo recitals but also together with orchestras such as the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in Gdańsk, the Orchestra of the Academic and Musical Theater of Minsk, Belarus and the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic. Alfredo also studied in the United States with Krassimira Jordan in the Baylor University School of Music, later on moving to Vienna, Austria, where he did postgraduate studies with Thomas Kreuzberger at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Alongside this he has also received the advice of artists such as Gabriela Montero, Anton Nel, Walter Blankenheim and Kristiina Juntuu. In parallel to his studies, Alfredo was active in the competition circuit, receiving awards such as the first prize in the VIII International “Franz Schubert” Competition in Bulgaria and the second prizes in the IV “María Clara Cullell International Piano Competition” in San José de Costa Rica and the 14th Osaka International Music Competition in Japan.
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (piano versión)
ROLANDO VALDÉS GENERAL MANAGEMENT Young Mexican Pianist Rolando Valdés currently resides in Germany, where he studies since 2017 under the guidance of Grigory Gruzman and Balázs Szokolay at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. He previously completed a Master’s degree at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste with Konstantin Scherbakov, alongside Orchestral Conducting studies with Mark Kissoczy. During his stay in Zurich he was awarded the Swiss Confederation's Scholarship of Excellence. He obtained a Bachelor's degree with honors in Mexico City at the National Fine Arts Institute’s High School of Music, where he studied with Eduardo Arzate. He has won the most important competitions in Mexico (Mérida International in 2012 and 2016, Ricardo Castro 2012, Parnassós Nacional). In Mexico he has performed with the Symphony Orchestras of Yucatan and Nuevo Leon, Camerata de Coahuila, Filarmónica del Desierto, as well as with different youth and university orchestras, conducting from the piano several times and collaborating with Maestros such as Román Revueltas and Juan Carlos Lomónaco, among others. He has given concerts in France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary and Poland; he attended master classes with Alexander Gavrilyuk, Philipp Cassard, Philippe Bianconi, Aquiles delle Vigne, Friedemann Rieger, Joaquín Soriano, Uta Weyand, Peter Nagy, Akiko Ebi, Jacques Rouvier, Claudio Martínez and Zoltán Kocsis, among others. He has also offered master courses at the Fine Arts School of Music, the Autonomous University of Nuevo León and the University of Veracruz. In Germany he has played at prestigious venues as Weimarhalle, Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the house of Franz Liszt (playing the composer’s piano) and made his solo debut in 2012 and 2016 with the Jenaer Philharmonie, under the baton of Markus L. Frank. In 2015, during the final of the Hans von Bülow Competition, he performed and conducted from the piano the prestigious Meininger Philharmonie Orkester. He is currently a Fellow of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.
Bach: Partita Nr. 4 (Overture, Sarabande, Gigue) Ligeti: Der Zauberlehrling Liszt: Etude Nr. 10
ALEJANDRO VELA GENERAL MANAGEMENT Praised for his power to carry an audience away through his ability to create an atmosphere of mystery and sensuous beauty, Alejandro Vela is a pianist of Northern Mexican origin now performing in concert halls worldwide. Recent solo recitals have brought him to prestigious venues in Finland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan. Alejandro Vela has performed as soloist with most of the Mexican orchestras including the Mexico City Philharmonic, State of Mexico Symphony, Xalapa Symphony, Jalisco Philharmonic, State of Querétaro Philharmonic, Carlos Chávez Orchestra Academy, Camerata de Coahuila and with many American ensembles, including the Chicago and Houston Symphony Orchestras led by Christoph Eschenbach, as well as orchestras in Israel, Canada, Dominican Republic and the Czech Republic. He has appeared at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Alice Tully Hall in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Mexico’s National Center for the Arts and in most of the major cities and concert halls throughout Taiwan. Recently, Vela presented concerts at the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo, Nago City Hall in Okinawa, The Concert Hall in Nagoya, Kuala National Radio and Radio Vaticano. Born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila (Mexico), Alejandro Vela received his first piano lessons from his mother, Hortensia Vela Mante, and laLumpur Performing Arts Center, Kaohsiung’s Cultural Center, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Sibelius Academy Concert Hall in Helsinki, Sibelius Museum in Turku, Estonia’s Mederi Hall, Mihail Jora Concert Hall in Bucharest, Óbudai Társaskör in Budapest, Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum in Berlin, Kiev´s House of Teachers, Instituto Italo-Latino Americano of Rome, Canadian Opera Company Piano Virtuoso Series in Toronto, Sala de Festivales Antonio Paoli in San Juan, Mexico City's Sala Nezahualcóyotl, Festival de México, En blanco y negro Festival and Coahuila’s Julio Torri International Arts festival. Other recent highlights include television appearances for NHK TV Japan and live webcasts for Canada's Classical 96.3FM, Radio Praga, Radio Romania, Radio Sweden, Ucranian ter from Robert Avalon. He holds both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. He recently became a Canadian permanent resident. Rachmaninov: Étude-Tableau Op. 33 No. 7
VIOLONCELLO
SANTIAGO CAÑÓN-VALENCIA GENERAL MANAGEMENT Santiago Cañón-Valencia was awarded Third Prize (Prix Comte de Launoit) at the First edition of the Queen Elizabeth International Cello Competition in Belgium in June 2017. Born in Bogota in 1995, Santiago Cañón – Valencia has been praised as one of the most promising young cellist of his generation. His major musical mentors have been Henryk Zarzycki in Colombia, James Tennant in New Zealand and Andres Diaz in the USA. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar. Santiago is a First Prize winner of the Carlos Prieto (2016), Beijing (2010), Gisborne (2011) and Lennox (2014) International Cello Competitions, and is a major prizewinner of the Casals (2014), Adam (2009), Johansen (2012) and Cassadó (2013) Competitions. He has performed in recital and as a soloist with orchestras throughout Australasia, South America, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Europe, China, Japan, Mexico and Russia and has played as a soloist with Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists and with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Santiago premiered Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in Colombia with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia and made the premiere of Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra in New Zealand. He has also collaborated with world-renowned musicians such as Alisa Weilerstein, Shlomo Mintz, Dmitri Berlinsky, Richard Young, Andres Diaz, Emmanuel Ceysson, Wendy Chen and Roberto GonzalesMonjas among others. Santiago has also shared the stage with Maxim Vengerov, Li-Wei Qin and Phillipe Müller. Santiago has been a constant guest artist at the Cartagena International Music Festival and was part of the Verbier Festival Academy (Cello) in 2016. His debut CD featuring 20th Century works has been internationally acclaimed by The Strad Magazine and other publications. Consecutively, he has just released two new recordings consisting of Russian cello sonatas and popular pieces of the cello repertoire with pianist Katherine Austin. All of his recordings are available under the Atoll label in New Zealand. Santiago has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011 and is a recipient of the MPower Artist Grants 2016 by the Sphinx Organization.
Haydn: Cello Concerto in C Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie. Frank Braley, conductor
CARLOS PRIETO HONORARY ARTIST
Carlos Prieto was born in Mexico City and at the age of four began the study of the cello. His teacher was the Hungarian cellist Imre Hartman. Subsequently, he studied with Pierre Fournier in Geneva and with Leonard Rose in New York. He has played on major world stages and has received rave reviews throughout his various tours of Europe, the United States, Russia and the former Soviet republics, Canada, Japan, China, India and Latin America. It has notably enriched the cello repertoire and premiered more than 90 works, almost all dedicated to him, by the main composers of Mexico, Ibero-America, Spain and other countries. He has recorded more than 80 works for cello and has written 7 books: "Russian Letters", "Around the World with the Violoncello", "From the USSR to Russia", "The Adventures of a Cello" - with a prologue by Ă lvaro Mutis and translated into English, Russian and Portuguese, "Trails and Images of Music", "Five Thousand Years of Words", with prologue by Carlos Fuentes and "Por la Milenaria China. Stories, experiences and comments ", with a prologue by Yo-Yo Ma. In 2012 his new book will be published, published by the Mexican Culture Seminar:" Notes and experiences on the history of music in Mexico. The Mexican Culture Seminar and music. "
Like Rostropovich, Carlos Prieto is a true champion of the cello. He is a creative artist, a sage and a writer. Carlos Prieto has contributed significantly to the enrichment of music in the West. He has premiered works by some of the greatest contemporary composers and has contributed to the development of an entire generation of the most talented musicians in Latin America. It is a privilege for me to know you as a colleague and an honor to consider you my friend. - Yo-Yo Ma
HARP
EMMANUEL PADILLA-HOLGUÍN GENERAL MANAGEMENT Mexican harpist Emmanuel Padilla Holguín recently became the first Latin American harpist to win an international harp competition, through his success as 1st prize and audience award winner at the Dutch Harp Competition 2016, and earlier by receiving the 1st prize at the IV Mexico International Harp Competition.
Padilla Holguín has also won the 2016 Ginastera Harp Concerto Competition at Indiana University and, as the winner of the 2015 Latin American Music Recording Competition organized by the Jacobs School of Music, he recorded his first CD “Three centuries of Mexican harp music”, released both in the USA and Mexico. His second CD will include the entire harp catalogue by Mexican composer Mario Ruiz Armengol, thanks to a grant from Mexico’s National Fund for the Arts. Padilla Holguín has performed with renowned ensembles like Holland Baroque, Bolívar Soloists, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Mexico City Philharmonic, National Symphony of Mexico and the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra. As well as collaborating with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Kenneth Jean, Rossen Milanov, Paul Nadler and Carlos Miguel Prieto. He has performed extensively in more than 40 cities in Mexico, USA, Spain, Holland, Croatia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and in July 2017 Hong Kong, as a guest artist of the 13th World Harp Congress. Having started his music studies at the age of 3 in Mexico City, he is now finishing a Bachelor of Music under the guidance of Professor Susann McDonald at Indiana University.
Ginastera: Harp Concerto Indiana University Orchestra. Brian Eads, conductor.
VOICES
CÉSAR DELGADO, tenor Mexican-born César Delgado, whom Opera News has praised for his “generous, lustrous tenor” and “committed, energetic acting” has been steadily building an active career that finds him regularly on the US and Mexican musical scenes. César began the 2017-2018 season with a New York debut in New York City Opera’s production of La Fanciulla del West. Earlier in 2017, he sang Rodolfo in La Bohème with The Charleston Opera and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Mexico’s Mazatlán Opera. He is due to perform the tenor solos in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle in New York in 2018. In 2016, Mr. Delgado appeared as Arcadio in the Latin American premiere of Florencia en el Amazonas, in a fully staged production in Mexico City. This production was also recorded for CD release. César has won many prestigious vocal competitions, including the1st Prize (Male Category) in the 2017 Sinaloa International Singing Competition and the “Murray Rosenthal" Major Award at the Opera Index International Voice Competition in 2016. In 2015, he was chosen to participate in Plácido Domingo’s 2015 New York Master Class, sponsored jointly by Opera News and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. He was also invited to participate in the first International Residency of the Ryan Opera Center by Chicago Lyric Opera. A Mannes President Full Scholarship recipient, Mr. Delgado graduated with a Professional Artist Diploma from Mannes College in spring 2015. While there, he sang such principal roles with Mannes Opera as Liebenskoff in Il Viaggio a Reims, Mario Ruoppolo in the New York City premiere of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino, and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi.
César Delgado selected videos
JOSUÉ CERÓN, baritone
Young Mexican baritone with a solid career sustained in his enthusiasm, owns a refined line of singing, vocal flexibility and an accomplished belcanto style. He has sung in theaters and concert hall in three different Continents. He made his debut at the iconic Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and has participated in several international programs such as the Portland Opera Performing Institute, Tel-Aviv International Vocal Arts Institute, Saltillo (Mexico) Artescénica and “Oberlin in Italy” at Arezzo, Italy, sharing credits with figures such as Joan Dornemann, Tito Capobianco, Justino Díaz and Shirley Verrett. Graduated from the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia (USA) and Mexico’s National Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Carlos Serrano and Liliana Gómez, respectively, as well as SIVAM in Mexico City. Awarded the “Carlo Morelli National Singing Contest”, he has been finalist and semifinalist of the Giulio Gari, Competizione dell'opera and Neue Stimmen International Competitions and the first International Singing Competition organized by Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, with a jury including Kiri Te Kanawa, Sherill Milnes and Sumi Jo. He made his debut at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico in 2004 as Sulpice in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment. His European debut was in November 2011 at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, Italy, playing Enrico in Donizetti's Il Campanello under the legendary baritone Rolando Panerai. His recent performances include the Latin American première of Il Viaggio à Reims by Rossini at the Palace of Fine Arts, a new production of Barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Bicentenario in Leon, Guanajuato (Mexico) as well as the Requiem Mass by the Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian at the Mexico City’s Centro Histórico Festival (2015). He has worked under the prestigious batons of Christopher Macatsoris, Valerio Galli, Enrique Patron, Guido Maria Guida, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Enrique Bátiz, Carlos Spierer, Leo Krämer and Sebastien Rouland to name a few. His repertoire consists of the baritone main roles in operas as Bohème, Die Zauberflöte, L’Elisir d’amore, Barbiere di Siviglia, Nozze di Figaro, Don Pasquale, Così fan tutte, Cenerentola, among others. Other recent engagements include Brahms’ A German Requiem with the Fine Arts Theater Orchestra and Chorus under Maestro Srba Dinić and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the National University of Mexico Philharmonic on the occasion of the orchestra’s 80th Anniversary under Maestro Niksa Bareza.
Josué Cerón selected videos
ENSEMBLES
CUARTETO RUVALCABA
CUARTETO CHROMA Mozart: String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (I)
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 Op. 13 (I)
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OUR TEAM
JOSÉ-MARÍA ÁLVAREZ
FRAN CARRERAS
THEO SIORDIA
General Director
Associate Director
Manager MuchiMusic Europe
josemaria@muchimusic.com
fran@muchimusic.com
theo@muchimusic.com
José-María Álvarez introduced his first artist in Mexico in 1988 when he was 22 years old. His interest in the concerts’ organization began as a teenager when (aged 15) he requested a summer job at the Mexico City Philharmonic. This experience, combined with his musical studies, allowed him to immerse in the Mexican musical scene. He holds a Major on International Business at the National University of Mexico, Encouraged by many of the artists he had already presented in Mexico (such as violinists Stephanie Chase and Pierre Amoyal and pianists Tedd Joselson and Alan Marks), he founded MuchiMusic in 1992. He is also a renowned radio broadcaster with 30 years of experience.
Born in Mexico City. He settled in Barcelona (Spain) where he pursued undergraduate studies in Communication and Journalism and a Master on Video Games Creation from the Ramon Llull and Pompeu Fabra Universities of Barcelona; later, he moved to London (England) where he was awarded a degree in Music Business and Arts Management at Middlesex University of London and a postgraduate degree in Arts Management and Cultural Heritage at the University of Leeds. Fran was assistant road manager of several rock bands in his college days. He also worked for COSEOM Limited in London as Video Marketing Freelance. His hobbies include playing soccer and tennis every weekend. Besides music, chocolate is his true love.
25 years old Theo Siordia is a true classical music lover At age 21 he decided to change his residence from his native Mexico to Vienna (Austria) to study music formally, something that begun since his teens as an autodidact. Soon he made good friends in the musical scene that has guided him in his studies, which he continues at the Vienna Conservatory, as Christoph Eschenbach who gives him private lessons. Since 2017 he was invited by JoséMaría Álvarez to take over the MuchiMusic office in Vienna, which allows him to work with our Latin American artists in Europe.
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