Temperament of the South: Pablo Sáinz-Villegas

The virtuoso guitar master and conductor Pablo Sáinz-Villegas will present Spanish guitar repertoire with a touch of southern temperament, enriched by a performance by a flamenco dancer.

The Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas is living proof that the Mediterranean sun gives people energy and a smiling face. And a talent for passionate music. Pablo's performance of the world-famous "Aranjuez" combines virtuoso guitar technique with the performer's animalistic personality. The artist with a southern temperament, who was hailed by opera legend Plácido Domingo as a master of the guitar, will also appear as a conductor. Together with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra he will play Latin American melodies, which inherently include flamenco. And this dance performed by Virginia Delgado will rhythmically illustrate the original concept of the whole lively evening.

Artists

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas – guitar, conductor
Virginia Delgado – dance
Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra

Program

Isaac Albéniz: Asturias, J. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Francisco Tarrega: Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Manuel de Falla: La vida breve – Danza n. 1 "Espaňola"

--- intermission ---

Antonio Álvarez: Suspiros de España
Roland Dyens: Tango en Skäi S. Bacarisse: Romanza
Ástor Piazzola: Libertango Anonimo: Spanish Romance
Francisco Tárrega: Gran Jota de concierto
Gerónimo Gimenez: Las bodas de Luis Alonso

Pablo Sáinz-Villegas

A classical guitarist known for his virtuoso performances and deep passion for the instrument, Pablo Sáinz Villegas was born in La Rioja, Spain. He began playing guitar at the age of six and quickly gained attention for his remarkable talent. He is often referred to as an ambassador of Spanish culture or the soul of the Spanish guitar. Since his debut with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, he has played in more than 40 countries with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Spanish National Orchestra. According to the New York Times, Sáinz-Villegas’ playing is characterized by an irresistible exuberance, and Plácido Domingo says Pablo is a master of the guitar. The opera legend recorded an album with him and together they performed in front of 85,000 people at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid. Pablo Sáinz-Villegas has also performed for members of the Spanish royal family and other heads of state. He has received over 30 international honours including the Galardón a las Artes Riojana and was the first guitarist ever to receive the Ojo Crítico from Radio Nacional de España. Pablo, who is on the faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Spain, has given many world premieres. Among them, the first guitar piece by five Oscar winner John Williams.

Virginia Delgado

A native of Madrid, Virginia Delgado began studying dance at the age of 12 at the legendary Amor de Dios dance school and also at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid, where she studied Spanish dance and classical ballet. She has worked in many companies, and in addition to her native Spain, she has also performed on stages in Paris, Stuttgart, Munich, Prague, Bratislava, Lucerne and Zurich, where she has choreographed her own works. She has performed with the group Con Aire Flamenco at the Epidaurus Festival in Dubrovnik and at the Ibérica Festival in the Czech Republic. She has also choreographed and danced her own projects “Vuelvo por mis alas” with Tomas Hanak, “Al alba”, “Sobre mis Pasos” and “Mujeres”. For the international festival Flamenco Day in Prague she prepared the premieres of the projects “Aire”, “Dreaming Carmen” in collaboration with dancer Irene Álvarez and “El Jardin” with dancer Ángel Muñoz. In the Czech Republic she founded the first ever professional flamenco group Compañía de danza flamenca – Virginia Delgado, with which she still performs. She is also a member of Flamenco Experience 6, a group dedicated to the fusion of flamenco, jazz and Latin music.

Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony Orchestra of the Czech Radio (SOČR) is one of the most important Czech orchestras today. From the 2022/2023 season, Czech conductor Petr Popelka will be the chief conductor and artistic director. The principal guest conductor is Robert Jindra. The orchestra has collaborated with leading Czech and international conductors such as Tomáš Netopil, Petr Altrichter, Jakub Hrůša, Cornelius Meister, Alexander Liebreich, Ilan Volkov, Stephan Asbury, Ion Marin, Michał Nesterowicz, Anu Tali and Wayne Marshall. Among the soloists accompanied by the SOČR were pianist Krystian Zimerman, violinists Leila Josefowicz and Pierre Amoyal, cellists Gautier Capuçon, István Várdai and Steven Isserlis, trombonist Christian Lindberg, as well as jazzman Avishai Cohen. Singers include Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Asmik Grigorian, José Cura, Juan Diego Flórez, Dmitry Chvorostovsky and Jonas Kaufmann.