Program

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Undoubtedly the preeminent virtuoso guitarist of his generation, Pablo Sainz-Villegas garners resounding acclaim from the global press, hailed as the successor to Andrés Segovia and an ambassador of Spanish culture worldwide. His version of the Aranjuez Concerto is the most acclaimed nowadays by critics and symphonic orchestras worldwide. He stands as the first solo guitarist to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York since the venerable Maestro Andrés Segovia's historic performance in 1983. Additionally, he has etched his name as the first guitarist to collaborate with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2001, as well as the sole guitarist to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic since 1983 at their New Year’s Eve -concert.

Since his remarkable debut with the New York Philharmonic, under the masterful baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Pablo Sainz-Villegas has graced stages across more than 40 countries. His performances have resonated within the hallowed halls of eminent orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of Spain. He has also adorned renowned theaters including the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among numerous others of similar eminence.

In 2024 Sainz-Villegas will make his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony, and tour the US playing with the Phoenix Symphony, Naples Symphony and Houston Symphony among others. He will premier Arturo Márquez’s first Guitar Concerto, written for Pablo, in the US and Canada and will tour back in Colombia, Taiwan & Europe.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has graced expansive audiences numbering in the tens of thousands. Among these notable occasions are performances at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, captivating over 85,000 attendees, as well as concerts held in distinguished venues like Chicago's Grant Park, Lisbon's iconic Praça do Comércio, and the illustrious Hollywood Bowl, accompanied by the esteemed Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Noteworthy among his repertoire of remarkable feats is a performance on a floating stage adrift the Amazon River, an event broadcast to countless viewers across the globe.

Hand in hand with his incredible trajectory, the success of Pablo Sainz-Villegas's interpretation of Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez has summoned numerous invitations from renowned conductors, including Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Alexander Shelley, Richard Egarr and Juanjo Mena. This collaborative symphony has not only enhanced his artistry but also solidified his standing among the virtuosos of our time.

As an acclaimed artist with over thirty international awards, including the Andrés Segovia, Francisco Tárrega, and Christopher Parkening awards, and a frequent performer in institutional representation concerts, Pablo Sainz-Villegas has had the privilege of playing, on various occasions, before members of the Spanish Royal Family, including his concert at the Princess of Asturia Awards in 2021. He has also performed for other heads of state and international leaders such as the Dalai Lama.

In alignment with his artistry, as a musician affiliated with SONY Classical, he has unveiled three albums, each a testament to his musical prowess and creative spirit. His most recent opus, entitled 'The Blue Album,' was released in June 2023.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas believes that music can unite communities across the globe, which is why he is a socially committed artist. Pablo Sainz-Villegas founded the philanthropic project “El Legado de la Música Sin Fronteras” in 2006, through which he has shared his music with over 45,000 children and young people worldwide. He is also the founder, inspiration, and driving force behind the non-profit organization Strings in Common. Strings in Common is his love letter to the cultural power of the guitar, an instrument with the ability to represent numerous international traditions. In his words, “The guitar is an instrument of the people. It has the power to reach audiences and bridge the gap between art music and pop-culture.”

Additionally, as a tireless advocate for the development of classical guitar repertoire, he has premiered numerous works, including the first piece written for guitar by the renowned film score composer and five-time Oscar winner, John Williams, as well as his duo ‘A preayer for peace’, created for Yo-Yo Ma and Pablo. He has also premiered compositions by Tomás Marco, Jesús Torres, María Dolores Malumbres, David del Puerto, and Sergio Assad, among others. Looking towards a future that holds more performance opportunities for classical guitarists, Sainz-Villegas has commissioned guitar works from composers Arturo Márquez, Francisco Coll, and Laura Vega to premiere in 2023 and 2025.

Currently, Pablo Sainz-Villegas is the artistic director and driving force of La Rioja Festival, a project of his own conception that showcases his home region to the world, an homage to the lively and supportive community that has been an integral part of his upbringing and musical career.

Pablo Sainz-Villegas has been living in the United States since 2001 and looks forward to a season of performing and collaborating with incredible artists.

Featuring

Violinist Max Zorin enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and artistic leader. Praised by The Strad for his “extremely compelling” interpretations and by Strings Magazine as “simply magnificent,” Zorin brings authenticity, nuance, and a dynamic sense of artistry to his performances.

His international career has taken him to leading venues across the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America, including Tchaikovsky Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Salle Molière, Odessa OperaTheatre, and the Henan Art Center in China. He performed with the Saint Petersburg State Orchestra, Odessa Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Lyon, Williamsport Symphony, Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, San Jose Youth Symphony. Summer festivals appearances include the Granada International Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Music Alp, collaborating with distinguished artists such as Maxim Vengerov, Itamar Golan, Henry, Demarquette, Romano Pallottini, Philippe Muller, and the Parker Quartet.

As an advocate for expanding the violin repertoire, Zorin premiered numerous works by contemporary composers and embraced collaborations beyond the classical realm. His critically acclaimed music video of Mack the Knife for violin and jazz trio earned him the Emerging Artist Award from the Global Music Awards. His upcoming album, Connections (Navona Records), reflects his commitment to diversity and innovation in programming, featuring works by underrepresented composers alongside a commissioned piece that bridges jazz and classical idioms.

A dedicated educator, Zorin serves as Associate Professor of Violin at Penn State University and has conducted masterclasses at prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Royal Academy of Music in London, Tel Aviv University, and NYU. As Artistic Director of Rencontres Musicales Internationales des Graves, a summer festival in Bordeaux, France, Zorin curates a unique fusion of masterclasses, performances, and cultural experiences, creating a harmonious celebration in the renowned wineries of Bordeaux.

Born in Israel to a family of musicians with roots in Odessa, Ukraine, Zorin moved to France at the age of five, where he grew up immersed in a rich musical environment. His father, Zacharia Zorin, an illustrious violinist, was among his principal teachers, alongside Dorothy DeLay, Naoko Tanaka, Peter Oundjian, and Ani Kavafian. At 17, Zorin won First Prize at the Corpus Christi International Competition before continuing his studies in the United States, earning degrees from The Juilliard School, Yale University, and a doctorate from Stony Brook University.

Zorin performs on a violin crafted by J.B. Vuillaume (Paris, c. 1850) and a bow by Edwin Clement (Paris, 2008)

Program Notes

Spanish-American composer Andrea Casarrubios is no stranger to Agarita’s programs. Her music is lush, expressive, tangible and relevant, and she continues to build her range of compositions each year. Her Quintet for Piano and Strings (written in 2023) is her first exploration for this set of instruments. About the work as a whole, Casarrubios writes that the quintet “attempts to evoke a remarkable variety of the natural world surrounding Carmel-by-the-Sea, and, by extension, the varying states of our own emotional world – determination, fear, celebration, sorrow – set against an intuited, all-encompassing stillness.” Regarding the movement Abundance featured on this program, she writes that it was inspired by the flourishing ecosystems found along California’s Central Coast. The music “embraces the richness of life, expressed in vibrant melodies, rhythmic vitality, and lush harmonies, echoing the power of the waves and cliffs.”

Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla was the leader of the nuevo tango movement of the mid-20th century, combining jazz and classical elements with traditional tango. His music is both fierce and sweet, often utilizing extended techniques for the instruments to produce raw percussive sounds, yet also allowing for nostalgic, heart-wrenching lyricism. In 1982, Piazzolla was at the peak of his career, composing for films, performing at Madison Square Garden, and hailed all over the world for his fresh, progressive style of tango that blended so many elements organically together. Composed for the Italian film ‘Enrico IV’ (‘Henry IV’) directed by Marco Bellocchio, Oblivion highlights Piazzolla’s expressive, sentimental lyricism. Hauntingly beautiful, the tune is in the style of a slow milonga, a predecessor to the tango. It is one of his most famous melodies for a reason.

Bordell 1900 is part of Piazzolla’s larger suite Histoire du Tango, which takes the listener through different stages in tango’s progression, from its simple Buenos Aires origins to its modern developments across the world. About Bordell 1900, Piazzolla himself writes:

The tango originated in Buenos Aires in 1882. It was first played on the guitar and flute. Arrangements then came to include the piano, and later, the concertina. This music is full of grace and liveliness. It paints a picture of the good-natured chatter of the French, Italian, and Spanish women who peopled those bordellos as they teased the policemen, thieves, sailors, and riffraff who came to see them. This is a high-spirited tango.

Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, conceptually an homage to Vivaldi’s famous The Four Seasons, are a set of tango works scored originally for his ensemble of violin, piano, electric guitar, double bass and bandoneón. There are several arrangements of this gorgeous set, and tonight you will hear the version of Summer for Piano Trio by famous Argentine cellist José Bragato. The movement starts in a foreboding way, with an urgent rhythm in a minor key. As the strings join in on the piano’s groove, things immediately start to heat up until all three instruments are playing fiercely in unison. Reaching a peak, the music melts into an incredibly nostalgic, weeping violin cadenza that is eventually passed to the cellist, who creates momentum in a more determined direction. Soon all passions are on display. Structurally throughout, Piazzolla enjoys alternating between sections of driving, virtuosic rhythms and lush, emotionally exhaustive cadenzas. Rather than disorienting the listener by these sudden shifts of tone, Piazzolla connects these sections so fluidly that the music simply feels like a raw journey through our wild, unpredictable hearts.

Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega was one of the most important composers for the classical guitar, helping to legitimize its status in the late 19th century by writing complex, romantic solo works and performing them with virtuosic brilliance. His Gran Jota is an elevated version of the traditional Spanish jota, a vibrant dance often accompanied by guitars and castanets. In Tárrega’s hands, the jota becomes a gripping set of variations full of joy and abandon, slyly introduced by a suspenseful, dour overture. Extended techniques (unusual ways of using the instrument), including harmonics and percussive effects, add extra virtuosity, flare, and timbrel variety to a piece that is already incredibly captivating.

Grammy-nominated composer Clarice Assad has established herself as a leading artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop, and jazz genres with her unique, authentic style. Canções da America is her six-movement string quartet that represents a collection of song-like movements inspired by chants, dances, and rhythms associated with South American music. Tonight’s program features two of the movements, Melodia Andia and Purahéi. Melodia Andia is a haunting vision from deep within the ancient Andes mountains. As the wind gathers and picks up, a patient, warm melody signals determination and fortitude. Purahéi is a vibrant Paraguayan dance movement whose casualness, but also grit, make it feel like street music.

About the context for her composition, Assad herself writes:

For the first time as a composer, I explore the music of neighboring Brazilian countries – my original homeland – including Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Argentina. The latter was the homeland of composer Claudia Montero, whose passing in early 2021 inspired me to write this work. Montero was an accomplished musician who dedicated her life to creating beautiful pieces of music sparked by Latin American themes. She supported numerous projects to amplify women’s voices in music, and her body of works reinforces the importance of female composers’ voices in today’s world.

For many Argentinian composers in the 20th century, folk songs and dances were the most popular forms of expression. Alberto Ginastera pays homage to his nation of origin with his early piano work Danzas Argentinas, which are somehow both simple in expression and enticingly odd, particularly in their harmonic language. Dissonant notes and bitonal chord structures give these pieces a special rawness. In Danza de la moza donosa (Dance of the Graceful Girl), a lilting accompaniment pattern in the left hand, which could easily represent a guitar, keeps time for a sorrowful melody that ebbs and flows in intensity. Carefully placed “wrong” notes give extra pain to the tune’s nostalgic yearning. On the other hand, Danza del gaucho matrero (Dance of the Outlaw Cowboy) is a furious, perpetually moving dance whose melody eventually bursts through in a passionate flurry. Eruptions of offbeat rhythms, along with surprising shifts to major keys, give this movement incredible tension and unpredictability. In one second the music might shift from obsessive and concerned to ecstatic and open-hearted.

Chilean-American composer Javier Farias has received international acclaim for his wide variety of works for the guitar, from small, mixed chamber pieces to large guitar ensembles to concertos for the instrument. In his visceral, evocative work Andean Suite, Farias excavates ancient aspects of South American culture to paint vivid landscapes and subtle narratives, with the guitar as protagonist. About the two movements Huayno and Diablada on the program tonight, Farias writes:

The huayno comes from the Altiplano (“high plains”), a part of the Andean mountain chain that encompasses what is now the east of Bolivia, the center and south of Peru, the northeast of Argentina and the north of Chile. This sad, slow and lyrical rhythm is probably the most authentic form of Andean music and it represents a popular appreciation of shared ethnic cultures and has provided inspiration for composers of classical, popular and folkloric music alike for generations. Diablada is arguably the most renowned traditional dance of Bolivia and forms the main part of the Oruro Carnival. La Diablada is a fabulous display of heavy, colorful masks and elaborate costumes, and is accompanied by traditional musical instruments from the Andes, such as the zampoña (pan flute) and the quena (a vertical flute).

Italian composer and virtuoso cellist Luigi Boccherini composed over 100 string quintets, which featured the unusual instrumentation of an extra cello instead of an extra viola. The quintet on tonight’s program however, his Quintet no. 4 in D major nicknamed Fandango for its last movement, was written for added guitar, as it was commissioned by a guitar-playing Spanish nobleman. Leaning into the Spanish style, Boccherini even includes a castanet part.

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