This picture was taken in Hillsborough CA on March 22, 2014. I played
principally a Spanish repertory in a beautiful outdoor setting. The pieces
included were Pavana I (Milán), Intro. and Variations on the Magic Flute
(Sor), Homenaje (Falla), Torre Bermeja (Albéniz), Asturias (Albéniz),
and Fandango (Rodrigo). Many thanks to SF Arts Collective and Amanda Perez for inviting me to play.
You might ask why have I posted an interview on Regino Sáinz de la Maza (1896
Burgos- 1981 Madrid). There are many reasons.
In the first place, he was one of Daniel Fortea's (1878-1953) most outstanding
students. It's important to remember that Fortea's maestro was Francisco Tárrega
(1852-1909) composer and virtuoso guitarist who laid down the foundations for
20th century classical guitar, and is considered to be the "Paganini" of the modern
guitar due to his many technical and musical contributions.
In addition to this, Regino taught my current maestro Domingo Carbajal.
Also Sáinz de la Maza has earned a mark in history by playing the premiere of J.
Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez (1940); Rodrigo dedicated the concerto to
Regino.
At the end of the interview you can watch him interpret a piece by Fernando Sor
(Minuet Op. 15).
These exercises for both hands start off with the right. Once these are learnt then
continue on with the left, finally adding both hands. The formulas and arpeggios for
the right hand will be played over a 4-note CM7 chord (and it's inversions). D. Carbajal once told me in class, "the right hand should be considered as a
string quartet..." (thumb or p: the chello; index or i: the viola; middle or m: violin 2;
ring finger or a: violin 1). "Protagonism among the 4 instruments changes and
varies depending on the musical circumstances of a particular piece." That means
we have to be able to find the right balance avoiding the bass strings to"drown out"
the treble strings.
This is the first of various technique exercises I'll be posting dedicated to, in this case, the major scale. I recommend doing the exercise first with the left hand only, then working on open strings with the right hand using 2, 3, or even 4 fingers for each group of 16th notes. See exer. 2 (i=index, m=middle, a=ring finger p=thumb). Dynamics, tempo, accenting and musical phrasing are all important variables that should be worked on and undergo experimentation.
This F major scale is one of many exercises my maestro Domingo Carbajal taught me. I've reached the conclusion that it's much more important and practical to practice one scale many different ways rather the practicing many different scales only one way. This rule of thumb should be applied to the scales found in music pieces we are learning or practicing. It's a good idea to change the rhythm, dynamics, fingerings, etc. and then work on it as written.
This extraordinary Romanian-born conductor studied in Romania and later in Paris and Berlin, excelling in various disciplines (math, philosophy, piano, composition and conducting). At the age of 33, Sergiu was already conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra til 1952. After he worked with radio orchestras in Stockholm, Stuttgart and Paris. From 1973-75 he was the primary permanent guest conductor of the French Orchestre National and in 1979 he became the director of the Munich Philharmonic, which he made one of the best in the world. Celi was also considered to be an outstanding maestro giving master courses on orchestral conducting in Siena (Accademia Musicale Chigiana), Germany (Mainz University) and at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, PA. He had many great students and among them were Regino Sáinz de la Maza, D. Carbajal, D. Barenboim, etc.
Christian Laremont was born May 6, 1969 in Caracas Venezuela. From early childhood he was deeply responsive to the sounds of both popular Venezuelan instruments (the cuatro, harp and maracas) and folkloric music (Joropo, Calypso, etc.). At the age of four he moved to the U.S. where he lived in Florida and New York. In 1987 he moved to Madrid, Spain where he started and completed his formal music studies at the Conservatorio Superior de Música "Padre Antonio Soler" (El Escorial, Spain) obtaining a B.A. in Guitar Performance (Título Superior de Guitarra) under the supervision of Jose Carlos Baños (semi-finalist in the prestigious International Guitar Contest "Francisco Tárrega") in 2002. His repertoire includes music from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Contemporary time periods. He has attended master classes with Enrique Blanco (Composition), Demetrio Ballesteros (Guitar Performance), and studied intensely over the course of six years perfecting his technique and musicianship with Domingo Carbajal (disciple of Regino Sainz de la Maza and Sergiu Celibidache). Apart from this, he has a B.A. in Media of Communication (1994) from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid. Christian currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where he intends to demonstrate his personal playing style and ability as well as teaching music.The move to California is what inspired him to make a video (recorded by Brian Hallett in Madrid, July 2013) with interpretations from the likes of Luis de Milán, J.S. Bach, Manuel de Falla, Heitor Villa-Lobos and the Venezuelan Antonio Lauro.
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