Welcome to the Barcelona Festival of Song!

PROGRAM

Alonso Mudarra  (1510 – 1580): Fantasy which imitates the harp in the  style of Ludovico

Mateo Albeniz (1755 - 1831): Sonata in D

Napoleon Coste (1806 - 1833): Two Concert Etudes                      
Scherzando, no. 8, op. 38              
Allegretto, no. 11, op. 38

José Lezcano: Suite ¨From Havana to Miami” (2010)        
Un habano y mojito           
Bolero Manaba
El Cubanazo

Agustìn Barrios Mangorè: Vals op. 8,     no. 4    in G major

José Lezcano: Cadenza from Concierto Cubanero (2011)    
Federico Moreno Torroba: Madroños                              
Roland Dyens:Tango en Skai                           
Marco Pereira:Choros de Juliana, Num Pagode en Planaltina                   



Dr. José Manuel Lezcano
Described by the New Millennium Guitar Magazine as "a superb guitarist as well as a first-rate composer and arranger," twice Grammy-nominated guitarist and composer José Manuel Lezcano has delighted audiences on four continents with performances praised for "soulful ambience" (Bridge Guitar Reviews) and "effortless technique and rich characterization." (The State, S.C.)
His programs featuring traditional and Latin American repertory, and his own original compositions have taken him as recitalist, collaborative musician, and concerto soloist from Carnegie Recital Hall and the North-South Consonance Series in New York City, to music festivals and prestigious concert halls abroad. In his travels to Spain, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Europe, and China, he has served as a musical ambassador for Keene State College and the State of New Hampshire.
Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1960, Lezcano has taught Latin American Music, theory, and coordinated guitar studies on the faculty of Keene State College since 1991, where he is Professor of Music. He earned degrees from Peabody Conservatory (BM), University of South Carolina (MM), and Florida State University (Ph.d. music theory).  Jose's teachers have included Josè Costa, Juan Mercadal, Aaron Shearer, and Christopher Berg; and masterclasses with Brouwer, Barrueco, Lorimer, and Isbin.  José has earned numerous awards, including first prize in the MTNA National Guitar Competition, the NH State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, NHMTA Composer of the Year (2002 & 07), KSC Distinguished Research Award, and a Fulbright Award to Ecuador where he performed as orchestral soloist and pursued research on indigenous guitar traditions. Jose's scholarly publications include Latin American Music Review, Soundboard, and the Latino Encyclopedia. He has lectured throughout the state for the NH Humanities Council on South American guitar traditions.
Dr. Lezcano's first Guitar Concerto (2004), which he premiered in New York City as soloist with the North-South Consonance Chamber Orchestra, received critical acclaim after release on the North-South label in 2007 as "Remembrances/Recuerdos." For his work on the CD, Jose received two Grammy nominations and was semi-finalist for "Best Contemporary Composition" (for his Guitar Concerto) and "Best Performance, Soloist with Orchestra" (for his solo performance in the Concerto).   Dr. Lezcano's second concerto for his instrument, "Concierto Cubanero," was commissioned by North-South Consonance especially for a May 2011 world premiere in New York City with Max Lifchitz conducting the North-South Chamber Orchestra.
His works are published by Alry and Mundoarts (www.mundoarts.com). More recently, Jose’s Viola Concerto received New York premieres with the Astoria Symphony and soloist Brett Deubner, and he was commissioned by the Boston Guitar Society and Meet the Composer / New England in 2010 to compose a work for guitar orchestra and narrator (“So the poet will be heard: Homage to Victor Jara”) for Festival 21.