Josu de Solaun - winner of the 2014 George Enescu International Piano Competition

Photo by Norman Vega

The great news is in; but Josu de Solaun does not feel comfortable boosting his ego, publically: “I don’t believe in posting about myself on facebook, but I do believe in my music making,” says the Spanish pianist, now 33, modestly, upon returning from his 1st prize win at the distinguished Enescu competition in September 2014. An important step in a pianist’s career, the competition is known to facilitate putting pianists, as eminent as Radu Lupu (winner of its 1967 competition), on the international performance map. Inaugurated in 1958, the competition takes place every three years and is renowned for its critical stance; in its 2011 installment, it did not reward its stamp of excellence to any pianist. But despite all of the honors, de Solaun stays down to earth and true to himself, immersed in his daily practice routine, relating the instrument’s technical demands to the many layers of exploration that go into expressing its musical soul: “This is what I do best,” he says, “it’s a lifelong commitment, which I am so happy to be able to immerse myself in.” And one can see that this latest acknowledgement of his pianistic chops only fuels his already great, artistic enthusiasm - with more opportunities to share his love for the piano, on stage. The prize includes participation at the 2015 Ravello Festival and a sleuth of international performances with international orchestras, to follow. Josu de Solaun performs a program of classical Spanish piano repertoire with works by Granados and Albéniz at GetClassical’s series at ZincBar.

Program: As a Mediterranean journey though his own, Spanish heritage Josu de Solaun depicts an elegant and refined program, evocative of its distinctively savory nostalgia and romantic flavor. The description of his own, early piano music by the composer, Isaac Albeniz, as:”…the music of color, of intense sunlight, of the flavor of olives. This music of my youth appears to me like the carvings in the Alhambra, those peculiar arabesques that say nothing with their turns and shapes, but which are like the air, like the sun, like the blackbirds or like the nightingales of its gardens,” pertains aptly to the voluptuous arches of reminiscences, woven through the entire concert’s core.

Enrique Granados (1867 – 1916)

Valses Poéticos (Poetic Waltzes) Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor (Plaints, or the Maiden and the Nightingale)

Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909)

Córdoba Granada Zambra Granadina Torre Bermeja Cádiz Rumores de la Caleta Malagueña Pavana Capricho Mallorca Zaragoza