Conducted by Jaume Santoja and with Daumats Liepins playing the piano, the programme includes the premier 'Alen' by Eduardo Soutullo  

 

The Symphony Orchestra of Tenerife (OST) is a project of the Island Council’s Department of Culture which is directed by Enrique Arriaga. This new season concert will offer a look at Russian music through two composers who were contemporary of each other but had different aesthetics: Rachmaninov and Stravinsky. 

The programme is rounded up with the premier 'Alen', work which was distinguished with the '10th Prize to Musical Composition' awarded by AEOS-Fundación BBVA. On Friday, the 4th of June at 7:30 pm, Jaume Santoja will conduct this concert sponsored by the foundation ‘Fundación Jesus Serra’, with the pianist Daumants Liepins, winner of the María Canals 2019 Competition. 

With his music, the Galician composer Eduardo Soutullo (Vigo, 1968) will guide the audience to the surroundings of Monte Seixo (Pontevedra), where the Porta do Alen is located. According to beliefs, through this megalithic monument, one could access another dimension.

The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) is one of the most difficult to tackle as a soloist. Although it is impossible to separate his figure, his works and his outstanding performing talent, his four keyboard concerts are linked to recalled emotions, the passionate longing for what has been lived and longed for; all of it is aligned with the late romantic tradition of the 20th century.

The composition “The Firebird” in its suit version from 1919 by Igor Stravinski (1882-1971) was premièred just seven months after Rachmaninov premièred his concert. Although this composer was routed in post-romanticism, Stravinsky emerged as an icon of modern art. He gave his best in orchestral music with choreographic works such as the one included in our programme. This score is Diaghilev's first commission for the Russian Ballets in Paris. It is a great symphonic poem by the composer to announce a new harmonic language from which he produced three orchestral suites. The most common of the three will be performed in this concert.

The Valencia-born director Jaume Santonja is currently working for a second season as an assistant conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony. He has combined his activity as a percussion soloist with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra with that of conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Milan Verdi Symphony Orchestra, the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra and the Antwerp Youth Orchestra. In Spain he has conducted the ORTVE, ADDA-Simfònica, Extremadura, Córdoba, Sinfónica de Asturias and the JONDE. 

His first steps in music were as a percussionist, and as such he has performed under the direction of Mariss Jansons, Daniele Gatti, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Valery Gergiev, Pierre Boulez, Andris Nelsons, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Charles Dutoit and Essa-Pekka Salonen. In the case of Jaume Santoja, conducting and composing are activities that cannot be split. Apart from being an arranger, he has a small number of his own creations, especially for chamber music, another of his passions.

The young Latvian Daumants Liepins was the winner of the ‘Vendome Prize at the Verbier Festival 2019’. He is also one of the most promising pianists of his generation. In 2017 he won the Grand National Music Prize of Latvia in the ‘Young Artist of the Year’ category. It is the most prestigious award for a classical musician in his country. He also won the first prize and the special prize of the public at the ‘International Music Competition Maria Canals (Barcelona) 2019’ and the First Prize of the ‘Nordic Piano Competition’. 

In addition to regular solo recitals on various stages around the world, Daumants has performed with several symphony orchestras, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, the Romanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian National Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets can be purchased until two hours before the concert on the website www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m, except on holidays. The audience is requested to arrive at the venue well in advance to enter the Auditorium in staggered "waves" to enjoy this cultural experience. 

By purchasing tickets, you accept the measures implemented by the cultural centre to combat COVID-19, such as the correct use of masks and the attendance at the event only with people you live with. All of the measures, as well as the contingency plan certified by AENOR, can be consulted on the Auditorium’s website.