GARBIZU: Piano Music / Traditional Basque Songs and Dances

Featuring

Álvaro Cendoya
Tomás Garbizu

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Performer Biography

Álvaro Cendoya, the pianist, was born in San Sebastián to a Basque father and Iranian mother and studied with Tomás Garbizu at the San Sebastián Conservatory.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Tomás Garbizu, the composer, drew his inspiration principally from Gregorian chant and folk music, enriching melodies with twentieth-century techniques without losing musical balance.

Recording & Production

This recording was made at the Estudio l'Auditorium de Anacrusi from June 26th to 28th, 2003, with support from several Basque institutions.

Composer Biography

Tomás Garbizu, the composer, was a constant presence in the musical life of the Spanish Basque Country throughout the twentieth century, active as a composer, performer, and teacher.

Compositional Technique

Garbizu's Aurresku, a traditional Basque courtship dance, includes descriptive sketches of pirouettes, ascending runs of short notes, and imitations of the tamboril (small drum).

Compositional Technique

The final Allegretto of Garbizu's Bailes vascos (Basque Dances) uses chords to imitate the banging of sticks, reminiscent of traditional round dances.

Compositional Technique

Garbizu's Danzas vascas (Basque Dances) is a festive suite following the pattern of an ezpata-dantza (sword dance), featuring complex and spectacular piano writing, including passages bordering on bitonality.