Javier Perianes & Estrella Morente
Biographie Javier Perianes & Estrella Morente
Javier Perianes
Awarded the ‘National Music Prize’ in 2012 by the Ministry of Culture of Spain, Javier Perianes has been described as “a pianist of impeccable and refined tastes, blessed with a warmth of touch.” (The Telegraph) His international career already spans five continents – with concerts ranging from London’s Royal Festival Hall to New York’s Carnegie Hall; Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées to Berlin’s Philharmonie; Moscow Conservatory’s Great Hall to Suntory Hall Tokyo.
Highlights of Perianes' 2015/16 calendar include concerts with Wiener Philhamoniker, Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Orchestra of St. Luke’s (Carnegie Hall), as well as a month-long-tour of orchestras in Australia and New Zealand.
During 2014/15 Perianes made prestigious debuts with the Orchestre de Paris, Washington National and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras and BBC Scottish Symphony. Meanwhile conductor collaborations past and future include Daniel Barenboim, Charles Dutoit, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Daniel Harding, Yuri Temirkanov, Jesús López Cobos, Sakari Oramo, Juanjo Mena, Pablo Heras-Casado, Josep Pons, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Robin Ticciati, Thomas Dausgaard and Vasily Petrenko.
Perianes records exclusively for harmonia mundi. His most recent album recorded with the Cuarteto Quiroga pairs the Granados and Turina Quintets for the first time. Previous releases for the label include a selection of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, Schubert’s Impromptus and Klavierstücke, Manuel Blasco de Nebra’s keyboard sonatas, Mompou’s Música callada, ...les sons et les parfums which focuses on works by Chopin and Debussy, and Moto perpetuo - a selection of Beethoven’s sonatas. Songs without Words, a selection of piano works by Mendelssohn released in November 2014, has received unanimous critical praise and Perianes’ recording of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain and selected solo works received a Latin Grammy Nomination. Of his live recording of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo, Gramophone noted: “It takes a brave man to record the Grieg Piano Concerto… But the young Spanish virtuoso Javier Perianes’ performance is of such a fearless and arresting brilliance that it virtually erases memories of the past.'
Estrella Morente
was born in Granada. She is the eldest daughter of the legendary Enrique Morente and the dancer Aurora Carbonell. She grew up surrounded by flamenco and has since become one of Spain’s most sought-after performers.
Prestige venues and events, both in Spain and overseas, have hosted Estrella’s concerts, among these; Konzerthaus Vienna, Theatre Carré Ámsterdam, Parco Della Musica Roma, Oslo International Festival, Suds à Arles, Helsinki World Music Festival and Voix de Femmes, Brussels. In 2011 she visited South America and headlined the Festival de Buenos Aires and Santiago a Mil.
Recently, she recorded De Falla’s “El Amor Brujo” with the Spanish National Orchestra, under the direction of Mº. Joseph Pons. She has sung with the top orchestras across Spain and Catalunya.
Estrella has won many awards including the Premio Ondas and was nominated for a Grammy for best flamenco recording. Her recordings have reached platinum status. After five years since the release of “Mujeres” (EMI), her new album “Autorretrato” (EMI) was launched last October. The record includes collaborations by Michael Nyman, Pat Metheny, Ketama and Vicente Amigo, among others.
She is a fervent admirer of La Niña los Peines, Camarón de la Isla, Marchena, Vallejo, and of course, her father Enrique. Lola Flores, María Callas and Montserrat Caballé have all influenced Estrella’s approach to singing.
In spite of her youth, she has sown the seeds of her art and her musical gifts across the globe. She is blessed with a pure, crystalline vocal timbre and moves easily between warm, seductive tones and raw, expressive phrases.
Estrella possesses a profound knowledge of her art as well as innate musical taste. She has become a point of reference for aficionados and newcomers to flamenco singing, combining the early influences of her native Granada with the latest tendencies in the flamenco of the new millennium
She has adhered to simple and untainted song-forms and her singing is neither pure nor orthodox, but contains that edge of personality that makes for a true revolution in the best tradition of flamenco Cante.
