Guillermo Lago (b. 1960)
Guillermo Lago is musician Willem van Merwijk’s composing alter ego. At the age of 46 in the midst of a career as a performing musician and arranger he discovered this new way of expressing his musical ideas and step by step composing has become his mainstay.
Lago’s work is being performed all over the world, to be found on numerous cd’s and on streaming platforms. He receives commissions from a wide array of (chamber music) ensembles, orchestras, choirs etc. from both within the Netherlands and abroad. Yet he does not only compose on commission but also devotes time to compositions of his own wish, and - being self-taught - develop ideas in complete freedom.
Ciudades (2011-2015)
I. Córdoba (España) 0:08, 2011
II. Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (3:19), 2011
III. Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) (7:26), 2011
IV. Montevideo (Uruguay) (11:03), 2011
V. Köln (Germany) (13:58), 2014
VI. Tokyo (Japan) (17:32), 2015
Ciudades’ (Cities) is a series of musical sketches of cities that have a special meaning to Lago. It is a work in progress and Lago adds new sketches now and then. The various city portraits can be performed as a suite or as stand-alone pieces: when played as a suite the order of the movements can be decided freely by the performing quartet.
‘Córdoba’ (Spain) depicts the town in Andalucia where Lago and his musical friends busked in front of the famous ‘Mezquita’ in their student years, wandering through the south of Europe and travelling from one adventure to the other. Lago lost his heart to Córdoba.
‘Sarajevo’ (Bosnia and Herzegovina) is dedicated to Lago’s many friends in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the nineties of the last century the town was hit by a cruel civil war. In the beginning of this milennium Lago was invited to help re-establishing a saxophone class at the Sarajevo Academy of Music and together with ‘Musicians Without Borders’ and his friend Adnan Cico he founded the ‘Winds of Change’; Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first wind ensemble. A group of young musicians, each of them affected by the country’s recent history.
‘Addis Ababa’ is an energetic description of the capital of Ethiopia and inspired by Lago’s collaboration with the Ethiopian singer Minyeshu. They worked together at the famous New Year’s Concert by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in 2007.
‘Montevideo’ (Uruguay) is a tango ballad dedicated to ‘The Second Capital Of Tango’, often overshadowed by its brother town Buenos Aires at the other side of the Rio de la Plata.
‘Köln’ (Germany) was the first city outside of the Netherlands visited by Lago at the age of 8 and this movement circles around the river Rhine, the town centre and its cathedral and quotes J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue and breathes nostalgia. (2014)
‘Tokyo’ (Japan) is a song of amazement, energy, exoticism and joy. Japan’s capital was frequented by Lago on several tours with the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and the city never stops to intrigue him. (2015)
Córdoba, Sarajevo and Addis Ababa have been recorded by the Amstel Quartet, and later by quite a few other saxophone quartets worldwide.
At the request of the NDR Big Band and the Amstel Quartet Lago made versions of Addis Ababa and Córdoba for big band and saxophone quartet, and later adapted these two movements for Wind Orchestra and saxophone quartet on the request of the (Portuguese) Elle Quartet.
For the International Saxophone Week 2012 at Amsterdam Conservatorium Lago also made versions of Montevideo, Sarajevo and Addis Ababa for soprano sax, baritone sax and piano.
At the request of the NAKK (Nieuw Amsterdam Klarinet Kwartet/New Amsterdam Clarinet Quartet) Lago made versions for clarinet quartet of all Ciudades (Eb, Bb, bassethorn/2nd Bb, basscl)
- program note by composer
Instrumentation
for Saxophone Quartet
Performers
Fukio Ensemble
Joaquín Sáez Belmonte, soprano saxophone
Xavier Larsson, alto saxophone
Jose Manuel Bañuls, tenor saxophone
Xabier Casal, baritone saxophone
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1 окт 2024
