Description
Xavier Montsalvatge's music enriched Catalan culture throughout the second half of the twentieth-century, and he remained one of Spain's leading composers. This overview of his orchestral music begins with excerpts from his ballet Manfred, which reveal the important influence of Stravinsky. The ingenious Bric à brac is his last orchestral work, written when he was 81 and premièred by the forces who perform it on this recording. The mainly orchestral Simfonia de Rèquiem is one of Montsalvatge's most important and well-known works.Montsalvatge's music covers a wide range of styles and forms but he is partial to French models and to colour and rhythms, not least Caribbean ones. In this disc an overview of his orchestral music is given through three specific pieces.Víctor Pablo Pérez was appointed principal conductor and artistic director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Comunidad de Madrid from the 2013-2014 season.