Revive

Performers

Notes on the performers

Manu Brazo is an innovative musician who is redefining the concept of classical music in the 21st century. He has been featured as one of the young talents of Spanish classical music in Melómano magazine, the most prestigious classical music publication in Spain. As one of the most influential names around the saxophone on social media, his videos have garnered more than 4 million views, captivating audiences worldwide.

Brazo’s unique sound, sensibility, and virtuosity have made him a sought-after performer, ranging from opening for Sir Cliff Richard and for the Downton Abbey TV series official concert, to solo performances in some of the world’s most prestigious music halls. He has performed at Philarmonie Berlin, the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera House, St Martin in the Fields, the Presidential Hall CSO ADA Ankara in Turkey, and the 2018 Proms alongside the Britten-Pears Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop. Recently, Manu received the Audience Award at the Prince’s Prize of the Musicians Company.

Brazo’s performances have been praised by critics, including Classic FM, where his first performance was rated as “amazing and 100% colossal.” He has been a guest on BBC Radio 3 In Tune on multiple occasions since he was named BBC’s Introducing Artist of 2018. Manu is an ambassador for Selmer Paris Saxophones, BAM Cases, Légére and Boox.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Manu recorded his first EP for solo saxophone: “SOLO DIALOGUE,” which was released in June 2020. It was showcased on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and Scala Radio. In September, he released his debut album, “FOLK-LORE,” with pianist Pepe Fernandez. The album mixes classical and popular music, featuring airs of flamenco and improvisations in a jazz-like style, breaking the boundaries between genres. Spanish folk music is represented by the popular tunes that the poet Federico Garcia Lorca compiled, which Manu and Pepe have adapted and rearranged to the sound of the saxophone and piano, with variations that range from baroque inspiration to that of the music of the twentieth century.Manu has also been active in entrepreneurship and speaking engagements. He has been a guest lecturer at Greenwich University, where he spoke about entrepreneurship, and a guest speaker at the Royal College of Music, where he shared his experience with social media.

Born in Seville, Manu started playing the saxophone at the age of 9. He studied in Spain before being accepted at the Royal College of Music, where he graduated with a Master in Performance and Artist Diploma with Distinction and won numerous awards. As a young musician, Manu has received support from Making Music (PDGYA), The Musicians Company, The Tillet Trust, Drake Calleja Trust, Concordia Foundation, and Talent Unlimited.

Claudia Gallardo, hailing from Los Barrios (Cádiz), embarked on her violin journey at the tender age of 5 at the International School of Algeciras. She pursued her Bachelor’s in Music at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Sevilla and recently completed her Master’s in Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, mentored by Jacqueline Ross. Claudia’s musical path has seen her collaborating with numerous youth orchestras in Spain, notably the Orquesta Joven de Andalucía,
where she held the position of concertmaster during nine consecutive years, including the 2015/2016 season. Her performances have been conducted by esteemed maestros like Michael Thomas, Arturo Tamayo, and Manuel Hernández Silva.

Claudia’s music has graced prestigious venues such as the Real Teatro de la Maestranza, Gran Teatro Falla, Barbican Concert Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall, St James’s Church Piccadilly, among others. She recently captivated audiences at the Perth Arts Festival in Scotland, the Newbury Spring Festival in Newbury, and the Claygate Arts Festival with Revive. Her dedication to her craft extends to learning
from acclaimed violinists like Axel Wilckoz, Mariana Todorova, Raquel Castro, and Kevork Mardirossia through masterclasses. Claudia currently balances her roles as an educator and a performer in variousorchestras and chamber ensembles.

Indonesian pianist Prajna Indrawati honed her Master of Performance degree in Collaborative Piano (2018) at the Royal College of Music under tutelage of Roger Vignoles, Kathron Sturrock, and Simon Lepper. Accompanying singers, she performed in many places in the UK, such as Victoria and Albert Museum, Royal Festival Hall, Holywell Room Oxford, Wigmore Hall, etc. She was awarded second
place for Accompanist Prize in “Brooks- van der Pump” English Song Competition and Joan Chisell Schumann Competition, Titanic Memoriam Award for accompanist in Lies Askonas Competition 2018 and Second Prize in the Chamber Music Category of the London Classical Music Competition 2022.
Prajna has attended Oxford Lieder Mastercourse programme twice in 2018 (with Soprano Joyee Cole) led by Wolfgang Holzmair and with a full support from Help Musician UK and Oxford Lieder in 2021 (with Soprano Sofia Livotov) led by Joan Rodgers. She had been featured by Classic FM, performed at Kings Place London, St. Martin in-the-fields, BBC Radio 3 “in Tune”, St. James Picadilly, Newbury Spring
Festival, Alderney Music Festival, etc; as well in Creete (Greece), Waterford (Ireland), Perth and Edinburgh (Scotland), and Seville (Spain). Together with Tenor Satriya Krisna (Opera North) and Soprano Sofia Livotov, she founded Tritala Ensemble, combining Western and Indonesian classical art songs which they have presented at the University of Leeds International Concert Series
and in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2023 and in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Since January 2023, Prajna has been a rehearsal pianist for Milton Keynes based Wolverton Gilbert and Sullivan Society and she accompanied them in their November 2023 production of “Jack The Ripper” the musical and in celebrating their 50th Anniversary last year’s November.

Programme

Programme notes

Pietro Mascagni

Cavalleria Rusticana

Cavalleria rusticana (‘Rustic Chivalry’) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play by Giovanni Verga. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on 17 May 1890 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. Since 1893, it has often been performed in a so-called Cav/Pag double-bill with Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Source: Wikipedia

Manuel de Falla

Spanish Dance from La Vida Breve

La vida breve (‘Life is Short’) is an opera in two acts and four scenes by Manuel de Falla to an original libretto by Carlos Fernández-Shaw. The complete opera is seldom performed today, even though its importance in the context of opera in Spanish is recognised and it was programmed for the reopening of the Teatro Real in 1997. However, its orchestral sections are often performed, especially the act 2 music published as Interlude and Dance, which is popular at concerts of Spanish music. (Fritz Kreisler in 1926 arranged for violin and piano the dance from this pairing under the spurious title Danse espagnole.)

Source: Wikipedia

Isaac Albéniz

Sevilla

Sevilla is a composition by Isaac Albéniz from his Suite Española No. 1. Albeniz premiered Sevilla himself in a piano performance on 24 January 1886 and dedicated it to the wife of Count Morphy. Since it has been transcribed for classical guitar it has become one of the most important works of the classical guitar repertoire. It has been played and recorded by guitarists such as Julian Bream and John Williams and many others. It is generally played in the key of G major.

Source: Wikipedia

Béla Bartók

Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68, BB 76

1. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
2. Brâul (Sash Dance)
3. Topogó / Pe loc (In One Spot)
4. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
5. Román polka / Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
6. Aprózó / Mărunțel (Fast Dance)

Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, BB 68 is a suite of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB 76.

It is based on seven Romanian tunes from Transylvania, originally played on fiddle or shepherd’s flute. Its title was originally Romanian Folk Dances from Hungary but was later changed by Bartók when Transylvania became part of Romania in 1920. It is nowadays available in the 1971 edition which is written with key signatures although Bartók rarely used key signatures.

Source: Wikipedia

Max Bruch

Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola & Piano Op.83 (selection)

1. Andante
2. Allegro con moto
3. Andante con moto
4. Allegro agitato
5. Rumänische Melodie: Andante
6. Nachtgesang: Andante con moto
7. Allegro vivace, ma non troppo
8. Moderato

In the realm of chamber music, Bruch is not well known, although his “Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano” are occasionally revived, there being very little other music written for this rare combination of instruments. As with Brahms and Weber who produced clarinet compositions with a particular clarinetist in mind, so did Bruch write these trios for a particular clarinettist, his own son Max. We have listed all eight pieces, of which the ensemble will perform a selection.

Source: Wikipedia

Pedro Iturralde

Memorias

Pedro Iturralde Ochoa (1929 – 2020) was a Spanish jazz saxophonist, teacher and composer. “Memorias” (Triptico) is a piece for soprano saxophone or clarinet and piano, with a musical journey through Portuguese fado, swing, boogie-woogie, and Algerian folk music.

Source: Wikipedia

Vittorio Monti

Czardas

1. Andante – Largo
2. Allegro vivo
3. Molto meno
4. Meno, quasi lento
5. Allegro vivace
6. Allegretto
7. Monto più vivo

Czardas is a rhapsodical concert piece by the Italian composer Vittorio Monti. Written in 1904, the folkloric piece is based on a Hungarian csárdás. It was originally composed for violin, mandolin, or piano.

Source: Wikipedia