Leonardo Balada

Leonardo Balada recently received the following commissions: Concerto for Three Cellos and Orchestra, by the Berlin (Germany) Radio Symphony Orchestra; the opera Faust-bal, a 21st century interpretation of “Faust,” in collaboration with surrealist playwright Fernando Arrabal, by the Teatro Real of Madrid, Spain; and Caprichos No. 4 for solo contrabass and orchestra, for the Pittsburgh (PA) Symphony Chamber Orchestra, by the Pennsylvania Arts Council. Naxos Records has released the 5th, 6th and 7th CD dedicated to the music of Balada. The fifth CD was recorded by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and includes Guernica, Symphony No. 4, Homages to Casals and Sarasate, and Zapata: Images for Orchestra. The sixth CD was recorded by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Comunidad de Madrid and includes the cantatas No-res and Ebony Fantasies. The seventh CD was recorded by the Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra and includes: Symphony No. 5 (American), Prague Sinfonietta, Divertimentos, and Quasi un Pasodoble.

Premieres

Violinist Andres Cardenes and the Pittsburgh (PA) Symphony Chamber Orchestra premiered Caprichos No. 3 (Homage to the International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War) on November 15, 2005. Symphony No. 6 (Dedicated to the Innocent Victims of the Spanish Civil War) received its premiere on February 24, 2006, by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra in Barcelona, Spain. Pamplona’s Chamber Chorus performed Voices No. 2, in Pamplona, Spain, while Caprichos No. 1 (Dedicated to poet Federico Garcia Lorca) was presented July 16 by guitarist Eliot Fisk and the Miro String Quartet in Austin, TX; the same ensemble performed the work on an autumn tour which included stops at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City; Carnegie Hall in Pittsburgh, PA; Yale University; Kingston-Rhode Island; and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Hungarian Chamber Symphony Orchestra introduced A Little Night Music in Harlem on November 18 in Budapest, Hungary.

Performances

The Seville Royal Symphony Orchestra performed Quasi un Pasodoble on November 25, 2005, in Cadiz, Spain. Cellist Michael Sanderling and the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic presented Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2 on May 27-28, 2006, in Neubrandenburg, Germany. Zapata: Images for Orchestra, was heard in performances on June 9-11, by the Sao Paulo Symphony of Brazil, under the direction of John Neschling. On November 20, the Orchestra and Chorus de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, presented Dionisio, In Memoriam.

Further Information

• SAI's Composers Bureau Online
• SAI's Music for Young People section