|
1 CD
✓ in stock |
€ 19.95
|
Buy |
| Label Signum Classics |
UPC 0635212066423 |
Catalogue number SIGCD 664 |
Release date 19 March 2021 |
Signum’s first disc with Rodrigo Ruiz highlights the Mexican composer’s musical and literary passions, in performances by world-class soloists Kerenza Peacock, Huw Watkins and Laura van der Heijden.
Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Ruiz has attracted commissions from a number of leading artists, with both the opening Violin Sonata and ‘A Riveder Le Stelle’ commissioned by Kerenza Peacock for this recording. The second work is a duo for violin and piano that is accompanied by poetic quotations from Canto XXXIV of Dante’s ‘Inferno’.
The booklet notes include an interview with the composer by Jessica Duchen, who describes how the programme “clearly shows Rodrigo´s roots in the traditions of Beethoven and Brahms, but with individual twists that clearly indicate we are in fact on new territory”.
Born in England in 1997 as the youngest daughter of a Dutch father and a Swiss mother, Laura van der Heijden’s first public performance as a cellist was at the age of nine with the Jupiter Chamber Orchestra. From 2005 to 2014 Laura was a student at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, and since 2008 has been studying with the renowned British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov. In October 2016 Laura began her Bachelor’s Degree in Music at St John’s College, Cambridge, while continuing to perform during her term breaks.
Laura has already made a name for herself as a very special emerging talent, captivating audiences and critics alike with her insightful and faithful interpretations. Having won many prizes and awards from an early age, her breakthrough came in 2012 as the overall winner of the BBC Young Musician Competition, with a “mesmerising” performance of Walton’s Cello Concerto with Kirill Karabits and the Northern Sinfonia at The Sage, Gateshead. She was soon invited to appear with many leading UK orchestras, such as the Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, European Union Chamber and English Chamber orchestras. In September 2014 Laura was awarded the Landgraf von Hessen Prize at the Kronberg Academy’s prestigious international masterclasses. In 2015, the London Mozart Players named her their first ever Young Artist in Residence. A year later she was chosen by the Orpheum Stiftung in Switzerland, a foundation encouraging and assisting exceptionally talented young instrumental soloists. Under this umbrella she appeared in recital with Fazil Say at Zürich Tonhalle in September 2016.
In the past few years, Laura has given her debuts in Holland, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the opening concert of the inaugural BBC Proms Australia, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Laura participated in the 2017 “Cello Unwrapped” series of concerts at Kings Place London, performing the Schumann cello concerto with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
Hailed as ‘an astonishing composing talent’ (Apple Music), Rodrigo Ruiz’s music, streamed in 150 countries in the five inhabited continents of the globe, fills a void left by most new music. This ‘unabashedly tonal’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘impeccably crafted [music]’ (Apple Music), instantly appeals to musicians and audiences alike, but doesn’t wear after repeated listening. Perhaps this explains why it is in high demand amongst top artists and ensembles around the world.
Rodrigo’s award-winning compositions are published by Universal Edition, with recent commissions coming from soprano Grace Davidson, violinist Kerenza Peacock, violist Ismel Campos, and Mexico’s National System of Musical Endowment (SNFM). His works have been performed in three continents by world-class musicians and ensembles the likes of Huw Watkins MBE, Laura van der Heijden (BBC Young Musician Award 2012), Christopher Glynn (GRAMMY® Award Winner), Francesca Chiejina, Jocelyn Freeman, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Alison Farr, Massimo Spada, José Miguel Rodilla, Iván del Prado and Rodrigo Sierra Moncayo, to name a few.
As part of Signum Classics star-studded artist roster he made his debut in 2021 on the Billboard Classical Charts with his album Behold the Stars, which quickly positioned itself as iTunes UK № 2 Bestseller, and iTunes US № 3 Bestseller; it was included in Apple Music’s Top 10 Albums of the Month, and given a stellar review (★★★★) from BBC Music Magazine.
In 2002, just shy of 14 at the time, the Mexican composer won the State of Baja California’s Outstanding Composition Award at the Second Piano Biennal Competition. In 2008, still in his teens, he became the first generation of Young Artist Fellows at Talentos Artísticos: Valores de Baja California, a programme of Mexico’s Cultural Institute of Baja California (ICBC).
Rodrigo holds a Bachelor of Music cum laude in Piano Performance from Lawrence University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he was the recipient of the merit-based scholarship of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, studying under Kenneth Kiesler. He then spent five years specialising in composition under the eminent Francesco Telli of the Conservatorio Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. Later, through the generous help of the prestigious Joseph Campbell Scholarship, he attended the intensive Mythological Studies programme at Pacifica Graduate Institute during 2020/21.
Besides composing, Rodrigo conducts —he was assistant conductor in Naxos Records’ recording of Milhaud: L’Orestie d’Eschyle, nominated for the 2015 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Opera Recording— and writes about music and mythology. He is fascinated by literature and languages; he speaks fluent Spanish, English, French and Italian, as well as some German.
Play album
