About this Event
An eclectic and unclassifiable musician, Luis de Arquer is one of those few artists who have managed to build a musical atmosphere that connects the current world with the classical forms from which it comes. A favorite student of the great pianist Alicia de Larrocha, composer, pianist and improviser, Luis de Arquer offers a renewed vision of the classical concert to an audience that is looking for deep but at the same time close and sincere music that moves them... but if you have already become a machine and you don't want anyone to access your emotions... do not go to hear his concerts live.
Luis de Arquer,
Born in Cerdanyola, a small summer town near Barcelona, and surrounded by a family of great artists, named Buigas. His Oncle was the creador of the Light fountains of Montjuic and his great grandfather the architect of the Columbus Monument in Barcelona. His father was a very important catalan painter. his passion for music was awoken at a very early age.
When he was only seven he was already improvising in public with such different styles as Bach and Chopin, captivating his audiences with his great musical imagination. His progress on the piano led him straight to the Granados-Marshall academy, a meeting place in the past for many renowned spanish musicians such as Granados, Falla, Albéniz and Turina, and specifically into the hands of the great concert player Alicia de Larrocha, who saw his special talent and supported him throughout his early career, where he would work alongside a variety of important figures of the like of Nikita Magalof and Xavier Monsalvatge.
Improvisation, a somewhat relegated genus in our times, was in times past the highest degree of artistic freedom. Employed by composers such as Beethoven, Granados, Chopin, Liszt and so many others, it uncovered the very interior of their styles, that more intuitive, profound interior.
Further fruit of improvisation are his written works, which include various works for piano, the CD Music for a Journey for piano solo, music for a number of short films, Hymns, the comic opera A Day with Vincent for chamber orchestra and four vocal soloists, and the soundtrack for the film Illegal's Symphony, CD Sinfonía de Ilegales. The last work by Luis de Arquer is the music for the poems by Miguel Hernández, one of the twentieth century's most beloved spanish poets. CD De Miguel a Miguel. He is the creator of his own style's name: Pop-Class!
The Smallest Theatre in the World
With over 14 years of successful concerts supported by 15.000 people and more than 700 fantastic reviews on one of Spain´s most renowned entertainment websites. This small but increasingly well-known concert space in Gràcia is a pioneer of the so-called ´Home Concert´. It has managed to perfectly combine the welcoming and intimate atmosphere of a 19th century house with the magic and authenticity that can be found when listening to a great artist playing live. ´Only Piano´, ´Not Only Piano´ and ´Improvisations´ are the recitals at which musicians and the public from every corner of the globe convene in search of the powerful impact and excitement, which the live music experience offers. To top it all off, the chance to chat with the artists over a glass of cava in the enchanting garden post-concert makes these musical evenings truly sensational, authentic and unique!!
PROGRAM 09/28th/2024 - 7:30 pm
St. John's Church, Fulham
F.Chopin
4 Valses
Op 64 N.1
Op 69 N.1
Op 64 N.2
Waltz in E Minor, Posth.
Andante Spianato & Gran Polonesa Brillante Eb Major
Scherzo n2 in Bb minor op.31
Free Improvisation
Luis de ArquerMusic for a Journey
Prelude
Behind the Hill
Morning
Spanish Sketch
The Happy Prince
Music for a Journey is the title of some of the improvisations that I listened to on a Walkman while traveling by train a few years ago and that I later turned into pieces.
each “piece” contains something essential for wich it was written and, since the composer is "alive", :-) I would like to explain to you where this music came from...
The Suite begins with a Prelude written in a tonality full of positivity “A Major” that leads us to Behind the Hill, music that tells the story of an unfullfilled love full of unforgettable memories…wich inevitably will be forgotten…thanks to the freshness of Morning wich brings new hope and peace. Spanish Sketch moves away in time and dreches us with the South of Spain, watter and orange blossom from a night train travelling through groves of olives trees…whilst The Happy Prince, (music based on the tale by Oscar Wilde), and his beloved swallow converse timidly until it becomes a messanger of the happiness that the Prince himself, as a statue, cannot bring those who need it most…
Improvisation on Three notes chosen by the public.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St John's Church, North End Road, London, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00