Spain / Vanessa Perez

Debussy / Perez Release Date: 02/12/2016

Label: Steinway & Sons Catalog #: 30036 Spars Code: DDD

Composer: Manuel de Falla , Claude Debussy Performer: Vanessa Perez , Stephen Buck Number of Discs: 1

Works on Recording
Notes and Reviews

Shimmering musical portraits of Spain by Manuel de Falla and Claude Debussy come to life through the vivid and stylish pianism of Vanessa Perez.

Album Credits:

Recorded November 24-25, 2014, and February 24, 2015 at Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce, Virginia.
Producer: Dan Merceruio
Engineer: Daniel Shores

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner
Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carasquillo
Photo: Maria-Grazia Facciolla
Piano Technician: John Veitch
Piano: Steinway Model D #590904 (New York)

Reviews:

"The main thing to note is that the piano is stunningly played and extremely well recorded. Venezuelan Read more pianist Vanessa Perez uses rubato frequently but subtly to emphasize the contours of the music, in both the lyrical and dance-like sections... To sum up: This is an enjoyable program, the music-making is vital, and Perez is clearly a musician of distinction."

-- Fanfare

"It's always so nice when someone figures out how to take warhorse repertoire and find a way to re-present it in a fresh way. First class classical pianist Perez reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century when de Falla first bought his Spanish music to France and Debussy wrapped his ears around it. She counter points the two of them in this program, with her virtuosity at the core, and brings it around to a whole that's greater than the sum of it's parts."

-- Midwest Record

The young Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Perez, a product of that country's famous music education system, has confidently traversed repertory from across the Iberian and Latin American worlds and has gained a good deal of attention in her adopted country, the U.S. With Spain, however, she tries something different: a close interrogation of the musical relationship between Manuel de Falla, the composer who arguably did the most to define the national image of Spain in music, and Claude Debussy, the Frenchman who both mightily influenced Falla and was in turn influenced by him. Sample Perez's reading of Falla's Homenaje: "Le tombeau de Claude Debussy" (track 14), which quotes from Debussy's own La soirée dans Grenade (track five), a work that influenced Falla profoundly, and you get an idea of the currents at work here. You might be able to find more slashing Falla or more atmospheric Debussy, but the program is strong and consistently executed. To make it work, Perez has to use a variety of Falla transcriptions, but you do get the rarely performed Fantasía bética (commissioned by Arthur Rubinstein) of Falla and the equally exotic Lindaraja (for two pianos) of Debussy. The Steinway label contributes fine sound from the Sono Luminus studio in Virginia to a satisfying outing from an exciting young artist.

-- AllMusic Guide

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