Guitarist Pablo Villegas is now represented by 21C Media Group
21C Media Group is delighted to announce that it now represents Spanish classical guitarist Pablo Villegas, an “exceptional and gifted performer” (Classical Guitar magazine) whose expressive interpretations and “warm, beautifully rounded guitar tone” (New York Times) draw comparisons with such legendary exponents of his instrument as Andrés Segovia. Indeed, at just 15, Villegas won the Andrés Segovia Award, launching a succession of international competition wins including the Francisco Tárrega Award and Gold Medal at the inaugural Parkening International Guitar Competition. A champion of new guitar music, it was Villegas who gave the world premiere performance of Rounds, the first composition for the instrument by five-time Academy Award-winning composer John Williams. He is also the first guitarist to win El Ojo Crítico, Spain’s top classical music honor; as leading Spanish newspaper ABC observes, “The beauty of the execution, the musical rigor and the elegance of this young guitarist’s phrasing are those of the chosen few.” Over the coming months, in addition to a full European schedule, Villegas looks forward to U.S. engagements that include his debuts at the Kennedy Center and the Aspen Music Festival, a residency at the Cincinnati Symphony, a concerto appearance with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and his return to the Bellingham Music Festival.
The vehicle for the guitarist’s April 21 debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC is the premiere of “Tango, Song, and Dance.” This new multimedia chamber program will showcase his signature account of Joaquin Rodrigo’s sensuous Invocation and Dance, in which the San Francisco Classical Voice found that “the subtlety, passion, technical command, and dramatic flair that Villegas displayed made this the high point of the evening.” He will also partner German violinist Augustin Hadelich, recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, for Piazzolla’s L’histoire du tango and Falla’s Five Popular Songs; both works feature on Histoire du Tango, Villegas’s recent Avie Records collaboration with the violinist, which was named a “must-hear album” by NPR. Villegas and Hadelich will be joined by pianist Joyce Yang, a Van Cliburn silver medalist, for a rendition of Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, with which they will draw their program to an eloquent close. The multimedia recital will also feature lighting, designed, as director Edward Berkeley explains, to “enhance the story between the instruments…explore the emotional voice of each instrument…and explore the character and emotional message of each work.” Villegas reunites with Hadelich and Yang for two further presentations of “Tango, Song, and Dance,” first in Salida, CO on July 21, and then for his eagerly anticipated Aspen Music Festival debut on July 26.
Villegas and Hadelich also join forces for a residency at the Cincinnati Symphony (Feb 25–March 1), remaining in Cincinnati afterwards for “Strings of Passion” in the Linton Chamber Music Series, at which they reprise their celebrated take on L’histoire du tango alongside Villegas’s solo performances of works by Rodrigo and contemporary composer Roland Dyens (March 2).
Villegas’s previous U.S. orchestral collaborations include dates with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and Houston Symphony. When he served as soloist under the leadership of Alondra de la Parra at Alice Tully Hall’s sold-out Mexican bicentennial celebrations, the New York Times marveled at the “soulful rendition” of his solo encore. Now Villegas rejoins the conductor at the helm of the Las Vegas Philharmonic for Rodrigo’s beloved Concierto de Aranjuez (April 26).
The guitarist also returns to Washington State’s Bellingham Music Festival, for a residency that includes a solo recital (July 18) and a performance of Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto in D with the festival orchestra and Michael Palmer (July 20). It was at his previous appearance at the festival that Entertainment News NW reported:
“Villegas completely captivated the Bellingham Festival of Music audience. … [He] drew an instant standing ovation and the audience wouldn’t let him go until he had performed three encores. Legendary concerts like this should make you immediately sign up for tickets for next season.”
In addition to his performing career, Villegas presides over the Music Without Borders Legacy, which he founded in 2007 to bring music and art to at-risk children and youth. The foundation has succeeded in bringing classical music to more than 15,000 children to date, and currently funds six different music programs in schools in Tijuana, Mexico. Villegas discusses the Music Without Borders Legacy and its mission in a YouTube video, available here.
Details of Pablo Villegas’s upcoming engagements are provided below, and more information is available at his web site: www.pablosainzvillegas.com. High-resolution photos may be downloaded here.
Pablo Villegas: upcoming engagements
Feb 25–March 1
Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati Symphony
Residency
With Augustin Hadelich, violin
March 2
Cincinnati, OH
Linton Chamber Music Series
Chamber recital: “Strings of Passion”
Roland Dyens: Tango en Skaï
Rodrigo: Invocation and Dance
Piazzolla: L’histoire du tango (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
March 6 & 7
Pamplona, Spain
Rodrigo: Fantasia for a Gentleman
Navarra Symphony Orchestra / Juanjo Mena
March 8
Briones, Spain
Vivanco Foundation Kids’ Activities
Museum of Wine Culture
Private Event
March 13
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Recital
April 3
Teplice, Czech Republic
Villa-Lobos: Concerto
North Czech Philharmonic / Charles Olivieri-Munroe
April 6
Leipzig, Germany
Gewandhaus-Quartett
Recital
April 21
Washington, DC
Kennedy Center
“Tango, Song, and Dance”
Rodrigo: Invocation and Dance
Falla: Five Popular Songs (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Piazzolla: L’histoire du tango (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (with Augustin Hadelich, violin; Joyce Yang, piano)
April 26
Las Vegas, NV
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Las Vegas Philharmonic / Alondra de la Parra
May 8 & 10
Valladolid, Spain
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Orchestra of Castilla y León / Clemens Schuldt
May 11
Logroño, Spain
Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez
Orchestra of Castilla y León / Clemens Schuldt
May 15 & 16
Seville, Spain
Teatro de la Maestranza
Marco: Concierto del Agua
Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla / Yaron Traub
June 12 & 13
Bilbao, Spain
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra / Günter Neuhold
July 9–15
Gran Canaria, Spain
Justus Frantz Festival
Recital
July 18
Bellingham, WA
Bellingham Music Festival
Solo recital: Villa-Lobos, Pernambuco, Barrios-Mangoré, Morel, Dyens, Bonza, Jobim, Lara, Lauro
July 19
Bellingham, WA
Bellingham Music Festival
Lectures
July 20
Bellingham, WA
Vivaldi: Guitar Concerto in D
Bellingham Music Festival / Michael Palmer
July 21
Salida, CO
“Tango, Song and Dance”
Rodrigo: Invocation and Dance
Falla: Five Popular Songs (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Piazzolla: L’histoire du tango (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (with Augustin Hadelich, violin; Joyce Yang, piano)
July 26
Aspen, CO
Aspen Music Festival
“Tango, Song and Dance”
Rodrigo: Invocation and Dance
Falla: Five Popular Songs (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Piazzolla: L’histoire du tango (with Augustin Hadelich, violin)
Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (with Augustin Hadelich, violin; Joyce Yang, piano)
Aug 27
Thun, Switzerland
Bachwochen Thun
Recital
with Alexis Vincent, violin
www.facebook.com/PSainzVillegas
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© 21C Media Group, February 2014