2021 Festival

    Alberto Urroz

    Piano, Director Festival | España / Spain

    Acclaimed Spanish pianist Alberto Urroz is a solo artist, also active as chamber and vocal collaborator, who has delighted audiences and critics throughout Europe, Asia and America.

    A successful debut in 2008 at New York’s Carnegie Hall boosted his international career, been commissioned by important cultural institutions such as the Prado Museum, Madrid National Auditorium, Conde Duque Auditorium, the Santander and Peralada International Festivals, the Royal San Fernando Fine Arts Academy, the Juan March Foundation, the Cervantes Institute in Berlin, Lisbon and Manila, Festival Percusos and Festival Terras Sem Sombra in Portugal; the Music Talent Festival in Brescia, Italy; the German Embassy in Madrid; the Las Canals, Binic and Hyères Festivals in France; the Iberian Foundation for Spanish Music, La Maison Française (NYU) and the Georgia State University in USA; the Italian Culture Institute in Madrid, Lisbon and Strasburg, etc. He has performed  in such halls as the Madrid National Auditorium, Conde Duque Cultural Centre, Museo del Prado Auditorium, Palacio de Festivales de Santander, the Gayarre Theatre, the Baluarte Auditorium, the Weill Recital Hall and Elebash Recital Hall (NY), Salle du Munsterhof (Strasburg), Bolivar Hall (London), the Sejong Center (Seoul), Kopleff Recital Hall (Atlanta), the Oslo Music Academy, the Amsterdam Conservatory, the Tel Aviv Philarmonie, the CCP (Manila), etc.

    Mr. Urroz’s discography includes his first solo album “Spain Envisioned”, “Scarlatti Sonatas” and “Brahms Complete Violin Sonatas” on Ibs Classical label and “Pauline Inspired: melodies by and for Pauline Viardot” with mezzo Laure de Marcellus on Centaur Records.

    Alberto Urroz is Founder and Artistic Director of the Mendigorria International Music Festival in Spain. President of EPTA Spain, he was appointed EPTA European President in 2021. Dr. Urroz was granted an honorary award to the best Doctoral Thesis for his dissertation “Optimization of the didactic-learning process of piano technique” (UAX, 2017) and he is piano professor at Alfonso X University and Arturo Soria Conservatory in Madrid. He has also been cofounder and Artistic Director of the I Madrid Shigeru Kawai Piano Competition. He studied at Madrid Royal Conservatory, Tel Aviv University and in NYC with Joaquín Soriano, Pnina Salzman, György Sándor and Oxana Yablonskaya.

      Beñat Erro

      Clarinete | España / Spain

      Beñat Erro Díez is a young basque clarinettist. Born in Pamplona, he has been playing the clarinet since the age of six. At the age of 11, he auditioned and started his studies at the Professional Music Conservatory “Pablo Sarasate”, from which he graduated in 2019 with his End of Degree Extraordinary Prize. During his time there he achieved feats such as winning the “Fernando Remacha Chamber Competition”, or receiving an Honourable Mention in the Silverstein Global Clarinet Contest (SGCC 2019). In 2019, Beñat auditioned at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he was offered a place and a scholarship; he is currently completing his undergraduate course at the School. His three main clarinet mentors have been Mikel Juaniz, José Ángel Cabezón, and Andrew Webster, but he has also been greatly influenced by renowned teacher José Luis Estellés.

      Furthermore, he has attended masterclasses led by many other international clarinetists and pedagogues such as Martin Fröst, Michael Collins, Andreas Sunden, Burt O’Hara, Yehuda Gilhad or Andrew Marriner. Beñat is currently a finalist in the Guildhall School Clarinet Prize, and he is also a member of the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE).

          The Matosinhos String Quartet

          Cuarteto de cuerdas - String quartet | Portugal

          Acclaimed as a “singular case of excellence in the portuguese musical scene” (Diana Ferreira, in Público, 2010), the Matosinhos String Quartet (MSQ) was created by the Matosinhos City Hall through a public audition, and since 2008 the has been enjoying a residency and concert season in this portuguese city.

          In the 2014-15 season the MSQ was nominated as one of the ECHO Rising Stars, and therefore toured some of the most important european concert halls, such as the Barbican Centre in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Hambourg, Cologne and Luxembourg Philarmonies, the Konzerfhaus in Dortmund, the Megaron in Athens and the Palace of Arts in Budapest. The MSQ also plays regularly in Portugal’s most important concert halls, such as the Casa da Música, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Centro Cultural de Belém, and colaborates with leading portuguese musicians, such as Pedro Burmester, António Rosado, Miguel Borges Coelho, António Saiote, Paulo Gaio Lima, and Pedro Carneiro.

          The MSQ has been commited to championing the portuguese string quartet repertoire, having performed and edited many lesser-known works and embracing new music by contemporary composers: the MSQ has premiered more than 20 new works. The other main artistic goal of the MSQ is being fulfilled with the performance of the core string quartet repertoire during its concert seasons in Matosinhos: the complete works of Mozart and Mendelssohn for string quartet were already performed, and cycles by Haydn, Beethoven and Shostakovich are ongoing.

          The MSQ and its members were awarded prizes at the most important national musical competitions such as the PJM National Radio Music Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition “Cidade de Alcobaça”. All members studied at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra (Lisbon) and perfected their art at various prestigious school, including the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia (Madrid), Northwestern University (Chicago) and Sion Conservatory (Switzerland). The quartet also had specialized training at the Instituto Internacional de Musica de Cámara de Madrid, where they studied with Rainer Schmidt (violinist of the Hagen Quartet). They also attended masterclasses with members of leading string quartets, such as the Alban Berg, Lasalle, Emerson, Melos, Vermeer, Kopelman and Talich.

            Ensemble Rayuela

            Saxophone quartet | Spain, Japan & Italy

            The Ensemble Rayuela was founded at the Paris Conservatory, upon the meeting of four saxophonists and a pianist.

            The members of the ensemble are originally from different countries (Spain, Italy and Japan), whose rich cultural combination helps them to connect with other musicians and composers and the propitious encounters lead to the exploration of new musical styles.
            The Ensemble Rayuela performed in the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez at the Philharmonie de Paris as part of the festival “Prélude aux concerts.” They also performed at “Automne musical grand Châtellerault”, “Les concerts de

            l’Epau”, “Festival Européen Jeunes talents”, “Saison musical aux Invalides” and “Festival Paseo”. The Ensemble also participated in the XVIII World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia.
            Their first album, “Tableaux” was recorded under the label DUX, with music written by Modest Mussorgsky arranged by David Walter and original works which are dedicated to this ensemble by Alex Nante and Benoît Sitzia.
            Rayuela obtained the Master degree of Chamber Music with the first prize and congratulations from the jury under the guidance of David Walter at the Paris Conservatory.

            The Ensemble Rayuela has received prizes from international competitions including the “First Prize” and “Jury Prize” at the 91st edition of the Léopold Bellan Competition.

            They are sponsored by Henri Selmer of Paris, D’Addario Woodwinds, JLV Sound, the Société Générale Mécénat Musical and the Collège Contemporain.

              Harrison Herman

              Pianist | Australia

              Originally from Sydney (Australia), born in 1995 and based in Madrid from an early age, he began his musical studies at the age of eight with Laura Díaz and continued with Javier Gómez Dólera at the Integrated Music Center “Padre Antonio Soler” (CIMPA), where he graduated with honorable mention in his specialty. At ten he is awarded with the first prize in the Hazen Intercentros piano competition in Madrid and two years later, with the second prize in the Antón García Abril competition. In 2013 he acceded to the upper grade conservatory of music of Castellón, where he began his studies with maestro Leonel Morales.
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              Recently Harrison Herman has been awarded with first prize at La Rioja international piano competition, the second prize in the prestigious Third Shigeru Kawai International Piano Competition in Tokyo (2019), the fourth prize in the Grand Prix Internationale de Piano de Lyon (2019), the first prize in the Amparo Fandós contest ( 2019) and the first prize in the competition Shigeru Kawai City of Madrid (2019), where he also won the EPTA award for the best interpretation of an 18th-century Spanish work and the recording of a CD, sponsored by Kawai Spain and Drax Audio.
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              With a Master’s degree in interpretation, Harrison has more than 30 national and international awards, including the first prizes in piano competitions: Compositores de España, CIPCE (2018), Ciudad de Leganés (2017), Cidade de Ferrol (2016 ), accompanied by the special prize for the interpretation of Spanish music, María Herrero (2016), etc.
              In just one month in 2016, he won the highest award in three of the international piano competitions held in the Valencian community: Ciutat de Xátiva, Ciutat de Carlet and Gabriel Teruel Machí.

              Since he debuted at the age of ten at the National Music Auditorium, Harrison Herman’s growing concert activity has led him to perform offering solo concerts and recitals in prestigious venues, inside and outside Spain, such as the Iturbi hall of the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Luis Galve hall of the Zaragoza Auditorium, the Teatro Jofre in Ferrol, the Centro Center of the Cibeles Palace, the Teatro Juan Bravo in Segovia, the Auditorio Joaquín Rodrigo in Las Rozas, Granada in its different halls and venues including the Manuel de Falla auditorium, Salle Debussy in Lyon, the Metropolitan Municipal Concert Hall in Adana (Turkey), St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square (London), the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan auditorium in Japan, the Lijsterbes room in Kraainem (Belgium), etc.
              His professional career has led him to play with important orchestras (Virtuosos de Madrid on several occasions, Kurkova State Symphony Orchestra, Galician Symphony Orchestra, etc.) under the direction of masters such as Mariusz Smolij, Enrique García Asensio, Melani Mestre, Emin Guven Yaslicam, Marc Moncusí, Guillaume Berney, etc. He has also received master-classes from renowned interpreters and teachers worldwide such as Pavel Gililov, Leonel Morales, Josep Colom or Alexander Kandelaki among others.

                Laure de Marcellus

                Mezzo soprano | Suiza / Switzerland

                Laure de Marcellus’ velvety timbre and riveting stage presence delight both critics and audiences. She honed her craft at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. She made her celebrated debut as CARMEN at the Fêtes de Genève and appeared as Dalila SAMSON ET DALILA for the Opéra Studio of Geneva’s 20th Anniversary, and for the Gabriel Fauré Festival in Annecy. She sang Brangäne in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE with the Norddeutches Philharmonie conducted by Peter Leonard.

                At the Deutsche Oper, she sang such diverse roles as Maddalena RIGOLETTO with Mikhail Jurowski, Grimgerde DIE WALKÜRE with Christian Thielemann, Smeton ANNA BOLENA, Mérope OEDIPE staged by Götz Friedrich who also directed her in his final production, AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS; Third Lady DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, Flora LA TRAVIATA. Miss de Marcellus appeared in Berlin’s nationally televised anual gala for AIDS research under the baton of the late Marcello Viotti with Sumi Jo and Ramon Vargas. Other roles in Miss de Marcellus’ repertoire are Eboli, DON CARLO, Orsini LUCREZIA BORGIA, Fricka DIE WALKÜRE, Waltraute GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, Erda RHEINGOLD, Federica LUISA MILLER, Sesto CLEMENZA DI TITO and Orlofsky DIE FLEDERMAUS. Her early roles include the title role ORFEO E EURIDICE and Eustazio RINALDO.

                Her collaboration with pianist Alberto Urroz is becoming a regular feature at Navarra’s Mendigorría Music Festival. After appearances in San Francisco, New York and Geneva, they have recently recorded an album of previously unrecorded romantic melodies around the figure of the extraordinary mezzo soprano and composer of Spanish roots Pauline Viardot García which will come out at the end of the year. Her broad concert repertoire includes oratorios from VERDI REQUIEM to lesser-known works such as César Franck’s RÉDEMPTION or Britten’s NOAH’S ARK which she performed with Jun Märkl for Radio France. She has performed concerts in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Germany. She appeared in Beethoven’s 9th at Serbia’s Nomus festival and sang the Messiah with the Singapore Symphony.

                Laure de Marcellus was born in Geneva, Switzerland, studied at the Zurich Conservatory and in Tel Aviv where she obtained a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance Summa Cum Laude. Miss de Marcellus went on to New York to study with Mignon Dunn and Munich with Josef Loibl. She currently works with Jorge Pita Carreras. She won many prizes and scholarships, including the Migros Scholarship in Switzerland and the American Berlin Opera Scholarship.

                  Luis Fernando Pérez

                  Pianist | Spain

                  Praised for his virtuosity, his colorful playing and his extraordinary and rare capability to comunicate straight forward to his public, Luis Fernando Pérez is considered to be one of the most excepcional artists of his generation and “The Renaissance of Spanish Piano” (Le Monde).

                  Applauded unanimously by the world critics and owner of numerous prizes as the Franz Liszt (Italy) and the Granados Prize-Alicia de Larrocha prize (Barcelona), Luis Fernando is owner too of the Albeniz Medall, given to him for his outstanding interpretation of Iberia, considered by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the four mythical” (together with those of Esteban Sanchez, Alicia de Larrocha and Rafael Orozco).
                  Luis Fernando belongs to this rare group of outstanding musicians who have been taught by legendary artists; with Dimitri Bashkirov and Galina Egyazarova, students of the great Alexander Goldenweiser – following a straight tradition after Liszt´s considered best student Siloti- further on with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and with the great spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha and her assistant Carlota Garriga in the Marshall Academy in Barcelona. It is precisely in the Marshall Academy beside Larrocha where he specializes in the interpretation of Spanish Music, obtaining his Masters in Spanish Music Interpretation and where he also works all piano of Federico Mompou with his widow, Carmen Bravo. He has received also continuated lessons and masterclasses from great artists as Leon Fleisher, Andras Schiff, Bruno-Leonardo Gelber, Menahen Pressler, Fou Tsong and Gyorgy Sandor.

                  He has collaborated with numerous orchestras as the Spanish National Orchestra, Montecarlo Filharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Filharmonia Baltycka, Enemble Kanazawa (Japan), Real Filarmonía de Galicia, OBC (Barcelona), BOS (Bilbao), Ensemble National de Paris, Brasil National Orchestra…and together with great conductors as Ros Marbá, Georges Tchitchinadze, Kazuki Yamada, Jesús López Cobos, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Dimitri Liss, Paul Daniel, Rumon Gamba, Carlo Rizzi, David Lockington.

                  Luis Fernando tours worldwide and is currently invited in festivals such as Richter Festival, La Roque D´Anthéron, Granada International Festival, Santander International Festival, Quincena Donostiarra, Musica-Musika (Bilbao), Schleswig-Holstein Festival, La Folle Journee in Japan, Nantes, Warsaw, Ekaterinburg, and halls such as New York Carnegie Hall, United Nations, New York University, Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), Auditori de Barcelona, Palacio Euskalduna (Bilbao), Salle Gaveau (Paris), BOZAR (Brussels), Flagey Musique´3 Festival, Warsaw Filharmonic, MUPA (Budapest), Dom Musiki &Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Moscow), Saint Petersburg Filharmonic, Tokyo Opera City, Forbiden City Beijing, Shangai…He also keeps an intense activity as chamber musican collaborating with collegues such as Marta Gulyas, Gerard Caussé, Leticia Moreno, Momo Kodama, Casals Quartet, Bartok Quartet, Ardeo Quartet, Enesco Quartet, Modigliani Quartet and Adolfo Gutierrez Arenas.

                  Despite his youth, Luis Fernando has an extense catalogue of recordings which have received numerous prizes. All his records are “Disco Excepcional” from the spanish magazine Scherzo. He is currently artist of the french label Mirare. His “Goyescas” from Enrique Granados won the Diapasson D´or and the Choc of the year of the Classica magazine. Recently his record dedicated to the music of the spanish composer Federico Mompou, has received the Fortissimo prize by Télerama and 5* of Diapasson. He has just recorded his new álbum, dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninoff which will be presented this next autum.

                  Together with his concertising frenetic activity, Luis Fernando keeps an intense dedication to teaching at the Centro Superior Katarina Gurska (Madrid) and the Marshall Academy in Barcelona – following the wake of his teacher Alicia de Larrocha. He is also Piano & Chamber Music Masters teacher at the Conservatorio Superior de Aragón (Zaragoza) as Guest Professor in the Tokyo Senzoku University.

                    Teresa Valente

                    Violonchelo | Portugal

                    Teresa Valente Pereira was born in Lisbon. She studied cello with Maria José Falcão, before joining Paulo Gaio Lima’s class and graduating with honours as an orchestral musician. Immediately after she entered the cello class of Natalia Shakovskaya and the chamber music class of Rainer Schimdt at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid, where she received the Best Cello Student and Best Chamber Music Group award in 2003. Supported by the Gulbenkian and Carolina’s Foundations as well as the german DAAD, she continued her studies with Christoph Richter at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen. Encounters with great musicians such as Walter Levin, Ferenc Rados, Xavier Gagnepain and Emmanuel Hieaux helped shape her musical personality. She has received numerous accolades in the course of her career, including awards at the Estoril and Júlio Cardona International Competitions, the Portuguese Young Musicians Award, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture’s Ribeiro da Fonte Best Newcomer Award, and Critics’ Choice and Palau de la Musica Awards. She is regularly invited to perform as a soloist with orchestras such as the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra or the Bilbao Symphony Orhestra. She performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls and is regularly invited to play in important festivals such as Estoril Festival, Dias da Música, Festival d’été Mosan or Musiké in Durham. She made the first ever recording of Armando José Fernandes’ Sonata with pianist Bruno Belthoise and regularly plays for the RDP – Antena 2 radio. Presently she is a principal cellist at the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra combining an intense chamber music activity as a founder member of the Pangea Trio and invited cellist of other ensembles.

                        Vadim Tchijik

                        Violin | Francia / France

                        Prize-winner of many prestigious international violin competitions such as N. Paganini Competition in Genoa, P.I.Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, R. Lipizer Competition in Gorizia and winner of Juventus Award (France). He has performed with Moscow Symphony Orchestra, North Nederland Symphony Orchestra, Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Kharkov Philharmonic Orchestra, Freiburg Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra di Teatro di Genova, Yaroslavl Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulianovsk Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Musica Vitae Chamber Orchestra and many others.

                        He has performed in such great halls as Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Theatre du Châtelet, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Concertgebow in Amsterdam, Dvorak Hall in Prague, Big Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscou, Suntory Hall and Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tokyo, Philharmonie in Cologne and Konzerthaus in Freiburg. He is often invited to participate in Festival Radio France and Montpellier, Pablo Casals, Nancyphonies, Guebwiller, Festival of St-Riquier, Fetes Romantiques de Nohant, Young Artists Festival in Los Angeles, Semaines Musicales de Tours.

                        Vadim gives recitals all over the Europe, USA and Asia. He plays chamber music with Pieter Wispelwey, Emmanuel Pahud, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Marielle Nordmann, Philippe Bernold, David Geringas, Marielle Nordmann, Philippe Bernold, Cedric Tiberghien, Marc Coppey, Alexander Melnikov, Alban Gerhardt, Michel Lethiec, etc.
                        Born in November 1975, he started to study the violin at the age of six and gave his first concert at eight. He graduated from Tchaikovsky Central Music School in Moscow, National Superior Conservatory of Music in Lyon and High Conservatory of Music in Cologne, always with the highest honours.

                        He is also an Artistic Director of the International Music Festival in Hyeres, “Les Musicales de Saint-Martin” and gives master classes in Europe and in Asia.