Spain— Vanessa Perez, piano (Steinway 30036)
March is Women’s History Month, so we’ll be featuring accomplished and acclaimed women artists throughout the month on WCLV, including on most of our Choice CDs. Spain features Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Perez, whose mother actually dissuaded her from becoming a concert artist, playing music by Manuel de Falla and Claude Debussy in Spanish sound portraits. After Falla arrived in Paris in 1907, Debussy became a close friend and mentor, and his influence runs through Falla’s music. Falla’s Homenaje (homage) to Debussy, written is response to the French composer’s death in 1918, is on this disc, along with Debussy’s La soirée dans Grenade (which is quoted in Homenaje). Many of Falla’s most popular works are here including music from The Three-Cornered Hat, El amor brujo and La vida breve. Ms. Perez says she found inspiration to record Falla’s music after an extended trip to the 2013 Chopin Festival in Mallorca.
Featured Tue 3/1, Thu 3/10, Mon 3/21, Wed 3/30