At the Uppsala International Guitar Festival on 14 October, Francisco Coll’s new orchestration of his guitar concerto, Turia, was given its first performance at Uppsala Konsert & Kongress. Jacob Kellermann was the soloist and Christian Karlsen conducted – the two having commissioned both this new version and the original ensemble version. They were joined by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra.
The 18-minute guitar concerto takes its name from the dried-up river in Valencia which now hosts gardens, fountains, cafés, and even an opera house by architect Santiago Calatrava. Coll’s new version expands the original seven player ensemble to chamber orchestra size.
More information on the Uppsala performance here.
Kellermann and Karlsen released a recording of Turia last year with the Norbotten NEO on BIS. Listen to the recording on Idagio here.
‘Like Rodrigo, Coll was born in Valencia, and Turia is named after the dry river bed that snakes through the city. He describes it as “my most flamenco-coloured work yet”, and the five movements conjure up a series of vividly coloured impressions, in which the outlines of Spanish dances are never far beneath the surface. But those references are only starting points; Coll’s prodigious melodic and rhythmic invention, and his remarkable ear for colour, are dazzling enough on their own terms.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 14 January 2021
‘Broodingly dark and jubilantly earthy, flamenco fire one minute, funk stomping the next, here’s a work of continually arresting changing moods, pointed phrases and percussive timbres, fused together by [a] composer with [the] gift for catching and keeping our attention.’
The Times (Geoff Brown), 6 January 2021
'Turia is inspired by the dried-up river in his hometown of Valencia, which in a surreal way has been given a new life - with brutally steep throws between light and shadow. It is easy to see how the poet Lorca's "black rainbow" rises above this music.'
Dagens Nyheter (Martin Nyström), 6 December 2020