Sierra: Sinfonía No. 4, Fandangos & Carnaval Nashville Symphony Orchestra & Giancarlo Guerrero

• 1 Fandangos 11:07
• 2 I. Moderamente rapido 06:53
• 3 II. Rapido 06:13
• 4 III. Tiempo de bolero 05:24
• 5 IV. Muy rapido y ritmico 04:44
• 6 I. Gargoyles 03:54
• 7 II. Sphynxes 04:21
• 8 III. Unicorns 06:20
• 9 IV. Dragons 03:00
• 10 V. The Phoenix 03:38
• Total Runtime 55:34

Info for Sierra: Sinfonía No. 4, Fandangos & Carnaval

Over the last decade the music of the Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra has become internationally admired, and this has led to prestigious commissions and performances around the world. Fandangos was heard at the BBC Proms in London and employs a harpsichord work attributed to Antonio Soler as a departure for a richly inventive orchestral fantasy. The dramatic Sinfonía No 4 was described by ArtsNowNashville as ‘a textbook example of how this composer breathes new life into old forms. The piece is basically a classic Germanic symphony imbued with Spanish sensibilities and reinvigorated with new harmonies and rhythms.’ Robert Schumann is subtly evoked in Carnaval, five character pieces that explore mythical creatures, both menacing and serene.

„Naxos produces some of their best results in Nashville, and here everyone is on top form. Guerrero galvanizes the orchestra to play with all the requisite style and brilliance, and the music itself is both substantial and fun. I fervently hope we will see more Sierra from these forces. (Phillip Scott, Fanfare)

„Roberto Sierra’s music is fun. However self-conscious his Spanishisms may be…he has forged a personal style at once original, and approachable. Fandangos borrows music by Boccherini, Soler, and Scarlatti and uses it to create a colorful contemporary take on the Fandango of old. If you know the pieces to which Sierra refers, you will enjoy the music all the more, but you certainly don’t need to know anything at all to get the full experience. It’s all done with good taste and a light touch, and as with the other two works the performances by the Nashville Symphony under Giancarlo Guerrero sound very confident. The engineering captures Sierra’s brilliant scoring while maintaining good balances and textural clarity…“ (David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com)

Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor

Recorded live in Laura Turner Hall, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Engineered by Gary Call
Produced and edited by Tim Handley

The Nashville Symphony
has established an international reputation for its recordings and innovative programming. With 140 performances annually, the orchestra is the largest performing arts nonprofit body in the state of Tennessee, offering a broad range of classical, pops, jazz and family programs, along with extensive community outreach efforts. One of the most active recording orchestras in the country, the Nashville Symphony has received far-reaching acclaim for its numerous recordings on Naxos. These recordings have received a total of fourteen GRAMMY® nominations and seven GRAMMY® wins, including two for Best Orchestral Performance – one awarded to Joan Tower’s Made in America (Naxos 8.559328) and the other to Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony (Naxos 8.559635). Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the home of the Nashville Symphony, opened in September 2006. Notable for its remarkable acoustics and distinctive architecture, this 197,000-square-foot facility has become an integral part of cultural life in Music City and is regarded as one of the finest concert halls in the United States.

Giancarlo Guerrero
is Music Director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and concurrently holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra Miami Residency. In 2012, he led the Nashville Symphony to a GRAMMY® win with their recording of American composer Joseph Schwantner’s Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (Naxos 8.559678). His previous recording with the orchestra of Michael Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony (Naxos 8.559635) won three 2011 GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Orchestral Performance. As a guest conductor he has appeared in Europe with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and in North America with the orchestras of Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver, and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Also in demand in Central and South America, he conducts regularly in Venezuela with the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, with which he has had a special relationship for many years. Guerrero holds degrees from Baylor and Northwestern universities. He was previously Music Director of the Eugene Symphony in Oregon. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. Prior to his tenure in Minnesota, he served as Music Director of the Táchira Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela.

Booklet for Sierra: Sinfonía No. 4, Fandangos & Carnaval