José Menor in concert in Los Angeles

Pre-eminent Spanish virtuoso pianist José Menor makes his Los Angeles debut at Jacaranda’s 15th Season Finale.

Regional Accents: Three Generations of Spanish Music

• On Saturday, May 19 at 8 pm. Buy tickets.
• Sanctuary series: a pre-concert conversation with Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, at 7 pm.
• José Menor (piano), Michael Kudirka (guitar), and Gloria Cheng (harpsichord), celebrate three generations of Spanish music, performing works by composers Manuel de Falla, Roberto Gerhard, and Tomás Peire Serrate. As part of Jacaranda’s Sanctuary series of pre-concert conversations, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz discusses the changing political environment in Spain, and how it is affecting arts and culture.

Goyescas by the Sea

• On Sunday, May 20 at 4 pm. Buy tickets.
• Pianist José Menor performs the complete Goyescas by Enrique Granados. Gramophone named Menor’s album Goyescas among the “best new classical albums of 2017;” and hailed him as “a committed champion of the music of Spain, a gift to his country’s culture.”

About José Menor

José Menor is an artist who defies labels. Recognised as “the great ambassador of Spanish music” by Melómano Magazine, and as a “revolutionary of his instrument” (Hèctor Parra), he is both an acclaimed interpreter of core piano repertoire, and a sought-after performer of new music. His performance of Goyescas by Granados was declared “magnificent” by Martha Argerich, and was released in July 2017 on the IBS Classical label.

2016 saw him on a worldwide tour to commemorate Granados’ 100th anniversary, with performances at Carnegie Hall, Meet in Beijing’Arts Festival in China, the Progetto Martha Argerich in Switzerland and St John’s Smith Square in London amongst many others. He was also the Resident Pianist in Granados’ birthplace (Lleida), where he performed most of his solo and chamber works.

Menor is established as a prime interpreter of contemporary piano. His debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) in London performing Albéniz’s Concierto Fantástico was highly acclaimed by the international press and launched a series of performance premieres. As a concerto soloist, he has appeared with orchestras including the Wuhan Philharmonic (China); Montevideo Philharmonic (Uruguay); Redlands Symphony Orchestra (USA); Wroclaw and Bydgoszcz Philharmonics (Poland); Sinfónica de Xalapa (México); and major orchestras in Spain including RTVE, OBC, Simfònica del Vallès, JONDE and JONC. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with numerous artists, including Philip Setzer (Emerson Quartet), Ransom Wilson and Alexander Sitkovetsky. His performances have been broadcast worldwide.

As a composer himself, his output includes orchestral works, chamber music, songs and piano music. In 2017, Menor was commissioned by the Centro Nacional de Difusión Musical to compose and premiere a piano étude, New Crossroads, and then performed it in a live broadcast on Spanish national radio. Forthcoming engagements include Messiaen’s Vingt Regards at the Festival de Arte Sacro in Madrid; an appearance in the Orchestre Nationale de Lille 2018 concert season; Goyescas at Klassik Festival Momentum in Germany; and the premiere of Hèctor Parra’s piano concerto in 2019. Further recording projects include the complete works by Parra (Aparté label, France), among others.

About Jacaranda

Jacaranda is a series of intimate concert adventures into the realm of new and rarely-heard classical music designed to awaken curiosity, passion and discovery. Based in Santa Monica since 2003, Jacaranda was immediately hailed by LA Weekly as “the right music in the right place at the right time.” More than a decade later, LA Weekly named Jacaranda Best Contemporary Classical Series in 2016: “Wonderfully un-stodgy curation by Jacaranda founders Patrick Scott and Mark Alan Hilt and performances by acclaimed and expert musicians make for ear-cleansing dives into bracingly new music composed largely by living composers, as well as unplayed-to-death music of the past century.”