2020 Sonus International Music Festival. Celebrating Guastavino
October 22-28, 2020
This international 2020 online festival featured acclaimed international musicians in a series of seven concerts celebrating the life and performing music by Carlos Guastavino, on the 20th anniversary of his death. Our goal was to share his music with a worldwide audience, and to illuminate his art through a series of events, including concerts, interviews, and a live streamed panel presentation that focus on different aspects of his creation. These events were aired daily at the Sonus International Music Festival at the SONUS YouTube Channel and Facebook page, between October 22 and 28, at 8:00 PM, ET/USA. SONUS is a collective of international artists and seekers of beauty dedicated to the study, performance, and diffusion of the music of Carlos Guastavino, and the work of artists similarly inspired in folk traditions.
Scroll down for individual descriptions and videos
Carlos Guastavino, Messenger of Beauty: Unforgettable Meetings with a Master
Live Streamed October 22, 2020
An illustrated journey into Carlos Guastavino’s life, and the inspiration for his music and style. This first event will feature an interview with Nancy Roldan about her relationship and admiration for Carlos Guastavino, aspects of their correspondence, and of her research on his music and ideas. The program features performances of Bailecito & Gato by the Lester-Roldan piano-duo; Bonita Rama del Sauce by mezzo-soprano Solange Merdinian and pianist Gabriela Martínez; and Las Niñas by pianist Gila Goldstein.
A Sense of Place: Welcome to my Land
Live Streamed October 23, 2020
Guastavino had a gift for capturing the beauty and intimacy of daily life of his country. In La Siesta, he shares snapshots of three charming memories from an afternoon: a courtyard, a willow tree, and sparrows. The songs in Flores Argentinas are tender homages to flowers found in his homeland, some elegant and sophisticated, others plain and unpretentious. The program features La siesta, performed by pianist Andrew Gerle; and selections from the cycle Flores Argentinas performed by baritone Guillermo Anzorena and pianist Fernando Viani.
Guastavino in the World (Live International Panel Discussion)
Live Streamed October 24, 2020
Pianist Daniel Glover performs La Tarde en Rincón, an intimate love letter of Guastavino’s to the idyllic San José del Rincón in his native Santa Fe. The music preludes a live panel discussion about the universality of folk traditions and the importance of authenticity in Guastavino’s oeuvre. Panelists: Nancy Roldán, Solange Merdinian, Lilia Salsano, Alejandro Cremaschi, Jorge Villavicencio-Grossman, and Gabriella Cavallero, moderator.
10 Cantilenas Argentinas: Songs without words
Live Streamed October 25, 2020
Ten pianists perform the 10 Cantilenas Argentinas, a cycle considered by many to be one of Guastavino's highest achievements in piano composition. This masterpiece reveals the composer’s melodic gift, his mastery of harmony, and his intimate knowledge of counterpoint, framed in a language that speaks directly to the heart. Performers include pianists Salvatore Sclafani, Enrique Graf, Nancy Roldán, Andrew Gerle, Sanghie Lee, Pablo Lavandera, Fernando Viani, Joseph Kingma, Lilia Salsano, and Alejandro Cremaschi.
Capturing the Spirit: The Art of Story Telling
Live Streamed October 26, 2020
Guastavino often found inspiration in people – their stories, their feelings, their secrets, sensing messages sometimes hidden in their names. Today’s compositions show his uncanny ability to capture the essence of people and things in piano miniatures or in Art Song. The artists share their connection to the composer and his works in a program featuring selections from the piano cycle Mis amigos, performed by pianist Fernando Viani, and the song-cycles La edad del asombro and Seis canciones de cuna, interpreted by mezzo-soprano Solange Merdinian with pianist Pablo Lavandera. Pianist Alejandro Cremaschi closes the program with the Sonatina in G.
The Poetry of Music: Transcendence, with a touch of Folk. A Sonata after Dawn
Live Streamed October 27, 2020
To Guastavino, everything is poetry, with or without words. This recital features Canciones del Alba, or Songs of Dawn, four miniatures for voice and piano: and the magnificent Piano Sonata in C-sharp, a four-movement work where Guastavino molds folk materials into classical form, including a masterful fugue based on a folk song from the province of La Rioja, the only instance in his entire creation, where Guastavino quotes directly from a folk-song. Baritone Guillermo Anzorena and pianist Fernando Viani perform Songs of Dawn; Lilia Salsano performs the Sonata for Piano.
Romancing the Sound: Honoring Carlos Guastavino on the 20th Anniversary of his Death
Live Streamed October 28, 2020
Music, memories, and a book. Gustavo Ahualli, Director of the Latin American Music Center, talks with José Cueto and Nancy Roldán. The program features Guastavino’s first virtuosic piano piece and his final pieces for solo piano: Tierra Linda and Cantos Populares, performed by Nancy Roldán; and the composer’s two original works for violin and piano, Presencia No. 7 - Rosita Iglesias, and Llanura, featuring violinist José Miguel Cueto.