CLASSICAL MUSIC - 30 of the Best

Barcelona native Leonardo Balada’s creative style has been labelled ‘Dalí’s surrealism in music’ – an aspect of his work explored in this programme through the technique of ‘sound transformation’ in which abstract musical materials become familiar melody. Fusing traditional and contemporary elements, Caprichos Nos. 6 and 7 engage intimately with Spanish culture and history, while the virtuoso Double Concerto, heard here in an arrangement for flute, clarinet and piano, blends well-known Mexican folk tunes with the composer’s distinctive avant-garde style. The Naxos label has been releasing recordings of the music of Leonardo Balada for many years now, and his profile has achieved a level at which each new disc is greeted with much interest and healthy sales figures in the contemporary music genre. This particular recording also promises wider circulation in being related to Ivan Ivanov’s book Leonardo Balada and Surrealism in Music to be published by Routledge. This is aimed towards teaching surrealism in Universities as well as being of interest to wider audiences. The new release will be used as an example on the music analyzed in the book, but will also be attractive worldwide because of the international status of surrealism in art.