José Navarro-Silberstein's solo piano album Vibrant Rhythms is released by GENUIN Classics. The album, launched on 8 September 2023, includes music by Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, Marvin Sandi and Schumann.
'Vibrant Rhythms is seventy minutes of musical intensity and great pianistic quality. A master seems to be growing up here. ' Alain Steffen, Pizzicato, 7 Sep 2023
'Schumanns Davidsbündlertänze gelingen ihm beeindruckend ausdrucksstark und packend, mal frisch, mal grüblerisch, aber immer sehr natürlich. Tolles Debüt!'
Arnt Cobbers, Klassik Festival, 23 October 2023
Arnt Cobbers, Klassik Festival, 23 October 2023
'Ginastera, Villa-Lobos und Sandi öffnen uns eine fremde und faszinierende Welt, die Lebendigkeit und Rhythmik der lateinamerikanischen Musikkultur. All das beherrscht der Pianist mit außerordentlicher Virtuosität, er trifft den spezifischen Charakter dieser Musik.' Florestane Croche, Pianist, Ausgabe 4/2023
'The album's title only tells part of the story - there are atmospheric, reflective and even
wistful moments here too. Navarro-Silberstein is the master of all Latin American moods, playing with both feeling and real flair.'
Jeremy Pound, BBC Music Magazine, November 2023
wistful moments here too. Navarro-Silberstein is the master of all Latin American moods, playing with both feeling and real flair.'
Jeremy Pound, BBC Music Magazine, November 2023
'An impressive solo debut from a pianist worth seeing.'
Jed Distler, Classics Today, 3 November 2023
'... und der Anschlag dieses hochbegabten Pianisten veredelt jeden Takt dieser zuweilen etwas verträumten, aber kompositorisch hervorragenden Musik mit ihren vielen pianistischen Herausforderungen.'
Helmut Peters, PianoNews, November/Dezember 2023
'The performances captured on the release, many of them calling on his virtuosic command, suggest there's nothing the pianist isn't capable of taking on.'
Ron Schepper, Textura, January 2024
Ron Schepper, Textura, January 2024
'The rhythms of Latin America (and a fair measure, too, of sunshine-and-shadow South American Impressionism) are brought to life in an album of piano music, performed by José Navarro-Silberstein. The 20th-century Argentinian composer, Ginastera, opens the collection – his suite of dances offering a range of moods from an Allegro rustico, to a dreamy atmosphere (in the fourth movement) – Calmo e poetico. Lovers of the sunny Brazilian classicism of Villa-Lobos will luxuriate in the colours of the composer’s Ciclo brasileiro ... all captured by the impressive sound-engineering of the Genuin record label.'
Stuart Millson, Quarterly Review, April 2024
Stuart Millson, Quarterly Review, April 2024
José Navarro-Silberstein writes about Vibrant Rhythms: 'From time immemorial, dance has played a fundamental role in each civilization and belongs to the everyday life of diverse cultures. The development from folk to artistic dances is also reflected in particular forms of instrumental music. Each instrument shades and articulates dance differently.
Although the resulting keyboard music from the Middle Ages to modern times does not necessarily encourage dancing, the stylized “hybrid” becomes something very new and exciting. The pieces are characterized by a richness of alternating pulses, rhythms, and polyrhythms that intermingle with harmony and counterpoint. This album is a collection of piano works composed in this spirit, resulting in a colorful blend of contrasts.
I have taken the liberty to combine Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze Op.6 with various 20th-century works from South America. Despite different zeitgeist and traditions, imagination and conciseness unite these 31 short pieces. While none of the pieces is characterized as a specific dance form, it is possible to surmise the influences.'
Although the resulting keyboard music from the Middle Ages to modern times does not necessarily encourage dancing, the stylized “hybrid” becomes something very new and exciting. The pieces are characterized by a richness of alternating pulses, rhythms, and polyrhythms that intermingle with harmony and counterpoint. This album is a collection of piano works composed in this spirit, resulting in a colorful blend of contrasts.
I have taken the liberty to combine Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze Op.6 with various 20th-century works from South America. Despite different zeitgeist and traditions, imagination and conciseness unite these 31 short pieces. While none of the pieces is characterized as a specific dance form, it is possible to surmise the influences.'
Album Details
Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983), Suite de Danzas Criollas, Op. 15 (1946)
1. Adagietto pianissimo
2. Allegro rustico
3. Allegretto cantabile
4. Calmo e poetico
5. Scherzando – Coda: Presto ed energico
Marvin Sandi (1938–1968), Ritmos panteísticos, Op. 1a (1958)
6. de la roca...
7. de la luz...
8. de la luna…
9. del sexo…
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959), Ciclo brasileiro W 374 (1936/37)
10. No. 1 in G-Flat Major, W 374 ‘Plantio do caboclo’
11. No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, W 374 ‘Impressões seresteiras’
12. No. 3 in C Major, W 374 ‘Festa no sertão’
13. No. 4 in A Minor, W 374 ‘Dança do índio branco’
Robert Schumann (1810–1856), Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 (1837)
14. Lebhaft
15. Innig
16. Mit Humor
17. Ungeduldig
18. Einfach
19. Sehr rasch
20. Nicht schnell
21. Frisch
22. Lebhaft
23. Balladenmä ßig – Sehr rasch
24. Einfach
25. Mit Humor
26. Wild und lustig
27. Zart und singend
28. Frisch
29. Mit guten Humor
30. Wie aus der Ferne .
31. Nicht schnell
Bolivian pianist José Navarro-Silberstein performs throughout Europe, USA, and South America. Venues vary from the Teatro Municipal “Alberto Saavedra Pérez” in La Paz, his hometown, to the Vienna Musikverein.
As a soloist, he has performed with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Georgian Philarmonic Orchestra, La Paz Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta de Jóvenes Musicos Bolivianos and Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Santa Cruz de la Sierra with conductors including Timothy Redmond, Markus Frank, Wojciech Rajski, Andreas Penninger. He is a prize winner at the Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition in Düsseldorf, Tbilisi International Piano Competition in Georgia, International Competition Young Academy Award, Rome and the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition in Chile. He was a finalist at the Eppan Piano Academy and at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition.
As a soloist, he has performed with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Georgian Philarmonic Orchestra, La Paz Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta de Jóvenes Musicos Bolivianos and Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Santa Cruz de la Sierra with conductors including Timothy Redmond, Markus Frank, Wojciech Rajski, Andreas Penninger. He is a prize winner at the Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition in Düsseldorf, Tbilisi International Piano Competition in Georgia, International Competition Young Academy Award, Rome and the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition in Chile. He was a finalist at the Eppan Piano Academy and at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition.
In Bolivia he gave masterclasses in La Paz Conservatory, Sucre Conservatory Santa Cruz Fine Arts College and Laredo School in Cochabamba, and served as a jury member in national music competitions.
He was mentored by Paul Badura Skoda, who has inspired a particular interest in period instruments. He studied with Balasz Szokolay at the Franz Liszt University in Weimar and with Claudio Martínez Mehner at Cologne's University of Music and Dance. Currently he is on the Royal College of Music's Artist Diploma programme in London, studying with Norma Fisher and Ian Jones.
He recieved scholarships from Royal College of Music, Herrmann Foundaiton Liechtenstein- Bolivia, Theo and Petra Lieven Foundation of Hamburg, Clavarte Foundation in Bern and Elfrun Gabriel Foundation for Young Pianists, and since 2022, is supported by Talent Unlimited. From 2023 he is an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, under the guidance of Frank Braley and Avedis Kouyoumdjian.
He was mentored by Paul Badura Skoda, who has inspired a particular interest in period instruments. He studied with Balasz Szokolay at the Franz Liszt University in Weimar and with Claudio Martínez Mehner at Cologne's University of Music and Dance. Currently he is on the Royal College of Music's Artist Diploma programme in London, studying with Norma Fisher and Ian Jones.
He recieved scholarships from Royal College of Music, Herrmann Foundaiton Liechtenstein- Bolivia, Theo and Petra Lieven Foundation of Hamburg, Clavarte Foundation in Bern and Elfrun Gabriel Foundation for Young Pianists, and since 2022, is supported by Talent Unlimited. From 2023 he is an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, under the guidance of Frank Braley and Avedis Kouyoumdjian.
Electronic press kit for reviewers available from Ulysses Arts.
For Spanish biography, CLICK HERE.