Jesús Guridi (1886 - 1961)

[M. Henriksen]

After searching through the forum I could not find much about Basque composer Jesús Guridi, and after another hearing of his Pyrenean Symphony the time has come for a Guridi-post.
I myself have the two Naxos recordings of most of his orchestral output and I'm also aware of the recordings of the operas "Amaya" and "El caserio".
After the recent revival of the Portuguese composers Braga Santos and Freitas Branco I must say that Guridi is another very pleasant surprise from the Iberian Peninsula.
Personally I have especially enjoyed the second movement from his Pyrenean Symphony (1945), particularly the beautiful second main subject.
Any opinions and thoughts on Guridi?

Morten

[febnyc]

I will reply and say that I enjoy the music of Guridi.  I would not rank him alongside Braga Santos, whose works - and especially that magnificent Fourth Symphony (glorious!) - I think are highlights of the 20th century repertoire.  However, I do have the aforementioned Naxos CDs plus an interesting batch of orchestral pieces on the Claves label. Unfortunately, I found Caserio to be a bit boring - even though I love zarzuela - it seemed forgettable.  I would also recommend Guridi's String Quartets which have been recorded by Ensayo - very good indeed!

[M. Henriksen]

I can agree with you on not comparing Guridi with the likes of Braga Santos, which I find a far more substantial composer overall.
But they are both from the Iberian Peninsula at least

Morten

[febnyc]

Indeed they have that geographic commonality!

Another composer from that peninsula is Pedro Vilarroig - b. 1954.  I've just secured a CD of his piano concerto (2008).  The sound clips I've heard present a very intriguing and romantic concerto.  Here's a video I found of the whole work in concert:

http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/videos/20081214/conciertos/361289.shtml

Unfortunately, the orchestra leads off with Smetana's Vlatava - and it is not until the 14:00 mark on the video that the Vilarroig concerto begins.  But it's worth hearing, believe me.