European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Halffter’s Fandango at Aspen

Jul. 03, 2007

http://eamdllc.com/images/composers/halffter_cristobal100px.jpgCristóbal Halffter’s Fandango for eight celli will be performed at the Aspen Music Festival this month by the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. Under the baton of Sydney Hodkison, the performance takes place on July 2 at 6:00pm. A neoclassicist known primarily for his use of twelve-tone techniques, Halffter composed Fandango during a time when he took considerable inspiration from music of the past. Fandango is a virtuosic piece for eight or more cello players and is based on the eighteenth century piece Fandango for keyboard by Antonio Soler. Fandango draws its inspiration from the Spanish dance of the same name. Historically this dance would have been accompanied by castanets or handclapping in an ostinato throughout, and featured a gradual buildup to an exciting climax as it explored bold dissonances and different rhythms. In Halffter’s Fandango, composed in 1988–89, the eight cellos create a more complex texture, and his use of modern idioms takes the music of the dance into new realms while still maintaining a Spanish identity.

Cristóbal Halffter
Fandango (1988/1989)
For eight or more cellos
17’

To learn more on the music of Cristóbal Halffter, visit www.universaledition.com.

For more information about the Aspen Music Festival, please visit www.aspenmusicfestival.com.

News