Concert – Mompou, un barcelonés en Paris

Concert – Mompou, un barcelonés en Paris

In concert
piano – Marina Staneva

Musical pieces by
Mompou
Chopin
Satie
Debussy

Bio Marina Staneva
Bulgarian pianist Marina Staneva was awarded the title Young Steinway Artist in 2020. Her debut album ‘Slavic Roots’ was released by Chandos Records in April 2022 and named “Album of the Weekend” on Radio Scala and “Critic’s Choice” in International Piano Magazine.

Marina has been praised for her ‘impressive
performance’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘superb pianism and sense of projection’ (Gramophone Magazine) and ‘fearsome technique and bravura emotionalism’ (Pianist Magazine). She has impressed critics with her ‘passion and commitment, bringing a wealth of colour’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘careful crafted rubato, splendid technique and a tone that rings through from the quietest sections to the many, many thick- textured fortissimo passages’ (Rob Challinor) and acclaimed as ‘an artist of stature’ (Musical Opinion Magazine).

Marina has appeared at festivals across Europe and the UK, and at the major venues in London – Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall, the Royal Opera House and The Inner Temple. She has recorded for Classic FM and took part in “The First Global Granados Marathon” broadcast live from Milton Court Concert Hall. Marina completed her Masters and Advanced Diploma Degrees with Distinction followed by the Junior Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London supported by the Guildhall Trust. Prior to moving to London, Marina obtained her Bachelor Degree from the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bio FEDERICO MOMPOU
Federico Mompou was a Catalan composer, of French descent on his mother’s side. He was born in Barcelona in 1893 and died there in 1987. An exceptionally reclusive composer, he settled in Paris in 1921 living a bourgeoise life, often invited to privileged dinners and cultural events. He had two prolific periods – though both of them while he lived in his native Barcelona.

His music is often described as introspective and intimate. He had a penchant for miniatures – short, evocative pieces that capture a mood or a moment. His compositions, devoid of grandiosity, speak directly to the soul, often evoking a sense of nostalgia, melancholy, or contemplation.

Like some of the great composers (Chopin first), Mompou quickly found himself and hardly ever changed his language: he simply perfected it to the utmost. In his youth, however, he was influenced by the colours of Debussy, the melodic élan of Chopin and the purity of Satie. Not forgetting, of course, the immeasurable importance of Spanish folk music. His harmonies often evoke the world of jazz. The recently deceased jazz composer and Bulgarian pianist Mario Stantchev was one of the first in France to recognise Mompou’s fundamental importance.

“Cançons i danses” is a collection of 15 pieces. Each piece consists of an introductory slow Cançó, followed by a more animated Dansa. They are mostly based on existing Catalan folk tunes, although some of them are original works. The Cançons i danses were not written as a set, but as discrete pieces over a 55-year span.

Similarly, Mompou spent 20 years writing the “Chopin” Variations, based on Prelude No 7. The first variation is almost identical to the prelude in form, melody, and rhythm but the harmonic language is already in Mompou’s style. Every variation bears his unmistakable personal stamp with the theme cleverly integrated in the music. Some variations are exceptionally introspective, and others are dances in ternary time signatures until we reach the end – a surprisingly energetic climax with more of the typical harmonic Mompou. In a further tribute to Chopin, Variation 5 is a mazurka and in Variation 9 there is a direct quote from Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu.