Miguel del Aguila

Just out!  New #album #review on #AmericanRecordGuide. Kudos #AugustaSymphony #DirkMeyer #GuillermoFigueroa! “…lush lyricism from the violin and sweeping, mysterious grandeur from the orchestra…chilling and effective …” “…attractive and crowd-pleasing music…” “Aguila’s style has hints of Ginasteran modernism and Ravelian color, with inescapable nods to Piazzolla…” “…Guillermo Figueroa is equal parts suave and dramatic…” “…works also have a modern South American identity… traditional Andean melodies are subject to a sinister, dissonant undercurrent, later to erupt in violence.” ” The sizable and memorable tango at its center emerges from a mysterious haze, as if from a memory.” “Tempering Drums’ (2020) is more abstract and rhythmic, with small, syncopated motifs slowly becoming more animated as the piece progresses… Even at its most dissonant, this is attractive and crowd-pleasing music… its performances are committed and convincing.” Nathan Faro, American Record Guide May/June 2023  

So happy for this review, and thankful to the amazing musicians that brought #ViolinConcerto to life last weekend in #SantaBarbara ! Review #DanielKepl / #VOICE Santa Barbara, CA 1/27/2023 “Miguel del Águila’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 94, El viaje de una vida - The Journey of a Lifetime (2007), is a stunningly accessible if beastly difficult recent entrant in the violin concerto sweepstakes. Its four movements – Crossing the Ocean to a New World, In the Purple Land, The Return, and Finale - the violin soloist accepting the musical mantle of immigrant protagonist throughout the work, contemplate the gauntlet of physical as well as psychological challenges all travelers face when leaving their homeland for a foreign land and culture. De Águila himself a living witness to the immigrant struggle, having traveled from his native Uruguay to the United States (where he received his American citizenship) as a young man, then to Europe for a period of years and back again to Am

This Saturday/Sunday! #SantaBarbara Symphony - #GuillermoFigueroa #NirKabaretti #WestCoast #premiere #MigueldelAguila #ViolinConcerto #GranadaTheater #2023 #concerts