Alginet (Valencia, Spain), 25th September, 2023
The Ramón Ramos Contemporary Music Days ended their first edition this weekend with a debate and two concerts by the Síntesis Ensemble and Ensemble ESMAR (High Performance Music School) Ensemble, as well as the Orchestra and Symphonic Band of the Musical and Artistic Society (or SAM) of Alginet (Valencia, Spain). The organisers of this initiative could not hide their satisfaction for the appearance of prestigious music personalities (composers, directors, researchers…), ensembles and performers, as well as for the warm reception given by the general public to the events, held on the 8th, 9th, 22nd and 23rd September in Alginet, paying tribute to the relevance of the Spanish composer’s artistic career.
The Musical and Artistic Society (or SAM) of Alginet, which organises this project in collaboration with the Valencian regional government or Generalitat and the Alginet City Council, thanked the people taking part “for their generosity, effort and commitment to the figure of Ramos and to an initiative that gives his composition work the prestige it deserves.” The musicians, who consider him to be one of the best Spanish composers of his generation, urged the musical society “to continue with this initiative” in the hope that it will last over time to become an event that will help raise awareness of Ramos’ scores.
The project was planned and coordinated by Limes3, which promotes these sessions in the aim of highlighting and spreading the composer’s work, leading the acknowledgement of his work to preserve his legacy and his memory as part of musical heritage, and fostering a distinctive cultural and musical event. It also intends to develop synergies and collaborations with institutions and businesses, and between the professional and amateur worlds of musical societies to which it belongs and among which it aims to foster contemporary music, in addition to the conservatories around the world which it has informed about these days.
The entity has felt the encouragement and support of various personalities from the world of music over these days. The Navarrese composer and professor Teresa Catalán, National Music Prize winner in 2017 and a Doctor in the Philosophy of Art, is sure that “it has given me very special hope to know that this event of reminiscence is being held for him, because Ramón was a good musician and an excellent person; a dear friend with whom I had a beautiful relationship as colleagues.” Catalán, who congratulated the SAM of Alginet, recalls that “we took the entrance exams the same year; it was a special moment in our lives, and experiencing all of that with my friend left an indelible mark. I’m glad that his memory lives on, and I am very grateful to you all.”
Success and continuity of the event
Voro López, president of the SAM of Alginet, declared that “we are very content because the Ramón Ramos Contemporary Music Days have been a success, judging by the congratulations received and the impressions given to us by significant composers and musicians who attended and took part in this first edition.” In this vein, López has pointed out that “the SAM of Alginet will work with great enthusiasm to continue the event next year; we thank everybody who has made it possible for their work and the warm welcome from the public for all the activities held.”
Elia Ferrer, the mayor of Alginet, stated that it has been “an honour and a great thrill to have participated in the first Ramón Ramos Contemporary Music Days, a very special initiative for me”. She emphasized that “this council will work together with the SAM of Alginet to lend continuity to this project of excellence that casts a spotlight on the artistic career of our composer Ramón Ramos.” Ferrer appreciated “the attendance these days by prestigious performers, groups, composers, experts and personalities from the world of music, who have taught us to appreciate his work even more, as well as his figure in the debates and concerts held.”
Ainoha González, the Councillor for Culture, has enthused that “these days dedicated to the contemporary music of Ramón Ramos have helped us learn about his life, his persona… and they have made us love his music more”. She stresses that “these days have shown us that spectacular musicians, great professionals and even better people bear the name of Ramos and Alginet in their musical DNA.” González, who also plays in the symphonic band, explained that “Ramón Ramos will forever represent culture and music, and for us he will always be the maestro.”
Héctor Oltra, artistic director of the event, enthused about the debate panels and “the important reflections made regarding the figure of Ramón Ramos, providing innovative points of view that will serve to enrich and boost knowledge about the composer.” As for the concerts, Oltra highlights the fact that it was possible to hear a total of 14 works by the Valencian composer and “the significant connotations regarding appreciation of our most modern musical heritage, all the while bringing newly created music to the general public through musical societies.”
Programme
The Ramón Ramos Contemporary Music Days entered their final day last Friday with an academic and often emotional debate, Ramón Ramos, contributions to newly created music, moderated by the saxophonist and improviser Josep Lluís Galiana, with Vicente Llimerá, director of the Palau de la Música of Valencia, and Héctor Oltra, composer, conductor, musical researcher and artistic director of these days taking part; as well as the composer and conductor Andrés Valero-Castells, the composer Emilio Calandín, the conductor and composer Joan Cerveró, the percussionist Jordi Simó, and the composer’s sons Carles, Ramón and Fran Ramos.
In the debate, Valero-Castells announced that he will soon be publishing the essential editions of Bonbon russe for piano and En un vasto dominio by Ramos through the publishing house Tot Per l’Aire. It is “a magnificent work for symphonic band inspired by the homonymous collection of poems by Vicente Aleixandre”, a work recorded on an album for the first time by Valero himself.
Premiere of D’Amore in Spain
The Ensemble Síntesis, conducted by Oltra, later performed a programme that was very well received by the public, among which it is worth highlighting that the performance of the work D’Amore by the Catalan violist Francesc Gaya was a premiere in Spain. The ensemble, also made up of Víctor Maroto (flute), José Ricardo Forner (clarinet), Fernando Pascual (violin), Adrian Van Dongen (violincello), Javier Obrer (piano) and Jordi Simó (percussion), took on Pentáfono, El Tumbao, Der Blaue Engel, Diferencias sobre Doktor Faustus, Recuerdos del Cielo and El exterminador by Ramón Ramos, works covering the complete evolution of his artistic production.
The event came to a close in the Plaça de la Constitució on Saturday with the participation of the Ensemble ESMAR (High Performance Music School), made up of Ángels Soto, Carla Calvo, Nerea Ojeda and Luis Crespo, who performed the work Tres piezas para cuatro chelos (Three pieces for four cellos) by Ramos. Afterwards, the Orchestra and Symphonic Band of the Alginet SAM, conducted by Olga Clari, performed a repertoire including Rumor de claridades by Ramos, ending with the pasodoble Ramón Ramos by Vicent Cuquerella and the Moorish march Lumo by Ramos.
Life and musical work
On Friday the 8th, the event hosted another debate, Ramón Ramos, life and musical work, in which Galiana, Oltra, Ainoha González and Carles Ramos, Voro García, the artistic director of the Ensems Festival and composer, took part, along with Sixto Herrero, the saxophonist, composer and conductor; and Gregorio Jiménez, professor of Electroacoustic Composition. Then on Saturday the 9th, there were the concerts given by Synergein Project, and Josep Lluís Galiana and the Xian Quartet, paying tribute to the musician from Alginet following an inauguration by Elia Ferrer, Ainoha González and Voro López, featuring prominent personalities from the musical panorama.
The Ramón Ramos Contemporary Music Days also involve collaboration from Establecimientos Baixens, Viveros López, the Spanish Confederation of Musical Societies (CESM), the Valencia Community Region Federation of Musical Societies (FSMCV), the High Performance Higher School of Music (ESMAR), EdictOràlia, Liquen Records and Limes3.
The SAM of Alginet is a member of the Federation of Musical Societies of the Valencia Community region (FSMCV), an association that includes 550 musical societies with 43,000 musicians, 60,000 students and more than 200,000 members, representing the main cultural stakeholder in the region according to the University of Valencia.