The Runaways
Living composers from Spain in New York City
RICARDO LLORCA - SONIA MEGÍAS - OCTAVIO VÁZQUEZ
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About The Runaways
The Runaways is a recital for solo classical piano and voice of compositions by living composers from Spain who sought to expand their creative borders by moving to New York City in search of new aesthetic paths. These emigré Spanish composers from three distinct generations aimed to maintain their essence and their own vernaculars while ensuing in music creation in New York City.
Program
THE DARK SIDE (1993)
MONODRAMA FOR MEZZOSOPRANO AND PIANO
CHORALE (2000)
FOR PIANO SOLO
Ricardo Llorca (Alicante, 1958)
-
TWO SONGS TO TEXTS BY ROSALIA DE CASTRO (2013)
EN CORNES · COMO CHOVE MIUDIÑO
FOR VOICE AND PIANO
GALICIAN FANCY (2019) / THREE GALICIAN PIECES (2015)
FOR PIANO SOLO
Octavio Vázquez (Santiago de Compostela, 1972)
-
SOLNATINA (2002)
FOR PIANO SOLO
NOT TODAY (2020)
FOR VOICE AND PIANO
Lyrics: Eva Guillamón
Sonia Megías (Almansa, 1982)
Ricardo Llorca
The music of Ricardo Llorca combines motifs that spring from renaissance polyphony from his native Spain, blending with minimalists and post minimalist composers, in the lines of Philip Glass, John Adams, and Meredith Monk. The result is a synthesis of styles that approximate the spirit of Downtown New York, where Llorca has resided for the last thirty-three years.
Octavio Vázquez
Octavio Vazquez’s music has been described as
“full of melodic clarity” and has been called “transgothic, an art not only to entertain but to reach into the mysterious, the spiritual, and the profound”. Closer to tradition than to the avant-garde, his works’ profound feeling is occasionally reminiscent of Shostakovich. A resident of New York City since 1999, Dr. Vazquez teaches composition at Nazareth College.
Sonia Megias
Sonia Megías, a Fulbright Scholar from 2010-2012 at New York University, specializes in the creation of expanded musical notations. She advocates for music as a tool for social change, focusing on underserved communities, Indigenous peoples, and women artists from around the world. Her compositions aim to blend oral traditions with contemporary, daring, and experimental musical expressions. She has been honored with spaces named after her, such as the "Sonia Megías Hall" in Alicante and the "Sonia Megías Library" in Granada. She also leads the experimental choir CoroDelantal and the vocal duo Dúa de Pel, with which she tours internationally.
Rosa Torres-Pardo
Anna's roots and affinity for the Spanish language have guided her artistic path to share with audiences the culture and music of the Hispanic World, presenting repertoire from both Spain and Latin America in symposiums, thematic recitals, lectures and artist residencies. She has appeared at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico; Festival de Segovia, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio Nacional de España in Spain; Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Teatro Grattacielo, Joy in Singing, and the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York City; the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg. She can be heard in her commercial recordings “The songs of Julio Gómez”, “España alla Rossini”, “The Unknown Pauline Viardot” and in her most recent disc, “1915: A Trip to Granada” with pianist Mac McClure.
Anna Tonna
Anna's roots and affinity for the Spanish language have guided her artistic path to share with audiences the culture and music of the Hispanic World, presenting repertoire from both Spain and Latin America in symposiums, thematic recitals, lectures and artist residencies. She has appeared at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico; Festival de Segovia, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio Nacional de España in Spain; Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Teatro Grattacielo, Joy in Singing, and the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York City; the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg. She can be heard in her commercial recordings “The songs of Julio Gómez”, “España alla Rossini”, “The Unknown Pauline Viardot” and in her most recent disc, “1915: A Trip to Granada” with pianist Mac McClure.