Portal de Cartagena
www.portaldecartagena.com
The composer Rui Massena has just published his new work, "III", which includes unpublished material composed especially for piano.
A musical jewel recorded between Porto and Berlin and mastered in New York with the Universal Grammophon label.
"III" introduces novel electronic arrangements that dialogue with the tranquility of the characteristic piano sound of Massena.
After occupying the number 1 in the lists of Portuguese sales with "Ensemble", the Portuguese artist will give his only concert in Spain during his world tour on July 21 at La Mar de Músicas.
It will be free, in the Paseo del Puerto de Cartagena, next to the El Batel Auditorium.
Rui Massena is one of the most acclaimed composers and orchestra directors of the contemporary Portuguese music scene, a status he has now consolidated with the publication of his latest work.
In fact there are very few classical authors who become bona fide stars (in good faith) in popular music and Rui Massena is one of those exceptions.
As he himself has said "there are no real differences between styles and genres, only music and harmony between points of view, cultures and languages".
Pioneer and defender of classical music, orchestra teacher and pianist of training, Rui Massena has performed in 14 countries with 30 different orchestras, collaborating with artists as diverse as José Carreras, José Cura, Ute Lemper, Wim Mertens, Guy Braustein or Ivan Lins and being guest conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Rome for three seasons.
Throughout his career he has received numerous awards, as a teacher, with the Medal of Cultural Merit of the Brazilian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as a television celebrity.
His series "Música Maestro" was a finalist at the Rose D'Or Awards.
But all this has not been enough to express his multifaceted talent.
Since its inception, Rui Massena knew that his compositions needed new arrangements and approaches.
In 2015 he recorded "Solo", his first album, in which the piano was the only protagonist and with which his talent was revealed to the world with music that he himself described as calm, emotional and almost therapeutic.
In 2016 he published "Ensemble", recorded in collaboration with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and inspired by the world-famous city of Sintra.
It was in this beautiful region where he composed and recorded it and from where he went straight to number 1 on the Portuguese charts.
His successful release was accompanied by two very different tours: one, with a set of string that was closer to the orchestral sound of the album.
And another, with a set of 5 instruments, called the Massena Band, which was a testing ground to experience live with electronic instruments and add new sound layers to their compositions.
All these experiences emerge naturally in "III" which is, on the one hand, a synthesis of his career and on the other, a new starting point.
"III" was recorded in two phases, the first in Berlin, where he made all the piano pieces with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Tobias Lehman, and where he presented special attention to the acoustics of the hall and the instrument they used, the same Steinway used by the Berlin Philharmonic.
In a second phase, in Oporto, Massena recorded with his band always, looking for what he called a "balance" between his many and varied interests: "I tried to add contemporary electronic sounds to my classical training, discover new music and expand my emotional language. "
"III" possesses, in spite of all these advances, the unmistakable style of Rui Massena.
In his own words: "It's a huge step forward for me as a composer.
It's my music, but with a new incentive that teaches me new ways to advance.
In this process I have discovered where I want to go. "
Source: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena
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