The ANIMA DUO, pianist Aniana Jaime and saxophonist Mariano García will perform a program of work for saxophone and piano entitled “'THE PYRENEES'“. Works by Decruck, Ravel, Debussy, Chaminade and others.

CONCERT PROGRAM 'THE PYRENEES'

AniMa Duo: Aniana Jaime, piano

Mariano García, saxophone

The Pyrenees are a mountain range that forms a natural border between Spain and

France. We like to think of them as more of a connecting link, like a seam that joins two

cultures, two ways of expressing and feeling. We live in Aragon, a region in northern Spain

where the Pyrenees are located, and this influence of cultural exchange is what defines us.

As France is the birthplace of the classical saxophone, it has always been a reference point

for composers and performers of this instrument. Paris also attracted the most prominent

Spanish musicians and artists at the beginning of the 20th century: Manuel de Falla, Isaac

Albéniz, Ricardo Viñes, Joaquín Turina, and Pablo Picasso were all influenced by French

aesthetics.

That is why we have prepared a program with pieces from these two countries, both

classical and more contemporary, in which you will be able to perceive more traditional and

idiosyncratic aspects alongside more abstract and modern ones.

We hope you enjoy this small sample of music from southwestern Europe.

PROGRAM

Homenaje a Lorca for alto saxophone and piano by JOAN ALBERT AMARGÓS (1950)

I. Los cuatro muleros

II. Zorongo

III. Anda jaleo

Approx. 11 minutes

Sonate en Ut # by FERNANDE DECRUCK (1896-1954)

1. Très modéré, expressif

2. Andante

3. Fileuse

4. Nocturne et Final

L'éveil de la toupie (2022) by VINCENT DAVID (1974)

Requiebros, originally for violonchelo and piano by GASPAR CASSADÓ (1897-1966)

Étude n. 11 Pour les Arpèges composés, for solo piano by CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)

Concertino, originally for flute and piano opus 107 by CÉCILE CHAMINADE (1857-1944)

Sonatine pour piano (arr. David Walter) by MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)

I. Modéré

II. Mouvement de menuet

III. Animé

Approx. 11 minutes

The AniMa Duo began its journey in 2010, the result of a chance meeting between the pianist

Aniana Jaime and the saxophonist Mariano García in Zaragoza, where they performed Paul

Hindemith's Sonata Op.11 No.4 at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón, which they

would later record on their debut CD.

With a firm commitment to quality and without prejudice in their desire to enrich the literary corpus

of this symbiotic formation, the duo often explores the path that looks to the past, reinterpreting

music originally written for other instruments: violin, clarinet or flute resonate in a chameleonic

saxophone that tackles transcriptions in which the original parameters are hardly modified, except

for the timbre. This is the approach taken in their first recording Sculptures (IBS Classical, 2014),

with works by Bach, Schumann, Debussy, Hindemith, Jean Françaix and Falla.

Committed to its time, the duo is also interested in discovering and stimulating contemporary

creation for saxophone and piano, incorporating into its repertoire new works by contemporary

composers, such as those recorded on the albums Ritmo en el espacio (Delicias discográficas, 2015)

and Hommage (IBS Classical, 2019), some of which were commissioned by or dedicated to the

AniMa Duo. Monographic of Spanish composers in the first, and of eclectic aesthetics with several

world premieres in the second, both CDs testify to an active and close collaboration with the

composers.

The National Auditorium of Andorra la Vella is hosting its new recording project, L'éveil d'AniMa

(2025), with ARIA classics label. Transcriptions by Prokofiev, Lutoslawski, Chaminade, and

recently composed music as the world premiere recording of Vincent David's L'éveil de la toupie

fused with the work of the classical saxophone repertoire Prélude, Cadence et Finale by Desenclos,

forming what could be a typical recital programme of the duo.

The AniMa Duo has given recitals at the Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada, the Andorra

Conference Centre, the European University of Saxophone in Gap, the Ribagorza Clásicos en la

Frontera Festival, the Eduardo del Pueyo Auditorium and the Galve Hall of the Zaragoza

Auditorium, the 2nd La Rioja Contemporary Music Festival, the Panticosa International Festival

and at various universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal and

Mexico.

Mariano García is a musician with a passion for performance and pedagogy. He is currently a

professor at the Esmuc in Barcelona, where he teaches master's and postgraduate courses as well as

chamber music. Since 2016 he has been teaching at the summer courses of the European Saxophone

University in Gap (France). From 2009 to 2020 he taught at the Conservatorio Superior de Música

de Aragón in Zaragoza. He has also taught at the Wiener Musik Akademie (Austria) and at the Luca

School of Music and Arts University in Leuven (Belgium).

He has participated in various international festivals, including the Andorra Sax Fest since its

inception, the Vienna Sax Fest (Austria), the Birmingham School of Music, the Royal Conservatoire

of Brussels, Panticosa (Spain) and various cities in Portugal, Italy and China, as well as being

invited by prestigious American universities. Since 2015 he has been a regular collaborator of the

Musethica project as a teacher and performer. He has been invited as a juror to the most important

international competitions such as the Andorra Sax Fest, Adolphe Sax in Dinant and Temsig in

Ljubljana. He is a Selmer and Vandoren artist.

Aniana Jaime began her studies in Sariñena (Huesca) and continued them with the pianists Rosa Ma

Kucharski, Carmen Rubio and Anselmo de la Campa in Madrid, where she also studied

improvisation with Emilio Molina and counterpoint with Rafa Eguílaz. She completed a

postgraduate course in performance in Rotterdam (Holland) under the direction of Aquiles delle

Vigne and a Master's degree in musical research at the International University of Valencia. She has

also studied with Claudio Martínez-Mehner and Josep Ma Colom.

Professor of piano at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid since 2023, she has

previously taught at the Centro Integrado Padre Antonio Soler de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the

Conservatorio Profesional de Zaragoza and the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón. She

has given recitals and lectures in various venues in Europe, the United States and Mexico. She has

collaborated with the Grupo Enigma Chamber Orchestra of the Auditorio de Zaragoza, as well as

taking part in the Chamber Music Cycle of the Orchestra of Radio Televisión Española in 2016.

Official pianist at Andorra Sax Fest international saxophone competition since its beginning. In

2022 she will premiere her first works as a composer.