Merry Christmas!

Posted by Judith - 25/12/09 at 10:12:17 pm

Merry Christmas!!

I don’t know who is going to read this post, but whoever you are, I hope you are having a great time with your family. 

I really enjoyed my last year’s concert in Seville! Good hall, good piano and good audience. And it is always nice for me to be with Liszt, Debussy, Mompou and Chopin.

So let’s end this year full of hapiness and begin the 2010 full of hopes!

Santa Cristina-La Línea-Bilbao

Posted by Judith - 03/12/09 at 08:12:10 pm

The other day I went to a workshop on digital marketing in Madrid, organised by the AIE (Performers Association in Spain). It was really good; run by a guy called Juan Paz, who works for the company Music Ally in London. When he asked us who had a blog, I raised my hand. When I told him I hadn’t written anything since 31 August though, he was amazed! And rightly so. Sometimes we’re just so busy and have so many things going round in our heads that we can’t even grab a few minutes to sit down and write something. But, as the time for making New Year’s resolutions is fast approaching, one of mine will be to write more regularly.

When I wrote my last post we were heading into autumn, my favourite season. It’s like everything around us is being renewed, as well as ourselves. It’s the final stretch of the year when we still have a chance to fulfil some of those promises we made back in January. At the beginning of autumn I performed a recital in Santa Cristina d’Aro, in Girona. The people, and the church, are excellent. It’s one of the places with the best acoustics that I’ve ever played in, and was just perfect for the programme: Chopin, Debussy and Mompou. I’d love to go back there again if the opportunity arises.

After a few days of rest in Boston, I was able to enjoy October in Madrid, working on the upcoming dates. My next performance was in La Línea de la Concepción, in Cadiz. I know I’m repeating myself, but so far I’ve been really lucky to have met fantastic people who welcome me with open arms. Those in La Línea I’ve known for a few years now and it was great to see them again. In these times of crisis, it’s a real pleasure to see that there are still people like them, who fight to keep the music scene alive in the city. And, although they already know it, they have my total support.

The Albéniz Season, sponsored by Caja España, has come to an end. My last recital of the season was in Bilbao. And as the name suggests, it was about Albéniz and composers associated with him. My composer of choice was Mompou, another of the great Catalans, and the Latin Americans Villalobos and Ginastera, in honour of the trips Albéniz made to that part of the world from the time he was a child. It’s music I feel very comfortable with. The recital was at the Bilbao Philharmonic Society, in one of the most historic halls in the city. The dressing rooms were full of photos of the finest artists on their first visit to the Philharmonic. It was exciting to play there, where so many had played before. And Bilbao always leaves me with a good feeling. Maybe it’s because the hall is filled with family and friends who wait at the exit to give me a big hug. Thank you all for your loyalty!

And last, but certainly not least, I want to congratulate Kirmen Uribe on winning the National Literature Award 2009! We both shared music and poetry this summer at the Quincena (Musical Fortnight) in San Sebastian. I’m so delighted for him! So, the next book… Bilbao-New York-Bilbao!