Sep 2020
A summer of emotional reunions
Despite the uncertainty and difficulties of recent times, live music has sounded once again this summer. The longed-for moment of reuniting artists and audiences finally arrived and was unforgettable, with Judith having the good fortune of experiencing this several times over the summer months. The reception on each occasion was very warm and applauded by the critics, who remarked that Jáuregui “played with the maturity of musicians who know how to pause and think, with the poise of careers that look to the long-term and which accumulate, a step at a time, all sorts of memories”, and highlighted her “subtlety, excellent planning and airy games at the keys”, describing her piano as being “of a moving and exultant quality”.
Judith’s first appointment with the public was at her recital at the Schubertiada of Valdegovía (Alava, Spain) where, as described by Asier Vallejo in his review for Scherzo magazine, “the emotion of being back on stage was clearly visible in her eyes together with joy of being able to play in public again, making it natural for the music to seem to settle in a well of melancholy; after a decade playing concerts in which her spirit - which has flown from one place to another - has never lost the tremendous vitality of its beginnings, in Schumann (Arabeske) and in Brahms (op. 118) Jáuregui played with the maturity of musicians who know how to pause and think, with the poise of careers that look to the long-term and which go accumulating, a step at a time, all sorts of memories”. Regarding Beethoven’s Sonata no.4 with which the artist brought her recital to a close, Vallejo continues “Jáuregui never stopped playing with the furious, powerful and luminous writing of the piece, of igniting the divine spark that only lights when, like she does, one fully loves music”.
A few days later, Judith joined her colleagues Jesús Reina, Erzhan Kulibaev, Isabel Villanueva and Damián Martínez at the newly created Pamplona Reclassics festival where, amongst other works, they played two great quintets: Turina’s and Dvorak’s, with the performance of the latter being praised by Arturo Reverter in his review as being “dazzling and a reflection of the multiple faces of a score that is so kaleidoscopic and intense. Without fault, the group - very well assembled and balanced - showed great rapport and knew how to sing and express itself, in a varied and dynamic way, with a masterful control of the ‘tempo’”… “Subtlety, excellent planning and airy games at the keys, natural energy … [in all] a magnificent version of the piece”.
And as far as reunions go, the one that followed at the Teatro Victoria Eugenia in her hometown of San Sebastian - where she played three Beethoven in the context of the tributes being played to the composer throughout 2020 - was especially emotional for the pianist. Manuel Cabrera, in his review for Beckmesser, remarked that Judith’s concert was “of a moving and exultant quality” and praised the “the moments full of sweetness, such as the second Largo appasionato movement of Sonata no. 2 where dreams flew through soft, oneiric prairies; in the second movement of Sonata no. 4, the ambience of tenderness created was truly enveloping, in contrast with the previous Presto alla tedesca of Sonata no. 25. The unequivocal applauses brought Jáuregui back on stage five times at the end of the concert”.
In addition to her return to stages, Judith added a nomination to the prestigious Opus Klassik awards for her album Pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy published under the ARS Produktion label last year. The album, which was recorded in Vienna, was nominated alongside those of other internationally recognized soloists and orchestras in the ‘Live Recording of the Year’ category.
Currently, having recently arrived from Czech Republic where she joined the Hradec Králové Philharmonic conducted by Kaspar Zehnder to play Nights in the Garden’s of Spain by Falla and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, Judith is now preparing her engagements for the 2020/2021 season. These include, amongst others, the concerts with the Freiburger Kammerorchester, the Spanish National Radio and Television Orchestra (ORTVE), the Adda Simfònica orchestra, and concerts at the Auditorio de Zaragoza and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid.