Spanish Reflections

Sultry sounds celebrate Spanish compatriots in this performance highlighting our Music Director’s homeland, featuring preeminent composer Manuel de Falla. Pianist Javier Perianes joins your Toronto Symphony Orchestra in a solo performance of Fantasia Baetica, evoking the folk music of Spain’s southern province of Andalusia. Melding harmonies inspired by gypsy, Middle-Eastern, and Indian music, and a dash of influence from his time in Paris, Falla captures the spirit of flamenco in this technically challenging piano work. Perianes also introduces a piece written for him by fellow countryman Francisco Coll, the contemporary fantasia for piano and orchestra Ciudad sin sueño (Sleepless City). The sizzling program concludes with Falla’s iconic Suites Nos. 1 and 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat, employing tantalizing fandango and fiery flamenco orchestration from his highly successful ballet based on a comic novella.