Rising star Francisco Coll is to write a concerto for Patricia Kopatchinskaja. The concerto – which will be premiered by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under Gustavo Gimeno next February – has been co-commissioned by the OPL & Philharmonie Luxembourg, the NTR ZaterdagMatinee, London Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Bamberger Symphoniker, an impressive list of partners that is a testament to Coll’s growing international reputation.
One of the most distinctive violinists, Kopatchinskaja has already performed Coll’s Four Iberian Miniatures for violin and chamber orchestra and in addition to the Concerto will also premiere and a short duo and Les Plaisirs Illuminés, a double concerto with Sol Gabetta which will premiere in June as the culmination of Coll’s residency with Camerata Bern. Coll is also currently Composer in Residence to the Orquesta de Valencia, and the SMR de Cuenca, and his forthcoming projects include a Brass Quintet, a 12-minute orchestral piece and a piano trio. A number of recordings are planned, including a disc of orchestral works with the OPL.
ICMA Award
The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) have announced Francisco Coll as the inaugural recipient of their Composer Award. In an interview with El País, Coll said: ‘I spend my life locked in my studio working – and to receive recognition like this is an immense dose of energy for me to move forward. One almost gets dizzy seeing one’s name next to such important musicians’.
US premiere for Hidd’n Blue
Since its premiere by the London Symphony Orchestra and François-Xavier Roth back in 2009, Coll’s exhilarating concert-opener Hidd’n Blue, continues to be taken up internationally. This year the Orquesta de Valencia will perform it in May, as part of Coll’s residency at the Palau de la Música, and in October Gustavo Gimeno will conduct the US premiere with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Vivid, rhythmically charged and filled with startling harmonies, this 5-minute work builds to a truly vertiginous climax. Writing about the piece, Coll describes ‘a bass note of deep, mysterious blue that has been overlaid with swirling, lighter colours’.
Stella in Hamburg
Coll’s imposing 5-minute motet Stella, will receive its German premiere in May with the MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig conducted by Martina Batič. Inspired by, and subtly drawing on a renaissance masterpiece – Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Ave Maris Stella – this arresting work for 8-part choir originally written for ORA and Suzi Digby in 2016
Cantos in Asia and Spain
Following performances by the Dalia and Callisto Quartets in Germany and Australia respectively, Cantos, Coll’s 5-minute string quartet movement, will be toured in South Korea, Japan and Spain this Autumn by Cuarteto Casals. A version of Hyperlude V for solo violin, the work was composed for Cuarteto Casals, who also premiered Coll’s Concerto Grosso. ‘Cantos has a spiritual and introspective character,’ says Coll. ‘It is a consecutive series of cadences that in some way emulate the inflections of the human voice.’