Ricardo Gallen (Spain)
Closing Concert
Saturday, June 16
8 PM
RICARDO JESUS GALLEN GARCIA
(Spain)
Ricardo Jesus Gallen Garcia studied guitar and ancient music at the Universities of Salzburg (Mozarteum) and Munich with the Masters Fisk, Eglhuber, Spiri, Gilbert, Huebscher and Clerch, graduating in 1999 in the Master Class from the Hochschule fur Musik in Munich, Germany, with Joaquin Clerch.
He has given recitals and played in concerts under the direction of well-known conductors such as Maximiano Valdes, Juan Jose Mena, Monica Huggett and Seirgiu Comisiona throughout Europe and America, including Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, the United States, Russia, Norway, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel in important concert halls like Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Schostakovich Hall in Saint Petersburg, and Tchaikowsky Hall in Moscow.
Gallen Garcia has recorded many works for the state radio and televisions in Spain, Finland, Belgium, Romania, Germany, Cuba, Mexico, Poland, Chile, South Korea, Hungary and Bulgaria. Presently on the market are his first four records recorded for NAXOS, in which he performs music by Giuliani, Brouwer, Takemitsu, etc., as well as all of the concerts for guitar and orchestra by the Spanish master Joaquin Rodrigo. His first recording was among NAXOS’ 50 top-selling records for 2001, and received sensational reviews in the specialized press.
He was featured on the cover of the August, 2000 issue of “Classical Guitar Magazine†in which he was interviewed by Cecilia Rodrigo, Joaquin Rodrigo’s daughter. His biographical information has been included, among others, in the fifth edition of The Classical Guitar: It’s Evolution, Players and Personalities since 1800, written by the director of the Ashley Mark Publishing Company, Maurice J. Summerfield. He is presently Professor at the University of Extremadura in Spain and Profesor Assistant of Prof. Fisk at University Mozarteum in Salzburg. Ricardo Jesus Gallen Garcia has received over twenty international prizes, including:
• 1st Prize at the 32nd Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition 1997, in Markneukirchen, Germany.
• 1st Prize and a Special Prize for the best interpretation of the works of Enrique Igoa at the 14th Andres Segovia International Classical Guitar Competition 1998 held in La Herradura, Granada.
• 1st Prize at the 4th Alhambra International Guitar Competition 1998.
• 1st Prize and the Special Audience Prize at the 33rd Francisco Tarrega International Guitar Contest 1999.
• 1st Prize and five Special Prizes (Best Interpretation of a Cuban work, the Leo Brouwer Special Prize, the Cuban National Union of Writers and Artists Musicians Association Prize, the Music Recording and Publishing Company Prize and the Cuban Radio and Television Institute Prize) at the 11th International Guitar Competition held in Havana, Cuba in 2002.
“…flawless interpretation and charisma…exquisite technique and particularly beautiful sound,…â€
Jose M. Moreno, Diario de Cordoba, 2003