Spanish Light

Francisco Fullana is on a mission to challenge the long-standing assumption that Spanish music is somehow second-tier fare. “There’s a feeling that it’s not quite at the level or reputation of the Germanic, French, and British repertoire,” he tells Apple Music Classical. “But there’s so much great classical music written by Spanish composers, and I hope that one album and one project at a time we can show that.” Spanish Light features music for violin and piano by five Spanish composers, performed with Fullana’s regular recital partner Alba Ventura. “It’s been a kind of recapitulation of my relationship with Spanish music,” he says. “Sarasate’s ‘Romanza Andaluza’ from his Spanish Dances, for instance, was the very first piece by him that I played, when I was seven years old.” Another work by Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), highlights Fullana’s brilliant violin technique and the irresistible brio he brings to his playing. “It’s a hard, crazy virtuoso piece that everybody knows, and every teenage violinist in Spain wants to play it. Those Sarasate pieces are very close to my heart.” Some of the other tracks on the album are by less well-known composers. “I discovered Joan Manén almost by chance, for example,” says Fullana. “A friend of mine shared his music with me, and I started doing some research. History has forgotten him a little bit, but in his time he was an extremely well-known violinist.” Manén’s 1899 Caprice No. 3 “Català,” beguilingly played by Fullana and Ventura, is one of the album’s highlights. Eduard Toldrà is another composer whom Fullana feels merits wider exposure. “Toldrà didn’t write that much music, but his 6 Sonetos for violin and piano are very romantic, very sweet,” Fullana explains. “They’re a bit like love letters—a window into his thinking and passion.” Two of Toldrà’s sonnets are included on Spanish Light, along with the Violin Sonata No. 2 “Sonata española” by Joaquín Turina, which Fullana feels also has strong attractions. “It’s one of my favourite pieces to play. Turina is one of the giants of Spanish composing, and while there are many folk tunes in this sonata the structure is also fascinating, with many changes of tempo and character.” But of all the pieces on Spanish Light, Fullana’s favourite is the Violin Sonata of Enrique Granados. “It has a definite Spanish flavour, but also a kind of French luminosity and lightness to it—a really intimate quality which I absolutely love,” he says. “It’s a one-movement piece, about 10 minutes, and to me it’s almost as if it’s telling a life story, from an innocent opening to something extremely intense and dramatic.” Fullana is full of praise for the contribution pianist Ventura made to the recording of Spanish Light, and recalls the sessions as being particularly happy. “We recorded in my home town of Mallorca, and Alba came and stayed at my parents’ house. We were kind of all together,” he says. “The atmosphere for the whole process was very family-like—perfect for the music on this album.”