The mark left behind

Complete music for piano four hands and two pianos (Nibius, 2024)


Introduction
Notes on the works included in the CD
The Scarbó Duo and José Luis Turina
CD presentation video
Radio program
Related texts

Introduction

The mark left behind
By José Luis Nieto
(Introduction to the CD booklet of the Nibius label, including the complete music for piano four hands and two pianos by José Luis Turina)

«I was a boy of my time», I heard José Luis once say. And you no doubt still are, fortunately for all of us who are lucky enough to have met you, to have met him.
Beyond technical criteria which the author objectively and accurately explains after these introductory lines, J. L. Turina's music is an amalgamation of his time, his instinct, his successes and mistakes, plus a lot of rubbing out. That is why it is good music, not created out of absent speculation but out of a clever way of life, which is not the same.
Turina, in his repertoire in general and on this album in particular, is true to himself: a steppe wolf that calmly and skilfully gazes at the horizon with courage and independence. for his "somewhat late" vocation as a composer offers him a watchtower which may be a privilege. As he himself has implied on different occasions: «I have always considered myself very fortunate not to be conditioned to make a certain type of music just because it's the latest trend».
This album is hence a gift for everyone for the very high aesthetic and technical level as interpreted by the Duo Scarbó and the pleasure of having this complete work for piano four-hands and two pianos. Also, because it is a well-deserved tribute to José Luis who is leaving his mark, and because these works are a faithful reflection of the composer's vital identity. In them we hear more traditional, more conservative and more advanced proposals spanning over more than thirty years of creation, intuition and exploration. In other words, we listen to the real José Luis Turina, so much so that he was present throughout the entire recording process alongside the pianists, taking notes, nuancing, appraising, and of course applauding! A luxury for him, for the Dúo Scarbó and for all of us who love music beyond labels, fads, or headlines.
I am positive we cannot grasp the infinity of an idea, music, a landscape or whatever you like. But we can perceive and feel the trail-by way of a mark of those who do, invent, perform or create. That is what this album is, the mark of magnificent pianists and an insightful composer who bring to life, face to face, the course of time. A Scarbó-Turina duo that leaves its mark in the form of presence beyond time for when it is not possible to listen to live music. Congratulations.

Notes on the works included in the CD

José Luis Turina. The Music for Piano Four Hands and Two Pianos
Por José Luis Turina

The Variations on Themes by Turina (Joaquin Turina), for piano four hands, were composed between April and May 2009 to be part of a surprise tribute with which the large descendant family of my renowned Sevillian ancestor wanted to celebrate my father José Luis Turina Garzón's 90th birthday, whose profession as a painter has served as a link between my great-grandfather, the painter Joaquin Turina Areal, and two composers -his son and his great-grandson (that is, myself)-, in an alternation between painters and composers that has continued uninterrupted for four generations.
For that occasion I selected a series of themes by my grandfather -my father's favourites- and joined them together in the classical form of Theme and Variations, although the fact that each of the variations is actually a development of a different theme takes away from the work the characteristic classical rigor.
Thus conceived, these Variations on Themes by Turina begin with a "false theme" from the Piano Quartet op. 67, followed by six variations from the following works:
1st: Soleares, from the Theme and Variations (2nd mov.) of the Piano Trio op. 35.
2nd Opening bars of Bullfighter's prayer op. 34.
3rd: Parade of the Lead Soldiers, 3rd movement of the 1st series of Niñerias op. 21.
4th: Main theme of the 2nd scene of Christmas op. 16 (dedicated precisely to my father).
5th: Cantares, from the Poem in the form of songs op. 19, alternating with Holy Thursday at Midnight, from the 2nd movement of the suite Sevilla op. 2.
6th: Zapateado (Foot percussion), 3rd of the Three Andalusian Dances op. 8.
They were premiered by Fernando Turina and Jorge Robaina at the Centro Cultural Campamento in Madrid in 2009, as part of the Tribute to José Luis Turina Garzón on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of his birth.

The Sonata and Toccata, composed for the duo formed by Miguel Zanetti and Fernando Turina, dates from the early 1990.
The work consists of two movements, subdivided into a significant number of minor sections. The first (Sonata) responds to rigid structural coordinates (not in a strict sonate form) while the second (Toccata) is of great formal flexibility, basing its development on a series of juxtaposed but not completely independent sections, as it includes references to some. elements from the Sonata.
In the work there are all kinds of contrasts, as well as alternations between the calm and the hectic, the melodic and the rhythmic, the dense and the diaphanous, and even the atonal and the tonal, which at times takes over the context, as happens with the "small chorale" that forms the basis of the last section of the piece.
It was premiered by the Zanetti-Turina duo at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, during the 1990-91 season of the Chamber and Polyphony Series.

The Three Palindromes were composed in 1996 at the request of the magazine Quodlibet of the Aula de Música of the University of Alcalá, and were published that same year in the pedagogical music section corresponding to number 6 of that publication.
The Three Palindromes are based on different symmetrical treatments of the material used, distributed into the double symmetry (two right hands versus two left hands) offered by the layout of the performers in front of the keyboard in the four-handed piano performance.
The titles of each of the pieces reproduce palindromes of author: the first, "Madam, I'm Adam", would be not only the first palindrome in history, but the first expression that was pronounced in the world, if we pay attention to the humorous interpretation of it given to us by its author, the Cuban Guillermo Cabrera Infante. "No deseo ese don" ("I don't want that gift") dates from 1561, and its author is Juan de Timoneda, its second title, "REconocER" ("REcognize"), is in turn a one-word palindrome, in which the emphasis is graphically placed on the syllable that also serves as the name of the note RE (D), used as the axis of the absolute symmetry of this piece. Finally, the title of the third movement, "Anita, la gorda lagartona, no traga la droga latina" ("Anita, the fat lizard woman, doesn't swallow the Latin drug"), is an original palindrome by José Antonio Millán, and introduces from the beginning the scherzante character of the music.
Dedicated to the planists Marisa Santisteban and Luis Calderon, they were premiered by the duo Elena Aguado and Sebastián Mariné, in a concert that took place at the Madrid Universidad Autónoma in 1997.

The Fantasia on "Don Giovanni" was written in 1981, at the request of the duo formed by Miguel Zanetti and Fernando Turina, as a recreation of a genre very much in vogue in the nineteenth century: that of "fantasies" or potpourris on opera themes that, through the piano four-hands interpretation, found a wide dissemination.
Unlike what Liszt did in his Fantasia of the same name, instead of using themes from Mozart's opera, I limit myself to constructing a set of variations on an enigmatic twelve-note series (for some, the first dodecaphonic series in the History of Music) that appears in the scene of the second act in which the Commander makes his entrance into the banquet [Non si pasce di cibo mortale chi si pasce di cibo celeste!].
The use of the twelve sounds in Mozart lies in a great modulating complexity, very appropriate for the drama of the action that is unfolding at that moment. In my "Fantasy" it is only a mere constructive pretext, whose purpose is none other than to serve as a generative idea that provides coherence to the whole piece.
It was premiered by the Zanetti-Turina duo in 1984 at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, as part of the concert series "Lunes Musicales de Radio Nacional de España". In 1992 It was included in the CD "Contemporary Spanish music for four-hand piano", recorded by the duo for the RTVE label.

The Variations and Theme (on the Theme with variations "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman!", by W. A. Mozart) are actually a transcription for two pianos of the 1st series of the work of the same title composed for violin and piano at the end of 1990, in view of the imminence, in 1991, of the bicentenary of the death of W. A. Mozart -composer for which I feel real veneration-, based on the twelve variations on the lied Ah, vous dirai-je, maman!
For my Variations and Theme I set out to recreate Mozart's work without undermining my expressive freedom or my own language, with the only concession being to reproduce the theme (accompanied by some interlaced elements of the original variations) as well as the original coda. But, instead of starting with the theme of others, as is usually the case, it makes its appearance at the end of it, preceded by twelve small independent pieces, which are a free recreation of Mozart's twelve original variations; the most representative of each of them serves to compose a small autonomous piece based on a free development of the element in question (a scale, an arpeggio, a dynamic contrast, a dramatic aspect, a perpetual movement...).
Each original variation was recreated, in this way, in duplicate. Once I had obtained the total of twenty-four independent pieces, I separated those that contained more tradition from those that implied greater modernity, thus forming two independent series that close in the same way, with Mozart's original theme and coda.
The first series of these Variations and Theme was premiered in March 1993 by its dedicatee, Víctor Martin, accompanied by Miguel Zanetti, at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. In the autumn of 2008 I made a transcription for two pianos on it, commissioned, dedicated and premiered by the Dúo Scarbó (Laura Sánchez and Elena Hammel) in October 2010, in the auditorium of the Casa de Cultura de Tres Cantos (Madrid), within the tenth edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Music.

This program ends with a "special extra piece", since nothing else is the Encore alla turca, composed in 2014 -scored for nonet- to serve as an off the programme work for the concerts of the Chamber Music Meeting held by the National Youth Orchestra of Spain at the Priory Le Mesnil Sant Martin (Montaut de Villeréal, France) in September of that same year
Once again I turned my gaze to Mozart to elaborate in a double version -the one of the nonet and the one of two pianos- a rather absurd and irreverent arrangement of the famous "Turkish March" with which the Sonata in A major K. 331 by W. A. Mozart concludes, in which the rigorous continuity of the original piece is "commented on and varied harmonically and tonally, and where even some references to other works by Mozart, especially those based on "Turkish music", were inserted.
Dedicated to Emmanuel Ferrer and Stanley Hanks, the version for two pianos was premiered in 2021 by Isabel Puente and Duncan Gifford at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, as part of the COMA 21 Festival of the Madrid Composers Association.

December 2023 [Translation: Cristina Rodriguez Civil)

The Scarbó Duo and José Luis Turina

Since its formation in 1999, the Scarbó Duo has achieved great success in Europe and America, and it is internationally recognized for its performances on both, four-hands piano and two pianos. Their interpretive quality has been awarded in several international competitions and praised by the press and the public on both sides of the Atlantic.
Since 2015 the duo has been made up of one of its founders, Laura Sánchez, and Cristina Lucio-Villegas. The Scarbó Duo has always been closely linked to the musical production of Jose Luis Turina's works for piano duo. In 2000 the Duo won the "Best Interpretation of Spanish Music" Award at the III Contest of Young Performers of Villafranca (Badajoz, Spain) with their performance of the Three Palindromes, and in 2004 they recorded one of them to be included In the CD-ROM "Tiempos de Música", sponsored by the General Directorate of Cooperation and Cultural Communication of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. [ISBN 688-5439-5]
In 2006 the Duo was invited to participate in one of the concerts of the XII Cycle of Contemporary Music of Málaga, dedicated to José Luis Turina, and the Variations and Theme on the theme "Ah, vous dirai-je, maman!" by W. A. Mozart for two pianos are dedicated to the duo.
Nowadays the Scarbó Duo maintains close professional contact with José Luis Turina and continues to perform his music in various concerts and festivals. At the Coma 2022 Festival they offered a concert much applauded by critics and audience with most of J. L Turina's piano duo production, as a tribute to the composer's 70th anniversary.

[Translation: Cristina Rodriguez Civil]

www.duoscarbo.com

CD presentation video

Presentation of the CD in the Auditorium of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando (Madrid, October 18, 2024) Speakers: Laura Sánchez y Cristina Lucio-Villegas (Scarbó Duo), José Miguel Martínez (producer and director of the Nibius label) and José Luis Turina Youtube link

Radio program

Interview with the Scarbo Duo conducted by Jesús Trujillo and broadcast on La Dársena program of RNE Classic Radio on January 23, 2025

Recording

Related texts

The Scarbó Duo pays tribute to José Luis Turina
By Tomás Marco
(Review of the Tribute Concert to José Luis Turina in commemoration of his 70th birthday, organized by the Madrid Association of Composers and performed by Duo Scarbó in the Manuel de Falla Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid, as part of the 24th COMA Festival. Published in Scherzo magazine on November 6, 2022.)



JOSÉ LUIS TURINA: Complete works for piano duo
By Tomás Marco
(Review of the CD by Duo Scarbó, La forma de la huella, published in issue no. 411 of Scherzo magazine. November 2024)

Under the overarching title La forma de la huella (The mark left behind), this album compiles all the works composed to date for two pianists by one of Spain's most esteemed living composers, José Luis Turina (1952), who has dedicated a substantial portion of his oeuvre to this type of ensemble. Four of the pieces included in the collection are for piano four hands, a format with a long and distinguished historical tradition. These include the Variations on Themes by Turina (2009) -referring to the composer's grandfather, Joaquín Turina- the Sonata y Toccata (1990), the outstanding Tres Palíndromos (1996), and a work as well-known, frequently performed, and beloved as the Fantasy on Don Giovanni (1981), one of the compositions that firmly established its author's well-deserved reputation.
Additionally, there are two pieces for two pianos, both of which have been widely performed in recent years: Variations and Theme on the Theme with Variations "Ah, vous dirai-je maman!" by Mozart (2008) and Encore alla turca (2014), based on the Turkish March from Mozart's Sonata in A major, K. 331. These are works of high caliber, marked by subtle craftsmanship and striking clarity, revealing the refined artistry of their composer.
For this recording, we are treated to the artistry of a highly accomplished duo: Laura Sánchez and Cristina Lucio-Villegas, performing under the name Duo Scarbó. Both pianists are intimately familiar with these works, having performed them extensively, and bring to their interpretations a combination of technical prowess and nuanced sensitivity that aligns perfectly with the character of the music.
The pieces were recorded at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid and the Professional Conservatory of Music in Getafe, with carefully executed sound engineering that aptly captures the essence of the compositions. This album provides an excellent opportunity to explore the wealth of exceptional music José Luis Turina has created for two pianists -whether for piano four hands or two pianos- and to appreciate the artistry of two outstanding pianists whose extraordinary rapport makes them a remarkable duo.



José Luis Turina. The mark left behind
By Francisco J. Balsera
(Review of the CD by Duo Scarbó La forma de la huella, published in Melómano magazine. December 2024)

The mark left behind takes us on a musical journey spanning three decades of José Luis Turina's works for piano four hands and two pianos, performed with precision and sensitivity by Duo Scarbo. The album showcases the composer's creativity, exploring both structural rigor and playful inventiveness in pieces that oscillate between tradition and innovation, always with a personal touch and a profound respect for musical roots.
From the outset, the energy of the Variaciones sobre Temas de Turina sets the tone, paying homage to the illustrious composer. The pianists bring each section to life, capturing the essence of every variation. With the same meticulous care, they approach the Sonata y Toccata, a work dense with ideas and contrasts that flows naturally under their hands.
With a more conceptual focus, in Tres Palíndromos, Sánchez and Lucio-Villegas highlight the work's technical complexity without losing its coherence and freshness. The palindrome-inspired titles add a humorous and reflective touch. In the Fantasía sobre Don Giovann', Turina reimagines Mozart's classic from an almost abstract perspective, using the famous twelve-tone series from the opera as a foundation for constructing a work of great dramatic intensity.
In the Variaciones y Tema sobre el tema con variaciones de Mozart "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman!", the pianists play with dynamic contrasts and harmonic construction while maintaining the delicate humor imbued by Turina. Finally, Encore alla turca closes the album with a hint of irreverence -a quirky arrangement of Mozart's Turkish March that, in Duo Scarbo's hands, sparkles with uninhibited charm. The pianists capture the piece's jovial spirit with both precision and ease, taking the listener back to familiar yet delightfully playful territory. Duo Scarbo breathes life and color into each of the works presented. This album is highly recommended for piano enthusiasts and fans of contemporary music alike. A journey through Turina's personal and musical history, interpreted with brilliance.