ABEL SÁNCHEZ-AGUILERA

“Sánchez-Aguilera thrives on the conceptual and technical challenges of this music. As with his reading of the rather longer Toccata seconda (also on Piano Classics), a virtuosity that never takes itself for granted is continually geared towards the music’s essence. Rarefied though Sorabji’s music may be, it can be engrossing and communicative when interpreted with this degree of authority and insight.”

“Again, Sánchez-Aguilera scales this new edifice with aplomb, backed by his analytical intelligence, stamina, and sheer keyboard facility. It is a truly impressive feat.”

“There’s a lightness and playfulness throughout the opening Movimento vivo.[…] Part of this is due to Sánchez-Aguilera’s supple navigation of the rapid scales and clotted chords, plus the transparency resulting from his discreet pedalling. […] Certainly this pianist commands the technical wherewithal for going beyond reams of notes in pursuit of the music, along with his affinity for and gigantic commitment to Sorabji’s aesthetic.”

“[Abel Sánchez-Aguilera] delivers a performance of enormous clarity and subtlety […]. From the off, we know we are in safe hands with Mr Sánchez-Aguilera colouring every note and making every line sound clearly. There is no muddy pedalling or fudging of ideas here.

In Mr Sánchez-Aguilera’s hands it [the Interludio] sounds like joy but must be terrifying to play. [In the Capriccio] Once again, such is the pianist’s skill in colouring and dynamics that he makes what could be a brutal nightmare a quixotic dream […]. He is clearly very at home with Sorabji’s aesthetic.”

“Abel Sanchez-Aguilera contrasts the movements very well and plays in a stylish, lively and fluent manner, so that both the sensual beauty of the music and the rhythm are well served.”

“Sánchez-Aguilera consigue que esta no sea solo una primera grabación de la obra, sino una versión de referencia para futuras interpretaciones. Su capacidad para jugar con los rangos dinámicos y el timbre confieren un carácter orquestal a la partitura en puntos como el Adagio o la Fantasia. La claridad y ligereza de su toque se observan en la Cadenza o el Corrente (…). Todos estos rasgos se combinan en el número central, una Passacaglia de casi cincuenta minutos de duración en la que (…) Sánchez-Aguilera hace alarde de su habilidad para manejar las olas de intensidad que dan forma a este número y alcanza el clímax, sin duda uno de los puntos culminantes del disco, de manera brillante y rotunda. Para cuando alcanzamos el Epílogo de la Toccata estamos ya rendidos a la música de Sorabji y convencidos de que Sánchez-Aguilera es uno de sus grandes intérpretes.”

“Sánchez-Aguilera remains in control of the grand scheme and plays everything so compelling that you as a listener as matter of course go along with the composer’s sense of time and simply forget time itself.”

“[Piano Classics’s] new release brings us the premiere recording of Toccata Seconda of 1933–34, a lengthy work in nine movements, masterfully presented here by the Spanish pianist Abel Sánchez-Aguilera. … In the “Notturno” he could not be more fluid as he lays out the quasi-improvisational theme above suspended harmonies with all the nuance of Bill Evans. It is an assured performance, and the piano is beautifully recorded, making this two-disc set an absolute winner.”

“[Toccata Seconda is] Sanchez–Aguilera’s recording debut, and it puts him firmly in the pantheon of people who have tackled Sorabji and won. Only in the Coda–Stretto is he too careful or reticent; he puts everything else across astoundingly well, especially the difficult Scherzo.”

“a pianist of considerable resources was needed to illuminate the design of these plethoric chords. Abel Sánchez-Aguilera succeeds, mastering the insane architecture of these demiurgic pages.”

“Abel Sanchez-Aguilera succeeds in making the long work attractive by well contrasting the different parts of the Toccata, brilliantly juxtaposing the virtuoso passages with the very reflective and lyrical ones.”

“Abel Sánchez-Aguilera (piano) nos ha regalado una colosal interpretación de una obra que parece no tener fin. Una precisión y rigor propios de alguien que bien conoce el mal llamado repertorio contemporáneo, y un tesón y valentía dado en muy pocos pianistas, que se aventuran a grabar e interpretar en directo obras de este calibre y magnitud, sacándolas a la luz y dándoles voz y espacio en un mundo pianístico dominado por el repertorio romántico.”

“Abel Sánchez-Aguilera (piano) has given us a colossal performance of a seemingly endless work; the accuracy and rigour of someone who knows well the ill-named contemporary repertoire, and the perseverance and courage found in very few pianists who venture to record and perform live works of this calibre and magnitude, bringing them to light, giving them voice and space in a pianistic world dominated by the Romantic repertoire.”

“Este disco constituye una doble revelación. De un lado supone el documento extraordinario de una partitura de Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji… y, de otro, la primera grabación del pianista Abel Sánchez-Aguilera, músico de amplia trayectoria en los más complejos márgenes del teclado del siglo XX… un artista por completo inusual. … Es este un disco excepcional como antesala. Si sus oídos se ahorman a la arquitectura tendrá un mundo por descubrir.”

“This disc represents a double revelation. On the one hand it entails the extraordinary document of a score by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji… and, on the other, pianist Abel Sánchez-Aguilera’s first recording, a musician of ample trajectory in the most complex margins of 20th century keyboard… an entirely unusual artist. … This disc is exceptional as an antechamber. If your ears can adjust to the architecture, you will have a whole world to discover.”

“Sánchez-Aguilera supera con nota el desafío y nos muestra con maestría la enorme riqueza musical de los preludios, fugas, corales y demás formas que aparecen en las nueve secciones de la obra. … En todo caso, un estupendo, necesario y reivindicativo disco que merece la pena conocer.”

“Sánchez-Aguilera passes the challenge with flying colors and masterfully reveals the enormous musical richness of the preludes, fugues, chorales, and other forms that appear in the nine sections of the work. … In any case, an excellent, necessary, and vindicatory album that is well worth discovering.”

“I would certainly bow to his superior intellect as well as his phenomenal skills at the keyboard. May he make further recordings, preferably of modern music such as this, for years to come!”

“La 4ème Sonate [de Scriabine], qui date de sa maturité, et le fantastique poème Vers la flamme, l’une de ses ultimes pièces sont habilement défendues par Abel Sanchez-Aguilera qui souligne avec finesse ce mélange de sons et de couleurs.”

“Dieser raffinierte Umgang mit dem Klang, solche Stilkundigkeit, wenn es darum geht, sich eben nicht zu verlieren in impressionistischen Klängen, sondern das strukturelle Denken herauszustreichen. Und dazu stupende Virtuosität.”