press
“An evening of color, brilliance and virtuosity from Teatro Real at Carnegie”
“As expected, wonderful colors, rhythms, and intense emotions abounded in “A Music Fantasy from Spain,” but conductor David Afkham also led them on equally rewarding musical adventures far away from the Iberian peninsula… One of the compositional techniques that Turina learned in France was cyclical form, where a theme or musical idea is repeated in different movements or sections of a piece to create unity and coherence. It was a form that early 20th-century Spanish composers embraced to the fullest, and a perfect vehicle to ramp up emotion, which Afkham seized at every opportunity. The artistry came in his and the orchestra’s ability to make each repetition so fresh and captivating. That was never more manifest than in the three movements of Turina’s popular work inspired by Spanish dances”