Woodwinds
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Cristo Barrios Clarinetist |
Spanish clarinettist Cristo Barrios is recognized as one of the most exciting clarinettists of his generation. Future highlights include performances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Spanish National Auditorium with pianist Gustavo Díaz Jerez, his debut performance at the Konzerthaus Berlin with pianist Clinton Cormany, a recital at the Konzerthaus Wien, a recording for the Spanish National Radio (RNE2) and his debut performance at the l’Auditori, in Barcelona.
Recent engagements have included performances with the Endellion and Arditti String Quartets, after his debut performance at the Wigmore Hall, his exciting tour with the Brodsky String Quartet and a brilliant debut recital at the Carnegie Hall. He has also performed at festivals such as Torroella de Montgrí and Sant Pere de Rodes in Spain, Langvad Music Days in Denmark and Llangollen International Music Festival in Wells (with a special broadcast for the S4Channel), among others.
Cristo Barrios is a musician with a keen interest in contemporary music. His enthusiasm in this has resulted in the premières of Cantus Firmus (Wigmore Hall) and Clarinet Quintet (with the Arditti String Quartet) by Blai Soler. His ambition to explore new music has also led him to collaborate with important composers such as Joseph Horovitz, Tom Johnson (before touring his Tilework Series for solo clarinet in The Netherland, Poland, Czech Republic and France), and Esa-Pekka Salonen (before recording his Nachtlieder for Metier Records, a CD which also includes works for clarinet and piano by Bernstein, Bax -Radio New Zealand broadcast-, Berg, Brotons and Honneger). His last CD, Composers of the XXI Century in the Canary Islands, was recently released by RALS.
Major prizes include first prize and the gold medal at the Primer Palau Competition, playing the Rossini Introduction, Theme and Variations in the Palau de la Música Hall, Barcelona, and the first prize at the CHAIN Concours Moderne in Riga. While studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he went on to win the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship, held at St John’s Smith Square and broadcast by the BBC3. After finishing his degree at the Royal Academy he recorded ‘The Voice of the Clarinet’ (Divine Art Records), an innovative disc of songs transcribed for clarinet and piano.
Cristo Barrios is a Buffet Crampon Artist and plays with Buffet Festival clarinets.
‘Cristo Barrios is a sensitive player who knows how to make new audiences for his instrument’.INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW
‘Barrios, a former student of Richard Stolzman, bears much of his teacher’s passionate musicianship’.
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE
‘Cristo Barrios interpretation demands close listening. Great playing!’
CLASSICAL FM MAGAZINE
‘Charming! The best performers always make it look easy’.
MID WEST RECORD
‘Cristo brings out lyrical, melodious lines to the fore, attacks with extraordinary intensity of sound, and has got a lyrical sweetness in his sound’.
THE CLARINET AND SAXOPHONE MAGAZINE