Not only was Manuel Ponce the leading figure in the emergence of Mexican nationalism but his music embodies a wide variety of influences. Nowhere is this more evident than in his writing for solo piano, and this album, the third of eight volumes, explores three specific facets. The first is his youthful concert studies, which are virtuosic, atmospheric and memorably evocative. The second, the Veinte piezas fáciles (‘Twenty Easy Pieces’), consist of ingenious pianistic adaptations of Mexican folk songs and dances, some indigenous. The third element is his personalised use of Romanticism in the form of mazurkas, character pieces and the dazzling Bersagliera. Álvaro Cendoya continues his acclaimed cycle dedicated to the complete piano music of Manuel Ponce.

Álvaro Cendoya was born in San Sebastián, Spain in 1960. He first studied at the local Conservatories and then in Madrid. Subsequently he moved to Buenos Aires, where he studied the piano for three years with Bruno Leonardo Gelber and later continued his piano studies in London with Noretta Conci and Peter Feuchtwanger. In 1989 he won the prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music at the international Premio Jaén competition. In 1993 he appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no.1 at the Santander Palacio de Festivales, winning critical praise. He has performed internationally across South America and Europe as well as in the United States and China. Álvaro Cendoya is a professor at the Basque Conservatory of Music.

‘Cendoya captures the rhythmic swagger and melodic verve that runs through all of these pieces with charming, easy fluency.’ – CBC (Vol.1: GP638)

‘The quality of Manuel Ponce’s piano music surprised me: both music and performance are lusty, voluptuous, colorful, dazzling, and soulful.’ – American Record Guide (Vol.2: GP764)