Fernando Otero: Difference between revisions
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Otero's most recent album is ''Romance'' (Soundbrush Records), released in 2012, which has been described as "an exhilarating surprise — a collection of beautifully crafted short pieces that are both jazzy and lyrical, brought to life by a superb ensemble of instrumentalists and singers".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/2/Features/A_Trip_to_the_Argentine.html|title=A Trip to the Argentine|work=[[Opera News]]|date=February 2013|author=Brian Kellow}}</ref> |
Otero's most recent album is ''Romance'' (Soundbrush Records), released in 2012, which has been described as "an exhilarating surprise — a collection of beautifully crafted short pieces that are both jazzy and lyrical, brought to life by a superb ensemble of instrumentalists and singers".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2013/2/Features/A_Trip_to_the_Argentine.html|title=A Trip to the Argentine|work=[[Opera News]]|date=February 2013|author=Brian Kellow}}</ref> |
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==Musical style== |
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Otero's music has been described to "vibrantly [summon] tango ancestors while also acknowledging Bartok and Prokofiev."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/arts/music/fernando-otero-in-music-of-now-marathon-at-symphony-space.html?_r=0|title=Music Review: Marathon With Room for Art Songs and Electronics|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 7, 2012|author=Steve Smith}}</ref> In addition, his playing style has been described to "bore traces of jazz pianists like Bill Evans and Don Pullen."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/arts/music/fernando-otero-in-music-of-now-marathon-at-symphony-space.html?_r=0|title=Music Review: Marathon With Room for Art Songs and Electronics|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 7, 2012|author=Steve Smith}}</ref> |
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His study of drums becomes evident in pieces like Preludio 4, "a whirlwind piano solo that showcases Otero’s formidable keyboard prowess. (The earlier ''Pagina de Buenos Aires'' album featured his 'Preludio 19' ".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/sounds-heard-fernando-otero-romance/|title=Sounds Heard: Fernando Otero—''Romance''|work=[[NewMusicBox]]|date=March 12, 2013|author=Frank J. Oteri}}</ref> |
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"Neely Bruce, Professor of Music at Wesleyan, spoke to me about the music of the Fernando Otero Quartet. He explained that, 'It’s exciting, it’s full of variety, it’s very dramatic, very rhythmically complex; it sounds like tango on steroids.' The music clearly conveys the sense of a narrative, a narrative that could really be anything — as Bruce put it, 'It could be a car chase or even two lovers.' "<ref>{{cite news|url=http://middletown-ct.patch.com/groups/andrew-chatfields-blog/p/bp--tango-on-steroids-virtuoso-pianist-graces-wesleyan-stage|title='Tango on Steroids': Virtuoso Pianist Graces Wesleyan Stage|work=[[Patch]]|date=April 13, 2012|author=Andrew Chatfield}}</ref> |
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==Discography== |
==Discography== |
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Revision as of 16:29, 25 July 2013
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Fernando Otero | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Fernando Otero |
| Genres | Latin jazz, tango, contemporary classical |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, pianist |
| Instrument | piano |
Fernando Otero is an Argentine composer and pianist,[1] currently residing in New York City. His first contact with music was receiving vocal lessons from his mother — he started taking piano lessons at five. He also studied the guitar, drums, accordion, and melodica, instruments he plays occasionally. A classically trained and virtuoso pianist, Otero studied classical music since childhood. He has since developed his own style which has elements of jazz, tango, and contemporary classical music.
Biography
Otero found his voice as writer, musician and bandleader when, at the urging of one of his music teachers, he began to incorporate the indigenous sounds of his native Buenos Aires into his work, as he did in his Nonesuch debut Pagina de Buenos Aires in 2008.
He has collaborated with one-time Bill Evans sideman Eddie Gomez, flautist Dave Valentin and pianist/film composer Dave Grusin, among others, and he sat in with Arturo O'Farrill’s Jazz Orchestra during their Sunday night residency at New York City’s Birdland, performing his compositions with this large jazz ensemble also at Lincoln Center and Symphony Space. He also joined clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera on stage, at Birdland, Blue Note, and the Caramoor Festival, and in the studio for the recording of the Grammy-Award winning album Funk Tango.[2]
Musical career
In January 2008 Otero released the album "Pagina de Buenos Aires" from Nonesuch Records. Critics describe the album as "[u]rbane and exotic, surreal and streetwise, and alive with invention and emotion".[3]
In February 2008 the Kronos Quartet premiered "El Cherezo" ("The Cherry Tree") at Carnegie Hall, a one-movement work for string quartet commissioned from Otero that "blended tango-infused lyrical interludes into a sometimes dissonant canvas."[4]
In 2010 he received the Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Album for Vital.[5]
Otero's most recent album is Romance (Soundbrush Records), released in 2012, which has been described as "an exhilarating surprise — a collection of beautifully crafted short pieces that are both jazzy and lyrical, brought to life by a superb ensemble of instrumentalists and singers".[6]
Musical style
Otero's music has been described to "vibrantly [summon] tango ancestors while also acknowledging Bartok and Prokofiev."[7] In addition, his playing style has been described to "bore traces of jazz pianists like Bill Evans and Don Pullen."[8]
His study of drums becomes evident in pieces like Preludio 4, "a whirlwind piano solo that showcases Otero’s formidable keyboard prowess. (The earlier Pagina de Buenos Aires album featured his 'Preludio 19' ".[9]
"Neely Bruce, Professor of Music at Wesleyan, spoke to me about the music of the Fernando Otero Quartet. He explained that, 'It’s exciting, it’s full of variety, it’s very dramatic, very rhythmically complex; it sounds like tango on steroids.' The music clearly conveys the sense of a narrative, a narrative that could really be anything — as Bruce put it, 'It could be a car chase or even two lovers.' "[10]
Discography
- Chamber Music (2000)
- Siderata (2001)
- Plan (2003)
- Revision (2005)
- Pagina de Buenos Aires (Nonesuch, 2007)
- Expansion (2008)
- Material (Warner Bros. 2009)
- Vital (World Village, 2010)
- Romance (Soundbrush Records, 2012)
References
- ^ Nate Knaebel (January–February 2008). "Fernando Otero: Pagina de Buenos Aires (review)". CMJ New Music Monthly. p. 45. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ^ Michael Hill. "About Fernando Otero". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- ^ Tim Nelson (25 January 2008). "BBC Music Review: Fernando Otero - Pagina de Buenos Aires".
- ^ Vivian Schweitzer (25 February 2008). "Music Review: Kronos Quartet - Premieres Range in Palette From Balkans to Argentina". The New York Times.
- ^ "Fernando Otero Wins Latin Grammy Award". Nonesuch Records. Monday, November 15, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Brian Kellow (February 2013). "A Trip to the Argentine". Opera News.
- ^ Steve Smith (7 February 2012). "Music Review: Marathon With Room for Art Songs and Electronics". The New York Times.
- ^ Steve Smith (7 February 2012). "Music Review: Marathon With Room for Art Songs and Electronics". The New York Times.
- ^ Frank J. Oteri (12 March 2013). "Sounds Heard: Fernando Otero—Romance". NewMusicBox.
- ^ Andrew Chatfield (13 April 2012). "'Tango on Steroids': Virtuoso Pianist Graces Wesleyan Stage". Patch.
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