Cristo Barrios (born 30 May 1976 in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Spain) is a Spanish clarinetist, soloist and

chamber musician Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

Biography

Spanish clarinettist Cristo Barrios is recognized as one of the most exciting clarinettists of his generation. Future highlights include performances at the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Concertgebouw and Spanish National Auditorium, his debut performance at the Konzerthaus

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, a recital at the Konzerthaus Wien, a recording for the Spanish National Radio (RNE2) and his debut performance at the South Bank Centre (Purcell Room) in London. Recent engagements have included performances with the Endellion and Arditti String Quartets, after his debut performance at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

, 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.

Soloist and chamber musician

Barrios is a musician with a keen interest in

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

. 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 Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

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 Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

broadcast-, Berg, Brotons and Honegger). His last CD, Composers of the 21st century in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, was recently released by RALS.

Awards

Major prizes include first prize and the gold medal at the Primer Palau Competition, playing the

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

Introduction, Theme and Variations in the Palau de la Música Hall,

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, and the first prize at the CHAIN Concours Moderne in Riga. While studying at the

Royal Academy of Music in London Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

, 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.http://www.helenpearse.co.uk/helen_pearse/cristo.html

Discography

*2006: The voice of the clarinet, with transcriptions of lied, Divine Art Records. *2007: Chamber music for orchestra, chamber music by Joaquim Homs, Naxos. *2008: Contemporary music for clarinet, Metier Records. *2008: Nuevas composiciones para clarinete, RALS.

External links

* http://www.cristo-barrios.com/ Official website * http://www.artistsinternational.com Artists International Management. * https://www.youtube.com/barrios38007 YouTube's channel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrios, Cristo 1976 births Spanish clarinetists Living people Spanish classical musicians People from Tenerife 21st-century clarinetists