sar texted me about his recital, so I went. Since I knew him, this is my 1st time seeing his piano. He is a pianist who introduces South American music in the United States. The venue was a music school hall in West Manhattan, 11.19.2025, surrounded by friends and neighbors, and the concert started at 7:30 p.m.
The program,
Mozart: K.332
Mexican composers:
Alexis Aranda and Ernesto Elorduy
Schumann: Carnaval
In Mozart, the light and shadow of the vocal lines were beautifully expressed. At the same time, the works of the two Mexican composers offered a striking contrast with Aranda’s dances and toccatas and Elorduy’s warm, heartfelt songs. The essence of these pieces seemed to blend seamlessly into the second half with Schumann’s Carnaval.
In Schumann, the left hand shifted chords while the right hand’s embellishments were at times spicy, at times elegant. César’s piano playing was robust, cheerful, and warm—truly a remarkable interpretation unique to him.
For the encore, he gave us Nimrod to share our friendship. I felt grateful to be blessed with such wonderful friends. Thank you, César, and I look forward to many more concerts.
Mexican pianist and musicologist César Reyes is an active member of the Society for American Music. After graduating from Mexico’s National Conservatory, he came to the United States in 2001 to continue his studies under the direction of the renowned Cuban-American pedagogue Germán Diez, disciple and assistant of the legendary pianist Claudio Arrau. Mr. Reyes earned a Master Degree in Music at CUNY. He has presented lecture-recitals on the piano music of Mexico at numerous conferences in the United States and Europe. An Advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Reyes produces the artist tours, The Music of Our Century, sponsored by the Mexican National Endowment for the Arts. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the First Annual Latin American Piano and Song Festival of New York (2008), the first U.S. festival dedicated to the exploration of classical, folk and popular traditions of the Latin American piano and song repertoire.
セザールから演奏会の案内を受け、足を運んでみた。彼は南米の音楽をアメリカで紹介しているピアニストだ。会場はマンハッタン西部の街中にある音楽教室のホールで、友人や近所の人々に囲まれ、午後7時30分に開演した。
プログラムは以下の通りだ：
モーツァルト：K.332
メキシコの作曲家：アレクシス・アランダ（Alexis Aranda）、エルネスト・エロルドゥイ（Ernesto Elorduy）
休憩後
シューマン：謝肉祭
モーツァルトでは歌の光と影が、メキシコの二人の作品ではダンスやトッカータ、そして温かな歌の表現が対比されていた。特にアランダのダンスとトッカータ、エロルドゥイの歌は心に残る。これらのエッセンスが、後半のシューマン『謝肉祭』に絶妙に溶け込んでいた。
シューマンでは左手がコードを巧みにシフトし、右手の装飾は時にスパイシーで優雅。セザールのピアノは力強く朗らかで温かく、彼ならではの見事なシューマン演奏だった。
アンコールでは「エニグマ」を演奏してくれた。いい友人に恵まれたことを改めて感じる夜だった。ありがとう、セザール。これからもよろしく。