The Pau Casals Museum joins the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Juli Garreta with a special concert featuring pianist Daniel Blanch and cellist Romain Garioud, who will perform two sonatas from the cello-piano repertoire: Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata and Garreta’s Sonata, a piece the two artists rescued from obscurity a few years ago through their recording of the complete works for cello and piano by the composer from the Empordà region.
Seating is limited. Advance ticket purchase is required at www.ticketsonline.paucasals.org. For more information, you may send an email to museu@paucasals.org or call +34 977 684 276.
- Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Sonata in A minor “Arpeggione”, D. 821
I. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto - Juli Garreta (1875–1925)
Sonata for Cello and Piano dedicated to Pau Casals
I. Poco a poco, agitated
II. Very slowly
III. Finale. Fast
Romain Garioud, cello
Romain Garioud is a prizewinner of prestigious international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (2001) and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris (2002).
He graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with first prizes in cello (1997) and chamber music (1998), and had the privilege of working with such renowned cellists as Philippe Muller, Anner Bylsma, Natalia Chakhovskaya, and Steven Isserlis.
Garioud has received the Mécénat Société Générale and Fondation Meyer awards. In 2002, he was named an “ADAMI Revelation,” a French national distinction for professional musicians. His career quickly expanded, leading to invitations to perform and give masterclasses throughout Europe (Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux in France, Colonges-Bellerive and Amadeus in Switzerland, Mantua in Italy), and more recently in China and South America.
In October 2013, he performed Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto at the Yuri Bashmet Minsk Festival with the national television orchestra. In June 2016, he was invited to the “Martha Argerich Project” in Lugano, stepping in for Natalia Gutman to perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Casa da Música Orchestra of Porto (Portugal).
He has collaborated with conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach (Orchestre de Paris), Michael Sanderling, Stéphane Cardon, and Volodymyr Sirenko (National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine), and played chamber music with Mstislav Rostropovich, Gilles Apap, Dora Schwarzberg, Pavel Gililov, Philippe Entremont, Menahem Pressler, among others. He has performed at top venues like the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonie. Many of his concerts have been recorded by Radio France and the Mezzo TV music channel.
Romain Garioud enjoys performing a broad and eclectic repertoire. Whether in chamber music or solo performances, he is driven by a deep passion for musical dialogue.
In November 2005, he won First Prize at the Bucchi International Cello Competition. Since 2014, he has been a founding member of the trio “Dorogi,” with violinist Dora Schwarzberg and pianist Giuliano Mazzoccante. Since 2019, he has taught in Darmstadt and Berlin. In 2021, he released Mar Plana with pianist Daniel Blanch, featuring the complete works for cello and piano by Juli Garreta.
He plays an exceptional Nicolai Gagliano cello (1760), generously on loan from Gabriele & Michael Andreae-Jäckering.
Daniel Blanch, piano
A versatile, sensitive, and creative musician committed to recovering his country’s musical heritage, Daniel Blanch has successfully built a solid career as a pianist, both as a soloist and chamber musician, for over twenty years. Since his debut at the Palau de la Música Catalana in 1999, he has participated in numerous festivals and concert series in venues such as the Brahms-Saal at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Auditori de Barcelona, the Amadeo Roldán Theatre in Havana, the Witold Lutosławski Hall in Warsaw, and the Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Granada, among many others. He has performed as a soloist with Sinfonia Varsovia, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Podlasie Philharmonic, the Ukrainian National Symphony, the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, and the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra, under conductors such as Jacek Kaspszyk, Ernst Van Tiel, Volodymyr Sirenko, Manfred Neuman, and Salvador Brotons.
Since 2002, Daniel Blanch has formed a long-standing duo with violinist Kalina Macuta, with whom he has performed across Spain, combining international repertoire with lesser-known yet high-quality works by Catalan composers. Their work has resulted in recordings such as Miniatures catalanes and the first complete recording (in two volumes) of the works for violin and piano by Joan Manén. Together, they have also recorded sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartók.
In chamber music, Blanch has collaborated with ensembles and artists like the Merel Quartet, Gerhard Quartet, cellists Romain Garioud and Guillermo Pastrana, and flutist Elisabeth Franch. He also frequently collaborates with soprano Júlia Farrés-Llongueras and tenor David Alegret.
Daniel Blanch has released eighteen commercial recordings. The first two were dedicated to works for solo piano by Schumann, Mozart, and Schubert. He has also undertaken a series of recordings focused on recovering and internationally promoting Catalan piano concertos: in 2006, he recorded the Piano Concerto by Joaquim Nin-Culmell (world premiere) and the Concerto breve by Xavier Montsalvatge; in 2007, he recorded the three piano concertos by Carlos Suriñach; and in 2009, he recorded the Iberian Concerto by Manuel Blancafort and Tríptico de la piel de toro by Ricard Lamote de Grignon. He has also performed and recorded works such as the Catalan Rhapsody and Juventus by Joan Manén, and Hispania by Joaquim Cassadó. Additionally, he has recorded two CDs of piano music by Josep Martí Cristià, and two recordings dedicated to Catalan art song: Impressions de natura with David Alegret, and L’abril ha florit with works by Rafael Ferrer, accompanying Júlia Farrés-Llongueras. Recently, he released Sonata di concerto with cellist Guillermo Pastrana.
Blanch began his musical training in his hometown of Barcelona under Maria Canals and Raquel Millàs at the “Ars Nova” Music Academy. He later studied with Maria Tipo, Brigitte Engerer, and Ramon Coll, and received guidance from Alicia de Larrocha and Josep Colom. Upon completing his studies, he won several national and international competitions, including El Primer Palau and the Maria Canals International Music Competition.
Daniel Blanch is the president and founder of the Joan Manén Association, an organization dedicated to the recovery and promotion of Catalonia’s musical heritage.