SONATAS FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO, VOL. 1

CARLOS DAMAS, VIOLIN
An outstanding Portuguese violinist with a brilliant international career, Carlos Damas is considered by ‘Gramophone’ and ‘The Strad’ as one of the best interpreters of Fritz Kreisler’s works. International critics have compared him to world-acclaimed violinists such as Thomas Zehetmair, Gidon Kremer, and Henryk Szeryng.

He attended the Conservatorio de Coimbra at the age of three, where he first got acquainted with the world of sounds. He debuted as a soloist with the now dismantled Orquestra da Radio Difusao Portuguesa conducted by maestro Silva Pereira. He moved to Paris where he attended the Conservatoire. He studied under Jacqueline Lefèvre and maestro Ivry Gitlis. During his Paris period, he met regularly with Yehudi Menuhin, who provided guidance in his career as an artist and violinist. He was invited by the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, to participate in the Semmering Festival. Also in Austria, he worked with violinist Dora Schwarzberg and pianist Yuri Smirnov. He also participated in masterclasses directed by violinist Shlomo Mintz.

He gave the Parisian premiere of the Violin Concerto written by Portuguese composer Luis de Freitas Branco. He has premiered works by modern composers such as Jacques Chayllé, Gracia Finzi, Michel Merlet, Jean Jacques Werner, Jacques Bondon and Sérgio Azevedo. Carlos Damas has recorded extensively, placing a clear emphasis on the dissemination of the repertoire written by Portuguese composers. His recordings have been released by Naxos, Brilliant Classics, Et’cetera and Dux.

Carlos Damas has played as soloist all over Europe, North America and Asia with orchestras such as the Jeune Philharmonie (Val de Marne-Paris), Winnipeg Symphony, North Dakota International Music Camp Orchestra, St. Luke’s Orchestra, Camerata de St. Severin (Paris), Orchestre Internationale de la Cité (Paris), Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra (China), Macao Orchestra, Mission Chamber Orchestra (San José, California) and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Carlos Damas has performed in prestigious concert halls, such as the Salle Gaveau and Salle Cortot (Paris), UNESCO Grand Auditorium, Centro Cultural de Belém and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal), Lee Hysan Concert Hall in Hong-Kong, Teatro D. Pedro V (Macau), Licoln Center (USA), Oriental Art Center (Shanghai) and Ville Louvigy (Philharmonique du Luxembourg). Carlos Damas plays a valuable Italian violin by G. B. Gabrielli, ex "Isham", dated circa 1767, donated by an American fan. In addition to his activity as concert violinist, Carlos Damas has a Doctor degree in psychology and education of music and is violin teacher at Évora University, Portugal.

RUBEN LORENZO, PIANIST
Spanish pianist, was born in Zaragoza where he studies with J. Bel (Piano and Chamber Music Honor Award) and later in Madrid with P.Espinosa, J. Colom and G. Fernández Álvez. He temporary lives in London where he continues his studies with N. Arootuinian (Royal Academy of Music) and L. Kentner (Yehudi Menuhin School). He received a Doctor of Music degree ("summa cum Laude") from the Politechnical University of Valencia. He also won the Extraordinary Doctoral Thesis Award for his research about methodologies of analysis of the musical interpretation. In 1987 he was appointed Professor of Conservatorio Superior de Música de Zaragoza until 2002.