SUITE IBERIA

The spirit of Iberia captured by composer Isaac Albéniz and performed by local-born and now world-renowned pianist José Luís Nieto in the Serranía de Ronda on a balmy Iberian night . . . it's the perfect holistic music experience. The impressionistic Suite Iberia, written between 1905-1909 is regarded as the greatest piano piece to come out of Spain, and was much admired by Debussy. It's rich and complex, described as a 'series of tone poems', and extremely difficult to play, requiring a high level of technical skill.  We've designed an outdoor stage at La Donaira that contains the sound while providing an infinite backdrop of rolling mountains and starry skies. Though chances are the audience will be fixed on Nieto himself who is said to mix Spanish passion with a Russian soulful pathos absorbed during his years of study in Moscow. It's an intimate concert for a lucky few, and a forerunner for the inaugural pause festival in which more extraordinarily talented classical musicians including Maria Joao Pires will be taking part in five nights of outdoor concerts at La Donaira (Aug 17-23). If you miss Nieto, you'll be able to catch him in the more orthodox setting of the world's top concert halls in Stockholm, Dusseldorf, Prague, Madrid; see his website for details of scheduled events later this year and in 2018.