Spanish cellist Asier Polo in concert at MCO

In Spain, Polo is considered the leading national cellist. In Winnipeg he is, alongside Colin Carr, a bonafide cello celebrity.

The Spanish cellist Asier Polo has performed with some of Europe’s most prestigious orchestras, including the National Orchestra of Bordeaux, the Basel Philharmonic, and the Monterey Symphony Orchestra. Testifying to his eminent standing in Spain, he’s also toured South America with the Spanish National Orchestra. From Carnegie Hall to the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Asier Polo bowls audiences over.

A champion of modern Spanish music, Asier Polo will play Joaquin Rodrigo’s whimsical Concierto in modo galante and Granados’s rapturous Intermezzo de Goyescas. The 20th-century music of the Spanish-speaking world is known for its neo-romantic tendencies, and this is especially true of these two pieces, which are rich with Spanish folk flavours.

Mozart’s charming but brief Symphony No. 27, on the other hand, helped set the stage for the romanticism that would flourish in the following decades. Composed in the galant style popular at the time, the Symphony bristles with humour, song-like melodies, and dance rhythms.

This concert will also feature a new work for strings by Canadian composer Jeffrey Ryan, recipient of New Classical Music Award for career achievement.