Eduard Sanchez Artist Interview
Eduard Sánchez is a celebrated international soloist and a distinguished professor at the Music Conservatory of Barcelona. An extraordinary musician, has great talent, great musicality and technique as well as a very interesting artistic personality. Awarded in International Music Competitions. He has left audio legacies with recordings under esteemed labels such as Capricio, Orpheus Classical, Warner Classics, and Da Vinci Classics.
What is keeping you busy these days?
During this summer, I have to prepare for many international festivals and concerts in different cities and countries every day. It's a fascinating job: rehearsals, travel, as each concert requires studying a different program with diverse training, whether it's solo flute, piano recital, two flutes and piano, chamber concert, or Flute Concerts with Orchestra. Creating the repertoire for each concert is also intense and painstaking work.
Also a large part of my daily work is the recording of all the flute and piano music of the composer I am currently immersed in, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, with the Italian-Japanese record label, a project that includes three volumes, the first volume has already been released and the second volume has just been released a few days ago, which includes some sonatas that are world premiere recordings, and now at the beginning of September I will record the third volume with the pianist Enrique Bagaría at the Turonet Studi studios in Barcelona (les franqueses del Vallés) and with explanatory texts by Mr. Mark Kroll, professor emeritus at Boston University and author of the great biography of J.N. Hummel. At the end of the year, the album entitled ‘Springtime’ will be ready with the Warner Classics record label and will include great sonatas such as Beethoven’s Spring or the Duo Concertante op. 129 by C. Czerny, including works composed for this album by contemporary composers such as A. Sukarlan, J. Grundman and some preludes by A. Guinovart.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel Vol.1 Music for flute and piano
Johann Nepomuk Hummel Vol.2 Music for flute and piano
What does your schedule look like for the next 6 months?
A few days ago, I was in Denmark, in the city of Holstebro, for a fascinating flute recital. Following this, a few days later, I performed in Barcelona and Murcia.
Now, I've just arrived in Italy, in Naples, to offer several flute concertos for two flutes and orchestra with international flutist Claudi Arimany. We'll play Vivaldi's concertos in C minor, Vivaldi in C major, and Quantz in G minor for two flutes.
A day later, I'll return to Barcelona to perform in Tarragona, specifically in its grand and famous cathedral.
A few days later, I'll perform in Poland, specifically in Szczecin, where I'll offer a piano recital and several flute concertos with the Baltic Orchestra. We'll play Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and the Quantz Concerto in G minor.
I will be performing at another of Barcelona's important international festivals in the city of Altafulla, a chamber recital with a baritone and several flute concertos with orchestra, specifically the flute concertos by G.B. Viotti and D. Cimarosa.
A chamber recital with a soprano singer in the French Pyrenees.
A recital for two flutes and piano at the International Festival in the province of Aragon.
In September, the recording of Volume 3 of the complete flute and piano works of Johann Nepomuk Hummel will be the final volume, thus completing the recording of all of J.N. Hummel's flute and piano works.
I will also be presenting one of the selected flute and piano works in the United Kingdom (Cambridge), which I will be playing in one of the city's monumental churches. And a recital with piano in southern Italia in Lamezia Terme.
In October, in Barcelona, the Contemporary Music Festival will premiere six works for flute and piano composed exclusively for this concert, which I will perform alongside contemporary pianist Francisco Martí.
That same October, I will travel back to Italy for a recital near Milan.
In November, I will perform several flute and orchestra concerts in Barcelona at various international festivals.
In December, I will perform a tribute concert at the Conservatorio Superior del País Vasco (Musikene), specifically in San Sebastián, with flute and piano sonatas.
At the end of the year, I will perform several chamber recitals in Barcelona, and at the beginning of the year, on January 1st, I will kick off the year with a New Year's concert in the Pyrenees (Baqueira Beret), and a few days later in Monaco, a recital for two flutes and piano.
What are your goals. personally? Professionally?
Professionally, keep improving technical skills to remain efficient in daily study, saving time and energy so that I can devote to other projects. Always having concerts, recitals and projects in sight helps me to be every day in shape and keep studying like the first day to not lose the daily study habits. Emotional intelligence is also important in any aspect of life, as it helps me to achieve all my goals.
What inspires you the most in life?
In life there are many things that can inspire you, even things you could never have imagined. Every day is different from the previous one and inspiration can come at any time, or even any place without expecting it.
When I travel for concerts the walks in the big capitals before and after performing a concert, surrounded by people from all over the world, discovering new cities never visited before, feeling that it will be or has been a great concert in a great city just discovered and that everything that concerns me is under control.
What has been your greatest challenge?
Every day is a great challenge in teaching at the Conservatory, teaching students to manage their studies, teaching them to create study habits, seeing the progress they are making so that they become great flute professionals. I feel that I have a great part of responsibility for the students to achieve their goals and help them to do so can be a great challenge. Every student is different.
What is the most exciting thing in your life right now?
I've always believed that in a musician's professional life, there comes an exponential point of peak performance, at which very exciting and interesting professional decisions can and should be made.
In my case, it's involved carrying out several recording projects and creating a legacy for future generations of musicians.
It's a source of great satisfaction and excitement during these years as a professional flutist to be in the midst of recording with various record labels such as Da Vinci Classics and Warner Classics, and to record forgotten flute works such as the entire flute and piano works of J.N. Hummel in three volumes and various sonatas by Beethoven, Czerny, Guinovart, Sukarlan, and Grundman for Warner Classics, which will be released in a few months.
All this work makes me proud and thrilled every time I'm informed that the new album is ready and that the distribution process is in place.
What are you completely bored with right now?
The world in general is full of injustices. Every day, we are informed through various media outlets about possible solutions to eradicate all these injustices as much as possible. But it bores me that they say the same thing every day and the people responsible for it don't act decisively to resolve all the things that could be improved in the world. I would be very happy if everything could be resolved immediately.
One habit you wish you could break?
In all the International Concerts that I perform and I have to be at the airports of the different cities, at the train stations where I perform the concerts, I have always had the habit of being many hours in advance in each place, with an excessive amount of time in advance. In reality it is a good and positive habit, but sometimes it makes me think that all that time could be used in some other things in life and not have that feeling of dead time or wasted time. I always go to the places with plenty of time to be able to act on possible unforeseen events and thus have enough time for any changes or incidents that may occur.
If you had a super power, what would it be?
The superpower I've always wanted and dreamed of so many times throughout my life is the ability to fly, so I can have everything under control (although I already try to have everything under control, but even more so - laughs -) and see everything from a much broader perspective and with an unimaginable angle of vision. It's like teleporting through time and being able to be in the right place at the right time. I would never give up this superpower, because it would be wonderful. Can you imagine? With a flute in your hand, traveling through airspace and transporting yourself anywhere to perform your concerts? Great!
What is one thing you wish you knew at 19?
I wish I knew I don't need to have everything figured out at that age. That it's okay to make mistakes, to change course, and not have all the answers.
On the other hand, I also wish I knew that comparing myself to others only holds you back. Everyone has their own pace. And finally, I also wish I knew that time passes faster than it seems, and that taking care of myself (my health, my friendships, my passions) is just as important as working, teaching students, giving concerts, and even studying the flute every day.
What is your Spirit Animal?
As for the spirit animal that most represents me, I'd say it's the owl, as it represents knowledge, observation, and the ability to see a wide angle of space, even in the dark. I always think of animals related to birds, as it gives you that sense of freedom in both space and time.
Flute and Piano C. Saint-Saëns, J. N. Hummel, A. Guinovart i L. v. Beethoven
Flute and Harp G. Donizetti, J. B. Krumpholz, Ch.W. Gluck, M. Ravel, G. Bizet, Fr. Kuhlau, E. Morricone