MAXIMINO ZUMALAVE
Orchestra conductor and pianist, Maximino Zumalave studied in Santiago, Madrid,
Vienna and Stuttgart with Angel Brage, Guillermo González, Rosa Sabater,
John Elliot Gardiner and Helmuth Rilling.
Founder and Principal Conductor of the Santiago University Choir (1979-1985)
and the Collegium Compostellanum (1988). Principal Guest Conductor of the
Galicia Symphony Orchestra (1992-1995) and co-founder of the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra of Galicia (1996), sharing the joint artistic direction with Helmuth
Rilling until the year 2000. To date, he continues his association to this
Orchestra as Principal Guest Conductor (and also as Joint Director of the
School for Advanced Musical Studies in Santiago). In February 1995 he was
inducted to the Royal Galician Academy of Arts.
Maximino Zumalave has worked with soloists of the stature of Tzimon Barto,
Charlote Margiono, María Bayo, Ernesto Bitetti, Veronique Gens, Alicia
de Larrocha, Rudolf Buchbinder, Aldo Ciccolini, Wolfgang Holzmair, Josep Colom,
Iris Vermillion, the Labéque sisters, Nicolaus Lahusen, Agustín
Leon Ara, Joaquín Achúcarro, Valentin Georghiu, Anthony Rolfe
Jonson, Gyorgy Sandor, Alicia Nafé, Joaquín Soriano, María
Orán, and Frank Peter Zimmermann, amongst others.
Frequent and very special is his collaboration with legendary mezzo Teresa
Berganza, with whom he has performed in concert all over Europe.
Maestro Zumalave has conducted important international ensembles like the
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Bach-Collegium, the English Baroque Soloists,
The English Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Monteverdi
Choir, the Choir of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the
Sofia National Opera, the Brabants Orchestra Eindhoven, the National Orchestra
of Lille, the Orkest van het Ossten, the Odense Symphony Orchestra, the
Gächinger Kantorei, the Oporto Symphony Orchestra, etc.
In Spain, he has conducted the National Orchestra of Spain, the Madrid Symphony
Orchestra, the City of Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, the Tenerife Symphony
Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, the Reina
Sofía Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Seville,
the City of Granada Orchestra, the RTVE Choir, the Prince of Asturias
Foundation Choir, etc. His ample repertoire extends from Monteverdi and Bach to
contemporary composers.
His activity in and outside Galicia has allowed him to share with the Galician
public most of that repertoire, whilst he has likewise presented works of
Galician composers to European audiences. This intense activity has produced
many studio recordings and live radio and television broadcasts in Spain,
France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands,
etc.
Maximino Zumalave has conducted world premieres of works by noted contemporary
Spanish composers like Bernaola, Castillo, García Abril, Groba, Marco,
Mestres Quadreny, Villa Rojo, etc, also championing young Galician composers
such as Alonso, Balboa, Macías, de Paz, Pereiro, Vázquez or
Viaño. He has also introduced to the Spanish public works by Frank
Martin or Shostakovich.
In the field of non-classical music, he has collaborated in recordings and
concerts with artists like the pop star Björk and the noted Celtic group
Milladoiro (conducting the English Chamber Orchestra in the suite lacobus
Magnus, recorded in London).
To commemorate Santiago de Compostela as European City of Culture 2000, maestro
Zumalave conducted a pan-European choir of 90 young singers during a highly
successful tour, beginning in Reykjavik and then performing in Brussels,
Helsinki, Tallinn, Kracov, Avignon, Bologna, Santiago de Compostela, and
Bergen.
Maximino Zumalave's intense educational activity frequently includes massive
didactic concerts (he, for instance, once explained and conducted the Pastoral
Symphony in front of near 14,000 students) and regular master classes as
Chairman of Lyric Theatre at the International Music University in
Compostela.
Maximino Zumalave was a Member of the Board of the Auditorium of Galicia, of
the Council of Galician Culture, and founder of the Philharmonic Society of
Compostela.
His love for Bach's music is well served not only in frequent performances, but
also as a member of the Neue Bach Geselischaft (New Bach Society). He procured
for Santiago de Compostela the Spanish seat for the courses of the
International Bach Akademie.
In addition to this, maestro Zumalave has been invited in numerous occasions to
participate as a member of the jury in many contests and international awards:
President of the Jury of the 2003 edition of the "Mariele Ventre"
awards for choirmasters in Bologna; President of the Jury of the Galician Music
Awards 2002; President of the Jury of the International Piano Competition
"Cidade de Ferrol" 2002 (and member of the jury in some of the
previous editions); Member of the Jury of the "Andrés Gaos"
composition awards (in several editions, the last one, the 5th, in 2003);
Member of the Jury of the Auditorio de Galicia Composition Awards 2003; Member
of the Jury for the selection of scholarship holders of the Foundation Pedro
Barrié de la Maza in several occasions; Member of the jury for the
selection of scholarship holders of the Delegation of A Corunna; Member of the
commission of the Zuid-Nederlandse voor Hogeschool Muziek Maastricht; Member of
the Jury of the 52º Concorso Polifonico Internazionale "Guido D'
Arezzo" 2004.
And, in short, Zumalave is also, almost anecdotally, a composer, being the
author of several polyphonic works for choir; of incidental music for theatre
plays like "Freedom in Bremen" by Fassbinder; of religious music -
Mass in Gallego for choir and organ - and various other pieces of chamber,
voice and piano music.
The critics say
The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra did their first tour in Spain in 1988. Maestro
Zumalave conducted their presentation concert (broadcast live on Spanish
television from the Teatro Real in Madrid), which respected journalist Ruiz
Coca reviews thus in his paper (Ya): "the commitment of the musicians was
complete and the results highly promising mainly judging by the flexible
musicality with which the conductor faces the instrumental set... homogenous,
sharpened and unanimous sound... the extraordinary quality of the playing
served the clear concepts the maestro has of the scores (which he conducts from
memory) ... the happiest moment occurred in the Romantic Serenade by Dvorak,
which Zumalave led with natural fluidity and security."
Of that memorable evening in the Teatro Real, in his column in the ABC paper
another respected Spanish critic, Antonio Fernandez-Cid, wrote: "His
conceptual approach is serious, but his baton flies... maestro Zumalave
obtained admirable pianissimi and shades of sound from his orchestra... joyful
version of the precious Mozart Divertimento K 138, and later a multitude of
colours and detail in the Dvorak Serenade... Great success, culminated at the
end of the concert with the beautiful Mozart Divertimento K 136, and after a
standing ovation, with a short romantic page of L'Arlesíenne, sung very
well by the mesmerised orchestra".
Continuing his firm artistic trajectory with the National Orchestra of Spain,
Maximino Zumalave made his presentation at the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid in
another remarkable concert. The music critic from Spain's most widely read
broad sheet, El País, Enrique Franco, wrote about it: "With a not
at all populist or easy program, full of risky choices, maestro Zumalave made
his debut conducting the National Orchestra of Spain. He is a sensible musician
of great responsibility, a virtue made patently obvious in his interpretations
of the Villa-Rojo premiere, and in Rachmaninov's Second, the latter an
excellent version, the most detailed and conceptually transparent of the
evening, and one which was rewarded by the public with a deserved standing
ovation."
This unanimous opinion was also shared from the pages of rival broad sheet ABC
by Antonio Fernández-Cid: "Maestro Zumalave, natural, precise and
assured in his conducting of both works, later offered us a great, beautiful
and very long version of the monumental Rachmaninov's Second Symphony, full of
sweeping romanticism, lyric passages, and mighty melodies (...) Great
success."
Another noted critic, Carlos Gómez Amat, writing for El Mundo,
summarised the success very graphically: "Rachmaninov's Second Symphony
can be a little heavy and overlong at times. Lead in the wings, one might say,
but it certainly flies when conducted by a musician of such solid experience
and clear assurance like maestro Zumalave in this occasion."
And, in short, Rafael Benedito in Ya, also applauds Zumalave's good work
fronting the National Orchestra of Spain: "This concert gave many of us a
rather welcome and long-awaited surprise: the fact that, in our country, there
are indeed very good conductors. Pertaining to a new generation, Maximino
Zumalave made music of the highest calibre (...)".