El Mar de Hielo (The Sea of Ice)

In 2019 Lago’s ‘Ríos’ for clarinet quartet and symphony orchestra were premiered at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

In the orchestra a young student of the Conservatorium of Amsterdam was performing the (demanding) tuba part. Lago and this man, Néstor Jara Martinez, had a great click right away and the idea of working together on a piece for tuba (long-standing wish of Lago) originated. So in the year of the world-wide pandemic the two got together online (…) and decided that it should be a piece for tuba and strings. (two versions; one for string quartet and the other for string orchestra)

Lago’s wife Saskia Törnqvist (professor of musical history at Conservatorium of Amsterdam) then suggested to also include a young tuba-player from the USA in the project. She had met Bridget Conley the year before and really liked her sense of adventure and dedication to her instrument. Lago contacted Bridget and to his joy she enthusiastically joined the project.

Both Néstor and Bridget are part of a new promising generation of musicians with great curiosity, dedication and constantly looking for new ways to promote their instrument.

El Mar de Hielo takes it title from the famous picture by Caspar David Friedrich (‘Das Eismeer’ in german). As in many pieces by Lago the essence of the piece can be found in the first few bars and ‘El Mar de Hielo’ makes no exception. Four movements show the tuba in full glory and exploit the many faces of the instrument: the velvety embracing sound in the first movement, the melodic and virtuoso side in the second, the icy (Hielo) soft transparency in the third and the brassy New Orleans drive in the fourth.