WORKS

COBALTO
The passions of eroticism in question here have both a mystical and an explosive, rough side – both of which are painted upon extraordinary music, without which the dance would only have had half the effect. There are organ sounds that hurt as if they were hurricanes in the ears, then for several minutes sustained, soft tones dazzle merely because of their duration. These endless sounds, reminiscent of a glass harp, have a similar effect to staring into darkness; if you stay there long enough, the most mysterious figments of the imagination begin to awaken. Listening to this music is not always easy; it provokes an experience of being on the edge that goes beyond a “beautiful evening of ballet”. Is Nacho Duato exploring Eros as an unknown god – as opposed to referencing the images that immediately come to mind in our sexualized society? If so, then Duato dodges these images using the organ, the instrument of the metaphysical sound par excellence. But the organ can only convey this circumvention if it is played in an unconventional unclichéd way. The unknown cannot be found in familiar harmonic patterns – nor Eros be found in the worn-out dance gestures that, for lack of an alternative, still characterise the idea of passion. (…) All in all, “Cobalto” shows why Nacho Duato is one of the greatest choreographers alive.
SüdkurierHarald Ruppert pdf

HERRUMBRE
Nacho Duato’s Herrumbre is just as powerful as Goya’s The Third of May and Picasso’s Guernica.
Le Figaro – René Sirvin pdf

Herrumbre is from another galaxy. Or, maybe, just from this one. Already performed at the Liceu in Barcelona, the Châtelet in Paris and the Royal Theatre in Madrid, its revival has removed any possible doubt that this has been one of the most complete, committed, intense and courageous shows of Nacho Duato’s entire artistic career. The excellent music of Pedro Alcalde, Sergio Caballero and David Darling fits the choreography of the show perfectly.
El País – Juan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

Uncompromising and Courageous – The piece is highly intense, and is based on impactful music … With shows like this, Dance of the 21st century demonstrates that it still has a lot to express.
El País – Juan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

DIECISIETE
This was one of the few times that I have been able to witness a precise aesthetic balance between music and dance.
Madrid TeatroJosé Ramón Díaz Sande link

The most appealing piece of the night came from the premiere of “Diecisiete”. The balance between very well-made music by Pedro Alcalde and Sergio Caballero and choreography with notable oriental influence that gels well with the whole performance.
La RazónLuis G. Iberni pdf

Creative dialogues impose themselves over simple imitation. Duato’s work with Alcalde and Caballero is to be found in this intellectual and aesthetic orbit. (…) The young audience cheered the show in each of its parts and surrendered to the bewitching beauty of Diecisiete, a complex and disturbing piece of work, which is also mysterious and subtle, and that integrates of music and truly seductive scenery.
El PaísJuan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

ALAS
It is the ultimate marriage of choreography, music and design, transcending into a magical experience.
Australian StageSelma Nadarajah pdf

A surprising and perfectly outlined show (…) Pedro Alcalde and Sergio Caballero´s music perfectly encapsulates the whole show and magically inspires the listener.
Danza BalletCarolina de Pedro Pascual pdflink

Alas (Wings) is a dramatic exploration of humankind’s need to feel alive through experiencing emotional, sensual and spiritual needs.
The Daily TelegraphShoba Rao pdf

Alas is an exceedingly beautiful production…
Real Time 83Martin del Amo pdf

COBALTO
Above all, it is a soundtrack created by Pedro Alcalde and Sergio Caballero and performed on the organ.
Diario de Cádiz Désirée Ortega Cerpa pdf

Cobalto, is, without doubt, the most interesting piece of the evening. (…) The music, despite being almost entirely abstract, is constantly complemented by harmony and forcefulness. Strength, beauty and a perfect correlation between the visual and the sonorous, make the evening a great closing of the FIT.
La VozGermán Corona pdf

INFINITO
A more effective way to wake the old stones of the theatre would have been difficult to imagine. (…) The solemnity of Beethoven, the funeral march of Lutoslawski and the cosmic air of “Infinito” by Pedro Alcalde were surrounded by a strong visual imagination and heavily supported by technology and spectacular scenery.
AbcMiguel Ángel Lucas pdf

It left a good part of the audience speechless… The musical discourse was in the end, the best part of the night.
La RazónMiguel Ayanz pdf

FM2
The evening suddenly got brighter when Pan Sonic’s Vaihtovirta made its appearance and it was the OBC that shook things up with a very attractive score, written by Pedro Alcalde. It was a dialogue built on an echoing rhythmic game of electroacoustics, that reached a good fusion thanks to the electronic sound magma with the orchestral melody. (…) A great contribution from Alcalde with Pan Sonic.
La VanguardiaJorge de Persia pdf

The musical journey improved at the moment in which the roles were reversed; when Pan Sonic brought a new piece, Vaihtovirta (the fruit of a successful collaboration with the composer Pedro Alcalde). It was when we had the real and hopeful feeling of finding ourselves in a valuable union of both universes. … It was the brightest moment of the afternoon.
AvuiD. Broc / X. Cester pdf

Suddenly the best of the night came. A clear transgression, a bold reversal of roles with Vaihtovirta by Pan Sonic with Videogeist images. The entire orchestra accompanied the electronic voice, and did so in its very own way, with glissandos and long pedals that generated an interesting feeling of detachment. (…) A path has been created which is well worth exploring further.
El PaísAgustí Fancelli pdf


CONDUCTING


(Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet – Staatskapelle – Staatsoper Unter den Linden – Berlin June 2018)
But not only the look, the listen also attracts: Pedro Alcalde deliberately elicits delicate diminuendi from the Staatskapelle Berlin, he can decelerate very gently in the highest altitudes before he goes to the maximum with the dramatic rhythms. By the way, the 59-year-old Spaniard not only has music on it, but also a degree in philosophy, which you can even hear if you want to be subtle.
Ballet-Journal – Gisela Sonnenburg link

(Tchaikovsky – Sleeping Beauty – Berlin State Ballet – Royal Theatre – Madrid September 2015)
It highlighted the powerful and vibrant conducting of Pedro Alcalde.
El MundoJulia Martín
A word of great praise should be immediately paid for the Titular Orchestra of the Royal Theatre conducted by Pedro Alcalde: Tchaikovsky’s music was performed with great refinement, without heaviness or discounted effects, but rather with fine attention to the colour details and the dynamics of the various numbers.
GbOpera MagazineGiselle Roiz Miranda
The Titular Orchestra of the Royal Theatre sounded round and bright.
ABCJulio Bravo
Bright conducting.
LevanteCarles Recio
Pedro Alcalde and the Titular Orchestra of the Royal Theatre was the best of the program by far.
Correo de AndalucíaGabriel Ramírez Lozano
In the pit, Pedro Alcalde knew how to conduct the Royal Theatre Orchestra with the rigour of the greats.
BachtrackEduardo López-Collazo
Press Kit

Sobriety and Elegance – Alcalde’s conducting is analytical in the first act, as sober and precise as the scene. It turns to the drama in the second act with authentic greatness, extracting the dramatic essence from the purified control of a sound that seeks the secret and interiorized heart of the score more than it does fireworks. With this, the sensation of true sound has a direct impact on the scene, and on many occasions, it even leads the performance.
In sum, the Madrid Symphony performed, in my opinion, the best performance since it has been in the Royal Theatre, with a strings section that knew how to sing with feeling (especially the violins and the cellos, although there could have been more body in the double basses). Above all, there was a sense of playing in a group that bodes well for the opera season ahead.
El PaísJuan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

In front of a splendid Galicia Royal Philharmonic, the maestro Pedro Alcalde offered a magnificent concert. Alcalde is a conductor who always leaves his mark on the works he performs. In the case of this night in Santiago, not only did the Philharmonic give the best of itself, but he also knew how to create and outline with clarity and simplicity the three works that made up the program. (…) Lyrical, evocative, rapturous, he brought out the best of this music by Sibelius without losing the faint, even pale, colours of the Scandinavian composer’s orchestration.
El MundoEnrique Sacau pdf

He conducted the Frankfurt Orchestra with a precision that was far from lacking in spirit or emotional depth.
FrankfurterAnnemone Jurk pdf

This masterful interpretation of the pieces of the Austrian genius-composer was at the hands of the conductor Pedro Alcalde. Judging by the applause, the public was thankful to him, not only for offering Mozart’s music but for his brilliant rendition.
El Ideal GallegoEIG pdf

(Stravinsky) – From the pit, live, comes the power of an amazing score, interpreted with analytical skill, balance and contained emotion, by the excellent Choir of Valencia and meticulous attention to detail by the Symphony Orchestra of Madrid, with Pedro Alcalde as distinguished master of ceremonies.
El PaísJuan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

The inaugural concert of the XII Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art, Sónar 2005, held in the Auditorium merged the music of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC) with daring electronic proposals. This sound experiment was a bold triumph, which was a happy replacement of the shy renditions that had happened in the previous two editions. (…) The conductor of the OBC, Pedro Alcalde, claimed yesterday, at the press conference for this special concert, that classical music could do with a bit of a shake-up. Tonight’s experience may well have opened up new ways to go about it.
El MundoEfe pdf

I was thrilled, partly also because the version signed by Pedro Alcalde was more than remarkable. Pedro Alcalde proved to have a great musicality and a special affinity with the music of Takemitsu, which he understood well and knew how to transmit perfectly.
Mundo ClásicoMikel Chamizo pdf

Pedro Alcalde captained, with firm and clear strokes, this new incursion of the OBC.
ABCPablo Meléndez-Haddad pdf

Conquering the Russian public that completely filled the beautiful and warm Theatre, until recently dedicated only to classical dance. After the performance, warm applause and bravos with part of the public standing up. (…) The voices of the choir emphasize the solemnity of this moment. … The bells ring as Ekaterina rises up on the cloth dyed with blood in a religious sacrifice. Unforgettable.
El PaísCarmen del Val pdf

Sense and structure are two key concepts for understanding Alcalde’s approach to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony in Segovia. Clear, precise and spirited, the planning was surprisingly un-routine, architecturally luminous and coherent. The musical tensions were as lyrical as they were transparent and suggestive.
El PaísJuan Ángel Vela del Campo pdf

Although one of the best-known pieces in the history of music, Beethoven’s Pastorale was reborn with rare intensity in the hands of Alcalde’s exquisite version, which was both comprehensive and mature.
El Norte de CastillaJ. A. G. Municio pdf

Alcalde conducted with decision and agility, with tempi faster than those to which we are accustomed from other conductors, but this did not mean a loss of expressiveness. It offered a good opportunity to enjoy music, due not only to the composition itself but also to its interpretation. The audience was fascinated.
El Adelantado de SegoviaManuel Sanz pdf

A recital of Mozart’s arias with three excellent singers who succeeded in conveying all the love and nuances of this god of universal opera. Of great assistance was the presence of a conductor profoundly acquainted with the thought of the Salzburgian composer, as is Pedro Alcalde, (not in vain has he a Doctorate in Musicology and Philosophy by the Freie Universität in Berlin for his thesis on Don Giovanni), reflected in his interpretation of each one of the passages, which he did without the aid of scores.
La CrónicaJosé Antonio Cantón pdf