Free I No ticket required

Germán Marcano Lecture Presentation
Sphinx Catalogue of Latin-American Cello Works

Mosse Humanities Building
Morphy Recital Hall
455 N Park St.
Madison, WI
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Cellist Germán Marcano will discuss the origins of the Sphinx Catalog of Latin American Cello Music (in the late 1990s at UW–Madison) and the methodologies employed in the research and assembly of the collection. Marcano will share information on how to access and browse the catalog, and he will share some recordings of the music included therein. The presentation will conclude with a Q&A session.

While this presentation focuses on cello music, it promises to provide valuable insight for anyone hoping to learn more about locating and presenting musical repertoire from Latin America.

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Germán Marcano currently excels among the most important cellists in the Latin American music scene. His performances have received the best acclaims from musicians and the specialized critic, and his chamber music work with the Rios Reyna Quartet and recently with Venezuelan folk music, acclaim him as one of the most versatile cellist in Latin America. German Marcano holds a BMus degree from the University of Surrey, England, the Premier Prix diploma from the Guildhall School of Music in London, and Masters and DMA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

At age 17 he received by unanimous decision of the jury, the “Best Young Musician of the year Award” granted by the Reading Symphony Orchestra, England, subsequently being invited to perform as a soloist with them, in addition to performing in several concerts in some cities of the United Kingdom. In the following years, he was regularly invited as a soloist with ensembles such as the Surrey University Symphony Orchestra, the Guildford Camerata and the Surrey Philharmonia. Marcano studied under the guidance of Stefan Popov and William Pleeth in London, and Uri Vardi in Wisconsin, participating in masterclasses with Franz Helmerson, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrel and Janos Starker.

Back in Venezuela in 1985, Marcano occupied the principal cello chair with the Simón Bolívar Symphonic Orchestra, doing numerous tours and record productions with them. Since then, he has been a regular invited soloist with Venezuela’s main orchestras. He developed an important teaching work at the Simón Bolívar Conservatory, the Emil Friedman School, the Simón Bolívar University Music Master Studies, and the Mozarteum Center’s Music School. He has been guest professor and lecturer in Grand Valley State University, Louisiana State University, University of South Florida, Lawrence University, Andrews University in Michigan, the San Diego Youth Orchestra in California, and the Madison Cello Institute in Wisconsin. He was founder member of the Rios Reyna String Quartet, one of the most important chamber groups in Venezuela, with 2 commercial recordings, one of them devoted to Latin-American works.

Marcano has combined his instrument’s traditional repertoire with Latin American compositions of the past and present times, thus promoting this high quality but very little known repertoire. He has premiered works from renowned Venezuelan composers, as well as giving first auditions in Venezuela from different Latin American composers. In 2008 Marcano premiered the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra by Puerto Rican composer Carlos Vázquez, piece composed specially for him. His catalog of Latin American works for cello was published in 2004 by the Vicente Emilio Sojo Foundation (Funves), with whom he also published an edition of the Suite for cello and piano by Venezuelan composer Modesta Bor, and the cello works of Juan Bautista Plaza. The catalog in its digital form is now part of the website of both the Sphinx Organization and CelloBello. Three commercial recordings complete his profile as a cellist: the first one including works by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and others, and the other two devoted to folk Venezuelan music.

He currently lives in Miami, performing actively with faculty from FIU, Music in Miami series, South Florida Symphony, Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony.