Cristo Barrios

(clarinet)

dda 25040 The Voice of the Clarinet

A top prize-winner at major international competitions, in 2000 Cristo won first prize and the gold medal at the Primer Palau Competition playing the Rossini Introduction, Theme and Variations in the Palau de la Música Hall, Barcelona. In 2003 he won first prize at the CHAIN Concours Moderne in Riga, which led to two concert tours in Europe. Other prizes include competitions such as the Young Musicians International Competition, Badajoz; Guadamora International Chamber Music Competition, Córdoba; Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist Competition, London; Anglo-Czechoslovak London Music Competition, etc.

As a recitalist and chamber musician he is much in demand and has performed in Europe and America, including Palau de la Música, Barcelona, St John’s Smith Square, London, W igmore Hall, London and Carnegie Hall, New York. He has also been invited to play at festivals such as Torroella de Montgrí, Langvad, Llangollen or Sant Pere de Rodes. In addition, Cristo’s engagements as soloist have taken him to Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Latvia, Denmark, Portugal and the USA. Many of his performances have been broadcast on radio and television, including the BBC, RNE and S4C. His recent chamber music partners have included Andrew West, Philip Moore, Llyr Williams, the Brodsky String Quartet and the Endellion String Quartet.

Cristo Barrios is a keen recitalist and chamber musician with an intense particular interest in the field of contemporary music. This enthusiasm has been borne out in his recent première of Cantus Firmus by Blai Soler at the Wigmore Hall, as well as works by Javier Ruiz (Trois Minutes for violin, clarinet and piano), Tom Johnson (Tilework Series for solo clarinet), Juan Manuel Ruiz (Bentayga, for clarinet and piano), Juan Manuel Marrero (Insolence, for clarinet and piano), Raquel Cristobal (Sonata for clarinet and piano), Gustavo Trujillo (Lamento del Alba), etc.

His first CD with chamber works by Joaquim Homs was released on Naxos to exceptional reviews. He recently recorded “The Voice of the Clarinet” (Divine Art Records), an innovative disc of songs transcribed for clarinet and piano. Soon he will release “Clarinet Flashes” (Divine Art Records) and “Composers of the XXI Century in the Canary Islands” (RALS). In 2008 he will record a new CD with the Grupo Enigma, premièring a new piece by Blai Soler for solo clarinet and ensemble (Metier Record).

Born in 1976 in Tenerife, Cristo Barrios took a first class degree in clarinet at the Tenerife Conservatory followed by a postgraduate scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in 1999. In 2000 he went on to win the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship, held at St John’s Smith Square. His teachers have included Joan Enric Lluna and Richard Stoltzman.

“This is a feast for those addicted to the liquid legato of the clarinet. The hero here is Cristo Barrios and his accomplished partner is Clinton Cormany. Together they put forward a largely delightful collection.” (Musicweb – 2007)

“There is lots of lovely, even cosy, deliquescent melody around. Cristo Barrios makes a nice individual sound and has great breath-control; and I am sure he has absorbed all the texts, which are generously printed in full in the booklet. There is no shortage of beautiful moments, and even surprises.” (International Record Review Magazine – 2007)

“On the afternoon of his Wigmore Hall debut Helen Pearse caught up with the Spanish clarinettist, Cristos Barrios, and discovered a musician poised on the brink of international acclaim, with a distinctive take on the clarinet repertoire.” (The Clarinet and Saxophone Magazine – 2007)