Ensemble Col Legno/Ferrer - Leonardo Balada: Caprichos Nos. 6, 7 and 10, Ballet City, Spiritual

Acknowledged as one of the finest contemporary composers, Barcelona-born Leonardo Balada has written a series of Caprichos, suite-like pieces that illustrate the range of his invention. Fusing traditional and contemporary elements, they generate a symbiosis between the ethnic and the avant-garde, as in Caprichos No. 7: Fantasies of 'La Tarara' in which an Andalusian folk melody is transformed into a surrealist canvas, and in the vividly descriptive dissonance of Caprichos No. 6. Ballet City is a youthful work, reflecting Balada's early enthusiasm for neo-classicism.