Divine Art is delighted to announce a superb collection of sensuous classical Spanish language songs for voice and piano, from the sublime musical partnership of lyric soprano Esther Rayo and renowned pianist and conductor Peter Grünberg. This program of works was first heard in a series of concerts given by the San Francisco based teaching and performance organization LIEDER ALIVE! The album will be released on November 7, 2025.
The songs are by early 20th century composers: Fernando Obradors, Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Alberto Ginastera, Xavier Montsalvatge, Consuelo Velázquez and Manuel Ponce. Drawing from Spanish classical poetry and regional folk melodies, these vibrant song cycles offer appeal to art song aficionados and first-time listeners alike.
Born in California, and surrounded by Spanish music and language, this music is close to Esther Rayo’s heart. Her connection with these songs started when she was introduced to the music of Manuel Obradors while in college. Obradors offered the perfect starting point for her continued study and discovery of Spanish art song, and she was guided by the great 20th century sopranos Montserrat Caballé and Victoria de los Angeles, who kept this music alive.
While she was at graduate school in 2017, Esther was introduced to Peter by Maxine Bernstein, Founder and Director of LIEDER ALIVE! and they made an immediate musical connection around the works of Spanish language composers. LIEDER ALIVE! helped provide opportunities for Peter and Esther to perform this music together, alongside its standard mission of promoting German Lieder. Over the years they continued to study and learn more classical Spanish repertoire, resulting in this, their debut album together. And, even after all these years, they still feel they’ve only just scraped the surface of this wonderful repertoire!
The album opens with a selection from Manuel Obradors’ song cycle Canciones clásicas españolas, based on centuries of timeless traditional Spanish poetry and the work that first introduced Esther to this wonderful music. This is followed by Enrique Granados’ three colourful tributes to the local personalities and customs of 18th century Madrid, 12 tonadillas en estilo antigo, and his Quejas, o la maja y el ruiseñor, (the Girl and the Nightingale), from his Goyescas, a solo piano suite inspired by Goya’s artworks. Bésame mucho, como se fuera esta noche la ultima vez (Kiss me as if tonight were the last time) was the talented 16-year-old Mexican composer Consuelo Velázquez’s passionate response to Guejas, and is a classic covered by singers from the Beatles to Bocelli.
Manuel de Falla’s beloved collection of popular Spanish songs, Siete canciónes populares españolas is followed by Xavier Montsalvatge’s Cinco canciones negras, inspired by the melting-pot of European and African musical influences in the Antilles. The five folk songs Cinco canciones populares argentinas by Argentina’s most prominent 20th century composer Alberto Ginastera, are particularly significant as Peter Grünberg has a special connection to Ginastera. The composer asked to meet him after a performance Peter gave in Geneva when he was in his early 20’s (Ginastera was 65 at the time), and invited him to play a sonata for cello and piano he had written for his wife Aurora Natola which was about to be premiered in New York. Ginastera was curious about Peter’s response as a pianist to his vital and direct music.
The album ends with Estrellita by the beloved and truly popular Mexican composer Manuel Ponce. The song has been a hit ever since it was first performed. Musically and emotionally, like so many of its companions in this collection, this title song possesses the brilliance, focus, and soaring clarity of una estrellita – a little star.
Recorded at St Stephen’s Church, Belvedere, California in mid-August 2024 with support from LIEDER ALIVE!
Album information:
‘Estrellita’
Catalogue No. DDX 21145
UPC No. 809730114526
Artists:
- Esther Rayo (soprano)
- Peter Grünberg (piano)
List of Works:
- Manuel Obradors
- Canciones clásicas españolas
- Enrique Granados
- 12 tonadillas en estilo antigo
- Quejas, o la maja y el ruiseñor
- Consuelo Velázquez
- Bésame mucho, como se fuera esta noche la ultima vez
- Manuel de Falla
- Selecciones de Siete canciónes populares españolas
- Xavier Montsalvatge
- Cinco canciones negras
- Alberto Ginastera
- Cinco canciones populares argentinas
- Manuel Ponce
- Estrellita
Recorded at St Stephen’s Church, Belvedere, California in mid-August 2024
Engineer/producer: Matt Carr
Esther Rayo
Soprano Esther Rayo is most recognized for her passionate expression of Classical Spanish Repertoire, though her artistry spans Opera, Baroque, Oratorio, Sacred Music, and Art Song. A dedicated and versatile performer, she has been featured in performances with Circa1600, Sonoma Bach, and as a soloist with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Rayo made her Herbst Theatre debut representing Lieder Alive! at InterMusic SF’s Music Day and is celebrated for her collaborations with LaMusArt, supporting underserved Latino youth in East Los Angeles.
Ms. Rayo earned her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Sonoma State University, studying under David Burnakus and Ruth Ann Swenson, and her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from DePaul University, where she debuted the title role in Suor Angelica to critical acclaim. She made her European debut at Teatro della Fortuna in Fano, Italy, singing Puccini’s Tosca and Mimi in La Bohème.
Esther has received numerous awards and scholarships, including honors from the Jarvis Conservatory, NATS Vocal Competitions (Redwood Empire, San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay Opera League, DePaul University Kleinman Competition, San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto, and Musica nelle Marche in Italy.
Grateful for the release of Estrellita — this album with acclaimed pianist Peter Grünberg, Ms. Rayo’s recent and upcoming engagements include the San Francisco International Piano Festival, a return to San Francisco Music Day representing Lieder Alive! at Herbst Theatre, an all Puccini concert at Mission DoloresSan Francisco, and her recital debut at Rossmoor, Walnut Creek. Further engagements include featured soloist in Fanny Mendelssohn’s Hero und Leander with Sonoma County Philharmonic, and a recital and live recording, Sacred Joy, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere, California.
Peter Grünberg
Sydney-born musician Peter Grünberg has led a multifaceted career that spans several countries. For fifteen seasons, he was Musical Assistant to Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony. During that time he worked on several Grammy-winning recordings, honed the performances of the SFS Chorus and many visiting soloists, and gave hundreds of pre-concert lectures. His performances as a piano soloist with the Symphony have often featured American music, from Gershwin and Copland to Ives and Adams.
He was appointed head coach at the Grand Théâtre de Genève at age 21. A few years later, as a result of preparing the first Australian performances of Berg’s Lulu, he was appointed Resident Conductor with the Sydney Symphony. In the 1990’s, he held the position of head of music staff at San Francisco Opera. During that period he conducted at Moscow Conservatory and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and led the San Francisco Symphony in a concert of opera excerpts. He performed at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, and also at Tanglewood with Frederica von Stade and the flutist Matthieu Dufour.
He has a long history of presenting and performing song recitals, having collaborated with such artists as Tatiana Troyanos, Deborah Voigt, Laura Claycomb and Quinn Kelsey. Instrumental chamber music is also close to Mr. Grunberg’s heart: He has performed Beethoven and Mozart in Japan with members of the Vienna Philharmonic; with Peter Henderson at Sun Valley Summer Symphony he performed John Adams’s two-piano extravaganza Hallelujah Junction. With the New Century Chamber Orchestra he recently arranged music from Berlin in the 1930’s for a performance with Thomas Hampson and Daniel Hope.
Mr. Grünberg retains a connection with both the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Opera, and is currently developing future collaborations with other young artist programs around the world. Grünberg continues to maintain an active life as a recitalist and chamber musician. Next season, he will be appearing with the young American violinist Benjamin Beilman in Sun Valley, and as artist-in-residence with LiederAlive! San Francisco, he will be performing again with soprano Esther Rayo and cellist Oliver Herbert in a wide-ranging program of music by Schubert.
About LIEDER ALIVE!
LIEDER ALIVE! offers frequent opportunities to experience German Lieder, multi-lingual vocal repertoire, and instrumental chamber music in a vintage environment, performed by highly accomplished emerging and established professionals. The purpose of LIEDER ALIVE! is to create an opportunity for deep transformation for the artists and for the audience at large. This important relationship of their supremely gifted musical artists with the patrons is keeping this canon of uniquely expressive and luminous art forms passionately ALIVE!
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