Two of the past three (Gershwin & Kern and In Friendship) Alexander String Quartet releases have featured guest artist Joan Enric Lluna, and as we’ve let you know, he’s the reason behind the Gershwin & Kern release, so we wanted to share a little more about this wonderfully talented musician.
Joan Enric Lluna is a multi-talented musician who combines his work as a clarinetist with orchestral conducting and teaching.
His commitment to Chamber Music has led him to perform regularly with string quartets, including the Alexander, Tokyo, Brodsky and Jerusalem, to perform as a trio with Lluís Claret and Josep María Colom, and to collaborate with other first class international artists. His appearances at the City of London Festival, Festival Classique in The Hague, San Francisco Chamber Music series, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and the Liceo de Cámara in Madrid have been noteworthy.
Joan has premiered and commissioned a number of chamber worksby composers César Cano, J. Torres, I. Zebeljan, P. Barker, D. del Puerto and H. Khoury and others.
In 2005 Joan formed Moonwinds, and since 2009 he has directed the International Festival “Residències de Música de Cambra” in Godella, Valencia (Spain).
As a soloist Joan has performed and recorded the clarinet concerto repertoire, and many composers have written new concertos for him, among them Sir John Tavener, Joan Guinjoan and César Cano. His premieres of Qualia with the OCV and Zubin Mehta and “Elogio del horizonte,” both by Sánchez Verdú, were greatly acclaimed both in Madrid and in Munich with the Bayerische Rundfunk.
Among his recordings are Mozart’s clarinet concerto with Sir Neville Marriner (Trito) and with Antony Pay (Cala). He has recorded also with the Tokyo, Brodsky and Alexander String Quartets. His interest in recovering and promoting Spanish clarinet music has produced 5 recordings, for Harmonia Mundi and Clarinet Classics. With Moonwinds Joan has recorded Mozart’s Gran Partita and Serenades.
Joan has performed as a conductor-soloist with orchestras such as the Pablo Sarasate Orchestra of Pamplona, and the Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra and Kensington Chamber Orchestra, both of London. He also conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Orchestra, etc.
Joan was appointed in 2006 by Lorin Maazel as principal clarinet of the Orquestra CV del Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia. He was previously a member of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and principal guest in orchestras such as Royal Philharmonic, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London Mozart Players, London Symphony, City of Birmingham, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, etc. He was a cofounder of the Cadaqués Orchestra, where he remains principal clarinet.Joan teaches clarinet and chamber music at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya in Barcelona and Trinity College of Music in London. He is regularly invited to give master classes and recitals in major music institutions such as California State University, Royal College and Royal Academy in London and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
For more information on Joan Enric Lluna, take a look through these links: