Various Composers - ICARO: Catalan Cello-Piano Works (Alex Olmedo; Fiona Mato)

Information

• Gaspar Cassado - Requiebros
• Lluis Benejam - Cello Sonata in A Major
• Joaquin Nin y Castellanos - Suite Espagnole
• Manuel Oltra - Cello Sonata

Alex Olmedo, cello

Fiona Mato, piano

Date: 2026

Label: IBS Classical

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Ícaro presents four significant works for cello and piano by Gaspar Cassadó, Manuel Oltra, Lluís Benejam, and Joaquín Nin-Culmell, offering a vivid portrait of early- and mid-20th-century Spanish musical nationalism. Inspired by the myth of Icarus, the programme explores themes of daring ambition, lyrical reflection, and expressive intensity. Joaquín Nin’s Suite española (1930) reimagines regional dances through refined Parisian modernist textures. Lluís Benejam’s rarely performed Sonata in A major (1954), written in exile, blends modal lyricism, jazz-tinged rhythm, and Mediterranean warmth. Manuel Oltra’s Sonata (1959) highlights a dynamic dialogue between cello and piano, while Cassadó’s virtuosic Requiebros (1929), dedicated to Pau Casals, concludes the album with brilliance and Iberian flair. Performed by cellist Alex Olmedo and pianist Fiona Mato, the recording combines rediscovery with expressive interpretation.

Alex Olmedo, born in Barcelona in 2001, is a Spanish cellist who began his musical studies with his mother, Gaëtane Duynslaeger, at the IEA Oriol Martorell. At 16, he received a “Young Promise” scholarship from the Ferrer-Salat Music Foundation to study with Lluís Claret at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu. In 2021, he continued his training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Jérôme Pernoo and later Edgar Moreau, and in 2023 began a master’s degree at the HMDK Stuttgart with Tristan Cornut. An active chamber musician and prizewinner of several international competitions, he performs widely across Europe and has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras. He recently recorded his debut album with pianist Fiona Mato for IBS Classical.

Fiona Mato, born in 1993, is a pianist who began studying the instrument at an early age with her mother. She graduated from the Athens Conservatory in 2009 with a First Prize and Gold Medal under the guidance of Meri Manesi. In 2011, she was unanimously admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she studied with Michel Béroff and Claire Désert. A prizewinner in several competitions in France and Greece, she has received scholarships from the Yamaha Foundation, the Gina Bachauer Foundation, and the Onassis Foundation. Mato has performed at major venues and festivals, including La Roque d’Anthéron and the Megaron Mousikis, and graduated with highest honors from the Paris Conservatory with a Master’s degree in piano in 2016.

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