It would be impossible to speak about Romantic piano music without mentioning the Polish composer Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, the great revolutionary of nineteenth-century pianistic language. A prodigious pianist, he created a unique and unmistakable musical language that reached extraordinary heights of expressiveness and virtuosity.
This concert will feature his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, composed in 1829 when the composer—who also performed as soloist at its premiere—was only twenty years old. Chopin was a cosmopolitan musician with wide-ranging cultural interests; accordingly, the programme also reflects works and influences from his contemporaries and friends, including Felix Mendelssohn.
The Tortosa Chamber Orchestra (OCTO), founded in 2010, seeks to bring audiences the repertoire of the great classics of all periods, combining fidelity to tradition with a contemporary perspective. Throughout its history, OCTO has distinguished itself through the recovery of the musical heritage of the Ebro region, particularly works by former chapel masters of Tortosa Cathedral, as well as compositions by Felip Pedrell and other local composers.
At the same time, the orchestra actively promotes contemporary music through the premiere of newly commissioned works, enriching the cultural landscape with artistic projects rooted in both tradition and innovation.
Inés Reguero, piano
Born in Figueres, Inés Reguero studied in her hometown before continuing at the Conservatori Superior del Liceu in Barcelona, where she graduated with Highest Honours under the guidance of Michel Wagemans. She later moved to Paris to further her studies with Denis Pascal, Marie-Josèphe Jude and David Selig.
Active from a young age both as a soloist and chamber musician, she has won numerous prizes in Catalonia and performed throughout Spain, Belgium and France, including her debut at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana. As a répétiteur, she has worked with the violin classes of Evelio Tieles and Heriberto Fonseca at the Conservatori del Liceu, as well as with the viola class of Rivka Golani. Since 2006 she has taught at the Conservatory of Tortosa.
She is also a certified teacher of the IEM improvisation methodology (Institute of Music Education, Madrid) and holds a Master’s Degree in Musical Performance from VIU (Valencian International University), where she studied with Brenno Ambrosini. Alongside her teaching career, she promotes culturally and musically significant repertoire through Accent Ensemble.
Ricardo Forner, conductor
Ricardo Forner studied at the Valencia Conservatory, graduating with Highest Honours and the Extraordinary End-of-Degree Award in several disciplines. He also pursued studies in harmony, counterpoint and fugue, composition and orchestral conducting at the same institution, later continuing his musical education in Amsterdam with A. Brandhofer.
As a conductor, he has served as music director of the Quartell Municipal Band, the SMA Orchestra of Alboraya, the Tarragona Provincial Youth Orchestra (JOSDT) and the Tarragona Provincial Band (BSDT), among others. He has also appeared as a guest conductor with numerous ensembles.
As a member of the professional clarinet quartet Quatre Vents, he has won several national and European chamber music awards. He has performed as clarinettist and bass clarinettist with the Orquesta Mare Nostrum and the Madrid Symphony Orchestra (OSM), and has collaborated regularly with many of Spain’s leading orchestras.
He also holds a Master’s Degree in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and recently completed a postgraduate specialisation in conducting wind bands and orchestras at Florida Universitària.
