Douglas Riva, piano

Douglas Riva has gained international recognition for his profound knowledge of Spanish music. His interpretations of the works of Enrique Granados (1867-1916), in particular, have earned Mr. Riva his reputation as today’s foremost exponent of Granados’ piano music. In recognition of his credentials as an interpreter of Granados, in 1998 Naxos Records initiated a series of his recordings of Granados’s complete piano works, a total of eleven discs. Critics consistently describe these recordings as “masterly”, “splendid” and “magnificent”, while acclaiming his “elegance” and “superb artistry”. He is also the assistant director of the 18-volume critical edition of the Complete Works for Piano of Enrique Granados, directed by Alicia de Larrocha and published by Editorial Boileau, Barcelona.

Granados’s long-lost masterpiece, Cant de les estrelles, a virtuoso piano concerto with organ, and three choruses rather than orchestra, received its second performance ever in New York in March, 2007 with Douglas Riva at the piano and Voices of Ascension, directed by Dennis Keene. The concert was recorded live by Naxos and released in 2009. The Wall Street Journal described Cant de les estrelles as a “masterpiece” and praised the Naxos CD as “real cause for celebration … gorgeous in every way, from the engineering quality to the impeccable performances.”

In the realm of contemporary music Douglas Riva gave the world premiere of Gazebo Dances by John Corigliano as well that of two works written for him by Catalan composer Xavier Turull. He gave the first United States performance of a newly discovered Scarlatti Sonata at the National Gallery of Art and in addition has recorded numerous programs for television and radio in Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and the United States. A frequent lecturer in Spain and the United States, Mr. Riva has lectured at Harvard University, New York University, the University of California, Riverside, and for the Sociedad Española de Musicología in Madrid.

Mr. Riva began his musical education at the age of nine, studying both the piano and the flute. His professional career began at the age of sixteen as the principal flutist of the El Paso (Texas) Symphony Orchestra. Later, devoting himself exclusively to the piano, he continued his studies at the Juilliard School, New York University, and in Barcelona at the Academia Granados-Marshall, founded by Granados.