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Joaquín Turina: La Oración del Torero
Sophie - Senior PACO

Joaquín Turina (1882-1949) was a Spanish composer and pianist, who spent his twenties studying composition under Vincent d’Indy in Paris. He was drawn to Paris; a city was filled with impressionist music, notably that of composers Ravel and Debussy. His works began to show these influences. After a premier of his piano quintet, he was approached by his Spanish composer friends, Albeniz and de Falla. Not huge fans of the work, they instead encouraged him to explore native Spanish folk music.

Taking their advice, Turina returned to Spain. He continued to compose in his impressionist style, but added more Spanish influences. La Oración del Torero, The Bullfighter’s Prayer, was one of these works. Turina’s inspiration came one afternoon in Plaza de Madrid, before a bullfight. He observed a chapel where bullfighters went to pray before facing death. At that moment, the vision for musical contrasts came to him. Turina recalled, “The anticipation of the festive crowd, juxtaposed with the solemnity of those who, before that altar, humble and full of endearing poetry, came to plead with God for their lives, perhaps for their souls, for the pain, for the illusion, and for the hope that they might leave behind forever in those moments, in that arena filled with laughter, music, and sunlight.”

The piece reflects the mental journey of one of these bullfighters in prayer– quiet and stoic at first, then giving away to tension and emotion. Then the bullfighter finds some peace, and the prayer ends as it started. Originally composed in 1925 for lutes, he later expanded the work for full string orchestra, allowing the Spanish essence of the piece to fully breathe.

About the Soloist:

MADS TOLLING is an internationally renowned violinist and composer originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, now living in San Francisco. As a former nine-year member of both bassist Stanley Clarke’s band and the celebrated Turtle Island Quartet, Mads won two Grammy Awards, and he was nominated for a third Grammy in 2015. He was the 2016 winner of the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Violin Award. Mads has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron, Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Kottke and Sergio & Odair Assad. Mads is a current member of Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros & Wolf Pack Band.

After graduating Berklee College of Music in 2003, he was recommended by Jean-Luc Ponty to join Stanley Clarke’s band. He has since been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, and his recordings have received rave reviews in Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Strings Magazine and DownBeat Magazine. Mads has performed for Danish royalty – Prince Frederik & Princess Mary – at the celebration of The Danish Embassy’s 50-year Anniversary. Since 2021, Mads has been a member of Bob Weir & Wolf Bros project as part of the Wolf Pack with tours across the US, including at Red Rocks, The Greek Theatre and Radio City Music Hall. He is featured on Weir’s album Live in Colorado. Mads has written several arrangements of Grateful Dead tunes for the band, some of which are now also part of the Mads Men repertoire.

Mads has twice been commissioned to write violin concertos – for Oakland Symphony and Pacific Chamber Orchestra. He has performed his symphonic works and soloed with orchestras around the US and Japan.

Mads now leads his own groups – Mads Tolling Quartet and Mads Tolling & The Mads Men. His release, Playing the 60s, is a reimagination of classic songs from 1960s film, TV and radio, such as “A Taste of Honey,” “Hawaii 5-0” and “Mission: Impossible.” The album features vocalists Kenny Washington, Kalil Wilson and Spencer Day, and it spent two months on US jazz radio’s top 30.

With his groups, Mads has performed over a thousand concerts around the world, including at The Hollywood Bowl, Library of Congress and at the Bay Area’s Paramount and Herbst Theatres. As a featured Yamaha Artist, Mads leads clinics and masterclasses in the US and internationally.

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