Josu Okiñena, Liana Gourdjia - Xarmak (2022)

The research of the pianist Josu Okiñena and the violinist Liana Gourdjia has borne fruit by rescuing unknown Basque musical pieces from oblivion. Thus, they have recovered three compositions by Aita Donostia and one out of print by Guridi to form the album 'Xarmak'. The duo has been performing on international stages for three years and has also been teaching at Musikene.

In the words of Okiñena, “it is our first studio recording. We understand music in a very similar way and we have the same curiosity to search for new repertoires. The idea stems from our research activity: after trying countless pieces, we have had a good fit with this repertoire, in which we have felt that we were contributing something different and new to classical music for violin and piano».

'Xarmak' refers "to charms, because they are really beauties, they are musical gems, cultural chocolates, forgotten treasures," says the pianist. An album that is conceived as a recital with the aim of recovering Basque repertoire, as well as disseminating it together with the great international repertoire that is also Basque. It is a different project that contributes several unknown Basque compositions and others understood and expressed from the knowledge of the culture of Euskal Herria by composers such as Ravel or Sarasate, without forgetting a work such as the sonata by Francisco Manalt, which was harmonized by Aita Donostia .

«The Manalt sonata, harmonized by the great Aita Donostia to be played with violin and piano, is of magnificent quality. This recording also represents a rescue of Guridi's work called 'Elegía', because it has hardly been performed, never recorded and is currently out of print. It is one of the best compositions we have found by Guridi, one of the best for violin and piano of his time, commissioned by the great Ysaÿe, one of the best violinists in history », assures Okiñena.

That is why they have also included a piece by the Belgian artist in their album: «It seemed nice to us to wink at something that was not Basque, but was related to the Basque, because of the friendship with Guridi».