Spanish pianist and composer, Ariadna Castellanos Rivas is currently one of the top rising and most promising Flamenco artists. She combines Flamenco and Jazz in order to create a new language, a unique identity.
Ariadna was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1983. She began her music studies at age six. When she was 17 she won a full scholarship to study classical piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London, where she graduated after four years. Throughout her education she has been close to flamenco music. After graduation she returned to Spain to work with famous flamenco figures such as Jorge Pardo, Jesus Del Rosario, and Agustin Carbonell (“El Bola”) and toured the world with flamenco dance companies like Los Vivancos 7.
After four years of work exploring new paths for piano in flamenco, she was signed by the production company Casa Limón for her first album. In 2009, after an impromptu audition in Madrid with Berklee faculty, she won a full Presidential Scholarship to Berklee, , becoming the first Spanish musician to receive this recognition. At Berklee she concentrated on skills specific to improvisation and jazz. In May of 2010, at the college’s commencement exercises, she was chosen to lead the tribute performance for flamenco legend Paco de Lucía, who was in attendance. She is a dual major at Berklee, in both professional music and performance.
Based on her technique, acquired with classical piano training, and her natural sense of improvisation, Ariadna’s performances achieve the highest artistic quality. Ariadna Castellanos has appeared all over the world, bringing her innovative style to such venues as the Palacio de las Artes de Valencia, Monterrey Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and the Heineken JazzFest in Puerto Rico, where she shared program alongside legendary artists such as Paco de Lucía and Michel Camilo.
She recorded her first album for Casa Limón, which was produced by the Grammy Award winning composer and producer Javier Limón (Paco de Lucía, Bebo Valdés, El Cigala, Buika), released in 2012. She has also collaborated with top Spanish artists, including Jorge Pardo, Niño Josele, Agustín Pardo “El Bola”, Sandra Carrasco, Javier Limón, José Mercé, and Alejandro Sanz.
Discography:
Flamenco En Black & White
[Mju:Zik]
Web site http://ariadnacastellanos.com
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
