Classical&… music that unfolds, transforms, and surprises

Classical music is reinvented as it opens up to dialogue with other sound worlds such as jazz, flamenco, singer-songwriting, and electronic music. Classical&… is a concert series that champions fusion, spontaneity, and artistic collaboration, presented in a more relaxed and open format, designed for those who delight in discovering new ways of listening.

Each concert is announced only a few weeks in advance, like an unexpected appearance that transforms both space and experience. On each occasion, students of the School share the stage with guest artists from different disciplines, creating unique encounters that break down boundaries and broaden the audience’s musical horizon. Classical&… is an invitation to be surprised, to explore what happens when classical music meets pop culture in all its forms. A space for curiosity, risk, and shared emotion.

A series to discover.

Pepe Rivero (Manzanillo, Cuba, 1972)

Pianist, composer, pedagogue, producer, and promoter, his name stands among the most significant and versatile Cuban pianists of recent decades, driven by a constant curiosity to blend works from the classical tradition with jazz and popular music genres.

He arrived in Madrid in 1998 as pianist for Cuban salsa singer Issac Delgado, and in 2001 embarked on a tour with Paquito D’Rivera and Celia Cruz, whom he accompanied as a key member of her band in concerts across Spain as well as in various recording sessions. In 2003 he created the arrangements and orchestrations for Siegfried’s Olé in Spain, a CD that fuses jazz and flamenco with some of Richard Wagner’s greatest operas alongside works by two eminent Spanish composers, I. Albéniz and E. Granados, produced by German producer Ben Lierhouse. Together with his jazz quintet and renowned symphony orchestras, he presented this project in 2006 in Leipzig, Weimar, Bonn, and Bremen.

In 2018, commissioned by the Festival Internacional de Arte Sacro of Madrid , he premiered Yoruba Suite with the Youth Orchestra of the Alfonso X el Sabio University. In 2019, commissioned by the CNDM, he composed and premiered the trumpet concerto En Blanco & Negro, performed by trumpeter Manuel Blanco.

He has twice received the SGAE Award for Latin Jazz Composition and has earned several Latin Grammy nominations: in 2001 with Paquito D’Rivera for the DVD Paquito D’Rivera & Pepe Rivero Live in Barcelona, and in 2017 for Yuvisney Aguilar’s CD Piango, Piango. In 2015 the album Jazz Meets the Classics, in which he participated as pianist and guest composer, won the Latin Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album.

Since 2011, he has been the musical director of Spain’s Latin Jazz Festival “CLAZZ”, the first Latin jazz festival in Europe. In 2016, commissioned by the festival, he premiered The Four Seasons of Latin Jazz at Teatros del Canal in Madrid with the Youth Orchestra of the Community of Madrid, and later in Mexico City with the Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes at Teatro Julio Castillo. In 2021 he appeared at Noches del Teatro Monumental in Madrid alongside Colombian violinist Rubén Darío Reina and Musik Ensemble. In 2020, commissioned by Patrimonio de la Comunidad de Madrid, he premiered Beethoven en su salsa. In 2021, as part of the International Festival of Sacred Music of Madrid, he presented Pepe Rivero Plays Lecuona at Teatros del Canal. In 2023, commissioned by the Fundación Juan March for the Classics of Latin American Song series, he presented La vieja y nueva trova cubana as a solo piano recital, recording live the album Piano y Trova.