Dorantes

This multi-award-winning pianist and composer was born in 1969 in Seville to a prestigious flamenco family boasting a long line of legendary performers. Dorantes absorbed the roots of flamenco at home, but also studied piano at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música of Seville from a very young age. Consequently, Dorantes has always searched for a synthesis of traditional flamenco and classical and avant-garde music. His first major, and most famous, composition, "Orobroy," premiered at the French Festival d'Art Flamenco de Mont de Marsan in 1996, and was subsequently performed at Seville's Bienal de Flamenco, immediately causing a sensation among critics and audience alike. The piece was recorded for his first album of the same name, which was released in 1998 and went on to win just about every possible award, turning Dorantes into the leading instrumental flamenco figure of his generation. Ever since then, Dorantes has maintained a hectic schedule of world tours, international festivals, theater shows, work as producer and arranger, and collaborations with other artists, but his recording output has been less than prolific, even though his albums are eagerly awaited and phenomenally received. Sur, which explored the possibilities of the orchestra, appeared in 2002, and it was not until 2012 that his third album saw the light of day, the forward-looking Sin Muros! ~ Mariano Prunes