Biography
Alejandro Casal was born in Seville, where he studied piano, double bass, composition, harpsichord and musicology. Later he furthered his studies of harpsichord and basso continuo with Tony Millán, Jan Willem Jansen and Jacques Ogg, and also became interested in the organ and clavichord.
As a harpsichord and organ player, he has played with numerous ensembles and orchestras such as The King’s Consort, Capella della Pietà dei Turchini, Orquesta Barroca de la Universidad de Salamanca, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Orquesta Ciudad de Málaga, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Coro Barroco de Andalucía, etc. Since its creation in 1995, he plays regularly with the Seville Baroque Orchestra (National Music Prize 2011 and Manuel de Falla Prize 2010) under the direction of musicians such as Gustav Leonhardt, Monica Hugget, Christophe Coin, Pablo Valetti, Enrico Onofri, Amandine Beyer, Alfredo Bernardini, Antonio Florio, Pierre Cao, Robert King, Hervé Niquet, Andreas Spering, Alan Curtis, Giuliano Carmignola, Shunsuke Sato, Hiro Kurosaki or Barry Sargent, among others.
He has performed in London, Milan, Paris, Lisbon, Würzburg, Toulouse, Berlin, Festival de Musique Sacrée & Baroque de Froville, and practically in all the Festivals of the national geography as Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza, Festival de Música Antigua de Gijón, Ciclo de Caja San Fernando, Festival de Música Antigua de Aranjuez, Ciclo Los Siglos de Oro de Caja Madrid, Festival de Música Antigua de Sevilla (FeMÀS), Teatro de la Zarzuela, Teatro Real de Madrid, Auditorio Nacional de Música, etc.
In 2007 he participated in the modern premiere of Domenico Scarlatti’s Ottavia with the Capella della Pietà dei Turchini conducted by Antonio Florio at the Quincena Musical Donostiarra and Naples. Since then he has performed regularly with this ensemble including the representation of L’Incoronazione di Poppea in Valladolid or Naples.
He made his solo recording debut on the Enchiriadis label performing harpsichord and organ music by Johann J. Froberger (EN2032) to great critical acclaim. The CD was chosen as one of the ten best by the magazine Ritmo (September 2011). He has made the first comprehensive recording of the six Recercatas, fugues and sonatas by Sebastián de Albero (1722-1756) for the Brilliant Classics label (2 CD, 95187), being recommended recording by Gramophone magazine (June 2016). He has recently released on the same label (Brilliant Classics 2 CD, 95873) the complete harpsichord and organ music by Johann Krieger (1652-1735), being Recommended Recording of the month of November by Musicweb International magazine (November 2020).
Under the direction of Enrico Onofri he has made the first recording of the organ concertos by Joseph Barrera (1729-1788) with the Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla (Passacaille 1048), as well as the Sonata by Pere Rabassa (1683-1767) for the same label (Passacaille 1071). He has recorded with different groups on the labels Alqhai, Verso, Prometeo, Documentos Sonoros de la Junta de Andalucía, Ibs Classical, as well as for RNE- Radio Clásica and Canal Sur.
He has been a repertoire teacher in numerous Early Music courses (classes of Carlos Mena, José Hernández Pastor, Lambert Climent or Richard Levitt) and, for more than ten years, of the Coro Barroco de Andalucía (Lluís Vilamajó). As a teacher he has taught at the Universities of Cádiz and Seville and at the Conservatory «Padre Antonio Soler» in El Escorial. He is professor of harpsichord at the JOBA (Joven Orquesta Barroca de Andalucía) and, since 2016, at the Curso de Musica Antiga in Agolada. Since 2005 he has been professor of harpsichord and continuo at the Conservatorio Superior de Música «Manuel Castillo» in Seville.
