Folías de España
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Friday, 1 May 2026
3:00 pm
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Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia
Parkes Place, ACT 2600
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In Association with
Presented by the Embassy of Spain
Discover the hidden splendors of Spanish Baroque with Lina Tur Bonet and Neal Peres Da Costa
Spanish Baroque music thrives on contrast, flair and sensuality. It blends courtly sophistication with the earthy pulse of popular dance traditions, shaped by centuries of cultural interchange across the Iberian Peninsula. This alluring repertoire is both intimate and exuberant, refined in its counterpoint yet bold in its rhythmic stride. Ornamentation glints with Mediterranean colour and the music’s emotional immediacy is irresistible.
Few artists embody this spirit more vividly than Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet. Of Ibizan roots and born in Cartagena, she has built an international reputation for imaginative, fearless musicianship across Baroque, Classical and Romantic styles. Founder of Musica Alchemica and former concertmaster with leading European ensembles such as those directed by Jordi Savall, and Professor at the Weimar Musik University, she brings rediscovered repertory to life with uncommon vitality and elegance.
She is joined by Festival favourite Neal Peres Da Costa, one of Australia’s foremost historical keyboard specialists. Professor of Historical Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium, Neal is renowned for his award-winning recordings, scholarly insight and expressive, intuitive playing. His harpsichord artistry anchors the repertoire with rhythmic poise, colour and an improvisatory freedom that complements Lina’s sweep.
Together they guide listeners through an evocative journey. Selma y Salaverde’s Sonata Terza and Falconiero’s La Soave Melodia e la sua Corrente capture early seventeenth-century spontaneity, while Pandolfi Mealli’s La Vinciolina pushes the violin toward dramatic extremes. Herrando’s El Jardín de Aranjuez blooms with lyrical grace, followed by Corelli’s Follia, shaped by the enduring ‘Folías de España’ pattern. Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor K.90 concludes the program with brilliance forged during his decades in Spain.
In Lina and Neal’s hands, these works reveal the full magic of the Spanish Baroque: vibrant, inventive and deeply compelling.
‘…honest and heartfelt music-making, her releases are becoming things to look forward to’ Gramophone
‘The devil’s violinist’ Bayerische Rundfunk
‘Lina Tur Bonet’s astounding repertoire spans 400 years of music’
Artists
Lina Tur Bonet violin
Neal Peres Da Costa harpsichord
Program
Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde (1580-1640) Sonata Terza
Andrea Falconiero (1585-1656) La Soave Melodia e la sua Corrente
Giovanni Pandolfi Meali (1624-1670) La Vinciolina
José de Herrando (1720-1763) El Jardin de Aranjuez
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) La Folia (‘Folias de España’)
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata in Re Minore K.90
This concert is generously supported by Eric McDonald and Carmen Diaz.
Lina is supported by 
Duration: 60 min, no interval
Photo credit: Klaus Feichtenberg
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist Lina Tur Bonet
Internationally acclaimed for her virtuosity (Fiery virtuoso THE STRAD, True Devil’s Violinist BAYERISCHE RUNDFUNK, Superbement joué DIAPASON, Echte Virtuosin RONDO), her uncommon musicality (honest and heartfelt music-making GRAMOPHONE, the violinist of the soul SANKEI SHINBUN), her blend of creativity (great ornamental skills, true fire of art CLASSICA), energy (Lina shines SAN DIEGO TRIBUNE), and stylistic rigor (strong historical playfulness RONDO, extended colour palette, a finely constructed rhetoric CLASSICA), Lina Tur Bonet has developed a versatile and unique career as a violinist and conductor.
From a very young age, Lina worked in world-class ensembles under the batons of Abbado, Gardiner, Harding, Minkowski, Christie, Currentzis, Gatti, Marriner, Nagano, Biondi, Dantone, Goebel, Egarr, and Carmignola, and shared the stage in chamber music with Zacharias, Pressler, de Figueiredo, Onofri, and Kossenko, appearing at the Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, Bunkamura Hall, the London Proms, and the Berliner Philharmonie.
She is the concertmaster of Le Concert des Nations with Jordi Savall and has led Il Complesso Barocco, Liceu de Barcelona, Concerto Köln, Hofkapelle Munich, Orchestre d’Auvergne, ONE, and many others.
Lina conducts regularly Tafelmusik Toronto, Barokkanerne Oslo, Orchestre de Chambre Toulouse, Barroca de Sevilla, Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, Camerata Villa Musica Mainz, Haydn Philharmonie Eisenstadt, Ciudad de Granada, and Recreation Styriarte Graz.
Lina has toured as a soloist worldwide, appearing at the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie St. Petersburg, Potsdamer Festival, Trigonale Klagenfurt, Bachfest Leipzig, Potsdamer Festspiele, Musashino Hall Tokyo, Israel, NYC, Montreal Baroque, Musikverein, Konzerthaus Wien, and more.
Her 18 solo CDs have been chosen as Best Version by the BBC, Reference for Gramophone, Best Version for Radio France Musique and Scherzo, and Recommended by German radio stations, earning several Diapason d’Or, E for Scherzo, R for Rhythm, and Melómano d’Or, Choc de Classica. Joker by Crescendo, 5* Rondo, 10* Luister, Opus Klassik and ICMA nominations. Her Ravel recording was Best CD of the Year in Japan.
Tur Bonet holds the position of professor of Baroque violin and viola at the MHS Franz Liszt Weimar.
Photo credit: Michal Novak
Lina is supported by