{"id":125727,"date":"2026-07-09T11:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T15:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=125727"},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:00:02","slug":"interview-violinist-cristina-prats-costa-talks-new-album-spiritillo-mediterraneo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/07\/09\/interview-violinist-cristina-prats-costa-talks-new-album-spiritillo-mediterraneo\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Violinist Cristina Prats Costa Talks About Her New Album Spiritillo Mediterraneo"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_125729\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125729\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-125729\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084307.284.jpg\" alt=\"Violinist Cristina Prats Costa (Photos courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084307.284.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084307.284-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084307.284-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084307.284-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-125729\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Violinist Cristina Prats Costa (Photo: <span class=\"s1\">Aleksander Antonijevic<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Spiritillo Mediterraneo is the name of the new album by Toronto- and London-based violinist Cristina Prats Costa. It was released on the Pentatone label on May 1, and has garnered stellar reviews on the likes of BBC Radio 3, the BBC Music Magazine, and Opus Klassiek magazine in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p>It was selected as Gramophone\u2019s Video of the Day and featured as an ABC Classic Featured Album in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Prats Costa is an active member of the Toronto music community, performing with Tafelmusik as well as in the Harmony Is In Our Hands, the concert series she co-founded.<\/p>\n<p>LV caught up with the busy artist to talk about the new release.<\/p>\n<p>Fandango:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZDSxYOZvgEo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Cristina Prats Costa<\/h2>\n<p>Cristina Prats Costa specializes in Baroque violin performance and creative collaborations. She routinely performs with prominent ensembles across North America and Europe, including The English Concert, Il Pomo d\u2019Oro, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Arcangelo, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, and Toronto\u2019s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.<\/p>\n<p>Cristina studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, as well as Royal Academy of Music, and The Juilliard School. She is currently pursuing a DMA at the University of Toronto with a focus on ornamentation.<\/p>\n<p>Her performance excellence has garnered several international awards, including the Manhattan International Music Competition Baroque Music Prize and Special Award, the Christopher Hogwood Award, and the Shalom Ben-Uri Doctorate Recital Prize. She was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Along with co-founding Harmony Is in Our Hands, a concert series that combines music performance with social impact, she is a founding member of the Alauda Quartet.<\/p>\n<h2>The Album: Spiritillo Mediterraneo<\/h2>\n<p>While her contributions have appeared on several other releases, Spiritillo Mediterraneo is Cristina Prats Costa\u2019s solo recording debut. In it, she dives into 17th- and early 18th-century music, as filtered through Mediterranean cultures, a region where Italian, Spanish, and French traditions converge. The name takes its inspiration from Andrea Falconieri\u2019s Il Spiritillo Brando, a dance work by the early 17th century composer. The spiritillo is a sprite or imp, a mischievous spirit. Cristina takes it as a kind of metaphor for the Baroque imagination.<\/p>\n<p>Along with Cristina Prats Costa, the album features <strong>Lucas Harris<\/strong>, <strong>Charlotte Nediger<\/strong>, <strong>Michael Unterman<\/strong>, <strong>Joseph Phillips<\/strong>, <strong>Naghmeh Farahmand<\/strong>, and Spanish dance expert <strong>Esmeralda Enrique<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Composers on the album include Andrea Falconieri, Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, Nicola Matteis, Santiago de Murcia, Gaspar Sanz, Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Schop, Jos\u00e9 de Nebra, and Jean-F\u00e9ry Rebel.<\/p>\n<p>Prats Costa created her own arrangements of the works for the album.<\/p>\n<p>Il Spiritillo Brando:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yVmflXz3cSo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Cristina Prats Costa: The Interview<\/h2>\n<p>Cristina has performed with many ensembles and her work is part of several albums. Why come out with a solo debut now?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always wanted to record something with Baroque violin,\u201d says Prats Cost. \u201cI started I think five years ago to discover this music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After studied in New York and London, she fell in love with the music. The album began with the idea of recording just three or four pieces, but that quickly escalated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought, maybe I could record ten pieces. Maybe I could record 12 pieces&#8230;\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n<p>While she played with many ensembles, it often involved more modern music and playing techniques. \u201cFor the love of having something of my sound as a Baroque violinist,\u201d she continues. \u201cI would have something for myself that showcases me as a Baroque violinist.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_125728\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-125728\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-125728\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084413.675.jpg\" alt=\"Violinist Cristina Prats Costa (Photos courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084413.675.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084413.675-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084413.675-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-07-09T084413.675-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-125728\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Violinist Cristina Prats Costa (Photos: <span class=\"s1\">Aleksander Antonijevic<\/span>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The Music<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to record initially music that I really love and that really resonates with me,\u201d Cristina says.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s originally from Spain, Ibiza, and the music stretches back to her roots. \u201cMy grandfather used to play the castanets all the time.\u201d She explains that the castanets he used were bigger, creating a deeper and darker sound, quite unlike what many people on this side of the Atlantic may be used to in flamenco music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had this type of folkloric music in my head as I grew up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a student, she found herself rediscovering the sames kinds of music and rhythmic patterns in the music she was playing. \u201cThere&#8217;s a lot of similarities of rhythmic patterns,\u201d she explains. It reminded her of the dance music of Ibiza. It led her to wonder, \u201cWhich connections do they all have together?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Italian culture of the Renaissance and Baroque eras was heavily influenced by that of Spain. Spain ruled much of Italy from the 13th to the early 18th centuries, as she points out. Throughout the Mediterranean region, there were both cultural and trade exchanges that spread musical and other elements throughout the area.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat&#8217;s how it all started to make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her performance, Prats Costa makes ornamentation part of the expressive nature of her interpretation. It\u2019s part of what makes her work distinctive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s part of a my research,\u201d she says. In working towards her doctoral degree, she\u2019s focusing on Italian ornamentation. Composers of the Baroque era created scores that were essentially the bare bones of the music, leaving decisions about ornamentation to the performers. \u201cI was interested in [&#8230;] the freedom they had when playing,\u201d she says. \u201c[Composers were] trying to enhance the music, [but] not trying to do it in a specific way. I think Matteis does it well,\u201d she adds. As such, the music showcases the possibilities available on the violin.<\/p>\n<p>As she explains, prior to the Baroque era, the violin was seen largely as an instrument suitable for dance music, not virtuosic art music. \u201cThey all leave a lot of room for ornamentation, your own expression,\u201d she says. It meant each performance could be different. \u201cThey would play the pieces in many different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matteis\u2019 Diverse Bizarrie:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/e--_z859if0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Arrangements &amp; Musicians<\/h3>\n<p>Prats Costa created the arrangements for all the pieces on the album herself. \u201cI made the arrangements for the Spanish pieces, and also the ornamentation for the other pieces,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was exploring sonorities with different players,\u201d she adds. She considered how the mix of instruments would affect the expression of each piece. During the recording process, sometimes spontaneous and improvised elements made it to the final mix.<\/p>\n<p>She wanted to capture the original spirit of the music.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dMaybe on another day, I would have played it differently,\u201d she says. At the album release concert, she mentions, some of the works were performed differently than on the recording.<\/p>\n<p>As she points out, that\u2019s how the music was originally performed. \u201cI think that&#8217;s one of the things I like the most about Baroque music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She enjoyed putting together an ensemble of musicians from different backgrounds for the project. It\u2019s what makes her passionate about chamber music. \u201cI gain a lot from that, from the conversation,\u201d Cristina explains.<\/p>\n<p>Along with the musicians, she\u2019s added Spanish dancer and choreographer Esmeralda Enrique, whose been running her own dance company and presenting shows in the city for decades. \u201cThe castanet master!\u201d Prats Costa explains. The recording has led to other collaborations with Enrique, including an improvised performance in her studio. \u201cThey were making it on the spot. It felt really Baroque, but in a different way,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a beautiful challenge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The album had led to other possibilities. \u201cIt created a lot of these beautiful collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Listeners<\/h3>\n<p>What is she hoping that listeners will take away from the album?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would just love if they enjoy the CD as if it was a live concert, if it was a live performance,\u201d she says. \u201c<br \/>\nIf it brings them this kind of spirit.\u201d The spiritillo. \u201cThis mischievous [spirit], in each piece, it makes you smile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a way of taking listeners away from the tensions of the world today. \u201cSomething that brings a bit of peace in this world,\u201d she says, \u201cbecause it&#8217;s not that it&#8217;s just happy music.\u201d She points out some of the tracks are quite dramatic, and written in minor keys. That\u2019s where it began, in fact, but also what led to the theme. \u201cThat&#8217;s when I started doing the arrangements of the Spanish pieces,\u201d she says. \u201cThe music was so dramatic that I felt I have to add a little lighter music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She like it if listeners could hear the music the way it was intended centuries ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt brings many different emotions, and they enjoy listening as if it was a chamber concert in their own house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Espa\u00f1oleta:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S1xDFEoH1ZA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Listen to the Music<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>You can find Spiritillo Mediterraneo at Pentatone Records [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pentatonemusic.com\/product\/spiritillo-mediterraneo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Stream it on Spotify [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/1PWWbWuFvGEb9QeaL6nsSA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Find it on Apple Music [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/album\/spiritillo-mediterraneo\/1876337697\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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