“The Grimm Forest”. A Visual and Musical Show Inspired by Fairy Tales

La Maquiné presents *The Grimm Forest*, a visual and musical performance inspired by the atmosphere of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm: Little Red Riding Hood, Thumbelina, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, among others.

Program:

Maurice Ravel (30’)

*Ma Mère l'Oye*

I. Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty – complete

II. Tom Thumb – complete

III. Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas – complete

IV. Conversations of Beauty and the Beast – complete

V. The Fairy Garden – (a short motif from the beginning used as a basis for original variations)

*Gaspard de la nuit*

I. Ondine – (a brief fragment from the beginning)

*Miroirs*

II. Sad Birds – (a short opening motif as the basis for original variations)

III. A Boat on the Ocean – (a brief fragment from the beginning)

*Sonatina*

II. Minuet Movement – (first part)

III. Animé – (first part)

José López-Montes (25’)

*The Grimm Forest*

(prelude, interludes, and postlude based on Ravelian motifs)

José López-Montes (Guadix, 1977): orchestral adaptation and additional compositions.

The works of José López-Montes (Guadix, 1977) explore timbral experimentation, algorithmic composition, and synesthesia, integrating video, spatialized sound, and programming (cellular automata, genetic algorithms, data sonification, etc.). In 1999, he co-founded a sound experimentation group with Pablo Heras-Casado, for which he composed his first ballet, *La mitad de la verdad está en los ojos* (*Half the Truth is in the Eyes*), winning the Best Original Music award at the Festival de Teatro en el Sur (Palma del Río, 2000). Among his recent projects is *Chasmata*, a suite written with Ángel Arranz for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the International Space Station. Inspired by the orography and atmosphere of Mars, the work is a cycle of pieces for saxophone ensembles (from 1 to 120 players), electronics, video mapping, and a massive mobile phone orchestra.

Since 2010, López-Montes has collaborated with the visual theatre company La Maquiné, serving as composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor. With this company, he has participated in hundreds of performances at venues such as Kursaal, Caixaforum, Madrid’s Teatro Real, and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. His creations have toured across four continents. In these works, he successfully blends piano composition, extended techniques, and electroacoustic elements within a contemporary language adapted for family audiences.

Alongside his work as a pianist and composer, López-Montes is a Professor of Musical Technology at the Superior Conservatory of Granada. As a researcher, he specializes in artificial creativity and data sonification. In 2024, he earned his doctorate with a thesis presenting a new model for representing compositional processes optimized for machine learning.

La Maquiné (Joaquín Casanova and Elisa Ramos)

La Maquiné is the artistic identity of Joaquín Casanova and Elisa Ramos, a performing arts company founded in 2008 and recognized as one of the most outstanding creators of shows for children and youth. From the outset, they have championed the idea that art for young audiences must be created with the same rigor, excellence, and depth as productions for adults, offering cultural experiences that transcend mere entertainment and become formative and emotional journeys.

Their distinctive style combines visual art, music, and gesture, creating a unique stage language that has earned them national and international acclaim. Both artists hold degrees in Fine Arts and in Plastic Arts and Design, with careers spanning stage direction, space and lighting design (Casanova), and scenic sculpture, costumes, large-format sculptural puppets, and acting (Ramos). This complementary skill set has solidified a highly versatile creative duo.

To date, La Maquiné has produced 13 shows and received 27 awards, including two Max Awards, four Lorca Awards, the Teatro de Rojas Award, and the FETEN Award, along with numerous nominations for best show, costume, and set design.

The company is known for its original dramaturgy, with strong visual and musical content that naturally resonates with children, youth, and family audiences. They have deeply explored puppet and object theatre, physical and gestural theatre, and the use of masks, always closely connected to high-quality musical repertoires. Their productions feature music by Ravel, Falla, Debussy, Montsalvatge, Mompou, Stravinsky, Satie, Poulenc, and Ligeti, offering contemporary approaches to late 19th and early 20th-century music.

In their creations, visual arts serve as the backbone of theatrical expression, functioning not only as aesthetic support but as a dramatic vehicle. Through this approach, La Maquiné has succeeded in bringing a poetic and contemporary vision to younger generations and families, establishing themselves as an essential reference in performing arts.