INTERVIEW WITH XABIER CASAL ARES
- litorequartet
- 13 jun
- 6 Min. de lectura
Today on the Lítore blog, we bring you a very special interview. Thanks to our time as students at the Conservatory of the Balearic Islands, we were able to form a warm friendship with Xabier Casal Ares, one of the most renowned saxophonists and educators of the moment. Xabi has experienced chamber music from multiple perspectives and with various ensembles. For this reason, we decided to interview him in a way that explores both the professional and personal values of chamber music.
Enjoy the interview. Thank you very much, Xabi!
Chamber music has been and continues to be a fundamental part of your career, especially during your time as baritone saxophonist with the Fukio Quartet. What does chamber music mean to you in your artistic and personal development?
It means a great deal to me. Thinking about how to answer you and looking back, I realized that it has always had a very big place in my life. From my first steps in music, where I played a lot with my brother Nico (a pianist and a few years older than me), to all my years of study, where I played in all kinds of mixed ensembles and covered everything from transcribed repertoire to electronic music and premieres. There was definitely a common thread—these projects always came about with good friends.
Then Fukio came along, and it somehow brought all those experiences together. It was an ideal project for me that allowed me to professionalize an activity I loved. Looking at it in hindsight, the most interesting part of all these projects is that I learned so much from every person I played with—about how each one approaches music, how they work, relate, and communicate on stage. The best part is that today I see in myself elements of many of those people—like having had a whole host of teachers who truly enriched my life.
During your years with Fukio, what experiences have been the most emotionally fulfilling for you? And which ones have been more beneficial professionally?
Starting with the professional side, the quartet gave me opportunities I had always dreamed of. I’ve played in incredible venues and concert series around the world and had access to major festivals where the saxophone had barely been present. I’ve recorded CDs, shared the stage with amazing musicians… and so much more. Living in Germany opened the door to performing in very high-level circuits and maintaining a constant concert schedule, dedicating myself almost entirely to performing during nearly all my years with the quartet.
On the emotional side, there are countless experiences because the relationship within a quartet is very intense and special—it becomes a family. Each of us probably has different moments that touched us more deeply. For me, I’d highlight our first big successes in major competitions because of the excitement of seeing our hard work paying off and bringing big opportunities; also the unique learning experiences, like the chamber music courses in Weikersheim; and finally, some of our longer tours, like Mexico and Taiwan in 2019, both for the musical experience and the human and cultural exchange—I met wonderful people and had a total cultural immersion.
You’re still very young, but your impressive career has already made you a well-established role model for new generations of saxophonists, even more so now that you're a saxophone professor at the Conservatori Superior de les Illes Balears. What would you like to pass on to young musicians who are at the stage you were at a few years ago?
Well, thank you, first of all. I would mainly tell them not to rush, to learn as much as they can, to try everything (performing, teaching, traveling, creating projects…), to discover their strengths and weaknesses step by step, and to find out in which areas they feel most comfortable. In my experience so far, music is a path that’s always accompanied by doubt and uncertainty, so to keep going, you have to learn to tolerate them and turn them into action.
We’d love to know the values that guide your professional development. What would you say are the five principles that drive your artistic curiosity?
Humility: I believe that feeling you always have something to learn is a motivating force, something that pushes you not to settle or take anything for granted.
Discipline: As a synonym for dedication and commitment to what you do, understanding that results may vary but the commitment to the process is essential.
Self-confidence: Understanding that everyone has their own process and there’s no need to rush to arrive anywhere. Patience is key, as well as staying true and honest with yourself.
Open-mindedness: Being receptive to new ideas, styles, and always willing to experiment with many different forms of expression.
Community: Sharing music with others, working in a team, teaching, playing together… creating these kinds of spaces gives true meaning to all the rest.
What new ideas or projects do you have in mind for the future?
Lots! This is the first time since 2012 that I haven’t had the quartet as the center of my activity, and in fact, artistically speaking, it’s been and still is a slow process. I wanted to take it easy—first to get some rest, which I hadn’t had in a long time, and then to see what I felt like doing and find the motivation to create projects I truly enjoy and feel increasingly identified with. This year, I’ve made very diverse plans with that in mind: in the concerts I’ve given, I’ve played works by over 25 composers, from the Baroque to current premieres. It’s been a way of exploring and drawing conclusions to shape future ideas.
In the short term, I have two premieres coming up: one is a piece for baritone saxophone by Mateu Malondra, part of his Modular cycle, and the other is a duo for saxophone and percussion by Vladimir Guicheff, which I’ll premiere with Carlota Cáceres at the end of the year. This duo is designed to work both as a concertante piece (with saxophone ensemble and percussion) and in a more intimate format. It’s going to be a very enriching process.
Also, here in Mallorca I’m part of the TEC Ensemble, where we’re working on a beautiful project centered around contemporary music. We currently have a call for scores open and will perform the selected premieres this October at the ACA Foundation.
The 4 Lítores remember you as an exceptional teacher, someone we wish we could still visit weekly, but we also think of you as a friend we’d meet on a Sunday afternoon to talk about life. Is it important to you to maintain a good personal relationship with your students? Do you think that can enhance learning? Have you ever had to set boundaries with a student?
Yes, for me a good relationship is fundamental, precisely because I had both kinds of experiences as a student. The more distance I get from those days, the more I see that while I learned a lot from some teachers, there were others who made me love music and feel good making music. Today, those are the teachers I admire most and whom I remember with the greatest affection and respect. I still maintain good relationships with some of them, and they continue to inspire me. And I’m talking about teachers from my very first days in music, whom I met in every stage of learning.
That’s why I think it’s so important: the degree of learning is definitely greater in an environment of trust, and I believe a student should feel free to express themselves without fear of being judged.
Among the 4 Lítores, we chose four words to describe you: confident, calm, generous, and dedicated. Now it’s your turn! We’d love for you to define each of us in three words, and also to describe Lítore Quartet as a group!
Jaime: humble, thoughtful, perfectionist
Sira: energetic, creative, determined
Hugo: elegant, honest, passionate
Miquel: noble, dynamic, cheeky
Lítore: talent, commitment, originality
We were incredibly lucky to receive quartet classes from you during the 2021/2022 academic year. How do you remember your experience working with us?
Very fondly. When I arrived in Palma, most of you were already finishing your degree and you were a very solid quartet, so teaching you was a real pleasure. You were already functioning autonomously and had many goals, so the most I could do was accompany you and enjoy the ride.
Do you remember any anecdote with us that has stayed with you for being special, funny, or meaningful?
Plenty. But the one that shocked me the most was going to your flat for an end-of-year meal and finding printed photos of me in every corner of the house… you’re all absolutely nuts ;)
