Oskar Espina Ruiz has been described
by the press as a “masterful soloist”
and a “highly expressive” clarinetist
who “brings forth the notes with an energy
that reaches down to one's soul.” Over the
last few seasons Espina Ruiz has performed at
some of the most prestigious international
stages, including concerto performances at the
Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia, and
recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Hall in New
York, the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC, the
Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Oji Hall in Tokyo, the
Madrid Royal Superior Conservatory, the Beijing
and Shanghai Conservatories and Radio Television
Hong Kong. He has appeared as soloist with the
St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony (Russia),
St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic (Russia),
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Asunción
(Paraguay) and Bilbao Symphony (Spain). His
chamber music collaborations include the
Shanghai, Escher and Calla quartets, the Quintet
of the Americas and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
artists.
Espina Ruiz’s 2008-09 season engagements
include recitals in Los Angeles, New York City
and Lima (Peru), recitals and master-classes at
thirteen US universities (literally crisscrossing
the country) and chamber music concerts at the
Treetops Chamber Music Society, which he directs
in Stamford, Connecticut, including the world
premier performance of Spinei’s trio for
clarinet, soprano and piano. This season Espina
Ruiz has recorded works by De Pablo for the CD of
the VI. Festival Internacional de Música
Clásica Contemporánea de Lima, and the world
premier of Weymouth’s Clarinet Quintet, with
the Escher Quartet and four Grammy Award winning
producer Judith Sherman, for a Stony Brook
University release.
Espina Ruiz has recorded for the Kobaltone and
Prion labels, receiving high critical acclaim by
fellow clarinetists Richard Stoltzman and Charles
Neidich for his solo recording “Julián
Menéndez Rediscovered.” Charles Neidich,
with whom he studied in New York City for over
ten years, calls Espina Ruiz “an unusually
gifted musician who has already made a mark in
the musical world and is becoming one of the most
distinguished clarinetists in the US.”
Richard Stoltzman wrote: “Bravo! You are and
have the kind of energy the music world
needs.”
Espina Ruiz devotes much of his time to musical
research. His work on Spanish Post-Romantic
composer Julián Menéndez brought him the first
prize of the International Clarinet Association
Research Competition in 2006, later writing an
article for the March 2007 issue of “The
Clarinet” magazine, and led to the
acquisition of one of Menéndez’s clarinets
by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, for its
Musical Instruments Galleries —currently on
display at its permanent collection, including a
photo and biography of Menéndez next to Benny
Goodman’s.
In an effort to bring important works and
revisions into the clarinet repertoire, in 2003
he performed the South American premiere of the
original Copland Clarinet Concerto, reconstructed
from the manuscripts at the Library of Congress,
and his orchestrations and adaptations include
Ravel’s Sonate Posthume, works by Arriaga,
Sarasate, Turina, Granados and Falla, and
Menéndez’s Clarinet Concerto No. 2.
He is deeply involved with the music of our time
and has premiered works written for him by
Chinese composers Ao, Hu and Chen, Spanish
composers Bageneta and Villasol, and French
composer Gaigne, also working closely with
American composers for over ten years.
Born in Bilbao, Spain, his first musical training
came at an early age performing on Basque folk
instruments. He later pursued the traditional
conservatory training as a clarinetist and often
performed with the Bilbao Symphony, as its
youngest member, at age sixteen. He came to New
York City in 1991 to further his studies in
clarinet and won the top clarinet prizes at the
Olga Koussevitzky and Artists International
competitions.
He holds a Doctor in Musical Arts diploma from
Stony Brook University and a Master in Fine Arts
diploma from Purchase College Conservatory of
Music, where his major teachers were Charles
Neidich and Ayako Oshima. He has also studied
with flutist Aurèle Nicolet while at the
European Mozart Academy.
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