Ascenso is a collection of works that have, in one way or another, a direct connection to myself. I wanted to present an album that was a representation of my current self, not just as a cellist, but as an artist. My idea is that this is not a cellist’s recording, or an album centered around the instrument, but rather a work that is meant to be experienced as you would a painting on a wall, whatever that may mean to you.

 Santiago Cañón-Valencia has been praised as one of the most promising young cellists of his generation. Born in Bogota in 1995, his major musical mentors have been Henryk Zarzycki in Colombia, James Tennant in New Zealand, Andres Diaz in the United States and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Kronberg Academy in Germany.

A 2022 BBC Next Generation Artist and Winner of the Silver Medal and “Audience Favourite” Award at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, Mr. Cañón-Valencia has been a fixture of the International Cello Competition scene for many years. He was awarded the third prize at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition 2017 in Brussels. He is also a 2018 Starker Foundation Award recipient as well as a First Prize winner of the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, Beijing International Music Competition, Gisborne International Music Competition, and Lennox International Young Artists Competition. He was also a major prize winner of the Sphinx, Casals, Johansen, Cassadó, and Adam cello competitions.

Mr. Cañón-Valencia made his orchestral debut as a soloist when he was six years old with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá. Since then, he has appeared with all the major orchestras in his native Colombia and his international solo career has taken him around the world to perform with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach, Brussels Philharmonic with Stephane Deneve, SWR Symphonieorchester with Andris Poga, St Petersburg Philharmonic with Nikolai Alexeev, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony with Muhai Tang and Moscow Soloists with Yuri Bashmet, among others.

Passionate about new music, Mr. Cañón-Valencia was responsible for Carlos Izcaray’s world premiere of his Cello Concerto “Stringmaster” alongside Alabama Symphony Orchestra. Santiago also premiered Jorge Pinzón’s Cello Concerto “Rapsodia a los 4 Elementos” at the Cartagena Interational Music Festival 2019. He was also responsible for the Colombian premiere of Ginastera’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia as well as premiering Gulda’s Cello Concerto in Auckland, New Zealand with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Santiago enjoys immersing himself in both known and unknown works, with a particular interest in commissioning new pieces, arranging and writing his own. Earlier recordings include Santiago’s debut CD “Solo”, which has been internationally acclaimed by the Strad Magazine, as well as Russian cello sonatas and popular pieces of the cello repertoire with pianist Katherine Austin for the Atoll label.

Mr. Cañón-Valencia has been sponsored by the Mayra & Edmundo Esquenazi Scholarship through the Salvi Foundation since 2011.

Damián Ponce de León

1. La Ruta de la Mariposa  *      [11:52] 

Jorge Humberto Pinzón Malagón

2. Mesonoxian *      [9:35] 

Isaac Albéniz 

3. Asturias (Leyenda) +      [7:17] 

Leonardo Federico Hoyos

4. Urban Rhapsody *      [5:59] 

Santiago Cañón-Valencia

5. Ascenso Hacia lo Profundo *       [7:22]

* World Premiere Recording

+ Transcribed by Cañón-Valencia

Total time: 42:209
Release date: November 18, 2022
UPC: 053479702821

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Quotes & Reviews

“However one approaches it, Ascenso impresses for the exceptional level of musicianship on display, the cohesiveness of the album statement, and the smartly determined running time, the forty-two-minute length a thoroughly satisfying total for a solo recording. Also recommending it is the fact that four of its five pieces are world premiere recordings… The full range of Cañón-Valencia's staggering technique is called upon in the performance of the five pieces; never, however, does the playing feel self-indulgent or marred by grandstanding. In using his incredible ability to bring the works to their most complete realization, he rather paradoxically succeeds in directing the attention away from himself to the music in its purest form, despite the fact that every note originates from him alone.“ - Ron Schepper, Textura

“The album is solo cello but feels full and rich, due in part to the compositions themselves, but mainly in response to Cañón-Valencia’s chameleon-like ability to inhabit the culture and place of each piece and execute them with stunning skill…. The final track Ascenso Hacia Lo Profundo, composed by Cañón-Valencia, has an improvisatory feel, with energetic, cascading rhythmic flow, rounding out a beautiful and accessible album and letting us down gently.” - Cheryl Ockrant, The Whole Note