Spanish-born, Netherlands-based Sonsoles Alonso is so very much more than just a versatile pianist. The last decade saw Sonsoles grow both as a musician and performer, continually redefining her self and emerging as a major voice in the growing contemporary piano and (live) electronics formats. The care and attention she gives her performances allows each composition to stand strong individually, making the whole an extraordinary collection. It’s as if the opposing temperaments of her classical roots and her innovative, avantgarde wings seem to generate electricity in the atmosphere creating a musical experience that is both magic and refreshing. This combined with her alluring personality, sense of adventure and challenging repertoire make each concert a pleasure to the ears and a feast for the eyes.
Influenced by her teachers Anthony de Mare (20th-century piano literature) and Morton Feldman's disciple Nils Vigeland (20th century analysis), Sonsoles moved to Amsterdam in 1996 to specialize in the interpretation of contemporary music as a soloist and also as a member of various ensembles. During the past 10 years she has built an impressive career with concerts in Holland and abroad, multidisciplinary projects plus concerts with other musicians and different ensembles. Sonsoles also improvises and works with live electronics as well. Today Sonsoles effortlessly interprets her classical and contemporary repertoires with such unflinching zeal that she has managed to do away with all restrictions on her creative output. It is her magical abilities that enable her to interpret classical repertoire with an understated eloquence and elegance but also enable her to fiercely attack the piano keys; it has been said of her, “ The highest point of the evening was Luigi Nono's ‘Sofferte onde Serene’, played formidably by pianist Sonsoles Alonso... ....Alonso brought forth with thunder the most deep and profound caverns of the piano.”...
She has collaborated with Fluxus star Willem de Ridder (Dear Santa...), Moritz Eggert (Dromomania by Marko Ciciliani , for two grand pianos, electronics and light design), Electra New Music (Electra's Second Life), Jannie Pranger, Albert van Veenendaal & Jozef Dumoulin (Travelling Light Piano Trio), Jorrit Tamminga (piano and live electronics), Rosa Ensemble & Hans Dagelet (Selling Hoovers In Mojave, Zappa and Captain Beefheart program) and John Addison & Ville Hiltula (Zorro, new music Tango) and has been heard during: November Music (The Netherlands), Gaudeamus Week (The Netherlands), Gentse Vleugels (Belgium), Festival Punto Aparte (Spain), Randspiele Festival (Berlin), Rumor Festival (Utrecht), Fundación March (Madrid), Treveszaal (Second Chamber, The Hague), Headquarters of the ABN-Amro Bank Amsterdam, AKBank (Istanbul), Goethe Institut Boston (US), Deep Listening Space of Pauline Oliveros (New Vanguard Series, New York) and with different ensembles during the Gaudeamus Week, de Suite Muziekweek, Festival Spazio Musica (Cagliari, Italy), Festival für Neue Musik (Darmstadt, Germany). Sonsoles holds degrees in Classical Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Madrid and the Manhattan School of Music (Masters) in New York. She also studied privately with Vitalij Margulis in Freiburg (Germany) and with Philip Kawin in New York. At the Conservatory of Amsterdam she followed the course ‘Contemporary Music through Non-Western Techniques’ focusing on rhythmic complexity.
Composers who have written for her include: Peter Adriaansz, Toek Numan, Chiel Meijering, Kasia Glowicka, Marko Ciciliani, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jorrit Tamminga, Riccardo Massari Spiritini, Zlatko Baracksai, Ben Wallet and Dietrich Eichmann.
She is often invited to give lectures and master classes on the subject of contemporary music with and without (live) electronics in The Netherlands (HKU and Conservatory of Utrecht). With Jorrit Tamminga she has taught in Spain and Germany.