{ "ok" : true, "artist" : { "name" : "Gonzalo X Ruiz", "page" : "ruiz", "description" : "baroque oboist extraordinaire", "location" : "CA, USA", "bio" : "Gonzalo X. Ruiz is one of America's most acclaimed historical instrument soloists. He is joined by the sublime continuo team of cellist Joanna Blendulf and harpsichordist Katherine Shao. The ensemble is named after Francois LaRiche, one of the first great oboists, and a Zelig-like character. He influenced the writing of Purcell, Handel, Telemann, Bach, and Vivaldi, and was a bit of a Johnny Appleseed for the oboe. LaRiche & Co. is committed to reviving and preserving the legacy of the oboe's 18th Century Golden Age. The San Francisco Classical Voice raved about LaRiche's debut: \"...a spellbinding program. Though the members of LaRiche shone individually, it was their ensemble playing that made the afternoon truly remarkable\".\n\nGonzalo Xavier Ruiz has appeared both as principal oboist and concerto soloist with most of the leading period instrument groups in America and has performed widely in the U.S. and Europe under conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Nicholas McGegan, Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt, Reinhard Goebbel and Mark Minkowski. His playing is featured on numerous recordings of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire. Equally accomplished on the modern instrument, he has performed as principal oboist of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, New Century Chamber Orchestra and the Pacific Chamber Symphony among others. Mr. Ruiz was a prizewinner at the Brugges Early Music Competition in Belgium and for many years has been professor of oboe at the Oberlin Conservatory's Baroque Performance Institute. He has also taught at the Longy School in Cambridge and given master classes at Indiana University. An active chamber musician, he has made numerous reconstructions and arrangements, notably from the works of Bach and Rameau. Twice he's been a featured recitalist at the annual convention of the International Double Reed Society. Mr. Ruiz is an acknowledged expert in historical reedmaking techniques, and over two dozen of his pieces are on permanent display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With his ensemble American Baroque Mr. Ruiz is also active in the field of contemporary music and was awarded the 2000 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming. Ruiz also performs with American Baroque.\n\nBaroque cellist Joanna Blendulf, a native of Sweden, has diverse musical interests, performing in chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the United States. She received her musical training at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University, where she studied with Stanley Ritchie, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Alan Harris. In 1998, Joanna received the prestigious Performer's Certificate from the Indiana University faculty for her achievements on baroque cello. Spending much of her time in transit, she is currently performing with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Jubilate Baroque Orchestra, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Bach Choir. Joanna is an active chamber musician, touring with Mirable, American Baroque, Bimbetta, Musica Pacifica and The Streicher Trio, all based in the San Francisco Bay Area where she resides. She was named runner-up in the 2000 EMA/Dorian Competition for her recording of the Jean Zewalt Triemer cello sonatas and has recorded on the Dorian and Eclectra labels.\n\nKatherine Shao, harpsichordist and writer/composer, has performed with many of California' finest classical ensembles, including the New Century Chamber Orchestra, Magnificat, and the San Francisco Symphony. A Master's Degree recipient from the University of Indiana's School of Music, she also works frequently in the contemporary music realm, and has incorporated new music and performance art elements in many of her endeavors, including the production of her unique work, The Path to the New Music, a radio drama about the composer Anton von Webern, for which she was the author and executive producer. She is the managing director of the award-winning ensemble, American Baroque, and appears on numerous recordings. In addition to her creative endeavors, Ms. Shao is a senior manager at a local software company, and takes care of her two young children.", "photo" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/img/gonzalo.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/ruiz/", "albums" : [{ "sku" : "ruiz-soliloquies", "name" : "Soliloquies", "artist" : { "name" : "Gonzalo X Ruiz", "page" : "ruiz" }, "release_date" : "2010-09-24", "genres" : ["Classical","Chamber Music","Baroque","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["reflective","meditative","peaceful","elegant","nostalgic","melancholic"], "uses" : ["documentary","period drama or history","meditation or yoga","spa or massage","study or focus","podcast background"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["baroque oboe","unaccompanied oboe","solo instrumental"], "sounds_like" : ["Johann Sebastian Bach"], "summary" : "Solo baroque oboe arrangements of Bach's unaccompanied cello and flute suites—calm, reflective, and elegant instrumental music ideal for documentary, meditation, or focused listening.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Gonzalo%20X%20Ruiz/Soliloquies/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/ruiz-soliloquies/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/ruiz-soliloquies", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=ruiz-soliloquies" },{ "sku" : "ruiz-bach", "name" : "JS Bach - Transcriptions for Oboe", "artist" : { "name" : "Gonzalo X Ruiz", "page" : "ruiz" }, "release_date" : "2005-04-29", "genres" : ["Classical","Chamber Music","Baroque","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["peaceful","calm","reflective","elegant","meditative"], "uses" : ["study or focus","podcast background","spa or massage","documentary","period drama or history"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["oboe","harpsichord","cello","basso continuo","oboe d'amore"], "sounds_like" : ["Johann Sebastian Bach"], "summary" : "Baroque instrumental transcriptions for oboe and harpsichord by Gonzalo X Ruiz, offering calm, elegant, and reflective classical music ideal for focus, relaxation, or historical storytelling.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Gonzalo%20X%20Ruiz/JS%20Bach%20-%20Transcriptions%20for%20Oboe/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/ruiz-bach/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/ruiz-bach", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=ruiz-bach" },{ "sku" : "ruiz-schumann", "name" : "Schumann Romances", "artist" : { "name" : "Gonzalo X Ruiz", "page" : "ruiz" }, "release_date" : "2005-04-29", "genres" : ["Classical","Romantic Era","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["romantic","tender","reflective","melancholic","peaceful","nostalgic"], "uses" : ["romance","emotional storytelling","documentary","period drama or history","meditation or yoga","study or focus"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["oboe","cello","classical piano","chamber ensemble"], "sounds_like" : ["Robert Schumann"], "summary" : "Romantic Era instrumental chamber music featuring oboe, cello, and piano performing Schumann's intimate, tender, and reflective works—ideal for romance, emotional storytelling, and calm-focused projects.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Gonzalo%20X%20Ruiz/Schumann%20Romances/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/ruiz-schumann/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/ruiz-schumann", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=ruiz-schumann" },{ "sku" : "ruiz-imported", "name" : "Imported from Italy", "artist" : { "name" : "Gonzalo X Ruiz", "page" : "ruiz" }, "release_date" : "2004-02-29", "genres" : ["Classical","Chamber Music","Baroque","Instrumental"], "vocals" : "instrumental", "moods" : ["elegant","reflective","peaceful","tender","nostalgic","calm"], "uses" : ["documentary","period drama or history","study or focus","podcast background","spa or massage","art or gallery"], "energy" : 2, "instrumentation" : ["oboe","cello","harpsichord","basso continuo"], "sounds_like" : ["Antonio Vivaldi","Domenico Scarlatti","Giovanni Battista Sammartini"], "summary" : "Baroque chamber music featuring oboe, cello, and harpsichord performing works by Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Sammartini, and others—elegant, calm, and historically authentic, ideal for documentaries, study, or period-themed projects.", "cover" : "https://magnatune.com/music/Gonzalo%20X%20Ruiz/Imported%20from%20Italy/cover_400.jpg", "web_url" : "https://magnatune.com/artists/albums/ruiz-imported/", "api_url" : "https://magnatune.com/api/albums/ruiz-imported", "buy_url" : "https://magnatune.com/buy/album?sku=ruiz-imported" }] }, "license" : { "music_license" : "Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 1.0)", "music_license_url" : "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/", "listening" : "Stream the free previews, or buy an album for $8 to download it in MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, OGG or WAV. 100% of the price goes to the musician.", "non_commercial" : "Non-commercial projects may use the music under CC BY-NC-SA 1.0: credit the artist and Magnatune, and share alike.", "projects" : "Magnatune members may use any Magnatune music in their projects, commercial or not (videos, films, podcasts, games, apps, websites, adverts), including work for clients, under the Magnatune Project Licence. Projects released while a member stay licensed for good; new projects need an active membership. Credit is required. TV or radio broadcast, cinema, and background music in shops, restaurants or on-hold lines are not included: license those from the musician. Membership: $10/month, $99/year or $299 lifetime; agents can buy one themselves with MPP at /api/member-pass ($10 month, $99 year, $299 lifetime, one-off).", "projects_status" : "available", "projects_signup" : "https://magnatune.com/member/signup", "royalty_free" : "Membership is royalty-free licensing: no per-video, per-download or per-view fees, for every project created and released while a member.", "youtube" : "YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, podcasts: members may use the clean songs in monetized videos. Members register their YouTube channel (the set_youtube_channel MCP tool, or their account page) so YouTube's Content ID doesn't claim their videos. The free versions carry a spoken Magnatune voice and are non-commercial (CC BY-NC-SA), so they're not for monetized channels or client work.", "details" : "https://magnatune.com/info/licensing", "how_to_credit" : "Name the artist and \"Magnatune\", with a link to the album's web_url." } }