Thursday, November 6, 2008

Harman Center: The Mexican Odyssey

Date: November 6, 2008 (Thursday)
Time: 7:30-10:30 P.M.
Place: Harman Center for the Arts at the Shakespeare Theatre, 610 F Street NW, WDC (directions)

Mexico’s explosive cultural saga — from stark Mayan ceremonies to the torrid revolutionary art of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo — produced centuries of explosive music. This unique program, combining music, history, and visual art, includes the Aztec intensities captured by Carlos Chavez, the florid reverence of Mexican Baroque, and the shrill trumpets and booming tubas remembered by Silvestre Revueltas from his rural childhood.

(Additional Mexican programing Nov. 1 at Georgetown University: "Defining Mexico" — an all-day conference followed by a choral concert by Georgetown University Chamber Singers at 6:00 pm in McNeir Hall (New North Building). Free and open to the public.)

Principal Performers:
Pedro Carboné, piano
Roberto Limón, guitar
Georgetown University Chamber Singers
Gregorio Luke, commentator
Angel Gil-Ordóñez, conductor

Program:
Pre-hispanic culture — Xochipili by Carlos Chávez (with pre-Hispanic instruments)
Mexican Baroque — Choral works by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla
Romantic/Post-Romantic — piano music by Ricardo Castro and Manuel Ponce
Solo guitar — Scherzino mexicano and Variations and Fugue on “La Folia” by Manuel Ponce
Nationalism — Three Pieces for solo guitar by Carlos Chavez; Homenaje a Federico Garcia Lorca by Silvestre Revueltas
High modernism — Three Secular Dances for cello and piano by Mario Lavista; Serenata by Ana Lara (East Coast premiere)

No comments: