SCHEHEREZADE , ALSOP & MONTERO
“ antro ”— a word originally used to refer to Mexico City ’ s clubs of somewhat ill repute , but now commonly repurposed in reference to any bar or nightclub . For Ortiz , antros are cultural spaces that shaped and reflect Mexico City ’ s musical heritage . Antrópolis , she writes , “ is the sonorous reflection of a city through its ‘ antros ’” which “ form an essential part of our history in this very complex but fascinating Mexico City .”
Rhythms of salsa , cumbia , tumbao , and New Wave experimental sounds from Mexico City ’ s erstwhile antros supply the heady heartbeat of Antrópolis . After an enigmatic opening solo by the timpani , the brass confidently herald the opening dance : a vast orchestral crescendo underscored by tropical percussion . Another timpani cadenza precedes the next dance , punctuated by yet further interjections from the timpani , before an orchestrawide vocal swell rallies a feverish finale , complete with elephantine fanfare and trumpet glissandos .
Instrumentation : Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , two clarinets , bass clarinet , two bassoons , four horns , four trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , and strings .
Gabriela Montero
Born May 10 , 1970 in Caracas , Venezuela Resides in Oxford , Maryland
PIANO CONCERTO NO . 1 , “ LATIN ” [ 2016 ]
Venezuela once held the promise of riches . The discovery of oil in the early 1900s transformed the struggling nation ’ s economic foundation , shifting it from a modest , agriculture-based economy to a burgeoning petrostate . But mismanagement and corruption plunged the nation into economic freefall : a box of cereal cost a month ’ s salary ; street vendors sold sculptures crafted from Venezuelan bills , rendered worthless by hyperinflation ; criminal violence soared ( 2011 saw an average of 53 murders per day ); and wrongful incarcerations became rampant under the authoritarian Chavismo government , once hailed as a movement for equality but now synonymous with oppression . Conditions have only worsened under Nicolás Maduro ’ s regime , which took power after Hugo Chávez ’ s death in 2013 . As of August 2023 , more than 7.7 million Venezuelans had fled the country , seeking refuge and a better life abroad .
Simón Bolívar , the revered liberator of much of South America from Spanish rule — and the namesake of Venezuela ’ s now devalued currency — once declared : “ When tyranny becomes law , rebellion is a right .” Indeed , it was against the tumultuous backdrop of Venezuelan collapse in 2011 that Gabriela Montero made her compositional debut with the polemic Ex Patria , spurred by the wrongful incarceration of a friend .
In Montero ’ s first piano concerto — the “ Latin ” Concerto — composed in 2016 , the composer broadens her view to the history and spirit of the wider South American continent in both a celebratory and reflective mood . Describing the work , Montero explained : “ It ’ s a chiaroscuro reflection on who we are as a continent , dark and light . It has all the rhythms , the charm , and the sensuality that people love about Latin America — but unfortunately , those characteristics keep the world from actually noticing what ’ s really going on . So
it ’ s not a political piece , but it ’ s a statement : Not everything that glitters is gold .”
The opening movement draws upon the energy of the mambo , a fast-paced genre that originated in 1930s – 40s Cuba and quickly became a sensation internationally , particularly in dance halls across the United States . Yet even from the piano introduction , eerie dissonances suggest an undercurrent of something darker , a sense of disruption that permeates the remainder of the movement . The central movement , Andante moderato , opens with the faintest echo of Chopin , then unfurls into an enigmatic marvel of shimmering beauty . In the closing movement , Allegro venezolano , Montero returns to her homeland , citing the Venezuelan dance the Pajarillo ; even here , however , the joy of the dance is interrupted by , as Montero explains , “ the dark arts of black magic , a symbolic reminder of the malevolent forces that , too often , hold our continent hostage to tyranny in its multiple guises .”
Instrumentation : Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , two trombones , timpani , percussion , harp , and strings .
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Born March 18 , 1844 in Tikhvin , Russia Died June 21 , 1908 in Liubensk , Russia
SCHEHERAZADE [ 1888 ]
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the great masters of his craft , respected in his time and remembered now for his genius . A virtuosic orchestrator with a roster of pupils who themselves became masters — Alexander Glazunov , Anatoly Lyadov , Igor Stravinsky , and Ottorino Respighi — he was a technician and pedagogue without equal … despite having had no formal training himself !
Let us paint a scene : The year is 1871 , and Rimsky Korsakov has been offered a professorship at the St . Petersburg Conservatory . The composer is well-known , the author of celebrated orchestral works
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