The first of two March concerts presented by the Community Arts Music Association will bring the State Symphony of Mexico (Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México), conducted by Enrique Bátiz, to the Arlington Theatre stage at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The program alternates mainly between Mexican and Spanish works (although heavily weighted, it must be said, toward the latter), beginning with Carlos Chávez’s dazzling orchestration of an organ work, the Chaconne in e minor by the baroque composer, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707). This will be followed by the most popular guitar concerto ever written, the Concierto de Aranjuez by the blind Spanish composer, Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999). Alfonso Moreno will be soloist.
After intermission, the orchestra will offer a brief work by the brilliant Mexican musician, Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940), who was championed so effectively by Gisèle Ben Dor: “Sensemayá,” The Snake Killing Ritual. Then, it is all Spanish to the end, unless a Mexican encore is tossed in. Following the Revueltas, there will be three Danzas Fantásticas (“Exaltación,” “Ensueño,” “Orgía”) by the Madrid-born Joaquín Turina (1882-1949), followed by the Intermezzo from the opera version of Goyescas, which began as a suite of seven piano pieces, by the great Enrique Granados (1867-1916). The concert will conclude with the Suite No. 2 from Manuel de Falla’s ballet The Three Cornered Hat Suite No. 2.
Born in the same year, 1899, Carlos Chávez and Silvestre Revueltas, rivals and/or partners in life, are now widely regarded by those who have taken the time to listen to their music as the two outstanding Mexican composers of the 20th century. They were very different men in their background and temperament. Chavez was born into the ruling class, and attracted to native cultures. Revueltas was born into impoverished bohemia, had a brief spurt of success and prosperity, then lapsed into alcoholism and poverty. He wrote in many forms, but excelled in ballet and film scores. “Sensemayá,” The Snake Killing Ritual was inspired by the poem of the same name by a well-known Cuban poet, Nicolás Guillén.
Granados’ Goyescas, written as a suite of piano pieces in 1911, was inspired by the paintings and sketches of the towering Spanish artist, Francisco Goya. The opera made of them had its premiere in New York on Jan. 28, 1916 — because of World War I, it couldn’t be opened in Europe. Granados was there — a famous piano virtuoso, he was just winding up a concert tour of the Western Hemisphere. The opera was a hit. Granados had intended to return directly to Spain, but he was invited to perform a piano recital for President Woodrow Wilson. He missed the boat for Spain, and took a later one, bound for England. The ferry he and his wife took from England to France was torpedoed by a German U-boat. In Granados’ attempt to save his wife, both were drowned.
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