Santa Fe Symphony travels musical roads
The Santa Fe Symphony will travel from the rhythms of Spain to the melodies of Argentina at the Lensic Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 14.
Latin Grammy Award-winning flutist Nestor Torres will perform the New Mexican premiere of Mariano Morales’ Concerto for Flute. Torres has worked with Ian Anderson’s Jethro Tull, Herbie Mann, Gloria Estevan, Kenny Loggins, Dave Mathews, Herbie Hancock, Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval.
Symphony conductor Guillermo Figueroa commissioned the piece from the Puerto Rican Morales two years ago.
“Morales is a wonderful friend and he lives in Albuquerque,” Figueroa said. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful piece. The roots of it are Latin jazz and he also takes inspiration from Puerto Rican folk music.”
Argentina’s Alberto Ginastera’s Variaciones concertantes, op.23, presents a virtuosic challenge for the musicians, Figueroa said.
“There are variations on a theme,” he said. “Each variation is a time for each instrument to solo. It’s a tremendous piece for orchestras because you prepare it to show off your players.”
Manuel De Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat” is based on traditional Andalusian folk music.
“He is the greatest Spanish composer ever,” Figueroa said. “He did the same thing RimskyKorsakov and Tchaikovsky did as far as bringing nationalism to classical music. They brought in Russian folk tunes.”
De Falla studied with both Debussy and Stravinsky in Paris.
The symphony will play the second of two suites from a ballet commissioned by the Russian dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev.
Torres also will perform a Latin jazz concert in St. Francis Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 18. The flutist will join violinist
and pianist Mariano Morales and Pikante, a four-piece combination of bass, trumpet and percussion.
The musicians will play original works by Puerto Rican arrangers and composers Torres and Mariano Morales. The concert is dedicated to the people of Puerto Rico.