Inter-American Festival breaks
new ground Aug. 28
World premieres to music from the 19th century will make up the unusual repertoire of the upcoming Inter-American Festival of the Arts to open Aug. 28. Instead of longer festivals as in the past the IFA 2010 will be contained in Americas Music Week, which closes Sept. 5.
However, that week, sponsored by the Musical and Theater Arts Corp., will be jam packed with the most varied and novel offerings with two acclaimed conductors on the podium.
Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra Musical Director Maximiano Valdés and Puerto Rican composer Carlos Alberto Vázquez will preside over four of the five avant garde concerts of Latin American music.
The concerts will include two symphony programs, two chamber programs and a piano recital. The repertoire reflects the work of several composers from the American hemisphere, including 13 Puerto Ricans, with works from the 19th century until the present.
The broad spectrum of composers will include at least three women, a significant representation in light of the low numbers
The Aug. 28 opening concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Theater of the University of Puerto Rico. The program by the PRSO, conducted by Valdés, will be dedicated to the Bicentennial of the Independence of Mexico and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution.
Puerto Rican conductor and violinist Guillermo Figueroa will be the soloist in the Concertino Tropical and Insular, both for violin and string orchestra by Ernesto Cordero. Also on the program will be Tanguitis, by Venezuelan composer Alfredo Rugeles, with orchestration by Manuel de Elías; Tureyareyto, by Héctor Campos Parsi; and two Mexican works: Danzón #2, by Arturo Márquez and Fronteras Híbridas, by Gabriela Ortiz.
On Aug. 29 at 4 p.m. in the Raúl Juliá Theater at the Puerto Rico Art Museum, a chamber music will feature PRSO members Francisco Cabán, violín; Emanuel Olivieri, viola; Luis Miguel Rojas,cello; and pianist Diana Figueroa. They will present a novel program of works by Alejandro Cardona, of Costa Rica; Rodolfo Ledesma, of Colombia; Stephen Hartke, of the United States, and Carlos Carrillo and Armando Ramírez of Puerto Rico.
On Sept. 2 in the same venue, Puerto Rican veteran pianist Félix Rivera Guzmán will present a challenging recital with American masterpieces by Venezuelan composer Diana Arizmendi, Chilean Juan Orrego-Salas, Panamanian Roque Cordero, North American Louis Moreau Gottschalk, from the 19th century and two legendary Puerto Rican composers, Gonzalo Núñez and José Antonio Pedreira.
The PRSO conducted by Valdés returns to the UPR Theater with a colorful and interesting symphony orchestra on Sept. 4 at 8 p.m.
The piece Colorfields, by Armando Bayolo, Puerto Rican composer living in the States; Concierto Festivo for guitar and orchestra, by Carlos Alberto Vázquez; In the Fast Lane (world premiere), by North American David Stock; and Cuadernos para orquesta, by Argentinian Fabián Panisello. Cuban guitarist René Izquierdo, soloist of the evening, is one of the most outstanding young guitarists on the international scene. He has won prestigious guitar competitions such as the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition, Extremadura International Guitar Competition, Schadt String competition and Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition. The festival closes with a large chamber concert Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. in the Francisco Arriví Theater in Santurce.
The program, directed by flutist Ana María Hernández, will include Kathleen Jones on clarinet, Frances Colón, oboe; Adam Havrilla, bassoon; all PRSO members, with pianists Nora Ponte and Awilda Villarini and percussionist Andrew Lázaro will present a novel program with works by Alfredo del Mónaco, from Venezuela; Nora Ponte, from Argentina; Heitor Villalobos, from Brazil; and Puerto Ricans Carlos Cabrer, José Rodríguez Albira, Alberto Rodríguez and Awilda Villarini.
The Inter-American Festival will also welcome composers Gabriela Ortiz, Armando Bayolo, Fabián Panisello and David Stock, who will come to Puerto Rico especially to participate in the event. They will offer a series of conversations and lectures in the UPR Music Department from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3. Mexican flutist Alejandro Escuer will also present a lecture-workshop on the contemporary technique for flute.
Tickets are on sale at Ticket Center, 787-792-5000. For information, call 787-721- 8370.
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