Spanish Symphonic Music
How do you experience music in a concert setting? Do you watch the bows of the violins slide up and down? Do you watch the conductor frantically wave his arms in the air? Do you watch the soloist of the concerto piece? Or… do you close your eyes and just listen?
Today I attended the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico’s performance at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. The pieces were all part of a Spanish Festival Program, written by Spanish and Hispanic composers:
GRANADOS: Three Spanish Dances – Orientale; Andaluza; Rondalla Aragonese
RODRIGO: Concierto de Aranjuez (Guitar Soloist: Alfonso Moreno)
PONCE: Concierto Romantico (Piano Soloist: Irina Chistiakova)
DE FALLA: Noches en los Jardines de España (Piano Soloist: Irina Chistiakova)
The orchestra was conducted by Enrique Batiz, and featured two soloists – guitarist, Alfonso Moreno, and pianist, Irina Chistiakova. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Batiz’s conducting, his movements being too subtle to see and his left hand waving (involuntarily?) at the side of his leg, both Moreno and Chistiakova performed with great talent, agility, and strength. The guitarist’s fingers tremolo-ed so quickly that they practically disappeared into thin air! I continuously glimpsed beside me at my father, who is currently learning how to play classical guitar, searching for looks of jealousy on his face. The pianist pounded on the black and white keys so strongly, yet with such control, that when she finished, she needed to shake out her arms. I love to see the finish to powerful piano pieces. The performer tends to put all of his or her weight on the keyboard and jump up with the release.
To answer the question I posed at the beginning of this blog, I enjoy closing my eyes when attending a concert. Occasionally it is nice to lift my lids to see the soloists tinker away on their instruments, or see the strong bowing of the strings during an expressive moment in the music, but overall, I really like to lean back and relax. Though, and I must make this full disclaimer, I do often times have slumber on my mind when I rest my head on the back of my chair, I take the time to explore the music without the disturbance of my dominant sense – my eyes.
My favorite piece of the evening, including the multiple encores taken by both soloists, was the first selection: the group of Spanish Dances by Granados. Out of the three, I had only ever previously heard Andaluza (due to my familial connections to the Spanish region). The reason that I preferred these compositions was due to their programatic qualities – I could picture them as background to a staged dance production. For example, parts of Andaluza had me imagine men on horses, women dancing in the fields, and maybe even the romantic connections between the two parties (fast and slow sections respectively).
Unfortunately, because Granados’ work was originally composed for piano, and because of the popularity of the Spanish Guitar transpositions, I am unable to find a suitable recording of the Orientale selection. The piece started off with a lone clarinet, followed by a pair of flutes. The clarinet’s sound was so pure, and the flutes were so delicate. Again, with the lack of orchestral recordings it is difficult to convey how the orchestra showed impeccable balance in Rondalla Aragonese. The only way I can describe the picture that formed in my mind is by comparing the sound to an image of a cascading ribbon or loop. In short, incremental periods the symphony would go from featuring its bass instruments (booming, majestic), to its alto (warm, comforting), to its soprano (loud, shrill), and back again.
(Orientale)
(Rondalla Aragonese)
Whenever it comes to anything Spanish – food, art, dance, music, you name it – I show great pride for what my father country has produced. The composers featured today were amazingly and wonderfully talented individuals. Granados and Rodrigo, both from Spain, composed their pieces in semi-miraculous ways. Granados wrote his Spanish Dances at the young age of 16, and Rodrigo spent his entire composing life blind! I really wish that more focus was placed on the history and culture that has come out of Spain.
