Fiesta Filarmonica Buena Musica
“Buenas tardes” was the greeting (from the audience) as clarinetist
Angel Santoro walked onto the stage at Northern Kentucky University’s Greaves
Concert Hall Friday night to welcome listeners to NKU’s first-ever “Fiesta
Filarmonica.”
That’s fiesta as in Philharmonic, “Classical Music with a
Latin Accent,” sponsored by the Office of Latino Affairs at NKU, and featuring the
Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra led by music director Jaime Morales.
On the program was music from Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico
and Venezuela, all 20th and 21st century, including a
world premiere by Cincinnati resident Sonia Morales, a native of Puerto Rico. Soloists were Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra violist
Denisse Rodriguez and Jesus Morales, principal cellist of the Philadelphia
Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Rodriguez
performed Sonia Morales’ “Paisajes” (“Landscapes”). Jesus Morales performed “Graciela y Buenos
Aires” by Argentinean Jose Bragato.
Jaime, Sonia, Denisse and Jesus, by the way, are members of the Morales-Matos family of Puerto Rico, a virtual “first family” of Puerto Rican musicians that includes Mariano (composer, violinist and pianist), Rolando (percussionist, assistant conductor of “The Lion King” on Broadway and faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia) and Ricardo (principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra). Conductor Jaime is also a well known trombonist, the first brass player to win an Artist Diploma from the Indiana University School of Music and music director of the Central Ohio Symphony. All are siblings except Denisse Rodriguez, who is Jaime Morales’ wife.
Jaime, who led a “Fiesta Filarmonica” with the Dayton Philharmonic in 1997, opened with Sonia Morales’ “Alma Mater Salute: Homanajae.” This brassy, fanfare-like work was commissioned in 2008 to honor the Escuela Libre de Musica in San Juan, Puerto Rico (“Free School of Music,” attended by all of the Morales-Matos family). A final episode for timpani, drums and xylophone got the evening off to an invigorating start.
Argentine master Astor Piazzolla’s 1968-69 “Tangazo,” which followed, was of an altogether different hue. Described in the program notes as “variations on Buenos Aires,” it came across as a kind of portrait of barrio life, where the tango tells all the stories, most of them dark, dangerous and/or erotic. There was much to absorb here, from the deep, opening “lament” by the cellos to a “perkier” section beginning in the woodwinds. Prominent here were the strings’ rapid (“dirty?”) glissandos, the scratching of the guiro (scraped gourd instrument) and most of all, the French horns, whose nimble playing was, in a word, astonishing.
Jesus Morales honored Jose Bragato, a cellist and disciple of Piazzolla with his “Graciela y Buenos Aires,” an eight-minute tango for cello and strings that radiated through the hall. Morales’ particularly mellow sound fit the work ideally, as did his technical facility, with the cello playing rapidly in first violin register at one point.
The first half concluded with a very popular work from Mexico, Arturo Marquez’ 1994 “Danzon” No. 2 (you can find it on YouTube with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra). Danzon refers to a dance form that originated in Cuba and was brought to Veracruz and Mexico City. It is a splashy work with trumpets, stringed instruments strummed like guitars, lovely solos for clarinet and violin and a big, splashy finish.
After intermission came an extremely beautiful work by Argentinean Arcangel Castillo-Olivari, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Composed in 1988 and entitled Elegy for String Orchestra, it is a kind of Latin cousin of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, with lots of divisi writing (sub-divided parts) and a long, dreamy solo by concertmistress Marion Peraza Webb that drifted off on high harmonics at the end.
Sonia Morales’ “Paisajes” is a 15-minute, one-movement concerto/symphonic poem for viola and orchestra. Its contrasting sections reflect Puerto Rican folk music and “try to portray the beautiful landscapes of Puerto Rico,” she said. The work is very popular in Puerto Rico in its original version for cuatro and orchestra (the cuatro, a relative of the lute and guitar, is the national instrument of Puerto Rico). The cuatro version was commissioned by the Puerto Rican Cultural Society of Dayton and premiered in 1997 by Puerto Rican cuatrista Emilio Cruz and the Dayton Philharmonic led by Jaime Morales. Sonia, who had intended to write an alternate version of the work for a different instrument, adapted it for viola after moving from Puerto Rico to Cincinnati in 2004 and hearing Denisse try out several violas she was interested in buying.
“I was inspired by the beautiful sound and personality of the viola. Its melancholic sound immediately brought me to the landscapes of Puerto Rico, a yearning voice to feel the melancholy and at the same time, the freedom of being away from the island.”
“Paisajes” began with an expansive section for orchestra that indeed suggested a vista in sound. Rodriguez’ simple, recitative-like entrance had a clutching, lonely feel. This built into an assertive, almost militant passage for viola and orchestra. A simple, childlike solo for flute led to another big moment for the viola as the music waxed increasingly colorful, with, among others, plaintive English horn, a choir of trumpets and commentary by the tuba. Rodriguez’ vigorous cadenza was followed by animated rhythms surmounted by a soaring French horn, an improvisatory “jam session” with bongos and shakers positioned stage left, a touch of “swing” by the first desk strings and pizzicato double basses and cellos, all leading to a bright, happy conclusion. Composer and soloist took well-deserved bows.
The concert ended with “Huapango” by Mexican composer Jose Pablo Moncayo. This, like Marquez’ “Danzon” No. 2, is another all-time South of the Border favorite. Lyrical as well as highly rhythmical, it incorporates harp, folk melodies, strummed effects by the stringed instruments and “dueling” trumpet and trombone solos at the end.
Performing before the concert and during intermission in the Greaves Hall foyer were members of the NKU Preparatory String Orchestra.
The concert repeats at 3 p.m. March 27 in Anderson Theater in Anderson Township. The Anderson High School Orchestra will perform before the concert and at intermission. Tickets are $10, free for seniors and students. Information at www.clermontphilharmonic.com or call (513) 723-2561.