“De la Parra made sure the music snapped to and fro, like a dancer’s whirling skirt”

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“Her gestures speak louder than words”

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“The young orchestra spun Bernstein’s irresistible music like a top”

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Reviews

Review by Henry Fogel, president of the American Symphony Orchestra League

Arts Journal - September 4, 2007

There are those days when you experience something so heartwarming that you feel you must share it – and the evening of August 21^st in New York City was that kind of event for me. There is an orchestra that most Americans don’t even know exists called the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. Its music director is a 26 year old Mexican named Alondra de la Parra, and she leads her musicians with a wonderful combination of technique and emotional involvement and expressivity. As satisfying as the musical experience was, and it was, it was the community experience that really struck me.

The mission of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (I’ll settle on POA from here on out) is to give exposure to the music of the Americas – particularly South and Central America. This is not exclusive (the main work on the concert I saw was Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony), but it is central to what they do. They perform in a gorgeous space at 104^th Street and Fifth Avenue (El Museo del Barrio), the orchestra includes many Latino musicians (but again, not solely), and attracts an audience of the kind of diversity that most orchestra administrators dream of. I heard as much Spanish as English being spoken at intermission and after the concert, and the audience consisted of many young people, families with children, people clearly from all economic and social categories.

And they loved the concert. A young Puerto Rican tenor (Joel Prieto) sang Rossini, Mozart, Donizetti, and music by the Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández, the concert opened with Astor Piazzolla’s Adios Nonino, the second half opened with an extremely imaginative and partly improvisatory work called Canto Llano by the Venezuelan composer Eduardo Marturet, then ended with Beethoven’s Seventh. The audience roared its approval at the end of the Beethoven, and were clearly involved in the music throughout.

This is a young orchestra, only a few years old really, and one wonders how many like it, with a focused appeal and community connection, there are in the country. They are about to begin an education program to third and fourth grade children in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, where the population is over 98% Latino. One can only imagine what they might accomplish in the future as they continue to grow. For me, all I can say is that it was positively thrilling to sit in that audience, see the connection that existed between stage and audience, and once again have my belief that the symphonic music we love has a much broader appeal that some of the American press might have us believe.

Review by Edith Eisler, New York Concert Review

June 12, 2007

Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, Alondra de la Parra, conductor, Paquito D'Rivera, clarinet and saxophone soloist
Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center
June 12, 2007

The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas was founded in 2004 by its Artistic Director, Alondra de la Parra. Based in New York, it made its debut at Town Hall in 2004; this Gala Concert marked its Lincoln Center debut. Judging from their looks, the players are all young; judging from their names, they come not only from the Americas but from every corner of Europe. As far as one could tell in the cavernous acoustics of Rose Hall, they are accomplished, disciplined and committed; many orchestral soloists, from flute to tuba, had a chance to shine. Some intonational problems in the stratospheric wind unisons were transcended by the general lustiness of the sound. De la Parra, the POA's 26-year-old, very competent Mexican conductor, has the music not only in her head but in her blood; her beat is clear, her style is encouraging rather than exhortative and blessedly free of fussy extraneous motions. There was an air of mutual respect and affection.

The all-Latin program began with a pseudo-Latin piece: Gershwin's Cuban Overture. Inspired by his visit to Cuba, it suggests that North American composers' fascination with South American music is not unlike that of French composers for Spanish music.
Next, Paquito D'Rivera played the clarinet and saxophone solos in two of his own compositions. Fantasias Messiaenicas for clarinet, jazz trio and orchestra, is dedicated to Henri Akoka, the original clarinetist of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, written and premiered in a French prison camp during World War II. An exuberantly jazzy bravura piece combining variations and improvisation, Fantasias attempts to capture Akoka's undaunted humor and love of life. Memories (Danzón) is dedicated to the Cuban-American maestro, Mario Bauza, and "pays homage to the victims of totalitarian regimes throughout the world." The Danzón is the Cuban national dance, but was adopted by Mexico, where it became very popular. D'Rivera is a fabulous player; his virtuosity and tonal palette on both instruments are absolutely stunning. He was supported splendidly by pianist Alon Yavnai, bassist Massimo Biolcati, drummer Eric Doob, and saxophonist Xavier Perez. The cheering audience was rewarded with an encore: "Tico-Tico" by Pixinguinha.

POA's stated primary mission is to "open doors for young performers and composers from the Americas," and in 2007, it initiated a Young Composers Competition for a short orchestral work. The winner was Martin Capella, born in Mexico in 1981; his composition, Ixbalanqué, was premiered at this concert as part of his prize. It is based on a Mayan legend about twin brothers who can revive a man they have killed with a magic spell; the music depicts that life-restoring moment. The piece makes its strongest impact through its range and variety of sound effects and its imaginative combinations of orchestral colors. The composer was present to enjoy his success.
The two remaining works were built around rhythmic repetition. In Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemaya, a 7/8 pattern is played by different instrumental groups at varying dynamic levels. The four contrasting Argentinean dances of Alberto Ginastera's well-known Suite Ballet Estancia culminate in the fast, vigorous Malambo, whose final hypnotic excitement had conductor and players swaying to the rhythm while the audience clapped along.
Edith Eisler

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