The music is as vibrant and varied as her paintings.
In honor of the highly anticipated exhibit “Frida Kahlo: Timeless,” which opens in June at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, the New Philharmonic Orchestra will perform “A Salute to Frida,” a virtual concert that premieres at 7:30 p.m. May 15.
Recorded at the end of April, the concert features a dozen songs celebrating Mexican artist Kahlo and Hispanic music.
“There’s lots of exciting stuff. There’s very sweet stuff on it,” said Maestro Kirk Muspratt, artistic director and conductor of the New Philharmonic. “Things like (Manuel Ponce’s) ‘Estrellita,’ which is a woman speaking to a little star … ‘Would you please come down and tell me that the man I love loves me back a little bit’ to the ‘bullfight song.’ So hopefully you create a contrast to shape the program so there’s something for everybody.”
Following the concert’s premiere on May 15 only, there will be a Zoom talk back session, giving audience members a chance to ask questions. The concert will remain on demand online until June 15.
Originally planned for last season, the concert was postponed “to this year so that we would sort of be a kickoff to what is coming with the Frida Kahlo (exhibit) in the summer,” Muspratt said. “It’s just so extraordinary actually having the actual paintings …”
Muspratt said he is happy to see the world giving more prominence to women and is excited to see the exhibit come to COD and to present an orchestral concert focusing on music by composers from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and more.
“It’s very exciting and it’s a huge thing to have at the MAC. I admire that the MAC and the college is taking this wondrous step to showcase not only a female artist but a Mexican artist,” Muspratt said.
To celebrate Kahlo, who had an affinity for music, the New Philharmonic put together a program “that we thought would be interesting and beautiful,’ he said.
Asked if there are any pieces he wanted to highlight, he said “It’s like having kids and saying ‘which one’s your favorite?'” with a laugh.
The program features several pieces audience members will likely recognize. Among those is “Granada” by Agustin Lara, which will feature tenor Jesse Donner, and “La Virgen de la Macarena” by Rafael Méndez.
“In a lot of circles it’s called the ‘bullfight song,'” Muspratt said of the piece by Méndez. “They play it a lot when the bullfighter would come out. It’s certainly an iconic piece of Mexican repertoire. And it’s been recorded by everybody. And by the way, it was Don Rickles theme song.”
Other familiar pieces include “Blue Tango” by Leroy Anderson.
“Seventy years ago when this was played on the radio it became No. 1 on the Billboard charts,” Muspratt said. “Everybody will go, ‘oh, I know that piece.'”
The last piece in the program is “Danzon No. 2” by living Mexican composer Arturo Márquez.
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“It’s very popular, at least in the symphonic world,” Muspratt said. “It’s very exciting, it’s very effective. It’s beautiful, it’s lyric.”
The “Salute to Frida” concert is the sixth performed virtually in the past year by the New Philharmonic, he said. Recording the concerts for streaming came with several challenges to ensure everyone’s health and safety during the pandemic.
“You have to have every person six feet away from each other. And that’s really hard when you have like 22 percussion instruments on the stage or something like that. So we have to put the percussionists in something like pods instead of them being able to move around and go from the tambourine to the bass drum …”
Face coverings also impacted some visual cues the musicians rely on.
“I can’t see the singer’s mouth to know when he’s going to change words because he has a mask on,” he said. “The musicians can’t see me give them a look like a little bit quieter here or let’s just watch it, because my face is covered.”
But having the concerts stream online means the music can reach a larger audience beyond the Chicago area. Muspratt said he hopes “A Salute to Frida” will encourage and inspire more people to come see the Kahlo exhibit.
“I love all this music. It’s gorgeous, it’s exciting. It’s sensuous. It’s romantic. And I welcome the opportunity to do this concert. And the orchestra, I know, really enjoyed it. I know they enjoyed playing it. A lot of times we’re playing Beethoven or we’re playing John Williams or we’re playing Broadway music or opera music. So this opportunity is wondrous for us. I love all the pieces on here,” he said.
“I hope that everybody will watch it, no matter if you’re living in Germany or Saskatchewan or the Dominican Republic, that you’ll watch the concert cause it’s beautiful and it invites people even more to come to the Frida exhibit.”
‘A Salute to Frida’ New Philharmonic concert
When: 7:30 p.m. May 15 premiere; on demand through June 15
Where: online
Tickets: $40
Information: 630-942-4000; atthemac.org
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.