The DuPage Symphony Orchestra’s latest concert will highlight two countries generally underrepresented in classical music. With its performance of “Up Close and Personal: Mexico and Spain” Nov. 19 at the Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville, the west-suburban orchestra will feature compositions that may be less familiar to people.
“The pieces on this program not only capture the sounds of Mexican and Spanish music, but they all incorporate strong dance rhythms,” said Teresa Muir, secretary of the orchestra’s board of directors.
The show begins with the “Symphonie espagnole,” an 1874 piece from composer Édouard Lalo.
“Although Édouard Lalo was French, the surname “Lalo” is itself Spanish, and the family dispersed to northern France in the 16th century,” Muir said. “The Symphonie espagnole was written with Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate in mind.”
Unlike most 19th-century concertos, this one has five movements with rhythms and melodies that are characteristically Spanish. “Listen in the second movement for the strings and harp imitating a guitar,” Muir said. “Of all his concertos, this one has by far received the most performances.”
Joining the symphony on this performance will be 29-year-old violinist William Hagen, who has performed with orchestras around the world. He’ll perform on a 1732 Stradivarius violin, dubbed the “Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan,” on loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.
Next in the performance will be a 1949 piece by Mexican composer José Pablo Moncayo — “Tierra de Temporal,” roughly translated as “Land of Seasonal Rain.”
“He combines orchestral colors with Mexican rhythms and themes,” Muir said. “Many consider this to be his masterpiece.”
The next piece, “Sinfonía India,” is by Carlos Chavez, a composer and founder of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was also Moncayo’s mentor, and both are considered important figures in Mexican musical nationalism and the development of the Mexican sound, Muir said.
More Top Picks Best Cordless Phone
“As an ethnomusicologist, Chavez researched the harmonies, rhythms, melodies and instruments of the Indigenous people of Mexico,” she said. “Sinfonía India,” from 1936, includes an extensive and unusual list of percussion instruments.
“In addition to timpani, bass, and snare drum, the score calls for Latin percussion — guiro, maracas and claves — and rarely heard grijutian, metal rattle, rasping stick and a water gourd,” Muir said. “The work is in one movement, sectioned by frequent tempo changes.”
Joining the orchestra on this performance will be multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator Christopher Garcia, who will play some of the Indigenous Mexican percussion instruments used in the piece. The week prior to the concert, he will present master classes at four area high schools on the native instruments. He will also give a preconcert lecture at 6:45 p.m. for those interested in learning more about the instruments.
The final piece in the performance will be “Danzón No. 2? by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez.
“Danzóns are works based on a Cuban dance that migrated to Veracruz, Mexico,” Muir said. “Marquez’s ‘Danzón No. 2’ is one of the most popular and frequently performed Latin American works written after 1950. The idea for the piece came to him in 1993 during a trip to Malinalco with artist Andres Fonseca and dancer Irene Martinez. He captured the wild rhythms of the dance in a way of paying respect to this popular music style.”
Also with the concert, the symphony will be holding a “petting zoo” of musical instruments in the lobby of the Wentz Concert Hall. Younger patrons who may be interested in learning an instrument can give them a try with an experienced musician to give them some guidance.
‘Up Close and Personal: Mexico and Spain’
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19
Where: Wentz Concert Hall, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $15-$43
Information: 630-778-1003; dupagesymphony.org
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.