Orchestra 2001 traveled to Havana, Cuba in 2012 to perform music by George Crumb and other Philadelphia composers as that year’s only US ensemble at the Festival de Música Contemporánea de La Habana.
Join Orchestra 2001 as we feature music by five 20th- and 21st-century Cuban and Cuban-American composers spanning six decades. The program opens with Almendra (Almond) by Cuban danzonero, bassist, and bandleader Abelardo Valdés, who popularized the Cuban danzón style.
Cuban-American composer Tania León’s Toque is inspired by Almendra. She explains that “the word ‘toque’ in Spanish means ‘touch’ and is used not just for physical touch, but also to signify playing an instrument.”
Ileana Pérez Velázquez’ Zunzún (Cuban hummingbird), features a virtuoso e-flat piccolo clarinet in the lead role. Leo Brouwer’s enchanting La Niña Bonita for piano trio is followed by Preludio y Merengue, one of several pieces composed by Cuban-American Latin jazz sensation Paquito D’Rivera for his ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. Merengue won a Grammy for best contemporary classical composition.
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PROGRAM:
Mark Loria, conductor
Ernesto Abelardo Valdés – Almendra Tania León – Toque Ileana Pérez Velázquez – Zunzun Leo Brouwer – La Niña Bonita Paquito D'Rivera – Preludio y Merengue
Sean Bailey – flute, clarinet, e-flat piccolo clarinet
Mark Allen – alto saxophone
Carlos Rubio – violin
Jesús Morales – cello
Douglas Mapp – bass
Nina Siniakova – piano
Anthony DiBartolo – percussion
Malavika Godbole – percussion
