Customer Reviews

Mi Alma Mexicana (My Mexican Soul)

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Conductor Alondra De La Parra's recording debut on this 2-CD set from Sony Classical features an excellent overview of Mexican classical music, from its inception in the late 19th century to the present. Parra conducts the orchestra she formed, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, in famous and lesser known works from the gamut of the Mexican repertoire, delivering first-rate, and sometimes exceptional, performances of all works featured here. Those who are looking to introduce themselves to the world of Mexican orchestral music should buy this CD set without hesitation. Most of the works featured are relatively unknown and are performed very well. Parra, who is Mexican, clearly has a close affinity for this music and these recordings convey that affinity well.

Several works are more well-known, including Revueltas's "Sensemaya" and Marquez's "Danzon No. 2," both of which were included in Gustavo Dudamel's "Fiesta" CD (a compilation of Latin orchestral music). I prefer Parra's Sensemaya, as it, like Dudamel's, is on the slower side, but succeeds in conveying both menace and excitement, while I found Dudamel's account to be lacking in the latter quality. I still prefer Enrique Batiz's account on Naxos above them all, as it is as pulse-poundingly exciting as classical music gets, with tempos nearly a minute faster than Dudamel and Parra. Dudamel toys with the tempos in Danzon, making it sound like a Latin dance piece that is only vaguely related to traditional classical music--and some may prefer it this way. I prefer Parra's, which conveys both the dance rhythms and the classical structure simultaneously. (The third major recording of this work, by Kery-Lynn Wilson, conducting the same Simon Bolivar orchestra as Dudamel, but on the Dorian label, is note-perfect but a bit too straitlaced for this kind of music.) Parra's recording of Manuel Ponce's "Concierto Del Sur" for guitar and orchestra with soloist Pablo Sainz Villegas is a fine introduction to this masterpiece (the greatest of all guitar concertos) but it is not as good as Sharon Isbin's account conducted by Jose Serebrier or the even better recording by Alfonso Moreno conducted by Enrique Batiz. (This has nothing to do with Parra's conducting of the work but rather with the less than ideal balance between guitar and orchestra as well as the soloist lacking some of the unique qualities that Isbin and Moreno bring to the work.)

Moncayo's "Huapango" (very famous in Mexico) is given a bristling performance full of life and enthusiasm. It slightly edges out Batiz's recording on Naxos for sheer exuberance. Chavez's El Tropico (from his H.P. Suite) is given a marvelous performance here, as is the wonderfully atmospheric "Imagenes" (from 1927) by Huizar. The remaining works give the listener an overview of the earliest period of Mexican music (the first work on this set dates from 1884), which mimicked the European style, all the way up to a work (for piano and orchestra) from 2006 by Toussaint, which is perhaps the greatest "find" on this set, a neo-Romantic work with jazz influences. Several works included here convey the brusquer side of Mexican music, but nothing here is atonal ala Schoenberg. The most modern works sound like Stravinsky at his most muscular.

The playing of the orchestra is very fine throughout but it is not up to the standards of the best ensembles. This is probably due to its youth, having been created by Parra in 2004, and most of its members being under the age of 35. Undoubtedly, each new performance and recording will help raise the orchestra's standards. (It is also a bit smaller than many orchestras, which is noticeable in the smaller string sound and less powerful brass section--although these are minor quibbles, not fundamental flaws.) The sound quality varies from excellent to merely okay, which is odd given that all recordings were made in the same location in New York. Neverthless, as a whole, this is a most impressive debut for both conductor and orchestra and one can only hope that they will continue with more recordings of the Latin repertoire (which was Parra's goal when she founded the orchestra) and eventually a broader repertoire. For those who are looking for the next Gustavo Dudamel, whose musical instincts and talents may well exceed his, look no further: it is Alondra De La Parra!

The orchestra on this CD was formed by the conductor to allow for the music of composers from south of the border to be appreciated. This CD illustrates why this is important. The music is exciting and very very well conducted. We had the pleasure to experience her talents conducting the Dallas Symphony this past fall and she selected two numbers from this collection as part of her program. That performance was a most pleasurable experience. Her talent with our orchestra is illustrated by her talent with her orchestra that plays on this CD. If you like exciting music with a bit of a Latin flavor, you will love this CD as I have.

A brilliant recording of the history of special Mexican music from the past 200 years. Alondra de la Parra, artistic director
of Philarmonic Orchestra of the Americas, did brilliant analysis of historic Mexican music and then made a marvelous selection
of what she believed would give people a wide range of the country's creative music.

The orchestra, founded in 2004 by Alondra, played wonderfully in this superb Sony recording. I highly recommend this for people
who would like to add more international diversity to their music hearts.

Alondra de la Parra is a conductor of her own orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and is widely compared with Gustavo Dudamel for her firebrand, committed presence on the podium. She is intensely musical and brings to us a collection of works by both well-known and newer composers. This listener purchased the CD after hearing the world premiere of Enrico Chapela's MAGNETAR, a concerto for electric cello and orchestra performed by Johannes Moser and Gustavo Dydamel at the helm of the LA Philharmonic. That piece is so extraordinarily exciting that it begs for more exposure to this brilliant young Mexican composer.

On this two CD set Chapela is represented by a work titled 'Ínguesu', a symphonic poem whose musical themes are based on both Mexican and Brazilian folk music ostinatos, 'as well as in very-well-known-by-every-Mexican courses and chants that occur in soccer stadiums throughout the country, e.g. "La mantada", "El lero-lero", "El Q-lero" and "Ínguesu". These musical items are truly popular themes that you can hear not only in stadiums, but also in every traffic jam, quarrel and demonstration occurred in Mexico; hence they are nationalistic and contemporary in nature.' It is a brilliant and controversially advanced piece of music that at first hearing is so rich in atmosphere that the composer wins over the audience with his enthusiasm.

Also included on this spicy recording are the Silvestre Revueltas's 'Sensemaya', Manuel Ponce's 'Concierto Del Sur' for guitar and orchestra, José Pablo Moncayo's 'Huapango', Carlos Chávez's 'El Tropico', Candelario Huizar's 'Imagenes', Arturo Márquez's 'Danzon No. 2', Eugenio Toussaint's Concerto for Prepared Piano and Orchestra, and other works equally as exciting. This recording is form Sony, is well mastered, and deserves wide attention, not only for the repertoire but also as a tribute to Alondra de la Parra! Grady Harp, October 11

There are a lot of countries that have been known as hot beds of classical music, but many of them have tended to be European, Russian, or American. And Mexico, the great if often troubled nation that is directly below us on the map, is not normally thought of as one of those classical music hot beds. Into this breach, however, has stepped in Mexican-American conductor Alondra De La Parra with her own Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas to let it be known that Mexico has indeed produced a good deal of modern classical music in its time, much of it extremely accessible to audiences north of the border. Indeed, the 2-CD collection here, titled "Mi Alma Mexicana" or "My Mexican Soul", while it might get confused with any number of Mexican mariachi records, crams a great deal of music in that it almost feels as if Ms. De La Parra might become the female equivalent to Leopold Stokowski.

Well, perhaps that's a little hyperbole on my part. Nevertheless, this collection is likely to get American audiences more interested than ever in the Mexican approach. The vibrant combination of Spanish and Mayan rhythms that make up both the Mexican style of classical music and, subsequently, the mariachi and ranchera styles that eventually filtered into American popular and classical music too. Among the works featured here are one of the great classical guitar concertos, Manuel Ponce's "Concierto Del Sur", very much the Mexican equivalent of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto De Aranjuez", with Pablo Saenz Villegas as the soloist; "Sensemaya" by Silvestre Revueltas, which may very well have influenced John Williams and his scores to Steven Spielberg's films JURASSIC PARK and THE LOST WORLD; "Huapango" by Jose Pablo Moncayo; and the most recent work, the 2006 Piano Concerto of Eugenio Touissant. All are well performed by what is currently a neophyte ensemble in the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas under Ms. De La Parra's direction.

Perhaps the real gem, however (and when was the last time this work was featured on even a mere classical "pops" album?) is the beloved "Sobre Las Olas" (Over The Waves), a waltz by the tragically short-lived Mexican composer Juventino Rosas, whose untimely death at the age of 26 even makes the short lives of Mozart and Schubert seem like eternities. Besides being a great piece, it has gained more notoriety for being used in any number of song adaptations on this side of the border, and for often being (understandably) misattributed to the great Austrian waltz king Johann Strauss II, who, when Rosas composed "Sobre Las Olas" in 1884, was still alive in Vienna. It is often thought of as a one-hit wonder, simply because Rosas could not repeat that feat with his many other pieces. Even so, it is up there with Strauss' "Blue Danube" in terms of sheer audience popularity.

One hopes that this is just the beginning of a greater exploration of the music from south of the border, because Ms. De La Parra and the young musicians who make up her Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas have done a great deal to open people's ears to the vivid music from down there. This was one of the great classical finds of 2010, and here's hoping there is more to come from them in the years to come.

I see that the NY Times named this 2-CD set as one of the best recordings of 2010. The lead reviewer is right to point out that the orchestra isn't first rate (to be very kind) and the strings in particular are thin. But it's hard not to sympathize with a new orchestral venture from south of the border. Dudamel led the way by making us nortenos aware of the fantastic educational program in Venezuela, the now famous La sistema. The music-making here isn't as fiery as what Dudamel delivers with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orch., but it's a shade more worldly and refined. De la Parra has a chance at celebrity status, I think, although I don't hear the exceptional talent others rave about. She seems musical and expressive, which are good traits.

The major labels have been allergic to music from South America. Forty years ago Bernstein put out a Latin American collection featuring Revuelts and Chavez -- the conductor had a Mexican connection through his mentor, Copland -- and Eduardo Mata cropped up on RCA with some of the same repertoire before his untimely death. Those are the only two instances I can recall before the rise of Dudamel. Anyway, Mexican classical music is largely based on imitations of Europe -- De Falla's fingerprints are everywhere -- with forays into Latin rhythms and folk dances. Much of it remains on the "light classical" side, with easily assimilated melodies and exotic folk flavors. Which isn't to offer criticism; the nationalist schools of classical music share the same characteristics, at least in the beginning, until a genius like Dvorak and Tchaikovsky takes a quantum leap. For Mexico, the leap is attributed to the two composers Bernstein focused on, Revueltas and Chavez, who shared an interest in making a modernist connection with the native India culture -- Revueltas used the Mayas as his version of Stravinsky's primordial Russians in Rite of spring. But Chavez and Revueltas were born in the tail end of the 19th century, and since their deaths I haven't heard from Mexico (my loss, no doubt).

This set allows me to catch up. Dare I say that the voyage didn't reveal any great revelations. Once you've herd Bernstein conduct Sensemaya, it's hard to think of de la Parra as anything but mild. As for the various composers, all unknown to me except for the two I've mentioned, the music on offer here is atmospheric and tuneful, but we aren't in the serious territory of, Ginastera and Villa-Lobos, so far as quality goes. No doubt this was by deliberate choice; Mexican composers are probably part of international modernism post Schoenberg. Their music would be too advanced for tis entertaining, mostly pops album.

Here's the complete program:
Campa:
Melodía para Violín y Orquesta, Op. 1

Daniel Andai (violin)

Castro, R:
Intermezzo de Atzimba

Chapela:
Inguesu

Chávez:
Suite de Caballos de vapor: El Tropico

Huízar:
Imágenes

Ibarra:
Sinfonia No. 2

Lavista:
Clepsydra

Márquez:
Danzón No. 2

Moncayo:
Huapango

Ponce, M:
Concierto del Sur

Pablo Sainz Villegas (guitar)

Revueltas:
Sensemayá

Rosas:
Sobre las Olas

Toussaint:
Concierto para piano improvisado y orquestra: Largo

Alex Brown (piano)