Alondra de la Parra
Alondra de la Parra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas release Mi Alma Mexicana on Sony Classical
August 03, 2010
Mi Alma Mexicana
(“My Mexican Soul”)
A 2-CD set celebrating Mexico’s 2010 Bicentennial with 200 years of Mexican music
Debut recording of conductor Alondra de la Parra, with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas
Watch Alondra de la Parra and POA on NBC’s Today: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/37273169#37273169
“Ms. de la Parra elicited a vibrantly nuanced performance whose bristling conclusion had the audience … on their feet.” – The New York Times
Featuring violinist Daniel Andai, guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, and pianist Alex Brown as soloists
World premiere recordings of rarely-heard music by Mexican composers Eugenio Toussaint and Enrico Chapela, plus works by Gustavo Campa, Ricardo Castro, Carlos Chávez, Candelario Huízar, Federico Ibarra, Manuel M. Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas & more
Video of Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas: www.poamericas.org/aboutus.html
Video of Alondra de la Parra: www.alondradelaparra.com/media/index.php
New York, NY— Sony Classical is pleased to announce that Mi Alma Mexicana (“My Mexican Soul”), the debut recording of conductor Alondra de la Parra with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA), will be released worldwide on August 3, 2010. Mi Alma Mexicana is a 2-CD set celebrating Mexico’s 2010 Bicentennial with 200 years of orchestral music by Mexican composers. The album features the world premiere recordings of Enrico Chapela’s ínguesu and Eugenio Toussaint’s Concerto for Improvised Piano with Alex Brown as piano soloist. Mi Alma Mexicana also includes Gustavo Campa’s Melodía for Violin and Orchestra with violinist Daniel Andai, and Manuel M. Ponce’s Concierto del Sur for Guitar and Orchestra with guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas, as well as music by Ricardo Castro, Carlos Chávez, Candelario Huízar, Federico Ibarra, Mario Lavista, Arturo Márquez, José Pablo Moncayo, Silvestre Revueltas, and Juventino Rosas. Mi Alma Mexicana was engineered by Grammy Award-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, with De la Parra as executive producer.
Mi Alma Mexicana is the result of two years of extensive research by the dynamic 29-year-old Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra, who founded POA in 2004 and serves as the orchestra’s artistic director. “I wanted to make an album that really represents Mexico’s music,” she said. “This project showcases the diverse styles and eras of Mexican music, ranging from Ibarra’s very contemporary sounding Sinfonía No. 2, to Castro’s nearly Wagnerian Intermezzo from Atzimba, to Ponce’s Spanish-influenced Concierto del Sur. Mexican orchestral music deserves a place in the core repertoire of every orchestra, and this album shows the wide range of musical styles and extraordinary artistry from my home country.”
De la Parra has gained widespread attention for her spellbinding and vibrant performances, making her one of the most compelling conductors of her generation. She holds the distinction of being the first woman from Mexico to conduct in New York City, and has been heralded by opera star Plácido Domingo as “an extraordinary conductor.” Most recently, she was featured in Crain’s New York Business as one of their “40 under 40 New York’s Rising Stars,” and singled out in The Daily Beast as one of the “Young Rockstars of the Conducting World.”
The release of Mi Alma Mexicana follows the success of live performances of music from the album in New York and Los Angeles. In New York, the orchestra’s first performance of Mi Alma Mexicana at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall sold out, and a second concert – which also filled to capacity – was added to fill the demand. In Los Angeles, the orchestra filled Walt Disney Concert Hall when it joined forces with Argentine-Uruguyan powerhouse music collective Bajofondo for an explosive evening presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September 2010, POA will embark on a multi-city tour of Mexico to celebrate the album and the country’s Bicentennial.
ALONDRA DE LA PARRA:
Born in New York City in 1980, De la Parra moved to Mexico with her parents at age two. She began playing the piano at age seven and the cello at 13, and it was that year that she decided she wanted to be a conductor. At 15, she went to boarding school in England to study music and achieved her A-levels there. After returning to Mexico, she studied composition at Centro De Investigación y Estudios Musicales (Center of Music Studies, CIEM) in Mexico City before moving to New York City at age 20, and attending the Manhattan School of Music where she studied piano with Jeffrey Cohen and conducting with Kenneth Kiesler.
As Symphony magazine put it, “De la Parra doesn’t seem to put much stock in the ‘glass ceiling.’” She holds the distinction of being the first woman from Mexico to conduct in New York City. For the past two years, she has received the League of American Orchestras Women Conductors’ Grant, and she holds the title of Cultural Ambassador for Mexican Tourism. Over just the past five years, she has been featured in Crain’s New York Business as one of their “40 under 40 New York’s Rising Stars,” singled out in The Daily Beast as one of the “Young Rockstars of the Conducting World,” graced the cover of Caras magazine, been the subject of a major feature in The New York Times, recognized by Poder magazine as one of their “Top 20 under 40,” and named as one of six “Young Artists on the Rise” in Symphony magazine.
Frequently in demand as a guest conductor, Alondra de la Parra has led the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Phoenix, Columbus, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Miami’s New World Symphony, Canada’s Edmonton Symphony, Germany’s Kammerakademie Potsdam and Moritzburg Festival Orchestra, Denmark’s Tivoli Symphony, the Russian National Orchestra, Brazil’s Sao Paulo Symphony, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Mexico, Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, Venezuela’s Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Uruguay’s Montevideo Philharmonic, the Singapore Sun Festival Orchestra where she collaborated with actor Geoffrey Rush, and the Washington National Opera in a gala concert with Plácido Domingo. In addition, since 2005 she has been Music Director of the Music Festival of the Americas in Stowe, Vermont.
Alondra de la Parra makes her home in New York City with her husband, and holds a B.A. in piano performance and an M.M. in conducting from the Manhattan School of Music. Alondra de la Parra is represented worldwide by Tanja Dorn at IMG Artists. For more information, visit www.alondradelaparra.com.
GUITARIST PABLO SÁINZ VILLEGAS:
Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas quickly established himself as one of the world’s leading classical guitarists by winning the Gold Medal at the first Christopher Parkening International Guitar Competition in May 2006. Sáinz Villegas’ prize-winning performance with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra has led to concerts in more than thirty countries. These include his debut with the New York Philharmonic under renowned conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Born in Spain, but now living in New York, Sáinz Villegas’ combination of charismatic stage presence, deep passion for his music and stunning technical abilities deliver performances that have consistently brought audiences to their feet. Sáinz Villegas was the first guitarist to win Spain’s prestigious “El Ojo Crítico” Award (the Critics Eye). Known for his outreach programs, Sáinz Villegas is the founder of “The Music Without Borders Legacy,” a program that seeks to leverage the inspirational power of classical music among low-income communities and young artists. For more information, visit www.pablosainzvillegas.com.
VIOLINIST DANIEL ANDAI:
Hailed as an “exemplary leader” by The New York Times, violinist Daniel Andai shares his versatile artistry as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, recording artist, concertmaster, and violin professor across five continents. Daniel Andai is concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and The Miami Symphony Orchestra. Previous appointments included concertmaster of the Filarmonica de Minas Gerais (Brazil), associate concertmaster of the Verbier Chamber Orchestra (Switzerland) and collaborations with the New York Philharmonic, Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony and the Miyazaki Orchestra (Japan). Andai was named one of Poder Magazine's 20 under 40 and is a winner of numerous competitions and awards in the United States and abroad. Andai has performed in various international festivals as a soloist, is first violinist of the Vols String Quartet, and was a member of Richard Danielpour's contemporary music group, the Claremont Ensemble, in New York. He can be heard on radio stations throughout South America as an AMZ Records artist, and was the solo violinist in the award winning PBS special Sugihara. Daniel Andai is professor of violin at New World School of the Arts in Miami and is on the faculty of the Killington Music Festival in Vermont. For more information, visit www.danielandai.com.
PIANIST ALEX BROWN:
Jazz pianist and composer Alex Brown is quickly establishing an international reputation. Brown is a member of ten-time Grammy-Award-winner Paquito D’Rivera's ensemble, and was a Grammy nominee for his work as a part of Paquito D'Rivera's release, Jazz-Clazz. He has also performed with musicians including Jane Bunnett, Jon Faddis, Slide Hampton, the New York Voices, Terell Stafford, Gary Thomas, Dave Valentin, Miguel Zenon, and Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Brown has performed at a wide array of venues and events including Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, Birdland in New York, the Blue Note in New York and Tokyo, Carnegie Hall, the Heineken Jazz Festival, the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, the Panama Jazz Festival, Baltimore's Artscape Festival, the Greater Hartford Jazz Festival, the Curacao Jazz Festival, and Blues Alley in Washington, DC. He has recorded and performed with the group Imani Winds, and with Mexico’s National Symphony under the direction Carlos Miguel Prieto. Brown is a graduate of the New England Conservatory where he studied with Danilo Perez and Charlie Banacos, among others. For more information, visit www.alexbrownmusic.com.
PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA OF THE AMERICAS:
Since its founding in 2004, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas has grown into a New York-based international symphony orchestra which serves as a platform to showcase young composers and performers from the Americas. POA itself comprises the next generation of emerging classical music talent. The majority of orchestra members are under age 35 and hail from 22 different countries. Since its inception, POA has performed for the President of Mexico; has been hosted at the White House, the Mexican Embassy, and the Canadian Consulate; has given concerts for over 30,000 audience members in New York, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Dallas, and Washington, DC, among other cities; has provided important New York City debut opportunities to 20 emerging soloists from the Americas; has performed 10 world premieres of American composers; has established an international Young Composers’ Competition; and has initiated the innovative Niños arts and education program for underprivileged youth in the United States and Mexico.
Last summer, the orchestra made its well-received debut as orchestra-in-residence at the prestigious Napa Valley Festival del Sole, collaborating with violinist Sarah Chang and actor Robert Redford, and returned for the fifth year in a row to the Music Festival of the Americas at Stowe. In October 2009, POA made its debut with a dance company as part of Christopher Wheeldon’s Morphoses Dance Company at New York’s City Center. In 2008, the orchestra toured Mexico for the second time and performed in a tribute to Gloria Estefan at the Latin Grammy Awards. For more information, visit www.poamericas.org.
Mi Alma Mexicana Track Listing (Sony 88697704412)
DISC 1
1 José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958): Huapango (1941) - 8:18
2 Gustavo E. Campa (1863-1934): Mélodie pour violin et orchestre, Op. 1 (1890) - 5:25
Daniel Andai, violin
3 Ricardo Castro (1864-1907): Intermezzo de Atzimba (1900) - 5:02
4 Candelario Huízar (1882-1970): Imágenes (1927) - 16:46
[5-7] Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948): Concierto del Sur para guitarra y orquesta (1941)
Pablo Sáinz Villegas, guitar
5 I. Allegretto - 13:33
6 II. Andante - 6:40
7 III. Allegro moderato e festivo - 5:51
8 Juventino Rosas (1868-1894): Sobre las olas (1884) - 4:39
Arr. Ljova
DISC 2
1 Arturo Márquez (1950-): Danzón 2 (1994) - 9:26
2 Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940): Sensemayá (1938) - 6:37
3 Carlos Chávez (1899-1978): El Trópico (from H. P. Suite) (1954) - 7:31
4 Federico Ibarra (1946-): Sinfonía No. 2: Las antesalas del sueño (1993) - 9:38
5 Eugenio Toussaint (*1954): Concierto para piano improvisado y orquesta: II Largo (2006) - 6:54
Alex Brown, piano
6 Mario Lavista (1943-): Clepsydra (1990) - 10:37
7 Enrico Chapela (1974-): ínguesu (2003) - 8:54
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