OFJ NEWSLETTERS

As a preview of this coming Sunday´s presentation in the Teatro Juárez of Guanajuato for that city´s annual International Cervantino Festival, the OFJ (OrquestaFilarmónica de Jalisco) performed an ambitious program entitled “La España de Cervantes” (Cervantes´ Spain), in the Palacio de la Cultura y la Comunicación (PALCCO) concert hall in Zapopan, Thursday evening.

The main course for the evening repast was the popular Concierto de Aranjuez, by Joaquín Rodrigo. The guitar soloist, young Yucatan native Cecilio Perera (age 33), remedied the unfortunate initial impression caused by the sound system, moving away from the microphone and permitting the notes to flow freely.  With impeccable technique and total mastery of the abundant and varied virtuoso passages, thanks to a sparse orchestration, Perera was able to capture some sublime moments during the concert.  Particularly during the second movement (adagio), his dialogues with the oboe, English horn, bassoon, and trumpet, were truly noteworthy.  The soloist responded to the applause from the packed house with a “work that needed no introduction,” a bright arrangement of El Son de la Negra.

The program opened with Don Quixote, de Richard Strauss.  A highly absorbing work on account of the length and complexity of its score and its consequent demands on the ensemble, the work provided additional proof (as if more were needed) of the maturity and quality achieved by the OFJ in the present moment.  At times poetic, at times melancholy, at times sarcastic, the orchestra imbued these “fantastic variations on a theme of knightly character” with just the right dose, at the right time, of all of their many moods.  The deliberate dissonances in the second movement, along with the complex chromatic fragments generously administered throughout the work, were indicators of the acuity of the musicians and their Music Director, Marco Parisotto, so very close to perfection in their formal execution of Strauss´ masterpiece.  William Molina-Cestari, principal cellist of the OFJ, was the soloist who musically brought Don Quixote to life, resolving with aplomb the demands of a work that is just as difficult as any concerto written for the instrument.

The Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat, by Manuel de Falla — already part of a lighter OFJ program three weeks ago—that closed this program, was especially appropriate for showcasing the excellent string section.

This Sunday, the OFJ will present the same program, with the addition of the world premiere of a work entitled “Vencidos”, by Fabio Vacchi, at the Teatro Juárez in Guanajuato.

Review  published in the INFORMADOR, Saturday, October 15, 2016, by Jaime García Elías [email protected]

Nota publicada en el periódico INFORMADOR, el sábado 15 de octubre de 2016 por Jaime García Elías [email protected]