OFJ NEWSLETTERS

The second concert that the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (OFJ) performs this year in unconventional spaces was held this Tuesday, December 13 at 8:00 p.m., in Plaza Liberación, as part of the activities of the Illusioning Winter Festival that They are organized by the state government and that of Guadalajara in downtown Guadalajara –the first was in May on Paseo Fray Antonio Alcalde as part of the programming of Guadalajara, World Book Capital (GCML)– and, as a 'Christmas Concert', it was free for the people of Guadalajara, visitors or tourists.

As usual, before starting the concert, the decrigor protocol event was held; there, Lourdes González, head of the Ministry of Culture (SC) of Jalisco, pointed out that the musicians "are the protagonists of the night" because they "bring life back" to the Historic Center with this presentation of "the orchestra of all the jaliscienses".

Likewise, Pablo Lemus, Mayor of Guadalajara, welcomed the attendees and assured that "the recovery" of the public space will be done "based on education, culture and art"; In addition, he thanked the SC and the OFJ Board of Trustees for "always trusting in this project" and, especially, the musicians "for being there today and closing their final season of 2022 with this concert."

Music and family night

However, the stalls arranged by the organizers were insufficient, the spectators enjoyed the spectacle around the square, around the monumental Christmas decorations, the illumination of the historic buildings on the sides (in imposing red) and, behind the orchestra , the Degollado Theater with its party lights.

For this occasion, the OFJ was led by José Luis Castillo, its artistic director, and will carry out a program with a selection of seasonal pieces: first 'Estancia', by Ginastera; then Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker Symphonic Suite'; then the 'Music for the royal fireworks', by Händel; the piece 'Fantasia on Greensleeves', by Vaughan Williams; the famous 'Lieutenant Kijé' (Sled), by Prokofiev; the 'Pictures of an exhibition', 'Baba Yaga' and 'Great gate of kyiv', by Mussorgsky; the 'Christmas Oratorio' (fragments), by Bach; to conclude with the well-known 'Radetzky March', by Strauss.

Thus, the OFJ kept an audience captivated --floating, it is true-- that rivaled in quantity the one last May in Paseo Alcalde, but summoned by the end-of-year tradition and its canonical scores. Applause after applause, the orchestra gave proof of the good reception that people lavish on it in outdoor settings.

A Tuesday that the organizers can count as a success; the evening marked an optimal performance of the orchestra and an audience different from those of the weekend, with children, pets and young people taking their places to the sound of the music.