Recent decades have seen efforts to bring underrepresented voices into the classical music mainstream. These efforts have resulted in a growing number of performances and recordings of musical works by women, composers of non-European descent and composers working outside classical music鈥檚 major European centers.
A new recording spotlights Mexico, where the traditions of European classical and traditional Mexican music have coexisted for centuries. (Cedille Records) features the Piano Concerto in A minor by Ricardo Castro (1864-1907), the Piano Concerto No. 1 鈥淩om谩ntico鈥� by Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) and short solo piano works by both composers. Pianist , the Miner铆a Symphony Orchestra and conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto give noteworthy performances of this music of their homeland.
The works on the recording 鈥� all substantial and beautiful enough to be welcomed into the standard repertoire 鈥� exemplify the rich blend of late-romantic European classical and traditional Mexican musical idioms from before the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s. They鈥檙e also important reminders of the tribulation with which the Mexican nation later in the 20th century strove to find its unique and alluring musical voice.
Castro and Ponce were trained in the European tradition, but both composers also integrated Mexican musical elements into their works. A virtuoso pianist, Castro channeled the habanera dance form into a number of original solo piano works and composed the Aztec-inspired opera Atzimba. Ponce traveled throughout Mexico researching the country鈥檚 folk music and made arrangements of dozens of traditional Mexican songs.
For Osorio, Ponce鈥檚 attention to the indigenous music of his country also manifests in the distinctly Mexican feel of his original works.
鈥淭o me, the music of Manuel Ponce always sounds very Mexican,鈥� Osorio said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something very Mexican, even if he had so many European influences.鈥�
Both of the concertos on Conciertos Rom谩nticos embody the late 19th-century piano concerto form in striking ways. 颁补蝉迟谤辞鈥檚 Piano Concerto in A minor showcases pianistic virtuosity in a novel and dazzling series of solo piano cadenzas in its first movement and in the sparkling rondo of the work鈥檚 finale. Unfolding in three movements with no breaks in between, Ponce鈥檚 First Piano Concerto embodies the formal freedom and virtuosic spirit of the piano concertos of Franz Liszt, who taught Ponce鈥檚 teacher Martin Krause.
The solo piano works on the recording place Castro and Ponce in an even more intimate conversation. 颁补蝉迟谤辞鈥檚 Canto de amor (Love Song) and Ponce鈥檚 Romanza explore the quiet longing and passion of love. 颁补蝉迟谤辞鈥檚 Berceuse and Ponce鈥檚 Arrulladora mexicana (Mexican Lulling) draw upon the tender tradition of Mexican lullabies.
鈥淚t has a folk theme, it鈥檚 very Mexican. And the way he uses the singing line is very Mexican culturally, I think,鈥� Osorio said.
The final track on the recording, Ponce鈥檚 Intermezzo is imbued with a particularly Mexican brand of longing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very 补帽辞谤补苍诲辞 鈥� nostalgic. There鈥檚 nostalgia in his (Ponce鈥檚) music, always,鈥� Osorio said.
The musical aftermath of the Mexican Revolution places the works on Conciertos Romanticos in relief. From 1920, decades of authoritarian rule brought with them the imposition of a program of cultural nationalism, in which Mexican composers were expected to turn away from foreign musical influences and construct a distinctly Mexican musical identity. In addition, the sound world of Mexican music changed dramatically over the 20th century, as Carlo Chavez, Jos茅 Moncayo, Silvestre Revueltas and other Mexican composers embraced modernist musical languages.
Conciertos Rom谩nticos is not only a beautiful recording, it鈥檚 also an important one. The works on it are exquisite examples of the mixture of European classical and traditional Mexican musical traditions that characterizes Mexican music at the dawn of the 20th century. They鈥檙e also cultural artifacts, prefiguring the new Mexican nation鈥檚 efforts to create its cultural identity.
鈥淩omanticism and struggle within ourselves in Mexico 鈥� it鈥檚 complicated,鈥� Osorio said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 going to be there, always.鈥�
