Masterworks II: “Pepe Plays Ponce”

Masterworks II

Pepe Plays Ponce: Ravel, Revueltas & Ponce with guitarist Pepe Romero

November 3 & 4, 2023

Nov 3 – 7:30 pm, Maryland Hall

Nov 4 – 7:30 pm, Maryland Hall

Rossini Overture to The Barber of Seville

Ponce Concierto del Sur, Pepe Romero, guitar 

Revueltas Homenaje a Federico García Lorca

Ravel Ma mère l’Oye

Masterworks II will be filled with Mediterranean flair, passionate music, and momentos sin respiración (moments of breathlessness). G. Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, the opening to that most famous comedic opera, uses masterful storytelling and music to bring to life the magic of Spain. It’s a wonderful way to begin this performance.

World-famous guitarist Pepe Romero brings Manuel Ponce’s Concierto del Sur to life. Romero is a living legend in the world of classical music. Honored by kings, heads of state, and major institutions, Romero’s most significant contribution to music is his affinity for connecting the richness and beauty of classical guitar to every audience. 

Homenaje, which premiered in Madrid in 1937, is widely regarded as one of Revueltas’ most compelling works. It combines a highly personal and modernist approach juxtaposing folk, popular, and Indigenous musical elements. Revueltas used musical elements of folk, popular, and Indigenous music in his homage to the Spanish Civil War martyr, Federico García Lorca. 

We move from Spain to southern France in a performance of Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye (Mother Goose),  a beautiful musical rendering of childhood fairy tales brought to life by Ravel, whose compositions were strongly influenced by his mother’s Basque-Spanish heritage. In 1911,  Ravel re-wrote this piece for an extended ballet. This evening the ASO presents the five-piece suite for orchestra.

Instrumentation 

Gioacchino Rossini, The Barber of Seville Overture

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, bass drum, and strings

As played by the London Symphony Orchestra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0kJ4H_Nquw

Manuel M. Ponce, Concierto del Sur

Instrumentation: guitar solo, 1 flute, 1 oboe, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon, timpani, tambourine, and strings

As played by Symphony of the Air, conducted by Enrique Jordabym with Andres Segovia, guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jHhyspuhYA

Silvestre Revueltas, Homenaje a Frederico Garcia Lorca

Instrumentation: piccolo, E-flat clarinet, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone, 1 tuba, xylophone, 2 tam-tams, piano, violins, and double basses

As played by Orquesta de Càmara, conducted by Cesar Ivan Lara:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnRiaowABQM

Maurice Ravel, Ma Mère l’Oye

Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon, 2 horns, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, side drum, triangle, tam-tam, xylophone, keyboard glockenspiel, suspended cymbal, harp, celeste, and strings

As played by Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by James Gaffigan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4tMATIRHH0

Music Notes

In the early 19th century, opera overtures signaled to the audience that the entertainment was about to begin. Masterworks II presents Rossini’s Barber of Seville Overture as originally intended: an opening to an incredible performance! Masterworks II transports the audience to the Mediterranean as French, Italian, and Mexican composers inspire the audience to remember, recall, and recollect. Plus, the ASO is very excited to welcome Pepe Romero, world famous guitarist, to Annapolis. 

Concierto del Sur, written in 1941 by the masterful Mexican pianist and composer Manuel Ponce, is undoubtedly one of the greatest masterworks to showcase the guitar as a solo instrument accompanied with a full orchestra.

By including rifts on Mexican folk music and mestizo rhythms and instrumentation in his music, Ponce ushered in an era of musical genius born in South and Central America and showcased around the world in music that became popular in movies, television, and in every genre of the art form. Ponce made it possible for future Hispanic composers to find inspiration and celebration in their cultural roots while simultaneously releasing them from the domination of European expectations. 

Pepe Romero will join the ASO for Ponce’s Concierto del Sur, one of the foremost guitar concertos of the repertoire. Pepe Romero is a living legend in the world of classical music. Honored by kings, heads of state, and major institutions, Romero’s most significant contribution to music is his affinity for connecting the richness and beauty of classical guitar to every audience.  Romero has premiered works by the finest composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and has long championed music by composers from earlier periods of musical history, including rare or lost pieces. Romero has recorded more than 60 works for guitar and vocal that are groundbreaking for the industry, making the sound and theory of classical guitar accessible to millions. Romero is the recipient of the “Premio Andalucía de la Música,” the highest recognition given by his native land for his contribution to the arts. 

On August 19, 1936, the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca was murdered by fascist militia forces at the onset of the Spanish Civil War. Outraged by the assassination, which may have been related to Lorca’s gay lifestyle or socialist leanings, Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas was inspired to create his masterwork for chamber orchestra, Homenaje a Federico García Lorca (Tribute to Federico García Lorca). Revueltas’ Homenaje a Federico García Lorca premiered in Madrid in 1937, and remains widely regarded as one of his most compelling works, combining a highly personal and modernist approach by juxtaposing folk, popular, and Indigenous musical elements. Always attuned to the intersection of politics, art, and music, much of Revueltas’ work reflects a sense of nationalism and respect, if not even fondness, for his cultural traditions, often without quoting specific or well-known folk music outright. In this way, his creativity and artistry brought the melodies of Latin America to audiences around the world. 

Subscriptions for the 2023-2024 season are available for sale now. Single Tickets will be available for sale starting Tuesday, August 1, 2023.