Power or Freedom?
Chávez is at an all-time high - but he finds himself composing less and less. Will he have to give up his newfound power in order to keep making the music that made his name?
Carlos Chávez was both a rebel and an educator. Born in a Mexico on the brink of revolution, he would go on to single-handedly revolutionise Mexican music and culture, filling his compositions with indigenous Aztec stories and sounds. Many cite Aaron Copland as an influence on Chávez, but the truth may have been the reverse. While Copland was championing American music in the States, Chávez was fighting for it in Mexico, educating the next generation of Mexican composers. He may have shaped American music more than any other - yet his legacy is little known. Odaline de la Martinez joins Donald Macleod to explore his life and work.
In today's programme, we find Chávez at an all-time high. Commanding an orchestra, directing a new fine art institution, giving lectures and lessons, left, right, and centre. He's finally able to support the next generation of Mexican composers - but his own composing is suffering. Will he have to give up his newfound power, in order to keep making the music that made his name?
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Pablo Roberto Diemecke, violin
Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de México
Enrique Arturo Diemecke, conductor
Sinfonia Romantica: III. Finale
Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York
Carlos Chávez, conductor
Symphony No 5: I. Allegro molto moderato, molto lento
London Symphony Orchestra
Eduardo Mata, conductor
Tambuco for Percussion
Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
Southwest Chamber Music
Jeff von der Schmidt, conductor
Produced by Alice McKee for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Audio Wales and West
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Carlos Chávez
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Performer: Pablo Roberto Diemecke. Orchestra: Mexico State Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Enrique Arturo Diemecke. -
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Carlos Chávez
Sinfonia Romantica: III. Finale
Orchestra: Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York. Conductor: Carlos Chávez.- EVEREST : EVERCD-008.
- EVEREST.
- 5.
-
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Carlos Chávez
Symphony No 5: I. Allegro molto moderato, molto lento
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Eduardo Mata.- VOX : CDX-5061.
- VOX.
- 2.
-
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Carlos Chávez
Tambuco
Performer: Southwest Chamber Music. Ensemble: Tambuco Percussion Ensemble. Conductor: Jeff von der Schmidt.- CAMBRIA : CAMCD-8852.
- CAMBRIA.
- 11.
Broadcast
- Thu 14 Sep 2023 12:00Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 3
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