The Orchestra in Xalapa

Xalapa Symphony on Friday Night, originally uploaded by drtaxsacto.

This is a photo from the earlier post on the orchestra in Xalapa. What interested me was the diversity of the crowd. Classical music in Mexico is not just for the snooty. As noted earlier, I was not especially fond of any of the selections - although the conductor - Carlos Miguel Prieto is pretty good.

The Revueltas piece comes from a composer who lived from 1899 to 1940 - Mozart lived about the same time (1756-92) but I think Mozart was less a product of his time. Reveultas life was described as tormented, passionate and caught up with imagination. I think that also describes Mozart. Revueltas is compared to Stravinsky and the Rite of Spring. His work was done in 1932 as a symphonic poem.

Strauss on the other hand lived a long time (1864-1949) as noted in the earlier post I thought this was a difficult piece both for the listeners and the audience. The Alpine symphony, according to my friend is rarely performed first because of the musical requirements (it has pieces for an organ and a wind machine) and it requires a lot of musicians.