The Mexican musician breaks his record of works premiered as a conductor, this time as a guest, at the head of the Heredia Symphony Orchestra, multinominated for the Latin Grammy and the only one in America dedicated to the repertoire of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The Arburola Concert for marimba and orchestra, by Carlos Escalante-Macaya, will be broadcast from the National Theater, in San José, Costa Rica, on September 23 at 9:00 p.m. (Central Mexico time).

The concert, which includes works by Igor Stravinsky and the Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, celebrates 200 years of the Independence of Costa Rica and will be televised on the Costa Rican national network on channel 15 UCR, on September 24 and 25.

With a career that has emphasized the promotion of contemporary concert music, the orchestral conductor Ludwig Carrasco Curíntzita celebrates his 100th world premiere with the recording and virtual presentation of the Arburola Concert, for marimba and orchestra, by the Costa Rican composer Carlos Escalante-Macaya (Barcelona, ​​1968). The premiere is part of the Costa Rica Bicentennial season, which this year celebrates, like Mexico, the anniversary of its Independence.

This work has Dennis Arce as its soloist, with the accompaniment of the Heredia Symphony Orchestra and was recorded in July of this year, for its next premiere, at the historic National Theater of San José. The international transmission, online, will take place on September 23 at 9:00 p.m. Central Mexico time (8:00 p.m. in Costa Rica), through the Facebook and YouTube pages of the National Theater of Costa Rica and the Symphonic Orchestra from Heredia:

In addition, the presentation will be televised by national network, in Costa Rica, on the 24th and 25th of the same month, through Channel 15 UCR, at 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. (TCM), respectively (8:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Costa Rica).

The Heredia Symphony Orchestra has distinguished itself for being the only one on the continent, and one of the few in the world, dedicated exclusively to promoting the music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
– The violinist also emphasizes. In addition, it addresses Latin American music in particular. This work has earned him numerous awards, including nominations for the Latin Grammy Awards.

“For this reason, it is a pleasure and an honor for me to participate as a guest in this season of celebration”, shares the musician born in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, of Mexican and Spanish nationality.

The group will perform the Concerto in E flat Dumbarton Oaks, by Igor Stravinsky, which
– says Carrasco Curíntzita – is a piece of great virtuosity, inspired to a great extent by those of Brandenburg, by J. S. Bach. The program closes with Bacewicz’s Concerto for Strings, considered his most important work, which – adds the director – has a brilliant and demanding writing for the interpreters, and at the same time, a balance between tradition and modernity.

“The repertoire addresses three axes that are very important to me: the established one, with the work of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971); the presence of female composers, with Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) and contemporary creation. All this thinking of an appropriate instrument size and endowment to be able to carry it out during the pandemic ”, he warns.

Regarding its 100th world premiere, Carrasco Curtíntzita notes that his experience in this sense began in 2010, in the United States, with the work Cordillera, by the North American composer Eli Fieldsteel. From now on he would add to his collection of premieres a number of recognized works; the most emotional for him – he says – are the four operas that he has brought to the public’s ears for the first time, three of them by Mexican composers: La Crescent, by Georgina Derbez; Risk, by Rogelio Sosa; Luciérnaga, by Gabriela Ortiz, and The King’s Journey, by Bobbie McKay.

“Honestly, I never set out to reach a specific number of premieres, but now that I see that the Arburola Concert marks my 100th premiere, I am very excited. Working with living composers involves constant interaction and a very rewarding creative process, while bringing the composition to life. I am very grateful to those who have trusted me to interpret their works over the years ”.