
7/4 Tomás Luis de Victoria: 16th Century Spanish Composer Tomás Luis de Victoria is considered one of the top European composers of the 16th century. His music shows a remarkable sense of tonal contrast, foreshadowing the tonality of the Baroque era. Fiesta will share some of his beautiful music, including the “Cum beatus Ignatius” as well as insight on his fascinating life.
7/11 Rebel and Composer Rodolfo Halffter In the 1930’s Spanish-Mexican composer, Rodolfo Halffter was a member of the Spanish “Group of the Eight”, a group of composers and musicologists who opposed musical conservatism. Because he supported the constitutional government of the Spanish Republic, he went to live in Mexico as a political exile. He taught at the Conservatory and became a major fixture in Mexico’s musical scene. We’ll hear music from his Ballet Suite “La Madrugada del Panadero” and his Violin Concerto.
7/18 Ricardo Castro: Romanticism in Mexico Ricardo Castro was a late nineteenth-century romantic composer. Throughout the course of his life, Castro toured and taught everywhere from New York to Leipzig. He studied under another famed Latin American pianist and composer, Teresa Carreño, while in Europe. The program will feature his symphonic music as well as a Piano Concerto with soloist Jorge Federico Osorio.
7/25 Braga Santos, Portuguese Composer A prolific 20th-century composer, Joly Braga Santos who wrote three operas, chamber music for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles, film scores, and several choral works based on poems from the great classical and modern Portuguese and Spanish poets. He was also a prominent teacher, writer, and promoter of Portuguese music. On our program, we will hear his charming ballet score Alfama.