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The music evokes pre-Columbian
landscapes and images with a cinematic grandeur, sweep and colorfulness
that go beyond the merely picturesque. The suite reaches its climax (in
more ways than one) in the fourth section, "Night of Sorcery," featuring
no fewer than a dozen percussion instruments--drums, gourds, rasps, even
a conch shell--leading a Mayan sacrificial dance. Think of a manic cross
between "The Rite of Spring," Carlos Chávez and Philip Glass and you will
get an idea of this astonishing finale. In his brief spoken remarks as
well as in his rousing, rhythmically charged performance.
-- John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, on "La noche de los Mayas"
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| Silvestre Revueltas, the "great free spirit
of Mexican music," was born on the very eve of the 20th century, on December
31, 1899. After early training as a violinist, he concentrated his talents
on conducting and composition. At Carlos Chávez's invitation, he became
Assistant Conductor of the Mexico Symphony Orchestra (1929-1935) and taught
violin and composition at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City,
also conducting the Conservatory Orchestra. In 1937 he conducted several
of his orchestral works in Spain, lending his support to the Republican
cause during the Spanish Civil War. In October 1940, barely 40 years old,
he succumbed to pneumonia aggravated by alcoholism. In his last decade,
Revueltas was astonishingly productive, writing almost 40 works - including
6 for full orchestra and 8 film scores - in a mature, vitally individual
voice.
Recent performances (see "Redes
with film,"above) and recordings have helped address the lack of
attention given Revueltas' music in the decades since his death. His monumental
La Noche de los Mayas, with a finale requiring 11 percussionists,
has thrilled audiences of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony,
and the American Composers Orchestra in recent years. The Los Angeles
Philharmonic's all-Revueltas CD on Sony Classical, with Esa-Pekka Salonen
conducting, won the 1999 Diapason Award. On Koch International Classics,
Giséle Ben-Dor leads the Santa Barbara Symphony and English Chamber Orchestra
in Revueltas' last work La Coronela, along with orchestral works
Itinerarios and Colorines. For a more comprehensive
set, try BMG Classics' "Silvestre Revueltas: Centennial Anthology
1899-1999".
For an essay by Roberto Kolb Neuhaus on the life of Revueltas, click the
link to the left. And click here
for an extensive website on Revueltas (in Spanish). |