José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958)
Huapango.
One of the leading composers of Mexican nationalism in the twentieth century, Moncayo, wrote a couple of symphonies, an opera, and a ballet. His short work, Huapango, was commissioned by his friend, Carlos Chávez, based on the popular music of the southeast coast of Mexico. Being inspired by visiting Alvarado, one of the places where folkloric music is preserved in its most pure form, Moncayo collected melodies, rhythms, and instrumentations. He then incorporated them into his orchestral music. Huapango is colorfully orchestrated with being driven by the distinctive and vibrant rhythm.
Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)
Four Dances from Estancia.
A South American composer, Ginastera, is noted for indigenous music with incorporation of native Argentinian folk elements. Estancia is a ballet in one act and four scenes, focusing on the life of the gauchos (cowboys) in one of the estancias (cattle ranches). The four dances are as below.
- Los Trabajadores agricolas (Agricultural workers)
- Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance)
- Los Peones de hacienda (the Cattleman)
- Danza final (Final Dance)
His most frequently performed work, Estancia, is a reminiscent of the folkloric music of the other composers who had a rich Latin American spirit.
Guido López-Gavilán (b.1944)
Guaguancó
Born in Cuba, Lopez-Gavilán encompasses a range of genres with extensive compositional works and has been acclaimed throughout America and Europe. A distinctive Cuban dance music, Guaguancó, has a foundation on a rhythmic ostinato that is constantly shown in various ways, creating what is known as a rumba pattern. Along with the rhythmic underpinning for the Cuban rumba style, the orchestral sonority expresses melodic chanting of the West African Yoruba tradition.
Aldo López-Gavilán (b.1979)
Viernes de Ciudad
One of the two sons of Guido López-Gavilán, Aldo is a virtuosic Afro-Cuban pianist and composer with Ilmar who is a violinist. Viernes de Ciudad is meant to depict the course of a day from dawn to dusk in a metropolitan city with diverse cultures and neighborhoods. Aldo intends to symbolize our shared community through the piece, which starts in a Middle Eastern part of town, passes through an Irish area, and ends at a late night pub. A complex, yet exhilarating counterpoint gradually increases in energy as the music progresses.
Emporium
Emporium is the piece for piano and orchestra, which musical style is influenced by Astor Piazzola, Alberto Ginastera, and Maurice Ravel. Aldo confirms the significance of the title, Emporium, by saying that it is meant to describe a place where anyone could find many different things from all over the planet. Consisting of three movements of combined Cuban songs and American country music songs, the variations heard in the music continuously evolve in their tempos and style. Aldo mentioned that it is a piece that there is a lot of variety packed into a short time, a very appealing piece but extremely demanding for the orchestra.
