Saturday, April 11, 2009

Amadeo Roldán's 'Ritmica No. V & No. VI' Performed by Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

[Centenario Natalicio de Amadeo Roldan (Centennial of Birth of Amadeo Roldan); Cuba Stamp 2000]

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) recently performed two works of the Afro-Cuban composer Amadeo Roldán (1900-1939), who is profiled at AfriClassical.com, during a percussion festival at Armstrong Park: 
Posted by Chris Waddington, Staff Writer,
The Times-Picayune April 11, 2009 12:00PM
New Orleanians expect great drumming when they drop in at clubs or follow a second-line -- so why should it be any different with our resident orchestra? This past weekend, the LPO provided the triumphant centerpiece for a percussion festival in Armstrong Park, delivering a program of rarely heard 20th-century works, most of them by Latin Americans.

In percussion-only compositions, such as Carlos Chavez's "Toccata" and "Ritmica No. 5 and No. 6" by Amadeo Roldán, the LPO fielded up to a dozen musicians in batteries that included glockenspiel, snare drum, chimes, marimba, timpani, gong and scores of other struck instruments -- including an actual donkey's jawbone. The result was music of remarkable subtlety. Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto drew out the melodic lines and rich colors in these pieces while keeping a tight grip on dynamics.

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