National Symphony Orchestra (Mexico)

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The National Symphony Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional) is the most important classical music and symphonic ensemble in Mexico. It performs regularly in the Palacio de Bellas Artes at Mexico City.

The present organization known by this name was formally founded by presidential decree on April 25, 1949 by President Miguel Alemán, with its first conductor being Mexican composer José Pablo Moncayo. Before this, however, there was a predecessor orchestra known as the Mexican Symphony Orchestra, founded and conducted by Mexican composer, teacher and journalist Carlos Chávez.

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[edit] History of the Orchestra

The social context that Mexico was living during the beginnings of the 20th century made the task of creating an orchestra difficult, so there were several attempts to form a national symphony orchestra.

[edit] First period

The orchestra has its roots back in 1881, when Alfredo Bablot, director of the Music Conservatory (founded July 1, 1866) initiated the Conservatory Orchestra. When Bablot died, he was replaced by Carlos J. Menéses. In 1902 the orchestra had little support from the government of Porfirio Díaz, but it suspendend its activities in 1913, two years after Díaz's fall, because of the general instability in the country during the Mexican Revolution.

[edit] Second and third period

After Gral. Venustiano Carranza, took over the national government's seat back to Mexico City in 1915, the orchestra took the name of National Symphony, and depended from the Bellas Artes bureau, and its director during this period was Jesús Acuña, followed by composer Manuel M. Ponce but he declined and the orchestra suspended the concert seasons. Later, composer Julián Carrillo, who was a very important figure in music history worldwide, was appointed as the Music Conservatory director, and took up the project for an orchestra again, and depended from the Conservatory, but because of lack of financial support from the government, the orchestra again finished its activities in 1924.

[edit] Mexican Symphony Orchestra

In 1928, the Mexican Symphony Orchestra was created, but the name changed shortly to Symphony Orchestra of Mexico (Orquesta Sinfónica de México) . This orchestra is more related to the current orchestra. Carlos Chávez was appointed as its first conductor, but it lacked of any financial support, besides that the orchestra wasn't being well administrated by the city's musician syndicate of that time. While Chávez conducted the orchestra, it meaning a flourishing period for the orchestral music in the country.

A private patronage was established and the orchestra could give its first concert. The date was September 2, 1928, and the place, the Iris Theatre. With 103 musicians on stage, the programme included Debussy´s Ibéria Suite, Tello's Sonata Tragica, Tchaikovsky´s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor with Vilma Erenyi as soloist, and Strauss´ Don Juan. Although the orchestra received financial support from the government, this was considered as a private one, nor official, like it it constituted today. This is the most important point to consider the nature of this musical organization at the present time.

Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, who was second in charge as assistant conductor, left the orchestra in 1935 to be the principal conductor of a newly-created and short-lived National Symphony Orchestra that depended from the National Music Conservatory, but it closed in 1937 when Revueltas resigned.

[edit] Creation of the INBA and establishment of the current orchestra

On November 23, 1946, president Miguel Alemán proposed the creation of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura), known by the acronym INBA, and was formally opened in January 1947, and it depended from the Secretaría de Educación Pública, (SEP) (Secretariat of Public Education). The first head of the INBA was Carlos Chávez, who created a new orchestra for the Conservatory (thus because the conservatory depended on the INBA administration). On January 19, 1949, Chávez resigned his job as conductor of the Mexico Symphony Orchestra, to spend more of his time composing and directing the INBA, but the orchestra didn't disappear, because Chávez succeeded in making the government recognize a national ensemble (working on this issue, since he was appointed as head of the INBA), so the actual organization known as National Symphony Orchestra of México was established, and José Pablo Moncayo was designated its first conductor.

[edit] The orchestra from its creation to the present day

Moncayo was latter replaced by Luis Herrera de la Fuente in 1954 to 1972 and in this period the orchestra had very important tours nationwide and worldwide, especially in Europe. In 1973, Chávez returned to conduct the orchestra, but resigned in the first month, due to internal conflicts with the orchestra members, this resulting in a new form of artistical administration formed by some of the musicians and representatives from the INBA, called co-government, that stated that no principal conductor was going to be consider, instead of that just having host conductors for its seasons, and considered a Mexican assistant director to attend off-season affairs.

The orchestra's musical director, Carlos Miguel Prieto, named at the end of 2007, has launched the orchestra on a new era, aiming to place it on a par with the world's leading ensembles. In early 2008 he led it on its first European tour in years, culminating with an acclaimed concert at Amsterdam's renown Concertgebouw Hall.

[edit] External links

  • Official Website (in Spanish) With information on history, members, discography, tickets, season concerts and contact.

[edit] References

  • Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (2004) "Sonidos de un Espacio en Libertad", Ed. Océano.