Music of the Americas: 2019 Recuerdos

Tuesday, November 12, 10 am

In December 2019, the Canadian Eybler Quartet gave the U.S. premieres of two then recently-discovered pieces by Peruvian composer Pedro Ximénez de Abrill Tirado, including his Quartet, op. 55, written in the 1820s in Arequipa, whose slow movement is based on an traditional Andean yaravi. This mostly unknown composer was active during particularly tumultuous times in his country's history and played a formative role in the development of local music.

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Wednesday, November 13, 10 am

The Georgian pianist, who was recently at Carnegie Hall on October 31 celebrating his silver medal win at the 2023 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, played several Latin American pieces in his New York City debut recital in November 2019. Americas Society presented this recital in collaboration with PAMAR's Latin American Music Week, whose nineteenth edition runs from November 16 to 23, 2024. 

On November 13, we share Gigashvilli's rendition of Brazilian composer Mozart Camargo Guarnieri's Toccata, which Guarnieri dedicated to his compatriot Guiomar Novaes (who participated in our series in 1972). It's a piece that has an almost magical origin story, as told here by the composer:

"As soon as I arrived at the hotel [in Rio de Janeiro] I decided to visit the Teatro Municipal [...]. In front of the theater was a poster announcing a recital of Guiomar Novaes [for that night] and I was surprised to see that she would play my Choro Torturado. I went to box office and, as I didn't have much money, I asked for a ticket to the gallery. But Octavio Pinto, the pianist's husband, was there, he recognized me and gave me a good orchestra seat. Naturally, he told Guiomar that I was present. After the performance of the Choro, she pointed at me to take a bow. This was the first time that an audience in Rio saw me, and I was very moved by the warm applause. I went back to the hotel and, after a while, managed to fall asleep, but I dreamed that I was writing a toccata for Guiomar Novaes. I always carry paper of music with me, and when I woke up in the morning, I was surprised to see the piece written, because I absolutely didn't remember getting up to write it. It goes without saying that I dedicated the work to her when I returned to São Paulo."

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Thursday, November 14, 10 am 

Romulo Viana is a Brazilian guitarist and teacher whose concert programs often feature both classical repertoire and Latin American popular music. He has recorded two albums, one with choir Altivoz and another with the group Vozes e Acordes, for which he was a co-founder and arranger and participated in festivals in the United States and abroad. He holds a master’s degree in classical guitar performance from CUNY Hunter College, where he studied with the two-time Latin Grammy nominee João Luiz, and a bachelor of music from UNIRIO, as a student of Nicolas Barros. Additionally, Romulo studied popular music and Latin Jazz with Marco Pereira and Marcus Tardelli. Romulo now resides in New York City and in recent seasons has performed solo concerts across Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, the United States, Portugal, Switzerland, and Russia.

During the showcase concert in May 2019, he performed El Decamerón Negro, which Leo Brouwer composed for Sharon Isbin in 1981. It is one of Brouwer's most substantial works and was inspired by Boccaccio's fourteenth-century collection of short satirical stories. 

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In June 2024, we hosted an event with the Teatro Real de Madrid (the Royal Opera of Madrid), which comprised a conversation with Joan Matabosch, artistic director of the Teatro Real, and a concert by the string quartet of the Teatro's orchestra. The program included Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga's Third Quartet and Antonin Dvořák's "American" Quartet. 

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The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Fall 2024 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and by the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation.