Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra brings Caminos del Inka back to Bass Hall

By Pegasus News wire

The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra continues its journey along the Inca Trail with an all-new version of Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya’s exciting Caminos del Inka program October 10-12 at Bass Performance Hall. This spectacular multimedia program features stunning images of the people, places and culture of the Inca Trail countries combined with the lively music of beloved composers from Argentina, Chile and Peru. The highlight is the Fort Worth debut of Osvaldo Golijov’s Mariel for Cello and Orchestra, commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Sid R. Bass for the Orchestra, which premiered to rave reviews at Carnegie Hall in January. Fort Worth cellist Jesus Castro-Balbi is the soloist.

Alpaca, or as they are better known, wee little llamas.

The Caminos del Inka project, which launched in November, has been simmering in Harth-Bedoya’s mind for fifteen years. A native of Peru, he has been collecting South American music wherever he travels in order to preserve the heritage of his homeland. He has long been frustrated by the dearth of unpublished instrumental music from South America—owing largely to the old oral rather than written tradition—and he conceived the Caminos del Inka project to give this music new life.

In order to disseminate this treasure trove, Harth-Bedoya has had some of these fascinating pieces arranged for orchestra, injecting his own expertise into the editing process. In promoting the new with the old, he has also incorporated works by living composers including Gabriela Frank and Osvaldo Golijov. He combines this sonic panorama with visual images of the people and landscapes along the Inca Trail, which once connected the empire from what is now Colombia, through Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, to Northern Argentina.

Harth-Bedoya has taken the Caminos del Inka project to orchestras of Atlanta and Baltimore, with more national and international presentations planned including a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this fall.

“The presentation is global,” Harth-Bedoya says. “These concerts can present a whole new world to people who have never been to South America.”

The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Learn more about the music at Symphonic Insights, featuring host Shields-Collins “Buddy” Bray, one hour before each concert in the audience chamber. All Friday performances include free, pre-concert entertainment in the lobby. These performances have no intermission and the concerts end at approximately 9 p.m. so patrons are free to enjoy the rest of the evening on the town.

Tickets are $10-$78 and are available online at www.fwsymphony.org and by telephone at 817-665-6000. Discounted rates are available for groups of 10 or more. Call 817-665-6500, ext. 150 for details.

Source: FWSO

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