In Friday’s (1/14) Times-Picayune (New Orleans), Chris Waddington writes, “Classical musicians aren’t thought of as big party peoples, but, of course, things are different in New Orleans. This weekend, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is kicking off its 20th anniversary with a musical party titled ‘Fiesta Sinfonica.’ The player-owned orchestra has gotten all the details right, tapping a superstar guitar quartet to headline, picking dance-driven music redolent of Spain, and putting its Mexican maestro, Carlos Miguel Prieto, at the podium. … The centerpiece of the ‘Fiesta’ program is a performance of Joaquin Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto Andaluz,’ which features the Romero Guitar Quartet with the LPO. … It fits in well with the rest of the LPO program, which includes ballet music by Manuel de Falla and Maurice Ravel’s ‘Bolero,’ a famously sexy 13-minute crescendo created for dancer Ida Rubinstein in 1928. Claude Debussy’s ‘Iberia’ is the cherry atop this confection of Hispanic musical delights. ‘It won’t be a pop concert, but there’s a festive mood to every one of these pieces,’ Prieto said. ‘And the orchestra is ready. They know that they have to get physically involved to make this kind of music.’ ”
Posted January 14, 2011
