Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
2) By Carlos Chavez
Chavez wrote this symphony between 1935 and 1936 while touring around the United States. This
symphony can be considered the culmination of Chavez’s projects during his appointment as director of
the Conservatorio Nacional de Mexico (1928-1936). These projects aimed to collect, transcribe, and
preserve Mexican aboriginal folk music. However, Sinfonia India is not Chavez’s first work based on
Mexican aboriginal music. Chavez had previously written ballets based primarily on Aztec themes that
On the 2010 live recording by the American Symphony Orchestra, it appears that Leon Botstein is not very
familiar with the aboriginal influences, ignored the tempo indications on the score or simply employed an
altogether different approach. The introductory Vivo section started at a much slower tempo than
indicated by the score, which creates a disjointed effect and completely removes the rhythmical drive of
the three themes contained in this section. Apart from the dragging tempo, the following Allegro section
(first theme) did not seem to contain the proper dynamic balance between the different sections of the
orchestra, leading to a lack of depth and structural perception. In addition, there was a lack of clarity on
the transition from the Allegro section to the Allegretto Cantabile (second theme), it seems that the
transition was missing both tempo and dynamic contrast altogether. On the second theme, there seems
to be some deliberate pauses in between phrases that do not appear very coherent with the legato and
continuity of the on-going melody. The only clear and aurally congruent section on this recording is the
Poco Lento section, the orchestra sounds well balanced and the results are very beautiful. It seems that
after this point, Leon Botstein was able to connect with the orchestra in a dynamic level and the
interpretation became clearer and more organic. Finally, the Poco Piu Vivo section was as climatic and
explosive as expected. However, some of the percussion appears to overpower the other parts of the
In comparison to other recordings of the Sinfonia India, such as the 2001 recording by the Orquesta
Sinfonica de Xalapa, conducted by Luis Herrera de la Fuente or the 1993 recording by the New World
Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. This recording lacks character, drive and overall
expressiveness. It misses a lot of the essence and joy of the aboriginal styles that inspired the composition.
My intention is not to attack Mr. Botstein, the organization, or the performers. Also, I do not attempt to
be critical of Leon Botstein’s musical knowledge and succesful career. To me, this is just an example that
not every conductor can be good at everything. Also, that it is important to understand the essence of
native American (Mexican in this case) music(s) in order to achieve a successful interpretation, and finally,
that there is a need for more outside (maybe even third-party) editorial input when deciding whether or