Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra

Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra
April 28, 2013, program featuring Peter and the Wolf
Native name	Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México
Founded	1978
Location	5141 Periférico Sur (South Loop) Tlalpan Mexico City
Concert hall	Ollín Yoliztli Cultural Center
Principal conductor	José Areán
Website	ofcm.cultura.df.gob.mx

The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra — Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México — is an orchestra of international rank founded and underwritten by the National Government of Mexico. The home venue is the Ollín Yoliztli Cultural Center (es) in Tlalpan, Mexico City, which opened in 1979.

History

The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1978 by the National Government of Mexico through an initiative by Carmen Romano, wife of then President of Mexico, José López Portillo.^[1] The Philharmonic was part of a plan to make fine arts education accessible to youths. The government launched classical music workshops and formed professional orchestras, including The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra. Fernando Lozano Rodríguez (es) was the founding conductor. The Philharmonic's venue name, ollín yoliztli, means "life movement" or "life force" in Náhuatl.

Directors, members, and notable soloists

Guest conductors have included Leonard Bernstein, Eduardo Mata, and Enrique Diemecke. Guest soloists have included Martha Argerich, Narciso Yepes, Nicanor Zabaleta, Renata Scotto, Birgit Nilsson, Claudio Arrau, Janos Starker, Isaac Stern, Placido Domingo, and María Teresa Rodríguez (es). Artistic directors are appointed by the Secretary of Culture of Mexico City.

Artistic directors

• 1978–1982: Fernando Lozano Rodríguez (es)
• 1983–1989: Enrique Bátiz Campbell (19 recordings with the Mexico City Philharmonic, as conductor)
• 1990–????: Luis Herrera de la Fuente
• 1998–????: Jorge Mester
• Enrique Barrios (es)
• 2013–present: José Areán, appointed Artistic Director January 2013^[2]

Principal guest conductors

• 2011–2013: José Areán, appointed Principal Guest Director June 2011^[3]

Assistant conductors

• 1980–1983: Enrique Diemecke (born 1955)^[4]

Associate conductors

• 1998–2002: Carlos Miguel Prieto (born 1965)^[4]

Musicians

• 1978–1979: Jerome (Jerry) Ashby (1956–2007), french horn; he went on to become associate principle french horn with the New York Philharmonic in 1979
• Morris T. Kainuma (born 1959), tuba; he was appointed principal tuba in 1980; he currently is a freelance and educator in the New York City area
• John Emmanuel Godoy (1959) was appointed Principal Timpanist in 1987. During his tenure, the Mexico City Philharmonic performed four concerts with tenor, Placido Domingo including recording Lalo Schifrin's world premiere of Cantos Aztecas. Godoy later won the Principal Timpani position with the Corpus Christi Symphony under Mstro. Giordano. In 2011 he founded Lux Musicae Chamber group and became its Artistic Director.

Awards and critical acclaim

Ollín Yoliztli Cultural Center

The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra has made over a hundred recordings, most of which being the works of Mexican composers. The Philharmonic is reputed to be most prolifically recorded orchestra of music by Mexican composers. In 1981, The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra won the Academie du Disque Francais Grand Prize for its recording of Mexican Ballets by Blas Galindo, José Pablo Moncayo, and Carlos Chávez. Fernando Lozano Rodríguez (es) was the conductor.^[5] The jury stated that The Philharmonic was the best in Latin America.

In 2001, The Mexico City Philharmonic was nominated for "Best Classical Recording" in the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards. The Mexican Union and Theater Critics Philharmonic Mexico City and Music as the best of the year, calling it "The Best Orchestra of Mexico, 2000."

Selected discography

• Works of De Falla, Desto DC 7216 (1982); OCLC 24746534

Fernando Lozano (es), conductor

• Classical Music of Mexico, Desto DC 7218 (1982); OCLC 16351742

Fernando Lozano (es), conductor

• Music of Revueltas, Desto DC 7215 (1982); OCLC 16351737

Fernando Lozano (es), conductor

• Gabriel Fauré, Musical Heritage Society (1991); OCLC 23294557

Recorded in 1989 at the Nezahualcóyotl Concert Hall (es), Mexico City

1. Concerto, for Violin and Orchestra (world premier recording)
2. Berceuse, for violin and orchestra, Op. 16 (Video on YouTube}
3. Elegie, for cello and orchestra Op. 24
4. Overture, from Masques et Bergamasques, Op. 112
5. Nocturne, from Shylock, Op. 57
6. Pelléas et Mélisande: Suite, Op. 80

Rodolfo Bonucci, violin (grandson of the Italian cellist, Arturo Bonucci (1894–1964) (it); Viocheslav Ponomarev (1950–2009), cello; Enrique Bátiz, conductor

• Salute to Democracy, EMI Classics CDC 7 54539 2 (1992); OCLC 30429188

1. Fanfare for the Common Man
2. Lincoln Portrait

Enrique Bátiz, conductor

References

Inline citations

1. "Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra", Naxos Records (retrieved August 19, 2014)
2. "La Filarmónica de la Ciudad ya tiene director artístico", by Manuel Lino, El Economista, January 10, 2013
3. "José Areán, director huésped principal de la OFCM", El Economista, June 14, 2011
4. Maestros in America: Conductors in the 21st Century, by Roderick L. Sharpe (born 1945) & Jeanne D. Stierman (née Koekkoek; born 1962), Scarecrow Press (2008), pg. 67 & 199; OCLC 183609216
5. Ballets Mexicains: Chavez - Moncayo - Galindo - Orchestre Philharmonique De Mexico, Fernando Lozano, Forlane (1981); OCLC 609985941

Coordinates: 19°18′9.86″N 99°10′43.47″W / 19.3027389°N 99.1787417°W