Program
LA Phil commission with generous support from R. Martin Chavez
Intermission
Gustavo Dudamel leads a festive exploration of Latin American music for Día de los Muertos with Villa-Lobos’ progressive tour de force and Gabriela Ortiz’s 2019 Yanga. Her work for orchestra, chorus, and percussion ensemble is characterized by its use of African instruments and colorful, multilayered rhythms. Ortiz says, “[Yanga] speaks to the greatness of humanity when in search of equality and the universal right to enjoy freedom to the fullest.” Revueltas’ film score La noche de los Mayas digs deeper into Mexico’s ancient culture brought into conversation with the modern world, bolting through thunderous, dynamic rhythms and a flute interlude based on a traditional Yucatan evening song. Within the music is what poet Octavio Paz describes as Revueltas’ “deep-felt but also joyful concern for man.”