Season 9 – 2025/26
“Magisterra At The Museum”
“South American Getaway – Muic from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay”
June 18, 2025
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Program Notes
Miguel del AGUILA (b. 1957)
Presto II
Miguel del Águila (born in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a distinguished contemporary composer whose music blends vibrant Latin American rhythms with dramatic classical textures. Now based in the United States, del Águila has received numerous accolades including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award and three Latin Grammy nominations, and his music has been praised as “brilliant and witty” by The New York Times, “sonically dazzling” by the Los Angeles Times, and “expressive and dramatic” by the American Record Guide.
Presto II, originally the final movement of his String Quartet No. 2 composed in 1989 and later expanded in 1995 at the request of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, is a one-movement tour de force pervaded by a sense of relentless energy-driven by its perpetuum mobile character and syncopated rhythmic propulsion, most notably in its insistent 7/8 meter. It evokes jazz-inflected playfulness, with adventurous string techniques such as col legno (using the wood of the bow) and sul ponticello (playing near the bridge), and culminates in a theatrical, exuberant "shout" from the ensemble.
program notes by Vladimir Rufino
Francico MIGNONE (1897–1986)
Seresta No. 2
Francisco Paulo Mignone, stands as one of Brazil’s foremost composers, second only to Heitor Villa-Lobos in significance and legacy. Trained at São Paulo and Milan conservatories, Mignone combined European craftsmanship with a deeply rooted Brazilian sensibility. Inspired early by folk traditions choro, modinha, valsas, and ballets like Maracatu do Chico Rei, his music from the 1929-1960 period is marked by lyricism, colorful orchestration, and improvisatory spontaneity.
Composed in 1956, Seresta No. 2 is a compact, atmospheric work of approximately four minutes. The title refers to the Brazilian seresta, a serenading tradition celebrated for its romantic nostalgia and expressive swings between heartfelt melody and lively, waltz-like passages. Mignone translates this sensibility into the realm of chamber music, weaving a warm, contemplative introverted line with rich harmonies and subtle rhythmic shifts. Though concise, the piece fully captures the tender longing of serenades under moonlight, a moment of lyrical intimacy reimagined for strings.
program notes by Vladimir Rufino
Burt BACHARACH 1928–2023)
South American Getaway
Burt Bacharach was a distinctive voice in 20th-century American music, renowned for his sophisticated harmonies, shifting rhythms, and seamless fusion of pop, jazz, and orchestral color. Best known for his collaborations with lyricist Hal David, Bacharach also made a lasting mark as a film composer. Among his most celebrated scores is the Academy Award-winning music for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), where he created some of his most inventive and playful instrumental writing.
South American Getaway is a dazzling showcase of Bacharach’s rhythmic ingenuity and melodic charm. Originally scored for orchestra with vocal ensemble (the Ron Hicklin Singers), the piece mixes vocal textures with syncopated instrumental drive, evoking both jazz cool and a subtle Latin flair. Energetic, unpredictable, and full of color, it captures the wit and vitality that made Bacharach’s music instantly recognizable and enduring far beyond the silver screen.
program notes by Vladimir Rufino
Beetholven Cunha
Duo Armorial No. 2
The Brazilian composer Beetholven Cunha follows the path of the Armorial Movement, which seeks to unite concert music with the cultural traditions of Northeastern Brazil. In his Duo Armorial No. 2, dedicated to Vladimir Rufino and Fabiola Amorim, he creates a work where classical writing meets the rhythms, melodies, and emotions of popular culture. Each movement reveals a different facet of this world: the Rustico opens with the festive energy of the Nau Catarineta, an old popular Brazilian celebration full of colors and dramatic re-enactments; the Meno then turns inward, drawing on the expressive power of the Brazilian Northeastern lament, rich in emotion and depth.
The journey continues with the Canção, inspired by the seresta tradition, filled with nostalgia and lyrical intimacy, reminiscent of serenades from another time. Finally, the Resoluto closes the work with the vibrant rhythm of the baião, a dance form deeply tied to the June festivals and a strong symbol of Brazilian Northeastern cultural identity. Blending memory and invention, Duo Armorial No. 2 invites the audience to hear in today’s sounds the living presence of popular traditions.
program notes by Vladimir Rufino
Antonio Carlos GOMES (1836–1896)
Sonata for Strings in D Major “O Burrico de Pau”
Mostly known for his operas Il Guarani (1870), Fosca (1873), and Lo Schiavo (1889) Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes mixes in his music Brazilian themes and Italian style. In spite the fact that Carlos Gomes achieved some success in Italy during the time he lived in Milan and that he is regarded as one of the most important composers in Brazil since mid-1800’s, his compositions are not well-known outside of Brazil. Written in 1894 and dedicated to the Club Musical Sant'anna Gomes, the Sonata in D was the last piece composed by Carlos Gomes and was his only composition for a string quartet. Although originally written as a string quartet, Carlos Gomes added a double bass part to the Sonata and the work is also performed by string quintets and string orchestras. In fact, the first editions of the Sonata have the subtitles “Sonate in 4 tempi”, “Suonote per quintetto o quartetto a Corde”, and “Sonata para instrumentos de corda”, demonstrating that the Sonata can be performed either as a string quartet, string quintet, or string orchestra.
Comprised of four movements, the Sonata in D presents characteristics of Carlos Gomes’s musical language: melodic lyricism, use of harmony typical of the late Romantic period, and use of syncopated rhythms. The Sonata also presents the composer’s ease to write in the formal European compositional style of Sonata Form, Scherzo, Ternary Form, and Binary form respectively.
Influenced by his own operas, the first three movements of the Sonata in D are composed in an opera-style with a festive overture-like first movement, playful second movement, and lyrical third movement. The last movement presents the composer’s ingenuity in writing for a string quartet. The O Burrico de Pau (The Wooden Donkey) is a narrative where Carlos Gomes depicts his dream where he saw himself going to heaven on a wooden donkey. Throughout the movement Carlos Gomes uses the violin to create melodic patterns that imitates a donkey’s braying. Different from the Personnages à longues oreilles from the Carnival of the Animals by C. Saint-Saens, where a similar effect is achieved by a big interval on the violins, Carlos Gomes creates this peculiar sound by big and small intervals in all instruments of the quartet. Engaging the audience in the constant gallop rhythm and with its accessible melodies, the O Burrico de Pau is often performed as a stand-alone piece by many string quartets.
program notes by Vladimir Rufino
