Transcript:
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz has arrived.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "KAUYUMARI")
SUMMERS: This music is from an album last year, featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel. It won Gabriela Ortiz three Grammy awards. Now, the same forces are back with a new album titled "Yanga." Our reviewer, NPR's Tom Huizenga, has been listening, and he is thrilled.
TOM HUIZENGA, BYLINE: If you want bright colors, vivacious rhythms, tuneful melodies and bold ideas, Gabriela Ortiz has you covered.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALISA WEILERSTEIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "DZONOT: IV. EL VUELO DE TOH")
HUIZENGA: That's from "Dzonot," a new cello concerto, the anchoring work on the album and tailor-made for cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who plays the work with fearless conviction. The title, "Dzonot," is the Mayan word for the vast underground caves and cisterns found in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. In the opening movement, "Luz Vertical," you can hear the moment when a shaft of light strikes deep into a cave, glittering on the water.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALISA WEILERSTEIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "DZONOT: I. LUZ VERTICAL")
HUIZENGA: At age 60, Ortiz is finally getting richly deserved recognition. She just finished a season as Carnegie Hall's resident composer. And it helps to have champions of your music. Ortiz has these fabulously intuitive performances, led by star conductor Gustavo Dudamel. He calls Ortiz one of the most talented composers in the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALISA WEILERSTEIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "DZONOT: II. EL OLO DEL JAGUAR")
HUIZENGA: You can hear what preoccupies Ortiz in this cello concerto. She's worried about the delicate Yucatan region and, in this section, the endangered jaguar. Ortiz breaks out a groove with some of the 29 percussion instruments in the score right after Weilerstein unleashes a cyclone.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALISA WEILERSTEIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "DZONOT: II. EL OLO DEL JAGUAR")
HUIZENGA: Ortiz grew up on folk music. Her parents played in the celebrated Latin American band, Los Folkloristas. And on the new album, Ortiz pays homage to the music, especially to Violeta Parra, a pioneer of the socially conscious song movement in the 1960s. "Six Pieces For Violeta" begins with a meandering piano braided with mysterious strings.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOANNE PEARCE MARTIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "SEIS PIEZAS A VIOLETA")
HUIZENGA: The title track on "Yanga" tells the story of Gaspar Yanga. He was a 16th century African prince enslaved in Mexico. He becomes a fugitive, a Robin Hood figure and finally, as Ortiz puts it, the first Black ruler in America. It's a showstopping spectacle for orchestra, percussion and chorus.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC ET AL.'S PERFORMANCE OF GABRIELA ORTIZ'S "YANGA")
LOS ANGELES MASTER CHORALE: (Singing in non-English language).
HUIZENGA: This music, for Ortiz, is a shoutout to equality and freedom, ideas the composer knows well, having earned her hard-won success. With this album and the Grammy winner from last year, the world is finally catching up to the extraordinary music of Gabriela Ortiz.
SUMMERS: The album is "Yanga" by Gabriela Ortiz. Our reviewer is NPR's Tom Huizenga.
