The Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa is a Mexican

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

located in the city of

Xalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...

, the capital of the state of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. It was founded in 1929, and is considered the oldest symphony orchestra in Mexico.

History

The orchestra was established by

Adalberto Tejeda Olivares Sixto Adalberto Tejeda Olivares (28 March 1883 – 8 September 1960) was a Mexican politician, who served two terms (1920–1924 and 1928–1932) as Governor of Veracruz. He was born in Chicontepec de Tejeda, Veracruz. During the Mexican Revoluti ...

, a patron of the arts, in his second term as Governor of the state of Veracruz. Members were recruited from the state band, and the orchestra's first performance was on 21 August 1929 in the "Teatro Lerdo" in Xalapa city. In its first performance the orchestra comprised 19 string players, 16 woodwind players, 3 drummers, and a piano player, under the direction of

first violin The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

Juan Lomán y Bueno. In 1975, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa Symphony became part of Universidad Veracruzana . Since 1929, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa plays with prestigious conductors and soloists like

Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...

, Fritz Reiner, Neeme Järvi,

Julián Carrillo Julián Carrillo Trujillo (January 28, 1875 – September 9, 1965) was a Mexican composer,Camp, Roderic Ai (1995). "Carrillo (Flores), Nabor" on ''Mexican Political Biographies, 1935–1993: Third Edition'', p. 121. . conductor, violi ...

, José Iturbi, Bruno Campanella,

Eduardo Mata Eduardo Mata (5 September 19425 January 1995) was a Mexican conductor and composer. Career Mata was born in Mexico City. He studied guitar privately for three years before enrolling in the National Conservatory of Music. From 1960 to 1963 he ...

, Yoel Levi,

Fabio Mechetti Fabio Mechetti (born 27 August 1957, São Paulo) is a Brazilian conductor. Biography Mechetti has master's degrees in conducting and composition from the Juilliard School of Music. He won the 1989 Malko International Conducting Competition in D ...

, Krzysztof Penderecki, Pierre Fournier,

Horacio Gutiérrez Horacio Gutiérrez (born 1948) is a Cuban-American classical pianist known for his performances of works in the Romantic Repertoire. Early life and education When Fidel Castro gained control of Cuba in 1959, the family decided to leave the count ...

, Claudio Arrau,

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

, Henryk Szeryng,

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and educatio ...

, Ruggiero Ricci,

Michael Rabin Michael Rabin ( ; May 2, 1936January 19, 1972) was an American violinist. He has been described as "one of the most talented and tragic violin virtuosi of his generation". His complete Niccolò Paganini, Paganini "24 Caprices" for solo violin are ...

, Alfred Brendel,

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

, Vladimir Spivakov, Grant Johannesen, Jeffery Meyer and others. Nationally, the OSX has hosted important events in the artistic life of Mexico, among them the Festival and International Cello Competition Pablo Casals ( 1959 ), which the legendary

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

, along with

Heitor Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (Biarritz, 13 October 1911 – Siena, 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian descent."'Play From The Stomach, ...

Zara Nelsova Zara Nelsova (December 23, 1918October 10, 2002) was a prominent cellist. Biography Nelsova was born as Sara Katznelson in Winnipeg, Canada, to parents of Jewish-Russian descent. Nelsova first performed at the age of five in Winnipeg. She eventu ...

and

, among others. The orchestra represented Mexico in the Europalia Festival (1993) and has done some international tours in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and Guatemala, being recognized as the " best ambassador of music and Mexican creation ." On August 25, 2013, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa performed the first concert in its new concert hall at the Centro Cultural Tlaqná, with 1,285 seats. Tlaqná has other two minor concert halls, with 350 and 200 seats.

Conductors

* Juan Lomán y Bueno was the first conductor of the orchestra *

José Ives Limantour José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

(1944–1952) * Luis Ximénez Caballero (1952–1962) *

Francisco Savín Francisco Savín (18 November 1929 – 26 January 2018) was a Mexican conductor and composer. Born in Mexico City, he studied composition under Rodolfo Halffter and conducting under Luis Herrera de la Fuente Luis Herrera de la Fuente (April ...

(1963–1967) * José Ives Limantour (1967–1969) *

Fernando Avila Navarro Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(1969–1975) *

Luis Herrera de la Fuente Luis Herrera de la Fuente (April 25, 1916 – December 5, 2014) was a Mexican conductor, pianist, violinist, composer and writer of the 20th century. De la Fuente gained many recognitions and awards in Mexico and worldwide. He conducted the Orqu ...

(1975–1984) * Francisco Savín (1984–1986) *

Enrique Diemecke Enrique Arturo Diemecke (born July 9, 1952) is a Mexican conductor, violinist and composer. He is currently the Artistic General Director of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and music director of the Buenos Aires Philharmonic and the Flint Symp ...

(1986–1987) * José Guadalupe Flore (1987–1990) * Francisco Savín (1990–2001) :es:Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa * Carlos Miguel Prieto (2002–2008) * Fernando Lozano Rodríguez (2008–2012) * Lanfranco Marcelletti (2012-2020) * Martin Lebel (since 2020)

References

External links

Xalapa Symphony Orchestra Official Site

Orquesta Sinfónica De Xalapa, 82 Años De Historia
from th
official Veracruz state tourism agency
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1929 Symphony orchestras Veracruz Mexican orchestras 1929 establishments in Mexico