Although hobbled by two incomplete and rocky transitions — of state governors and artistic directors — the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra has embarked on its first season of 2013.
And if anything could chase away the clouds of uncertainty, it was the sunny smiles of JPO General Manager Arturo Gómez and U.S. conductor Leslie Dunner as they announced the season, which focuses on Wagner and Verdi, and this weekend’s opening program, directed by Dunner, which celebrates the founding of Guadalajara 461 years ago.
Perhaps the real Sturm und Drang this season will be offstage, as local leaders struggle with choosing a permanent director for the orchestra after having gone through a similar messy process less than a year ago.Asked if he is interested in being the JPO’s permanent conductor, Leslie Dunner’s “Yes!” seemed to radiate from every fiber. (Dunner was a contender for the position in the last go-round.) But Dunner reserved as much enthusiasm for describing the music he is set to play this weekend, first on Friday night in a free, open air concert and, then, Sunday, 12:30 p.m., in the Teatro Degollado.
Humming or drumming snatches of the seven pieces he will conduct — all by Mexican composers — Dunner apologized to a group of local reporters for lapsing into English. “I’ve just come from rehearsal and I can’t get the notes out of my head so that the Spanish words can get in.”
While he described some of the pieces, including one featuring Venezuela-born violin soloist Daniel Andai, as “romantic” or “sensual,” he pronounced others “barbaric,” “difficult,” “energetic,” “fun,” “no emotion” or “dissonant.” Of the final suite, Chávez’s “Caballos de Vapor,” Dunner admitted “I still don’t understand it. I like it. I’m working on it. The musicians are working on it. The time signature is 11 over 16 and it changes!
“I didn’t design the program,” he said, adding that former JPO Artistic Director Alondra De la Parra did before she left last month. “So I’m learning on a fast curve. There is a lot to study. The scores take time to get to the States [Dunner lives in Chicago] and some didn’t make it.”
“But I’m known for coming in a pinch and pulling things off under difficult circumstances,” he noted.
“It’s a relief to have Leslie here for the opening,” said General Manager Gómez, “to direct this program that is so eminently Mexican.”
The JPO season, which lasts until March 24, focuses on the 200th anniversary of the births of opera giants Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. This theme will be in evidence February 22 and 24 in an opera gala directed by Enrique Bátiz, and again March 8 and 10, when Leslie Dunner returns to direct two Wagner works with mezzosoprano Cassandra Zoé Velasco, and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
March 1 and 3, Manuel López Gómez directs music by Rachmaninoff, Sarasate, Saint-Saens (with Alexandre Da Costa on violin) and Schumann’s happy Fourth Symphony, inspired by his marriage and noted for the lack of pauses between movements.
March 15 and 17 former JPO director Héctor Guzmán will direct works by De Falla, Tchaikovsky (the popular Piano Concerto No. 1) and Dvorak (the brilliant and ambitious Seventh Symphony).
The final weekend, March 22 and 24, Oriol Sans directs Lalo’s Concerto with cellist Alvaro Bitrán, and Tchaikovsky’s Second Symphony.
Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara city center two blocks behind the main cathedral. Information: (33) 3030-9772-75, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Box office: (33) 3614-4773, open 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. daily including Sundays. www.ofj.com.mx. Ticketmaster, (33) 3818-3800, www.ticketmaster.com.mx