Two Faces of Mexican Music:
Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) and Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) Revisited

March 11 - 16, 2008

Half a century ago, Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) – a protean force as composer, conductor, and cutural missionary – embodied "Mexican music." But in today's shifting musical landscape, Chávez's modernist pedigree – esteemed by Aaron Copland and others in the United States – matters less; quite suddenly, Chávez's mercurial contemporary Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) seems at least as dominant a figure. (Image on right: [Portrait of Carlos Chávez], 1937. Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964, photographer. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress)

LECTURES/OPENING EVENT

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Mexican Cultural Institute – Juan García de Oteyza, Director
2829 16th Street, NW - Washington, DC 20009 - (202) 728-1628
(Open to the public. No tickets required.)

Welcome
Juan García de Oteyza, Director, Mexican Cultural Institute
Georgette M. Dorn, Chief, Hispanic Division, Library of Congress

Performance
Xochipilli (An Imagined Aztec Music) by Carlos Chávez
Post-Classical Ensemble directed by Angel Gil-Ordoñez

Talks
“Mexico in New York, 1940”
Barbara Tenenbaum, Mexican cultural specialist, Hispanic Division, Library of Congress

“Musical Nationalism in Mexico, 1920-1940”
Mary Kay Vaughan, Professor of History, University of Maryland, College Park

PRE-CONCERT TALKS

6:15 p.m. – Whittall Pavilion (No tickets required)
Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress

Wednesday, March 12 – Leonora Saavedra, Barbara Tenenbaum
Thursday, March 13 – Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus, Joseph Horowitz
Friday, March 14 – Gregorio Luke, Eugenia Revueltas, Roberto Kolb-Neuhaus, Joseph Horowitz, Angel Gil-Ordónez

PERFORMANCES

Coolidge Auditorium – 8:00 pm (Tickets required)

Wednesday, March 12
CAMERATA INTERAMERICANA – Music of Latin American Composers

Thursday, March 13
CUARTETO LATINOAMERICANO – String Quartets of Chávez and Revueltas

Friday, March 14
POST-CLASSICAL ENSEMBLE with EUGENIA LEÓN – “Revueltas in Context”

(Image on right: [Silvestre Revueltas, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left], between 1930 and 1940. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress).

SYMPOSIUM

Saturday, March 15 – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Open to the public. No tickets required
Room LJ 119 – Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress

10:00 am - 12:00 noon

WELCOME REMARKS - Susan H. Vita, Chief, Music Division, Library of Congress
Juan García de Oteyza, Director, Mexican Cultural Institute

THE CASE FOR REVUELTAS - including film clips from Redes Roberto Kolb, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) James Krippner, Haverford College

1:15-2:00 pm - TOUR OF “THE EARLY AMERICAS” EXHIBIT with curator Arthur Dunkelman

“The Early Americas” celebrates the donation of the Jay I. Kislak Collection. The exhibit features items from the more than 4,000 rare books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and artifacts relating to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean beginning at the time of indigenous rule through the period of European contact, exploration, and settlement.

2:00 - 3:00 pm - THE CASE FOR CHÁVEZ
Leonora Saavedra, University of California at Riverside

3:00 - 4:00 pm - CHÁVEZ AND REVUELTAS: THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
Gregorio Luke, Director, Museum for Latin American Art, Long Beach, California
Sergio Vela, President, CONACULTA

4:00 –5:00 pm - OPEN FORUM
Moderator: Georgette M. Dorn, Chief, Hispanic Division, Library of Congress
Discussants: Joseph Horowitz, Artistic Director, Post-Classical Ensemble; Roberto Kolb, Gregorio Luke, Leonora Saavedra, Barbara Tenenbaum, Sergio Vela

Questions from the audience

FILMS

Sunday, March 16 – 4:00 p.m
National Gallery Auditorium (East Building)
Programs are free of charge. First come, first seated.
Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time.

Introductory Remarks by Margaret Parsons, Head, Department of Film Programs, National Gallery of Art; Commentary by Angel Gil-Ordoñez, Joseph Horowitz, Roberto Kolb, and James Krippner

Redes (1935) co-directed by Emilio Gomez Muriel and Fred Zinnemann; music by Revueltas

¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa! (1936) directed by Fernando de Fuentes; music by Revueltas

“Two Faces of Mexican Music: Carlos Chávez and Silvestre Revueltas Revisited” is co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Music Division, Hispanic Division, and Rare Book and Special Collections Division; Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC; The Mexican Ministry of Culture (CONACULTA); and the Department of Film Programs, National Gallery of Art.