ESYO Symphony Orchestra
Andrés Rivas, Guest Conductor
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

Arturo Márquez (Mexico, b. 1950) Danzón No. 2
Prominent Mexican composer Arturo Márquez was born in Álamos, Sonora. Marquez’s father was a mariachi musician in Mexico and later in Los Angeles and his paternal grandfather was a Mexican folk musician in the northern states of Sonora and Chihuahua. As a result, Márquez was exposed to several musical styles in his childhood, particularly Mexican “salon music” which would influence his later compositional style. His Danzón No. 2 is one of the most significant and frequently performed Mexican contemporary classical compositions for orchestra. It was inspired by a dance style called danzón, which has its origins in Cuba but which Márquez heard while visiting a ballroom in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The music is notable for its rhythmic drive, enlivened by frequent syncopations and continually shifting orchestral colors.

Program Note courtesy of Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra