As was done until the post-romantic period, and with a repertoire that allowed him to lead with his violin, last Saturday night during the traditional Evening of the Arts, he performed at the Ángela Peralta Theater , Alexandre Da Costa, one of the best Stehgeigers (conductor-soloist, violinist who, with instrument in hand, directs a musical ensemble).
The internationally renowned conductor and solo violinist offered a concert that left no doubt about the value of his virtuosity: he currently serves as Musical Director of the Quebec Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Stradivaria Festival.
Accompanied by the Camerata Mazatlán during the Evening of the Arts – in which minutes before the concert the poet Elsa Cross received the 2024 Mazatlán Literature Prize for her collection of poems “Isla Negra” – the concert director Alexandre Da Costa, added another success to his already more than 2000 concerts.
The list of songs began with Toccate & Boogie (Bach), the piece was impregnated with the style of BaROCK, a musical project with very promising collaborations in which the artist appropriates composers who lived in the time of Louis XIV, and offers your own version. In this musical opening, the Camerata Mazatlán and its musical families (percussions and strings) widely permeated the senses of the public and José Miguel Rivera and Hilario Recio shared the piano in an extraordinary way.
Alexandre Da Costa also included a couple of premieres, Danzón N° 6 and Danzón N° 2 by Mexican Arturo Márquez, an outstanding composer of recent generations. These stylized danzones are considered in our country as poetic compositions where joy and enthusiasm are expressed. The pieces are popular and undoubtedly enhance our identity and fill us with pride by being recognized internationally.
The following works were a journey through the classics of music such as Bach and Beethoven, where by the way Francisco López Trujillo (on drums) and Olaf Calderón (on bass) had a perfect understanding with the Conductor Concertador Alexandre Da Costa so that Through their instruments the musical presence of Led Zeppelin, Gloria Gaynor and the Imperial March (John Williams) from Star Wars will be involved in a passionate…electrifying way.
The allegory was a fundamental ingredient for the mood of the music lovers to increase and of course the integration of a Canadian poet, novelist and singer-songwriter could not be missing from the setlist, this is how the song Dance Me to the End of Love by Leonard Cohen was heard, the sound of the violin sang Cohen’s lyrics: “Dance with me for your beauty playing a fiery violin” this phrase gave total evidence of what Alexandre says about his instrument: “The violin becomes an extension of my soul” .
Show Must Go On by the Rock Band, Queen, sounded like a preamble to the closing with a flourish; Vivaldi’s Hard Summer was the ideal piece for the hands of Alexandre Da Costa to amaze all those who with their applause recorded an Evening of the Arts where a triad composed of the Camerata Mazatlán, Alexandre Da Costa and his Stradivarius Violin made in the year 1700 by Antonio Stradivari, honored the arts and literature.
Alexandre Da Costa did what he said, he performed a perfect repertoire for this Carnival called, Baroque Eclipse and for the spectators it was a privilege to witness the joy with which the Camerata Mazatlán musicians played their instruments. Concertmaster Nina Farvarshchuk put a broad smile on her face when the concertmaster performed a duet with her to match the respected and difficult musical notes of the great masters of baroque music.
Stradivarius BaROCK Simphonique was that concert where the dedication of all the musicians generated in a strong and convincing way, in an allegorical and satisfying way that spontaneous release of accumulated energy called applause, where every work of art has the capacity to move, energize , provoke and delight any human being in this universe.