A funny way to fire a conductor
OrchestrasOver the past six years, we have received encouraging reports from Ecuador, where a conductor called Dante Santiago Anzolini has been giving national premieres of two Mahler symphonies, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Firebird, Berio’s Rendering, Bartok’s Music for Strings percussion and celeste and much else. He has also exhumed the works of Ecuador’s national composer Luis Salgado.
However, all this counts for nothing when politicians get involved.
Ecuador has had six Minister of Culture in as many years and each of them has a God-given right to meddle with the orchestra. The latest is called María Elena Machuca.
The Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil, has had five executive directors over that period. The latest, Ana María Tamayo, has fired the orchestra’s music director for no apparent cause. No word of the putsch has been published on the orchestra’s website.
Ms Tamayo spends much of her time on Instagram and Facebook under an assumed name (below). Meanwhile, the music dies.
Two Mahler symphonies, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Firebird, Berio’s Rendering, Bartok’s Music for Strings percussion have never been performed in Ecuador? Is that really possible? Or did I misinterpret that?
Entirely possible! About 10 years ago, I participated in national premieres of Beethoven 9, Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture, and the first Wagner opera performed in a different Latin American country. It’s a wild feeling to play this stuff for crowds who are excited to hear it live for the first time!
When did any European orchestras feature works by Luis Salgado.
Salgado’s Symphonies have not played in any European Orchestras. Mstro. Anzolini have premiered the 1st (Andina), 2nd (Sintética), 3rd (Rococó), and 8th (Pichincha Battle). He believes that the 3rd is one of the finest examples of ‘returning to the past’ as the Baroque period of Stravinsky. Great music.
In Ecuador, Mahler 2nd was professionally premiered in 2017 by Mstro. Anzolini -earlier there was a failed attempt to play it with a large ensemble of youth orchestras in Quito. Mahler 3rd had never been played in Ecuador before Anzolini in 2019. Bartok Music for Strings Percussion and celesta was first performed in Guayaquil -with a celesta borrowed to the Quito National Symphony. Firebird Complete Ballet had never been played in any city of Ecuador before Anzolini did in 2018. Last but not least, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe was premiered by Anzolini in the 70th anniversary of the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra in November 2019. Anzolini prepared the chorus too. Check that with him, I may provide his e-mail address. There may be people that would like to hush it, but the concerts were free, attended by thousands of people -the hall’s capacity is 1300 seats, and those concerts were repeated.
She sounds like a right imbecile.
indeed she is
She might not be so imbecile: to cheat so many people demands good skills.
She reportedly said she was expelled by the Prayner Conservatory in Vienna. She said she quit a music university in Ecuador. Now she pretends to know about orchestral repertoire, and talks about it. She introduces herself as an experience musician.
Quite a unsurpassed liar.
This indeed is a way in which music dies. Working as a professional orchestra player myself, I know Dante Anzolini as a highly professional conductor, he is working musically sincere, inspired and at a very high level. His knowledge is deep and allround, as is his taste, inspiration and devotion to music. Maybe he asks a lot from any orchestra he is working with, but that is also what he asks of himself. Besides that, that is what a good conductor should. Add to this that Mr Anzolini is a sincere, honest, great human being with principles, as concerned about the people around him as he is concerned about classical music in general, the human condition, our planet. This all makes this story a sad one. I can hardly imagine that firing Mr Anzolini is a clever step for the orchestra and on top it seems to me that it is extremely unfair and frustrating for Dante himself.
If the organization has been averaging at least one new ED every year for the past 6, then the problem likely lies with the now former conductor. Some EDs leave when there conflict and others shake things up.
This is not the case, because some EDs have left due to corruption and the one that fired the former conductor also has reported cases.
Do you know any of the former ED’s? Do you know of a problem caused by the now former conductor? Do you know how is the actual work of the newest ED? Have you seen/heard the work of the conductor who was fired?
al parecer, ud no es el que conoce las obras de Maestro Dante Anzolini, ni tampoco leyó el CV que posee. Y en cuanto a su trabajo en Ecuador, muchos hemos viajado de otros países para compartir momentos exquisitos de interpretación de las maravillosas obras elegidas para la orquesta. No conoce ni vio todo lo hecho durante la Dirección del Maestro Dante Anzolini y ni los músicos invitados tanto nacionales e internacionales que han compartido con la orquesta , traídos por el Maestro.
No se entero de la creación de diversos grupos musicales que no existían hasta el momento en Guayaquil, como orquesta juvenil, coro juvenil y la maravillosa posibilidad jóvenes instrumentistas con becas en Estados Unidos, gracias al Maestro Anzolini.
Me parece que es al revés, quien desconoce lo que ud acaba de preguntar es el mismo que lo ejecuta, ya que la señora a quien ud defiende, lo único que ha hecho es cantar en casamientos y cumpleaños y tener Relaciones POLITICAS de no tan clara amistad, que la ubica en el puesto claramente a dedo, para crear caja de dinero explotando a la orquesta, para satisfacer los bolsillos de pocos y el ego de ella. Gracias por dejarme explayar argumentos que al parecer ud cree que es un chusmerio y que para quien conoce y ha disfrutado de la integridad , musicalidad y honestidad del Maestro Dante Anzolini, no queda mas que expresar el orgullo que uno posee, el conocer y disfrutar la maestría del que fue deshonrado por su amiga ED.
Mientras la Sra Tamayo despide al mejor director que ha tenido el Ecuador, con un CV que pocos directores pueden llegar a tener, sus organizadores no dicen nada, no dan explicaciones. Sera que el Mtro no cumple con las expectativas politicas de corrupcion de esta señora?
Luis: el maestro Anzolini no es de Ecuador, si no de Berisso, Argentina, de padres italianos y chilenos.
Aunque Luis no implicó que el maestro Anzolini sea nativo de Ecuador, su pregunta es relevante: “Sera que el Mtro no cumple con las expectativas politicas de corrupcion de esta señora?”
Asi es, no es de Ecuador, llego por concurso mundial. Pero no tiene nada que ver con la maestría musical y su riqueza musical dada a este pais.
I read with bitter surprise that Maestro Anzolini has been fired from his position as Musical Director of the Guayaquil Symphony. In my career as a musician, rarely have I come across an individual with uncompromising human ethics and unprecedented musical ability. Not only did he win the position through an international competition, but in his six years he has given more than a hundred concerts, he has rescued part of the creative musical heritage of Ecuador, he has created an operatic choir, founded youth orchestras and has given his time in countless projects. social. Above his human rectitude, he managed to place the orchestra among the best options in Latin America. From the way the unfortunate news is reported, it gives the impression that Mrs. Tamayo has made a huge mistake where the political component colors this sad episode.