Next year at the Colón in ballet and concerts

Less renovation than hoped for

BALLET

 Next season will be the first planned by Maximiliano Guerra at the Colón. With one exception, it will be quite conservative. Mind you: as I see it, renovation for the Colón Ballet goes far beyond doing some contemporary choreographers; it also means that whoever plans must try to bring back great ballets that were in the repertoire decades ago and had a great following. Some examples: "Don Juan de Zarissa" and "Abraxas" by Tatiana Gsovsky; Balanchine´s "Apollon Musagètes"; David Tudor´s "Pillar of Fire"; Leonid Massine´s El Sombrero de tres picos, Gaîté Parisienne, La Boutique Fantasque and Symphonie Fantastique...and so on.  And of course great ballets of the Twentieth Century that were never done at the Colón and have excellent music; examples: Prokofiev´s "Chout", Milhaud´s "Protée", Britten´s "The Prince of the Pagodes", Henze´s "Undine".

 The start will be with the most famous of all ballets, "Swan Lake", and at the Luna Park in March-April. Then, at their home, the Colón Ballet will dance Guerra´s own vision of "Don Quixote", probably the second ballet in popularity; he calls it "The Dreamer of La Mancha"; April 26 to 30. Then comes the "Contemporary night", with choreographies conceived for the Colón by Constanza Macras and Walter Cammertoni; also,  "Por vos muero" by Nacho Duato (music, Jordi Savall); and "In the middle somewhat elevated",  imagined by William Forsythe on music by Thom Willems. June 21 to 25.

The yearly International Gala will take place on September 4^th and will include artists from Paris, Stuttgart, London, Milan, Hamburg and the Colón.  The postponed "Onieguin" (Cranko on arranged music of Tchaikovsky) was to provide Paloma Herrera the parting shot of her career at the Colón, but as you know it was substituted by Guerra´s "Romeo and Juliet" "for reasons of property rights". Well, in 2016 we shall see this splendid ballet (premièred here decades ago by Marcia Haydée) with the very talented Marianela Núñez, Argentine star of London´s Royal Ballet.  September 11 to 16.

The final production will revive Makarova´s fine version of Minkus´ "La Bayadère", with two important Argentine dancers whose career takes place abroad: Herman Cornejo (American Ballet Theatre) and Ludmila Pagliero (Paris Opera). November 13 to 18.

CONCERTS

THE BUENOS AIRES PHILHARMONIC

Enrique Arturo Diemecke continues as Chief conductor. And again I´m disappointed by the fact that I don´t find the  premières and revivals that I have longed for many years. Just a few examples. Premières: Sibelius, Kullervo; Nielsen: Symphonies 1 and 6; Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 1 and 7. Revivals: Smetana, Má Vlast; Berlioz, Romeo and Juliet. Works never played by the Phil: Berg, Three Pieces; D´Indy, Symphony Nº 2; Prokofiev, Symphony Nº 6; Sibelius, Symphony Nº 6.

        You will remember that in March we heard all 9 symphonies by Beethoven. A similar tour de force will happen when Diemecke will conduct all six Tchaikovsky symphonies (though not Manfred) plus four other scores by this composer. March 1 to 5.

The Subscription  Series (Abono) will again have only 15 concerts, although there will be no less than 11 others at the Usina del Arte. I will cite some highlights. Diemecke keeps 9 concerts for himself, featuring the three Roman tone poems by Respighi, an all-Ginastera programme (centenary of his birth), an interesting British night, the Mahler 9^th and Bruckner´s 4^th. 

The guest conductors aren´t starry: Zhan Guoyong (B.A. Zimmermann´s Oboe Concerto); Roberto Minczuk (Bruch´s Scottish Fantasy with Joshua Bell, Rachmaninov´s Symphony Nº 1); Keri Lynn; Carl St.Clair (with Goerner); and Leonid Grin (Glazunov´s 5^th Symphony). A special case is Emilio Pomarico, for his programme is part of the Phil season but has all the characteristics of Colón Contemporáneo (about which more below). In fact, as I peruse the booklet I was given in the press conference, I find that it coincides exactly with the CC concert! (how to they manage that, I wonder?). The programme, quite interesting, sandwiches Busoni between Castiglioni and Feldman.

Other soloists worth mentioning: pianist Philippe Entremont (Beethoven 1); violinist Ilya Kaler (Elgar); violinist Ray Chen (Sibelius); Natasha Binder, her mother Karin Lechner, Karin´s brother Sergio Tiempo,  respectively playing Beethoven 2, 3 and 5; Marcela Roggeri and Jean Philippe Collard in Poulenc´s Two Piano Concerto, cellist Anssi Karttunen in Pascal Dusapin´s Concerto; harpist Ann Hobson in Ginastera.

        I have no space for detail about the Usina´s concerts; I will  mention that Roberto Pasternostro is the only foreign conductor, that Ralph Votapek will play Prokofiev 3, and that Mario Perusso will do Chausson´s Symphony.

        One valuable point: the Orquesta Estable will offer 11 concerts: 1 at the Plaza del Vaticano, 7 at the Usina del Arte and 3 at the Colón. I would single out conductors Francisco Rettig, David Rosenmeyer, Stefano Ranzani and Julian Kuerti; and Fabrizio Danei´s programme, with Bizet´s Second Symphony, "Rome", and Honegger´s Christmas Cantata.

        Two special concerts will pay homage to Erik Satie (150^th anniversary of his birth) and Ginastera (his centenary). May 18 and November 25.

        As I have little space left, I will only say that I find the CETC (Center for Experimentation) will be quite active but often not substantial; that Colón Contemporáneo brings again the Arditti Quartet and the Ensemble Modern (Germany); that the Sunday cycle Intérpretes Argentinos puts too much emphasis on crossover music; and that the Orquesta Académica will play on 9 Thursdays at 5 pm and will include some foreign conductors.

For Buenos Aires Herald