大象传媒

Kate Molleson and Alejandro Madrid examine Silvestre Revueltas鈥檚 return to Mexico after his traumatic experiences in Spain.

Silvestre Revueltas was a blazingly energetic and politically charged musician, a whirlwind of a composer who lived through a time of great political and creative upheaval in Mexico. The French writer Andr茅 Breton was stunned when he visited the country and found not one unified identity, but many strikingly different cultures existing side by side with all of their clashing values, creeds, and customs. This kaleidoscopic and sometimes jarring world is the musical universe of Revueltas, one of a generation of artists who, along with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, tried to encompass a true sense of Mexican identity in their works after the country鈥檚 revolution. In his personal life Revueltas also lived a life of fiery extremes, before succumbing to an early death exasperated by alcoholism. Over the course of this week of programmes, Kate Molleson tries to shed some light on this forgotten composer, guiding us through the rhythms of Silvestre Revueltas鈥檚 colourful life with the help of Professor Alejandro Madrid of Harvard University. They track Revueltas鈥檚 moves from revolutionary Mexico, to prohibition-era America, to the trenches of the Spanish Civil War, and back to his homeland. Although most of Revueltas鈥檚 works date from the final decade of his short life, it is music which bursts with energy, colour, and humour. It is music which speaks with irony and passion about politics and people, about both the joys and hardships of life. It is music that speaks of Mexico.

In Friday鈥檚 episode, Kate and Alejandro examine Silvestre Revueltas鈥檚 return to Mexico after his traumatic experiences in Spain, his troubled final year in Mexico City, and the legacy of his life and work.

Ocho x radio
LA Philharmonic
Esa Pekka Salonen, conductor

3 Sonetos
Gabriel Urrutia
KNM Streichquartett
Roland Kluttig

La Noche de los Mayas 鈥� Suite (3rd & 4th mvts)
Orquesta Juvenil Universitaria Eduardo Mata
Gustavo Rivero Weber, conductor

La Coronela (excerpt)
Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra
Gisele Ben-Dor, conductor

Sensemaya
The New World Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

Produced by Sam Phillips for 大象传媒 Audio Wales & West