Anne Akiko Meyers, LA Phil & Dudamel's New Album, "Fandango"

The album features the world premiere recording of Márquez’s Fandango for violin and orchestra

 

Anne Akiko Meyers commissioned "Fandango," Arturo Márquez’s mariachi-inspired concerto for violin and orchestra. The piece follows the traditional concerto structure of three contrasting movements, each based on popular airs — the third movement, titled “Fandanguito” (“Little Fandango”), gives the work its title and defines its spirit.

The new album features "Fandango" alongside Alberto Ginastera's ballet "Estancia" in its rarely heard complete version. The pieces were recorded live with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Gustavo Dudamel at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.

"I had known this music since I was a child, listening to it in the cinema, on the radio and listening to my father, a mariachi violinist, (Arturo Márquez Sr.) interpret huastecos and mariachi music," Márquez said.

“In 2018, after hearing Danzón No. 2, music that made my heart and soul dance, my dream for a mariachi-inspired violin concerto was reignited," Anne Akiko Meyers commented. Soon after, I approached the great Arturo Márquez, and he shared with me that his late father was a mariachi violinist and he was waiting to write this music that stirred in his heart for decades."

"Arturo Márquez's Fandango, which we gave the premiere of in 2021, is a love letter to the dance music of Sonora Mexico," Gustavo Dudamel said. "For centuries, the fandango has been one of the more popular Latin dances in the repertoire and has been performed in dance halls across the world (Arturo and I have been dancing in many of these halls ourselves!), it has become almost like the heartbeat of Mexican culture."

 

Watch a clip of Fandango below

 

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

 

Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers has performed around the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and in recitals and is a recording artist with more than 40 releases. Her 2023-24 season highlights include performances of the Philip Glass Concerto No.1 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Prague Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the world premiere of a requiem by Billy Childs with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, NPR’s popular Tiny Desk series and a residency at the Laguna Beach Music Festival where Anne is this year’s artistic director. Future commissions include a work for violin and orchestra by Eric Whitacre and New Chaconne by Philip Glass.

Anne recently premiered and performed Fandango by Arturo Márquez with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Hollywood Bowl, and Blue Electra by Michael Daugherty at The Kennedy Center with Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra to massive critical and audience acclaim.

Founded in 1919, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presents and promotes the performing arts in its varied forms at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and The Ford. In the 2023/24 Walt Disney Concert Hall season, Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil open with a celebration of architect Frank Gehry on the 20th anniversary of the Hall’s opening. The LA Phil will also partner with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Diego Symphony for the inaugural California Festival, a celebration of the state’s collaborative and innovative spirit, with more than 50 organizations participating throughout California.