Mi Alma Mexicana ('My Mexican Soul') 2-CD Set Celebrating Mexico's 2010 Bicentennial With 200 Years of Mexican Music Available August 3

Sony Classical announces Mi Alma Mexicana ("My Mexican Soul"), the debut recording of conductor Alondra de la Parra with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA), available worldwide on August 3, 2010. Mi Alma Mexicana is a 2-CD set celebrating Mexico's 2010 Bicentennial with 200 years of orchestral music by Mexican composers. The album features the world premiere recordings of Enrico Chapela's Inguesu and Eugenio Toussaint's Concierto para Piano with Alex Brown as piano soloist. Mi Alma Mexicana also includes Gustavo Campa's Melodia with violinist Daniel Andai, and Manuel M. Ponce's Concierto del Sur for Guitar and Orchestra with guitarist Pablo Sainz Villegas, as well as music by Ricardo Castro, Carlos Chavez, Candelario Huizar, Federico Ibarra, Mario Lavista, Arturo Marquez, Jose Pablo Moncayo, Silvestre Revueltas, and Juventino Rosas. Mi Alma Mexicana was engineered by Grammy Award-winning producer Adam Abeshouse, with De la Parra as executive producer.

Mi Alma Mexicana is the result of two years of extensive research by the dynamic 29-year-old Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra, who founded POA in 2004 and serves as the orchestra's artistic director. "I wanted to make an album that really represents Mexico's music," she said. "This project showcases the diverse styles and eras of Mexican music, ranging from Ibarra's very contemporary sounding Sinfonia No. 2, to Castro's nearly Wagnerian Intermezzo de Atzimba, to Ponce's Spanish-influenced Concierto del Sur. Mexican orchestral music deserves a place in the core repertoire of every orchestra, and this album shows the wide range of musical styles and extraordinary artistry from my home country."

De la Parra has gained widespread attention for her spellbinding and vibrant performances, making her one of the most compelling conductors of her generation. She holds the distinction of being the first woman from Mexico to conduct in New York City, and has been heralded by opera star Placido Domingo as "an extraordinary conductor." Most recently, she was featured in Crain's New York Business as one of their "40 under 40 New York's Rising Stars," and singled out in The Daily Beast as one of the "Young Rock stars of the Conducting World."

The release of Mi Alma Mexicana follows the success of live performances of music from the album in New York and Los Angeles. In New York, the orchestra's first performance of Mi Alma Mexicana at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall sold out, and a second concert - which also filled to capacity - was added due to high demand. In Los Angeles, the orchestra packed Walt Disney Concert Hall when it joined forces with Argentine-Uruguayan powerhouse music collective Bajofondo for an explosive evening presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September 2010, POA will embark on a multi-city tour of Mexico to celebrate the album and the country's Bicentennial.

  Mi Alma Mexicana Track Listing
  ------------------------------
  DISC 1
  1         Huapango  (1941) | Jose Pablo Moncayo
  2         Melodia, Op. 1 (1890) | Gustavo E. Campa
  3         Intermezzo de Atzimba (1900) | Ricardo Castro
  4         Imagenes (1927) | Candelario Huizar
             Concierto del Sur for Guitar and Orchestra (1941) | Manuel M.
  5-7        Ponce
  [5]       I. Allegretto
  [6]       II. Andante
  [7]       III. Allegro moderato e festivo
  8         Sobre las Olas (1884) | Juventino Rosas

  DISC 2
  1         Danzon No. 2 (1994) | Arturo Marquez
  2         Sensemaya (1938) | Silvestre Revueltas
  3         Suite de Caballos del Vapor (1954) | Carlos Chavez
  4         Sinfonia No. 2 (1993) | Federico Ibarra
  5         Concierto para Piano (2006) | Eugenio Toussaint
  6         Clepsydra (1990) | Mario Lavista
  7         Inguesu (2003) | Enrico Chapela

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SOURCE: Sony Classical

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