Classical performances from South America

Part 4 of 4 – Chilean Teatro del Lago

This May, Stingray Classica is shining a spotlight on South American talent.

In the final part of this month-long special, we’ll be shining a light on the Chilean Teatro del Lago (Theatre on the Lake).

This venue, internationally acclaimed for its architecture, serves as a home for the arts. The 11-thousand square-meter theatre can host expos, large concerts, and intimate shows, as well as places of learning to promote the development of art.

One of the most prestigious forms of art, classical music, is performed here regularly. Classical music is famous for its focus on preciseness. Your job as a classical musician is to play the sheet music in front of you as accurately as possible.

It hasn’t always been this way, however. Centuries ago, improvised music was so commonplace that it was an expected part of a performance.  Somewhere along the line, classical music teachers thought it best to extinguish this form of artistic expression. Thanks to a few passionate individuals, however, improvisation is making a comeback. Whenever improvisation in classical music comes up, our featured pianist Gabriela Montero is mentioned.

Gabriela Montero is a skilled classical musician, but at the end of her ‘official’ concerts, she’s famous for playing improvised music to themes suggested by audiences and orchestras. Even those who look down on the practice of spontaneous playing cannot deny the beauty of the music that Gabriela creates. It’s no surprise to learn she’s been improvising music since the beginning but only revealed her skill later in her career. Gabriela has leveraged this skill successfully, winning multiple Latin Grammy Awards and topping the musical charts.

Gabriela Montero accompanies the Latin Grammy Award-winning Orchestra of the Americas (OA), conducted by their music director Carlos Miguel Prieto. The OA consists of young musical leaders from more than 25 countries of the Western Hemisphere.

Carlos Miguel Prieto, much like Gabriela, started playing music as a child. Despite his degree in electrical engineering from Princeton and Master’s degree in Business Administration at Harvard, he devoted his life to music. He has a distinguished career and was named 2019 Conductor of the Year by Musical America.

Join us in celebrating South American musical talent this Wednesday evening.

Wednesdays in May on Stingray Classica (ch 332) 26 May