Catalogue

Summary:

Music has the power to stir deep emotions, evoke memories, and move our bodies. It brings us together to dance, tell stories, and share life’s greatest joys. That spirit of celebration lies at the heart of this recording.

In 2017, after hearing Danzón No. 2 by the renowned Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, I wrote to him and asked if he would compose a violin concerto inspired by the rich traditions of mariachi music. Intrigued, especially since his father was a mariachi violinist, he composed Fandango, telling me he had waited more than twenty-five years to write this electrifying concerto. Premiered in 2021 at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Fandango has since been performed nearly fifty times by nineteen orchestras, earning two GRAMMY® nominations and two Latin GRAMMY® Awards.

I always hoped Arturo would arrange Danzón No. 2 for violin and piano, and this recording features its world premiere. The work was inspired by Márquez’s 1993 visits to Malinalco, Veracruz and Colonia Salón in Mexico. “From these experiences onward, I started to learn the danzón’s rhythms, its form, its melodic outline, and to listen to the old recordings by Acerina and his Danzonera Orchestra.

I was fascinated and I started to understand that the apparent lightness of the danzón is only like a visiting card for a type of music full of sensuality and qualitative seriousness, a genre which old Mexican people continue to dance with a touch of nostalgia and a jubilant escape towards their own emotional world; we can fortunately still see this in the embrace between music and dance that occurs in the State of Veracruz and in the dance parlors of Mexico City.”

Watching couples dance with elegance, nostalgia, and quiet dignity revealed how the danzón creates an intimate world of memory, passion, and human connection. Today, Danzón No. 2 stands among the most celebrated and frequently performed orchestral works of our time.

Camille Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals is one of the most beloved works in the classical repertoire, though he prohibited its public performance during his lifetime, fearing its wit and playful humor would overshadow his reputation as a serious composer. The Swan was published as a standalone work in 1887 and went on to become one of his most celebrated compositions, inspiring countless instrumental arrangements including The Dying Swan, where legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova, performed it more than 4,000 times! More than a century later, Gene Pritsker’s Brazilian-inspired reimagining returns the work to its festive origins, transforming this brilliantly inventive score into an exuberant musical celebration.

José Luis Merlín’s Suite del Recuerdo explores the rich folk traditions of Argentina and Venezuela, while George Gershwin’s Walking the Dog, Antônio Carlos Jobim’s The Girl from Ipanema, and Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Song of the Black Swan remind us how music travels across cultures, carrying stories, rhythms, and traditions from one generation to the next.

Like the danzón, this music invites us to dance, smile, savor cherished memories, and experience the ebullient joy it inspires.

Anne Akiko Meyers

Tracklist:

ARTURO MÁRQUEZ (b. 1950)
1. Danzón No. 2 (arr. by Arturo Márquez for violin and piano) 10:17

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835–1921)
Carnaval des Animaux
2. The Swan 2:53

HEITOR VILLA-LOBOS (1887–1959)
3. The Song of the Black Swan 2:39

JOSÉ LUIS MERLIN (b. 1952)
Suite del Recuerdo “Suite of Memory”
4. I. Evocación 1:58
5. II. Zamba 2:47
6. III. Chacarera 2:34
7. IV. Carnavalito 2:11
8. V. Evocación 1:07
9. VI. Joropo 3:01

GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)
10. Walking the Dog 2:39

GENE PRITSKER (b. 1971)
Animals Carnaval (after Saint-Saëns reimagined in a Brazilian style)
11. I. Introduction and The Lion’s March 1:55
12. II. Hens and Roosters 00:00:45
13. III. Wild Asses (Swift Animals) 00:00:51
14. IV. Tortoises 1:48
15. V. The Elephant 1:36
16. VI. Kangaroos 0:50
17. VII. Aquarium 2:21
18. VIII. Personages With Long Ears 0:43
19. IX. The Cuckoo in the Deep Woods 2:09
20. X. Aviary 1:23
21. XI. Violinists & Pianists 1:29
22. XII. Fossils 1:22
23. XIII. The Swan 2:33
24. XIV. Finale 3:11

ANTÔNIO CARLOS JOBIM (1927–1994)
25. The Girl from Ipanema (arr. by Gene Pritsker) 2:23