Music of the Americas: Guitars Online and Live in New York

Monday, March 4, 10 a.m.

Alexander Parra and Jean Carlo Espíndola founded Jacarandá Dúo in 2009 to explore the rich repertoire for the instrumental combination in Colombian and Latin American music. They have performed in Colombia and the United States and were on En Casa back in 2021. 

This week, we will share two videos of tangos recorded in Bogotá in February, starting with Aníbal Troilo's 1951 milonga "La trampera," in a duo arrangement by Japanese guitarist Masahiro Iizumi. 

Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m.

The early music group La Chimera joins Music of the Americas with a program of Spanish and Italian baroque music alongside Uruguayan-American soprano Nell Snaidas.

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Wednesday, March 6, 10 a.m.

New York-based Argentine guitarist Federico Díaz joined En Casa very early on, in 2020, and we are happy to have him back four years later with two videos recently recorded in Buenos Aires with singer Silvia Iriondo. 

Iriondo is interested in Indigenous and anonymous song and the voice of the landscape that describes Argentine thought. Iriondo has been presenting her work in Argentina and Europe since 1990. She has collaborated with Carlos Aguirre, Quique Sinesi, Juan Falú, Manolo Juarez, and Egberto Gismonti, among others. 

Federico Díaz was born in Mendoza and has developed a multifaceted career as arranger, composer and performer specialized in tango and Argentine popular music, collaborating regularly onstage in the Americas and Europe with artists including Philippe Quint, Lionel Cottet, Daniel Binelli, Juan Falú, Paquito D’Rivera, Leo Genovese, and Sofía Ribeiro, among others. 

They sent us two pieces. Today we share "Coplas para la luna," by Rolando "Chivo" Valladares (1918–2008), Argentine composer whose music, in spite of its importance remains little known. His subtle view of the people and landscape of his home region (he was born in Tucumán, in the north of the country) give his work a unique beauty. "Coplas para la luna" is a zamba whose lyrics are inspired in popular poetry and on variations of Romance de la luna, by Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.

Thursday, March 7, 10 a.m.

Jacarandá Dúo is back with Francisco Canaro's waltz "Corazón de oro."

Friday, March 8, 10 a.m.

The Parker Quartet, celebrating its 20th anniversary, makes its Music of the Americas debut with the NYC premiere of Brazilian composer Felipe Lara's latest piece and Valentin Silvestrov's 2011 Third Quartet.

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The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The Spring 2024 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, by the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, by the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, by The Amphion Foundation, by the Augustine Foundation, and by the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation.