On the final stop of its two month tour, the State Symphony of Mexico under the direction of the distinguished conductor Enrique Batiz took the stage of the Lensic Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday night for a concert of Bernstein, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Joining the orchestra was violin soloist Joan Kwuon in the concerto by Tchaikovsky.
 

Founded in 1971, the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico makes its home in the city of Toluca, and has since its inception been an integral part of Mexico’s cultural outreach. Maestro Batiz has some 145 recordings to his credit including the entire set of “Bachianas Brasileras” by Villa-Lobos.

The evening opened with Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture, crisply and joyfully played. This glittery piece of orchestral candy was full of verve and high spirits, giving all sections of ensemble something fun to play.

Garbed in bright red, Los Angeles violinist Joan Kwuon accompanied maestro Batiz to the stage for the concerto. Hers is an elegant, silky tone even in the most robust passages. As much as anyone, she gives the lie to critic Hanslick’s infamous denunciation of the work, “The violin is no longer played. It is yanked about. It is torn asunder. It is beaten black and blue. The Canzonetta became a model of delicacy, some of the opening notes almost inaudible on the “Mary Portman” Guarneri del Gesu violin she plays. The outer movements particularly are a mine field of possible technical pitfalls. Yet Kwuon deftly worked through the challenges of the development of these unmistakably Russian melodies.

To Brahms’ Fourth Symphony the orchestra brought a rich, full and well-balanced sound, solid from the bottom up, and well suited to the acoustics of the Lensic. Batiz brought out great variety of expression in all movements, with enough rubato to allow the main themes to breathe easily. The mood of the pastoral yet heroic slow movement was broken dramatically by the thunder of the Allegro giocoso and some pinpoint tympani playing from Sergio Quesada Acosta. (Nearly everyone in the orchestra, except the Russians, have at least three names).

As the finale returns to the expansive minor key mood of the opening movement, Batiz led the group through variations alternatively angry, declamatory and ultimately pathetic, closing with a profound sense of gallant though inevitable tragedy.

Announcing from the stage that this was the conclusion of a long tour, maestro Batiz remarked, “This is a very special night for us,” and he proceeded to conduct three lengthy encores, all from the heart of Mexican orchestral literature. The Intermezzo from Granados’ opera Goyescas, was followed by a rousing rendition of Moncayo’s Huapango (virtually a popular national anthem in Mexico with its characteristic melodies and rhythms), and finally the Overture from Gimenez’s zarzuela The Marriage of Luis Alonzo.

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