Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Cedille Records releases on April 30, 2013, a CD of Mexican composer Carlos Chavez's rarely performed/recorded 1940 Piano Concerto, featuring elegant Mexican pianist Jorge Federico Osorio and Mexico's acclaimed flagship orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, of which Prieto is music director. Originally commissioned by the Guggenheim Foundation, the "electrifying" three-movement work is described by soloist Osorio as "the most dramatic Mexican concerto." Also on the CD are Chavez's Meditacion, Jose Palo Moncayo's Muro Verdes, and the world premiere recording of Samuel Zyman's Variations on an Original Theme.
Prieto, who is also music director of Mexico's Orquestra Sinfonica de Mineria, kicks off the distinguished orchestra's upcoming 35th anniversary summer season (July 6 - September 1) with the spring release of a 12 DVD set of Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 1 - 10. Recorded live at Sala Nezahualcoyotl of Mexico City's Centro Cultural Universitario, the set also features numerous bonus tracks.
As Music Director of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in the United States, this summer Prieto leads the world-class symphony orchestra of talented 18 - 30 year old musicians representing more than 20 countries in the Western Hemisphere, on its season centerpiece residence and concert tour "celebrating the legacy of global and regional connections to Central America." Running June 28 - August 5, the 2013 tour travels throughout Central
America to Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatamala and Belize, and honors the 500th Anniversary of Vasco Nunez de Balboa's First Sighting of the Pacific Ocean. Guest artists include renowned Chinese musician Tan Dun as Composer in Residence; acclaimed double bassist DaXun Zhang (Silk Road Ensemble); celebrated Canadian violinist James Ehnes; the energetic Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, passionate Venezuelan pianist Vanessa Perez, the award-winning Canadian pianist Xiaoyu Liu and Irish-born baritone Sam McElroy . Side-by-side collaborative concerts and master-classes join YOA musicians with young musicians from the National Youth Orchestras of Costa Rica and El Salvador, as well as the establishment of new National Youth Orchestras in Guatemala and Belize.
Stateside, Maestro Prieto's schedule includes concerts with the Louisiana Philharmonic orchestra of which he is in his sixth season as music director. Upcoming concerts feature solo performances by LPO principal cellist Jonathan Gerhardt in Saint-Saëns's Cello Concerto No. 1 and mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson in Mahler's Symphony No. 3. Guesting highlights include two engagements with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: four subscription series concerts with world-renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet at Symphony Center featuring Ginastera's Suite from Panambi, Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 5, and Revueltas' La Noche de los Mayas in late May; and a special one night anniversary concert at Ravinia on August 7th celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ravinia's Steans Institute of Music with legendary violinist
Itzhak Perlman and the RMSI Vocalists in a program featuring Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, Ginastera's Suite from Estancia, Op. 8a, and Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole Bolero.
Abroad, guesting dates include the Orquesta Sinfonica del Pricipad de Asturias (Spain), and OFUNAM - Philarmonic Orchestra of the National University of Mexico. Performances of note also include the world premiere of Alexis Aranda's Concierto para piano y orquesta with Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional and pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, and a concert version of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with bass Nikita Storojev, and with Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria, performances of Corigliano's The Red Violin with violinist Philippe Quint and Berio's Voci with violist Kim Kashkashian.
Earlier season engagements included Spain's RTVE - Orquesta Radio Television Espanola, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquesta de Valencia; Brazil's Orquestra Filarmonica de Minas Gerais, and Germany's Hessicher Rundfunk abroad, and the Cleveland Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, and debuts with the Memphis Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony.
An exciting and insightful communicator renowned for his charismatic presence on the conductor's podium and his versatile command of various composers and styles, Carlos Miguel Prieto is considered one of the most dynamic young conductors on the classical stage today. Music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria in his native Mexico, and the
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the United States, Maestro Prieto was named music director of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in November 2011. In high demand as a guest conductor, among Maestro Prieto's numerous North American guest conducting credits are the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Toronto, Houston, Indianapolis, Colorado, Vancouver and San Antonio, and the philharmonic orchestras of Florida, New Mexico, Dayton and Calgary, and every major orchestra in Mexico. He has conducted orchestras throughout Europe, Russia, Israel and Latin America. Recent debuts abroad include the New Japan Philharmonic in Japan, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in Germany, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and the Netherlands Radio Orchestra in Utrecht.
In the recording arena, Mr. Prieto has made a series of recordings of Latin American and Mexican music for the Urtext label. His recent recording with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria features Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, Ludwig van Beethoven's Romances andFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 for Avanticlassic. His recording of Korngold's Violin Concerto with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Minería for Naxos received a Grammy nomination.
Among the honors bestowed upon him are the Order of Orange-Nassau, Grade of Officer, from the government of the Netherlands Kingdom, "Conductor of the Year 2002", from the Mexican Union of Music and Theatre Critics, and the Mozart Medal of Honor presented by the Government of Mexico and the Embassy of Austria in 1998.
A champion of contemporary music, Mr. Prieto has conducted over 50 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. A staunch proponent of music education as well, Maestro Prieto has served as principal conductor of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas (YOA) from its inception in 2002 until 2011, when he was appointed music director.
A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities (where he was concertmaster of the orchestra), Carlos Miguel Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo.
Additional information on Maestro Prieto can be found at his website at www.carlosmiguelprieto.com.
Information can also be found on the above at www.cedillerecords.org and yoa.org.
