National Symphony Orchestra to Play Again

National Symphony Orchestra to Play Again

Dominican President Leonel Fernández attended the inauguration and gala concert in the Carlos Piantini Hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater which marked the resumption of the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction the maestro José Antonio Molina.

“A new National Symphony Orchestra is being born today. It is an achievement of the cultural administration of President Leonel Fernández’s government and is something the Dominican cultural community has been longing for, especially among those who know and love classical music,” said Lantigua.

President Fernández arrived at the Eduardo Brito National Theater with his wife, First Lady Margarita Cedeño de Fernández where they were received by a committee made up of the Minister of Culture José Rafael Lantigua, Franklin Domínguez, Alexández Santana and Bernarda Jorge, according to information released by the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

In explaining some of the changes in the Symphony Orchestra, Culture Minster José Rafael Lantigua pledged that the Orchestra’s future is full of renewed prospects. “A new National Symphony Orchestra is being born today. It is an achievement of the cultural administration of President Leonel Fernández’s government and is something the Dominican cultural community has been longing for, especially among those who know and love classical music,” said Lantigua.

“It is a true rebirth of our very first musical organization. The process is continuing and requires another year to fully complete the Strategic Plan with respect to the definitive conformation of the Orchestra members which will include musicians from abroad,” he pointed out.

He added that in that future Dominicans will witness the growth of a renewed, talented, professional orchestra under the direction of “our most important musical director, José Antonio Molina.”

The National Symphony Orchestra, the first musical organization in the country, has been in recess for the past six months as part of the Ministry of Culture’s Strategic Plan to completely renovate the orchestra after having chosen José Antonio Molina to be director. These changes form part of Decree 245-09 from March 2009. The new phase of the Symphony includes Wednesday presentations throughout October and November in the Máximo Avilés Blonda Hall of the Fine Arts Palace.

The inauguration concert included Molina’s Novi Temporis fanfare, Concerto No. 1 in B minor for piano and orchestra by Tchaikovsky with Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Prats doing the piano solo. After intermission, they played Symphony No. 1 in E Minor by Jean Sibelius. At the National Symphony Orchestra concert, Cuban pianist Jorge Luis Prats dedicated a Cuban dance piece by Ignacio Cervantes to President Fernández and the audience, all of whom were delighted by the performance.

Others present at the gala concert included Vice President Rafael Alburquerque and his wife Marta de Alburquerque, Presidential Secretary César Pina Toribio and Labor Minister Max Puig, among others.