Cervantino Day 19: Barry Douglas at Valenciana; next years Inviteds; enjoying life in the Press Room

2013 version of The Great Gate of Kiev;
only four of Hartmannn's paintings still exist

The Festival's final event for me, except for viewing the closing fireworks from my street, was Barry Douglas's performance of Moussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition. This has been an extraordinary year for the piece at the festival: The Peking Symphony playing Ravel's orchestral version, Douglas playing Moussorgsky's original piano composition, and the Mexican artist Fabricio Vandenbroeck's set of ten black and white prints recreating the themes of Viktor Hartmann'ns work that led Moussorgsky to compose the piece in his memory.

Barry Douglas, arguabably the hardest working musician at the Cervantino with four different concerts under his belt including the whole cycle of Beethoven piano concertos, is to play Brahms and, Schubert during the first half of the concert at Valenciana. With a no-nonsense manner, he gets down to work.

Douglas at his Steinway piano /FIC 41 Claudia Reyes photos of Douglas

Pleased indeed at the audience's appreciation of the Brahms pieces

After ten minutes in the sunshine, the audience comes back into the church,many of us ready to hear one of our favorite pieces. I never knew it could sound like this, with bell-like notes coming from the piano. Each time the Promenade theme recurs, Douglas plays it differently, to give only one example of his interpretive
and technical mastery.

                                          An unforgettable ending to a memorable Cervantino.
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BREAKING NEWS: Next year, Japan will be the invited country and Nueva Leon the invited state.

And here are a few shots of the last hours in the press room where people were sitting  over comida without rushing.and when the security guards eased their standards to let a child and a puppy through.

Last time eating lunch together in the comedor

Photographer Claudia about to stage a photo op

A few minutes ago she was "typing"

Day 13: Astad Deboo's Dance Troupe (India); Comala in the Principal

FIC41 photo/ Claudia Reyes

I didn't know the boss was so agile

 After seeing these Asstad Daboo dancers at their photo op, Jose of the Press Room gave it a try.

A static moment in Comala
FIC41 photo/Claudia Reyes

At six o'clock, in the Principal, the audience saw Clmala, a staged version based on Juan Rulfo's novel.
Pedro Paramo. The work was billed as a staged cantata. In fact, Zohn was a2011 finalist for the music. But for me, the work was notable as physical theatre, enacting the horror of the voices, with the group PUSH doing the honors and Bent Frequency the acting.

As a cast member said afterward, Comala is the kind of work that's hard to classify. So much for the old time genres. Comala is available as a CD. I'd be curious to hear it as a stand alone work, instead of considering the music highlights as I'm accustomed to assume as an avid moviegoer.