Concerto Budapest, 2017.
14-year-old Alondra with Cello in
Mexico City.
De la Parra’s career path has been nothing less
than spectacular since she conducted the final
performance of her Philharmonic Orchestra of the
Americas 10 years ago. Since then, she has racked
up an impressive list of accomplishments and
winning critical acclaim around the globe.
“There’s no doubt that with Alondra de la Parra,
classical music has arrived into the XXI Century,”
proclaimed France’s Le Monde newspaper after a
triumphant appearance on a Parisian concert stage.
Year by year, Alondra has become more in
demand as a guest conductor, resulting in
performances with over 100 of the world’s most
notable symphony orchestras and invitations to
serve as the artistic director of symphonies in
Mexico and Australia. Recently, she has expanded
her career horizon by adding conducting ballet and
opera productions to her portfolio.
“A lot has happened since the Philharmonic
Orchestra of the Americas gave its last concert a
decade ago,” she shares. “Mostly, it has been a lot
of hard work. I’ve been studying, growing, learning
and working hard on developing my skill as a
conductor.” While there hasn’t been one dramatic
breakthrough moment that catapulted her to
international fame, a televised concert with France’s
Orchestre de Paris that was seen throughout Europe
resulted in overnight recognition. “Yes,” she recalls,
“it generated a lot of interest. I’ve also been
traveling to Japan for the past six years, developing
a profile there, and working a lot in Germany, where
I now live.”
Although she began her conducting career as
an advocate for Latin American symphonic music,
recently she has focused more on European
composers of the early 20th Century, among them
Mahler, Stravinsky, Bartok and Prokofiev. “The world
of classical music and conducting is very complex,”
Alondra explains. “It’s not just one thing that opens
the door. It’s word of mouth, It’s your reputation
among musicians, It’s audience reaction. It’s many
things. And, in my case, being able to do the works
of Latin American composers is a plus.”
Alondra de la Parra.
She cites two young Mexican classical
composers, Gabriel Ortiz and Enrico Chapela, as
talents she is excited about. Being able to
occasionally program Latin American works for her
concerts in Europe and the Far East is particularly
enjoyable.
“The Latin American repertoire is new and
fresh to many of these audiences,” Alondra adds. “It
surprises people because they don’t expect our
music to be so diverse. The music of Mexico, for
instance, is not only what people imagine -- the
folkloric styles or beautiful tunes and rhythms. What
I tried to do with my album Mi Alma Mexicana was
to show a really broad scope of what the symphonic
music of Mexico is all about.”
LATINAStyle Vol . 26, No. 1, 2020 www. lat inastyle.com 23
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