Foto: Marín Amuchástegui
Cuauhtémoc Rivera, one of the most renowned Mexican violinists, soloist with many symphony orchestras in Latin America and Europe, and a graduate from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory of Moscow, offered a recital to celebrate the acquisition of his new violin, Altazor. The violin was commissioned to me in January 2015 and was handed to him just a couple of days before the event.
I was very pleased to work with such an insightful and receptive musician all through the processes of selecting the model, the woods and the finish of his new instrument.
The recital was held at the auditorium of the Alliance Française – San Angel, in Mexico City, on December 15th, 2015. I was invited to give the opening remarks and to talk about the process of fabrication of this particular instrument.
I am very grateful to Maestro Rivera for sharing with colleagues, friends, and the audience in general what usually is a rather private ceremony—the first contact with a new instrument—and for transforming it into a musical celebration.
I’m also very grateful to the great pianist Yolanda Martínez, and to the very promising young violinist David Rivera, for being part of this recital.
The program consisted of three sonatas for violin and piano, by Janáček, Haendel and Poulenc, as well of works by Bartók, Berio and Pärt.