Gabriela Ortiz’s Si el oxígeno fuera verde Tours Across the US
This fall, composer Gabriela Ortiz unveils Si el oxígeno fuera verde, premiered by The Philharmonia under Santtu-Matias Rouvali in Europe and on the orchestra’s 80th-anniversary US tour.
This fall, composer Gabriela Ortiz introduces her new orchestral work, Si el oxígeno fuera verde (If Oxygen Were Green), a 12-minute meditation on environmental themes—an idea that runs through several of her pieces. Commissioned by The Philharmonia and Radio France, the piece receives an extensive series of performances across Europe and the United States this fall with The Philharmonia under conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
The world premiere, performed by The Philharmonia and Rouvali, takes place on September 24 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, launching Ortiz’s residencies with both the Philharmonia and the Concertgebouw this season. The UK premiere follows at the Royal Festival Hall in London (Sep 25), with further European dates in Bedford (Oct 13) and at the Musikverein in Vienna (Oct 14).
The Philharmonia then embarks on a major coast-to-coast US tour marking its 80th anniversary beginning in California (Oct 17) and culminating at Carnegie Hall in New York (Oct 29).
Upcoming performances of Si el oxígeno fuera verde:
Sep 24: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (World Premiere)
Sep 25: Royal Festival Hall, London (UK Premiere)
Oct 13: Bedford Corn Exchange, Bedford
Oct 14: Musikverein, Vienna (Austrian Premiere)
Oct 17: Mondavi Center, Davis, CA (North American Premiere)
Oct 18-19: Cal Performancesl, Berkeley, CA
Oct 21: Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 24: Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 27: The Music Center at Strathmore, Bethesda, MD
Oct 29: Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
Dedicated to the memory of Ortiz’s friend, Mexican musician Jorge Verdín—founder of the Nortec Collective, known by his artist name Clorofila—the score draws its “green” inspiration from his legacy.
Ortiz describes the work’s title as a metaphor for “the fragile green murmur of life—where a disruptive, ecological nature can be imagined as a forest that, after a transformative event, reinvents itself and blooms with greater diversity and sustainability.” Across four compact sections, she mirrors the self-replicating structures of nature, with each segment conceived as “an autonomous life cycle within an infinite universe.”
As Featured Composer with The Philharmonia this season, Ortiz’s works are programmed in 18 concerts this season. Highlights include the UK premiere of her cello concerto Dzonot, written for Alisa Weilerstein and inspired by the landscapes of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Conducted by Marin Alsop, Dzonot will be performed in Canterbury (Mar 11), London (Mar 12), and Manchester (Mar 13).
Listen to the newly released world premiere recording of Dzonot, performed by Weilerstein with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, featured on the all-Ortiz album YANGA from Platoon.
> Further information on Work: Si el oxígeno fuera verde
Photo: Mara Arteaga