A Bruckner Symphony in the Dominican Republic!


The chorus and instrumentalists assemble

On Sunday, November 13th, the first performance of a Bruckner symphony in the small Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic took place. Dominican composer and conductor, Darwin Aquino led an ensemble recruited from the far reaches of this island nation. The performance held interest beyond the fact that it was a Dominican premiere. With the assistance of Bruckner scholar, William Carragan, the ensemble performed the early Gutman edition which incorporates many of the early performance characteristics that are often missing at today's concerts. The concert also presented the premiere performance of Darwin Aquino's "Cantata para Amansar la Muerte," and the Bruckner motet, "Tota Pulcra Es Maria."

The concert was the brainchild of Massimiliano Wax, a cocoa exporter from Santo Domingo, who was awarded the Bruckner Society of America's Medal of Honor last year for the remarkable performances of the Bruckner Requiem and Te Deum that he promoted that marked the first works of Anton Bruckner to be performed in the Dominican Republic. That historic performance is available on compact disc and DVD.

One may question the value of another DVD of the Bruckner 7th to compete against those already released, but thanks to the close cooperation between conductor, Darwin Aquino and Bruckner scholar, William Carragan, a performance was achieved that demonstrates the validity of following Bruckner's tempo and performance indications as presented in the first publication of the score. No other performance follows those instructions as closely.

The symphony concert was sponsored and produced by the FDD, Fundacion Dominicana de Desarrollo, the Dominican Development Foundation (a private development bank that specialises in private micro credit) to commemorate its 45th birthday.

Pictures from the rehearsals are offered below. More information about this symphony concert, and the planned DVD release, will be posted in the coming days.

You Tube Video of John Berky & William Carragan Discussing the Concert

Concert Program (available for download)

Day of Concert - Photos (November 13, 2011)

Rehearsal Photos, etc. (November 10-12, 2011)

Early Rehearsal Photos - Felipe Troncoso, photographer