After the historic presentation of the bandoneon player from Corrientes at Ciudade Das Artes in Rio de Janeiro together with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, on September 17 and 18, Scófano will have a new international presentation. On this occasion he will also perform as a soloist, his own “La Tierra sin mal”, concerto for bandoneon; “Aconcagua” (Astor Piazzolla), Oblivion (Astor Piazzolla), and Libertango (Astor Piazzolla). The orchestra is conducted by the prestigious maestro Roberto Minczuk.
Prior to the concert, Richard Scófano will be interviewed on stage by Alexis Corbin – (95.5 Classical KHFM), renowned classical music radio host.
Supplementary data
The land without evil, began to take shape in December 2019. Alecia Lawyer, founder and artistic director of ROCO (River Oak Chamber Orchestra) commissioned (commissioned) me a new work. From there, with the help of my family and friends and a lot of reading, I began to write down the first ideas.
I always look for in my works, the connection with the place where I come from, with the chamamé, family and friends, something that I consider very important.
This piece is inspired by the Guarani story of the “land without evil”. His “land without evil” is a place where everything prospers, where there is no suffering, no disease, … where everything is in harmony. According to his beliefs, this land could be reached in life, one had to be a person without blemishes, in my words “a good people”.
Growing up I took this myth as a testimony of the courage, resistance and resilience of the Guarani, but above all, of the fascinating and overwhelming beauty of their culture, their customs. I remember imagining mysterious and dangerous places and situations every time the quest for “the land without evil” was reported or read about. Dense forests, wetlands, vast grasslands, darkness and light, the anticipation, the challenges and dangers, the unknown and, above all, the moments of peace and rest, its settlements, its rituals, its dances and festivities. I was fascinated by its deep spirituality, the transcendent and redemptive character of its myths, as well as its symbiosis with the environment.
In this piece I have drawn musical landscapes and commented on many of those elements, sometimes intentionally but mostly unconsciously. The piece is full of human emotions, sensory experiences: landscapes, smells and sounds of the jungle, the rivers and the Guaraní settlements, their festivals and their people.
In the process of composing this Symphonic Poem, the myth was more and more present, but it became personal, it ended up being an analogy, resonating with the current challenges that we have all been experiencing and the painful loss of my father, another challenge…a more threshold to cross and a new beginning to follow as we go. Continue the search for our “land without evil”. I believe this search has to be directed inward…as ‘the land without evil’ may very well be hidden deep within each and every one of us…it may have been there since time immemorial.
Richard Scófano will give a concert with the New Mexico Philharmonic