Close Encounters With Music Ushers In The Berkshire Summer Season With Its Gala Program “Musica Latina”— Classical Spanish And Flamenco Dance And Guitar; Composers Astor Piazzolla, Sarasate, Granados, De Falla, And Great Interpreters Of The Art Form!

Sizzling Performances Live at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA, Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 4 PM

With stops in Buenos Aires’s tango ballrooms, Havana dance clubs, the court of Queen Isabella of Spain, salons of Barcelona, and theaters of Mexico City, Close Encounters With Music’s “Musica Latina” program bounces across the Atlantic from Spain to the Americas, uniting continents in one cultural ecumene. Born in Andalucia, Spain, Manuel de Falla spent his final years in Cordoba, Argentina—although the Franco government decided to bring his remains back to his birthplace of Cadiz. His biography exemplifies the path of the music and lives of many of the composers scheduled for this performance and the close connections of aesthetics, idiom and musical language among all.

“It’s a kaleidoscope of sizzling Latin American and Spanish folklore and rhythm – with original choreography by the magnificent Cuban dancer Irene Rodriguez punctuating and adorning some of the music” says CEWM artistic director Yehuda Hanani. Works performed include Manuel de Falla’s Fire Dance and Suite Populaire Espagnole, Ernesto Lecuona’s (he was the Gershwin of the Latin American world) Andalucia and Malaguena, Pablo de Sarasate’s Zapateado and Carmen Fantasie, Granados’ Los Requeibros from Goyescas, and Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion piano trio. Cuban composer Jorge Martin’s Recuerda, a soulful and gripping work, will receive its first Berkshire performance. There will also be an authentic flamenco dance and guitar interlude.

The stellar guest artists joining cellist Yehuda Hanani, in addition to Irene Rodriguez are: pianist Max Levinson, violinist Giora Schmidt, and flamenco guitarist Cristian Puig.

A limited number of Patron Package tickets are available for seats at the Mahaiwe concert and a festive dinner afterward. The cost is $175.