The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra (Spanish: Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México) is an orchestra of international rank founded and underwritten by the government of Mexico. The home venue is the Silvestre Revueltas Hall at the Ollín Yoliztli Cultural Center [es] in Tlalpan, Mexico City, which opened in 1979.
History
The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1978 by the National Government of Mexico through an initiative by Carmen Romano, wife of then President of MexicoJosé López Portillo.[1] The Philharmonic was part of a plan to make fine arts education accessible to youths. The government launched classical music workshops and formed professional orchestras, including the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra. Fernando Lozano Rodríguez [es] was the founding conductor. The Philharmonic's venue name, ollín yoliztli, means "life movement" or "life force" in Náhuatl.
1978–1979: Jerome (Jerry) Ashby (1956–2007), french horn; became associate principal french horn with the New York Philharmonic in 1979
Morris T. Kainuma (born 1959), tuba; appointed principal tuba in 1980; currently a freelance and educator in the New York City area
John Emmanuel Godoy (1959) was appointed principal timpanist in 1987. During his tenure, the Mexico City Philharmonic performed four concerts with tenor Plácido Domingo, including recording Lalo Schifrin's world premiere of Cantos Aztecas. Godoy later won the principal timpani position with the Corpus Christi Symphony under John Giordano. In 2011 he founded the Lux Musicae chamber group and became its artistic director.
Awards and critical acclaim
The Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra has made over 100 recordings, most of them of works by Mexican composers. The Philharmonic is reputed to be the most prolifically recorded orchestra of music by Mexican composers. In 1981, it won the Academie du Disque Francais Grand Prize for its recording of Mexican Ballets by Blas Galindo, José Pablo Moncayo, and Carlos Chávez. Fernando Lozano Rodríguez was the conductor.[6] The jury stated that the Philharmonic was the best in Latin America.
In 2001, the Mexico City Philharmonic was nominated for Best Classical Recording in the inaugural Latin Grammy Awards. The Mexican Union and Theater Critics Philharmonic Mexico City and Music as the best of the year, calling it "The Best Orchestra of Mexico, 2000".[clarification needed][This quote needs a citation]