Sinfonia India (No.

2) By Carlos Chavez

As recorded by the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein

Chavez wrote this symphony between 1935 and 1936 while touring around the United States. This

symphony can be considered the culmination of Chavez’s projects during his appointment as director of

the Conservatorio Nacional de Mexico (1928-1936). These projects aimed to collect, transcribe, and

preserve Mexican aboriginal folk music. However, Sinfonia India is not Chavez’s first work based on

Mexican aboriginal music. Chavez had previously written ballets based primarily on Aztec themes that

propelled him to national recognition due to his nationalistic style.

On the 2010 live recording by the American Symphony Orchestra, it appears that Leon Botstein is not very

familiar with the aboriginal influences, ignored the tempo indications on the score or simply employed an

altogether different approach. The introductory Vivo section started at a much slower tempo than

indicated by the score, which creates a disjointed effect and completely removes the rhythmical drive of

the three themes contained in this section. Apart from the dragging tempo, the following Allegro section

(first theme) did not seem to contain the proper dynamic balance between the different sections of the

orchestra, leading to a lack of depth and structural perception. In addition, there was a lack of clarity on

the transition from the Allegro section to the Allegretto Cantabile (second theme), it seems that the

transition was missing both tempo and dynamic contrast altogether. On the second theme, there seems

to be some deliberate pauses in between phrases that do not appear very coherent with the legato and

continuity of the on-going melody. The only clear and aurally congruent section on this recording is the

Poco Lento section, the orchestra sounds well balanced and the results are very beautiful. It seems that

after this point, Leon Botstein was able to connect with the orchestra in a dynamic level and the

interpretation became clearer and more organic. Finally, the Poco Piu Vivo section was as climatic and
explosive as expected. However, some of the percussion appears to overpower the other parts of the

orchestra in a few instances.

In comparison to other recordings of the Sinfonia India, such as the 2001 recording by the Orquesta

Sinfonica de Xalapa, conducted by Luis Herrera de la Fuente or the 1993 recording by the New World

Symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. This recording lacks character, drive and overall

expressiveness. It misses a lot of the essence and joy of the aboriginal styles that inspired the composition.

My intention is not to attack Mr. Botstein, the organization, or the performers. Also, I do not attempt to

be critical of Leon Botstein’s musical knowledge and succesful career. To me, this is just an example that

not every conductor can be good at everything. Also, that it is important to understand the essence of

native American (Mexican in this case) music(s) in order to achieve a successful interpretation, and finally,

that there is a need for more outside (maybe even third-party) editorial input when deciding whether or

not to publish a live recording.