The art of the luthier
By John Edwards (July 21, 2006)
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The Festival de Música de Cámara brings world-class chamber music ensembles and soloists to San Miguel to present outstanding concerts to residents, visitors and students and to provide master classes and intensive workshops to 50 Mexican students and young professionals. |
Part of the festival’s 2006 program is a series of free concerts and conferences, including an exhibition of antique instruments and a conference on the art of the luthier.
A luthier, or violin maker, is a person who builds or repairs stringed instruments, either bowed or plucked. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, guitars of all kinds, lutes, and mandolins. The French word lutherie, used in both French and English, refers to the art of constructing string instruments. The name luthier harkens back to early lute-makers.
Teachers from the Escuela de Laudería (Luthier School), headquartered in Querétaro, will present lectures on composition and stringed-instrument making, along with workshops on maintenance and proper use of bowed instruments.
Almost like a medieval alchemist, the laudero transforms wood by hand, aiming for a full musical sound that is almost mystical. For many centuries, luthiers have painstakingly constructed and restored stringed instruments. Nowadays, this activity, with its incredible ancestral tradition, is a discipline that conforms to the highest artistic and scientific rigor. The goal of the School of Laudería of the I.N.B.A. it is to produce professional luthiers of the highest caliber and to further scientific research and the application of technology to this craft.
Aside from the many free concerts given by students and invited performers, one highlight of the festival is an exhibit of stringed instruments constructed by teachers and students of the school. The exhibit is enhanced by examples of instruments from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, as well as other modern pieces.
Chamber Music Festival schedule of free concerts, exhibits and lectures
July 29, 2pm
Opening of the antique instrument exhibit
Bellas Artes, Salón de Alumnos
July 31 and August 1, 2, 7, 8 & 9, 4pm
Free student concerts
Jardín kiosk (weather permitting)
August 2 & 9, 1pm
Free student concerts
Sala Quetzal, Biblioteca Pública
August 2, 5pm
Conference on chamber music in the 20th century
with Maestro Francisco Núñez Montes
Bellas Artes auditorium
Students and general public
August 3 & 10, 4:30pm
Free student concerts
Bellas Artes auditorium
August 4 & 5, 10am–7pm
August 6, 10am–1pm
Public market of strings market
Bellas Artes patio
August 6, 7:30pm
Free concierto by the Vega String Quartet
Jardín (weather permitting)
August 7, 5pm
Conference on the art of the luthier
with Maestro Fernando Corzantes
Bellas Artes auditorium
Students and general public
August 10, 7:30pm
Free concert by the St. Petersburg String Quartet
Bellas Artes auditorium
Concert of young strummers from Querétaro
| Next Friday, the “New Querétaro Guitar Movement” offers a concert for all music lovers. | |
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In the two years since the group formed, these young musicians have allowed themselves to dream through the music that flows from their guitars as a way of life and expression, using all of what they have learned and experienced. Their varied repertoire ranges from Baroque concertos to contemporary rhythms and styles.
The concert includes music from J. S. Bach, Antonio José, Jorge Ritter, Leo Brouwer, Manuel M. Ponce and Ástor Piazzolla.
The young maestros performing in this concert are Daniel de la Vega, Pablo Aguilar, Felipe Bohórquez, Carlos Ávila, Luis Arturo Álvarez, Luis Montellano, Daniel Pérez, Pedro Galván, José Luis Casillas and Job García.
Concert, New Querétaro Guitar Movement
Friday, July 28, 8pm, Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50, 50 pesos