Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a Latin-themed playlist

To celebrate 2021 Hispanic Heritage Month, here’s a remembrance of iconic Grammy Award-winning, Latin-themed recordings by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a recap of recent audience-acclaimed CSO concerts and a sample of recordings by CSO artists and friends. They’re all featured on a special CSO Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 playlist.

What better way to observe Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins Sept. 15 and ends Oct. 15, than to revisit the 1963 RCA recording of Falla’s El Amor Brujo, with Leontyne Price and the CSO, under Fritz Reiner, which received the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Soloist Performance.

Full audio can be found on Experience CSO and a selection of four segments top off this CSO playlist embedded below.

Recent Hispanic-themed CSO concerts

Let’s continue our journey with Maestro Muti leading the CSO in music inspired by the countries of Spain and Italy, featuring Ravel’s Boléro, Gustave Charpentier’s Impressions of Italy and Chabrier’s España. A special highlight of this September 2015 concert was the rarely heard Ginastera Harp Concerto, here with soloist Xavier de Maistre. (The recording of this piece is available on the CSO’s SoundCloud channel.) To end that memorable concert, Muti and CSO thrilled the audience with Ravel’s Boléro.

In May 2019, guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero led a Latin-themed program anchored by Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, with guitar soloist Pablo Sáinz Villegas. Also on the program were Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia, Chabrier’s España and Piazzolla’s Sinfonía Buenos Aires. A key highlight of the concert was Pablo Sainz-Villegas’ encore of Tarrega’s Gran Jota.

This fall, Guerrero will join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to mark the 100th anniversary of Astor Piazzolla’s birth with concerts Nov. 18-21 featuring his Aconcagua Concerto for Bandoneón and Orchestra (included on this playlist).

Selection of Hispanic music by Chicago Symphony Orchestra artists and friends:

Finally, completing the CSO Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 playlist are key Latin-themed recorded pieces by CSO artists and friends. Daniel Barenboim, ninth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is represented with a version of Ravel’s Boléro, and as a concert pianist, with selections of Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas and Resta’s El Bailecito. The playlist continues with a selection of danzónes, huapangos, tangos, danzas and valses performed by Gustavo Dudamel, Pablo Sáinz Villegas and a CSO audience favorite, Yo-Yo Ma. Enjoy and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!