Longtime Santa Barbara Symphony goers and observers may have sensed déjà vu at the Granada Theater last week. Fandango Picante’s primary focus was on new music by famed Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, the Fandango for Violin and Orchestra, with the magnificent violinist Anne Akiko Meyers as soloist. The evening closed with Márquez’s savory greatest hit, Danzon No. 2.
The Latin American theme inevitably reminded us of conductor Gisele Ben-Dor’s innovative tenure (1994-2006) with the Symphony, which paid conspicuous and critically acclaimed attention to underexposed art music from south of the border, including Mexico. Her festivals dedicated to Silvestre Revueltas and Tango-Malambo were memorable highlights of Santa Barbara’s orchestral history.
Maestro Nir Kabaretti opened with Bizet’s Carmen Suite and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, opus 24, Spanish-steeped scores by a Frenchman and a Russian, respectively.