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Joaquín Rodrigo's A la busca del más allá in Nashville and the U.S. Premiere of La azucena de Quito in Arlington

Apr. 20, 2026

On March 27-29, Tito Muñoz led the Nashville Symphony in a performance of Joaquín Rodrigo's A la busca del más allá ("In search of the beyond") at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN. The performance is a fitting tribute to the great Spanish composer whose 125th birthday is commemorated this year. In addition, A la busca del más allá has a unique place in American musical history. In 1976, during the American Bicentennial celebrations, and following a visit to NASA, Rodrigo received a commission from the Houston Symphony Orchestra that resulted in A la busca del más allá. 

Rodrigo described the work as a symphonic poem, albeit “with a clearly abstract character,” since the piece lacks the kind of “specific programme or principal theme customary in works of this genre.” Rather than present a literal narrative, the music invites the listener to contemplate the idea of the “beyond” as an open, evocative space. 


A la busca del más allá/Joaquín Rodrigo/London Symphony Orchestra/Enrique Batiz, conductor

Next month, Orlando Cela will lead The Arlington Philharmonic Orchestra, The Arlington-Belmont Chorale, and soloists Mary Mackenzie, soprano; Christina English, contralto; and Jacob Cooper, baritone in the U.S. premiere of Rodrigo's oratorio, La azucena de Quito. Read more about this historic performance here.

Composed in 1960, La azucena de Quito is the only oratorio Joaquín Rodrigo began in his lifetime, and it remained unfinished. However, the existing 25-minute fragment (with a libretto by the Extremaduran philosopher, José María Valverde) is moving and makes a compelling case for future performances of the work, as well as a deeper exploration and performances of Rodrigo's entire oeuvre which contains an abundance of works spanning various genres, from solo and small ensemble pieces to symphonic works, and opera. The protagonist of the La azucena de Quito is Saint Mariana of Jesus, the patron saint of Quito, Ecuador, who was canonized by Pius XII in the 1950s. Saint Mariana of Jesus was believed to be a guitarist and venerated as a patron saint of the guitar. This fact caught the attention of Rodrigo, given the great success of his beloved and timeless Concierto de Aranjuez.  

To learn more about Joaquín Rodrigo, visit joaquin-rodrigo.com and schott-music.com. 

Joaquín Rodrigo
A la busca del más allá (1976)
for orchestra
pic.2.2.eh.2.2-4.3.3.1-timp-2perc-hp-cel-str
15'

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