Auditorio del SODRE, Montevideo

On Saturday evening, JM and I celebrated another cultural milestone, attending a concert in Montevideo’s Auditorio Nacional del SODRE; it was a first for both of us. In contrast to the neoclassical architectural style of the Teatro Solís, the SODRE auditorium has a sleek, modern design.

The concert, a highlight for us and three of our FEBU family who attended with us, included the f0llowing pieces:

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun – Claude Debussy

Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major – Joseph Haydn

Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra – César Franck

La Valse – Maurice Ravel

The guest pianist was Uruguay’s own Enrique Graf – now native to Charleston, SC – who has quite an impressive list of qualifications. And fellow South Carolinians might be interested to know that he founded the Young Artist Series in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in SC’s Low Country.

He is such a gracious person!

Martín García, director of the orchestra, was remarkable – conducting the first and last pieces of the concert without using music scores! And before the last piece, he announced that, although it was unusual to take a mic and speak in the middle of a concert, the orchestra wanted to honor trombonist Raúl Saavedra, who – with Ravel’s Valse – would be playing his last piece with them. Ending with that warm, personal note helped to make our first visit to the SODRE an extraordinary experience.