Eduardo Mata

Mexican-born conductor and musician

• Born: September 5, 1942
• Birthplace: Mexico City, Mexico
• Died: January 4, 1995
• Place of death: Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Mata is best known for his tenure as conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and his formidable production of high-quality recordings that included an impressive array of Latin American symphonic works.

Early Life

Jaime Eduardo Vladimiro Mata Asiaín (MAH-tah) was the youngest of three children born to Federico Mata Sarmiento and Ana María Asiaín de Mata. His father served as head of finance in Oaxaca under Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés. Mata became enamored with music at an early age and began memorizing the family’s collection of 78 rpm records. He also played guitar and sang with his siblings. Mata studied music casually with an uncle who encouraged formal music lessons and introduced him to classical works such as Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, as well as assorted sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. As a youth, Mata also became a regular fixture at performances of the Banda de Oaxaca and befriended its director, Amador Pérez Torres.

At age eleven, Mata entered the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de México, where he began studying theory with Francisco Moncada and Teodoro Campos Arce, piano with Amelia Torres de Espinosa, voice with Matilde Ladron de Guevara, and harmony with Carlos Jiménez Mabarak. His interest in modern composition led him to found El Grupo Berlioz with José Antonio Alcaraz, Salvador Reyes, Domingo Borrego, and Jesus Villaseñor. Between 1956 and 1959, the student group, encouraged by composer and conductor José Pablo Moncayo, performed their original works. Mata made his conducting debut at the group’s first concert with his own composition, Trío a Vaughan Williams (1957), for clarinet, drums, and cello. Their second concert notably included a performance of Mata’s Cantata fúnebre (1957)—an homage to composer Manuel Ponce—sung by a teenage Plácido Domingo.

When Carlos Chávez formed an independent composition workshop within the conservatory, Mata interviewed with the elder composer for a spot in the program. In 1960, Mata became one of seven students to gain admission to Chávez’s studio. Piano Sonata, written in an atonal style, marks his transition to a more mature—if short-lived—compositional style. In 1964, Mata won a Koussevitzky Fellowship to study conducting with Max Rudolph and Erich Leinsdorf, and composition with Gunther Schuller at the Berkshire Center in Tanglewood, Massachusetts. At the opening concert of the Contemporary Music Festival at Tanglewood, Mata conducted Loren Rush’s Nexus 16, a work that required Mata to imitate the second-hand sweep of a stopwatch—first with his left arm moving downward and then with his right moving upward.

Life’s Work

Mata began his professional conducting career in 1965 with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guadalajara (later renamed Filharmónica de Jalisco). The following year, he was appointed artistic director of the Orquesta Sinfónica (later Filharmónica) de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). In 1972, Mata left Mexico to become music director for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, the newly constructed cultural arm of Phoenix’s massive convention center. As his conducting career grew, however, his compositional output shrank. In 1970, he completed Improvisaciones no. 3 for wind and horns. The work contains recurring leitmotifs, dominant ninth chords, parallel chords, and other impressionistic devices in conjunction with extended techniques such as playing the highest audible pitch on the violin and pizzicato Bartók slaps in the high register while playing as fast as possible. Film scores for a romantic comedy, Ya se quién eres (te he estado observando) (1971) directed by José Agustin, and a drama, El señor de Osanto (1974) directed by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, mark the end of his compositional output.

In 1977, the troubled Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) lured Mata to Texas to take on the role of artistic director and resident conductor. Just three years before, Max Rudolph had resigned midway through his first and only season with the orchestra, and the organization suspended performances nearly one million dollars in debt. Mata’s appointment drew some controversy based on his relatively limited experience in the United States; however, his tenure proved to be a golden age for the DSO, as he led the orchestra to international stature and worldwide acclaim. Mata’s aggressive resuscitation spawned two Carnegie Hall performances, a Kennedy Center appearance, the orchestra’s first European tour, three concerts in Mexico City, and three concerts in Singapore. His campaigning, combined with public enthusiasm for the revitalized organization, earned the orchestra a new home in 1989 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Designed by architectI. M. Pei and acoustician Russell Johnson, it set a benchmark for concert halls.

Moreover, during his first year in Dallas, Mata secured a recording contract with RCA and produced an album of works by Aaron Copland (including his 1936 El salón México), and a collaboration with pianist Tedd Joselson performing piano concerti by Sergei Prokofiev and Maurice Ravel. Between 1978 and 1993, Mata produced an impressive thirty-two recordings with the DSO and earned a Grammy nomination for his 1982 recording of Don Juan (1888), Salome (1905), and Death and Transfiguration (1889) by Richard Strauss.

In addition to selections from the traditional European and Russian symphonic fare, Mata embraced works by composers from the Americas. His dedication to Latin American composers such as Carlos Chávez, Silvestre Revueltas, and Julian Orbón introduced new and exciting rhythms to audiences and greatly expanded the orchestra’s repertoire. Mata’s symphonic interpretations were well-studied readings that stayed true totempo with attention to rhythmic precision, instrumental balance, and melodic clarity. From subtle glances and nods to broad gestures, his conducting style revealed an array of successful communication techniques. Mata’s reputation earned him myriad guest-conducting roles, recording opportunities, and artistic advisory responsibilities with leading performance organizations throughout the world, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta and Chorus, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, the New Philharmonia Orchestra, the Opera Nacional de México, the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, and the Solistas de México.

When Mata ended his sixteen-year run with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1993—the longest tenure of any conductor in the orchestra’s history—he was named conductor emeritus. Mata returned to his childhood home of Oaxaca with multiple goals in mind, including the establishment of a new music school and library, restoration of the Teatro Macedonio Alcalá, and promotion of modern Latin American compositions. On January 4, 1995, Mata, an instrument-rated pilot, boarded his Piper Aerostar at Cuernavaca Airport bound for Dallas. Upon takeoff, the aircraft suffered an engine failure and crashed. Both Mata and his companion, Maria Anaya, were killed.

Significance

A well-regarded interpreter of music with high professional standards, Mata ranks among the most important and influential conductors of the twentieth century. He played a pivotal role in reviving the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, establishing the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and securing a world-class reputation for the organization. He actively promoted and premiered works of Latin American composers that were otherwise neglected, supported cultural growth in Mexico, and contributed significantly to the recorded legacy of Latin American symphonic music.

Bibliography

Chism, Olin. “Crescendo of a Century: Symphony Celebrates One Hundred Years in Dallas, Ten in Meyerson.” The Dallas Morning News, September 5, 1999. This retrospective on the Dallas Symphony Orchestra notes Mata’s importance to the organization.

“Eduardo Mata.” In UXL Hispanic American Biography, edited by Sonia G. Benson, Rob Nagel, and Sharon Rose. Detroit, Mich.: UXL, 2003. Brief, informative biography describing Mata’s life and music career.

Kozinn, Allan. “Eduardo Mata Is Dead at Fifty-two; Conducted Dallas Symphony.” The New York Times, January 5, 1995. This obituary offers an overview of Mata’s life and work, focusing on his years in Dallas.