Darío A. Valdebenito's Homepage

In polite company, one should never discuss politics, religion, or Wagner.

I am deeply interested in classical music. I studied piano for several years at the Universidad Austral de Chile, with Ximena Cabello. During my years at the University of Minnesota I sang with the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale The TCCC sings at the 10:00 Mass on Sundays at the Church of St. Agnes in St. Paul, MN, between October and June (save for Advent and Lent). The repertoire is mainly masses by Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. I highly encourage everyone (even non-Catholics) to attend, not least because it is music that can only be properly understood in its proper setting: the masses we sing were not intended for a concert hall (unlike, say, Bach's B minor mass, as interesting as it is), but rather to be sung during Mass.

Every now and then someone asks about my favourite opera. The answer depends from exactly when you ask me: one day Dvorak's Rusalka, the next day it's Wagner's Die Walkure, then it's Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, and so on. (Yes, I enjoy Wagnerian operas.) When it comes to Bach's Goldberg variations, I enjoy Gould's late recording and Perahia. For pretty much anything 19th century I will most likely prefer performances by Arrau. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to listen to him live.