James wrote:

>I have just bought Beethoven 3 "Eroica" (as I love the "Eroica") on
>Hallmark Classics label - a label that among its conductors features Sir
>Charles Downes and Lord Yehudi Menuhin - a version played by "Xalapa
>Symphony Orchestra" conducted by Herrera de la Fuente.  I wonder if
>somebody out there can provide more info on the orchestra and the
>conductor.  ...

Unfortunately i am not with the last data about Herrera,but i know a little
bit about him, maybe it can be useful for you.  Luis Herrera De La Fuente
is a Mexican conductor(or was,i am not sure.In any case he must be really
very old),with a great talent and proffesionalism.  He was the conductor
of the National Symphony Orchestra of my country,for about 2 years.  In the
year 1'973 or 74,he founded the America's Symphony Orchestra.This orchestra
engaged musicians for every country of North,Central and South america.From
my country he engaged Francisco Pereda,a very good violinist (he was a
Dorothy De Lay pupil at Juilliard).  Unfortunately this Orchestra died
some few years after it's beggining.  Then Herrera De La Fuente was the
conductor of Xalapa(or Jalapa too), and then he was engaged to conduct for
some years a medium level Orchestra from USA.  Somebody told to me he came
back to the Xalapa orchestra after that.  That's all i know.  If he is
still alive he should be very old.For this reason i think maybe those CDs
are a reprocesing old LPs.  One more thing:  One of his characteristics was
his gigantic memory.He had a kind of visual,aural,etc.  memory compared to
that one of Toscanini(without any exageration).  The National Orchestra of
my country had a very good experience with him.

Regards.
Gerardo:.