If Mick Jagger had been a conductor, he would have been someone like Gustavo Dudamel. Yes, the reverse comparison is intentional. This 27-year-old Venezuelan has taken the classical world by storm. Blogs are touting the future Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic as an ultra-charismatic "and hottest — and youngest — conducting property around."
I would normally distrust such hype if it weren't for the BBC Proms Concert he gave at the Albert Hall in 2007 with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The program was ambitious enough for any classical ensemble let alone such young musicians: Shostakovich's "Symphony No 10 in E Minor" ("monumental" was Verity Sharp's qualifier of choice) and Bernstein's "West Side Story - Symphonic Dances." But youth knows no inhibition, as the saying goes, and the orchestra proves it with brio.
Just to show you an example of their gusto, here is the second encore. The whole orchestra have put on a jacket sporting the colours of their countries proudly.
To me, this is what joy in music sounds like. — Have a lovely Sunday.
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Like the Shell suits. Have a great Sunday too B
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Thanks Ben -- Does this mean that your commenting/posting issues have been sorted out? I sincerely hope so.
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Well, oddly I can comment on some posts and not others. But, for the first time I've seen the compose box editor as everyone else has been seeing it since the update. Perhaps some progress is being made, Fingers crossed.
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Good for you -- my comments keep vaporised. I have tried to reply to your first one above at 6 times before being successful.
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Bartleby,
Great post! I have the entire concert and Gustavo Dudamel has that great gift of energizing his forces so that everyone is on the same wave length. My sincerest wish is that the American critics don't tear him to ribbons because he's not like the automatons that many want out a music director.
Yours sincerely,
musikfriend
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thus, proof yet again that it's in the hair.
ps- all that jubilation on a sunday!
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I've never seen such a colorful enthusiastic tight classical performance, with brio and physical movement. Great.
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Musikfriend: Believe it or not but I only found out Gustavo Dudamel a week ago through BBC iPlayer. I watched through the entire concert without blinking. I was spellbound by his communicative energy and enthusiasm. -- I read that the first time he conducted the New York Philharmonic last year the musicians gave him a standing ovation. Indeed, let's hope the critics will spare him.
Poe: Jubilation is exactly the word that rang in my head through the whole concert. (No such mane for me, I'm afraid)
Spike: I think this should be shown to everyone who dares say that classical music is dull and boring!
(PS: Notifications are down at the moment. Poe's comment was the 1st email I had today! Thank you for popping in.)
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Excellent! What music should be. Love the jackets.
What colors will he wear at LA?
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Your guess is as good as mine Chris. I didn't post the whole encore because I thought it would wear some people out. At the end of the second piece of the 1st encore ("Alma Llanera") some musicians even jumped into the "pit."
Full clip
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They're like a marching band w/o the marching! Very cool & fun! Loved it. Thanks Michael
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I really like your analogy. Their joy in playing together is as infectious as those marching bands acrobatics.
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Well that was my first thought when they began moving around & they have a marching band sound too. Definitely lots of joy & quite infectious, they obviously are loving what they are doing!
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I dont know what was better, the song or watching the video to go along with it. It always makes me happy to see people take such pride in something like the colors of their country. It is something I feel we should be doing a lot more of here in the states
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I saw a story on 60 minutes about this cat. To say that his heart is in the right place, is just a wee understatement. Venezuela's Program also lets us know the good that music in schools can do..We don't have it in the USA and that is a shame. Thanks for posting.
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He definitely has charisma...and the cutest dimples! It's always inspiring to see such young people doing such incredible things with their lives. I've never seen an orchestra more lively or colorful.
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Aug: He'll be in LA full time next year. Then you'll be able to see how Gustavo Dudamel energises the orchestras he conducts, as Musikfriend said.
Rawk: The whole concert was electric and for once the cameras managed to make us feel the excitement of being there. It's more like a rock concert than the Proms!
Cody: Indeed I forgot to mention that we owe this manifestation of joy and fun in music to El Sistema, a program aiming at helping poor children in Venezuela through music. (Read about it here) In LA, it'll be called. As a matter of fact, the Philharmonic’s plans to launch a youth program similar to El Sistema – YOLA, or Youth Orchestra L.A.
Lilja: I think Yehudi Menuhin cried when he saw the Youth Orchestra created from El Sistema for the first time. -- Hah, it's all about the dimples with you ladies. What about the regular who's incredibly fun but lacks the mane and dimples?
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I hope it flies in LA and spreads. I mean in the past couple of years on the collectors circuit records made by US high school bands have been all the rage, but there's an astronomical decrease in music in schools here now and it makes me ill. No child left behind actually means Every Child Qualified to Work at Wal Mart. Feh...
Oh don't let me squash any good vibes, sorry.
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I agree with you Cody... The good thing is that everywhere Dudamel is invited the idea of El Sistema seems to be adopted for a local trial. Yep even in Gothenberg!
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Oh, please. A fabulous head of hair and a set of dimples are charming, but don't think for a moment that us ladies would overlook the regular-looking-but-incredibly-fun guy just because he didn't have them ;)
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Agreed, Maestro Dudamel is quite a handsome man and has a lovely wife too. Talent, youth, beauty and love. What's not to hate?
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At last I can post on this! I love the obliteration of high/low here. When Mrs. Ivylander and I were in Cuba (legally, Mr. U.S. Customs Agent) several years ago, we went to the Cuban National Ballet one night. Amazing lead dancers, supporting players not so much. The next night, we were in a stinky little club listening to one of Cuba's great, great salsa bands, NG La Banda, when out on the floor...could it be?.....yep, the lead male dancer from the ballet, with the most astonishing salsa moves you've ever seen.....
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Aw, man. Take me back to high school jazz ensemble. We had a great director, Mr. Sabranek, who always said that, if we weren't having fun we weren't doing it right.
Thanks for posting this.