Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Dudamel, Josefowicz and the LA Phil
Photo : mine 2008

It was better. Not great, but better. Over these last few months I have increasingly felt (for no reason other than my own delusions of grandeur) that I alone am carrying the “con” banner when it comes to discussions of Gustavo Dudamel and his veritable beatification by the media here in Los Angeles and around the world. If you don’t believe me, just look at the cover of yesterday’s LA Times. Now I’m no stranger to gushing, but, as I have made the case on many prior occasions, Dudamel is overrated as a conductor at this point in his career.

Now all that being said, I am also aware that mantels can be heavy to bear, so let me put mine down for a moment to talk about the fact that I actually do think the LA Phil’s music-director-to-be is very talented. He exudes a warmth and clearly is well-liked by the orchestra and other musicians. Twice in the last two weeks, he seated himself amongst the orchestra members in order to watch encore performances from celebrity soloists. He appears to care deeply about what he is doing and arguably does bring excitement to the proceedings. Although his approach seems overly enthusiastic a little too often, he is not dull to watch. And frankly dull may be a bigger crime than overstated.

This weekend the Philharmonic was again in his hands with a largely French program including Debussy's Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and Ravel’s complete ballet music for Daphnis and Chloé. And, while neither was perfect, there was a clear sense of dynamics, particularly in the Ravel. I’m usually not a fan of ballet music (with a few exceptions) and the Ravel is not a favorite. I thought Dudamel’s account was engaging and worthwhile. The Pacific Chorale sounded great as did the Philharmonic players. The Debussy seemed unfocused, but was not bombastic or inappropriate at all. Of course I was sitting in the Balcony due to the high demand for tickets for all these sold-out shows this weekend, which may have tempered things for me, but I still felt this was a significant improvement over his last few appearances with the LA Phil, and certainly the best since his debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The other big item on the menu was the second Bartòk violin concerto with Leila Josefowicz, which I admired more in concept than in actual execution. Josefowicz seemed distant to me at times, but this is not an easily digestible work, and to feature it is the first sign that Dudamel won’t completely be timid about the 20th century (or at least the first half of it). It seemed to me that conductor and soloist were attentive to one another even though it didn’t quite come together all the way. So, admittedly, I for one left Sunday’s matinée pleased. Despite my recent doom and gloom on the topic, I think the Dudamel era may well be a remarkable one. There may be a lot of PR crap to cut through to get to it, but it may be there. And maybe I can begin to believe that NY didn’t get the better bargain with Alan Gilbert after all.

Labels: Dudamel, LA Philharmonic 07/08, Music Reviews 07/08

In full regalia
Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Photo: mine 2007

I had not planned to comment on the second night of the performances from the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela at the Walt Disney Concert Hall under Gustavo Dudamel. After my report on the first night, I figured I’d leave it at that, but it turned out to be such a strange and surreal mix of elements, that I’ve changed my mind. The evening started out with much more promise. Apparently Dudamel got the memo about the volume and overall things were toned down to a much more pleasing level. (To be fair, it appears that many instruments were held up in customs and the orchestra did not get adequate time to rehearse in the space.) The program started with a very spirited Beethoven’s 5th that was hard not to admire. It was one of those big sound productions popular a few decades ago with a beefed up orchestration to make everything sound fuller. I’m no expert in this area, but I’m pretty sure Beethoven didn’t originally call for 5 flutes and 4 oboes. Still the playing was strongly felt. The group got another standing ovation at intermission as love poured from an audience with more than a few expatriate Venezuelans.

The second half focused on Latin American composers – Moncayo’s Huapango, Márquez’ Danzón No. 2, and Ginastera’s Suite from Estancia. The group and Dudamel were clearly having fun and the audience again responded in kind. Dudamel does in fact appear to be the real deal and the performances he elicited from this group of relative youngsters while not perfect was better than much of what you could expect from most professional orchestras these days particularly in terms of energy level. He is among close friends with the SBYOV and the ease of communication shows. It is easy to be swept away with the sheer youthful enthusiasm of the group.

However, it was at this point that things got a little weird. The show ended with a series of encores drenched in spirited patriotism for Venezuela. The house lights dimmed briefly as the musicians donned blazers with the red, yellow and blue of the Venezuelan flag. The crowd became ecstatic and then John Williams (of all people) appeared in his own Venezuela blazer to lead the massive group through the theme from Star Wars. The SBYOV continued through at least two other encores including the Mambo segment from West Side Story. At this point the group stood and swayed and periodically danced around in maneuvers that are standard fare for most high school marching bands as the excitement level grew. As a final encore, Dudamel cajoled his mentor and SBYOV founder José Antonio Abreu onto the stage where he led the orchestra through the Venezuelan national anthem. Some commentators, including Pliable, have noted discomfort with this brand of patriotism from any group but especially concerning in this case given the current political realities in Venezuela. While this very talented group of young people are drawing attention around the world, this very day their peers are under assault with tear gas and rubber bullets for defending democracy in the streets of Caracas. Of course, we Americans can appreciate what it is like to feel pride in one’s homeland even when that place has political leaders who make very poor decisions and are reviled both at home and abroad. Still, I would have to agree that all this flag waving pushes some boundaries. Certainly this is not 1938 and they aren't playing Deutschland über alles, but I can also certainly imagine Mr. Williams growing to regret some of those photos with his on-stage wardrobe a few years down the line.

Still, for now, everyone seems to be able to look the other way and have a good time, an art mastered by Americans. If anyone had any doubt of that, the appearance of Los Angeles’ own progressively more-troubled Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, during the second half should have made that clear. Dudamel and these young players give off many good vibrations and those in need of them are apparently not far from hand. Dudamel has had some big name music mentors including Barenboim, Rattle, and Claudio Abbado, and, if he is wise, he might have leaned in for some words of wisdom from the mayor as well. If these performances indicate anything for Dudamel’s future in LA it may be this – he may be much less likely to face musical difficulties than he is to face political ones. Fair or not, the more of a despot Hugo Chavez becomes and the more his country and the US are at odds, the more pressure he may feel here to take a stand for what he believes in. Dudamel has carefully avoided taking positions on the controversies in his home country in the press while maintaining a necessary amount of contact with the Chavez regime that continues to provide funding for the SBYOV. Dudamel’s biggest challenge here in LA may be remaining publicly neutral in regards to events in his own country. These are tensions felt by many in the expatriate Venezuelan community here, and it may not just be the press that proves unforgiving.

Labels: Dudamel, LA Philharmonic 07/08, SBYOV

Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Photo: mine 2007

It was certainly a big evening at Walt Disney Concert Hall tonight. The occasion, of course, was the first of two programs from soon to be LA Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela so near and dear to his heart. Everyone was there from Mr. Gehry to Peter Sellars in his 60s love beads. The crowd was wound-up beyond belief producing huge prolonged standing ovations at any minute for the orchestra and their conductor. The Orchestra itself delivered a standing ovation for the orchestra’s founder, José Antonio Abreu, and a sitting one for Dudamel himself. Venezuelan flags were waved from the audience, multiple tongues were spoken, and a sold-out crowd with many children and young adults filled the hall. Free copies of Tocar Y Luchar, the documentary by Alberto Arvelo, were handed out to members of the audience to further the feel-good publicity around the orchestra and el sistema, the training program responsible for the SBYOV. There was only one small problem – the matter of Mahler’s 5th Symphony and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances form West Wide Story.

I realize that I will probably be burned for heresy for saying this, but here goes – the performance, while certainly spirited was a bit much. Not unlike the sexual advances of an amorous teen, exuberance supplanted the knowledge that comes from experience. Not that the playing wasn’t often brimming with life. Dudamel produced an amazingly passionate performance. It's just that the whole thing was loud - very, very, and often unnecessarily loud for the room. The Bernstein alone employed a super-sized 200 plus member orchestra involving approximately half the young adult population of Venezuela. It was more the orchestral equivalent of the Round-Up amusement ride, the centripetal force of the noise plastered you against the wall till what at first seemed pleasurable quickly became mildly nauseating. The Bernstein was marked with some of the rhythmic brilliance widely reported from their London Proms performances, but the horns were deafening throughout and there was an absence of any delicacy. Perhaps all of their YouTube stardom of recent months have gone to their heads.

The Mahler fared a little better. Mahler is no stranger to bombast and the no-holds-barred approach fit well in many places with a real whiz-bang of an opening and a closing. But the performance was grating after awhile even by Mahler standards. To be fair, this group of young musicians is clearly very talented and given their age the fact they could pull off a program that sounded like this to begin with is truly amazing. Dudamel is quite magnetic and his guidance is clearly an inspiration. It’s very exciting to think about his potential with a more seasoned group of musicians and it bodes well for the future here in LA. There is another program tomorrow night.

Labels: Dudamel, LA Philharmonic 07/08