The orchestra’s programme featured a single work, Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony, his seventh symphony. I have written elsewhere on the possible meaning contained in the piece, so I will not repeat myself here.
What was undoubtedly true about this particular performance of the work, and a qualification that would be heard quite rarely, was the extraordinary number of musicians on stage. This certainly gave the music extra power when it was needed. Precisely how many musicians were on stage is not important, but regular concert goer will be interested in the observation that the number of double basses reached double figures.
The Youth Orchestra of Venezuela is made up of players ranging from 14 to 19 years of age. I heard Jakub Hrůša say recently that he is not a follower of the “required age” theory about musical performance, stating that musician of whatever age will perform the most profound and the lightest scores as pieces of music. Differences in interpretation are not born of maturity: they are a product of what the music signifies – or indeed does not signify - to a performer at the time of the performance. We would not, for instance, demand that only 19-year-olds should perform Shostakovich’s First Symphony, to be heard in Alicante later this week, because that was the age of the composer when it was first performed.
But that said, what was truly impressive about this performance was the apparent musical maturity displayed by these players. Gustavo Dudamel’s reading of the score was conventional overall, but the speed at which he chose to open the work was surprising. Previously, I have been used to the tempo of the first movement’s opening from the recordings I have and the quick survey of these reveals that the composer’s tempo marking of allegretto usually allows space for the opening theme to make its sophisticated point. Gustavo Dudamel chose to open the work with what sounded like an allegro first movement, prompting me to think that the performers wanted to end the evening as quickly as possible, as a result of their hectic tour schedule. But, having made the point, the tempo did settle to an allegretto for the remainder of the movement. I was equally surprised by the senority of the woodwind chords early in the symphony. Initially, I felt that these had missed their point of balance, with perhaps a particular part underplayed.
But why am I concentrating on minor shortcomings of performance when the overall experience was so memorable? Ask a critic. Overall the musicianship of these young players was beyond criticism, and Gustavo Dudamel and the orchestra provided an experience that I am sure no-one in the audience will ever forget.
In the conflict climax of the first movement, the orchestra’s weight really did come into its own. Before that, the colour of the composer’s orchestration was displayed to the full, muted brass, pizzicato strings and spiky woodwind all sounded out clearly, never retiring, never dominating, all combining their textures to communicate a musical experience like no other.
It would be wrong to single out individual performances from such an array of talent, but I am going to do so. The horn section in general and its principal were outstanding, as was the diminutive pianist in this very important part within the orchestral texture. When the first movement explodes into conflict, the orchestral sound was quite outstanding. Throughout, the string textures were precise, but the way in which they added the story underneath the tumult was quite outstanding.
And at the movement’s end, the drum beat of dictatorship, of the false promises of populism is still there, reminding all of us that we can still be fooled. At the work’s end the three-note threat is also still in evidence, reminding us that dictators should always be feared, whatever their politics.
Personally, I find the symphony’s emotional core comes in the third movement. The sonorities here are different. Last night the Venezuela Youth Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel played these to perfection. Up until now, despite having heard the symphony literally hundreds of times, I found it astounding to realize that the musical material of the symphony’s final three movements is largely derived from the opening themes. It somehow all made perfect sense.
There was an encore involving a quartet at the front of the stage. A miniature guitar, a harp, maracas and bass were joined by a solo violin to let rip with what was obviously a popular form in Venezuela. The orchestra accompanied, conducted by facial expressions and dance. And so we heard a performance of Alma Llanera by Gutierrez, which I am reliably informed by Wikipedia is derived from a dance called a jaropo and the piece is widely regarded as the unofficial Venezuelan national anthem. The musicians involved gave it their all, as did everyone else on the platform. It was a night to remember.
It was a fitting and hopeful end to a concert that had been introduced as a memorial to the victims of Venezuela’s earthquake, and indeed the victims of Spain’s recent train crash. And let’s not forget the victims of war, no matter where or when.
