Beethoven, L. Van: Concerto For Violin, Cello And Piano / Mussorgsky, M. P.: Pictures At An Exhibiton Dudamel

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Under the heading "Party in the Felsenreitschule," the Munich daily Munchner Merkur boldly proclaimed: "Venezuela's Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra guests at the Salzburg Festival - and delivers the ...

Under the heading "Party in the Felsenreitschule," the Munich daily Munchner Merkur boldly proclaimed: "Venezuela's Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra guests at the Salzburg Festival - and delivers the biggest audience hit of the summer." Two days after the concert reviewed by the Merkur, the ensemble united its massive forces once again for a spectacular concert in the Grosses Festspielhaus - another unqualified success! Rarely has an orchestra reached out and grabbed its audience in such a visceral manner; and even more rarely has such a feat been accomplished by an orchestra of youngsters between the ages of 12 and 26! The Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra, the Salzburg Festival's resident orchestra of 2008, is a product of the "Sistema de Orquestas" set up to allow children of all social levels to learn a musical instrument and play in an ensemble. Today, 250,000 youths are learning from 15,000 instructors and playing in over 120 youth orchestras and nearly 60 children's orchestras. Some of the Sistema's finest players were picked to form the S.B.Y.O. to work in Salzburg with such outstanding musicians as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Martha Argerich. Documenting their activity there is the program "School for the Ear" featuring works by Beethoven and Mahler. Conducting the present concert is the Sistema's most celebrated alumnus, Gustavo Dudamel, born in 1981. The young maestro, who was appointed chief conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, is, in the words of the Salzburg Festival's music director, Markus Hinterhauser, "the most charismatic conductor since Leonard Bernstein." The concert opens with Beethoven's sparkling Triple Concerto. The distinguished soloists are Martha Argerich (piano), Renaud Capuçon (violin) and Gautier Capuçon (cello). Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's monumental Pictures at an Exhibition forms the second part of the concert, in which "Dudamel channels his juvenile forces into a compelling flow with dynamic gestures" (Der Standard). The young conductor proved that "he has an extraordinary talent not only to stimulate his players, but also to accompany creatively and imaginatively" (Die Presse).

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