Programmatic can-do from the Simón Bolívar

By James Imam, 05 September 2015

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“a typically Classical reading, with their reduced-fat forces fine-tuned to a chamber ensemble”

Reviewed at Teatro alla Scala, Milan on 3 September 2015

Beethoven, Symphony no. 1 in C major, Op.21

Villa-Lobos, Chôros no. 10, "Rasga o Coração"

Estévez, Cantata criolla

Simón Bolívar National Youth Choir of Venezuela

Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela

Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor

Gaspar Colón, Baritone

Idwer Alvarez, Tenor

Grooving with The Dude: the Bolívars make Bernstein and Falla dance

Mark Pullinger, 28th August

Between gigs at Wembley as Coldplay’s support act, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra brings its distinctive brand of infectious music-making to the Southbank.

****1

Simón Bolívar Orchestra and Dudamel celebrate El Sistema

Roy Westbrook, 16th January

An evening of audience roars begins as soon as Gustavo Dudamel first mounts the podium at the Barbican.

****1

An Edinburgh night to remember as Dudamel returns to the Simón Bolívar

David Smythe, 26th August

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel and cuatro player Jorge Glem set the Edinburgh International Festival alight with a mix of Venezuelan music and a terrific Mahler 1.

*****

Dudamel conquers Barcelona with Beethoven

Pep Gorgori, 13th March

In Barcelona, Gustavo Dudamel and Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela continued their Beethoven cycle with performances of the Fifth and Sixth.

*****

Dudamel and the Bolívars: a “socks-on” kind of ensemble

Jacob Slattery, 7th October

Maestro Gustavo Dudamel and the musicians of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra are undoubtedly the most prominent ambassadors for Venezuelan orchestral music today, and they hit the stage on Friday for their second night at Carnegie Hall’s opening weekend.

***11

Cecilia Bartoli as Maria in Salzburg

Jonathan Sutherland, 13th May

A case of “seeing double” in Salzburg, as Cecilia Bartoli brings West Side Story to her Whitsun Festival.

***11

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James Imam

James Imam is an arts journalist writing for publications including The Financial Times, The Times, Musical America and Opera magazine. He grew up in Manchester, read anthropology at Cambridge and has since lived in Milan. As a once-aspiring countertenor he has an abiding interest in Baroque music.

Programmatic can-do from the Simón Bolívar Orchestra at La Scala