Laurence Olivier said that we wouldn't get people into the theaters until we made them as exciting as football. And that is what Gustavo Dudamel is up to here; on display, the starry fireworks of his Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. When this was recorded, the average age of the musicians was 18 years old, yet they'd all been playing together for at least ten years already. Their fun is infectious, and they also get my vote for the sexiest symphony orchestra alive (with the exception of the bands to whom I've had the good fortune to give tours). The Danzón No. 2, inspired by the national dance of both Cuba and Mexico, and popular as well in Puerto Rico, starts off is a simple melody played first by the clarinet, then brought into laser focus with the oboe. The instruments respond to one another throughout the orchestra in all kinds of wonderful variations and dynamics and finally rendered romantically by this particularly large string section at 4:58. At 6:19, all hell breaks loose and I defy you to watch this and keep still. It is crazy joy and I wish I could bottle it. I turn to this whenever I'm feeling moody blue because this is all kinds of yellow sunlight. It is a soccer match. I wish I was smack in the middle of this orchestra. But I'd watch them from the stands in a fluttering heartbeat. Enjoy.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Jeff's Music Corner. Arturo Márquez - Danzón No. 2
Laurence Olivier said that we wouldn't get people into the theaters until we made them as exciting as football. And that is what Gustavo Dudamel is up to here; on display, the starry fireworks of his Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. When this was recorded, the average age of the musicians was 18 years old, yet they'd all been playing together for at least ten years already. Their fun is infectious, and they also get my vote for the sexiest symphony orchestra alive (with the exception of the bands to whom I've had the good fortune to give tours). The Danzón No. 2, inspired by the national dance of both Cuba and Mexico, and popular as well in Puerto Rico, starts off is a simple melody played first by the clarinet, then brought into laser focus with the oboe. The instruments respond to one another throughout the orchestra in all kinds of wonderful variations and dynamics and finally rendered romantically by this particularly large string section at 4:58. At 6:19, all hell breaks loose and I defy you to watch this and keep still. It is crazy joy and I wish I could bottle it. I turn to this whenever I'm feeling moody blue because this is all kinds of yellow sunlight. It is a soccer match. I wish I was smack in the middle of this orchestra. But I'd watch them from the stands in a fluttering heartbeat. Enjoy.
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