Surprise - asking a musician about music
Charlotte Smith
Friday, June 17, 2011
There are few – but there are a few – things in classical music’s recent history that can reasonably be classed with that overused term “a phenomenon”. Of those that would seem to be part of Gramophone’s world, the Three Tenors, Nigel Kennedy’s early rise and Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra would all qualify. Yet arguably even more stirring to the public at large has been the story of Gustavo Dudamel and El Sistema.
I use the word “story” advisedly, for this has been a sensation that has first and foremost been tied to the tale of its own genesis. That is fair enough; who is not moved by the ideals of the Venezuelan system that puts instruments into the hands and musical education into the minds of kids from slums, showing them – playing to them – dreams of a better life?
We have all been stirred by this and we applaud the many places that are now launching similar “sistemas”. I cannot, however, put off the “but” any longer. So here it comes.
But – there is a bit of a disadvantage to all this for those who think Dudamel is as interesting for what he thinks about the music itself as for what he contributes socially to the world through music. Which is that he never gets to talk about it. Almost all the media tend to want to ask him about is El Sistema. That’s dangerous for him, because it takes away any real sense of an interpretative vision, of a through-line to his performances. Then, when the media descend on some big concert with the LA Phil, for instance, it becomes a one-off judgement as far as headline writers are concerned. Put crudely (it often is), it’s “Is he worth the hype?”
Interviews with Dudamel are rare but he was more than happy to sit down for Gramophone with that fine writer Mark Swed (who, as the major LA-based critic, knows Dudamel’s work intimately) to discuss – well, music and almost nothing but. As ever, when you ask a musician about music (it happens to them more rarely than you might think), they light up. The energetic Dudamel probably doesn’t need any more wattage but it is a fascinating and revealing interview.
