United States Bernstein, Beethoven: Key’mon Murrah (countertenor), Hera Hyesang Park (soprano), Rihab Chaieb (mezzo-soprano), Anthony León (tenor), Dashon Burton (bass), Los Angeles Grasp Chorale (creative director: Grant Gershon), Los Angeles Philharmonic / Gustavo Dudamel (conductor). Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, 12.9.2024. (LV)
Bernstein – Chichester Psalms
Beethoven – Symphony No.9, ‘Choral’
On 12 September, thirty minutes after the tip of the presidential debate, Gustavo Dudamel led the Los Angeles Philharmonic by way of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on the Hollywood Bowl. The musical celebration of unity with the divisive political discourse unfolding elsewhere created a backdrop for the night’s efficiency. The complete influence of this considerate programming was considerably diminished by the challenges inherent in outside performances on the venerable amphitheater, and Dudamel centered on temporal vertical parts greater than on arcing cosmic statements, however his constructive method cemented a connection between performers and listeners that transcended any bodily distance.
Countertenor Key’mon Murrah’s heartbreaking solo within the Bernstein and Dashon Burton’s uplifting recitative within the Beethoven had been particularly potent, drawing your complete crowd into intimate musical experiences that appeared to shrink the Bowl’s huge areas. The orchestra and refrain had been highly-polished if anodyne, and among the many soloists who, unusually, didn’t seem on the stage till after the second motion, the boys had been extra highly effective than the ladies. Whereas my artist spouse discovered magnificence and which means in each notice, a buddy visiting from Salzburg’s Mozarteum was equally delighted with the distinctive Hollywood Bowl expertise – full with picnic baskets and large tubs of popcorn.
As all the time on the Bowl, the live performance relied closely on two massive video screens flanking the stage. However in any case these years, the restricted digicam angles and occasional misalignment with the musical focus as soon as once more urged missed alternatives to reinforce the viewers’s engagement with the efficiency. In an period the place visible presentation is more and more necessary, significantly in classical music, this side of the live performance felt underdeveloped – it’s the Hollywood Bowl in any case.
One can not focus on Dudamel and Beethoven’s Ninth with out acknowledging the political context that surrounds him, and the way his sophisticated relationship with Venezuela’s regime invitations reflection on the position of artists in difficult political landscapes. This ‘Furtwängler Second’, as I’ve termed it, whereby nice artists and the general public grapple with their affect (or lack thereof) within the face of political turmoil, felt significantly poignant in opposition to the backdrop of the evening’s concurrent political debate.
As the ultimate triumphant notes of Beethoven’s Ninth pale into the Los Angeles evening, I used to be left with a way of missed connections. A program constructed round themes of unity and shared humanity had been carried out on an evening of political division in a setting that democratizes the classical music expertise. The end result was a live performance that, whereas bold in idea, struggled to completely understand its potential influence.
Laurence Vittes
Featured Picture: Gustavo Dudamel conducting Beethoven’s Ninth on the Hollywood Bowl © Timothy Norris/LA Phil
