Barnes & Noble
Lately anointed as a rising star among young maestros, Gustavo Dudamel followed up his victory in the 2005 Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition by broadening his renown with a high-profile, last-minute substitution for an ailing Neeme Järvi at the London Proms. Now, at age 25, comes the Venezuelan conductor's debut recording, and the venerable repertoire he's chosen shows a bold willingness to place his Beethoven interpretations alongside some of the greatest recordings ever made. Dudamel has been music director of Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra since 1999 -- well before he began to attract international attention -- and he seems to have achieved a striking rapport with these musicians. Even if the ensemble won't erase the Berlin Philharmonic from your memory, their responsiveness to Dudamel is striking; they're able to play almost inaudibly in some of the most breathtaking moments of this recording of the Fifth Symphony -- for example, the closing trio of the Scherzo movement -- but they also succeed in building to exciting and sonorous climaxes in both symphonies. Dudamel's version of the Seventh Symphony is in many ways the more satisfying of the two; his youthful vigor gives the work's irrepressible rhythmic energy a run for its money, with an especially furious approach to the finale, but he also makes ample space to showcase the orchestra's fine wind soloists in the symphony's more relaxed moments. With a calling card like this recording in his pocket, Dudamel is perfectly poised to make the leap from promising newcomer to permanent fixture on the classical scene. Scott Paulin
All Music Guide
How could any sane conductor make his recording debut leading Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies? More to the point, how could any sane record label let an almost unknown 24-year-old Venezuelan conductor make his recording debut leading Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies? No matter who he is, he’ll inevitably be compared to everyone who’s ever recorded the works from Arthur Nikisch to Artur Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer and hundreds of others – and who could stand up to that kind of competition?
Gustavo Dudamel, that’s who. The man Claudio Abbado described as “one of the most gifted conductors I have had the pleasure to hear in recent years,” creates performances of central works of the standard orchestral repertoire that can stand comparison with the very best ever recorded. With his Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Dudamel leads performances of blinding clarity, blazing intensity and blistering energy. All the details are firmly in place – listen to the wind and brass crescendos in the Fifth’s opening Allegro con brio or the layers of accompaniment in the Fifth’s Andante con moto – and all the colors are brilliantly realized – listen to the oboe cadenza in the recapitulation of the Fifth’s opening movement or the woodwinds’ shading in the Seventh’s introductory Poco sostenuto. But while these things are crucial to the performances’ success, they pale before the bone deep dedication of the musicians. A very young ensemble, the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra plays Beethoven with unbelievable enthusiasm, commitment and individualism – imagine the Clash playing Beethoven and you have some idea of what to expect. In DG’s clear, clean if not overly warm sound, Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra have given the world a pair of the finest Beethoven symphony recordings ever made, and anyone who loves music, life and love is urged to hear them. James Leonard
All Music Guide
How could any sane conductor make his recording debut leading Beethoven's "Fifth" and "Seventh" symphonies? More to the point, how could any sane record label let an almost unknown 24-year-old Venezuelan conductor make his recording debut leading Beethoven's "Fifth" and "Seventh" symphonies? No matter who he is, he'll inevitably be compared to everyone who's ever recorded the works from Arthur Nikisch to Arturo Toscanini, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer, and hundreds of others. Who could stand up to that kind of competition?
Gustavo Dudamel, that's who. The man Claudio Abbado described as "one of the most gifted conductors I have had the pleasure to hear in recent years," creates performances of central works of the standard orchestral repertoire that can stand comparison with the very best ever recorded. With his Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, Dudamel leads performances of blinding clarity, blazing intensity, and blistering energy. All the details are firmly in place -- listen to the wind and brass crescendos in the "Fifth"'s opening Allegro con brio or the layers of accompaniment in the "Fifth"'s Andante con moto -- and all the colors are brilliantly realized -- listen to the oboe cadenza in the recapitulation of the "Fifth"'s opening movement or the woodwinds' shading in the "Seventh"'s introductory Poco sostenuto. But while these things are crucial to the performances' success, they pale before the bone-deep dedication of the musicians. A very young ensemble, the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra plays Beethoven with unbelievable enthusiasm, commitment, and individualism -- imagine the Clash playing Beethoven and you have some idea of what to expect. In DG's clear, clean if not overly warm sound, Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra have given the world a pair of the finest Beethoven symphony recordings ever made, and anyone who loves music, life, and love is urged to hear them. James Leonard
New York Times
From the [Fifth Symphony's] sinister opening motif through the lyrical second movement to the spirited final allegro, there is a refreshing sense of excitement.... In Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, Mr. Dudamel again elicits gorgeous phrasing from strings and winds. Vivien Schweitzer
Gramophone
A vibrant, glowing Seventh.... The sound is full-bodied and carefully groomed. Richard Osborne
BBC Music Magazine
There’s a scarcely believable freshness and virtuosity in the playing... The opening of the Fifth Symphony is bright and energetic, and all the phrasing and dynamic markings are scrupulously observed. Martin Cotton
San Francisco Chronicle
To listen to these performances is to marvel at the richness of the ensemble sound and to be captivated by the flexibility and nuance with which Dudamel shapes the music's flow. Joshua Kosman
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