Ravinia 2024 Issue 4

of Soviet Music, celebrating the 20th anniver- sary of the October Revolution), it was Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 that brought the audience to its feet. The diminutive, bespecta- cled composer walked onstage dozens of times to acknowledge the thunderous ovation. One audience member, A.N. Glumov, recalled con- ductor Yevgeny Mravinsky’s grandiose, selfless gesture: “[He] lifted the score high above his head, so as to show that it was not he, the con- ductor, or the orchestra who deserved this storm of applause, these shouts of ‘bravo’; the success belonged to the creator of this work.” Symphony No. 5 offered more than “rehabilita- tion”: it was a glorious resurrection for the re- cently beleaguered Shostakovich. His troubles began on January 28, 1936, when Pravda printed an aggressive attack against his latest (and popu- larly acclaimed) opera Lady Macbeth of the Mt- sensk District . Titled “Muddle Instead of Music,” this article condemned the “Leftist confusion instead of natural, human music. The power of good music to infect the masses has been sacri- ficed to a petty-bourgeois, Formalist attempt to create originality through cheap clowning. It is a game of clever ingenuity that may end very bad- ly.” So it did for Shostakovich and other allegedly Formalist composers. The Union of Soviet Com- posers convened in February and publicly de- nounced Shostakovich. This official act of hu- miliation initiated Soviet persecution of progressive artists and musicians that lasted throughout the Stalin years. Shostakovich reclaimed some credibility with his Symphony No. 5, known as “the creative reply of a Soviet artist to justified criticism” (a subtitle belonging to a journalist, not the com- poser). Not all Party officials were convinced by the people’s enthusiasm for the work. Some complained openly at the concert hall that the audience had been hand-selected for the pre- miere, and their ovation was therefore viewed with skepticism. Others doubted that the young composer could “rehabilitate” in such a short Dmitri Shostakovich (1935) period. Shostakovich kept party criticism at bay by announcing plans for a Sixth Symphony, ded- icated to Lenin. Twenty-four years passed be- fore he composed Symphony No. 12 (“The Year 1917”) to Lenin’s memory. In the wake of Soviet censures, Shostakovich cultivated a type of musical “schizophrenia,” wherein he proclaimed public ideals through the symphonic form while submersing his pri- vate thoughts in the string quartet medium. By the end of his life, he had written an equal number of symphonies and quartets—15 of each. The Fifth Symphony retained vaguely au- tobiographical meaning for the composer: “The theme of my symphony is the making of man. I saw man with all his experiences in the center of the composition, which is lyrical in form from beginning to end. The finale is the optimistic solution of the tragically tense moment of the first movement.” Shostakovich’s opening Moderato initially dwells on imitative (i.e., Formalist) treatment of a con- torted theme characterized by melodic leaps, chromatic harmonies, and dotted rhythms. Vio- lins offer the second theme, a slow-moving mel- ody accompanied by long–short–short rhythms in the lower strings. Development begins with an ostinato played by the piano and an ominous descending horn melody. Excitement builds steadily as the music accelerates. A militaristic section enters, complete with snare drum. Close imitation based on the opening theme merges with the fortissimo recapitulation. A flute quiet- ly restates the contrasting theme, and the music fades toward the end. The Allegretto is the scherzo movement. Cellos and double basses begin a triple-meter dance. Woodwinds then introduce enthusiastic dotted rhythms, and the horns add a heroic strain. The trio opens with a solo violin melody. A relative- ly complete version of the scherzo follows. The coda harks back to the trio theme. Reduced instrumentation—lacking brass and most percussion—and subdivided strings rein- force the Largo ’s introspective quality. Shosta- kovich advances several lyrical themes toward the cause of extended symphonic contempla- tion. The march-like final movement explodes with pounding timpani and blaring brass, dis- turbing the slow movement’s sustained tran- quility. Repetitious long–short–short rhythmic patterns build to the loud string and wood- wind theme. A French horn soliloquy restores lyricism to the symphony. Strings sustain this melodious tranquility. The march theme be- gins slowly, then accelerates to the triumphant D-major conclusion. –Program notes © 2024 Todd E. Sullivan GUSTAVO DUDAMEL Gustavo Dudamel is driven by the belief that music has the power to transform lives, to in- spire, and to change the world. Through his dy- namic presence on the podium and his tireless advocacy for arts education, he has introduced classical music to new audiences around the globe and has helped provide access to the arts for countless people in underserved commu- nities. Dudamel currently serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philhar- monic and Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and in 2026, he becomes the Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, continuing a legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. Dudamel is one of the few classical musicians to become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon. His film credits include Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Bernstein’s West Side Story , Star Wars: The Force Awakens , and The Simpsons , and he led the LA Phil with Billie Eilish in the concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles . He has performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, the Academy Awards, and the Nobel Prize concert, and has worked with international superstars Christi- na Aguilera; Ricky Martin; Tyler, The Creator; Coldplay; and others. His extensive discography includes 67 releases and four Grammy Awards. Inspired by his transformative experience as a youth in Venezuela’s immersive musical train- ing program El Sistema, he created the Dudamel Foundation in 2012—which he co-chairs with his wife, actress and director María Valverde— with the goal “to expand access to music and the arts for young people by providing tools and opportunities to shape their creative futures.” In July and August 2022, the Dudamel Foundation brought its Encuentros initiative to the Holly- wood Bowl as part of the 100th-anniversary sea- son, in a two-week intensive global leadership and orchestral training program for young mu- sicians from around the world that culminated in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and a tour with the Orquesta del Encuentro to the legend- ary Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. Gustavo Du- damel is making his first return to Ravinia since his 2018 debut at the festival. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 18, 2024 64 GERARDOGOMEZ(DUDAMEL)