Gustavo Dudamel and The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra LP

Gustavo Dudamel has gone on to a major career, including an appointment as principal conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, beginning in 2009. In his third release for Deutsche Gramophone, he leads Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela in a program of Latin American music, plus Leonard Bernstein's Latin-inspired "Mambo" from West Side Story. The collection includes several classic works, like Revueltas' Sensemayá and Ginastera's dances from the ballet Estancia. Revueltas' darkly primal wildness and Ginastera's sophisticated application of European harmonies to his earthy folk-like themes make their works the most sophisticated and musically substantial on the album. Evencio Castellanos' Santa Cruz de Pacairigua is clearly indebted to Ginastera in its rhythmic and harmonic complexity, but it's an attractive piece that's full of surprises. Arturo Márquez's elegant Danzón No. 2, which has been called Mexico's second national anthem, has been widely performed and is deservedly popular. In his Fuga con Pajarillo, Aldemaro Romero manages to create a neo-classical work with a distinctive but subtly Latin-flavored sound. The youthful orchestra plays with the panache and assurance of a professional ensemble. Much of this music is dance-based, and it allows the players to really rock. Dudamel leads them in performances of tremendous energy and exuberance; their reading of the Bernstein is scarily ferocious.

• Classical music
• Gustavo Dudamel
• The Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
• Format LP
• 2 set of Vinyl