All shall have prizes? Not Dudamel, surely…
OrchestrasThe Glenn Gould Foundation is to award its 14th annual Glenn Gould Prize to the conductor Gustavo Dudamel at Carnegie Hall on August 2.
According to the press release: ‘the presentation coincides with Carnegie Hall’s World Orchestra Week (WOW!), a celebration of extraordinary youth ensembles from around the globe. On this day, Dudamel will conduct the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela.
Some mistake, surely?
Giving an award to the envoy of a notorious militarist regime that has just stolen an election seems … inadvisable.
The Gould people need to have a quick rethink.
Gabriela Montero has a better moral compass
Dudamel is an outspoken critic of Maduro.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/04/venezuela-gustavo-dudamel-attacks-maduro
Norman, I applaud your stance and, on behalf of the many Venezuelans in my life, including those we have adopted as refugees from the crisis, I thank you for it wholeheartedly. It is the just position to take.
Maduro owns the CNE, the electoral council, so he has predictably declared himself the winner of an election that denied the main opposition candidate the opportunity to run. He is an ally of Putin and a supporter of the Ukraine war. His military is now armed by russian, iranian and chinese weapons. He hosts chinese signals intelligence outfits on his territory. He welcomed four russian naval ships earlier this month, following their visit to neighboring Cuba, in whose image modern Venezuela is cast. He is not our friend.
The individual children of the National Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela are innocent, and it is the optics of innocence itself that repeatedly shields the regime from criticism of its well-oiled propaganda apparatus, since targeting the propaganda motive of a youth orchestra is considered “punching down”. But this El Sistema orchestra, as a collective entity, is an instrument of the regime, a weapon of soft power owned, funded and administered by a regime ministry. On its board sits the former propaganda minister Delcy Rodriguez and Maduro’s own son, Nicolasito. Hosting Dudamel and this orchestra, or any El Sistema orchestra, is no more morally acceptable today, given the geopolitical landscape, than hosting the Mariinsky under Gergiev – unless your moral barometer is set so low as to require the military invasion of a neighbor to urge you into action.
I strongly urge promoters, agents and concert halls to rethink their relationship with Venezuelan regime entities, as they have their relationship with Russian entities and supporters of Putin. The orchestras of El Sistema have no place in Carnegie Hall, or any other hall outside of Venezuela. The reputational risk to those who continue to do business with these entities is growing, especially in light of the most recent election fraud and Venezuela’s military ties with enemies of the west. Now is the right time to sever ties, until Venezuela can be return to democratic governance, and the children of Venezuela are free to serve music, rather than the cynical propaganda mission of a criminal regime.
Well stated, Sam!
MYOB, you are not the master of Venezuela. Unlike the US, not assassination attempts on US backed candidates.
Très bien dit!!! J’adore! Merci
Dudamel is a traitor to the people of Venezuela and in the pocket of the regime of Maduro .. whist I feel sorry for the kids he must be barred internationally..
Venezuelans don’t want Anglosaxon masters. The Bank of England has stolen 33 tones of its gold.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said.
Music can save the world. Children are the future and path to peace. Think about it. If Trump continued his music studies as a child, if he didn’t punch his teacher in the face, if he spent time in a band, choir or orchestra…he would be a different man. It is a noble endeavor to conduct this youth orchestra. Saving the world note by note. THAT is worthy of awards and notice.
Isn’t it Robert DeNiro who does face punching?
Is Dudamel really an ‘envoy’ of Maduro? He is, to my knowledge, quite quiet about Venezuelan politics—which might be wrong, but is conceptually different from openly supporting the régime.
El Sistema is run out of the Venezuelan president’s office and Dudamel is its musical director, so yes, he is an envoy of Maduro.
So many illiterates about: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/04/venezuela-gustavo-dudamel-attacks-maduro
“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
Stick with music. That’s what we want here. Politics and opinions are ubiquitous.
Sadly, music and politics go hand-in-hand in Venezuela, since the regime owns El Sistema. That is the point here.
Shock! Horror! Neither Glenn Gould Foundation nor Carnegie Hall agree with you, Norman!
He is a great conductor brings happiness to millions of people Stop mixing politics with everything it’s bad enough in sport. Well done Glenn Gould foundation Bravo.,
Have Gabriela Montero and Gustavo Dudamel performed together in the last two decades? Earlier?
Many times together, but not since 2010, when they played Rhapsody in Blue together with the LA Phil. Sadly, their political postures are simply incompatible, and they have not worked together since. It is a great shame, because GD would have been a phenomenal accompanist to her Piano Concerto, the “Latin”.
But it’s the Dude, he has great curly hair, so he can get a free pass…
What is there not to like about the election? Voters were so enthusiastic that the turnout exceeded 109%, I am told.
Plus, the wonderful political developments should not distract from the fact that El Sistema has been accused of systematic child abuse.
Anglosaxon lies. Venezuelans don’t want Anglophone masters ruling over them using local traitor.
The honor of the Glenn Gould Prize will be greatly diminished. We live in a historical moment where it is impossible to separate the man from his work. To award GD for his incredible career is also to applaud his complicity not only with the abuses of the Chavez government but also with the crimes against humanity of Nicolas Maduro’s regime.
This has nothing to do with the incredible feat of “El Sistema”. This has to do with a man who decided not only to turn his back on freedoms, human rights, etc, but to be the face of a propagandistic system. And that man is GD.
Conditions for receiving the Glenn Gould Prize:
-Transcendent artistry: Let just say only artistry
-Innovation: Perhaps
-Influence on a given artistic discipline or the culture at large: Maybe
-Humanitarian achievements: NOT WHEN YOU ARE AN ALLY OF A CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT.
Dudamel was named as the winner of this prize almost two years ago. Has it taken this long to deliver it?
https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2022/09/26/scoop-gustavo-dudamel-awarded-glenn-gould-prize-2022/
Yes, even Dudamel. But don’t call me Shirley.
The United States, the wannabe master of Venezuela, has been on war with Venezuela since when Chavez was elected. No Venezuelan wants to vote for a United States chosen “opposition” candidate. Everyone knows that the US wants Venezuela’s vast oil for itself.
Why shouldn’t the US have the Venezuelan oil? Since most of the people of Venezuela have moved to the USA, because of the enlightened and benevolent socialist dictators, with Gus Dudamel, it seems only right that the USA get the oil as well.
Duh!
Dudamel is an envoy for the music and the students.
He was named a laureate of the Glenn Gould Prize two years ago. Last night’s outstanding concert at Carnegie Hall was the first time he was able to accept it. Busy man.
And in his remarks he looked at the orchestra and the students and said ‘this is what Veneuzuela can be’
Wake up.