DVD: Abbado conducts the Sinfónica de la Juventud Venezolana Simón Bolívar

Sinfónica de la Juventud Venezolana Simón Bolívar | Claudio Abbado | Anna Prohaska

Sergej Prokofjew
Scythian Suite, Op. 20
Alban Berg
Lulu Suite
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 Pathétique

(Recording: Lucerne, März 2010)

'El sistema' is the name given to Venezuela's network of music schools and orchestras which allows children and young people from the poorest strata of society to obtain a solid musical education, promoting their advancement and lending meaning to their lives. 'El sistema' has attracted admirers from all over the world – including Claudio Abbado. Time and again he travels to Venezuela to work with the Sinfónica de la Juventud, the national youth orchestra that combines the best the system has to offer. But experiencing Abbado and the Simón Bolívar Orchestra together in concert is a rarity in Europe. Maestro Abbado demands the utmost from his protégés. The concert opens with Prokofiev's highly virtuosic 'Scythian Suite', after which Abbado leads the young musicians to Alban Berg and the distant worlds of the Second Viennese School. Finally they celebrate Tchaikovsky's autobiographical 'Pathétique' Symphony, where the 'deep Russian soul' mingles with South American ésprit.