EIF: LAPO, Beethoven and Ortiz

Usher Hall, 14/8/2026

 LA Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel (conductor)

 Beethoven and Ortiz

 This enormously anticipated concert given by the LA Philharmonic with their charismatic conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, did not disappoint.

I first encountered the fiery 45-year old Venezuelan some time ago when he conducted Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ at the EIF, in a performance of elan and rhythmic brilliance, marking him out as a true global superstar.  Certainly, the response of tonight’s sold out audience was worthy of a pop star.

This was the first of a three-concert residence at the EIF this year, and it got off with a bang in Beethoven’s wonderful 7th Symphony. This is my favourite of Beethoven’s symphonies, and I just love its ecstatic joie de vivre, modifying the view of Beethoven as a desperate, tragic figure. From the almost mysterious opening, soon bursting into life, full of energy, through the twinkling allegretto and the boisterous scherzo, to the whirlwind exuberance of the finale, the 7th maintains an almost manic delight in movement which marks it out from almost everything in the repertoire. This excitement seemed tailor-made for Mr Dudamel and his fabulous orchestra. His conducting style is flamboyant, but not distractingly so, always at the service of the music, and there were numerous felicities in the orchestration I hadn’t heard before.

They launched into the finale with gusto and brio, fast but controlled, and the audience was swept along to the end, culminating in a great roar, as the pent-up energy of the movement was released in an exultant climax.

Follow that, one might say, and after the interval, I found myself slightly deflated by the fascinating but uncompromising experience of hearing the Scottish premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s ‘Revolución Diamantina’, a bold response to the 2019 feminist uprising in Mexico. Here, I am afraid, once again, I must complain about the paucity of information provided by the EIF’s flimsy and inadequate programmes. We were offered a free-sheet telling us the programmes of the three concerts in the residency, and frankly little else. There were bits of waffle about festivals past and present, marketing mottos and slogans, a list of benefactors, and precisely no information whatsoever about the works we were hearing.

A big orchestra was augmented by eight amplified women singers (excellent members of the Los Angeles Master Chorale), who, mainly wordlessly, added an extra layer. Surtitles hinted at a story, or plot, but gave no real account of the fact that, in August 2019, a march took place in Mexico City to denounce violence against women, in which pink glitter was thrown on historical monuments in the capital. Gabriela Ortiz has produced a drama in music over 6 acts – The Sounds Cats Make, We don’t love each other, Borders and Bodies, Saying the Unspeakable, Pink Glitter and All – in a piece of extraordinary orchestration, with a huge percussion section including cowbells, tam tams, river stones, Thai gongs and vibraslap, and, fascinatingly, a left handed harp!

It was a terrific performance with Mr Dudamel steering us through the intricacies of the score. Ms Ortiz came on at the end to great acclaim, and a splendidly younger than average audience whooped with delight as their hero returned for more applause.