Critican sistema de música clásica en Venezuela
(in English also)
En el mundo se lo ha elogiado como un modelo que inspira a jóvenes desfavorecidos al vincularlos con la música clásica.
Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
Sin embargo, un nuevo libro retrata El Sistema, la red de orquestas juveniles de Venezuela, como un “modelo de tiranía” con sesiones de práctica despiadadas y maratónicas que reflejan aparentemente el estilo autoritario y el poder ilimitado de su carismático fundador, José Antonio Abreu.
“El Sistema: Orchestrating Venezuela’s Youth” (El sistema: Orquestando a los jóvenes en Venezuela) es el primer estudio a fondo que pone en entredicho a la institución, cuyo lema de acción social mediante la música ha unido en Venezuela a los conservadores devotos de la música clásica con su gobierno socialista, que ha financiado en los últimos 15 años la ampliación de El Sistema.
El musicólogo y docente en artes Geoffrey Baker, que vive en el Reino Unido, emprendió su investigación después de asistir a una conmovedora presentación —durante la temporada de conciertos de verano de 2007 en Londres— a cargo de la Orquesta Juvenil Simón Bolívar bajo la batuta del alumno más famoso de El Sistema, el niño prodigio Gustavo Dudamel, de 33 años y director de la Filarmónica de Los Ángeles.
Autor de diversos libros sobre música latinoamericana, Baker dijo que su objetivo era facilitar un estudio riguroso sobre las bases intelectuales y organizativas de esta maravilla de la música.
Sin embargo, una vez en Venezuela, Baker se dijo abrumado por los relatos que hicieron integrantes y ex integrantes sobre corrupción al máximo nivel, favoritismos y relaciones sexuales impropias entre maestros y alumnos.
“Como toda institución se presentan problemas… pero que El Sistema tenga un virus es absolutamente falso”, declaró por teléfono el director ejecutivo de El Sistema, Eduardo Méndez, desde Gotemburgo, Suecia, al término de la gira de una de las orquestas por Europa.
Los supuestos abusos que se exponen en el libro de Baker incluyen una amplia gama, desde gritos durante los ensayos hasta relatos de ventajas a cambio de favores sexuales y una orgía de maestros y estudiantes en un lugar de retiro.
Baker dijo que no pudo verificar las afirmaciones y rechazó la solicitud de The Associated Press para tener acceso a sus fuentes confidenciales, lo que sirve para que los partidarios de El Sistema refuercen su postura de refutar las aseveraciones publicadas en el libro.
Baker también dijo que su intención nunca fue investigar el nivel de generalización de los abusos ni del descontento entre los aproximadamente 600.000 menores que estudian en los centros de música ubicados en diversos barrios en el país. Más bien quiso establecer un contrapeso a una excesiva promoción que cree se ha dado a El Sistema, lo cual ha distorsionado la percepción del público al tiempo que lo ha impulsado como marca un modelo de enseñanza en 60 países.
“Todo relato tiene dos partes, pero al momento sólo se ha contado una de El Sistema”, afirmó.
Gran parte de las críticas del autor se centran en Abreu, ex ministro del gabinete que fundó en 1975 lo que se convertiría en El Sistema. Abreu ha ganado numerosos elogios internacionales y desde entonces algunos lo comparan con Juan Pablo II y Nelson Mandela.
Sin embargo, “El Maestro”, como se le conoce en el mundo, es tan temido como querido, afirma Baker. Abreu ha logrado adaptar El Sistema a los nuevos tiempos revolucionarios con puño de hierro y maquinaciones políticas que oscurecen cualquier análisis serio sobre el cumplimiento de la misión social de ese programa.
El autor también culpa a El Sistema de no estar a tono con la tendencia hacia una mayor transparencia y técnicas de enseñanza más innovadoras aplicadas en organizaciones europeas similares.
Afuera de la imponente sede de muros de concreto de El Sistema en Caracas, decenas de músicos que pertenecen a la Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar consideraron intolerables las afirmaciones sobre abusos.
Si bien reconocieron que son fuertes las exigencias en la orquesta, defendieron vigorosamente la visión de Abreu, al que atribuyen la construcción de una de las pocas instituciones que han perdurado en Venezuela.
Ninguno dijo haber sido testigo de algún caso de abuso sexual.
“Es como fútbol americano. Para poder estar en un equipo, tienes que tener una disciplina fuerte. Y el entrenador no dice ‘por favor,’ ‘gracias”’, declaró tajante el contrabajista Abraham Maduro, miembro del sistema de la sinfónica durante 20 años.
Aunque ha atizado una tormenta de fuego la reprobación pública de Baker, que el periódico Guardian difundió por primera vez en una columna, se desconoce si tendrá alguna consecuencia de largo plazo en El Sistema.
Por ahora, El Sistema no muestra señales de que haya perdido impulso. El martes, Abreu se presentó al lado del presidente Nicolás Maduro en la televisión estatal para celebrar la gira europea y revisar el proyecto “Dudamel Hall”, al que diseño el arquitecto Frank Gehry, de Los Ángeles, y el cual cuenta con la financiación del gobierno venezolano.
El maestro de artes Marshall Marcus fue testigo cercano del nacimiento de El Sistema cuando era un músico joven que vivía en Venezuela a finales de la década de 1970, durante el auge de la extracción petrolera.
En 2012, Marcus estableció el Sistema Europe, una red de orquestas juveniles procedentes de 25 países inspirada en el modelo venezolano.
Marcus reconoció que la organización no ha evolucionado al mismo ritmo de su historial de excelencia musical; sin embargo, censuró que Baker no presentara estadísticas cuantitativas y utilizara un tono subjetivo, cargado de emociones, en el que compara El Sistema con el hampa y la esclavitud.
El Sistema quizá se trate de una autocracia, pero ha permitido el florecimiento de miles de personas, afirmó Marcus. Si eso es tiranía, no se le siente de esa manera, agregó. AP
Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
However, a new book portrays System, the network of youth orchestras in Venezuela, as a "model of tyranny" with practice sessions ruthless and marathon apparently reflect the authoritarian style and the unlimited power of its charismatic founder, José Antonio Abreu .
"The System: Orchestrating Venezuela's Youth" (The system: Orchestrating youth in Venezuela) is the first in-depth study that challenges the institution, whose motto social action through music has joined in Venezuela devotees Conservatives classical music with his socialist government, which has funded over the past 15 years the expansion of the system.
The musicologist and teacher in arts Geoffrey Baker, who lives in the UK, launched its investigation after attending a moving presentation -during the summer concert season in London- 2007 by Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra under the baton the most famous pupil System, the child prodigy Gustavo Dudamel, 33, director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Author of several books on Latin American music, Baker said his aim was to facilitate a rigorous study of the intellectual and organizational bases of this wonderful music.
However, once in Venezuela, said Baker was overwhelmed by the stories that made members and former members of corruption at the highest level, favoritism and improper sexual relationships between teachers and students.
"Like any institution are problems ... but the system has a virus is absolutely false," said by phone Executive Director System, Eduardo Mendez, from Gothenburg, Sweden, at the end of the tour of one of the orchestras in Europe .
Abuses assumptions set forth in the book of Baker include a wide range, from screaming during rehearsals up stories advantages in exchange for sexual favors, and an orgy of teachers and students in a retreat.
Baker said he could not verify the claims and rejected the request of The Associated Press to access confidential sources, which serves to supporters System strengthen its position to refute the allegations published in the book.
Baker also said his intention was never to investigate the level of widespread abuses and discontent among the estimated 600,000 children who study music centers located in various districts in the country. Rather, I wanted to establish a counterweight to excessive promotion that believes has been given to the system, which has distorted public perception while promoted as a brand has a teaching model in 60 countries.
"Every story he has two parts, but the moment has only told one of El Sistema" he said.
Much of the criticism of the author focus on Abreu, former cabinet minister who founded in 1975 what would become System. Abreu has won numerous international accolades and since then some compare him to John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.
However, "The Maestro" as he is known in the world, it is feared and loved, says Baker. Abreu has managed to adapt the system to the new revolutionary times with an iron fist and political machinations that obscure any serious analysis of the fulfillment of the social mission of the program.
The author also blames System does not keep pace with the trend towards greater transparency and more innovative teaching techniques applied in similar European organizations.
Outside the imposing headquarters of concrete walls System in Caracas, dozens of musicians belonging to the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar considered the claims of abuse intolerable.
While recognizing that they are strong demands in the orchestra, vigorously defended the view of Abreu, who attributed the construction of one of the few institutions that have survived in Venezuela.
None said he witnessed a case of sexual abuse.
"It's like football. To be on a team, you have to have a strong discipline. And the coach does not say 'please' 'thanks'' said Maduro sharp bassist Abraham, a member of the Symphony system for 20 years.
Although it has fueled a firestorm of public disapproval of Baker, the Guardian newspaper released for the first time in a column, it is unknown whether it will have any long term consequence of El Sistema.
For now, the system shows no signs of having lost momentum. On Tuesday, Abreu appeared alongside President Nicolas Maduro on state television to celebrate the European tour and review the "Dudamel Hall" project, which architect Frank Gehry design, Los Angeles, and which has funding Venezuelan government.
The master of arts Marshall Marcus was close witness the birth of the system when he was a young musician who lived in Venezuela in the late 1970s, during the height of the oil extraction.
In 2012, Marcus Europe established the System, a network of youth orchestras from 25 countries inspired by the Venezuelan model.
Marcus acknowledged that the organization has not kept pace with its history of musical excellence; however, criticized that Baker did not present quantitative statistics and used a subjective tone, full of emotions, which compares with the underworld System and slavery.
The system maybe it's an autocracy, but has allowed the flourishing of thousands of people, Marcus said. If that is tyranny, you will not feel that way, he said.
Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
Sin embargo, un nuevo libro retrata El Sistema, la red de orquestas juveniles de Venezuela, como un “modelo de tiranía” con sesiones de práctica despiadadas y maratónicas que reflejan aparentemente el estilo autoritario y el poder ilimitado de su carismático fundador, José Antonio Abreu.
“El Sistema: Orchestrating Venezuela’s Youth” (El sistema: Orquestando a los jóvenes en Venezuela) es el primer estudio a fondo que pone en entredicho a la institución, cuyo lema de acción social mediante la música ha unido en Venezuela a los conservadores devotos de la música clásica con su gobierno socialista, que ha financiado en los últimos 15 años la ampliación de El Sistema.
El musicólogo y docente en artes Geoffrey Baker, que vive en el Reino Unido, emprendió su investigación después de asistir a una conmovedora presentación —durante la temporada de conciertos de verano de 2007 en Londres— a cargo de la Orquesta Juvenil Simón Bolívar bajo la batuta del alumno más famoso de El Sistema, el niño prodigio Gustavo Dudamel, de 33 años y director de la Filarmónica de Los Ángeles.
Autor de diversos libros sobre música latinoamericana, Baker dijo que su objetivo era facilitar un estudio riguroso sobre las bases intelectuales y organizativas de esta maravilla de la música.
Sin embargo, una vez en Venezuela, Baker se dijo abrumado por los relatos que hicieron integrantes y ex integrantes sobre corrupción al máximo nivel, favoritismos y relaciones sexuales impropias entre maestros y alumnos.
“Como toda institución se presentan problemas… pero que El Sistema tenga un virus es absolutamente falso”, declaró por teléfono el director ejecutivo de El Sistema, Eduardo Méndez, desde Gotemburgo, Suecia, al término de la gira de una de las orquestas por Europa.
Los supuestos abusos que se exponen en el libro de Baker incluyen una amplia gama, desde gritos durante los ensayos hasta relatos de ventajas a cambio de favores sexuales y una orgía de maestros y estudiantes en un lugar de retiro.
Baker dijo que no pudo verificar las afirmaciones y rechazó la solicitud de The Associated Press para tener acceso a sus fuentes confidenciales, lo que sirve para que los partidarios de El Sistema refuercen su postura de refutar las aseveraciones publicadas en el libro.
Baker también dijo que su intención nunca fue investigar el nivel de generalización de los abusos ni del descontento entre los aproximadamente 600.000 menores que estudian en los centros de música ubicados en diversos barrios en el país. Más bien quiso establecer un contrapeso a una excesiva promoción que cree se ha dado a El Sistema, lo cual ha distorsionado la percepción del público al tiempo que lo ha impulsado como marca un modelo de enseñanza en 60 países.
“Todo relato tiene dos partes, pero al momento sólo se ha contado una de El Sistema”, afirmó.
Gran parte de las críticas del autor se centran en Abreu, ex ministro del gabinete que fundó en 1975 lo que se convertiría en El Sistema. Abreu ha ganado numerosos elogios internacionales y desde entonces algunos lo comparan con Juan Pablo II y Nelson Mandela.
Sin embargo, “El Maestro”, como se le conoce en el mundo, es tan temido como querido, afirma Baker. Abreu ha logrado adaptar El Sistema a los nuevos tiempos revolucionarios con puño de hierro y maquinaciones políticas que oscurecen cualquier análisis serio sobre el cumplimiento de la misión social de ese programa.
El autor también culpa a El Sistema de no estar a tono con la tendencia hacia una mayor transparencia y técnicas de enseñanza más innovadoras aplicadas en organizaciones europeas similares.
Afuera de la imponente sede de muros de concreto de El Sistema en Caracas, decenas de músicos que pertenecen a la Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar consideraron intolerables las afirmaciones sobre abusos.
Si bien reconocieron que son fuertes las exigencias en la orquesta, defendieron vigorosamente la visión de Abreu, al que atribuyen la construcción de una de las pocas instituciones que han perdurado en Venezuela.
Ninguno dijo haber sido testigo de algún caso de abuso sexual.
“Es como fútbol americano. Para poder estar en un equipo, tienes que tener una disciplina fuerte. Y el entrenador no dice ‘por favor,’ ‘gracias”’, declaró tajante el contrabajista Abraham Maduro, miembro del sistema de la sinfónica durante 20 años.
Aunque ha atizado una tormenta de fuego la reprobación pública de Baker, que el periódico Guardian difundió por primera vez en una columna, se desconoce si tendrá alguna consecuencia de largo plazo en El Sistema.
Por ahora, El Sistema no muestra señales de que haya perdido impulso. El martes, Abreu se presentó al lado del presidente Nicolás Maduro en la televisión estatal para celebrar la gira europea y revisar el proyecto “Dudamel Hall”, al que diseño el arquitecto Frank Gehry, de Los Ángeles, y el cual cuenta con la financiación del gobierno venezolano.
El maestro de artes Marshall Marcus fue testigo cercano del nacimiento de El Sistema cuando era un músico joven que vivía en Venezuela a finales de la década de 1970, durante el auge de la extracción petrolera.
En 2012, Marcus estableció el Sistema Europe, una red de orquestas juveniles procedentes de 25 países inspirada en el modelo venezolano.
Marcus reconoció que la organización no ha evolucionado al mismo ritmo de su historial de excelencia musical; sin embargo, censuró que Baker no presentara estadísticas cuantitativas y utilizara un tono subjetivo, cargado de emociones, en el que compara El Sistema con el hampa y la esclavitud.
El Sistema quizá se trate de una autocracia, pero ha permitido el florecimiento de miles de personas, afirmó Marcus. Si eso es tiranía, no se le siente de esa manera, agregó. AP
Criticize classical music system Venezuela
In the world it has been praised as a model that inspires young disadvantaged by linking with classical music.Joshua Goodman, Associated Press
However, a new book portrays System, the network of youth orchestras in Venezuela, as a "model of tyranny" with practice sessions ruthless and marathon apparently reflect the authoritarian style and the unlimited power of its charismatic founder, José Antonio Abreu .
"The System: Orchestrating Venezuela's Youth" (The system: Orchestrating youth in Venezuela) is the first in-depth study that challenges the institution, whose motto social action through music has joined in Venezuela devotees Conservatives classical music with his socialist government, which has funded over the past 15 years the expansion of the system.
The musicologist and teacher in arts Geoffrey Baker, who lives in the UK, launched its investigation after attending a moving presentation -during the summer concert season in London- 2007 by Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra under the baton the most famous pupil System, the child prodigy Gustavo Dudamel, 33, director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Author of several books on Latin American music, Baker said his aim was to facilitate a rigorous study of the intellectual and organizational bases of this wonderful music.
However, once in Venezuela, said Baker was overwhelmed by the stories that made members and former members of corruption at the highest level, favoritism and improper sexual relationships between teachers and students.
"Like any institution are problems ... but the system has a virus is absolutely false," said by phone Executive Director System, Eduardo Mendez, from Gothenburg, Sweden, at the end of the tour of one of the orchestras in Europe .
Abuses assumptions set forth in the book of Baker include a wide range, from screaming during rehearsals up stories advantages in exchange for sexual favors, and an orgy of teachers and students in a retreat.
Baker said he could not verify the claims and rejected the request of The Associated Press to access confidential sources, which serves to supporters System strengthen its position to refute the allegations published in the book.
Baker also said his intention was never to investigate the level of widespread abuses and discontent among the estimated 600,000 children who study music centers located in various districts in the country. Rather, I wanted to establish a counterweight to excessive promotion that believes has been given to the system, which has distorted public perception while promoted as a brand has a teaching model in 60 countries.
"Every story he has two parts, but the moment has only told one of El Sistema" he said.
Much of the criticism of the author focus on Abreu, former cabinet minister who founded in 1975 what would become System. Abreu has won numerous international accolades and since then some compare him to John Paul II and Nelson Mandela.
However, "The Maestro" as he is known in the world, it is feared and loved, says Baker. Abreu has managed to adapt the system to the new revolutionary times with an iron fist and political machinations that obscure any serious analysis of the fulfillment of the social mission of the program.
The author also blames System does not keep pace with the trend towards greater transparency and more innovative teaching techniques applied in similar European organizations.
Outside the imposing headquarters of concrete walls System in Caracas, dozens of musicians belonging to the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar considered the claims of abuse intolerable.
While recognizing that they are strong demands in the orchestra, vigorously defended the view of Abreu, who attributed the construction of one of the few institutions that have survived in Venezuela.
None said he witnessed a case of sexual abuse.
"It's like football. To be on a team, you have to have a strong discipline. And the coach does not say 'please' 'thanks'' said Maduro sharp bassist Abraham, a member of the Symphony system for 20 years.
Although it has fueled a firestorm of public disapproval of Baker, the Guardian newspaper released for the first time in a column, it is unknown whether it will have any long term consequence of El Sistema.
For now, the system shows no signs of having lost momentum. On Tuesday, Abreu appeared alongside President Nicolas Maduro on state television to celebrate the European tour and review the "Dudamel Hall" project, which architect Frank Gehry design, Los Angeles, and which has funding Venezuelan government.
The master of arts Marshall Marcus was close witness the birth of the system when he was a young musician who lived in Venezuela in the late 1970s, during the height of the oil extraction.
In 2012, Marcus Europe established the System, a network of youth orchestras from 25 countries inspired by the Venezuelan model.
Marcus acknowledged that the organization has not kept pace with its history of musical excellence; however, criticized that Baker did not present quantitative statistics and used a subjective tone, full of emotions, which compares with the underworld System and slavery.
The system maybe it's an autocracy, but has allowed the flourishing of thousands of people, Marcus said. If that is tyranny, you will not feel that way, he said.
El Sistema: does reality match the rhetoric?
A new in-depth study paints a negative picture of El Sistema, the Venezuelan programme of musical and social education, devised by José Antonio Abreu, that is now being imitated the world over
The Simon Bolivar National Youth
Orchestra during a concert in Berkeley University in San Francisco in
2012 The Orchestra is part of Social Action for Music, conceived by
Venezuelan conductor and composer Jose Antonio Abreu Photo: AFP
11:17AM GMT 24 Nov 2014
16 Comments
A miracle. An inspiration. The saviour of classical
music. These are the breathless terms used to describe El Sistema,
the Venezuelan programme of musical and social education that is now being
imitated the world over. We’re told that it has rescued untold thousands of
poor children from a life of crime on the streets, by enrolling them in a
network of music schools and orchestras across the entire country. It’s
grown from tiny beginning over almost 40 years, thanks to the incredible
energy and devotion of its founder José Antonio Abreu, who is often
described as a saint. The symphony orchestra that forms the cream of El
Sistema regularly tours the world, and is greeted with wild enthusiasm
wherever it appears. The most famous alumnus of the system, Gustavo Dudamel,
now leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and has become one of the
faces of Rolex watches.
Now Geoffrey Baker, an academic at Royal Holloway College, University of
London, has published an in-depth study which claims to reveal a very
different picture. Like many of us, Baker was seduced by the choreographed
joyousness of El Sistema concerts, and Abreu’s inspirational mantras about
the transformative social effects of playing in orchestras. But he noticed
the lack of any hard evidence for these effects, and wanted to find out
whether the reality matched the rhetoric.
Over several years Baker travelled around Venezuela and interviewed dozens of
ex-members of El Sistema. What they say makes for fascinating and disturbing
reading. Some praise the organisation, but many more paint a picture of "discrimination,
nepotism, favouritism, bullying, poor pay and working conditions, strife
between management and teachers, and exploitation of staff and children.”
How was all this so effectively hidden from the outside world? Partly, says
Baker, because foreign observers were too easily seduced by the spectacles
laid on for their benefit by the organisation’s slick PR department. Also
Abreu is a vastly powerful figure, who in Baker’s books comes over as a
combination of old-style South American dictator and Jesuit priest. He has a
fine line in flowery phrases, such as the one that says that a poor child
who is given a violin is no longer poor. “History affords many examples of
poor musicians”, comments Baker tartly.
Abreu’s somewhat Fascist obsession with spectacle has skewed the
organisation’s priorities, says Baker. Some $350million has been spent on
the swanky Caracas headquarters of El Sistema and on foreign tours, while
the much-touted nucleos (regional schools) are starved of resources. These
nucleos, as described by disenchanted members, are more like boot-camps than
educational facilities. Rigid obedience and total dedication are demanded,
and middle-class children are favoured because they fall in with these
demands.
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Baker rightly points the finger at journalists (including myself) who were too
easily seduced by the official narrative. But I wonder whether in his
efforts to fight off one set of preconceptions, Baker hasn’t fallen victim
to another. Baker disapproves of the fact that classical music dominates the
music-making in El Sistema, but concedes that “classical music has
emancipatory potential and an important part to play in music education, if
taught in ethically and educatively sound ways.”
One has to ask: “ethically and educatively sound” by whose criteria? Baker objects to the drilling and discipline of El Sistema, but the uncomfortable truth is that classical music, particularly orchestral music, has always relied on these things. Why did Mozart admire the orchestra at Mannheim so much? Because it was as disciplined as an army.
José Antonio Abreu DAVID ROSE/ELEGRAPH
Like many music academics, Baker is embarrassed by the historical realities of classical music. He’d seemingly like to clean it up and make it fit for polite company, by stressing the aspects of freedom and creativity. But much of the world takes a different view. The reason classical music is booming in China is surely that it offers a top-down model of social cohesion. This may be unpalatable to Western liberal academics, but unfortunately it reflects something very real in classical music itself.
Another thing which bothers Baker is that classical music is an alien import. “Venezuela’s devotion of huge resources to a musical culture implanted by colonialism cannot continue to be brushed under the carpet,” he says in another finger-wagging moment. Again one has to ask – says who? Is this a genuine worry of Venezuelans, or is it Dr Baker bringing his own post-colonial guilt into the picture? My impression of visiting a nucleo is that the kids enjoyed playing Bizet every bit as much as playing arrangements of Venezuelan pop songs. But Baker is suspicious of such enjoyment, comparing it to the pleasure of eating junk food. One catches a whiff of puritanism, determined to root out forms of musical enjoyment that are ideologically unsound.
The most revealing moment in Baker’s book comes early on, in this sentence: “El Sistema has produced some impressive achievements, but the question remains: could it have achieved more had it adopted a more inclusive, forward-looking organisational philosophy, and had it not been defined so closely by Abreu’s personality and preferences?” What Baker seems to be saying is: if only El Sistema had been born in a nice social democracy like Denmark. But it wasn’t. It was born in Venezuela, and had to adapt to the circumstances at hand. If Abreu had adopted the philosophy and methods of a European Western liberal back in 1975, he would have been laughed out of court, and El Sistema wouldn’t exist at all.
One has to ask whether that would be a better result than having El Sistema as it now exists, with all its faults. If the organisation is to move in a more liberal, enlightened direction, it can only be because Venezuelans (all of them, not just the disgruntled ex-members of El Sistema) actually want it to change in that way. Trying to wish it on the organisation from outside is simply colonialism in a different guise.
El Sistema: Orchestrating Venezuela’s Youth by Geoffrey Baker is published by Oxford University Press on 28 November.
One has to ask: “ethically and educatively sound” by whose criteria? Baker objects to the drilling and discipline of El Sistema, but the uncomfortable truth is that classical music, particularly orchestral music, has always relied on these things. Why did Mozart admire the orchestra at Mannheim so much? Because it was as disciplined as an army.
José Antonio Abreu DAVID ROSE/ELEGRAPH
Like many music academics, Baker is embarrassed by the historical realities of classical music. He’d seemingly like to clean it up and make it fit for polite company, by stressing the aspects of freedom and creativity. But much of the world takes a different view. The reason classical music is booming in China is surely that it offers a top-down model of social cohesion. This may be unpalatable to Western liberal academics, but unfortunately it reflects something very real in classical music itself.
Another thing which bothers Baker is that classical music is an alien import. “Venezuela’s devotion of huge resources to a musical culture implanted by colonialism cannot continue to be brushed under the carpet,” he says in another finger-wagging moment. Again one has to ask – says who? Is this a genuine worry of Venezuelans, or is it Dr Baker bringing his own post-colonial guilt into the picture? My impression of visiting a nucleo is that the kids enjoyed playing Bizet every bit as much as playing arrangements of Venezuelan pop songs. But Baker is suspicious of such enjoyment, comparing it to the pleasure of eating junk food. One catches a whiff of puritanism, determined to root out forms of musical enjoyment that are ideologically unsound.
The most revealing moment in Baker’s book comes early on, in this sentence: “El Sistema has produced some impressive achievements, but the question remains: could it have achieved more had it adopted a more inclusive, forward-looking organisational philosophy, and had it not been defined so closely by Abreu’s personality and preferences?” What Baker seems to be saying is: if only El Sistema had been born in a nice social democracy like Denmark. But it wasn’t. It was born in Venezuela, and had to adapt to the circumstances at hand. If Abreu had adopted the philosophy and methods of a European Western liberal back in 1975, he would have been laughed out of court, and El Sistema wouldn’t exist at all.
One has to ask whether that would be a better result than having El Sistema as it now exists, with all its faults. If the organisation is to move in a more liberal, enlightened direction, it can only be because Venezuelans (all of them, not just the disgruntled ex-members of El Sistema) actually want it to change in that way. Trying to wish it on the organisation from outside is simply colonialism in a different guise.
El Sistema: Orchestrating Venezuela’s Youth by Geoffrey Baker is published by Oxford University Press on 28 November.
In
un intervista all'edizione fiorentina del "Corriere della Sera", il
sovrintendente del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Francesco
Bianchi, ha annunciato il ridimensionamento del ruolo di Zubin Mehta nel
futuro della fondazione, perché «un progetto artistico di rilancio del
Maggio non potrà avere lui come unico protagonista». Piu' che di un
direttore principale, il teatro, afferma Bianchi, è ora in cerca di un
vero e proprio direttore musicale capace di condividere il progetto
artistico con il sovrintendente e di garantire una presenza più
continuata. Resta comunque fissata la presenza del direttore indiano,
sembra di capire, per i prossimi impegni già concordati, come il Fidelio
del prossimo festival del Maggio in cui ci sarà anche un Pelléas et
Mélisande affidato a Daniele Gatti e un Giro di vite. L'effetto valanga
dopo quanto successo all'Opera di Roma è ovviamente un timore
universalmente diffuso, ma a Firenze il "fondo salvataggio" del decreto
Valore Cultura di Bray è in arrivo - il piano industriale è stato
presentato per tempo - anche se servirà sostanzialmente a saldare i
debiti pregressi. Di buono c'è, dichiara Bianchi, che qui i sindacati
hanno patteggiato in tempo utile un accordo che dovrebbe ridurre i costi
del lavoro e aumentare la produttività del teatro. Da segnalare anche
la recente nomina a coordinatore artistico di Pierangelo Conte,
proveniente dalla Fenice di Venezia, all'ideazione delle cui ultime
stagioni ha collaborato.
