A grave firestorm of controversy surrounds Gustavo Dudamel's muted support of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. Sound familiar? It's the product of the youth orchestra program from which Dudamel rose, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic of which he is now Music Director.
The firestorm has swept ahead of Thursday night, when the glamorous young conductor begins to wield his baton over Beethoven's nine symphonies in chronological order on four successive days and nights in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The work will be split between the Philharmonic and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, which along with Dudamel is the most famous product of El Sistema. For the Ninth, the two bands will sit side by side.
Dudamel's crisis of conscience is similar to those that engulfed two other conductors on the international classical music stage, and tainted their reputations: Wilhelm Furtwängler compromised with Hitler, and now Valery Gergiev with Putin.
There is a difference.
For Furtwängler and Gergiev, their constituencies were their families, their co-workers, their country and a belief in culture amidst insanity. Dudamel's constituency are the kids of El Sistema.
Those kids are listening to everything he says. They will understand the words. They will not understand the message.
In talking about Venezuela, Dudamel says that protecting the kids is his primary concern. It sounds right, but he's got it wrong. They don't need protecting any more.
In North America we think El Sistema is about adults rescuing kids.
In Venezuela and Colombia, El Sistema is about kids rescuing their countries, using the tools and training that comes from playing in orchestras.
If Dudamel asked the El Sistema kids in Venezuela, who are so profoundly at risk during this conflict, if they'd want him to conduct his Beethoven cycle and continue on with his career, or return to Venezuela and be with them on some classical music equivalent of a front line, what would be their answer?
Gustavo knows the kids. He must know the answer.
Two days ago, Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov refused an international award because a controversial music writer had received an award from the same organization the previous year. It was an act of courage that will forever define both men.
Dudamel's courage to shout to the world that the violence and injustice in his country must stop could conceivably put his life in danger, along with the kids. One thing he doesn't have to worry about: El Sistema's kids can take it.