Oct. 05--Upon hearing the news of Napoleon declaring himself emperor of France in 1804, Beethoven supposedly flew into a rage and violently scratched out the dedication on the manuscript of his new Bonaparte Symphony. Beethoven's Third -- the symphony that changed music through its radical scale and the conviction that symphonic music could serve as a force for narrative and democracy -- became, instead, the "Eroica," an idealistic exhortation for the overthrow of oppression.
In terms of conveying the immediacy of Beethoven's revolutionary conviction, this was the most convincing performance I have encountered live or via recording or broadcast. That is not to say any performance, however stirring, could be the greatest; such a superlative trivializes the cultural and musical depths of a great work. What was on display here, though, was an incomparable sense that this is music that matters, and the way to show that it matters is to play it with the commitment of an overwhelmingly disciplined and efficient army, inflamed with passion, undefeatable as it marches into noble, necessary battle.
SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts Culture newsletter >>
But the ensemble virtuosity is greater than ever. These are symphonies that the musicians have been playing together since they were kids, and the notes are in their muscles the way movement is in the muscles of ballet dancers. They watch and react to one another almost as much as they do the conductor.
Dudamel's secret for keeping the players a loyal band appears to be shock therapy along with acting as a supplier of a high-grade adrenaline stimuli. The impact of the sudden first two chords of the "Eroica" got everyone's attention; orchestra and audience were instantly in Dudamel's hands. By the time he reached the end of the Eighth, the next evening, the adrenaline rush had taken full effect.
Dudamel has given us compelling performances of the famously forceful Fifth Symphony and the seductively luminous Sixth ("Pastoral") with the L.A. Phil. At Saturday's matinee, the playing was beyond reproach.
mark.swed@latimes.com
------
Beethoven symphony cycle
Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
When: Ends Sunday
Tickets: $26.50-$213.50
Info: (323) 850-2000 or www.laphil.org
