The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra wowed audiences and critics with its first shows at London's Festival Hall on Tuesday, when they began a five day residency.
"Never was an invading army more welcome," said The Independent newspaper's critic Michael Church, noting that the orchestra which took London by storm two years ago in the Royal Albert Hall had had "a glorious start to the residency."
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| Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel (L) instructs the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra during a rehearsal session at the Royal Festival Hall in central London. AFP PHOTO |
"When you have around you life, drugs, crime, the best that you can give to a kid is an instrument. Then they can change their lives," he told the BBC.
The Guardian's critic Erica Jeal gave them the full five stars, saying: "Is this the best orchestra in the world? No. But the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra is classical music's hottest ticket, and with good reason."
For The Times, Neil Fisher also gave five stars, describing the explosive energy, almost like at a football game, as some of the orchestra's 180 players at times let rip with their own clothes.
"To general and mounting hysteria... jackets were ripped off and hurled into the crowd. Were we at the Southbank Centre or San Siro stadium? Sometimes it was hard to tell," he wrote.
Lavishing praise on the conductor, The Guardian's Jeal added: "Would the orchestra be what it is without Dudamel?
"Perhaps it would be more pertinent to put that question the other way around. What is certain is that there is a symbiosis here between conductor and ensemble that is quite electric."
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