For the second of three concerts at Carnegie Hall, the LA Philharmonic included the New York premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s Dznot, the Mayan word for abyss or sinkhole and was inspired by the ‘cenotes’, a naturally occurring subterranean system of caves and rivers common throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. A primary source of freshwater for the ancient Maya people, they were regarded as sacred sources of life. Ortiz’s shimmering and intricate cello concerto is both an evocation of place and a protest piece – a call to preserve ecosystems threatened by climate change, deforestation and ecological destruction.
The half-hour work is venturesome for both the orchestra and the soloist. Each of its four movements reflects an aspect of nature unique to the sinkholes and their spiritual significance. In the first, Luz vertical, a series of bright upward runs by the ensemble accompanied by a spiraling melody from the cello conjure up a sparkling underwater landscape permeated by beams of sunlight. In El ojo del Jaguar (The Eye of the Jaguar), the cello suggests the agility and elegance of the fleet-footed feline. Jade, conveys the sounds and shifting green colors of subterranean rivers and caves, and in vuelo de Toh (The Flight of the Toh Bird), the music soars freely in hopes that the melancholic songbird will survive the threats to its existence.
Dudamel and the orchestra brought the bold and complex score to life with robust energy and commitment, and there were many moments when Alisa Weilerstein displayed astonishing virtuosity. With her customary pluck and passion, she was undaunted by the challenging writing navigating it with ease and confidence – lines at the very top of the cello’s range, gently flowing phrases, frantic pizzicato passages, finger-warping double stops – and reveled in visceral interplay with the orchestra.
The second half of the program was taken up by a semi-staged performance of Mendelssohn’s celebrated score for Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fortunately, most of the extramusical add-ons were done with a light hand, limited to a couple of black boxes for the narrator (Dudamel’s wife, actress María Valverde) to occasionally recline on, and a video by Albert Arvelo comprised of 18th- and 19th-century paintings inspired by the play, and a few clips from Max Reinhardt’s 1935 film version. Discretely amplified, Valverde’s graceful movements and seductive voice brought the characters vividly to life in Spanish while English supertitles were projected onto the rear wall of the stage.The orchestra delivered a splendid performance of Mendelssohn’s magical music. Highlights included the gossamer-like violins in the Overture and Scherzo, the eloquent horn-playing in the Nocturne, the brisk and joyful Wedding March, and the buoyant Bergomask Dance, with the vocal elements superbly sung, in English.
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