VENEZUELA’S GOVERNMENT CANCELS ANOTHER GUSTAVO DUDAMEL TOUR

By MICHAEL COOPER

Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan conductor who is speaking out against his country’s government. Credit Richard Shotwell/Invision, via Associated Press.

The conductor Gustavo Dudamel may well be Venezuela’s most acclaimed cultural export, and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela has come to symbolize that nation’s commitment to social programs and music education for all.

But that did not stop the government of President Nicolás Maduro from canceling the orchestra’s tour of Asia. It was the second Dudamel-led tour to be halted since the conductor criticized the government this summer amid a growing political crisis. The cancellation was announced on Thursday, a week before the tour was set to begin.

“This is a very sad, painful moment for me, for the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, and for my country,” Mr. Dudamel wrote Thursday on Facebook. “We have once again been prevented in our wish to share the remarkable talent and hope of our people with the world.”

The Bolívar orchestra began as a youth ensemble and is made up of musicians who, like Mr. Dudamel, were trained by El Sistema, Venezuela’s expansive music education program. The ensemble opened Carnegie Hall’s season last year, toured Europe last spring, and was to play the full Beethoven cycle at concerts in Taipei, Taiwan; Guangzhou, China; and Hong Kong on the Asian tour.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/12/arts/venezuelas-government-cancels-another-gustavo-dudamel-tour.html