Public toleration for the idea of war with Venezuela is fed by propaganda about dictatorship, drug cartels, and general cultural backwardness. When José Antonio Abreu established “El Sistema” in Venezuela in 1975,
offering free musical education, and participation in orchestral rigor to thousands of disadvantaged young people, it was seen by some as revolutionary, as if coming out of nowhere. It was revolutionary, and it gave the LA Philharmonic (and soon, the NY Philharmonic) its musical director, Gustavo Dudamel. But; it did not come out of nowhere.
Actually the nation, and Ibero America as a whole, has a long tradition of classical music, some of it excellent, and many of the composers participated in patriotic movements, although that is too complex a matter to sort out here.
Let us sample some of Venezuela’s beautiful classical music spanning over a century, and centering in Caracas
1. Juan Manuel Olivares This work for chorus, orchestra and soloist depicts Mary, mother of Jesus, weeping at the crucifixion. Stabat Mater-1791
2. José Ángel Lamas A setting of Mica 6:4 for chorus, orchestra and soprano solo. Populo Meus -1801
3. Lino Gallardo, a student of Olivares, known as Venezuela’s Haydn. A patriotic song: Cancion Americana-1811
