GUSTAVO DUDAMEL The Liberator (Original Soundtrack)

World renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s first-ever original musical composition for the screen, The Liberator – Libertador brings immediacy and passion to the life story of one of history’s great men. The timeless story of a people’s struggle for independence is brought to sumptuous life in The Liberator. Dudamel, who consulted with film score master John Williams in the preparations for writing the music, describes his score as “atmospheric, post-Mahlerian music, full of tension, hope and struggle.”

The Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and guests from the world of Venezuelan folk music lend the score a distinctive Latin American flavor.  On July 31st. The Suite from Libertador will have its world premiere at the Hollywood Bowl, under the baton of Dudamel himself with the LA Philharmonic.

Directed by Alberto Arvelo, The Liberator – Libertador is billed as one of the largest independent film productions ever to come out of South America, and stars Édgar Ramírez (Carlos, Zero Dark Thirty). Ramírez plays iconic South American hero, Simón Bolívar. Bolívar fought over one hundred battles against the Spanish Empire in South America and rode over seventy thousand miles on horseback. His military campaigns covered twice the territory of Alexander the Great. His army never conquered – it liberated.

“Gustavo originally arrived to this project as musical advisor. Sometime later, he said he had come up with a melody that could work for the start of the film. He went to the piano and began playing the melody. When he finished playing, I think both of us realized that he had begun composing our soundtrack,” commented Arvelo, explaining the evolution of the score.

Early press buzz is building for the film.  Variety said it’s “Impressively scaled” and “makes history seem alive!”  The Hollywood Reporter called it “epic and absorbing.” (07/23/2014)

Hilary Hahn IN 27 PIECES (The Hilary Hahn Encores)

Encores are addictive. Witty, moving, and challenging, they have been offered to enthusiastic audiences by the greatest musicians throughout history. The majority of the encores that we violinists learn today were shaped by the performers who preceded us. Their pieces are our classics. With so many to choose among, you might wonder why I am adding more. Toward the end of the twentieth century, those marvelous old chestnuts enjoyed a revival by way of remastered historical recordings, new albums, and printed collections. Contemporary encores, however, were not featured, nor were they commissioned with any frequency. I was intrigued by the future of the genre and how composers might wish to redefine the form. When I pictured a novel set of favorite miniatures catching on – pieces crafted by today’s minds – the idea of a commissioned-encores project planted itself in my head. The problem was that I had no starting point and couldn’t anticipate where such an undertaking would lead me. “Begin anywhere” is a famous nugget of advice from John Cage. I “began anywhere” multiple times, over the course of several years. One day, it dawned on me that I’d been agonizing over what I was supposed to do, instead of following my instincts. I sat down to revisit contemporary music that had been recommended to me. arked in front of my computer, I looked up each composer and clicked on links to their repertoire, colleagues, and influences. Mesmerized by the wealth of creativity I found, I listened for hours, until the sun started to rise. Uncovering works that I’d never imagined existed was intoxicating. In the months that followed, amply fueled by tea and chocolate, I searched every source I could, devouring sound samples available online. When a piece grabbed me, my breath would catch, and the urge to collaborate with that composer on this project was visceral. Then it was time for the next step. I made more than two dozen nerve-wracking cold calls to composers I hoped would create new encores. It was impossible to predict how anyone would respond. As it turned out, every conversation introduced me to a fascinating person. Twenty-six composers signed on. I gave them two parameters: each piece should be under five minutes and for acoustic violin and piano. (If an interpretation were to stretch a minute here and there, that would be alright.) (Hilary Hhan)