Gabriela Montero is a Venezuelan pianist and composer with an international career, by far the most successful of her generation. She has lived abroad for more than a decade, repulsed the cruelties of the Hugo Chavez dictatorship – under which almost 20,000 citizens were murdered last year and many others jailed without trial.
Two years ago, Gabriela composed a protest work for piano and orchestra, Ex Patria, and performed it in Europe. She has now taken the protest one step further to Youtube in a mini-doc made by the singer and actor, Sam McElroy. Watch, and let your eyes be opened.
” repulsed the cruelties of the Hugo Chavez dictatorship – under which almost 20,000 citizens were murdered last year”
Sorry but that’s nonsense. There were almost 20,000 murders/homicides in Venezuela, but that’s not based on the Chavez regime’s cruelty.
The violence is a by-product of the regime’s varied illegalities – legalised theft, jail without trial, institutional corruption.
Thank you for the clarification, Norman. Without it, your entry is misleading.
Oh, sure, it takes real courage to write a pseudo-post-romantic piano concerto and dramatically dedicate it to some murdered people in one’s country in order to gain worldwide attention. I find it almost indecent.
Besides, there is a slight inconsistency here, Mr Lebrecht : you speak with much enthusiasm of Mr Dudamel and El Sistema. But not only El Sistema would never have been possible without Chavez’s political and financial support, but moreover El Sistema is a clear propaganda tool for the Chavez regime. SO yu can’t in the same time say “boo! evil Chavez!” and praise one of the key instruments of legitimation of his dictatorship.
One may think badly of Chavez regime, and I am not fan myself. But there is a difference between a government that kills thousands of people (you want an example? Bachar!) and a government which, through negligence and inaction against crime, let people get murdered (Mexico, for instance). If you want to hold Chavez accountable for those 20 000 murders, then you have to hold Calderon accountable for drug-related casualties in Mexico. You make it sound as if Chavez had killed those people himself. As for “legalised theft, jail without trial, institutional corruption”, you have to prove that their is a causal link between their alleged existence and those murders.
PS Gabriela Monteiro is a fine pianist, one of the finest of her generation. But she should refrain both from such cheap sensationalism and from composing.
Matthieu,
I would normally not respond to an opinion simply on the grounds that it is a contrary one, given that I will never please all of the people all of the time, but given the caustic tone of your post, with its many misunderstandings of Venezuela and of my motives, I feel obliged to reply, by way of clarity, if not defense.
Let me say, first of all, that El Sistema has existed for 36 years. Hugo Chavez inherited it, like he inherited the oil reserves. He is savvy enough to know that NOT supporting it would be a huge PR blow to him. He has no interest in classical music whatsoever, in fact, sees it as synonymous with the middle and educated classes he so despises.
As an anecdotal example of the government’s irreverence towards music, the artifacts belonging to the museum of the great Teresa Carreño were, after many years of being lovingly cared for as national treasures, dumped to rot in the damp basement of the Teatro Teresa Carreño. Nothing remains of them, as far as I have been able to find out. Classical music is NOT a priority of the Bolivarian Revolution!!
So, you need to separate the Sistema from Chavez, because they are two entirely different entities.
Venezuelans understand why I wrote ExPatria. Just read the comments on YouTube and you will learn exactly what it means for the Venezuelan people that somebody has written a piece that portrays in music the violence, brutality, theft and corruption that has become part of our daily landscape in recent years. I never mention Chavez in this film, I simply protest at the human cost of the lawlessness which has taken over the country. 19,336 murders last year is simply not acceptable, either as acts OR omissions on the part of the government, and have made Venezuela the third most dangerous country on earth after Honduras and El Salvador. The duty of a government is to ensure a safe and civil society for its members, and it has failed, catastrophically. This is what I protest, and I make no apology for it!!
To say that I wrote this piece for self-promotion, and that I use these statistics for my benefit, is simply beyond acceptable and an intolerable accusation. If self-promotion and personal gain were my aim, I would be writing mindless jingles for TV, not risking my own security and that of my family to speak out against this uglier side of humanity. If you had friends and family who were victims of this chaos and violence, you would understand my point exactly, and would not have the insensitivity to doubt my motives. If anything, writing this piece will make my life more difficult. For reasons of security, I can not return to Venezuela for some time because of this and other statements I have made publicly. This is the greatest cost and my deepest regret.
ExPatria was also financed entirely from my own personal savings, and I have no expectations to recover my investment!
As for my role as a composer, I have been composing all my life, only in real time in front of audiences. My idioms are not taken from text books, but come directly from whatever emotional source produces them on any given day. This piece is primarily about the theft and corruption of innocence, by militant characters, parenthesised by a personal lament in the slow section. With that clue in mind, perhaps you can listen to it again and cast aside whatever pseudo-analysis you wish to impose upon it!
Of course, I do not ask that you like it! But I do ask that you try to hear what I am telling the listener, perhaps unaware, about the dire situation faced by the people of Venezuela.
Respectfully,
Gabriela Montero
Ms. Montero,
I have big respect for you as a musician taking a political stance, while most of your colleagues having a career present and past often avoid taking sides (there even is a movie about Furtwängler with the title “Taking sides” IIRC).
While I do not have insight into the Venezuelan society, I do know a lot of people from the old Iran, where something comparable happened when the Shah was toppled, the Mullahs took over and much of the upper class and upper middle class, who had a good life under the Shah, had to go into exile or face social demotion.
If you could tell us more about your personal experiences in Venezuela, your background and what the level of criminality and corruption was before the Chavez regime rose to power (why was Chavez elected in the first place?), then maybe it would help us outsiders a lot to build a differentiated opinion about your fascinating home country.
It’s ok if you don’t answer, since I would not advise people with a public image to engage in internet discussions. I myself prefer to use a anonymous moniker so I can enjoy freedom in the debate.
All the best to you.
Dear Mrs. Monteiro,
I was by no means intending to be offensive. My point is the following.
1° Let us assume arguendo that Mr Chavez’s regime is as close to being a dictatorship as it gets. If it is the case, you cannot both praise El Sistema and boo the dictator. I know, since I have seen many a hagiographic documentary on Dr Abreu, that El Sistema (which is an excellent initiative, by the way. I have nothing to say against it!) existed well before Mr Chavez’s presidency. But, it has considerably extended ever since he assumed power, and it is only during his administration that it gained worldwide fame and recognition. But this is hardly my point : my point is that it is clear that, despite its merits, El Sistema also serves as a propaganda tool for Mr Chavez: the “Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra” : this name does sound chavez-esque! So do the players dressed in a uniform representing the venezualian flag, and so on.
2° I do not see the beginning of a proof that those murders (which are a terrible thing, I grant you that) are linked in a direct way to Chavez’s actions. Incantations do not suffice.
3° Writing a musical piece “for a just cause” (whatever the cause) is somewhat treacherous : if you don’t like Chavez, you will feel compelled to like the concerto — qua musical object — (cf. Mr Bergher below); if you don’t like the concerto, then you must be pro-Chavez. So here is the dilemma : either the piece is musically meaningful without reference to the political background, or it is not: if it is, then the political background is useless, if it is not, then you are looking for recognition as a propagandist, not a musician (and one may ask why you were compelled to write a musical piece rather than e.g. a non-fiction book).
4° As for the reality of the Chavez regime, I agree with Wanderer that nothing is black or white.
Respectfully, and with all my admiration for your tremendous career (and wide repertoire!)
I don’t think those reasons are much related to the surging crime rates under the Chavez regime. What might be of higher impact is that the governmental and judicial pressure on the poor classes (4/5th of all crime is committed by the poor there) has been lifted, since Chavez gets his electoral justification from there. In other words the poor have been encouraged, but they had not time yet to develop a sense of responsibility and community since then.
Besides that US related drug crime and Latin American corruption are other factors that play a role regardless of Chavez.
Regarding the comment about Dudamel and El Sistema: Dudamel entered El Sistema before Chavez rose to power. Abreu managed to steer El Sistema through many different administrations.
I join the shocked voices about this article. Can we always take a musician’s political opinions at face value without any objectivity or questioning? This week Le Monde Diplomatique (Spanish edition) had an article about the presidency of Chavez and commented on his reduction by half of infant mortality, eradication of illiteracy, increasing five fold the number of teachers, after Cuba it has the highest number of students in higher education (83%) putting it fifth in the world and above USA, Japan, China, UK, France and Spain. The article goes onto mention the pension for all workers including informal, a raising of the minimum salary and other achievements. I myself do not know that much about Venezuela, but I would prefer to take the words of a Le Monde Diplomatique reporter with a pinch of salt than those of a pianist about whom I have no background information. I know as much as to know there are many complicated interests at stake in a region that has oil and with the little that I know of Latin American politics. I would not turn to Lang Lang to teach me a lesson about politics in China without understanding more about his personal position. Would we want Nigel Kennedy to give us our update of UK current affairs? Let’s not get all romantic and light-weight about “Latin America” as if we are reading a novel. Such simplicity is neither good for true art or politics.
Please don’t even mention Lang Lang in the same sentence as Gabriela Montero. Please familiarize yourself with the breadth and depth of her musicianship. As for Nigel Kennedy, perhaps he’d have some keen insights on British politics, however his potty mouth is a poor substitute the eloquence of Ms. Montero.
” I myself do not know that much about Venezuela, but I would prefer to take the words of a Le Monde Diplomatique reporter with a pinch of salt than those of a pianist about whom I have no background information.”
Such arrogance – this cow would rather believe a hack writing in a lefty newspaper than someone who actually comes from Venezuela.
I am neither a cow or arrogant, perhaps not eloquent enough for some commenters, however writing from Argentina where thousands and thousands of people did disappear in a dirty war, I am concerned that this political protest has come over in a black and white way (as others have also mentioned). The right, the need to express political concerns within art of course always should be valorised, however it comes with a lot of responsibility and here perhaps the danger is that it comes over in an easily misunderstood way, and this is what I questioned in an honest attempt to admit I don’t know the whole story (I’ve never been to Venezuela but have been for many years in Argentina), and that my personal sensation was that the political message was not clear, perhaps this is because I was only reading the brief version that appeared on Slipped Disc. I agree that Ms Montero is brave to talk about politics and I sincerely hope that through raising these issues that the violence and poverty in Venezuela find a solution.
El Sistema, founded by the Venezuelan musician and economist José Antonio Abreu in 1975, has received financial support from ALL Venezuelan governments since then; not only from Chávez’s government.
Mr. Lebrecht is telling the truth when he says that “the violence is a by-product of the regime’s varied illegalities – legalised theft, jail without trial, institutional corruption.” To this should b added the official encouragement of invasions of private property (houses and buildings) so that “the poor can have housing”; and the official propaganda against “the bourgeoisie” and “the U.S. empire” while extolling the “virtues” of the Castro and the Ahmadineyad regimes – among other dictatorships.
Through her very fine concerto, Gabriela Montero is sending a clear message of humanity; not seeking worldwide attention. Many years ago the great cellist Pablo Casals also spoke up against Franco’s dictatorship. Arturo Toscanini refused to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival as soon as Hitler took power; Toscanini also refused to conduct at the Salzburg Festival after Austria was absorbed by Germany in 1938. Very well documented is Toscanini’s stance concerning Mussolini’s regime and Toscanini’s refusal to conduct the Fascist anthem, a piece of garbage called “Giovinezza.” And we also know of Toscanini’s support for the Israel Philharnonic and of his conducting its first concerts in 1936 and also some of its concerts in 1938.
One easily recognizes a political slander by its grossness and fabulous disconnect with reality. When the Chavez government supports El Sistema they are wonderful beyond words. To say that 20,000 people have been murdered by the injustices of the Chavez regime, is akin to blaming Obama for all the people killed in the US last year by lax gun laws. If that wasn’t more than 20,000, then the numbers killed or the roads in traffic accidents certainly exceed that figure; and those ARE caused by the cozy relationship of the automobile industry with Washington.
It’s easy to get trapped in a dualistic black-and-white trap. Chavez is not my personal hero nor do I like his policies. But it is a fact that his regime, much like the regime in Cuba or the regime in Iran, have increased the living conditions of the lower 50% of the society substantially. At the cost of the upper echelons of society and of the investor and land owner class… which is the level where support for classical musicians and their audience usually stems from… It’s never black and white only.
…and other’s, namely residents of Cuba and Venezuela, have something else to say:
http://www.therealcuba.com/
these are residents of the US, not of Cuba.
QUOTE: “I myself do not know that much about Venezuela, but I would prefer to take the words of a Le Monde Diplomatique reporter with a pinch of salt than those of a pianist about whom I have no background information.”
Ms. Procter, I am happy you take the reporting of Le Monde Diplomatique (spanish edition) with a pinch of salt, and encourage you to research this publication further. Hugo Chavez invests heavily in exporting favorable statistics beyond his borders, and Le Monde Diplomatique (spanish edition) is one of his many outlets. It is a bogus publication with no connection whatsoever to the respected “Le Monde” as most of us know it. It appropriates the reputed title of “Le Monde” to legitimize itself, and it is widely known to be nothing more than a pamphlet of the Chavistas.
I fail to understand, furthermore, the reasoning behind your dismissal of a pianist who has gone to some considerable effort and personal risk to make a salient and timely point, simply because she is a pianist and because you don’t know her background. Do I need to be a car mechanic to know whether or not my car is driving smoothly? Shouldn’t her extraordinary efforts encourage you to dig further? Pianists read and research too, they live in this world and not on a cloud, they vote and pay taxes, and they have eyes and ears. Gabriela Montero is also Venezuelan, so privy to personal source information which is not doctored, airbrushed or invented. Nor are her statements political in essence, but sociological. I might add that she will speak for the second time at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in 2013, and that she is in the process of being appointed a Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF.
Those biographical details aside, she never discusses socialism and its merits or otherwise, but simply points to the statistics which matter: Venezuela is the third most dangerous country in the world, and she doesn’t like it! That is the message! If a company is failing, the CEO takes responsibility. If a soccer team is failing, the manager gets the sack. If a nation state is failing, one whose oil reserves should guarantee a standard of living on a par with Norway (a very successful social democracy because it is NOT corrupt and actually DOES spread the state wealth), then she feels it her duty, quite simply, to speak out and say “we have had enough!”
So, here are some essential statistics, from independent, non-partisan bodies, that justify Gabriela Montero’s outrage:
1. Venezuela’s inflation rate stands at 27.6 per cent according to the Venezuelan Central Bank.
2. Its mismanaged oil production has decreased under nationalization in the last ten years, according to the USEIA, from 3.5 million BPD to 2.5 millions BPD.
3. Venezuela’s corruption index, according to transparency.org, where 10 is squeaky clean and 1 is North Korea, scores a shockingly poor 1.9. To relativise things further, Al Assad’s Syria manages a 2.6, Mugabe’s Zimbabwe a 2.2, Colombia a 3.4, Iran a 2.7. Norway, where things work and people can leave their homes at night, achieves a respectable 9.0. http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/
4. Venezuela’s murder rate in 2011, according to the UNODC, awards it the global bronze medal in violence.
So, the point is that Ms. Montero, a Venezuelan who is in direct communication every day with the people of Venezuela, decided to speak out NOT AGAINST POLITICAL IDEOLOGY, and I am sure she would be well versed to do so, but against the cause-and-effectual human consequences of the last decade or so. Some may be of the highly naive opinion that Hugo Chavez has nothing to do with it, that systemic violence and corruption are not the responsibility of the nation’s leader, a man who has presided over the shredding of the judicial system, the expropriation of private property and the imprisonment of innocent men and women without trial. But Gabriela Montero begs to differ, she is cognisant of the lessons of history, and her actions reflect her dignified belief that to remain silent is to partake in the crime.
I hope this clarifies the situation for those who hold an opinion while admitting freely they are not well informed on the subject.
Sincerely,
Stephen
A UN report on Venezuelan human rights issues supports Ms Montero’s claims:
“Concerns raised include violations of the rights of human rights defenders; use of the judicial system to persecute those critical of the government; interference with judicial independence; violence against women; freedom of expression and assembly; police violations of human rights; and prison conditions.”
Which country was accusing Britain of human rights abuses over the Assange affair again?
Gabriela Montero,
I went to a concert you gave at Cadogan Hall about two years ago when you played Ex-Patria and it was terrific.
I know the situation in Venezuela through Venezuelan friends of mine which confirm all you say and I admire your incredible courage in speaking out.
Dear oh dear! This is what happens when Art stops being apolitical! It reminds me of VERDI (Vittorio Emmanuele Re d’ Italia) and all that down to the protest songs of the 60s and the assassination of John Lennon.
Gabriela Montero is one hell of a brave lady to speak out internationally about the terrible plight her country is in and yes, I know how lawless it has become simply because of the three fellow Maltese who have been to Venezuela; all three were mugged ant knifepoint! And yet Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra which I watch on Mezzo Channel regularly and with great delight, are Venezuela’s greatest ambassadors. Is Dudamel a front for the regime perhaps?