Stunning

I stumbled across this recording of the 2nd movement of Shotakovich's 10th symphony on accident. The performance is by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, and it is one of the most passionate, stirring, and technically proficient renditions of the movement that I've ever heard. Listen for yourself:

According to this article, the orchestra is comprised of troubled and at-risk youth in their teens and twenties, and the program has produced a half million young musicians, many of whom have gone on to play in Venezueala's growing classical music scene. The conductor of this performance, Gustavo Dudamel, is himself only 28 years old and has guest conducted a variety of orchestras around the world.

Anyway, it's a fantastic performance, by a fantastic group of kids, who are apparently the result of a fantastic program. To which I say, bravo!