Music to Change Life: El Sistema

Product Description ------------------- This moving documentary takes US from the rubbish dumps and barrios of Caracas to the world's finest concert halls. It shows how El Sistema, Venezuela's unique system of music education which has been founded by the visionary Jose Antonio Abreu. Review ------ "El Sistema" is a remarkable documentary film by Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier about the remarkable Venezuelan music education program that has changed the lives of thousands of impoverished children of that country, bringing new meaning to their lives. Gustavo Dudamel is a product of this program, and of course he figures prominently in this film, as does the remarkable Jose Antonio Abreu, who began the educational program three decades ago. This is a positive look at today's youth, a memorable viewing experience. It is available in both regular DVD and Blu-Ray; there's little point in spending the extra dollars for the latter. -- Classical CD Review, Robert Benson, December 2009 DVD OF THE MONTH Fed up with hearing about Venezuela's El Sistema and its superstar young conductor Gustavo Dudamel? There has already been at least one very fine documentary about that country's transformational music education system. And this is another reminder of the role music can play in society. It focuses particularly on El Sistema's founder, Jose Antonio Abreu. And even if you know the story inside out, its power to inspire does not dim. -- Gramophone Editor's Choice, January 2010 El Sistema: Music to Change Life Blu-ray Review A lot of other, more developed, countries could learn a thing or two from Venezuela's incredible El Sistema music education program. I don't think it will come as much of a surprise to any of you in the United States who may be reading this review and who have children in the public school system when I say that Arts education has suffered horribly over the past couple of decades. When I was growing up (admittedly a long, long time ago, as my own sons never hesitate to remind me), it was simply de rigeur for every school to have a full assortment of Arts classes available to students, whether that be Drama, Art (as in painting) or Music. I know from personal experience with my own kids that that tradition has woefully fallen by the wayside here in the States, especially with regard to Music, which is strangely now often perceived as something not especially relevant to preparing today's youth for the challenges of tomorrow. Despite longstanding clinical studies which have proven that musical education ups most students' antes with regard to any number of other disciplines (notably mathematics), music education simply seems to be an afterthought nowadays. I know for example that at the elementary school both of my sons attended the only way we were able to maintain a full time music teacher (an absolute rarity in my neck of the woods) was with funding provided by the school's private foundation, which exists off of the goodwill of the mostly well to do parents, who contribute generously in order to make sure their children receive well rounded educations. Even with that parental support, we are sadly witnessing a generation (my kids included, I"ll admit it) who are just as likely to want to "play" an instrument in "Guitar Hero" as they are to actually put the time and effort into actually learning about music and mastering a real instrument. It therefore came as something of a rude awakening, if an appreciated one nonetheless, to be introduced to similar problems, at least in terms of music education if not Xbox 360, in Venezuela, a country of at times overwhelming poverty and teeming barrios which infest the hillsides of Caracas like Rube Goldberg shanty towns. The difference between, say, the United States and Venezuela is the incredible effort of José Antonio Abreu, an amateur musician who decades ago formed an organization nicknamed El Sistema (The System), a sort of boarding school for mostly low income kids where the driving force behind all education is music. The fact that the organization was originally named Social Action for Music and then ultimately became Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, (AKA Fesnojiv), (National Network of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela), may indicate to some politically paranoid people that the group may be hiding some sort of Marxist Sot protocol in its motives (especially those who tend to demonize Venezuela's Hugo Chavez), but from the evidence given in this fascinating and often deeply moving documentary, that's simply not the case. Though this is indeed a government funded program, and there is a sort of worker bee ethos which runs through both the teachers' methods and the students' daily struggles, there's simply too much good happening here to get hung up on the political backstory. It's almost mind boggling to realize that over 250,000 children are currently having their lives changed by El Sistema. The documentary of course focuses on a few, and their stories can be both inspiring and heartbreaking. A little boy is fearful to venture out of his slum apartment due to frequent gang shootings. A young girl dreams of a life where a professional music career can be her pathway out of what seems like an eternally vicious cycle of poverty which her family has endured for generations. Abreu makes no s about the social work aspect of El Sistema. It's the fact that his particular genius was in providing an education in classical music to help these kids that the truly incredible aspects of El Sistema take flight. Watching a troupe of kids' faces light up as they play even "paper instruments" (the school doesn't yet have real instruments for some of the younger kids) is a study in the human spirit's ability to rise above the hand e has dealt it. It's also a testament to Abreu's vision, which has survived and even prospered under a hugely disparate array of different political powers, from ultra conservative to the neo-leftist regime of Chavez. Amazingly the government's support of El Sistema has been one of the constants in an otherwise tumultuous political landscape. Aside from the personal stories of the kids and segments showing them being taught, this documentary also provides some viscerally exciting concert sequences with the older graduates of El Sistema who make up the internationally lauded Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. Under the direction of the apparently irrepressible Gustavo Dudamel, these may be young performers, but they are obviously well rehearsed and with a joy and energy that frankly easily overcomes any technical limitations some of them may be experiencing this early in their careers. Dudamel is an amazingly vigorous conductor and one who communicates his passion to his charges almost by osmosis. Watching these young masters, all having been schooled (if not indoctrinated) by the teachings of El Sistema, play with such excitement and commitment gives a music lover like me hope that the vagaries of Guitar Hero may indeed just be a passing fancy. El Sistema is creating music that will last, and this documentary is an unusually compelling look at a very unique program which is enriching the lives of countless thousands. El Sistema arrives from EuroArts with a very sharp 1080p AVC encoded transfer that offers brilliant color and excellent detail. This is an unusually broad based documentary with, for example, the gleaming skyscrapers of Caracas (as well as its heartbreaking barrios) on a broad scale offering some at times jaw dropping depth of field. On the other hand, the documentary gets literally up close and personal with several children, and fine detail is so crystal clear the viewer can virtually count the individual pores on any given child's face. Caracas is an unusually colorful city, and this Blu-ray offers a gorgeously saturated palette of multi-colored stucco buildings and some intricately woven fabrics which various people wear. Skin tones are lifelike and the entire color spectrum is extremely well represented throughout the documentary. El Sistema is a very fine looking documentary indeed, with no artifacting of any import to report. Luckily the two audio options provide the same excellence as the image quality. The DTS HD-MA 5.1 is excellently directional, though perhaps strangely that's most evident in some of the smaller scale musical moments, as when two tyro brass players clearly emanate from the left channel. The full orchestral moments, though unfortunately as brief as they are, provide a robust soundfield that is absolutely accurate and offers brilliant range in both frequency and dynamics. All of this said, El Sistema is really not a music concert documentary by any stretch of the imagination. Long sequences are nothing other than people talking, and the 5.1 mix offers that dialogue crisply and cleanly front and center, with easy to read subtitles. Perhaps by virtue of the very fact that this isn't a music performance documentary per se, the uncompressed PCM 2.0 folddown actually does a completely excellent job and few will find anything to complain about with its narrower sound field. An 8:18 minute featurette shows the audtions for the National Youth Symphony of Venezuela. The insert booklet also provides an informative essay about Abreu, his background and his vision, as well as some supplementary information about El Sistema. El Sistema touched me perhaps more deeply than any documentary in recent memory. This may well be because I personally value music education so highly. But really I think the message of this film is much more universal. People of all backgrounds and interests are confronted by challenges virtually every day of their lives, and all need some semblance of hope to cling to in order to persevere. It's testament to Abreu's genius that while he may have given these exceptional young people a very singular focus for their hope, he has really shown the world the potential for hope itself by showing that hope is even possible in such desperate and depressing circumstances. -- Blu-ray.com, Jeffrey Kauffman, November 27, 2009 Here is our official review of the new movie "El Sistema." Please see our forum to connect with others who are interested in this ground-breaking idea. "El Sistema cries out for music in a time when music programs are getting cut and government dollars are dwindling. Largely funded by the government of Venezuela, this nation-wide music education program is teaching over 250,000 youth not only how to play instruments, but also how to play a positive role in society. Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier do a fantastic job bringing the real struggle of Venezuelan citizens to life - including several interviews with people who are ed each day for their own lives and the lives of their children. It is in just this kind of intense environment that El Sistema has thrived! José Antonio Abreu, the founder of el Sistema, makes frequent appearance in the film and it is clear that his perseverance has inspired those around him to continue to promote and sustain el Sistema for years to come. The profound impact of el Sistema has given thousands of Venezuelan children a new chance at living. Musical expression has given them a way to create a bright future in a country where that future once seemed questionable." -- Music Education for All, October 30, 2009 Inspiration bursts from nearly every frame as filmmakers Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier travel to Venezuela to capture the human faces of "El Sistema," a state-sponsored nationwide network that uses music as a tool for empowering children and lifting them out of the grinding poverty, violence and dead-end culture of the barrios (slums). The icing on this multi-layered cake is the music we hear, from the little ones all the way up to the ship Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra and superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel. -- Toronto Star, John Terauds, December 26, 2009 Overtly celebratory productions are, in a sense, quite beyond criticism. They are generally of interest only to people who already know what is being celebrated, and those people need not be told if the person or event is wonderful (they believe that already) and will not listen if things seem to fall short (they will not believe that to be possible). So releases like these two inevitably have the flavor of "preaching to the converted," a fact that their sheer exuberance underlines. This in no way means they are uninteresting or poorly produced: both the film El Sistema and the two-CD Richard Hickox set contain a great deal of worthy material. But too much adulation comes to seem as if those delivering it are trying a little too hard - not that fans of El Sistema or Hickox would ever feel that way. The Paul Smaczny/Maria Stodtmeier film is essentially an affirmation of a well-conceived program that has produced one international musical superstar - conductor Gustavo Dudamel - and has pulled hundreds of thousands of poor children into choirs and orchestras. This is El Sistema, brainchild of Venezuelan musician/politician José Antonio Abreu; and the documentary follows a number of wonderful stories (including Dudamel's) in showing how the music-education program has brought many, many children out of the violence and hopelessness of the barrios and into a world filled with hope and rtunity. It is almost too uplifting for words - although there are plenty of words here, including some from Abreu himself. But there is a problem: El Sistema is essentially a political creation, and as such is now firmly under the control of Venezuelan caudillo and self-procled "Bolivarian revolutionary" Hugo Chávez. Filmmakers get no access to El Sistema or to anything else in Venezuela without the approval of Chávez, and Chávez is not known for approving in-depth studies that show him, his policies or his nation in an unfavorable light. This situation throws something of a pall over El Sistema, which does not address its dependency on Chávez at all and remains focused on heartwarming stories. And the stories are heartwarming, with children as young as age two taken off the "mean streets" of the nation, taught the basics of music, provided with instruments and lessons in the hundreds of núcleos throughout the community, and given the chance to become part of an ensemble. The youngsters make music six days a week for four hours a day, and the film emphasizes that this time gives them respite from otherwise difficult lives, providing safety and a supportive environment. But consider: if this were occurring in, say, Fascist Italy or Communist Romania, questions would surely be raised about regimentation, about using the approach to generate support for the government and specifically for its leader, about the whole arrangement being a method of control and a tool for solidifying power. These are not questions that are present in El Sistema, and perhaps they could not have been asked while still allowing the filmmakers such extensive access to the program and its participants. Yet one wonders, in listening to Dudamel and others speak of the marvels of El Sistema, how much freedom they have to say anything less than adulatory, and how free the filmmakers would have been to include criticism if it had been given. This is not to take anything away from El Sistema as a film (it is a well-made documentary), from the music education it chronicles (which has clearly had remarkable successes), or from Abreu himself (who comes across as a dedicated and fared man). But hagiography, whether of a person or of a system, is always (almost by definition) overdone. In today's Venezuela, it seems particularly out of place. -- Infodad.com, November 05, 2009 Since the 1980s, there has been a naïve idea that you can do a music project involving children and that will change the world. We have seen that recently with unimpressive results, no matter how sincere. The only way to bring children and music together is through teaching the art and the new Paul Smaczy/Maria Stootmeier documentary El Sistema (2007) shows such a program in a place you'd least suspect: Caracas, Venezuela. Yes, the home of Hugo Chavez (made infamous by many in the U.S. media, though he is rarely dealt with here) has classical music art programs gong for it the U.S. does not. This program focuses on several of the child participants and we see one early on in a not-so-safe neighborhood discussing how bad violence is. I believe it. However, there is an unintended flipside that says because he listens to Classical, he should not have to be in poverty as if someone who does not should be . The makers are just showing how much is being lost when the program does not exist, but it is still an item worth bringing up. This runs 100 minutes and is well done. The 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little soft, but has good color and the shooting is decent throughout. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix shows the limits of the recoding, especially when music is being played and I was surprised a documentary had such a lossless soundtrack, but it is still better than the PCM 2.0 Stereo also included. Just don't expect the best sound found on EuroArts' best Blu-rays. Extras include a booklet inside the Blu-ray case, four trailers for other EuroArts Blu-ray releases and a making-of featurette. -- Fulvue Drive-in, Nicholas Sheffo, November 2009 The story of Venezuela's phenomenal music education system, founded over 30 years ago by José Antonio Abreu to bring music to the lives of kids from Caracas's shanty towns, is one of the most powerful you will ever see. -- Winnipeg Free Press, James Manishen, December 2009 This is one of the most inspirational documentaries on music or social change you are ever likely to see. Filmmakers Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier went to Venezuela last year to capture the human faces of "El Sistema," a state-sponsored nationwide network that uses music as a tool for empowering children and lifting them out of the grinding poverty, violence and dead-end culture of the massive barrios (slums). Never preachy or insistent, the lens is quick to find the eager, young musicians, who spend a total of 24 hours a week, from kindergarten through to high school graduation, practising and performing music. We see the magic through the eyes of the children, as well as through Sistema founder José Antonio Abreu and his dedicated network of administrators, mentors and teachers. The icing on this rich, multi-layered cake is the gorgeous music we hear, from the little ones all the way up to the ship Simón Bolivár Youth Orchestra and superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel. The high-definition audio and video are satisfying. There's a nine-minute bonus, showing auditions for the National Children's Orchestra of Venezuela. Abreu received the Glenn Gould Prize in Toronto last night, as part of a week-long visit by the Simón Bolivár orchestra. The inspiration is among us. -- TheStar.com, John Terauds, October 27, 2009 This year's Glenn Gould Prize winner was José Antonio Abreu for his development of El Sistema, the incredibly successful program bringing children to classical music across Venezuela. There currently 3,000 children, many from disadvantaged families, enrolled in more than a hundred youth orchestras across the country. For those of us not lucky enough to have been in the audience at the Four Seasons Centre last month to hear the jewel in the crown program, Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel and experience the exuberance (and excellence) of these young performers first hand, this DVD documents Abreu's miraculous achievement. -- The WholeNote, Colin Eatock, Dec. 1, 2009 - Feb. 7, 2010

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