Gabriela Ortiz: Yanga

Featuring

Gustavo Dudamel
Alisa Weilerstein
Joanne Pearce Martin
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Tambuco Percussion Ensemble

Gabriela Ortiz

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Composer Biography

Gabriela Ortiz, the composer of the works on this album, grew up in a musical family; her parents were founding members of Los Folkloristas, an ensemble performing Latin American folk music.

Performer Biography

Gustavo Dudamel, the conductor on this album, is one of the few classical musicians to become a pop-culture phenomenon, with film credits including Steven Spielberg's West Side Story and appearances with Billie Eilish.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Gabriela Ortiz's music, including the works on this album, is characterized by an ingenious merging of traditional and popular idioms with avant-garde techniques and multimedia.

Performer Biography

Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, featured on this album, is a four-time GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY nominee and is considered a Mexican national treasure and one of the most innovative chamber ensembles worldwide.

Compositional Technique

In her work Yanga, Gabriela Ortiz uses African instruments like batás, guiros, shekeres, and cabasas, weaving their unique colors into her musical discourse without directly emulating Afro-Latin American rhythms.

Composition History

The work Yanga, featured on this album, was commissioned by Gustavo Dudamel for one of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's centenary concerts in 2019, to be performed alongside Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Performer Biography

Gustavo Dudamel, who conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic on this album, is known for his belief in music's power to transform lives and for his tireless advocacy for arts education.