Venezuela! Music from the Americas!

Venezuelan conductor Domingo Hindoyan travels through the mountains, rivers, and countryside of his homeland, courtesy of some of its very best and most evocative classical music, bringing with him a Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra on top form. Most listeners will be unfamiliar with these six ravishing tone poems, but such is their instant allure and sheer vibrancy that you’ll want to return to them time and time again. It’s hard to imagine this music performed or captured better, each work a feast for the ears. We begin with the romantic impressionist world of Juan Bautista Plaza, whose Vigilia, a portrait of a city at night, sets the scene with explosions of colour and moments of breathtaking Mahlerian beauty. Evencio Castellanos paints equally vivid pictures with Santa Cruz de Pacairigua, its drums, dancing, and church bells celebrating the building of a church on the banks of the River Pacairigua. In Margariteña, there’s an island paradise bursting with life in Carreño’s shimmering “symphonic exposition” and a trip to the Orinoco (El Río de las Siete Estrellas), brought to awesome life by Castellanos in music of cinematic sumptuousness. Antonio Estévez takes his listeners to the great Venezuelan plains, the midday sun beating relentlessly down (Mediodía en el Llano); and in his 2004 work Kanaima, Yuri Hung takes us deep into the wilds of Venezuela, complete with the sound of tropical rain. Inside the Album Booklet The booklet essay provides a welcome introduction to these evocative pieces, plus a map shows the geographical location of each of the tone poems, threading a journey from Canaima National Park to Caracas. Album booklets are available in the latest version of Apple Music Classical, which you can download and enjoy as part of your Apple Music subscription. To access booklets, tap on the book icon at the top of your screen.