Meticulously designed, intense, and streetwise, David Chesky’s music proposes a variation on an old musical gambit. Classical composers have long drawn from their national folk music for their work. Chesky’s source for The Abreu Danzas is the sound and energy of New York City or, to be precise, a Latin New York City. The centerpiece of the album is a five-movement ballet dedicated to the late Venezuelan conductor, pianist, educator, and politician Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema. The program, which started in 1975, brought free music education to the poorest neighborhoods in Venezuela and has since inspired similar systems in several countries, including the United States.
David Chesky: Abreu Dances
