Although separated by more than two centuries, Beethoven and Gabriela Ortiz both treat the symphony orchestra as a powerful engine of rhythm and motion.

Thanks to its driving rhythmic diversity, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 was famously described by Wagner as the apotheosis of dance. The work’s unstoppable energy builds steadily across its four movements, culminating in a breathtakingly swift and forceful Allegro, propelled forward in a single, exhilarating sweep.

A contemporary response to questions of tempo, pulse, and rhythm comes from one of today’s leading composers, Gabriela Ortiz. In 2019, during a wave of demonstrations across Mexico protesting rising levels of violence against women and femicide, Mexico City’s Chief of Police was doused in pink glitter as an act of defiance. This event, dubbed Revolución diamantina (Glitter Revolution), inspired Ortiz to compose a ballet of the same name in six dynamic scenes, which received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition last year. Lasting around 40 minutes, the work brings together the women’s choir Collegium musicum and the Belgrade Philharmonic in an exploration of power dynamics in contemporary society and new forms of political resistance in the 21st century.

The world premiere was conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, mentor to the young Venezuelan conductor Rodolfo Barráez, who leads our orchestra in the Serbian premiere of Revolución diamantina this evening.