To Play and to Fight (2006)
"Tocar y luchar" (original title)

To Play and To Fight presents the captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela's towns and ... See full summary »

Director:

Alberto Arvelo

Writers:

Alberto Arvelo, Carlos Díaz

Stars:

Claudio Abbado, Jose Antonio Abreu, Daniel Arias

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Claudio Abbado	...	Himself - Interviewee
Jose Antonio Abreu	...	Himself - Interviewee
Daniel Arias	...	Himself - Interviewee / Violoncello
Joyce Blanco	...	Herself - Interviewee / Viola
Mark Churchill	...	Himself - Interviewee
Daniel Coronado	...	Himself - Interviewee / Trumpet
Gustavo Dudamel	...	Himself - Interviewee / Conductor
Johnny Gomez	...	Himself - Interviewee
Kenneth Jones	...	Himself - Interviewee / Violin
Ronny Marcano	...	Himself - Interviewee / Trumpet
Eduardo Marturet	...	Himself - Interviewee
Eduardo Mendez	...	Himself - Interviewee
Simon Rattle	...	Himself - Interviewee / Conductor
Lila Rivas	...	Herself - Interviewee / Violin
Edicson Ruiz	...	Himself - Interviewee / Bass

Storyline

To Play and To Fight presents the captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela's towns and villages. Once a modest program designed to expose rural children to the wonders of music, the system has become one of the most important and beautiful social phenomena in modern history. The documentary portrays the inspirational stories of world class musicians trained by the Venezuelan system, including the Berlin Philharmonic's youngest player Edicson Ruiz and world renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel. With interviews with many of the world's most celebrated musicians including the great tenor Placido Domingo, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Guiseppe Sinopoli, and Eduardo Mata, To Play and To Fight is an inspirational story of courage, determination, ambition, and love showing us that... only those who dream can achieve the impossible.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Venezuela

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

20 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Play and to Fight

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Sur, Explorart Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A Miracle The Worl Shoul Heed!

Something has been happening in Venezuela for the past thirty years, something that should sound a reveille around the world. This excellent film written and directed by Alberto Arvelo Mendoza with Carlos Díaz may at first seem like a propaganda film from Venezuela, but within moments of the opening aqueous credits the audience is poised for discovery.

TOCAR Y LUCHAR ('To Play and To Fight') is a documentary about the National Youth Orchestras of Venezuela, an organization now headed by Jose Antonio Abreu that focuses on providing instruments, musical training, and the experience of becoming part of a classical music orchestra to the children of Venezuela. The result is the truly superb Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela that has been touring the world under the leadership of principal conductor Gustavo Dudamel providing inspiration not only to young people who long for something meaningful in their lives, something like the majesty that classical music offers, but also bringing audiences in Berlin, Munich, Italy, and throughout the United States to their feet. This superb DVD explains how this happens, and the success of the film is the radiant faces of the thousands of young students who are becoming leading musicians of world-class quality.

Yes, there are live performances conducted by Dudamel as well as Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, and Giuseppe Sinopoli and there are moments of tribute from these conductors as well as from singers such as Placido Domingo and from commentators. But the real magic of the DVD lies in the expressions and the interviews with the members of the orchestra. This is a success story we should all heed: perhaps the salvation of our young people is here in this concept of providing opportunity and inspiration through classical music training. The film is not only a fulfilling visual and aural experience, it is also a beacon of hope whose light hopefully will be shared by all countries of the globe. Highly recommended not only for music educators but also for everyone who cares about the future of music and our children! Grady Harp