Gabriela Ortiz's Yanga, featuring Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, out now on Platoon 

This album includes Ortiz’s new cello concerto Dzonot, which was commissioned by the LA Phil, and written for cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who gave the premiere last season

The release marks the orchestra’s third album in the label's Latin series, following the Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning Fandango (2023) and Ortiz’s triple-GRAMMY® Award-winning Revolución diamantina (2024) 

"Yanga is melting pot music, brought beyond boiling point ... Dzonot [is] the most colorful cello concerto ever written, captured in astonishingly vivid sound at its 2024 premiere with cellist Alisa Weilerstein... Everything on this album testifies to Ortiz's artistry and strength of purpose, the LA Phil's luster, and Dudamel's skill in shaping and sustaining music's most exotic tapestries."
– Geoff Brown, The Times

On JULY 18, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel continue their multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning Latin series on Platoon with the release of Gabriela Ortiz’s Yanga. This marks the orchestra’s third album of the series on the label, following the Latin GRAMMY® Award-winning Fandango (2023) and Ortiz’s triple-GRAMMY® Award-winning Revolución diamantina. (2024)

Gabriela Ortiz writes some of the most intense and colourful music of our time - often engaging deeply with issues of social justice, gender, and the environment. Her music unites disparate worlds, and lives by a compelling rhythmic drive and street-born authenticity. This new album includes Ortiz’s new cello concerto Dzonot, inspired by the cenotes of the Yucatán Peninsula. The work was commissioned by the LA Phil, and written for cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who gave the premiere last season to wide acclaim.

Gustavo Dudamel, a champion of Gabriela Ortiz’s work says "Yanga powerfully symbolizes the strength and resilience of those who fight for freedom, and offers a reminder of the enduring struggle against oppression that continues to this day. Through a rich blend of African instruments, traditional chants, and Afro-Latin rhythms, Ortiz crafts a soundscape that captures the spirit of resistance. Alongside her haunting, otherworldly Dzonot and her rhythmically arresting Seis piezas a Violeta, this is music that resonates with the rhythms of culture, nature, and humanity.”

18 JULY 2025 - PLAT27432

LISTEN

Tracklist

1 - Yanga [17:34]
Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
Los Angeles Master Chorale

Dzonot
2 – I. Luz vertical [05:10]
3 - II. EL OJO del Jaguar [06:03]
4 - III. Jade [10:02]
5 - IV. El vuelo de Toh [09:39]
Alisa Weilerstein - cello

Seis piezas a Violeta
6 - I. Preludio Andino [01:50]
7 - II. Geometría Austral [02:20]
8 - III. Ritmo Genésico [02:22]
9 - IV. Canto del Angelito [04:16]
10- V. Danza Esdrújula [03:38]
11 - VI. Amen [03:51]
Joanne Pearce Martin - piano

Los Angeles Philharmonic Music & Artistic Director - Gustavo Dudamel
Composer - Gabriela Ortiz

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