In a much-hyped event, accompanied by theatrical lighting, live entertainment, and an prize fight-style introduction by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gustavo Dudamel took to the stage of Geffen Hall last night with NY Philharmonic CEO Matías Tarnopolsky to discuss his upcoming inaugural season as the Phil’s music and artistic director. (Yesterday’s announcement was accompanied by a total Philharmonic rebrand, with a new website and a reversion to the spelling out of “New York Philharmonic” in its logo, reversing 2022’s “NY Phil” branding). Gustavo shared much of the same feel-good vision he delivered at last year’s season announcement, talking about how “music is not just entertainment” and how it “can create a better world through empathy and connection.” He also had some nice things to say about the Philharmonic’s unique sound and “strong identity”, disclosing that he used to mock-conduct to their recordings when he was growing up in Venezuela.
Still, Dudamel was likely lured to New York by more practical concerns. One: money. Gustavo’s pay package hasn’t been disclosed, but considering he was making roughly $3.5 million at the LA Phil, one can safely assume he’s making at least that much here. (Board co-chair Oscar Tang gave the Phil $40 million to endow his position.) Two: travel. Dudamel lives in Madrid, and the flight to New York is about five hours shorter than to L.A. Three: New York is the media capital of the U.S. – if not the world – and whatever Dudamel does here will get far more coverage than he ever got in L.A. Obviously, there are artistic reasons why Gustavo chose to come to New York, but I’m not sure he would have made the leap if those other conditions weren’t in place.
Meanwhile, the Philharmonic’s marketing team is working overtime to promote Dudamel’s “arrival” (he’s actually already here as “music director designate”), hyping it as “A New Era” that will be “Thrilling, Vibrant, Visionary,” among other frothy terms. Reality check: Dudamel is now 45, far from the boundlessly energetic 28 year old introduced at the LA Phil 17 years ago, with banners running the length of Wilshire Blvd. Not to mention, he won’t even be here all that much: Dudamel is conducting a total of eight subscription weeks next season – by comparison, he’s doing six this season – plus two weeks in Europe on tour and a smattering of “special events” at Radio City, the Perelman Arts Center, and Carnegie Hall. That’s not exactly a sizeable commitment, even for a conductor of Dudamel’s stature. (By comparison, incoming Chicago Symphony music director Klaus Mäkelä will lead 10 weeks of subscription concerts and 4 weeks of touring, itself low by historical standards.) One can only hope Gustavo will decide to spend more time here in future seasons.
All that being said, there are some fun things on the docket for next season:
- Opening concerts featuring the 5th symphonies of Prokofiev and Mahler, mirroring Gustavo’s first performances with the NY Phil 19 years ago. (I was there)
- World Premieres by Zosha Di Castri, Tania León, Unsuk Chin, and Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, whose multimedia El Payador perseguido promises “a blend of music, poetry and imagery”
- New piano concertos by John Adams and Missy Mazzoli, played by Vikingur Olafsson and Leif Ove Andsnes (Feb. 2027)
- Renowned performance artist Marina Abramović directs productions of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale and Falla’s El Amor brujo
- A mini-Beethoven festival featuring a new production of Egmont and transcriptions of Beethoven string quartets by former music directors Mahler, Mitropoulos and Bernstein
- A 90th birthday tribute to Steve Reich, and John Adams conducting his own music to mark his 80th birthday. (John’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “On the Transmigration of Souls”, which he wrote for the Phil, will be performed on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.)
- The NY Phil debuts of Berlin Konzerthausorchester chief conductor Joana Mallwitz and Eva Ollikainen, chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra
- The return of former music director Zubin Mehta (April 2027) and pianist Mitsuko Uchida’s first Philharmonic appearance since 2009 (May 2027)
- The first-ever Philharmonic performance of Bernstein’s MASS, led by Dudamel (June 2027)
As for the tour, it will be the Phil’s first trip to Europe in a decade, appearing at such celebrated venues as Vienna’s Musikverein and Berlin’s Philharmonie. (Unsurprisingly, they’ll also be stopping for three nights in Madrid, where Dudamel cheekily offered to host a party.) Undoubtedly an exciting prospect for the Philharmonic players, it is a bit risky to venture out right at the start of Dudamel’s tenure. But, as a regular guest in all of those music capitals, he seemed unfazed.
“It’s about embracing the world with what we do,” said Dudamel. “It’s a celebration of the orchestra and its wonderful history while looking to the future, with a lot of energy in the present.”
At the moment, there are no plans for any of the Coachella-style performances Dudamel became known for in L.A., but he did say he’d like to collaborate with popular artists here in New York.
“We have to embrace all genres,” Dudamel said. “Music is one. It’s only different styles. We want to bring in that vitality of styles which enrich our mission and our understanding of music. It’s classical music, yes, but it’s (all) music in the end.” Hear, hear.
During a brief question and answer period at the end of Tarnopolsky’s one-on-one, a reporter from the AP asked Gustavo what he thought of Timothée Chalamet’s recent dismissal of opera and ballet (NB: he didn’t mention orchestras) as things “no one cares about anymore.” He thought for a minute before responding.
“Sadly, sometimes it’s a little bit of ignorance but, look, that is why we have to open more spaces for people to connect with classical music…That way of thinking has to end. Music is reborn all the time, and it brings us the values of empathy through the beauty of what it is…Also, it’s really cool, classical music. It’s really cool what happens onstage, making music. Classical music is a symbol of youth.”
If Dudamel and the Phil really want to open up their performances to more young people, they could start by streaming their concerts online, much as the orchestras in Berlin, Cleveland and Detroit have been doing for years. (A short-lived streaming venture, NYPhil+, was terminated in October 2023.) Currently, the only way to see a Philharmonic livestream is to physically sit inside the Geffen Hall lobby, which is neither practical for most people, nor shareable on social media and elsewhere. Time for the Phil to negotiate with Local 802 to get this figured out once and for all, as there are undoubtedly many more people willing to see these concerts than could ever fit inside the 2,200 seat Geffen Hall.
Meanwhile, Gustavo is here for the next two weeks, conducting the Phil in a program that pairs a new orchestral arrangement of Rzewski’s The People United Will Never Be Defeated! with Beethoven’s Eroica symphony (March 12-17), followed by the world premiere of David Lang’s oratorio the wealth of nations (March 19-22). Tickets and info on the NY Phil’s (new!) website.