But what truly distinguished Dudamel’s inaugural week from your usual gala event apart from the conspicuous absence of the almost obligatory superstar guest soloist was his bold inclusion of new works in the repertoire he chose to usher in his tenure as LA Phil’s eleventh Music Director: two programs, each juxtaposing the magnificence of Mahler’s First Symphony (Dudamel’s first performance of the work with the orchestra) with the novelty of a freshly minted piece commissioned by LA Phil expressly for the occasion.
Watch the inaugural performance of Mahler’s First:
Receiving its world premiere at the gala concert was John Adams’ post-war LA-inspired “City Noir”, a 30-minute jazz-influenced, cinematic symphony evocative of the dark mood of the era’s “film noir.” Exotic world music in the form of Korean-born, Berlin-resident and prize-winning composer Unsuk Chin’s “Su”, a concerto for sheng (a Chinese or Korean mouth organ) and orchestra shared center stage in the final two performances of inaugural week.
Which all goes to show that while steeped in the classical tradition and Mahler remarkably is a mainstay of his young conducting career, Dudamel has set no boundaries to his musical universe. This becomes even more evident as his debut season at Disney Hall with his new orchestra comes to a close in November 2009, a month which finds him conducting an awesome Verdi’s Requiem, masterfully dabbling in the late Luciano Berio’s works for orchestra (“Rendering”) as well as for soprano (performed by the inimitable Dawn Upshaw) and small ensemble (“Folk Songs”), fleshing out and imparting his own grand finishing touches to Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” directing Alban Berg’s elegiac “Violin Concerto” (performed by the virtuoso Gil Shaham) between Mozart’s “Prague” and “Jupiter” symphonies (Yes, Dude skeptics! he can tackle Mozart’s delicate details as well as Mahler’s grand gestures), and immersing himself in the music of California’s contemporary composers (Salonen, Harrison, and Adams) as he kicks off “West Coast, Left Coast” - the first festival of his tenure, curated by his first Creative Chair appointee John Adams. Indeed, with a dynamo at the helm of the LA Phil, the City of Angels is in for some musically exciting times!
LISTEN TO WHAT HIS PREDECESSOR, LAPHIL’s MUSIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS, ESA-PEKKA SALONEN SAID ON TURNING OVER THE BATON TO DUDAMEL:
Media source: Los Angeles Philharmonic
