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As cover conductor, LA Phil: Gustavo Dudamel: Celebrating 17 years | LA Phil

June 5 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

About this Performance

Gustavo Dudamel honors his Venezuelan and American identities, presiding over two poetry-inspired choral symphonic works in his final Walt Disney Concert Hall program as Music & Artistic Director. At times hushed and mysterious and at others pulsating and ecstatic, Harmonium was a breakthrough for John Adams’ compositional voice. Borrowing texts from Emily Dickinson and John Donne, Adams explores time, harmony, and rhythm, unraveling gentle meditations into an awe-inspiring swirl of sound.

In the second half, Dudamel guides Cantata Criolla, another breakthrough work that is not just definitive of composer Antonio Estévez’ voice but an emerging national Venezuelan style. The cantata follows Florentino, a troubadour on the Venezuelan plains who challenges the devil to a battle of wit and song. Estévez’s cross-cutting rhythms and musical textures follow the contest from ominous peril to triumph. Driven by his belief that music can build bridges between cultures, Dudamel selected the cantata as one of the first pieces he wanted to bring to Los Angeles in his inaugural season as Music Director, and it fittingly sets the stage for Gustavo’s finale concert of the 2025/26 season.

A note from Gustavo Dudamel

The great American composer John Adams was named an LA Phil Creative Chair in 2009, the same year that I became Music Director, and we’ve shared a rich and rewarding relationship in the 17 seasons since. It has been a privilege and an honor to premiere many of his incredible works, but this program presents one of his earlier masterpieces. John has said that a successful performance of Harmonium should feel like traveling at different speeds, but “nonetheless always moving forward over vast stretches of imaginary terrain.” The same might be said of the past 17 years.

We end the program with Antonio Estévez’s Cantata Criolla. This magnificent oratorio was one of the first works I brought to Los Angeles. A beloved staple of Venezuelan concert halls, it depicts a duel in song between the llanero Florentino and the Devil. I grew up with this music, and it is a joy to perform it once again in this hall with these amazing musicians. —Gustavo Dudamel

This performance is generously supported by The Hernandez-Stark Family and the Frank Gehry Fund for Creativity

 

Program

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Venue

  • Walt Disney Concert Hall
  • 111 South Grand Ave
    Los Angeles, CA 90012 United States     + Google Map