LOS ANGELES – Gustavo Dudamel paused in the middle of Rachmaninoff the other morning and flashed a mischievous grin at the 92 players of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
“This part,” he said as they rehearsed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, “is like an aunt kissing you too much.” He pursed his lips and said it out loud three times. “Dear friends,” he said, looking at the violin, “try again.”
He was back on the podium where, just two days before, he had breaking news to the musicians, with a shaky voice and uncertainty, that he will leave their art and music director position in 2026 to take up the same job at the New York Philharmonic. It was one of the hardest decisions of his life, he said. But now he’s back to his element, making music, swaying hips and flinging fists in the air, while asking players to “release every bit of gravity” from their play. – “to soar”.
Dudamel, 42, person rare conductor celebrity who has gone beyond classical music, finds himself at a crossroads: not only planning to move into a new orchestra, but also entering a new phase in his career. Even when his curls have started to turn gray, he has never completely gotten rid of them image of a fairywho at the age of 12 conducted his first orchestra in Venezuela, where he was born, and at the age of 26 job landing in Los Angeles.
“You can’t imagine how much I’ve changed over the years,” he said in an interview. “I’m not a young conductor anymore.”
As Dudamel prepares to ascend to the podium in New York, he is working to establish himself as a seasoned interpreter of the repertoire – a conductor fluent in Mahler and Beethoven symphonies as well. as less popular music, like the ballet by Ginastera. And he wants to continue to bring the works of living composers into the mainstream.
He also wants to expand his legacy as an activist — he has trained in El Sistema, the Venezuelan program that teaches music to children, many from poor families — from his upcoming foundation in New York.
“I consider New York the capital of the world, where I can send a message to the world that music is an important element of life — not just entertainment, but transformation,” he said. “.
Deborah Borda, the orchestra’s director, said Dudamel had a huge following in New York, where he was so admired that the Symphony Orchestra decided to forego the search for a conventional music director, focused efforts on pursuing Dudamel as a “heat-seeking missile”. president and chief executive officer. Players admire his passion and humility; Unlike most conductors, he is known to abstain from solo bows after performances, preferring instead to gesture to highlight the contributions of his orchestra members.
Film composer John Williams, a friend and mentor, described Dudamel as a “lucky man for music” and predicted that he would be a transformative force in New York.
“I cannot think of another conductor, male or female, that I know of who derives more absolute joy from music,” he said. “I don’t think you can have a better leader — someone more positive — to freely admit things into our world, while maintaining all the best traditions.”
Some have likened Dudamel to earlier giants such as Leonard Bernstein, the predecessor of the New York Philharmonic, talking about his potential to become a larger-than-life figure and elevate the cast’s status. music in American cultural life. Others questioned whether he was a product of the hype. That’s a lot of pressure.
“Of course we will have challenges,” he said. “That’s part of the beauty. Every day you’re in front of the orchestra, you’re in front of a piece of music, it’s a new challenge.”
“Fear or worry about the risk of making a mistake is not in my mind,” he added. “Never! Because I think taking risks is part of life.”
GUSTAVO ADOLFO DUDAMEL RAMÍREZ was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, on January 26, 1981, the son of Oscar Dudamel Vásquez, a trombonist who plays in a salsa band, and Solange Ramírez Viloria, a vocal teacher. His arms were too short to play the trombone like his father, so he learned to play the violin.
His grandparents initially tried to stop him from studying, worried about having another musician in the family.
“My husband once said to me, ‘Can you imagine if our grandson was a violinist? Who would be able to stand all the noise in the house?’” Engracia Vásquez de Dudamel, his grandmother, recalled in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Hoy in 2009.
But the family consented, and Gustavo enrolled in El Sistema, where his talent as a conductor was soon recognized by Jose Antonio AbreuRenowned Venezuelan educator who founded El Sistema in 1975.
Abreu took Dudamel as a student, taught him rhythm and writing, and honed his technique as a conductor, telling him to feel the sound in his hands the same way a bird would. Fly feel the air. He appointed Dudamel to conduct the National Youth Orchestra and instilled in him the fervor of a missionary, drawing him to his efforts to spread the “social mission of art”.
In 2004, Dudamel rose to fame after winning the first Gustav Mahler Commander Competition in Bamberg, Germany. One of the competition’s jury members, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (then music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic) phoned Borda (then president of the orchestra) and told her that he had just seen “a real commanding animal”.
She invited Dudamel to make her American debut at the Hollywood Bowl the following year, in a show featuring works by Tchaikovsky and Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas.
“In his US premiere on Tuesday night, a 24-year-old conductor from Venezuela with curly hair, long sideburns and a baby face accomplished something increasingly rare and difficult,” critic Mark said. Swed of the Los Angeles Times Written of that performance. “He captured the full, immediate and passionate attention of a demanding casual audience. And he kept it.”
Dudamel’s New York Philharmonic debut, in 2007, was equally memorable – especially after he broke the baton once used by Bernstein, which the orchestra lent him, near the end of the concert. , in the last few notes of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony (The baton, still in two pieces, remains in the Philharmonic archives.)
When he began his tenure in Los Angeles in 2009, Dudamel quickly became a celebrity, forging connections with Hollywood and capturing the imaginations of audiences unfamiliar with classical music.
He began to develop the sound of the ensemble; he hired 42 of its musicians, about 40% of the orchestra. And he sought to continue Abreu’s mission, creating Los Angeles Youth Orchestracalled YOLA, modeled after El Sistema.
During his time as director, the Philharmonic continued to rethink the role of a modern orchestra, prioritizing the promotion of new music. The troupe, one of the most financially secure in the United States thanks to box office revenue from the Hollywood Bowl, performed over 200 productions during Dudamel’s time there and brought in pop and jazz stars, help strengthen their reputation for innovation. .
Composer John Adams, a frequent collaborator, says that Dudamel came to Los Angeles as “a little girl in the woods when it comes to contemporary repertoire.”
“Then he found out he liked it,” says Adams. “And now he’s not only a great interpreter, but also a great champion.”
As part of his focus on new music, Dudamel sought to elevate composers from Latin America, often lamenting that the region’s composers were largely unknown compared to other composers. its literary and visual artists.
Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz says Dudamel has played an important role in promoting her music, adding that it can be difficult for female composers from Latin America to be recognized. She recalls a 2017 concert at which he introduced one of her compositions before a performance by Mexican pop singer Natalia Lafourcade, which greatly expanded the audience. hers.
“He was an extremely generous person,” she said. “I never felt like I was with this infamous conductor, where there was always such a big gap. I always feel very, very close.”
In 2021, Dudamel becomes musical director of the Paris Opera, looking to expand his archive and build more ties with Europe, where he is a welcome guest at prestigious orchestras languages include the Berlin and the Vienna Philharmonics. (His wife, Spanish actress and filmmaker María Valverde, is from Madrid, and the couple have a home there.)
Dudamel’s relationships with Venezuelan leaders, who were crucial backers to El Sistema, drew attention. He conducted the funeral of President Hugo Chávez, and for years he opposed criticizing the government, even as a series of economic and social crises worsened in the country.
IN “¡Viva conductor!,” a documentary about Dudamel released last year, he talks about the pressure he faces, not wanting to harm El Sistema. “I am the leader of a program,” he said. “It’s not just Gustavo. That’s thousands of children, millions of young people.”
After a young viola trained by El Sistema was killed During a street protest in 2017, Dudamel decided to speak up. He explained in the documentary: “It was tough watching my people fight, watching my people suffer and come to a very violent moment.
He issue a statement said “enough is enough” and wrote an opinion in The New York Times, criticizing the government’s plan to rewrite the constitution. President Nicolás Maduro responded by cancel Abroad tour of Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, which he has conducted since 1999. Many of the players in that group, which is a source of national pride, have left the country. And Dudamel, who last visited Venezuela in 2017, feels unable to return, even at the funeral of Abreu, his mentor, who passed away next year. Instead he arranged a memorial concert in Santiago, Chile.
Dudamel finally returned to Venezuela a few months ago, shortly after touring with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Boston, New York and Mexico.
As he pondered his next steps, he went to Barquisimeto to reconnect with what he describes as “the roots of my life as a musician”. He caught up with friends and family. He met with students and teachers in El Sistema. And he visited Abreu’s house, sat in his studio and looked through his books.
Dudamel says his teacher, whom he calls a “conductor” and speaks of him as a father, remains “in my soul and in my mind.” He thinks about what Abreu will do when he moves to New York.
“I was part of the vision — his vision,” he said. “He saw me when I was a 9 year old boy in Barquisimeto. I think he saw this. He saw me in New York with the New York Philharmonic. I’m sure of that.”
He added: “I can see him. I can feel him. And I believe you are happy. He is very happy.”
Adam Nagourney contributed reporting from Los Angeles and Joshua Barone from New York.
