Concert Review: Joy Without (too much) Pain

Gustavo Dudamel takes on Beethoven's Ninth.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Photo by Matthew Imaging
© 2018 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Like a famous conductor on tour across America, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in d minor is a victim of its own success. The four movement symphony was the first in its genre to add human voices in the form of four soloists and a choir to an already expanded symphony orchestra. For better or worse, the main theme of its finale is culturally ubiquitous, a necessity for any orchestra or choral society. As a result, bad performances of the Ninth are legion: enthusiastic readings that do little to enhance the work’s musical worth.

The Broken Baton

Charles Dutoit accused of sexual misconduct, loses major conducting jobs.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit stands accused of four separate incidents of sexual misconduct.

In a detailed and harrowing story in the Associated Press, three opera singers and an orchestra musician recalled sexual advances and assaults by Mr. Dutoit. The story, by Jocelyn Gecker, shines light on four unrelated incidents. All involved the Swiss maestro. In response to the story, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic cut their ties with the 81-year-old Swiss maestro.

Concert Review: To Infinity and Beyond

Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Mahler Third.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Dude abides: Gustavo Dudamel.
Photo by Mark Hanauer © 2015 Universal Classics UMG

For Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan conductor who wears his fame like an easy evening cloak, any concert in New York is a big deal. On Sunday, Mr. Dudamel brought his Los Angeles Philharmonic to Lincoln Center for the first of two concerts. This opener featured Mahler's giant-sized Symphony No. 3 in D Minor, a 100-minute exercise in world-building that ranks as the longest symphony to hold a place in the standard repertory. In it, Mahler depicts nothing less than the entire cosmos, from the birth of his beloved Alps to the rewards of heaven and beyond.

Recordings Review: The Power of the Dude

Gustavo Dudamel's Mahler Ninth and Seventh.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Gustavo Dudamel. Photo by Chris Lee.

In today's dwindling music industry, symphony recordings are becoming more and more infrequent. This makes the Deutsche Grammophon release of new recordings of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 7 and Symphony No. 9 important documents in charting the development of a young conductor. These two releases (both were recorded in 2012) under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel feature the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra (in the Seventh) and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (in the Ninth the two orchestras where Mr. Dudamel occupies the post of Artistic Director.

The Dude Continues to Abide

An update on the current conducting carousel.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Looking California: Gustavo Dudamel has signed an extension in the City of Angels.
Photo of the conductor courtesy Universal Music Group.
Elements of movie poster for To Live and Die in L.A. © 1985 New Century Productions.

According to a report in Musical America and the New York Times today, conductor Gustavo Dudamel has deepened his relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The dynamic Venezuelan conductor has changed his title with that orchestra to Artistic Director and signed a new contract extending his tenure with the orchestra through 2022.

Concert Review: New Stars, Shining Bright

Yuja Wang takes on the "Rach Three" at Lincoln Center. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Her hands are a blur: Yuja Wang. Photo by Felix Broede for Deutsche Grammophon.
© 2014 Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group.

In the city of Los Angeles, star power is everything. And for Monday night's concert at Avery Fisher Hall by that city's Los Angeles Philharmonic, the wattage was bright indeed. At the controls: conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the hotshot Venezuelan who has been compared (mostly in Deutsche Grammophon press releases) to classical music's equivalent of Elvis Presley. The featured soloist was Yuja Wang, whose prestidigitations at the piano easily outshine her predilection for slit skirts and high heels as concert attire.

Concert Review: The Crimes of a Century

The Los Angeles Philharmonic returns to Lincoln Center.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Speaks with his hands: Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel.
Photo by Luis Cobelo © 2014 Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group.

The return of conductor Gustavo Dudamel to New York is always a momentous occasion. Sunday's concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall featured two heavy-weight symphonies that stand one century apart: the Symphony No. 1 of New York composer John Corigliano and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5., a perennial audience favorite. Outside, a small group of protestors congregated to remind concert-goers of the dangerous conditions in Mr. Dudamel's native Venezuela.

Inside, the conductor and his orchestra had other concerns.

Concert Review: Not Into That Whole Brevity Thing

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Debussy and Stravinsky.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Dude abides: Gustavo Dudamel conducts.
Photo by Chris Lee.

A concert appearance by Gustavo Dudamel is always cause for excitement--and for those who venerate the 32-year old Venezuelan conductor, a level of fan support not usually seen with men who beat time. On Thursday night, New Yorkers had the opportunity to hear the fiery Venezuelan lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 20th century orchestral repertory. This was the second of two appearances at Avery Fisher Hall by the L.A. players, as part of the annual Great Performers at Lincoln Center subscription series.