Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel will leave the Los Angeles Philharmonic to conduct the New York Philharmonic when his contract expires in 2026.
According to him, he has dreamed of conducting the symphony orchestra founded in New York in 1842 under the name Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York since he was nine years old, playing the orchestra’s recordings in the background and conducting its dummies.
The 42-year-old maestro notes that while it’s been a long road, it’s all happened “organically” and that he’s a clear example that “dreams can be achieved” if you “work” and “put your love of music” to work for the children who dream the same thing from their room.
“I didn’t think I would be the first Latino (in this position). I’m proud of it, but I don’t consider it something individual,” Dudamel told reporters at a Lincoln Center auditorium event.
He said teamwork is fundamental for the artist because the bond between the musicians and the conductor in a concert is “the love of music.”
Dudamel says he doesn’t have the plan to create a “new era” under his leadership, which will be outlined in collaboration with the Philharmonic team and the New York community.
He wants to make the New York Philharmonic his new family; as he did with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the orchestras, he worked with in Venezuela.
The New York Philharmonic emphasizes wanting to “democratize interest in classical music” with Dudamel, as they hope the Venezuelan maestro will reach a wider audience.
Dudamel, who has also been conductor of the Paris Opera, will replace Dutch violinist Jaap van Zweden, who has been music director of the New York Philharmonic since 2018 and will extend his term until 2026.
Dudamel was born in Barquisimeto into a family of musicians.
His father was a trombonist who played in a salsa band, and his mother was a vocal coach.
He was trained in El Sistema, a Venezuelan program that teaches music to children, many of whom come from poor families.
His talent was quickly recognized by the organization’s founder, José Antonio Abréu.
“He was the one who saw something special in me when I was nine years old and made me want to go down this wonderful path of conducting,” Dudamel says.
In 2004, Gustavo Dudamel won the first Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg, Germany.
The following year, the musician was invited to make his US debut at the Hollywood Bowl with a program of works by Tchaikovsky and Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas.
“A 24-year-old Venezuelan conductor with curly hair, long sideburns, and a baby face accomplished something increasingly rare and difficult,” Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed wrote of that performance at the time, “getting the full, immediate, rapt attention of a normally restless audience.”
Dudamel’s debut with the New York Philharmonic in 2007 was equally memorable, even after he broke a baton used by the great Leonard Bernstein and loaned to him by the orchestra for two pieces – an anecdote Dudamel recalled with a laugh.
Since his appointment as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, his relationship with Venezuela has had its ups and downs.
He led the orchestra that played at President Hugo Chávez’s funeral and, for years, held back on criticizing the government.
But in 2017, after a young “El Sistema” member was killed in a street protest, Dudamel criticized the regime’s plan to rewrite the constitution.
Nicolás Maduro responded by canceling foreign tours by Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and the maestro did not return to his homeland.
Dudamel explained that despite his absence in Venezuela, he continues to have a close relationship with the Bolívar Orchestra, which he still considers his family.
“It will always be my orchestra, and I hope we will do hundreds of things together soon.”
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