In Thursday’s (5/6) Wall Street Journal, David Mermelstein writes, “The young Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel is so personable, unpretentious and full of energy that it’s easy to see why even seasoned journalists treat him with kid gloves. Yet as he approaches the end of his inaugural season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s music director, his first major post, an assessment of his achievements seems in order. He and the orchestra have just concluded ‘Americas & Americans,’ a small series of concerts billed as his first festival with the ensemble, and they are about to embark on their first tour: an eight-city trek across the U.S., beginning in San Francisco on May 10 and culminating in New York on May 22. The programs feature works by Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Bernstein and John Adams. … Mr. Dudamel maintains that his programs will balance old and new. ‘It’s not difficult when you have good music,’ he said. ‘On this tour, we will do Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 with John Adams’s “City Noir.” Next year we have a Brahms festival, and all the symphonies will be paired with new music, including two world premieres—so it’s Brahms, but with new and amazing composers. It’s like when you go to eat and try a new dish: You always have it with something you already know. That’s the kind of combination I want.’ ”
Posted May 6, 2010
