“The Dude will be sticking around Los Angeles for at least eight more years,” writes David Ng in Friday’s (2/4) Los Angeles Times. “The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Thursday that conductor Gustavo Dudamel has extended his contract as music director through the 2018-19 season. Dudamel, who is with the orchestra in Budapest as part of a multi-city European tour, joined the L.A. Philharmonic as music director at the beginning of the 2009-10 season, succeeding Esa-Pekka Salonen. Dudamel is expected to make the announcement to the orchestra’s musicians after their second concert in Budapest on Thursday night. Dudamel’s original contract as music director was for a five-year term and would have ended in 2014. The contract now extends through the orchestra’s centennial year. … Dudamel was not made available for interviews but in a statement, the 30-year-old conductor said that ‘the connection I feel to the musicians and leadership of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and to the city of Los Angeles is special. It is our aspiration to build something new, something that takes us towards a brighter future for music, for education, for young people, for the community.’ ”
Posted February 4, 2011
