Dudamel dazzles at Philharmonic's opening night.
| Publication: Daily News (Los Angeles, CA) Publication Date: 11-OCT-09 | Format: Online Delivery: Immediate Online Access |
| Full Article Title: Dudamel dazzles at Philharmonic's opening night.(L.A. Life) Article Excerpt | |
Byline: Rob Lowman, Staff Writer
Gustavo Dudamel was dancing - literally - after his official debut as new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at a sold-out concert Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
And why not? The 28-year-old Venezuelan conductor and his wife, Eloisa - wearing a strapless, tiered floor-length red dress - took to the dance floor to a Latin beat at the post-concert gala on what can be described as a joyous night for the symphony orchestra.
There had been a lot of hoopla surrounding Dudamel's arrival, and Thursday night was no different, with a wide range of celebrities - Andy Garcia, Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance, Sophia Bush, Dana Delany, Jenna Elfman, Rachel Griffiths, Don Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Quincy Jones, Eriq La Salle, Luke Macfarlane, Sidney Poitier, Jason Schwartzman and William Shatner, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city and county officials.
Although some of them may have expected it, Dudamel wasn't there to perform magic. He had been brought in by the Phil to put a new, young face on classical music in Los Angeles. And what the city learned Thursday - if it didn't know it already - it's a very appealing face with lots of talent behind it.
Dressed in black tails and white tie, the conductor walked onstage and briefly acknowledged the crowd with a smile before giving an almost violent downbeat to begin to John Adams' "City Noir," a world premiere that had been commissioned by the Philharmonic.
With echoes of urban jazz and 1940s and 1950s' movie themes, the work - inspired by the Raymond Chandler Los Angeles of the era - begins with syncopated clarinets punctuated by straining bits of strings before blossoming into a concrete dreamscape.
Lively sax solos give way to sultry trombone solos and then jittery, foreboding sections that echo the uneasiness of the times.
This rich work by Adams, who is the creative chair of the Philharmonic, was easy to get lost in, as if wandering down city streets and unexpectedly finding yourself in an unfamiliar - and sometimes dangerous - territory, which eventually gives way to an electrifying finale. They'll be some snap judgments about it, but there's a lot in it to process on one listening, and "City Noir" is certainly a musical journey worth taking again.
As he conducted from a score (Adams had been tinkering with the work until recently), Dudamel seemed to prowl the podium, trying to wring the emotions and mystery from the work, and the orchestra responded with an animated, compelling performance.
(Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until Nov. 27-29 to hear it performed again live by the Phil as part of its West Coast, Left Coast festival. But Thursday's concert was recorded for PBS, and "Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic: The Inaugural Concert" will air at 8 p.m. Oct. 21 on KCET.)
For those looking for a definitive decision on "City Noir," remember what was written about the work that made up the second half of the concert - Mahler's Symphony No. 1. When it debuted in 1894, the German musical press condemned it as "a crime against law and order in the realm of...
Gustavo Dudamel was dancing - literally - after his official debut as new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at a sold-out concert Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
And why not? The 28-year-old Venezuelan conductor and his wife, Eloisa - wearing a strapless, tiered floor-length red dress - took to the dance floor to a Latin beat at the post-concert gala on what can be described as a joyous night for the symphony orchestra.
There had been a lot of hoopla surrounding Dudamel's arrival, and Thursday night was no different, with a wide range of celebrities - Andy Garcia, Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance, Sophia Bush, Dana Delany, Jenna Elfman, Rachel Griffiths, Don Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Quincy Jones, Eriq La Salle, Luke Macfarlane, Sidney Poitier, Jason Schwartzman and William Shatner, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other city and county officials.
Although some of them may have expected it, Dudamel wasn't there to perform magic. He had been brought in by the Phil to put a new, young face on classical music in Los Angeles. And what the city learned Thursday - if it didn't know it already - it's a very appealing face with lots of talent behind it.
Dressed in black tails and white tie, the conductor walked onstage and briefly acknowledged the crowd with a smile before giving an almost violent downbeat to begin to John Adams' "City Noir," a world premiere that had been commissioned by the Philharmonic.
With echoes of urban jazz and 1940s and 1950s' movie themes, the work - inspired by the Raymond Chandler Los Angeles of the era - begins with syncopated clarinets punctuated by straining bits of strings before blossoming into a concrete dreamscape.
Lively sax solos give way to sultry trombone solos and then jittery, foreboding sections that echo the uneasiness of the times.
This rich work by Adams, who is the creative chair of the Philharmonic, was easy to get lost in, as if wandering down city streets and unexpectedly finding yourself in an unfamiliar - and sometimes dangerous - territory, which eventually gives way to an electrifying finale. They'll be some snap judgments about it, but there's a lot in it to process on one listening, and "City Noir" is certainly a musical journey worth taking again.
As he conducted from a score (Adams had been tinkering with the work until recently), Dudamel seemed to prowl the podium, trying to wring the emotions and mystery from the work, and the orchestra responded with an animated, compelling performance.
(Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until Nov. 27-29 to hear it performed again live by the Phil as part of its West Coast, Left Coast festival. But Thursday's concert was recorded for PBS, and "Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic: The Inaugural Concert" will air at 8 p.m. Oct. 21 on KCET.)
For those looking for a definitive decision on "City Noir," remember what was written about the work that made up the second half of the concert - Mahler's Symphony No. 1. When it debuted in 1894, the German musical press condemned it as "a crime against law and order in the realm of...
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