Los Angeles Philharmonic Announces New Season Without Dudamel But As Big And Bold As Ever

On Sunday, Aug. 23, Gustavo Dudamel will opportunity his last goodbye to nan Los Angeles Philharmonic arsenic euphony head successful a gala Hollywood Bowl precocious August play celebrating his philharmonic bequest of nan past 17 Bowl summers. And past what?

For nan first clip successful 64 years, nan L.A. Phil will beryllium without a euphony director, and pinch nary 1 successful waiting successful nan wings. But you whitethorn hardly notice. In small much than 3 months, Dudamel, though recently installed arsenic euphony and creator head of nan New York Philharmonic, will beryllium saying hullo erstwhile again to his aged set astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall for 2 weeks of Beethoven.

Then, successful January, Esa-Pekka Salonen, named euphony conductor laureate successful 2009 aft his transformative 17 years arsenic euphony director, originates his first concerts successful his caller domiciled of imaginative director, assuring nan L.A. Phil remains nan venturesome leader of nan world orchestra pack.

The L.A. Phil 2026-27 season, announced Tuesday, appears arsenic intrepid arsenic ever. The daunting 11-page property merchandise is packed pinch names, events, series, festivals, jazz series, opus series, caller euphony series, caller euphony everything (22 commissions), recitals, rituals, opera, YOLA — wrong Walt Disney Concert Hall and without. The without moreover features a visit to Topanga Tower, nan mysterious cold-war relic successful nan Santa Monica mountains.

Esa-Pekka Salonen, pictured successful May 2025, will statesman his first concerts successful January successful his caller domiciled arsenic imaginative head of nan Los Angeles Philharmonic.

(David Swanson / For The Times)

The centerpiece of nan play will beryllium a far-reaching “Rituals Festival,” curated by Salonen. In it, nan conductor and composer examines really rituals tally our lives, from nan tiniest ones we hardly announcement to those that specify our existence. The ritual could beryllium which ft you put your footwear connected first each greeting aliases assisting nan personification you emotion nan astir successful this world return a last activity successful leaving it.

The mundane will beryllium explored successful a multimedia collaboration pinch Salonen and director/disrupter Yuval Sharon, a erstwhile L.A. Phil creator collaborator and presently head of nan Metropolitan’s caller deed accumulation of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” The existential will beryllium embodied (and disembodied) pinch nan U.S. premiere of “One Morning Turns Into an Eternity,” nan profoundly original operatic study — utilizing monodramas by Schoenberg and Mahler — of dying and transcending that Salonen and head Peter Sellars created for nan Salzburg Festival past summer.

Other rituals will see Salonen conducting Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” (a Salonen specialty, which has besides go a Disney Hall rite successful its ain right) and a programme of requiems by Mozart and György Ligeti (another Salonen specialty).

Beyond nan rituals, Salonen will besides execute Ravel’s Piano Concerto pinch Mitsuko Uchida arsenic soloist successful a programme that originates pinch nan premiere of his revision of “Tiu,” his big-boned people that was written to observe nan 20th day of Walt Disney Concert Hall. He will besides premiere a caller violin concerto, “How to beryllium a Bird” by Gabriella Smith.

Dudamel, who has conscionable vanished 4 Beethoven-centric weeks pinch nan L.A. Phil and who will behaviour Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony astatine nan Bowl this summer, is making Beethoven a refrain of his first play successful New York, arsenic well. He past brings that existent obsession backmost to L.A., surveying Beethoven’s first 4 soft concertos pinch Rudolf Buchbinder arsenic soloist, on pinch Beethoven’s Third (“Eroica”) and Fifth Symphonies.

A ritual Dudamel created successful L.A. was opening each play pinch nan premiere of recently commissioned work. He has taken that New York and chosen Canadian composer Zosha di Castri, who came to early attraction erstwhile John Adams championed her astatine nan L.A. Phil successful 2011. The caller activity happens to beryllium a co-commission pinch nan L.A. Phil, and Dudamel will execute it astatine Disney successful May.

In relationship pinch nan accent connected rituals, nan orchestra will big a “Minimalist Spotlight,” passim a play that will spot nan 90th birthdays of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, on pinch nan 80th of Adams, who continues arsenic nan orchestra’s imaginative chair. This will see some Glass’ latest people — Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln” — and nan premiere of Reich’s “All Your Ways.” “Lincoln,” which celebrates America’s semiquincentennial, is nan symphony that Glass pulled from nan Kennedy Center. The Boston Symphony will big nan world premiere of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 15, “Lincoln,” connected July 5.

Other awesome minimalism attractions are a programme of selections to 4 ground-breaking Adams euphony theatre pieces created successful collaboration pinch Sellars — “Nixon successful China,” “The Death of Klinghoffer” and “Doctor Atomic” — conducted by nan composer and featuring his existent muse, Julia Bullock. A programme of Eastern European Minimalists, highlighted by Henryk Gorecki’s famed Third Symphony, will beryllium conducted by Iceland Symphony euphony head Eva Ollikainen. The L.A. caller euphony set Wild Up teams up pinch Meredith Monk’s vocal ensemble for her latest awesome work, “Indra’s Net.”

The orchestra has ne'er been overmuch for anniversaries aliases vacation music, but it intelligibly is this season. The animated French early euphony master Emmanuelle Haïm, nan orchestra’s creator collaborator, isn’t letting Christmas get distant this year. She will lead performances of Handel’s “Messiah,” featuring nan Los Angeles Master Chorale, and Christmas-themed programme of useful by Corelli for her lively play instrumentality ensemble, “Le Concert d’Astrée.”

Yuja Wang and Vikingur Olafsson execute astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall successful February 2025. Both are portion of nan Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2026-27 season.

(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

The database of regulars, impermanent conductors and soloists is agelong and nan repertory wide varied. The conductors see erstwhile main impermanent conductor Susan Mälkki, Elim Chan, Gustavo Gimeno, Anna Handler, Daniel Harding, Paavo Järvi, Louis Langrée and Xian Zhang. Joana Mallwitz, whose debut pinch nan orchestra past twelvemonth was a thrill a minute, has been invited back. Two conductors getting a bully woody of attraction lately make their debuts. Czech conductor Petr Popelka is rumored to beryllium a beardown campaigner successful nan Cleveland Orchestra’s euphony head search. Russian conductor and pianist Maxim Emelyanychev brings improvisational flair to Baroque and classical play music. Los Angeles Opera’s caller euphony head Domingo Hindoyan will lead a programme pinch his wife, soprano Sonya Yoncheva, arsenic soloist.

Guest artists arsenic soloists aliases giving solo recitals see Emanuel Ax, Seong-Jin Cho, Helene Grimaud, Lang Lang, Vikingur Ólafsson and galore others connected nan classical side; Herbie Hancock, Pat Benatar, Andrew Bird, Bernadette Peters and Kamasi Washington et. al. successful jazz and pop.

And, of course, location is Yuja Wang. She will unfastened nan season, pinch a gala conducted by Teddy Abrams, who becomes creator head of nan Ojai Festival adjacent season. Wang sticks astir for nan first subscription concerts arsenic soloist Barber’s Piano Concerto, pinch Kwamé Ryan conducting.

Guest orchestras person go uncommon guests these days. Touring is expensive, not awesome for nan situation and tin beryllium a visa nightare for overseas performers. Next play location will beryllium 2 successful Disney: Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal led by its euphony head Rafael Payare (who is besides euphony head of nan San Diego Symphony) and nan London Symphony and its euphony head Antonio Pappano.

One much ritual. Conducting YOLA, nan younker orchestra and school programme founded by Dudamel connected Day One arriving successful L.A. (even earlier he officially became euphony director), remains a ritual erstwhile he’s successful town. Although there has been contention over perchance cutting backmost connected YOLA, nan orchestra says it remains vital. The play will see a awesome ceremony of nan 5th day of nan Gehry-designed Beckmen YOLA Center. The designer who died successful December will beryllium further honored during nan play pinch a capacity by nan L.A. Phil of Thomas Adès’ “Tower for Frank Gehry.”

And past location is that different building successful Topanga. The pilgrimage, caping Salonen’s “Rituals,” involves dancer and choreographer Dimitri Chamblas, shaper Kate Nordstrom and composer Tim Hecker. No connection yet connected what they’ll beryllium up to.