This is certainly not the case now, because the featured artist, a new classical music rock star by the name of Gustavo Dudamel, would rather reach out to Los Angeles--get to know his surroundings. This new director of the LA Philharmonic shows an admirable combination of the talent of young Mozart, the charisma and vision of Barack Obama and the coaching/teaching ability of Pete Carroll, (our beloved USC Football coach).
Tickets became available to the public, and were to be picked up at the Bowl on the morning of August 1st. People were lined up around the perimeter of the amphitheater camping out from as early as 5 am. A child who stood in line for tickets that morning was quoted as being a "huge fan" of Dudamel--that he had seen his feature on 60 minutes and idolized his curly hair and his strong sense of passion. Watch clips of the feature here and here. It makes sense--the waiting in long lines and the children--Dudamel's hair does resemble that of Nick Jonas.
In all serioussness, though, concert ticket holders have much to be excited about. The first half of the concert will feature local musical giants such as Herbie Hancock, Flea and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, Alfredo Rodriguez, Ben Harper and others. The second half will be devoted to Dudamel's debut as he will conduct the LA Phil in Beethoven's ninth symphony. The collaboration of the various genres will be inspiring , I'm certain--music lovers in LA, and the rest of the country, need some inspiration.
The recession effected Disney Hall season ticket sales to fall last year by seven percent. In addition, while European orchestras continue to thrive in attendance, the American attendees of Philharmonic concerts are not getting younger. In fact, Dudamel is probably less than half the age of the average LA Phil season ticket holder. The hope is that Dudamel will be the driving force to encourage young people and members of the community to rediscover the power of classical music. It's ambitious. Yes We Can.
Appropriately, Beethoven's final symphony ends with the well known tune of "Ode to Joy."
“The Beethoven Ninth was selected because it has a universal message,” says Borda. “Gustavo thought that it represented his hopes for the musical spirit of our great city and celebrates the human spirit in a way that no other piece does.”
That's exactly what Los Angeles needs. Hope and joy through artistic venues. I love Dudamel because, unlike many entertainment moguls and disillusioned Angelians, he is not afraid to be completely immersed in passion for what he does. Los Angeles, whether we want to believe it or not, is a city that is suffering from money obsession, fast entertainment and self-image. I'm not asking Gustavo Dudamel to single handedly fix the city, but I truly look forward to his music making that will change people's lives, inspire young musicians and help, even remotely, to put this broken city back together.
In this video, American composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein talks about and performs the last section of Beethoven No. 9. Dudamel has been compared to Bernstein, whose first appearance with the New York Philharmonic at age 25 lead him to become America's most charismatic conductor. When Dudamel made his NY Phil debut at age 23, he used Bernstein's old baton, and revealed his own "boundless joy in music making."
No comments:
Post a Comment