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Dudamel wants 'innovative' stay at LA Philharmonic
AFP - Saturday, January 24
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel has vowed to bring an "innovative" approach to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a bid to attract a new generation of fans to classical music later this year.
The prodigiously gifted 27-year-old maestro appeared in Los Angeles on Thursday to formally unveil the orchestra's 2009/2010 season, which he will open with a free concert for 18,000 people in October at the Hollywood Bowl.
Dudamel said he wanted to follow the philharmonic's outgoing Finnish musical director Esa-Pekka Salonen "in making the orchestra a center for innovation."
"I think Los Angeles, here is a tradition of new things, not old things, and it is an example for orchestras all over the world," said Dudamel, the most famous product of Venezuela's "El Sistema" ("the system.")
Conceived by Venezuelan conductor and composer Jose Antonio Abreu, the system involves taking children, many of them from the poorest parts of Caracas, and teaching them music at the highest level.
The program, born in the 1970s, now includes 250,000 students. Dudamel himself rose up through the system, while the best students earn a place in the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Los Angeles Philharmonic have made no secret of the fact that they wish to reach out to as broad an audience as possible and see Dudamel as the perfect agent for change.
Dudamel says he deliberately opted for a "familiar and accessible" piece to open his season with, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.
"We have to give more access to classical music, until now in the 21st century, it's so limited," Dudamel said. "
"For us, it is very important to have a new audience coming together with our regular audience and to have young kids.
"First, this is a beautiful challenge and second, it's a wonderful opportunity to make great music with my new LA Philharmonic family. The most important thing is to enjoy our time together."
Dudamel's inaugural gala at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in October will see the conductor lead the philharmonic in John Adams' "City Noir," a tribute to Los Angeles traditions as the center of "film noir" in the 1940s and 50s.
The gala will also feature a performance of Mahler's Symphony No.1, which is to be broadcast in North America, Europe, South America and Asia on October 8.
Deborah Borda, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said Dudamel had "taken our tradition of innovation and reimagined it in his own very individual way.
"This season's programming is a musical acknowledgement of our sense of place in our city, state, and within the heritage of the Americas," Borda said.
"Already evident is the birth of a special partnership that is very 'Gustavo' and very LA Phil. It is true to our traditions, while also expanding us," she added.
The LA Philharmonic is to embark on an eight-city tour of the United States in Dudamel's first year.
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Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, seen here, has vowed to bring an "innovative" approach to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a bid to attract a new generation of fans to classical music later this year
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