A New Day at the NY Phil: Gustavo Dudamel Announces the 2025-26 Season at David Geffen Hall
To be frank, I couldn't care less about what the NY Phil is playing in 2026.
For me, yesterday's 2025-26 season announcement at Geffen Hall was about one thing: seeing whether Gustavo Dudamel, who's in town this week to conduct the Philharmonic in Varèse, Ravel and Gershwin, could pass the eye test in front of the media and other interested parties as the Phil's next Music and Artistic Director. Dudamel doesn't take over for two more seasons but, in what's become de rigeur among major orchestras with MD vacancies, he'll do halfsies with the LA Phil next season as "Music Director Designate", leading six weeks of concerts in New York, including opening night.
Before Gustavo took the stage set up in the Geffen Hall lobby, he was introduced by the Phil's freshly minted CEO Matías Tarnopolsky, who took over in January from Deborah Borda. (No doubt she's hoping it sticks this time.) Tarnopolsky, 54, comes to New York from the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he'd been CEO since 2018. An affable Brit who happens to have been born in Argentina, Tarnopolsky and Dudamel have known each other for two decades, back to when Matías was in charge of artistic planning at the NY Phil (2005-09).
"I can take absolutely no credit for the planning of this season," Tarnopolsky charmingly confessed before ticking off some highlights: the world premiere of David Lang's evening-length choral work the wealth of nations; a crowd-sourced orchestration of Frederic Rwzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated; and a new choral work by Ellen Reid, co-commissioned with the LA Phil.
And then, with perhaps a bit too much stagecraft, Dudamel entered from stage left, trailed by one of several cameras there to record the event. (At least they didn't have walk-on music.) After warmly embracing Tarnopolsky, Dudamel shared how prior to that morning's rehearsal, he sat in the Music Director's studio for the first time, surrounded by the portraits of past music directors: Mengleberg, Mahler, Toscanini, Bernstein.
"I'm overwhelmed," he said. "It's a special feeling."
Besides the press, the lobby was filled with members of the NY Phil's board, staff and musicians, along with nearly a dozen composers whose work will be performed next season, including Lang, Reid, Tania Leon, and John Corigliano. Also present were Borda, Carnegie's Clive Gillinson, LA Phil CEO Kim Notlemy, and (weirdly) Chicago Symphony CEO Jeff Alexander, who has his own megawatt maestro coming to town in a few years. A testament to the broad impact Gustavo has had on classical music in this country (not to mention abroad).
Dudamel, who seemed a bit embarrassed by all of the attention, took questions in both English and Español, with Tarnopolsky summarizing the latter for those of us who never learned Spanish in high school. A test came from the AP, which asked if Dudamel had heard from any artists who wanted to cancel their upcoming appearances in response to the shenanigans in DC, such as violinist Christian Tetzlaff. “None here or in LA yet," Dudamel answered straightforwardly, "though it's very important that everyone has a right to express themselves.” A deft response.
From the Hispanic media, Dudamel was asked if he thought he could be a bridge between western classical music and music from Latin America. "Absolutamante," he said, and promised to offer more music from south of the border in upcoming seasons.
At one point, Tarnopolsky brought up the now-familiar story of how Dudamel broke Bernstein's baton, which was lent to him for his first appearance with the Phil.
“I believe everything (is connected)" Dudamel said, reflecting on the unfortunate event. "Everything happens for a reason.” (The baton was later repaired and returned to the Philharmonic archives.)
Much has been made of the cosmic connection between Dudamel and Bernstein, perhaps to the point of being overdone. (At least noone's compared him to Mahler. Yet.) But, what's clear is that the two maestros share a passion for teaching and music-making, which comes from a deep-seated sense of purpose.
“Music isn’t just entertainment," Dudamel offered. "When you go to a concert, you are...transformed. It is a place of contemplation, which is crucial in this time when we're all connected to our devices. Not that there's anything wrong with Twitter or Facebook!”
Of course, talk is cheap. If you really want to hear what Gustavo has to say, go to one of his concerts this week. If you can get a ticket, that is.
For more on what the Phil has planned for next season, go here.