LA Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel

Malcolm's brother Theo was gracious enough to get us symphony tickets as our engagement present.  For those of you who aren't too familiar with the LA Philharmonic, the LA Phil has become a world-class symphony, thanks mostly to Maestro Esa Pekka Salonen, LA Phil's prior conductor and music director.  Under Maestro Salonen's masterful direction, LA Phil has become a symphony of such high caliber that international musicians have come to Los Angeles to perform.  With Salonen's retirement from LA Phil at the end of the 2008 season, LA Phil hired Gustavo Dudamel, child prodigy and genius from Venezuela.

At 28, Maestro Dudamel is able to direct the musicians LA Phil, many of whom are decades older than Dudamel, with confidence, brilliance, and gusto.  It is very very very rare for someone who is 28 years old to conduct a symphony of LA Phil's caliber.  To put this in perspective, even a genius like Maestro Leonard Bernstein didn't get his first conducting gig until 35, and it was by accident.  Also, Dudamel memorized the entire music score.  Dudamel is incredibly, wonderfully, a genius.

The concert started with a modern composition by Korean composer (and a woman!  very rare in the classical field) Unsuk Chin, which featured the traditional Chinese mouth harp.  Proud as I am that a fellow countrywoman has won many prestigious awards for her composition, I've got to say that the music was really weird.  After that piece, the philharmonic played Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1.  While I am not a huge fan of Mahler, his first symphony is really beautiful.  Also, for all you Star Wars geeks out there, Mahler's first symphony was the inspiration for John Williams' soundtrack for the original "Star Wars" and it's 2 sequels.

If you get a chance to see LA Phil and/or Maestro Dudamel, I highly recommend it!  Especially if you've never been to Disney Concert Hall.  It's a gorgeous building.