With his subtle grace and staccato-like fortitude, young Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel is undoubtedly one of the hottest stars in the global classical music world now.
Leading his Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the maestro came to Korea for two concert performances Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall, showing just why he is considered the future of classical music.
Indicative of his fame here, tickets to Wednesday’s performance were sold out, even though some were priced at as much as 340,000 won ($306).
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Philharmonic during the orchestra’s first of two concerts at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on Wednesday night. (Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation)
A special group of aspiring musicians, however, got a chance to watch Dudamel in action, just hours before the concert.
Some 100 musical students, including 50 from the “Orchestra of Dreams” children’s ensembles, were invited to watch the conductor lead and instruct the LA Philharmonic as they practiced prior to the night’s live performance.
“The reason we decided to invite the children to attend the open rehearsal was because it would not only allow local aspirants to get a rare glimpse at how a renowned conductor such as Gustavo Dudamel interacts and leads his orchestra, but the kids were also able to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a professional rehearsal is held,” an official from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, the concert’s organizer, said.
“We think just being able to experience something like this is something that these young musicians will be able to cherish and remember for a long time.”
The Dream Orchestra is Korea’s equivalent to Venezuela’s much-hailed national music education program “El Sistema.” Dudamel is the most famous graduate of the program.
Aside from his orchestral creativity, passion and leadership of the LA Philharmonic, the 34-year-old conductor has also been making waves in the classical music realm with his continued musical outreach to the world’s youth.
At Wednesday’s concert, the orchestra performed G. Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 in a minor, “Tragische,” while its second program featured performances of A. Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, “From the New World” and J. Adams’ “City Noir” ― a repertoire that made its world premiere under Dudamel at his 2009 inaugural performance with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
In his five years at the head of the LA Philharmonic, the orchestra has premiered nearly 60 new works, 20 of which he has conducted himself, all across the world. In 2012 the musical genius also landed himself a Grammy award win for Orchestral Performance for his recording of Brahms Symphony No. 4.
After launching the legendary orchestra’s first Asia Tour in Hong Kong on March 19, followed by back-to-back performances in Shanghai, Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic will conclude its final leg of the Asia tour with two finale performances at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo on March 28 and 29.
By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)