LA Philharmonic is Soaring with Daniel Harding

There are way too many obvious metaphor crossovers between orchestra conductor and airline pilot--the podium is the cockpit, you’re at the controls of a complex machine, that sort of thing. But with the appointment of conductor and commercial airline pilot Daniel Harding as the 12th music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, we’re all going there.

Perhaps the most apt metaphor is less a metaphor and more just a professional requirement: both an orchestra conductor and an airline pilot must, first and foremost, be a collaborator. Neither can do their job by themself. Mechanics, flight attendants, gate agents, co-pilots; backstage crew, board/management, box office, musicians. It takes all of these component parts to keep a plane aloft and a symphony soaring.

Above all, the appointment of Daniel Harding as LA Phil music director emphasizes collaboration. A talent and mentorship pedigree beyond reproach, Harding is one of the leading international conductors on the scene today. And he’s ready for his next set of challenges: 1.) his first American music directorship, something he had eschewed until now, 2.) being the guy to follow The Dude, 3.) overseeing the largest (by budget) and most sprawling (by number of venues) orchestral operation in the United States.

Credit Daniel Harding, who said, “I wouldn’t want to come to LA if I didn’t think it would be a challenge.”

Again, this is a guy who, while we were all making sourdough starter and figuring out where we could procure toilet paper, learned how to fly airplanes. Talk about a Covid project.

On the surface, Harding’s appointment may seem traditional for an organization whose brand is breaking tradition. However, Harding as a collaborator/overseer of a musical leadership team that also includes Esa-Pekka Salonen, Anna Handler, Thomas Wilkins, John Adams, and two as-yet unnamed Creative Chairs (for Latinx music and for film music), he may just be the perfect fit.

One thing’s for sure, after a search that featured more than 35 candidates and took far less time than building that people-mover at LAX, the LA Phil is now cleared for takeoff into its next era.