Upcoming broadcasts
LA Phil Broadcasts on Classical California are made possible through the endowed LA Phil Broadcast Program Fund, generously supported by the Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg Fund.
Sunday, May 24
Dudamel, Dante, and Beethoven 6 Noted for its blissful introduction, birdsong via woodwinds, and rumbling thunder of cellos, Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony embodies the calming charm of the countryside. In a letter to one of his beloved pupils, he wrote, “How happy I am to be able to wander among the bushes and grass, under trees and over rocks, no man can love the country as I love it.” Gustavo Dudamel captures the serenity of the symphony before steering the orchestra into the treacherous depths of Thomas Adès’ “Inferno”—the fiery first movement of the work that won the LA Phil a Grammy for Best Orchestral Performance. Within minutes of hearing Dante, “You can feel the lightning bolt of [Adès’] virtuosity, the sense of pure enjoyment as he uses every orchestral resource to create a battery of exhilarating sound from a 75-strong orchestra” (The Guardian).
Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral" Thomas ADÈS "Inferno" from Dante (LA Phil commission)
Sunday, May 17 Dudamel Conducts Lorenz and Beethoven Leading off the evening is the world premiere of Ricardo Lorenz’s Humboldt’s Nature, inspired by the South American travels of Beethoven’s like-minded contemporary, philosopher and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. In between, piano sensation Yunchan Lim, winner of the 2022 Van Cliburn competition, performs Robert Schumann’s enchanting Piano Concerto. Then, Dudamel channels the ecstatic, whirling energy of Beethoven’s Seventh, described by the composer himself as his “most excellent symphony.” Its introduction simmers and builds with sweet woodwind phrases between booming string chords, eventually soaring ahead to a prancing finale with joyful mania.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Ricardo LORENZ Humboldt’s Nature (world premiere, LA Phil commission) BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
PAST EPISODES
Sunday, May 10
Dudamel Conducts Mahler’s “Resurrection Mahler’s Second Symphony charts a journey from funeral to rebirth, from the terrifying to the transcendent. Its indelible power was memorably captured in the 2023 film Maestro. Gustavo Dudamel, an ardent champion of Mahler, takes on this majestic work, featuring soprano Chen Reiss, mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. “The effect is so great that one cannot describe it,” Mahler reflected of the symphony. “If I were to say what I think of this great work, it would sound too arrogant in a letter. … The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world. I think there is no one who can resist it. One is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s wings to the highest heights.”
Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Chen Reiss, soprano Beth Taylor, mezzo-soprano Los Angeles Master Chorale Grant Gershon, Artistic Director Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
MAHLER Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"
Sunday, May 3 The Rite of Spring with Dudamel Stravinsky’s thrilling and visceral vision of pagan Russian ritual and sacrifice set off a rhythmic revolution and has become something of a signature piece for the LA Phil, offering a rite of passage for music directors to leave their own musical fingerprints on the transfixing ballet score. Dudamel’s rendition has been praised by the Los Angeles Times for unleashing the “uncontrollable disastrous forces in us” balanced with “the musical mastery” needed to control that superhuman musical intensity. Dudamel pairs The Rite of Spring with The Firebird suite, another of Stravinsky’s ballets, filled with romance and magic that concludes with melodic majesty. Opening the program is the US premiere of LA Phil Creative Chair John Adams’ Frenzy: a short symphony. Inspired by the feeling of processing the modern world and its incessant digital drip of news, Frenzy is rhythmically driven in its own right—unwinding an aura of agita through a hall of mirrors into “a tense nocturnal chase, with a touch of film noir glamour” (Daily Telegraph).
Recent Broadcasts On Demand
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Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel, conductor Chen Reiss, soprano Beth Taylor, mezzo-soprano Los Angeles Master Chorale Grant Gershon, Artistic Director Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
MAHLER Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"
