LOS ANGELES (January 3, 2024) – The Los Angeles Philharmonic welcomes back Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel to Walt Disney Concert Hall this month to lead three different programs featuring Romantic and post-Romantic masterpieces. Dudamel will conduct two performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 (January 11-12), three performances of a fully staged production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold (January 18 & 20-21), featuring a set designed by Frank Gehry, and three performances of Brahms’ Double Concerto coupled with Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1 (January 26-28). 

The soloists for Brahms’ Double Concerto are the acclaimed violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and rising star cellist Pablo Ferrández. Wagner’s Das Rheingold showcases bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, tenor Simon O’Neill, and a full cast of celebrated singers. 

MAHLER 6 WITH DUDAMEL

Thursday, January 11, at 8:00 PM

Friday, January 12, at 11:00 AM

Walt Disney Concert Hall

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6, "Tragic"

The “Tragic” Symphony thrusts the audience into the composer’s inner world, and Mahler specialist Gustavo Dudamel has been celebrated for expertly shaping the soaring emotional peaks and valleys that run throughout the Sixth. Percussion in many ways frames the emotional extremes Mahler sought to capture, first with cowbells evoking a nostalgic image of country life and then with the famous hammer blows. Each gut-shaking strike represents a fated doom that drowns out happy memories. But while it is a dark path, sharing in this very human emotional journey is ultimately life-affirming.

DUDAMEL LEADS DAS RHEINGOLD

Thursday, January 18, at 8:00 PM

Saturday, January 20, at 8:00 PM

Sunday, January 21, at 2:00 PM

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Alberto Arvelo, director

Rodrigo Prieto, lighting designer

Ryan Speedo Green, Wotan

Barry Banks, Mime

Peixin Chen, Fafner

Alexandria Shiner, Wellgunde

John Matthew Myers, Froh

Frank Gehry, scenic design

Cori Ellison, dramaturg

Raehann Bryce-Davis, Fricka

Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Alberich

Jessica Faselt, Freia

Taylor Raven, Flosshilde

Kyle Albertson, Donner

Cindy Figueroa, costume designer

Simon O’Neill, Loge

Morris Robinson, Fasolt

Ann Toomey, Woglinde

Tamara Mumford, Erda

In Gustavo Dudamel’s words, “Music after Wagner was never the same. Wagner's operas pushed music to its physical and emotional limits … paving the way not just for composers like Mahler and Richard Strauss, but for everything from Star Wars to Metallica.” For the first time, Dudamel helms a fully staged production of one part of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, navigating the epic naturalism, endless melodies, and gripping harmonies. The mythical world of Das Rheingold springs forth from Walt Disney Concert Hall with the help of the ever-innovative Frank Gehry, direction by Alberto Arvelo, and costumes by Cindy Figueroa. The Grammy Award-winning Ryan Speedo Green lends his voice to Wotan, headlining an internationally renowned cast.

BRAHMS & BRUCKNER WITH DUDAMEL

Friday, January 26 at 8:00 PM

Saturday, January 27 at 8:00 PM

Sunday, January 28 at 2:00 PM 

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin

Pablo Ferrández, cello

Nicknamed “the saucy maid” by its composer, Anton Bruckner’s First Symphony is bursting with exuberance and grand musical architecture inspired by Wagner and Beethoven. Dudamel leads the LA Phil in a journey through Bruckner’s compelling extremes—from bittersweet melodies to an explosive and fiery finale. The electrifying violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter recorded one of the definitive versions of Brahms’ Double Concerto 40 years ago, but she was inspired to release a new recording of it in 2022 with her protégé and collaborator cellist Pablo Ferrández. The pair reprise that performance, bringing out the joy and turbulence of Brahms’ musical conversation.

TICKETS: Single tickets for the entire Walt Disney Concert Hall 2023/24 season are currently on sale at laphil.com, by phone at 323.850.2000, or in person at the Walt Disney Concert Hall box office. 

###

ABOUT THE LA PHIL

Under the leadership of Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil offers live performances, media initiatives and learning programs that inspire and strengthen communities in Los Angeles and beyond. The Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra is the foundation of the LA Phil’s offerings, which also include a multi-genre, multidisciplinary presenting program and such youth development programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles). Performances are offered on three historic stages—Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford—as well as through a variety of media platforms. In all its endeavors, the LA Phil seeks to enrich the lives of individuals and communities through musical, artistic and learning experiences that resonate in our world today.  

ABOUT GUSTAVO DUDAMEL

Gustavo Dudamel is driven by the belief that music has the power to transform lives, to inspire, and to change the world. Through his dynamic presence on the podium and his tireless advocacy for arts education, he has introduced classical music to new audiences around the globe and has helped provide access to the arts for countless people in underserved communities. Dudamel currently serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music Director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and in 2026, he becomes the Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, continuing a legacy that includes Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. 

Dudamel is one of the few classical musicians to become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon. His film credits include Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Bernstein's West Side Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and The Simpsons, and he led the LA Phil with Billie Eilish in the concert film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles. He has performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, the Academy Awards, and the Nobel Prize concert, and has worked with international superstars Christina Aguilera; Ricky Martin; Tyler, The Creator; Coldplay; and others. His extensive discography includes 67 releases and four Grammy Awards. 

Inspired by his transformative experience as a youth in Venezuela's immersive musical training program El Sistema, he created the Dudamel Foundation in 2012, which he co-chairs with his wife, actress and director María Valverde, with the goal “to expand access to music and the arts for young people by providing tools and opportunities to shape their creative futures.” In July and August 2022, the Dudamel Foundation brought its Encuentros initiative to the Hollywood Bowl as part of the 100th-anniversary season, in a two-week intensive global leadership and orchestral training program for young musicians from around the world that culminated in a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and a tour with the Orquesta del Encuentro to the legendary Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA.