Gustavo Dudamel (Photo: Marco Anelli) from NY Mag
(Retraction: A reader has confirmed my wrongness. It was Jayce Ogren with a shaved head.)
My boyfriend and I went to a free LA Phil concert at Disney Hall and we got a real treat, Gustavo Dudamel was conducting! (Or someone who looked alot like him with a shaved head.) How very generous of him. Jayce Ogren was scheduled to conduct and from where I was sitting it looked like Gustavo. Gustavo conducting at that event would be like Brad Pitt introducing one his movies at the Arclight on a random Tuesday matinee.
Esa-Pekka Salonen of the LA Philharmonic has stepped down as Music Director and Conductor and in his place is now Gustavo Dudamell of Venezuela. There will be no debates owing to his youthful age of 26 as Salonen was also 26 when he began conducting at LA Philharmonic.
It was just a sampler of favorite movements by Beethoven, Bernstein and Stravinsky, but it was wonderful seeing a very full house at Disney Hall enjoying the real treasure that is the LA Philharmonic.
If you love music you have to go LA Disney Hall for the upcoming LA Phil Classical season. It’s going to be very spectacular. Don’t let the Disney label fool you. I sat and watch them build that place. I have odd hobbies. It is such a superior venue in regards to sound in comparison to Dorothy Chandler and there is not a bad seat in the house. A bad seat at Disney Hall is like bad weather in LA, it does not exist.
Esa-Pekka Salonen ushered in a great age for classical musical in Los Angeles and I am expecting much of the same from Gustavo. We have a rock star conductor in LA, even though now he has a shaved head, so maybe punk rock star would be a better description.
Before performance.
Browne Molyneux
This is pretty cool, I am currently taking music appreciation and recently learned about this cat, he is awesome, and he is doing his thing at a young age too!
Here is a clip they did on him a few months back on 60 min if anybody is interested.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3841774n
Oh Dona thank you so much for linking that video.
I have only read about the genius side of him not the human side. He wants to start a music program for the economically disadvantaged kids in LA like the one they have in Venezuela. That is so wonderful. His passion flows out of his baton and into the people, fabulous. I thought the aspect that his father played trombone in a Salsa band and he was going to do it too, but his arms were too short a very amusing anecdote.
Did you see his wife? She’s beautiful. But he has a wife 🙁 and she’s beautiful.
lol……….
I’m still trying to catch a show at the L.A. phil, but I never get around to it. If it’s not work it’s school. If it’s not school it’s no one wanting to go with me. I guess I’ll have to go alone 🙁
I will go with you! I’ll find the exact dates Gustavo is conducting.
Your welcome,
Yes that was very impressive how he wants to start his music program here for disadvantaged kids, like in Venezuela his heart truly shines!
I was surprised he was married though lol his wife was gorgeous I agree!
Hey I would like to go see him , I need to go to a few concerts for the class so that be perfect!
any info would be great.
Sweet, wish I would have mentioned something when the opera based on the movie “the fly” was still playing last week. Maybe we should make it open to everyone so we can all show up as one huge group.
I’m super excited about him too. I don’t know what I like more, that he’s from Venezuela or that he’s so young. I wrote about him here. I can’t wait to get my copy Fiesta!, a recording of him conducting the Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The first link includes a video of him conducting Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 2.
Dear Browne,
Great post! But … I’m trying to locate a link to the concert you saw, because LAPhil.com’s calendar does not show Gustavo Dudamel conducting a free concert in recent weeks at Disney Hall. You say he stepped in for Jayce Ogren, but can we verify?
Thank you,
D.
Dona,
The dates Gustavo is conducting are the following:
Performances
Monday, November 24, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Friday, November 28, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Friday, December 5, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Here is his page:
http://www.laphil.com/music/artist_detail.cfm?id=2226
Cindy your post was wonderful. I loved the video, always good to have proof he is not just beautiful…
Daniel the concert I went to was free. Gustavo was not scheduled to conduct, it was supposed to be Jayce. I did try to look in the papers to try to confirm it was in fact Gustavo, but no one covered the event (I wasn’t paying attention when they did the intros, I was busy trying to find and turn off my cell phone), I am assuming because it was for the masses, so not so glamorous…lol…I will call their office and see though, because I do want confirmation my eyes could have been manifesting something my heart wanted to see…ha-ha…
I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid that I would get thrown out of yet another venue.
Here is the link to the concert:
http://www.laphil.com/tickets/performance_detail.cfm?id=3902
Browne
I hate to break it to all of you, but it was in fact Jayce Ogren and not Gustavo Dudamel who was conducting. I suppose it never occured to anyone that Jayce might have cut his hair.
Thanks for all the dates!
Friend of Jayce,
I hope I didn’t offend anyone, well it’s good to know. I left a message we will see if anyone calls me back to give me an official I was wrong.
But I swear it didn’t look like Jayce, he looks entirely different with a bald head.
Have I pissed off another circle of people, entirely possible…lol…
This blog reaches pretty wide.
“friend,”
I were sitting close enough to see that it were indeed Mr. Dudamel directing that night of the Bernstein/Stravinsky/Beethoven programme. Mr. Ogren was SUPPOSED to have been holding the baton—but he was not.
Send us a shot of Mr. Ogren’s shaved head, and apologies will spill forth profusely.
Here is a YouTube slideshow the Cleveland Orchestra’s recent tour to Europe. You will clearly see a bald headed Jayce carrying his stuff to the bus toward the beginning of the video (around 16 seconds in).
I find it very hard to understand how you can mix the two men up.
Here is a YouTube slideshow the Cleveland Orchestra’s recent tour to Europe. You will clearly see a bald headed Jayce carrying his stuff to the bus toward the beginning of the video (around 16 seconds in).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZFACgFzpRM
I find it very hard to understand how you can mix the two men up.
We were wrong, BusTard will come on shortly so that you can shame him publicly. I will want to use the I am not getting paid excuse, but no I was wrong I apologize.
I have to admit I apologise for having insisted one was the other. All I can state is that, having heretofore been unfamiliar with either director (the last time I took in a performance was on 66th Street on the upper west side, many years ago), I could have sworn that the accent and that mouth on (on Dudamel) could not have been Ogren’s tight-lipped countenance. The shaved head completed the confusion.
I have to admit I apologise for having insisted one was the other. All I can state is that, having heretofore been unfamiliar with either director (the last time I took in a performance was on 66th Street on the upper west side, many years ago), I could have sworn that the accent and that mouth on (on Dudamel) could not have been Ogren’s tight-lipped countenance. The shaved head completed the confusion.
(Browne was messing round on my machine and I am unable to erase the above comment of the same that is in her name, hence the duplicate missive.)