Gustavo Dudamel to leave LA for New York Philharmonic
Florence Lockheart
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Dudamel will join the New York-based orchestra at the beginning of the 2026–27 season
The New York Philharmonic has announced the appointment of conductor Gustavo Dudamel as Orchestra’s next music director. Succeeding Jaap van Zweden, the Venezuelan conductor will leave the Los Angeles Philharmonic to join the NY Phil at the beginning of the 2026–27 season for a five-year term.
Dudamel will be the New York Philharmonic’s 27th music director, joining a legacy shared by Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein. He will build on his existing relationship with the organisation which, since his NY Phil debut in November 2007, has seen him conduct 26 concerts with the orchestra to date.
NY Phil president and CEO Deborah Borda said: ‘This is a dream come true for our musicians, our audience, and certainly for me. The coming together of a great orchestra, a visionary Music and Artistic Director, and our transformed hall promises the richest of futures.’
The handover will begin in the 2025-26 season, during which Dudamel will hold the role of music director designate with the NY Phil alongside his current post as music director of the LA Phil. The Los Angeles-based orchestra has this week released a statement congratulating Dudamel on his new role.
In the statement, the LA Phil said: ‘We are excited to continue working with Gustavo through our 2025/26 season, which will mark his 17th year with the LA Phil, and we will look forward to welcoming him back as a guest conductor for years to come… Gustavo has left indelible marks on classical music, the LA Phil and Los Angeles. We are deeply proud of what we have achieved, and will continue to, under his guidance’.
No news has yet been released about whether Dudamel will continue in his roles as music director of the Opéra National de Paris and of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela alongside his new role.
Dudamel said: ‘I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City, and with pride and love at the world I have shared — and will continue to share — with my dear Angelenos over the next three seasons and beyond. All of us are united in our belief that culture creates a better world, and in our dream that music is a fundamental right.’
