Gustavo Dudamel, New LA Phil Director Gets Hero's Welcome

I got the chance to experience the sound, the fury, the fanfare and the fireworks at the Hollywood Bowl's free show "Bienvenido Gustavo," this weekend. The event was billed as a welcome to new Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel. It included musical guests such as jazz legend Herbie Hancock, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (along with his "kids" from the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music), Andrae Crouch, Taj Mahal and of course the LA Phil and "Gustavo" (as he was affectionately called by the crowds).

I don't think I've ever seen LA get this excited about a classical music figure. The folks behind the gratis performance pulled out all the stops with celebrity guests like Andy Garcia and Jack Black, and read a letter from President Obama welcoming the 27-year-old classical "rock star" to the LA Phil. Dudamel gave an emotional speech in English and Spanish which was met with whistles and cheers of "Gus-tav-o! Gus-tav-o!" The South American told his audience that there was no South America or North America but one America of which we were all part.

The over-the-top atmosphere bordered on political rally at times. Many sported their "Bienvenido Gustavo" t-shirts. One wondered if Dudamel could be the next governor of California or the classical world's Evita Peron. After about four and a half hours, the LA Phil portion of the spectacular (which included some super operatic sequences) culminated with a fabulous fireworks show. At one point the fireworks exploded around a sign that read "Bienvenido Gustavo."

Unbeknownst to those not following the classical music world, Gustavo Dudamel is a hot shot, big deal prodigy in that world. He was featured on 60 Minutes ("simply the hottest thing to hit classical music since Leonard Bernstein") and apparently it was a huge feather in LA's cap to have gotten him to lead our orchestra.