Los Angeles Philharmonic Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and CEO Simon Woods have officially launched the 2018/19 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall and beyond. The centerpiece of LA Phil 100, the Centennial program forges an exciting future for the orchestra, its music, its city and audiences around the world with a forward-looking roster of globe-spanning artistic programs, educational and social-impact initiatives and public celebrations for all of LA through October 2019.
Highlights will include:
- Premieres of over 50 commissions — the LA Phil’s greatest investment ever in music’s future
- 20 programs conducted by Dudamel, ranging from the world premiere of John Adams’ piano concerto with Yuja Wang as soloist to a climactic performance of Mahler’s monumental “Symphony of a Thousand” in its Walt Disney Concert Hall premiere
- Cross-disciplinary collaborations with Benjamin Millepied, L.A. Dance Project and American Ballet Theatre for Romeo and Juliet; LA Phil Artist-Collaborator and MacArthur Fellow Yuval Sharon for exceptional performances of Meredith Monk’s ATLAS and John Cage’s Europeras 1 & 2; composer-conductor Christopher Rountree and the Getty Research Institute for an ongoing Fluxus festival; and Barry Edelstein and The Old Globe for The Tempest
- The return of former LA Phil Music Directors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Zubin Mehta, plus a new work by former Music Director André Previn, along with special programs by former Principal Guest Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas
- Major events and focuses include the 11-day eclectic season kick-off LA Fest, a Fluxus Festival and a multi-part Stravinsky focus led by Esa-Pekka Salonen
- Programs celebrating the relationship between movies and music, pairing the orchestra with screenings of excerpts from Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces and a celebration of scores by John Williams
- Appearances by internationally celebrated musicians, including Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Andrew Bird, Yefim Bronfman, Lila Downs, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Hélène Grimaud, Marc-André Hamelin, LA Phil Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock, Lang Lang, La Santa Cecilia, Audra McDonald, Moby, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Murray Perahia, Bernadette Peters, Itzhak Perlman, Cécile McLorin Savant and many more
Gustavo Dudamel said: “I have been thrilled to help define and shape the LA Phil over the past decade of our great history, when we have worked with such enthusiasm to make ourselves more diverse, more inclusive, and more engaged with our community, while pushing ourselves every day to make music that is magnificent and courageous. This Centennial season, which focuses so strongly on artistic breakthroughs and inspired educational projects, is going to carry us forward with new momentum.”
Simon Woods said: “The LA Phil has earned the reputation of being the orchestra that dares to do more, whether it’s for the diverse range of today’s composers or for the fast-changing communities that we work within and serve. As I look ahead toward this Centennial season, I feel that Gustavo and the artistic team have not just stood by the wager they’ve made on boldness and innovation but have doubled down on it. LA Phil 100 is indeed a celebration of everything that has led us to this moment — but, more important, it is a new beginning for wonderful things to come for this great orchestra and those who are inspired by its music making.”
The 2018/19 Centennial season will celebrate the orchestra’s living history by welcoming towering figures such as Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Michael Tilson Thomasback to the podium, each with his own special focus; revisiting key moments in the past, such as the orchestra’s work in the 1930s with African-American composer William Grant Still; and publishing Past/Forward: The LA Phil at 100, a two-volume compilation of photographs, interviews, and essays, including conversations between Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page and Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, André Previn and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Beginning in March 2019, the LA Phil will set off an unprecedented year of global touring, performing on three continents, including appearances in Seoul, Tokyo, Edinburgh, London, Mexico City, and New York City.
The celebrations will continue through the 2019 Hollywood Bowl season and come to a close with a once-in-a-lifetime gala featuring Dudamel, Mehta, and Salonen sharing the podium on October 24, 2019, 100 years to the day after the orchestra’s first concert. The LA Phil looks forward to marking the Bowl’s centennial in 2022.
Season subscription tickets are available now at laphil.com, (323) 850-2000 or the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office. Additional details can be found at the LA Phil’s newly launched website: laphil.com.
