When a program includes works by John Williams and Antonín Dvořák, there is no doubt that the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel, can do just about anything.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 05-16-2024
Versatility is the name of the game when Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance. With a dynamic verve, the legendary conductor empowers the esteemed orchestra to accomplish just about anything. Indeed, Dudamel’s confidence is nothing less than contagious. It raises the level of the orchestra by filling them with energy and passion.
In a recent performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the program began with Olympic Fanfare and Theme by John Williams. The American composer created the piece for the opening ceremonies of the 23rd Olympiad at the Los Angeles Coliseum on July 28, 1984. In a 1992 interview, he said he wanted the work as a piece of music to represent “the spirit of cooperation, of heroic achievement, all the striving and preparation that go before the events and all the applause that comes after them.”
As played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the unifying essence of the composition is undeniable. Every instrument comes together to create the perfect expression of a united orchestra. Indeed, John Williams would have been proud to see Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil do justice to his compositional vision.
Although only five minutes in length, the piece rouses the hearts and souls of the audience, filling the Walt Disney Concert Hall with a harmonic convergence. As a conductor, Dudamel turned the orchestra into a single expressive instrument that came together to realize that vision of heroic cooperation.
In the second half of the performance, however, the vision of John Williams was replaced by something entirely different. Revealing their versatility, Dudamel and the LA Phil took on Symphony N. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák. Entitled “From The New World,” the symphony by the 19th-century Czech composer was part of the composer’s desire to seek out distinctly American music. As Antonín Dvořák wrote, “These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil, the folk songs of America.”
The music is moving and melancholic since the composer was quite homesick during his journeys in the United States. The compositions are profoundly different from the unified vision of John Williams. In contrast to such orchestral cooperation, the music of Antonín Dvořák mirrors back and forth between the horns and the strings with individual moments highlighted by the English horn, the clarinets, the oboes, and the bassoons. The composition’s complexity allows individual instruments and performers to shine at certain moments.
The highlight was a superb solo on the English Horn by Carolyn Hove. This moment was extra special because Carolyn Hove is retiring after this season. With precision and passion, she took full advantage of her moment in the sun, bringing forth the most profound emotional resonance from the composition by Antonín Dvořák.
Indeed, if there was one sad takeaway from a lovely experience, it was how much Carolyn Hove will be missed as the orchestra’s only English Horn. Like Gustavo Dudamel, she will be difficult to replace.
Photos Courtesy of the LA Phil and Wikipedia
