Gustavo Dudamel arrives in New York to take music to the streets: ‘Art is for building bridges’

It has been three and a half years in the making. But at 7.18 pm on the afternoon of September 30, Gustavo Dudamel, the boy from Barquisimeto in Venezuela, the superstar conductor, befriended by Steven Spielberg and familiar with both Beethoven and Coldplay, was finally and officially crowned music and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic, the oldest and, probably, most famous orchestra in the country. The 1,100-strong crowd at Lincoln Center burst into applause as he shook his famous curls and smiled.

Just 24 hours earlier, during the dress rehearsal break, Dudamel sat down to chat with EL PAÍS about this milestone in his career and for the city, which has appointed a Hispanic music director for the first time.

He knows he is “privileged” to be here. He spent 17 years at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, on the other side of the country, which he completely transformed, a feat which has made him an icon of innovation. Now Dudamel will wield his baton in an even more complex context.

Dudamel is 45, and in the almost 20 years since he first stepped onto a New York stage, his evolution has been exponential. The conductor acknowledges that this new era “is indeed very special” because of what it means for him “personally and collectively, which is the most important thing… There is a lot of emotion,” he says. In his concerts prior to this new appointment, he has conducted classics by Mahler and Prokofiev, but there have also been characteristic breaks with tradition.

A few months ago, Dudamel played in Harlem, a first for the almost 200-year-old orchestra. On September 10, the season’s opening concert took place at Radio City Music Hall, temple of New York popular culture, hosted by the actor Liev Schreiber and featuring appearances by the singers Lizzo and St. Vincent., artists far removed from the classical genre. Dudamel was beginning to reveal his hand.

“These first weeks are – I’m not saying an appetizer, but a taste of the direction we want to take,” he explains to EL PAÍS. “The work involves the traditional repertoire and taking that to the community, obviously, but more than that, it’s about building bridges with different musical, artistic, community-based and educational approaches... Those are the most important elements of this beginning,” he says.

The bridges he refers to were key in his 17 years in Los Angeles. He was one of the first to dare play pop and film soundtracks. At the New York gala, there was a surprise excerpt from Disclosure Day, Steven Spielberg’s science fiction thriller with music by his beloved John Williams. In acknowledgement, Spielberg blew him kisses.

In short, Dudamel has managed to blend Latin singers, filmmakers, visual artists, museums, football... “It is very difficult to say where this is going or what we want to do with this institution. Obviously, the people of the city need to feel it belongs to them. That artistic empathy is so necessary in a city with endless possibilities. So, well, I’m happy,” he laughs.

Dudamel brings with him a fresh vibe, already evident during the rehearsal in the colorful cloth fixtures slung from the ceiling of David Geffen Hall. During the gala this vibrant palette is magnified by the flowers that the guests will take home.

Dudamel’s welcome began in the Lincoln Center plaza, with a banner in both English and Spanish which read “Our new era starts now,” complete with music from mariachi and Latin bands not to mention Venezuelan corn arepas and an Argentinian barbecue.

Dudamel is not the only Latino in the upper echelons of the Philharmonic. He got here thanks to Matías Tarnopolsky, president and executive director of the institution, who is Argentinian by birth, though raised in London. Friends for 20 years and colleagues for several months, the pair are looking forward to working together. Both hope that their relationship will be long and fruitful.

“It’s very special, very moving,” Tarnopolsky says of Dudamel’s tenure, adding that they are both “completely agreed on the idea of music as a total human right.” After three years in the New York Philharmonic, from 2006 to 2009, Tarnopolsky went to Berkeley and Philadelphia and in January 2025 was back in New York as president and CEO of the New York Philharmonic. He set the stage for Dudamel’s arrival. “They have been preparing to receive him for three years,” he laughs. “The reception given by the public, media and the orchestra’s musicians has been impressive – their love, generosity and joy.”

Dudamel’s success is linked to his embrace of pop and the rise of collective experiences in general. He has also introduced Latin rhythms into the mix. Others have done so before him but not with such panache. His forte is in bringing a world often considered elite to the people.

“Regarding respect, you have to change the concept a little,” says Dudamel. “I think you earn respect when you get close to people, when you understand them. It’s not about attracting an audience out of obligation, making them listen to classical music... no.”

More bridges, fewer borders

“I always approach this from artistic empathy,” he says, adding he aims to make “people feel connected. It’s a job that has to be done, because many people think that when it comes to classical music, respect is earned through distance – because it’s inaccessible, unattainable, intellectual. No. Art is made to celebrate and nurture the spirit. When that’s the departure point, things change and respect becomes closeness.”

Cultural proximity is important, and so is the price. Tarnopolsky knows this and isn’t afraid to talk about it. “You can get a ticket here for $17 (€15). There are cafes that are more expensive,” he says. “So it’s not a question of price, but I understand that perception is important. We are completely accessible to everyone,” he insists.

Dudamel says that they are already talking to neighboring institutions, and with educational and cultural communities throughout New York. “In such a divided world, art is about building bridges,” he says. Tarnopolsky agrees: “We only see bridges, not borders and, beyond specific projects of which there are many, the idea is to create connection, community, joy.”

Dudamel, in turn, will seek to make his orchestra connect “even more with the community.” To take it to the streets. And use music as a source of cohesion. “When we unite, things are much stronger,” he adds.

“We can disagree deeply about things, about political ideas, about different ways of seeing things,” Dudamel says, but art unites. “You sit next to someone and you don’t ask them who they voted for or where they come from or what they do. No, people sit and listen, united, for two or three hours.”

The opening gala encapsulates this fresh vibe. Far from focusing on beloved figures such as Mahler and Bernstein, the conductor opted for a very personal mix: Four Dances from Estancia by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera; the Venezuelan composer Juan Bautista Plaza’s Fuga Criolla; The Mestizo Waltz by the Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Gabriela Lena Frank; the U.S. premiere of Circus, from the actor Anthony Hopkins’s 1947: Suite for Piano and Orchestra, featuring the pianist Sergio Tiempo; the New York premiere of Mujer Arena, by the Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. And to wrap up, Harlem, by Duke Ellington.

It was a progressive introduction of new flavors to appeal to the exquisite New York taste. “It’s a process that doesn’t just involve me; I’m part of a universe of more than 100 musicians, plus the entire institution, plus everything that stands for. This is a team effort,” Dudamel says. “This institution was founded in 1842 and is the oldest orchestra in the United States, one of the oldest in the world,” he adds. “It has a history, a deep, beautiful tradition.”

Dudamel’s five-year tenure was announced back in February 2023. Aware of the anxieties that have surfaced in the cultural sector, he says, “You have to focus on what is important, which is to work with such a wonderful orchestra in an institution like this, and to carry out all these ideas from a place of generosity, love and commitment.”

The first time Dudamel visited the New York Philharmonic was in 1994, when he was just 13, “a smooth-faced little boy from Barquisimeto,” he recalls laughing. He came with the National Children’s Orchestra of Venezuela and maestro Abreu, who solemnly announced that they would perform at the United Nations... but not that it would be in a corner of the cafeteria. “Playing three notes, almost certainly completely out of tune,” says Dudamel.

The conductor adds, “They took us to a museum, to a toy store. We were children, the illusion, New York, these buildings, this madness, this exciting cacophony that is this city and which it brings to the Lincoln Center… I remember that the teacher took us to the Met: this is the ballet, this is the Philharmonic. And he said: ‘Someday, in the not-too-distant future, we will be here’.”

“That’s why my dream is not an individual dream. This is not a personal achievement; it’s a collective achievement. It’s about my classmates with whom I grew up making music, having fun, suffering, crying, laughing, celebrating everything that it means to develop as a human being,” he says. “That’s why for me, no matter the expectations, the pressure and what people say... that’s always going to be there. The thing is to focus on what’s important, on expanding what this means.”

First European tour in a decade

That expansion is literal, even geographical as Dudamel will continue to be a presence on the West Coast. Far from creating comparisons between New York and L.A., his intention is to unite them. Dudamel will return to California in December to play Beethoven, and also next summer to the Philharmonic’s summer headquarters, his beloved Hollywood Bowl. Conducting the L.A. Philharmonic has changed his life. “It is among the most profound and beautiful experiences I’ve ever had, and that I will carry with me. I will continue to be part of the Los Angeles family. And now we are expanding it,” he says.

He is now the Artistic and Cultural Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Meanwhile, he prepares for the road with his 100 new companions. The New York Philharmonic will tour Europe for the first time in a decade. From October 9 to 22, they will stop in Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna. “It’s not about traveling for the sake of traveling. It’s about connecting with the community, with each culture. It enriches both the orchestra as an institution and the cities we go to,” he points out.

Dudamel will also continue honor the legacy of his teacher, José Antonio Abreu, who mentored youth orchestras and set up El Sistema, Venezuela’s revolutionary public music education program. He will continue as conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, which he founded, and of course he will be present in his native Venezuela. In November, he will travel to Spain to conduct the National Youth Symphony of Venezuela.

“It’s my original home,” he says proudly. “Those are my kids, they’re our kids.” The tour had to be delayed due to the devastating June earthquakes in Venezuela. “It’s a wonderful opportunity because the kids have been preparing for so long,” he says. The tour includes dates in Zaragoza, Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante. “It’s a very beautiful, very special tour that showcases El Sistema and the fact that, despite the difficulties we are experiencing, it’s still there, and all those very talented young people still have the opportunity to make music together and take it out into the world. It’s a message of how beautiful art can be in such complex times.”

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