After 16 years, there is still plenty to discover. Gustavo Dudamel’s final season as Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic began with new ventures for audience, musicians and conductor alike. For all, a world premiere, Ellen Reid’s shattering Earth Between Oceans. For Dudamel specifically, it was his first time conducting Strauss’ titanic Alpensinfonie with his orchestra. Combined, it was a captivating evening of music-making with the potent LA Phil front and center.
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic
© Timothy Norris, courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
Both pieces made a formidable case for the power of nature. Reid’s work, written just this year, has four movements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Drawing on her experiences living in both Los Angeles and New York, it is a gripping piece, about 30 minutes in length. Reid shows herself to be a thoughtful composer and expert orchestrator, drawing on flavors of Golijov, Stravinsky, Glass and, yes, Richard Strauss.
Beginning with Earth, the cold, frozen ground is portrayed by rhythmic undulations in piano and percussion. Polyrhythms, mixed tonalities and a wordless, creative choral contribution (sung powerfully by the ever-excellent LA Master Chorale) were key elements in propelling the piece. The rhythmic drive, even at its more ethereal moments in Air, to the pulsing sound of Fire made for gripping listening. The sheer amount of sound, summoned by Dudamel’s impressive mastery of this tricky new score, culminated in an enveloping tapestry of tones at the conclusion of Water. It was a sound unique and massive enough to render me briefly speechless.
Dudamel and company continued to delight in the second half with Strauss’ epic tone poem. Calling for perhaps the largest orchestra of the standard repertoire, Strauss’ Alpensinfonie is a tone poem of sheer delight that was buoyant in Dudamel’s hands. Given the work’s demands, is there a better orchestra in the land to take it on? Brass, woodwinds (capped by a rapturous solo by oboist Ryan Roberts), percussion and strings are each given time to shine. To Dudamel’s credit, he allowed Strauss’ music to speak for itself. Clearly reveling in the sound of his players, the conductor encouraged them to enjoy the journey, but let Strauss do the convincing.
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic
© Timothy Norris, courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
This was a reading that allowed space in the open – Wagnerian passages of Nacht – and gallantly ambled through Der Anstieg. Even at the Summit (Auf dem Gipfel), Dudamel did not linger. He had places to go, a fitting metaphor for the years to come.
The ethos of both works, celebrations of nature for nature’s sake, was a unifying element. Reid’s, partially inspired by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles region this year, and Strauss’ masterpiece left the audience inspired by their musical journeys. It’s hard to imagine a better guide than Dudamel, whose own artistic journey could soon take a mesmerizing turn.
*****
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