The Los Angeles Philharmonic is a more than century-old institution, but its star has definitely risen since Gustavo Dudamel took over as music and artistic director back in 2009. So we’re already feeling separation anxiety ahead of the dynamic leader’s departure for the New York Philharmonic later this year. You still have a chance to see him at the Hollywood Bowl this summer—where he’ll lead four star-studded shows—but officially, after the season ends, he’s decamping to NYC.
But according to the just-announced lineup of L.A. Phil shows for the 2026–27 season at the orchestra’s winter home, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dudamel won’t be a stranger: He’ll be returning to the venue to conduct three programs in December 2026 and May 2027. And in the meantime, Dudamel’s predecessor—current conductor laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen—will be stepping up to serve as the L.A. Phil’s new Judith and Thomas L. Beckman creative director.
Dudamel will lead the L.A. Phil in Beethoven’s “Eroica” and three of the composer’s successive piano concertos, joined by longtime artistic partner pianist Rudolf Buchbinder, on December 4 to 6—a little early Christmas present for classical fans—which will be followed by performances of Beethoven’s Fifth and Piano Concerto No. 4 (Dec 10–13). He’ll return May 6 to 9 to conduct works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, as well as a new L.A. Phil commission by Zosha Di Castri. “We are thrilled to reaffirm the enduring bond between Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil and our city by welcoming him back to Walt Disney Concert Hall,” said LA Phil President and CEO Kim Noltemy when announcing the shows.
Photograph: Elizabeth Asher, courtesy Los Angeles PhilharmonicEsa-Pekka Salonen leading the LA Phil.
Dudamel’s shows aren’t the only highlights in the upcoming lineup. Spanning the entire season will be a “Rituals” festival curated by Salonen, which will examine the role of ritual in everyday life through new commissions and classic works, like Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. The fest will culminate in a site-specific performance at Topanga Tower in the Santa Monica Mountains with LA Phil Insight, called BODY LIVE LIVE MUSIC. Overall, the season will feature 22 commissioned works—written by composers including Hildur Guðnadóttir and Tom Jenkinson (a.k.a. Squarepusher)—many of which will premiere as part of L.A. Phil Creative Chair John Adams’s Green Umbrella New Music series.
Also returning is the Colburn Celebrity Recitals series, where virtuosos including pianists Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Daniil Trifonov, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Víkingur Ólafsson, as well as violinists Gil Shaham and Hilary Hahn, will each step into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Adams, Philip Glass, Steve Reich and the late, great Miles Davis will each receive their own birthday show.
Photograph: Courtesy Los Angeles PhilharmonicKamasi Washington.
Not well-versed in classical music? Don’t worry, there’s something for you too. The lineup of non-classical acts includes shows by ’80s power couple Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird, Latin Grammy–winning singer Lila Downs, indie-folk royalty the Mountain Goats, saxophonist Kamasi Washington, L.A. Phil Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock and Broadway legend Bernadette Peters. And Disney Hall will keep up its tradition of hosting holiday concerts: For Halloween, 1920 silent film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will be accompanied by live organ. Come Christmastime, once again, Home Alone will receive the live score treatment, and this year it’ll be joined on the lineup by family-favorite flick Elf.
The lineup also teases the LA Phil’s first collaboration with DATALAND, Refik Anadol’s upcoming museum of AI arts that will open across the street from Disney Hall—though an official opening date hasn’t been announced yet, so details are T.B.A.
See below for the full list of shows, and check the LA Phil calendar for more details. Tickets for the concerts go on sale at 10am on Tuesday, August 11. If you want to see a handful of shows, “Create Your Own” packages are available a couple of months earlier, beginning April 30.
Walt Disney Concert Hall’s 2026/27 Season
October 2026
LA Phil Gala (Oct 1)
Yuja Wang Plays Barber (Oct 2–4)
Lang Lang (Oct 6)
Mälkki Conducts Bartók (Oct 9, 11)
Ludovico Einaudi (Oct 9)
Lisa Batiashvili, Gautier Capuçon, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Oct 14)
Swan Lake & Liszt with Bronfman (Oct 16-18)
Chamber Music & Wine (Oct 20)
Debussy & Stravinsky with Elim Chan (Oct 22, 24, 25)
Andrew Bird with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Oct 23)
Lucile Dollat (Oct 25)
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal with Rafael Payare (Oct 27)
Seasons of America with Teddy Abrams & Ray Chen (Oct 29, Nov 1)
Lila Downs, “Cambisa mi Mundo” (Oct 30)
Halloween Organ, Film & Music: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Oct 31)
November 2026
Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto (Nov 6–8)
Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony (Nov 13, 15)
Jorge Drexler (Nov 14)
Ravel, Falla & Ortiz (Nov 20–22)
The Mountain Goats (Nov 24)
Home Alone in Concert (Nov 27, 28)
Elf in Concert (Nov 28, 29)
December 2026
Chamber Music & Wine (Dec 1)
Hilary Hahn, Matthias Goerne, and Yekwon Sunwoo (Dec 3)
Simply Beethoven: “Eroica” and Piano Concerto No. 1 with Dudamel (Dec 4)
Simply Beethoven: “Eroica” and Piano Concerto No. 2 with Dudamel (Dec 5)
Simply Beethoven: “Eroica” and Piano Concerto No. 3 with Dudamel (Dec 6)
Kamasi Washington (Dec 8)
Hélène Grimaud (Dec 9)
Simply Beethoven: Dudamel Conducts the Fifth Symphony and Piano Concerto No. 4 (Dec 10–13)
Handel’s Messiah with Le Concert d’Astrée (Dec 15)
Chanticleer (Dec 16)
Celebrating Christmas with Le Concert d’Astrée (Dec 18–20)
Holiday Sing-Along (Dec 19)
January 2027
Harding Leads Strauss (Jan 8–10)
Symphonies for Youth (Jan 9, 16)
Michael Hey (Jan 10)
Chamber Music & Wine (Jan 12)
Simply Beethoven: The “Emperor” Concerto and Symphony No. 4 (Jan 14–17)
Gil Shaham & Akira Eguchi (Jan 17)
Mitsuko Uchida & Esa-Pekka Salonen (Jan 21–24)
Rituals of the Everyday (Jan 26)
KODO (Jan 27)
Salonen Leads Smith & Sibelius (Jan 29–31)
February 2027
Rituals: One Morning Turns Into an Eternity (Feb 5–7)
Chamber Music & Wine (Feb 9)
Rituals: Requiem (Feb 11–14)
Fountains and Pines of Rome (Feb 18–21)
Miles Davis at 100 (Feb 19)
Symphonies for Youth (Feb 20, 27)
Víkingur Ólafsson (Feb 24)
Minimalist Icons: Wolfe & Mattingly (Feb 25)
Minimalist Icons: Vasks, Pärt & Górecki (Feb 26, 27)
London Symphony Orchestra with Antonio Pappano (Feb 28)
March 2027
Chamber Music & Wine (Mar 2)
Seong-Jin Cho (Mar 3)
Minimalist Icons: Steve Reich (Mar 7)
Olivier Latry (Mar 7)
Daniil Trifonov (Mar 9)
Minimalist Icons: Philip Glass (Mar 12, 13)
John Adams/Rhythmic Lines (Mar 16)
Mozart & Brahms (Mar 18–20)
Dvořák’s “New World” (Mar 25, 27)
Herbie Hancock (Mar 26)
Chamber Music & Wine (Mar 30)
April 2027
Nicola Benedetti Plays Mendelssohn (April 2–4)
Minimalist Icons: Meredith Monk (April 6)
Schumann’s Piano Concerto (April 9–11)
Evgeny Kissin (April 15)
Minimalist Icons: John Adams (April 16–18)
Symphonies for Youth (April 17, 24)
Chamber Music & Wine (April 20)
Yuja Wang (April 22)
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto (April 23–25)
James McVinnie’s Power Switch (April 27)
Schumann’s Third Symphony (April 29, May 1)
May 2027
Dudamel Leads Prokofiev & Stravinsky (May 6–9)
Rituals: The Rite of Spring with Salonen (May 13–16)
Nathaniel Gumbs (May 16)
Chamber Music & Wine (May 18)
Chopin’s First Piano Concerto with Hayato Sumino (May 20, 22, 23)
Water Dreams and Air Songs (May 25)
John Williams and Mahler’s “Titan” (May 27, 28, 30)
Bernadette Peters (May 29)