In Friday’s (4/3) Los Angeles Times, Mark Swed writes, “On a recent trip to New York, it was not easy to escape L.A…. Head to Lincoln Center, and there was Gustavo Dudamel bringing L.A. cheer to a New York Philharmonic. Though he doesn’t officially begin as music and artistic director until September, Dudamel is already making the orchestra matter more than it has since the days of Bernstein, Boulez and … Mehta. Across the plaza, the mammoth Metropolitan Opera has … a new production of Wagner’s ‘Tristan und Isolde.’ This may have become the hottest ticket in town thanks to star singers, but what made it work is the direction by [L.A.-based] Yuval Sharon … [Choreographer] Benjamin Millepied brought to the Park Avenue Armory his site-specific ‘Romeo & Juliet Suite,’ originally choreographed for Walt Disney Concert Hall and, later, the Hollywood Bowl, in collaboration with Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic…. There is a curious—and hopefully not delusional—optimism in classical music, L.A. style. We have lively leadership at all levels. ‘Accessibility’ isn’t the term bandied about; ‘adventure’ is. Full houses are common. We’ve become the model, and that model tied to Dudamel’s charismatic positivity has been clearly embraced by the New York Philharmonic.”
