Gustavo Dudamel tapped as New York Philharmonic’s music director

The New York Philharmonic has snagged its Los Angeles counterpart’s conductor, announcing Tuesday that Gustavo Dudamel will take over to lead the Big Apple’s signature symphony orchestra beginning with the 2026-27 season.

Dudamel, originally from Venezuela, will be the first Latino conductor of the New York Philharmonic in its 181-year history.

“Building on this orchestra’s great legacy, he joins a historic list of distinguished music directors,” New York Philharmonic Board Co-Chairmen Peter May and Oscar Tang said in a statement. “We are delighted that Gustavo Dudamel has said yes to leading our artistic future.”

Dudamel will succeed Jaap van Zweden, who announced in 2021 that he’d be leaving after the 2023-24 season. Dudamel has conducted the philharmonic in a guest role 26 times and is scheduled to come back for three performances of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony in May.

“What the orchestra told us very, very clearly was that the person that they wanted, their dream candidate, was Gustavo,” said New York Philharmonic CEO Deborah Borda. “When you’re trying to recruit the most sought-after conductor in the world, you don’t run a sort of classic search.”

Dudamel will step in as music director designate in 2025-26. He will also continue as music director of the Paris Opera, a role he took on in 2021, and of Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, a position he’s held since 1999. The latter role role put him on the global map.

The likes of Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein have held the prestigious role of music director of the New York Phil.

“I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City, and with pride and love at the world I have shared — and will continue to share — with my dear Angelenos over the next three seasons and beyond,” Dudamel said in a statement.

“All of us are united in our belief that culture creates a better world, and in our dream that music is a fundamental right. I look forward to the work ahead.”

With News Wire Services