Gustavo Dudamel Conducts Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra In Three Concerts

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, returns to Carnegie Hall for concerts on three consecutive days in February in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. On the first program, on Friday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. the orchestra offers an all-Brahms program including Academic Festival Overture, Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and Symphony No. 1. This concert is being broadcast live on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, and streamed on wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr as part of the Carnegie Hall Live series. It will be heard later on radio stations across the country.

The following evening, on Saturday, February 24 at 8:00 p.m., Maestro Dudamel leads the VPO in Mahler's Adagio from Symphony No. 10 and Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique.

The Vienna Philharmonic concludes its Carnegie Hall residency on Sunday, February 25 at 2:00 p.m. with Mr. Dudamel conducting Ives's Symphony No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4. A pre-concert talk starts at 1:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage with Jan Swafford, author and composer.

These concerts mark the first stop on the tour for Maestro Dudamel and the VPO across the Americas in February and March. "The Americas are a united essence," offered Gustavo Dudamel. "The culture of the Americas - north, south, central - is inspired by the landscape, the people, the folklore of these amazing countries. That's a beautiful connection, and I believe that the culture of these places breaks borders. Boundaries don't exist, divisions don't exist...an entire continent, as one, exists. America as one: that's what this tour symbolizes."

About the Artists
Internationally renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel currently serves as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and as music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. He is motivated by a profound belief in music's power to unite and inspire, and the impact of his leadership extends from the greatest concert stages to classrooms, cinemas, and innovative digital platforms around the world. Mr. Dudamel also appears as guest conductor with some of the world's most revered musical institutions:

Now entering his ninth season with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Dudamel's contract has been extended through the 2021-2022 season. At his initiative, the orchestra has dramatically expanded the scope of its community outreach programs, including the creation of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) 10 years ago, influenced by the philosophy of Venezuela's admired El Sistema. These programs have in turn inspired similar efforts throughout the United States, as well as in Sweden (Hammarkullen) and Scotland (Raploch). Currently in his 19th season as music director of the entire El Sistema project in Venezuela, Mr. Dudamel continues to lead the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela as well as on tour.

Recordings, broadcasts, and digital innovations are also fundamental to Mr. Dudamel's passionate advocacy for universal access to music. A Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2005, he has made numerous recordings, DVDs, and videos for the label.

Among the most decorated conductors of his generation, Mr. Dudamel received the Americas Society Cultural Achievement Award in 2016, and the 2014 Leonard Bernstein Lifetime Achievement Award for the Elevation of Music in Society from the Longy School. In 2013, he was named Musical America's Musician of the Year and inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame. He received the 2010 Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts from MIT, was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009, has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people, and received the 2008 Q Prize from Harvard University. Mr. Dudamel was born in 1981 in Venezuela. Access to music for all has been the cornerstone of his philosophy, both professionally and philanthropically.

There is perhaps no other musical ensemble more consistently and closely associated with the history and tradition of European classical music than the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Since its inception by Otto Nicolai in 1842, the fascination that the orchestra has held for prominent composers and conductors, as well as for audiences all over the world, is based not only on a homogenous musical style carefully bequeathed from one generation to the next, but also on its unique history and structure. The foremost ruling body of the organization is the orchestra itself. In accordance with Philharmonic statutes, only a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra can become a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. Before joining the Philharmonic, one must first audition for a position with the State Opera Orchestra and then successfully complete a three year period before becoming eligible to submit an application for membership in the association of the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Vienna Philharmonic performs approximately 110 concerts every season at home, presents Vienna Philharmonic Weeks in New York and Japan, and has participated in the Salzburg Festival since 1922. The orchestra makes yearly guest appearances in leading concert halls and festivals around the world, presents the New Year's Concert, which is broadcast internationally in over 90 countries, and presents the free Summer Night Concert Schönbrunn, which is attended annually by up to 100,000 people.

In 2014, the VPO received the coveted Birgit Nilsson Prize for outstanding achievements and major contributions to the field of opera / concert, and the Herbert von Karajan Music Prize 2014. Since 2008, Rolex is the Exclusive Sponsor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The Vienna Philharmonic's mission is to communicate the humanitarian message of music to its listeners. For over a decade, the VPO has given benefit concerts in support of humanitarian causes around the world, and since 2012, has been Goodwill Ambassador for IIASA, an international scientific institute based in Austria that conducts research into humanity's most pressing problems. The musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic endeavor to implement the motto with which Ludwig van Beethoven prefaced his Missa solemnis: "From the heart, to the heart."

Program Information
Friday, February 23, 2018 at 8:00 PM
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
VIENNA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor

ALL-BRAHMS PROGRAM
Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56a
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68

This concert is being broadcast live on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, and streamed on wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr as part of the Carnegie Hall Live series. It will be heard later on radio stations across the country.

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