Highlights include: Rock My Soul, A Celebration of Black Women Artists in Collaboration and Community, curated by Julia Bullock, and more.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel and David C. Bohnett Chief Executive Officer Chair Chad Smith today announced the adventurous slate of programs for the 2022/23 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall: an ambitious, far-reaching schedule that features celebrations of Black women artists and Latin American symphonic and choral music, opera presentations, premieres of LA Phil commissions and an all-star cast of guest artists.
Dudamel will conduct 10 programs, including opening the season with an evening of John Williams' music for films, concerts that are part of the Pan-American Music Initiative, world premieres of works by Ellen Reid and Gabriella Smith, Mahler's Symphony No. 1 paired with Ortiz, a 10-day Rachmaninoff marathon featuring Yuja Wang playing all four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, holiday performances of The Nutcracker, a concert-hall presentation of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, and a Mozart program featuring pianist Mitsuko Uchida.
Soprano Julia Bullock will curate Rock My Soul, a series of six programs tracing generations of musical expression and collaborations between Black women artists. The multi-year Pan-American Music Initiative will continue, opening the season with a program celebrating great Pan-American choral music, and the initiative will also include three LA Phil-commissioned works by Gabriela Ortiz (Kauyamari, Yanga and a Violin Concerto to be performed by María Dueñas) and Arturo Márquez' violin c oncerto Fandango with Anne Akiko Meyers as soloist.
Conductor Emeritus Zubin Mehta will return to Walt Disney Concert Hall to lead the orchestra in Mahler's Symphony No. 3, George Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children and Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique. Michael Tilson Thomas will celebrate his annual return to Walt Disney Concert Hall with music by Debussy (featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet), Messiaen and Villa-Lobos, as well as a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9. Acclaimed Principal Guest Conductor Susanna Mälkki will be joined by flutist Claire Chase and bassist Esperanza Spalding in the U.S. premiere of Felipe Lara's LA Phil-commissioned Double Concerto. John Adams, the LA Phil's John and Samantha Williams Creative Chair, celebrating his 75th year, will lead the orchestra in the LA premiere of his opera Girls of the Golden West (to be recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall with a cast headed by Julia Bullock) and will also conduct the LA Phil New Music Group in a Green Umbrella concert featuring the world premiere of a new work by Anthony Cheung.
Gustavo Dudamel said, "With this new season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, we wish to reach out and embrace people through our music. It will be a time of reunions, discoveries and new connections, with programs that cross communities and genres, and span continents and generations. There have been times these past few years when the world has felt so small, but now we hope to remind everyone that there are always new experiences to share, and adventures waiting just around the corner."
Chad Smith said, "This season sees the LA Phil extending its reach, physically and artistically, under Gustavo's leadership. Having established a broad geographic footprint with Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford, and the Beckmen YOLA Center in Inglewood, we are now further expanding our presence in the virtual world, with programs created specifically for digital platforms that provide more opportunities for audiences everywhere to experience the LA Phil. Artistically, we continue to elevate our humanities programming through festivals that offer new perspectives, from the historical to the anthropological, on the music we perform. In everything we do, we are inviting people to make vital connections between music they love and the ideas and themes that matter to them most."
MAJOR INITIATIVES & FESTIVALS
September 30-October 16, 2022
In its second year, the Pan-American Music Initiative (PAMI) will showcase the artistry and invention of music across borders. To Dudamel, artists are in a unique position to build bridges of understanding between cultures. The geography and history of Los Angeles is ideally situated to showcase this. In addition to premieres of LA Phil commissions, concerts will highlight Latin American music, including works by Gabriela Ortiz, José Antonio Abreu, Villa-Lobos and Arturo Márquez, among others.
Celebrating Black Women Artists in Collaboration and Community
October 30-November 13, 2022
Inspired by the friendship between composers Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, whose mutual support helped them break down barriers and have their music heard in the classical music world of the early 20th century, Rock My Soul celebrates both historical and present-day collaborations between Black women artists.
Curated by and featuring soprano Julia Bullock, the festival will kick off with a one-night-only performance by Chaka Khan on Sunday, October 30; will feature artist Rhiannon Giddens in a concert including the Resistance Revival Chorus, pianist Michelle Cann and soprano Aundi Moore; and will include conductors Christian Reif, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Simone Menezes and Jeri Lynne Johnson. The series will include a mixed-media evening, titled History's Persistent Voice, and feature works by composers including Jessie Montgomery, Rhiannon Giddens, Elizabeth A. Baker and more.
November 15, 2022
Pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque are joined by contemporary music's superstar soprano Barbara Hannigan for an immersive, one-night-only multimedia staged journey, Electric Fields, with live, interactive projection, costumes and light. The music is by Hildegard van Bingen, Barbara Strozzi and Francesca Caccini reimagined by David Chalmin and Bryce Dessner, alongside new works by Chalmin and Dessner, directed and designed by Netia Jones. A meditation on the individual and the universal, Electric Fields reflects on the mystical, cosmic, temporal and mortal in music that reaches through centuries and collapses time.
December 9-11, 15-17, 2022
Dudamel leads the LA Phil in a production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, telling the star-crossed tale of two doomed lovers. Beginning with the very first notes, the famed "Tristan chord," Wagner elicits an endless yearning that mirrors the tumultuous emotional worlds of our heroes, with an innovative harmonic approach that left an unavoidable impact on generations of composers.
January 27 and 29, 2023
John Adams leads a concert performance and the LA premiere of his 2017 two-act opera, with libretto by Peter Sellars, inspired by the voices of women in the California Gold Rush. To be recorded for future release.
Continuing its steadfast commitment to the future of music, the LA Phil presents five Green Umbrella concerts in the 2022/23 season, guided by Creative Chair John Adams. The series opens on November 8 with a concert curated by Julia Bullock, conducted by Simone Menezes, as part of the Rock My Soul initiative. On February 7, Associate Guest Conductor Paolo Bortolameolli conducts a program that includes world premieres of LA Phil-commissioned works by Katherine Balch, Erika Vega and Courtney Bryan. John Adams will conduct the world premiere of an LA Phil commission from Anthony Cheung (March 14). The series closes May 20 with the world premiere presentation of the complete six-hour multi-media opera by Dylan Mattingly, Stranger Love, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz and conducted by David Bloom.
The annual Noon to Midnight all-day new music festival on April 1 is anchored by the LA Phil New Music Group conducted by Brad Lubman, with a concert dedicated to Steve Reich, including his Double Sextet, Traveler's Prayer and the LA Phil-commissioned Reich/Richter, accompanied by a film from Gerhard Richter and Corinna Belz.
World music highlights include Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens with the LA Phil conducted by Jeri Lynne Johnson (November 12) as part of the Rock My Soul festival; the return of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo (January 31); South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo (March 3); and the Walt Disney Concert Hall debut of Ziggy Marley (March 16 non-subscription, 17 subscription).
Jazz concerts in 2022/23 curated by Herbie Hancock, Creative Chair for Jazz, include his return (April 2); the 65th anniversary tour of Monterey Jazz with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Christian Sands, Clarence Penn, Lakecia Benjamin and Yasushi Nakamura (January 20); the powerhouses Julian Lage and The Bad Plus (October 14); and a one-night-only event featuring composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard performing the music he wrote for the films of Spike Lee, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (March 18).
The Songbook series this season includes exceptional singer and songwriter Chaka Khan (October 30) kicking off the Rock My Soul festival; Brazilian composer, singer and guitarist Caetano Veloso (May 9); and the return of Rufus Wainwright (June 2) to Walt Disney Concert Hall.
During the 2022/23 season, Walt Disney Concert Hall also welcomes an exceptional roster of guest artists. Recitalists include Sir András Schiff, Renée Fleming and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Electric Fields with Barbara Hannigan, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Seong-Jin Cho, Emanuel Ax/Leonidas Kavakos/Yo-Yo Ma trio, Emanuel Ax, Igor Levit, Hilary Hahn, Víkingur ólafsson, and Hélène Grimaud. The organ series includes Clark Wilson, Isabelle Demers, Hector Olivera, Alcee Chriss and Paul Jacobs. Sounds About Town includes return visits from the Colburn Orchestra and American Youth Symphony.
Holiday concerts for December 2022 will include the Holiday Sing-Along hosted by Melissa Peterman (December 3), A Chanticleer Christmas (December 13), Home Alone in Concert conducted by David Newman (December 20-22) and Arturo Sandoval Swinging Holiday (December 23).
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS (in chronological order)
December 3-4, 14, and 18, 2022
Gustavo Dudamel leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the holiday favorite by Tchaikovsky.
Saturday, December 3, 2022, 8:00pm
Sunday, December 4, 2022, 2:00pm
Wednesday, December 14, 2022, 8:00pm
Sunday, December 18, 2022, 2:00pm
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
LA Children's Chorus
Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Artistic Director
TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker
January 6-8, January 13-15, 2023
For his annual return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, MTT presents concerts of French repertoire, joined by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 9.
Friday, January 6, 2023, 8:00pm
Saturday, January 7, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, January 8, 2023, 2:00pm
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, Artistic Director; Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
DEBUSSY Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
MESSIAEN Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine
DEBUSSY Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra
VILLA-LOBOS Chôros No. 10, "Rasga o Coração"
Friday, January 13, 2023, 8:00pm
Saturday, January 14, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, January 15, 2023, 2:00pm
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
MAHLER Symphony No. 9
February 9-12, February 16-19, 2023
In an extraordinary, marathon collaboration, Dudamel and pianist Yuja Wang will traverse Rachmaninoff's monumental series of piano concertos, along with other major works by the composer.
Thursday, February 9, 2023, 8:00pm
Friday, February 10, 2023, 11:00am
Saturday, February 11, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, February 12, 2023, 2:00pm
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1 (Thursday)
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Friday)
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2 (Saturday/Sunday)
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances
Thursday, February 16, 2023, 8:00pm
Friday, February 17, 2023, 8:00pm
Saturday, February 18, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, February 19, 2023, 2:00pm
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Yuja Wang, piano
Mané Galoyan, soprano
Simon Bode, tenor
Alfred Walker, bass-baritone
Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, Artistic Director; Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3 (Thursday/Friday)
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 4 (Saturday/Sunday)
RACHMANINOFF The Bells
March 2-5, March 10-12, 2023
LA Phil Conductor Emeritus Zubin Mehta joins the LA Phil for a sweeping performance of Mahler's massive Symphony No. 3 and a no-less-sweeping program of George Crumb's popular, experimental Ancient Voices of Children and Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique.
Thursday, March 2, 2023, 8:00pm
Friday, March 3, 2023, 11:00am
Saturday, March 4, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, March 5, 2023, 2:00pm
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Gerhild Romberger, alto
Women of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon, Artistic Director; Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Artistic Director
MAHLER'S Symphony No. 3
Friday, March 10, 2023, 8:00pm
Saturday, March 11, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, March 12, 2023, 2:00pm
Zubin Mehta, conductor
Nadine Sierra, soprano
CRUMB Ancient Voices of Children
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
June 1-4, 2023
In the final program of the 2022/23 season, Gustavo Dudamel will be joined by pianist Mitsuko Uchida for a program of Mozart.
Thursday, June 1, 2023, 8:00pm
Friday, June 2, 2023, 11:00am
Saturday, June 3, 2023, 8:00pm
Sunday, June 4, 2023, 2:00pm
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27
MOZART Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter"
Tickets for Walt Disney Concert Hall's 2022/23 season will be available online at laphil.com or via phone at 323 850 2000 on the following dates:
Following the current health guidelines set forth by the LA County Department of Public Health, proof of full vaccination (including a booster dose if eligible) is currently required for everyone attending LA Phil concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall. We will continue to closely monitor updates and recommended guidance from our public health experts and update our concert policies accordingly; further information and updates can be found here.
For the full 2022/23 season schedule for Walt Disney Concert Hall and press kit, please click here.
Additional details can also be found at the LA Phil's website: laphil.com.
Programs, artists, prices and dates are subject to change. Ticket limits may apply.
Videos