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This may put our classical music scene more in the news.
But I doubt he'll come close to Bernstein, who seemed to have really pervaded American culture in his day.
Will Gustavo Dudamel Be New York’s New Bernstein?
The superstar conductor’s hiring is the New York Philharmonic’s attempt to recapture the populist glamour it enjoyed under Leonard Bernstein in the 1960s.
Gifted and energetic, Dudamel, 42, is the rare classical artist to break into the mainstream. He has made albums with the world’s top orchestras — and voiced an animated character in “Trolls World Tour.” He is the music director of the venerable Paris Opera — and inspired the wild-haired maestro protagonist of the Amazon series “Mozart in the Jungle.” He can shuttle between a Mahler symphony and a “Star Wars” soundtrack, between a John Adams premiere and a Super Bowl halftime show.
While Dudamel is not a composer like Bernstein, his commitment to education and his advocacy for new music — both pillars for Borda and her team in California — have been as unfaltering as his great predecessor’s. Both men managed to connect with audiences long schooled to think that only Europeans could have authority in the classics. https://dnyuz.com/2023/02/07/will-gu...new-bernstein/
It's good for the NYC elites and if it helps the NY Philarmonic that's great but other than that it doesn't matter. Whiny leftist Leonard Bernstein was the exception.
Two things put Bernstein on the musical map I'd guess: his compositions, like the music for West Side Story, and his televised Young People's Concerts which I remember watching as a kid.
For Dudamel to reach the same level of acclaim that Bernstein did, I'd guess he needs similar accomplishments--composing music that's destined to become a classic, while also finding a way to exploit TV (or maybe its the Internet now) to greatly expand general knowledge and appreciation of the classical canon. Maybe D's done something like the latter in L.A. already, I don't know.
But while Bernstein did a lot to put classical music up front for everyday audiences, Dudamel apparently is taking the opposite track and putting contemporary/popular type music up front for highbrow audiences. An interesting contrast.
NYC arts like nearly everywhere else needs all the star superpower or other help it can get.
Opera, ballet, classical music. etc.. all of them were already being affected by slow death caused by audience attendance dwindling. Then came covid and response including shut downs.
Boomers and their parents along with grandparents are likely last generations who truly were into performing/classical arts in big way. That is enough to sell enough tickets or otherwise get butts in seats. Younger generations by and large just aren't that into such things in huge numbers. They will go, but again its not same compared to say 1970's or even 1980's.
Other issue is NYC has these huge barns of performing arts spaces that require large number of ticket sales to break even. Met Opera on any given night is barely three-quarters full if that.
Dudamel conducts. He claims he is not a composer. Lenny schmoozed with Hollywood folks, visual artists, writers, dancers, journalists, and people in the theater. He had a colorful wife who loved to entertain and play hostess.
When I was a kid, I would see mostly old people in the audience. I still see old people in the audience, but also many immigrant/foreigners. There's lots of young Russians at all of the ballets and many Asians watching concerts at Carnegie and Lincoln Center. Get a star such as Renee Fleming, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Bell, or Yo Yo Ma and the house is full.
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