Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 2 October 2025
John Adams: Frenzy: a short symphony (US premiere., LA Phil Commission)
Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Dudamel’s final season in Los Angeles continues with its second concert. Each program is an opportunity to reflect on his time with the orchestra. Tonight features an LA Phil commission from one of America’s most important living composers, John Adams, alongside two of Igor Stravinsky’s Ballets Russes – a composer the LA Phil performs particularly well.
Adams’ Frenzy is a symphony in one movement and features his trademark rhythmic pulse that carries the piece from start to finish. The LA Phil eagerly digs into the new symphony and is more than comfortable in Adams’ sound world, having played and premiered many of his works during his legendary career. It ends with a controlled sense of chaos, just as its apt title promises. This isn’t the most significant Adams work Dudamel has been associated with during his time in LA, but any new piece from the great California composer is a treat and served as a more-than-adequate amuse-bouche for the Stravinsky courses to come.
Dudamel has chosen pieces that play to his strengths during his final season, and The Firebird is no exception. He had big shoes to fill after taking over from Salonen, a Stravinsky specialist. Conducting without a score, he outmuscles Salonen. Generally speaking, in the 17 years under Dudamel, the LA Phil has developed a more athletic and robust sound than in the 17 years under Salonen. Dudamel delivers the big tunes with aplomb, showing off the LA Phil’s velvety sonority in the ‘Infernal Dance of King Kashchei’ and the Finale. What separates a good from a great performance is the ability to tie it all together – making the lead-up to the familiar melodies carry enough detail and dramatic tension so the climax truly pays off, rather than simply arriving at the parts everyone remembers. These softer sections aren’t vegetables we must suffer through before getting to “the good parts”; they illustrate Stravinsky’s unique orchestral imagination. In lesser hands, these moments can dully drone on. Dudamel brings them to life. The orchestra growls and gurgles with palpable suspense, on the verge of boiling over. Dudamel relishes stirring this orchestral stew, with the lower woodwinds especially shining – highlighted by scrumptious bassoon playing from principal Whitney Crockett. His ability to elevate these passages is even clearer in the full ballet than in the truncated suite performed tonight. In either form, The Firebird is Dudamel’s finest Stravinsky interpretation during his time in Los Angeles and was the highlight of the evening. A new recording will be released later this year by Platoon. He has recorded it twice previously with the LA Phil and the Vienna Philharmonic – both phenomenal.
Dudamel returned from intermission to conduct The Rite of Spring, one of the most iconic peaks in the classical canon. We hear the same strong sound, though what worked so well in The Firebird is less effective here. Tempos are chosen for what sounds best for the orchestra, rather than what might serve the ballet’s original function as dance accompaniment. Its rough-hewn edges have been softened with the patina that comes with being part of the standard repertoire for so long. Despite the absence of a concertmaster and principal violist, the string section still carries plenty of force, and Dudamel highlights several interesting passages within the wider soundscape. Principal percussionist Matthew Howard on bass drum and principal timpanist Joseph Pereira provide shock with their instruments, but what is missing from their peers is the raw savagery Stravinsky’s score demands. Dudamel brings out an extra layer of lyricism in the moments that call for it, but ultimately his own big heart gets the better of him. I tend to favor his predecessor’s approach: Salonen’s performances and legendary recording that inaugurated Walt Disney Concert Hall highlight the score’s radical modernism. His surgical style leaves little room for sentimentality, whereas Dudamel conducts with one foot still in the Romantic era. Doubtless, Dudamel’s is the more broadly appealing angle, making this abrasive work less caustic. However, these are the notorious sounds that caused a riot when Pierre Monteux conducted the premiere in Paris a little over a century ago. This performance is for people who like their coffee with sweetener. When it comes to this piece, I prefer mine black.
