‘The most sought-after conductor in the world’ and the players’ choice, says New York Philharmonic CEO of Gustavo Dudamel, who will take the baton and leave LA Philharmonic in 2026.
“:”Gustavo Dudamel will become music director of the New York Philharmonic for the 2026-27 season, ending a heralded tenure with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that began in 2009. The 42-year-old Venezuelan conductor agreed to a five-year contract as New York’s artistic and music director, the orchestra announced on Tuesday. Dudamel will become the first Latino to head the orchestra since its founding in 1842. He will succeed Jaap van Zweden , also music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, who said in September 2021 that he would leave the New York Philharmonic after the 2023-24 season, a six-season tenure as music director that will be the shortest since Pierre Boulez succeeded Leonard Bernstein and led the orchestra from 1971-77.
