Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born January 26, 1981) is a
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n
conductorConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and violinist. He is currently the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and music director of the
Los Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Dudamel is also the artistic director of the
Orquesta Sinfónica Simón BolívarThe Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar is a Venezuelan orchestra. It is the apex of the nation's system of youth orchestras under the auspices of Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, known colloquially as El Sistema...
in Caracas, Venezuela.
Life and career
Dudamel was born in
BarquisimetoBarquisimeto is the capital city of the State of Lara located in west central Venezuela, halfway between Caracas and Maracaibo on the Turbio River.-Overview:...
,
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, the son of a trombonist and a voice teacher. He studied music from an early age, becoming involved with
El SistemaEl Sistema is a publicly financed voluntary sector music education program in Venezuela, originally called Social Action for Music. Its official name is Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, , and sometimes translated to English as...
, the famous Venezuelan musical education program, and took up the
violinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
at age ten. He soon began to study
compositionMusical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
. He attended the JANCINT0 Lara Conservatory, where he was taught the violin by José Luis Jiménez. He then went on to work with José Francisco del Castillo at the Latin-American Violin Academy.
He began to study conducting in 1995, first with
Rodolfo SaglimbeniRodolfo Saglimbeni is a conductor. He studied music in Venezuela and then at the Royal Academy of Music of London with Colin Metters, John Carewe and George Hurst, obtaining his degree with Honors....
, then later with
José Antonio AbreuJosé Antonio Abreu is a Venezuelan pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician.-Politics and academics:...
. In 1999, he was appointed music director of the
Orquesta Sinfónica Simón BolívarThe Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar is a Venezuelan orchestra. It is the apex of the nation's system of youth orchestras under the auspices of Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, known colloquially as El Sistema...
, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela, and toured several countries.
Dudamel began to win a number of conducting competitions, including the
Gustav Mahler Conducting PrizeThe Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition is a music competition for young conductors in Bamberg, Germany.-History:The competition was founded by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, with the idea of helping young conductors during the start of their conducting careers...
in Germany in 2004. His reputation began to spread, and he was noticed by conductors such as
Simon RattleSir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
and
Claudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
, who accepted invitations to conduct the Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Venezuela.
Dudamel debuted with the
PhilharmoniaThe Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
, the Israel Philharmonic, and the
Los Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
, among others, in 2005, and also signed a recording contract with
Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
. He made his debut at
La ScalaLa Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
,
MilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, with
Don GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
in November 2006. On September 10, 2007, he conducted the
Vienna Philharmonic OrchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
for the first time at the
LucerneLucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
Festival. In March 2008, he made his debut with the
San Francisco SymphonyThe San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
.
In 2005, Gustavo Dudamel first conducted the Gothenburg Symphony at the
BBC PromsThe Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
, on short notice as a replacement for the indisposed
Neeme JärviNeeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
. In 2006, Dudamel was named Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony. He continues to retain his position with the Simón Bolívar National Youth Orchestra. He took up the Gothenburg post in 2007, and his current contract there is to 2012.
Dudamel made his US conducting debut with the
Los Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
(LAP) at the
Hollywood BowlThe Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
on September 13, 2005 in a program consisting of "La Noche de los Mayas" by
Silvestre RevueltasSilvestre Revueltas Sánchez was a Mexican composer of classical music, a violinist and a conductor.-Life:...
and the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5. Dudamel was subsequently invited back to conduct the orchestra at
Walt Disney Concert HallThe Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
in January 2007 in performances of "Dances of Galánta" by
Zoltán KodályZoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
, the
third piano concertoThe Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, composed in 1909 by Sergei Rachmaninoff is famous for its technical and musical demands on the performer...
of
Sergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
with
Yefim BronfmanYefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist.-Biography:He was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15...
as soloist, and
Béla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's
Concerto for OrchestraConcerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123, is a five-movement musical work for orchestra composed by Béla Bartók in 1943. It is one of his best-known, most popular and most accessible works. The score is inscribed "15 August – 8 October 1943", and it premiered on December 1, 1944 in Boston Symphony...
(the latter of which was recorded live and subsequently released by
Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
). In April 2007, during a guest conducting engagement with the
Chicago Symphony OrchestraThe Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, Dudamel was named the LAP's next music director as of the 2009–2010 season, succeeding
Esa-Pekka SalonenEsa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
. His initial contract in Los Angeles is for five years, beginning in September 2009.
On April 16, 2007, Gustavo Dudamel conducted the
Stuttgart Radio Symphony OrchestraThe Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Stuttgart in Germany. The ensemble was founded in 1945 by American occupation authorities as the orchestra for Radio Stuttgart, under the name Sinfonieorchester von Radio Stuttgart...
in a concert in commemoration of the 80th birthday of
Pope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, with
Hilary HahnHilary Hahn is an American violinist.Hahn was born in Lexington, Virginia. Beginning her studies when she was three years old at Baltimore's Peabody Institute, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age ten, and in 1991, made her major orchestral debut with the...
as solo violinist, with the Pope himself and many other church dignitaries among the audience.
Dudamel is featured in the documentary film
Tocar y Luchar, which covers
El SistemaEl Sistema is a publicly financed voluntary sector music education program in Venezuela, originally called Social Action for Music. Its official name is Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, , and sometimes translated to English as...
. Dudamel and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar received the WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award in New York City in November 2007. Another US television news feature on Dudamel was on
60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
in February 2008, entitled "Gustavo the Great".
On July 23, 2009, Dudamel was selected by the Eighth
Glenn Gould PrizeThe Glenn Gould Prize is an international award bestowed by the Glenn Gould Foundation in memory of noted Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. It is awarded every third year to a living individual in recognition of his/her contributions to music and communication....
laureate
José Antonio AbreuJosé Antonio Abreu is a Venezuelan pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician.-Politics and academics:...
as winner of the prestigious The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize.
Dudamel began his tenure as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on September 28, 2009 with a rehearsal of Beethoven's 9th Symphony that included the Los Angeles Master Chorale and representatives of eight community-based choruses. His first official rehearsal with the orchestra followed on September 30. On October 3 he conducted Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl in "Bienvenido Gustavo," a free concert, and conducted his official inaugural concert featuring the world premiere of John Adams' "
City Noir# The City and its Double# The Song is for You# Boulevard NightThe piece was co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the London Symphony Orchestra in association with Cité de la Musique, the Zaterdag Matinee and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra...
" and Mahler's
Symphony No. 1The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera, Germany...
with his new orchestra in Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 8.
Dudamel is featured in the 2011 documentary "Let The Children Play," a film which focuses on his work advocating for music as a way to enrich children's lives.
Personal life
Dudamel married his girlfriend, Eloísa Knife Maturén, in 2006 in
CaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
. The
Simón Bolívar National Youth OrchestraThe Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar is a Venezuelan orchestra. It is the apex of the nation's system of youth orchestras under the auspices of Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela, known colloquially as El Sistema...
combined forces with the
Schola Cantorum de VenezuelaSchola Cantorum de Venezuela is one of the most important choral societies belonging to the growing choral movement in Venezuela. SCV was founded in 1967 by Alberto Grau, a Venezuelan composer and conductor born in 1937 in Barcelona, Spain...
and the Orfeon Universitario of the
Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro AlvaradoThe Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado is a public university of Venezuela located in Barquisimeto. It was founded in 1962 with the creation of the Centro Experimental de Estudios Superiores , and became the Universidad de la Región Centro Occidental in 1967, before being given its...
to make the event a special musical celebration. The wedding took place in the cathedral at the
Universidad Católica Andrés BelloUniversidad Católica Andrés Bello is a private university in Venezuela. One of the biggest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas , Los Teques, Guayana and Coro....
in
MontalbánMontalbán is a town and municipality in Spain with a population of 1,538, an area of 82 km² and a density of 18.75, located in Teruel province, in the autonomous community of Aragón. It is the historical and cultural capital of the Cuencas Mineras Aragonese comarca.The Sierra de San Just rises...
, a suburb of Caracas. Maturén, also a Venezuelan native, is a classically trained
balletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
dancer and a journalist. They have a son, Martín Dudamel Maturén, a U.S. citizen.
External links
Video
- 60 Minutes (CBS-TV): "Gustavo the Great" February 17, 2008 (video and transcript)
- Celebracion! Dudamel, Florez, and the L.A. Philharmonic, 1:55:22, Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
on PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, December 29, 2010, video-only link with related videos
- Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic: The Inaugural Concert, 51:41, Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
on PBSThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, October 21, 2009, video-only link with related videos
- JANERA: Dudamel in da House, by Nicole E. Foster (article and video)
- WQXR Press Release, 12 November 2007, "The 2007 WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award Is Presented to Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela on the Stage of Carnegie Hall on November 10". by Arturo Márquez
Arturo Márquez is a renowned Mexican composer of orchestra music who is well known for using musical forms and styles of his native Mexico and incorporating them into his compositions.-Life:...
. Gustavo Dudamel and Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
- Gustavo Dudamel and the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra performing for TED 2009 by Pedro Eustache
Pedro Eustache , is a creative solo flautist - "World Music" woodwinds-reeds-wind synthesizers and composer with extensive academic studies and more than 35 years of professional experience...
(composer-soloist). Gustavo Dudamel and Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
- Mahler 5, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela