At long last, Los Angeles Philharmonic names its next music director

The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Tuesday that it has named Daniel Harding the orchestra’s 12th euphony director, ending 3 years of aggravated speculation implicit the orchestra’s aboriginal aft Gustavo Dudamel leaves successful August to caput the New York Philharmonic.

Harding volition statesman a six-year declaration for up to a twelve concerts a season, opening successful the autumn of 2027, astir 30 years aft the British prodigy made his U.S. debut conducting the L.A. Phil astatine the 1997 Ojai Festival. It was a nervous-making proceedings by occurrence that began arsenic a nail-biter. But by the festival’s end, the wunderkind had excitingly recovered his mode with the orchestra.

Harding has since go a favorite, if occasional, L.A. Phil impermanent conductor portion rising to the apical rungs of the planetary orchestral circuit, on with obtaining a commercialized flying licence and piloting, present and then, for Air France. He led a brace of superior Rachmaninoff programs successful his belated debut astatine the Hollywood Bowl past summertime soon aft 1 of Dudamel’s top Bowl performances ever, yet truthful won implicit the L.A. Phil musicians that helium abruptly seemed a imaginable campaigner to win Dudamel.

Like Dudamel, who began conducting pupil orchestras successful Venezuela successful his aboriginal teens, Harding was already making waves astatine a young age. He was calved successful Oxford, England, successful 1975, and became adjunct to Simon Rattle astatine the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra astatine the unheard-of property of 17.

Harding has gone connected to pb large orchestras successful Scandinavia (including Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra), Germany (including Mahler Chamber Orchestra), Paris (Orchestre de Paris), Japan, China and presently Rome (National Academy of Santa Cecilia). It’s intolerable to pin him down from his ample and varied discography with euphony from aboriginal to recent, everything consistently played with clarity and audible pleasure. Yet astatine archetypal glance, helium whitethorn not look to acceptable what has go a mold for an L.A. Phil euphony director.

The orchestra is famed for taking startling chances connected charismatic, emerging but inexperienced conductors of exceptional endowment who reached greatness and became dazzling stars implicit agelong tenures. Zubin Mehta and Gustavo Dudamel were some 26 erstwhile they began successful 1962 and 2009, respectively. Esa-Pekka Salonen took the reins successful 1992 astatine 34.

But the L.A. Phil has grown into a behemoth, serving a wider and much divers assemblage than immoderate orchestra earlier it and with acold greater innovation. That has led to questions astir whether immoderate azygous instrumentalist could instrumentality charge, fto unsocial a rising young star. In fact, acknowledgment to the L.A. Phil’s influence, galore orchestras everyplace present vie for the latest wunderkind hoping to capitalize connected the younker question alternatively than dilatory nurture a uncommon ability.

British conductor Daniel Harding has been chosen to regenerate Gustavo Dudamel arsenic the adjacent euphony manager of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

While Harding, 50, retains a boyish mien, helium is thing but flashy and conveys a British reserve connected the podium. He erstwhile said successful an interrogation that helium was the benignant of feline who could beryllium successful a edifice for 20 minutes without being noticed by a waiter. Yet erstwhile helium stands successful beforehand of an orchestra, helium has a look of wonderment successful his eyes and a seemingly effortless instrumentality technique, his baton making everything astir people and magically autumn into place.

He besides remains avid to research the unexpected, specified arsenic learning to fly, which helium says helium loves. “I wouldn’t privation to travel to L.A.,” helium explained connected a little telephone telephone from his location successful Paris, “if I didn’t deliberation it would beryllium a challenge.”

L.A. Phil President and CEO Kim Noltemy said implicit the play successful her bureau astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall that Harding was the overwhelming favourite of the orchestra players.

“The orchestra,” Noltemy explained, “believes successful him arsenic the perfect conductor who could instrumentality them to the adjacent level.”

Still, Harding steps into a concern dissimilar immoderate other. The orchestra’s immense ambition reaches into — and often reinvents — euphony education, popular music, movie music, Latino culture, ocular arts, theater, architecture, classical music, opera and avant-garde caller music. It moreover operates 4 bonzer venues — Frank Gehry’s iconic Disney Hall, Inglewood’s Beckmen YOLA Center (home of Youth Orchestra L.A.), Hollywood Bowl and the Ford Theater.

To support specified a immense ambition, the ensemble has assumed a ample postulation of leaders. Mehta, Salonen and Dudamel each clasp honorary titles. The orchestra has besides made Salonen originative director, which means helium volition pb the orchestra for up to six weeks a season, make peculiar projects and mostly assistance mold its vision. Dudamel expects to instrumentality astatine slightest 4 weeks a season, and he, too, aims to proceed his expansive projects. A young conductor, Anna Handler, has been appointed conductor-in-residence.

The database goes on, with Thomas Wilkins starring the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, acclaimed specialists successful aboriginal music, caller euphony and jazz with 2 much to beryllium appointed for Latin euphony and movie music.

It hardly seems arsenic though determination is country for immoderate benignant of overreaching euphony director. Yet Harding will, indeed, go a full-fledged one, bringing his ain ideas and projects arsenic good arsenic coalescing each the parts into a bigger picture.

And for this helium whitethorn beryllium uniquely qualified. It is not uncommon for an orchestra to accidental bully riddance to an outgoing conductor, indicating it is clip for thing caller and different. Yet Harding has been warmly welcomed by Salonen, Dudamel and Handler, each of whom cognize him well. One of the archetypal things helium conducted astatine Ojai was “Gnarly Buttons,” a clarinet concerto by the L.A. Phil’s longtime originative chair, John Adams.

He and Salonen spell backmost decades. Both had been main conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and besides worked unneurotic connected the summertime Baltic Sea Festival that Salonen created with the orchestra. Harding and Dudamel, who person cognize each different for immoderate 20 years, person different happening successful common: As young conductors they were some taken nether the wings of Rattle and the precocious Italian conductor Claudio Abbado, 2 of the astir celebrated conductors of their time. Harding has besides known Handler since she was a pupil successful Berlin.

Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov and British conductor Daniel Harding aft performing Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” connected Aug. 19, 2025, astatine the Hollywood Bowl.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Harding’s ain imaginativeness for L.A. volition instrumentality clip to develop, helium says, but the information that helium volition oversee a collaboration with colleagues helium knows truthful good and admires is simply a large portion of the attraction. He already has plans to instrumentality YOLA connected circuit successful 2029, which volition beryllium the Frank Gehry centenary.

“It would beryllium ludicrous to accidental that I’ve got immoderate benignant of grip connected the complexity oregon modern beingness successful L.A.,” Harding explains of his excitement for exploring caller places and cultures (he is simply a aviator aft all), “but the substance of elsewhere and present is what makes things absorbing and inspires you to bash amended things.

“I anticipation to bring what I cognize and wed each of that. I’ve been conducting for much than 30 years and determination is simply a infinitesimal erstwhile you collect.”

For now, Harding volition stay successful Paris and proceed astatine slightest done 2029 with Santa Cecilia — the orchestra, helium delightedly notes, wherever the beloved erstwhile L.A. Phil Music Director Carlo Maria Giulini got his commencement arsenic a violist. Still, Harding does emotion to fly. Noltemy says with a laughter that an further task connected Harding’s sheet is to instrumentality the grooming for piloting the latest Air France transatlantic jets that alert betwixt Paris and L.A.