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LA Phil Appoints Daniel Harding, the Musicians' Choice, Its Next Music Director
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced the appointment of British conductor Daniel Harding as its next Music Director - the "overwhelming choice" of the LA Phil musicians.
The appointment comes just in time for the departure of Gustavo Dudamel, who will complete his 17-year tenure in August before beginning in the fall as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.
Harding "is greatly admired by the orchestra and was the overwhelming choice based on their feedback," LA Phil CEO Kim Noltemy said. "His intellectual curiosity, passion for bringing in and engaging with new audiences, global perspective and talent for nurturing emerging voices directly align with the LA Phil’s mission and vision. We are eager for Daniel to join our leadership team and open new pathways for creativity, collaboration and connection with our audiences and our city."
Harding made his Hollywood Bowl debut - and a positive impression - with the orchestra last summer, conducting a series of concerts featuring works by Rachmaninoff. He first conducted the LA Phil in 1997 and has appeared as an occasional guest conductor in the years since.
Harding, 50, is well-established in Europe and a frequent guest conductor in the States, having appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony. Born in Oxford, England, his bio describes his entry into the conducting field: "As a teenager, he persuaded his school friends to play for him — not Mozart or Haydn, but fiercely complex 20th-century music. Simon Rattle invited him to become his assistant in Birmingham. Claudio Abbado brought him to Berlin shortly after." To be more specific, he became Rattle's assistant at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the very young age of 17.
He describes the rest of his career as being "built on long relationships"... Keep reading...
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V.com weekend vote: Have you ever taught music?
These days my mind is on music education, and how much we need it.
Almost no child gets educated without music - even if they never receive a formal "music education." After all, how did you learn the very building blocks of your language - the alphabet? Was there a song?
For the last couple of years I've been very involved in the American String Teachers Association, as President of the Los Angeles section in California. I've been thinking a lot about how to support music teachers, to get people working together, to encourage people to build orchestra programs. Making music together is the kind of activity that can allow kids to put their phones and tablets away and use their brains and bodies in the real world. It is cooperative, engaging, expressive - why have we cast this to the side, in education?
And it all starts with someone who knows music, deciding to share that knowledge - to teach music. Which brings me to my question: Have you ever taught music? And there are so many ways you can be a teacher - maybe you actually teach in a classroom, or teach as a studio teacher. But maybe you have helped a child learn music by taking an active role in their lessons and practice - the "home teacher" for a child taking lessons.
Please participate in the vote, and if you can say "yes" to more than one answer, then please pick whichever answer you most identify with. Then please share with us your thoughts on teaching and music education.
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Elim Chan to Lead San Francisco Symphony - Not the LA Phil
Two major West Coast orchestras - the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony - have been searching for music directors to fill the big shoes of departing superstar conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. One has found theirs, the other remains on the search.
On Thursday the San Francisco Symphony announced the appointment of Elim Chan, 39, as their next Music Director, following the departure of Esa-Pekka Salonen last spring. Salonen had announced in 2024 that he was stepping down because he did not "share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors" after the orchestra’s board and administration had curtailed many of Salonen’s planned initiatives with budget cuts.
Chan will become Music Director Designate "effective immediately," conducting the orchestra in its concerts June 5 and 6, then in September 2027 she will begin her tenure as Music Director, leading the orchestra in a minimum of 10 weeks of programming a year, for a six-year term.
"San Francisco has always thrived on bold vision and reinvention, and in Elim Chan we have exactly the Music Director this moment calls for," said San Francisco Symphony Board of Governors Chair Priscilla B. Geeslin. "She brings a rare combination of energy, imagination, and openness, along with a natural ability to engage deeply with musicians, audiences, and the spirit of our city alike—qualities that will be central to this next chapter."
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For the Record, Op. 383: Andrés Gabetta
Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.
From Venice to Buenos Aires
Andrés Gabetta, violin & conductor
Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, bandoneon & accordion
Gabetta Consort
French-Argentinian baroque violinist Andrés Gabetta presents an album centered on the theme of "Maria" as a tribute to feminine artistry. It includes Vivaldi's "Grosso Mogul" violin concerto, Ástor Piazzolla’s "María de Buenos Aires," and modern works by Luca Salvadori including the commissioned Overture: "Tango-Baroque and Mater Maria," weaving Baroque structures with Nuevo Tango rhythms. The recording also features operatic gems by Bononcini and Vinci, alongside Piazzolla’s expressive arias, from the defiant Yo soy María to a tender Ave Maria arranged for violin, bandoneon, and soprano. BELOW: Astor Piazzolla's "Allegro dell'alba tangabile," arranged for violin, bandoneon and ensemble by Roberto Molinelli.
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