Gustavo Dudamel in New York: selfies, hugs and Mahler

The violins were tuning, the woodwinds were getting warm, and the trumpets were blaring bits of Mahler. Then the musicians of the New York Philharmonic began to whistle and cheer.

Gustavo Dudamel, one of the world’s leading conducting stars, took the stage this month for his first rehearsal with the Philharmonic since being named the ensemble’s new conductor. The program included Mahler’s epic Ninth Symphony.

“I will have the chance to hug everyone in the coming days,” he said to the musicians with a smile and a clenched fist. “I am very honored to be part of the family.”

Coincidentally, the orchestra’s new venue, the newly renovated David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, was occupied that day, so Dudamel’s first rehearsal took place at his old home, Carnegie Hall. Dudamel said he felt a connection with Mahler, who conducted the Philharmonic at Carnegie when he was music director there from 1909 to 1911.

“This was Mahler’s orchestra,” he said, noting Mahler’s ties to New York when he wrote it. “Even if they’re not the same musicians, they have that Mahler legacy.”

Though Dudamel won’t take the stage in New York until 2026, his five days at the Philharmonic this month for Mahler rehearsals and performances were an unofficial start. They came at a moment of transition for him in more ways than one: A week later, he would announce his resignation as Music Director of the Paris Opera. But New York felt like a new beginning, and as he got to know the orchestra and the city, he offered a mantra for his tenure: “We’ll have a lot of fun.”

There were champagne toasts and rites of passage. In his dressing room, Dudamel looked at a Mahler score that once belonged to Leonard Bernstein, a pastor and well-known Mahlerian. Intensive rehearsals took place for hours, with Dudamel urging the players to embrace Mahler’s operatic impulses and his varied style.

“It’s not bipolar, it’s tripolar,” he said of one passage. ‘This is Freud. A new character – a new spectrum of humanity.

When Dudamel and the orchestra returned to Geffen Hall for final rehearsals and performances, there were some surprises.

After a ghostly buzzing sound emerged during an open rehearsal, he turned to the audience. “Maybe it’s Mahler,” he said.

During his visit, Dudamel was greeted like a rock star, with musicians lining up for selfies and hugs.

“You’re part of my family,” Cynthia Phelps, the principal viola player, told him at a reception. “Welcome.”

Dudamel thanked the musicians and said he never thought he would one day lead one of the world’s best orchestras.

“To arrive here, to achieve this connection with you, is a price of life for me,” he said. “We will develop this love, this connection.”

At the opening concert, Dudamel was nervous. As was his custom, he conducted the symphony, one of the most profound and profound works in the repertoire, from memory. At the end of the piece, Dudamel refrained from solo bows, instead gesturing to emphasize the contributions of the members of the orchestra.

Backstage, an assistant handed Dudamel a glass of whiskey.

“My God,” he said. “What a trip.”