Gustavo Dudamel Delivers His 'love Letter To L.a.' In His Final Summer At The Hollywood Bowl

Summer is nan play of Gustavo Dudamel astatine nan Hollywood Bowl this year, arsenic nan beloved conductor wraps up his 17-year tally astatine nan helm of nan Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Audiences tin bid him farewell during a trio of performances astatine Walt Disney Concert Hall successful June, earlier nan Bowl launches into a caller play featuring a four-night Dudamel tribute titled “Celebrating Gustavo astatine nan Bowl.” That bid opens Aug. 20 arsenic portion of nan L.A. Phil’s jam-packed summertime lineup, which nan statement is expected to denote Wednesday.

The Dudamel emotion fest arrives arsenic nan Bowl dedicates its iconic shape to John Williams successful ceremony of nan composer’s decades-long narration pinch nan venue. The recently christened John Williams Stage and nan typical Dudamel programming will salary tribute to 2 towering Bowl icons during a awesome infinitesimal of alteration for nan L.A. Phil.

Dudamel conducted his very first performance arsenic nan L.A. Phil’s euphony head successful 2009 astatine nan Bowl. At “Bienvenido Gustavo,” nan conductor introduced himself pinch Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. and nan Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), nan group to which he dedicated his bosom and psyche during his tenure.

“We benignant of took that arsenic our inspiration, and we said we person to bookend this expansive escapade together,” said Meghan Umber, president of nan Hollywood Bowl and main programming serviceman astatine nan L.A. Phil during a caller interview.

Umber said that some nan symphony and younker orchestra will return successful “Beethoven 9,” nan kickoff to “Celebrating Gustavo astatine nan Bowl.” That night, Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino will besides debut a caller orchestral portion featuring lyrics by Amanda Gorman, nan youngest statesmanlike inaugural writer successful U.S. history.

Rounding retired nan four-day extravaganza are “Dudamel’s Playlist,” a Latin popular rock-led assortment show hosted by nan conductor, a associated performance pinch nan Foo Fighters and a retrospective that Umber described arsenic “Gustavo’s emotion missive to L.A.”

“The Hollywood Bowl is wherever my travel pinch nan Los Angeles Philharmonic genuinely began, and it remains 1 of nan astir meaningful places for maine to make music,” Dudamel said successful a statement. “Together, we’ve challenged ourselves, expanded what an orchestra tin be, and built a organization rooted successful curiosity and connection.”

“To stock these performances successful nan spot wherever I first stood earlier this orchestra, surrounded by nan metropolis and nan stars, is an immense root of pridefulness and gratitude,” nan conductor said.

“We don’t look astatine this arsenic a farewell for Gustavo,” Umber said. “He’s portion of nan family.”

Instead, she said, “this is simply a modulation into a caller era pinch him.”

This year, successful lieu of a header musical, nan summertime play astatine nan Bowl will unfastened pinch a Broadway-themed performance benefiting YOLA, capped by a monumental Bowl fireworks display.

Additional performance highlights see a Juneteenth ceremony headlined by Chance nan Rapper; nan returning hip-hop night, “A Roots Picnic Experience,” featuring Nas; and a Fourth of July fireworks spectacular pinch nan Beach Boys and typical impermanent John Stamos.

Complementing nan Bowl’s Independence Day programme is simply a opus rhythm of Shaina Taub’s Tony-winning philharmonic “Suffs,” which Umber said examines America’s 250th anniversary, “including that bonzer female constituent of view.”

Film programming includes 3 awesome hits: a movie euphony performance of Joe Hisaishi’s Studio Ghibli scores featuring clips from iconic films specified arsenic “Princess Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Ponyo”; a ceremony of euphony from nan world of Wes Anderson; and a philharmonic tribute to Williams featuring a 50-minute compilation of scenes from his astir celebrated films.

“We each cognize what a jewel John is, and those nights that he curates astatine nan Bowl are for illustration family nights ... successful that you don’t person to person a family, but it feels for illustration L.A. is your family, nan movie manufacture is your family,” Umber said. “Everybody grabs a ray saber. You don’t person to return yourself excessively earnestly — we each consciousness for illustration kids again.”

On apical of nan caller shape name, nan Bowl this summertime will debut respective different cosmetic updates, including its caller multipurpose building (the Terri and Jerry Kohl Artists Pavilion), a premium sound strategy that will boost sonic immersion while reducing sound leakage and a re-imagined imperishable postulation astatine nan Hollywood Bowl Museum that will observe nan venue’s 100-plus-year history arsenic an L.A. civilization and organization hub. It will besides people nan first clip nan postulation has been revamped successful nan 30 years since nan depository building‘s 1996 debut.

The caller imperishable exhibition, “Hollywood Bowl: Soul of a City,” consists of photos, audio and video recordings, original documents, maps and architectural drawings, 3D models, listening stations and artifacts pulled from nan immense archives of nan L.A. Phil and nan Hollywood Bowl.

“There’s a wealthiness of riches of Hollywood Bowl history, truthful it’s intolerable to determine what to put in,” Umber said. But nan attraction of nan accumulation will mostly beryllium nan public-private business that has enabled nan Bowl to service generations of Angelenos.

“We’re ever talking astir each nan difficult things successful life,” Umber said. “We request to besides observe nan things that are going ace well.”

Outside of nan L.A. Phil’s summertime programming, nan Bowl successful collaboration pinch promoter Live Nation-Hewitt Silva successful nan coming months will big Netflix Is a Joke shows from standouts John Mulaney and Marcello Hernández, positive a lineup of generational euphony acts from Santana and nan Doobie Brothers to nan Black Crowes and Tedeschi Trucks Band.

For nan afloat 2026 Hollywood Bowl lineup, sojourn nan venue’s website.