Did an East Coast bias creep into reviews of Dudamel's first tour with the L.A. Phil?

It's not that the great expectations surrounding Gustavo Dudamel weren't ripe for critical appraisal, but was it only the orchestra's performance that came in for evaluation when he led the L.A. Philharmonic last week on its first national tour since becoming music director?

That's the question raised by L.A. Times media critic James Rainey. After reviewing the reviews, he wonders what sparked some of the harsh assessments: "Could it be provincialism, just another L.A. beat-down, stoked by a bit of jealousy?"

Arizona Republic music critic Richard Nilsen thinks so. Nilsen, who raved about the L.A. Phil's performance of Mahler's First Symphony, said he thought the 29-year-old Venezuelan conductor's decision to perch in Los Angeles -- attracting international media attention -- threatened traditional views within the classical music world.

"There is still the sense that L.A. is the place of the philistines," Nilsen said, "and that it can't be as good an orchestra as it is because the really good orchestras have to be in New York or Chicago or Cleveland. I'm sure there is at least a bit of East Coast snobbery involved."

What else, Rainey posits, could have prompted the review by Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times? "Never has a performance been judged 'basically wonderful' ... in such a back-handed way," he writes.

Read the full article by Rainey here.

Photo: Dudamel leads the L.A. Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Credit: Henny Ray Abrams / Associated Press

Comments

[Vitner]

Of course they're envious and bitter. Isn't that what always happens when something great and different happens here? If they really didn't care, they would act accordingly.

[Vitner]

I also think that the LA Times should not make it out to seem that everyone hated Dudamel, because that's not the case. There were just as many good reviews as well.

[this is silly]

And are we pretending that the LATimes doesn't show its West Coast bias?
Please, this is how many articles about this now? I feel like the Times is trying to make this into a bigger deal than it really is. It is not possible for all journalists to like Dudamel as much as Mark Swed.

[Lucy]

I've attended all of Dudamel's concerts at Disney Hall this season, and I'd say the criticisms about the unevenness of the playing were generaly valid, although they're still playing at a very high level. I'm not surprised they're having some technical problems. He's steering them in a totally new direction, trying to get them to produce a sound that's very different to how they used to play. And they've only had about 15 weeks (or fewer) to play with Dudamel this season. So he's sacrificed some things to pursue this new direction. It's going to take them another couple of seasons to get these things sorted out. But he knows what to do--he's achieved section balances and ensemble playing with the LA Phil many times before, including this season, and they're professionals who will respond to him. I'm not worried. The concerts I've seen this season were hugely entertaining, thrilling sometimes. And we're only at the very beginning. I hope he's in for the long haul, because it's going to be an amazing ride.