Early (short) reviews of Dudamel and LA Phil Live from theaters via Twitter
Thousands of people across the United States and in Canada have just finished watching Gustavo Dudamel conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic live in some 450 movie theaters. The first of three planned LA Phil Live transmissions of the orchestra was Sunday's matinee program at Walt Disney Concert Hall: John Adams’ “Slonimsky’s Earbox,” Leonard Bernstein’s First Symphony and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, plus a Brahms encore.
We'll have a full report and a review by Times music critic Mark Swed soon at www.latimes.com/arts.
Ticket-holders with busy fingers were tweeting their own commentary from movie theaters, some even at intermission. Many were taken by the conductor's vibrant personality, seen in abundance in the backstage footage from Walt Disney Concert Hall, others by the orchestra's performance. A sampling:
@devoncestes: Every minute of backstage footage of Dudamel has been entirely adorable.
@vinv22: This is awesome! They show him rehearsing, backstage. Directing and then interview him! Like a coach coming off the field.
@nprclassical: Dudamel and the LA Phil, certainly energizing the movie theater audience here in Washington , DC
Steve Paul, presumably a fan for the losing Kansas City Chiefs, took solace in the concert:
@sbpaul: Post-football uplift: Gustavo D and LA Phil play Beethoven (7th), Bernstein, Adams, Brahms live on big movie screen. #kc #arts
Marc Geelhoed, whose Twitter profile identifies him as manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's record label, was taken by soloist Kelley O'Connor during the Bernstein:
@marcgeelhoed: End of Jeremiah sym by la phil was intense....very powerful, sustained slow music-making. Never heard kelleyo'connor better, either.
Apparently, however, not everyone was overwhelmed:
@fabulousatj: Grandma brought me to the movies not to see tron but to see the la philharmonic, 2 30 hrs of torture and sleep with old people laughing ...
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Photo: Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the same program on Thursday night. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times.
Just returned from the Walt Dysney Hall concert this afternoon. Unless you enjoy unsync symphony with unexpectedly loud brass and imbalanced tunes, this concert is really a torture for a music lover. I had to doze off, or just stare at Dudamel's acrobatic movement so my time is not a complete waste in the concert hall.
Posted by: JC | January 09, 2011 at 06:08 PM
This is the third concert conducted by Dudamel that I attended. I was thinking about giving the young guy another chance to prove that he is capable of steering the baton for LA phil after the second concert. From Adams, Bernstein till the end of Beethoven No.7 symphony, two hour of chaotic imbalance with brass and percussions overpowering the strings represented the conductor's emotional yet immature and lack of depth performance. I have to sell the rest of my season tickets.
Posted by: kensington | January 09, 2011 at 06:59 PM
I attended the concert here in Utah and absolutely loved it!
Posted by: Treams | January 09, 2011 at 07:23 PM
I attended the concert, and this is about the 4th time I have seen Dudamel conduct this orchestra. This was the best one of all, signifying to me that the orchestra and Dudamel will only get better, and they already are outstanding. I enjoyed the program very much and appreciated the mix of modern and old. I have never heard Beethoven's 7th Symphony sound this good. It came alive for me. I hope people in theaters were able to experience the same feelings as I did. Terrific.
Posted by: Lou | January 10, 2011 at 07:31 PM