Gustavo Dudamel bows out of concert due to injury
Sounds like quite a wild night at Walt Disney Hall Thursday.
My old pal David Mermelstein reports on MusicalAmerica.com that Gustavo Dudamel withdrew at intermission from a concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The wildly, widely acclaimed conductor apparently injured himself during the first half, while leading an account of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with soloist Alisa Weilerstein.
Since the orchestra is about to head off on its first national tour with Dudamel -- the trip includes a much-anticipated stop at the Kennedy Center May 17 for WPAS -- this news is likely to have quite a few folks feeling nervous today.
I've heard of baton-based wounds (quite a few unfortunate conductors have stabbed themselves during a concert), but not
By the way, the performance did go on in L.A., thanks to the Philharmonic's associate conductor, Lionel Bringuier, who led the orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s "Pathétique" (one of the works scheduled to be played in DC). Meanwhile, Dudamel may end up holding back on some of the physicality he's known for on the podium. Chances are, that wouldn't reduce the passion in the music-making one bit.
UPDATE: Since I filked this post, a report has appeared from my colleague at the LA Times about last ngiht's incident.
Comments
Somebody should give this kid Max Rudolf's book on conducting - and the kid should take the summer off reading and analyzing it.
Posted by: Don Ciccio | May 10, 2010 10:38 AM
Mark Swed & David Ng reported here in the LA Times that "the Dude" was back on the podium the next day. He also has been conducting the LA Phil on tour subsequently, at Davies Hall in SF. Richard Scheinin liked the concert. Joshua Kosman didn't like it.
Posted by: Geo. | May 13, 2010 2:13 PM