Guests Raised a Martini to Maestro Gustavo Dudamel’s Arrival at the New York Philharmonic

The changing of the guard at the New York Philharmonic, the oldest of America’s “Big Five” orchestras, is always a momentous occasion for the city, all the more so when the incoming music director is among the most celebrated conductors of his generation. On Wednesday night, Venezuela-born Gustavo Dudamel took the podium at David Geffen Hall for La PanAmericana, a program of works celebrating his home continent.

Guests were invited to don “bold black tie” attire, surely a nod to the conductor’s gift for bringing even the most stately of halls to life. That spirit—part pomp and part party, lest we forget Dudamel helped inspire the series Mozart in the Jungle—carried through the occasion.

The evening began with Venezuelan bites, including an arepa bar, on Lincoln Center’s plaza, and ended with a more traditional three-course dinner in the hall’s Grand Promenade post-performance. Rows of chairs lined the plaza’s perimeter, facing the square’s spectacular fountain. Whether intentional or not, it felt like a knowing nod to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl shoutout to the familiar Latin family tradition of kids asleep on chairs at the function.

As the sun went down on the balmy September night, the bands Los Hacheros and Flor de Toloache performed while Carolina Herrera, Bernadette Peters, and Fiona Shaw swanned about the plaza. (As further proof of the martini’s current omnipresence, Shaw quipped that her guest’s was served up in a wine glass, since every last piece of proper cocktailware was already in use.) Liev Schreiber and Jamie and Nina Bernstein (daughters of late New York Philharmonic music director Leonard Bernstein) could be seen making their rounds, too.

When the program finally began—later than its intended 7 p.m. start time—host and board member Alec Baldwin tapped into his 30 Rock comedy chops for an onstage vamp. “I don’t play any instruments, so don’t clap for me,” the actor demurred.

La PanAmericana featured Ginastera’s Four Dances from Estancia; Juan Bautista Plaza’s Fuga criolla; “The Mestizo Waltz,” from Gabriela Lena Frank’s Three Latin American Dances; and the U.S. premiere of “Circus,” from 1947: Suite for Piano and Orchestra, by Sir Anthony Hopkins (yes, that Anthony Hopkins), with Sergio Tiempo as soloist. The second half brought the New York premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s Mujer Arena and Ellington’s Harlem. Then Broadway favorite Brian Stokes Mitchell joined Dudamel for a tribute to Sondheim’s Company. He began with a medley of “Another Hundred People” and Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train,” before singing every part in “Getting Married Today” himself.

Speaking of Sondheim, a buzz went through the hall when Dudamel saluted his West Side Story collaborator Steven Spielberg, who was seated on the left tier along with his wife, Kate Capshaw, and legendary composer John Williams. Dudamel thanked the two for inspiring his love of art through film. “One of the things I loved the most in my hometown was to go to the cinemas and listen to the music, to see the films and see how things work,” Dudamel said. “We were surrounded by the beautiful music of John Williams.” 

At this point, my date for the evening had my thigh in a death grip, and Dudamel only heightened the suspense as he built up to announcing a special number…from Disclosure Day. I’ll happily take Josh O’Connor and Emily Blunt whenever I can get them, but these are the men behind Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones, not to mention, in Williams’s case, Star Wars! Credit to Dudamel, though, ever the fine ear for beauty, for choosing “Listen” from the pair’s latest film, a piece that more than earned its place.

After dinner, Governor Kathy Hochul presented Dudamel with a plaque, offering in the process a curious comparison between the gala celebration and Taylor Swift’s July wedding as points of New York pride. Dudamel followed with another charming speech of his own. As the crowd thinned into the wee hours, Mariska Hargitay was treated to an impromptu rendition of the Law & Order: SVU theme in Geffen Hall’s lobby, one last reminder of Dudamel’s gift for uniting all parts of pop culture in perfect harmony.