Gustavo Dudamel leaves the LA Philharmonic to become artistic director of the New York Philharmonic

Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s early music and artistic director, is making his way east: he will leave LA to take over the baton of the New York Philharmonic when his current contract expires in 2026.

Officials of the New York Philharmonic announced today: Dudamel will become the orchestra’s next music director, beginning in the 2026-2027 season, and will serve a five-year term as Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic. Prior to this tenure, he will serve as music director-designate for the 2025-2026 season.

“We are very pleased to welcome Gustavo Dudamel as the next Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic,” NY Phil Board Co-Presidents Peter May and Oscar Tang said in a joint statement. “To build on the great legacy of this orchestra, he joins a historic list of distinguished conductors. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are delighted that Gustavo Dudamel has said yes to lead our artistic future.”

Dudamel has been music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009.

Dudamel said in a statement that he was “grateful” to both organizations. “I look forward to the world before me in New York City with joy and excitement and pride and love for the world I’ve shared — and will continue to share — with my beloved Angelenos over the next three seasons and beyond,” he said in a statement. “We are all united in our belief that culture creates a better world and in our dream that music is a fundamental right. I look forward to the work ahead.”

In addition to his work in LA, Dudamel has been music director of the Opéra National de Paris since 2021 and music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela since 1999.

Dudamel made his New York Philharmonic debut in November 2007 with works by Dvořák and Prokofiev and the orchestra’s first performances of Chávez’s Sinfonia India (Symphony No. 2) since Leonard Bernstein conducted the piece in 1961.

Gary Ginstling, Executive Director and President and CEO-elect, said: “With Gustavo Dudamel, the Philharmonic Orchestra faces what I believe is the most exciting chapter in its eventful history.”