Dudamel’s Beethoven Journey: From ‘Ode to Joy’ to a Powerful Farewell

It began with Beethoven.

Bright yellow T-shirts reading, “¡Bienvenido Gustavo!” marked Gustavo Dudamel’s first concert as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on October 3, 2009, at the Hollywood Bowl. Eighteen thousand free tickets were distributed for a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, broadcast worldwide. Dudamel’s message was one of unity: “There is no North, South or Central America. We are one.”

Now, as Dudamel enters the final six months of his tenure as L.A. Phil music director, he returns to the composer who has resonated with him since his early days conducting in Caracas. His first major recording featured propulsive performances of Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, recorded two decades ago this month. He will conclude his L.A. Phil leadership in August with Beethoven’s Ninth at the Bowl, mirroring his beginning.

Throughout these two decades, Beethoven has been Dudamel’s composer of uplift. This weekend, he confronts Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” for the first time. In the following weeks, he will pair Beethoven symphonies with premieres of new works he has championed in Los Angeles: Gabriela Ortiz’s ballet score, “Revolución Diamantina,” and the first part of Thomas Adès’ “Dante” ballet.

To launch the Beethoven month at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dudamel turned to another rarely heard work, the complete incidental music to Goethe’s tragedy, “Egmont,” a piece he says explores the “profound joy that arises from victory over injustice.” He was joined by actress Cate Blanchett and playwright Jeremy O. Harris for the performance.

“Egmont” occupies a central position in Beethoven’s career, his “heroic period.” The historical Egmont was a Flemish general, a hero to his people in the Netherlands, who attempted to serve the 16th-century Spanish emperor, Philip II. Goethe romanticized the figure, and, as a polymath advising Weimar’s Grand Duke, balanced political compromise with artistic ideals. He admired liberty but opposed the French Revolution, fearing populist disorder would necessitate autocracy.

Goethe’s Egmont finds perspective on his political role through contemplation of nature. Goethe, like the pioneering German environmentalist Alexander von Humboldt, immersed himself in the natural world. This connection may not have been coincidental, as Dudamel opened the program with the premiere of Ricardo Lorenz’s “Humboldt’s Nature,” a symphonic poem following Humboldt’s 1799 journey to Venezuela.

Lorenz’s work evokes “New Andalusia,” with sounds of guacharo birds and Latin rhythms, depicting a journey up the Orinoco River. The score culminates with a jarring encounter with enslaved Cubans, a stark reminder of humanity’s darker side.

Beethoven began work on “Egmont” a decade after Humboldt’s Venezuelan encounter. The overture, known for its tumultuous energy and triumphant conclusion, sets the stage. The incidental music provides theatrical context, including songs for Egmont’s love, Klärchen, entr’actes, a melodrama, and a powerful battle cry.

Goethe’s work remains relevant, as evidenced by Matthew Bell’s new biography, “Goethe: A Life in Ideas,” and its influence on contemporary works like Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” and John Adams’ opera, “Doctor Atomic.”

“Egmont” has long been on Dudamel’s agenda. While full performances with the incidental music are rare, a half-hour concert version is more common. Dudamel previously performed it with the Berlin Philharmonic in June, a performance available on the orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall. The narrator, Austrian actor Felix Kammerer, delivered a riveting performance, introducing Egmont’s indecisiveness before adhering to Goethe’s text.

Playwright Jeremy O. Harris created new text for Blanchett, beginning as a dirge listing cities – Portland, Bethlehem, Charlotte, Tehran, Minneapolis, Brussels – and evolving into a call to action. However, amplification issues hampered intelligibility, though Blanchett’s intensity was palpable, whether seated or standing in the organ loft.

Beethoven’s music enhances Goethe’s work, extracting its humanity and fragility. Dudamel’s performance probed the inevitable triumph of good over evil. Soprano Elena Villalón added a lithe touch to Klärchen’s songs, sung in German.

However, Harris and Blanchett’s agitprop felt discordant. Their emphasis on immediate action contrasted with Egmont’s journey of self-realization. Blanchett’s dance in the organ loft at the performance’s climax could be interpreted as recovered joy or a reflection of a world gone awry.

A performance of Schumann’s Piano Concerto served as a transition between “Humboldt” and “Egmont.” Dudamel and Mitsuko Uchida previously delivered a memorable performance of the concerto’s shifting moods eight years ago. This time, the soloist was Yunchan Lim, a rising pianist known for his introspective or intensely energetic performances. Dudamel allowed Lim to lead, hoping his purpose will become clear in time.