LA PHIL Announces 2024-25 Season at Walt Disney Concert Hall

An expansive array of programs with a distinctly Los Angeles-centric perspective awaits you! From the magic of Mendelssohn, the scores from the golden age of cinema, the Pan-American Music Initiative, and also “Mahler Grooves,” the LA Phil’s forthcoming performance season is rich with cultural touchstones such as  the LA Phil’s first-ever Seoul Festival, curated by South Korean composer Unsuk Chin.

From the press release:

Los Angeles Philharmonic Music & Artistic Director and Walt and Lilly Disney Chair Gustavo Dudamel and LA Phil Interim Chief Executive Officer and David C. Bohnett CEO Chair Daniel Song have announced details of the 2024/25 season at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The composer- and curator-forward season illuminates the musical and creative threads unique to the region’s multifaceted cultural landscape. From the counterculture 1970s LA society of Mahler lovers, to music from the Golden Age of Hollywood, to the pulsating Korean influence across LA today, nearly every performance has a connection to the City of Angels.

The 2024/25 Walt Disney Concert Hall commences with the LA Phil Gala Concert featuring the return of pianist Lang Lang and the orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Major initiatives in the season include “Mahler Grooves,” an exploration into Gustav Mahler’s monumental and lesser known works and his inner world; the Seoul Festival, curated by Unsuk Chin, showcasing South Korea’s impact on the modern American musical landscape across genres from K-pop to Classical; the launch of a three-year collaboration with French conductor and LA Phil Artist-Collaborator Emmanuelle Haïm, beginning with The Handel Project; Arnold Schoenberg at 150, a celebration of the composer’s distinct avant-garde and Romantic compositions on the 150th anniversary of his birth; the completion of a two-year retrospective of film music curated by legendary composer John Williams; the world premiere of Carlos Simon’s Gospel Mass that reinterprets a traditional Catholic Mass and explores themes of struggle, joy, hope and the presence of the spiritual in human existence; the return of Noon to Midnight – the LA Phil’s day-long new music festival curated by Ellen Reid – as part of Getty’s 2024 PST ART: Art & Science Collide; and the continuation of the Pan-American Music Initiative curated by Gabriela Ortiz that will include the LA Phil touring to Bogota, Colombia and opening Carnegie Hall’s 2024/25 season in New York. 

The city of Los Angeles is like an orchestra: so many different people, sounds, cultures, and histories, all coming together in a beautiful harmony of life. This season, we celebrate the many vibrant communities of our beloved city, including – for the first time – a full week of concerts to celebrate the profound power of Día de los Muertos, an exploration of the extraordinary artists of Korea with our Seoul Festival, a Gospel Mass that pays tribute to the resilience and joy of the Black community, an 11-concert immersion in the music of Gustav and Alma Mahler, and so much more.

Walt and Lilly Disney Chair, Gustavo Dudamel.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Interim CEO Daniel Song said, “Walt Disney Concert Hall audiences expect each season to raise the bar by introducing them to new composers, musicians, and commissioned works, new interpretations of classic and beloved compositions, and performances unlike any other they have experienced before, and this season does not disappoint. There is a palpable feeling of surprise and delight across all genres of music in our program, whether you are a first-time visitor to the Hall or a seasoned supporter.”

The LA Phil presents 22 commissioned works during the 2024/25 season. Among the compositions having their world premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall are works by Gabriela Ortiz, Joe Hisaishi, Nico Muhly, Carlos Simon, Julia Adolphe, Joseph Pereira, Yie Eun Chun, Dongjin Bae, Sunghyun Lee, Kay Kyurim Rhie, Texu Kim and Whan Ri-Ahn. Receiving their U.S. debuts this season are pieces by Anders Hillborg and the late Kaija Saariaho.

2024/25 season highlights include:

• Dudamel leads 11 performances in Mahler Grooves Festival, including first performances of Symphony No. 7 with the LA Phil,  Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Alma Mahler’s Five Songs; Festival also includes day-long Mahler-thon with YOLA and Colburn School musicians and listening parties in historic L.A. spaces

• Seoul Festival, curated by Unsuk Chin, highlights modern Korean performers, composers, and culture

• The John Williams Spotlight two-year retrospective continues, including Star Wars in Concert featuring music and film clips from the nine Star Wars saga films plus concerts with Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams

• Renowned Baroque conductor Emmanuelle Haïm begins her 3-year tenure as Artist-Collaborator with The Handel Project, featuring the LA Phil and Le Concert d’Astrée

• Pan-American Music Initiative includes new Gabriela Ortiz commission, Día de los Muertos concerts, a John Williams Spotlight program featuring From Mexico to Hollywood: Golden Age Cinema, and LA Phil tour to Bogota, Colombia and New York’s Carnegie Hall

• Celebration of Arnold Schoenberg at 150 highlighted by Zubin Mehta leading Gurreleider

• World Premiere of Carlos Simon’s Gospel Mass conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and with visuals by creative director Melina Matsoukas, a reinterpretation of a traditional Catholic Mass and an homage to the resilience and joy of the Black community

• LA Phil joins Southern California’s landmark art event, Getty’s PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative, with its day-long Noon to Midnight new music festival curated by Ellen Reid, featuring the world premiere of Doug Aitken’s Lightscape with the Los Angeles Master Chorale

• Guest conductors include Teddy Abrams, Ryan Bancroft, Gustavo Gimeno, Sarah Hicks, Joe Hisaishi, Paavo Järvi, Philippe Jordan, Eun Sun Kim, Susanna Mälkki, Joana Mallwitz, Zubin Mehta, Ludovic Morlot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nathalie Stutzmann, Robin Ticciati, Michael Tilson Thomas, Lorenzo Viotti, Hankyeol Yoon, and Xian Zhang

• LA Phil welcomes artists Cody Fry, LA Phil’s Creative Chair for Jazz Herbie Hancock, Samara Joy, Wynonna Judd, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Mariza, Jason Moran, Leslie Odom, Jr., Itzhak Perlman, and many more throughout the season.

TICKETS & PROTOCOLS:

Tickets for Walt Disney Concert Hall’s 2024/25 season will be available online at laphil.com or via phone at 323 850 2000 on the following dates: 

• Subscriptions available now

• “Create Your Own” packages will be available Tuesday, April 23, 2024

• Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office opens for single ticket sales Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 10 a.m.

All visitors are encouraged to check Walt Disney Concert Hall’s venue policies available at laphil.org here.