In Tuesday’s (8/25) Los Angeles Times, David Ng writes, “Gustavo Dudamel, the new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, may be the hottest conductor on the classical scene, but box-office figures from Walt Disney Concert Hall show that even the young Venezuelan isn’t entirely recession-proof. Subscription tickets, which went on sale in February and account for a majority of total sales, have fallen 7% from last year, the final year of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure with the orchestra. That was at least partly offset by an uptick in the sale of single tickets. The orchestra says purchases of individual tickets that went on sale Sunday were approximately 50% above the sales from the same day last year, resulting in several sold-out performances well in advance of Oct. 8, the official start of the 2009-10 season. … As of Monday, six performances had sold out or were close to sold out, all featuring Dudamel on the podium. In addition, Dudamel-led concerts accounted for seven of the top 10 requested performances at the box office on Sunday. Among the most popular Dudamel appearances are the Mahler Symphony No. 1 concerts in October; performances of Verdi’s Requiem, set for early November; and a series of concerts with violinist Gil Shaham in late November.”
Posted August 25, 2009
