For Santa Barbara orchestra aficionados, being afforded the chance to hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic, one of the world's great orchestras, on a regular basis, is one of those cultural highs well worth the two-hour drive. The orchestra's long and lofty reputation has gained in international repute, especially in recent chapters led by maestros Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel.
Luckily for us, Santa Barbarans have also had at least yearly audiences with the L.A. Phil, tidily in sync with the 104-year history of the presenting organization CAMA. And as the season programming math works out in 2023, we've had two visits from the mighty Angelenos, both as a season-closing concert in May and this season’s orchestral “International Series” season opener, at The Granada Theatre on Tuesday, December 12.
As a neat, illuminating pair, the two concerts showcase different aspects of this orchestra's life, times, and repertoire attitudes. Dudamel’s triumph in May featured two (count ‘em) challenging and evocative new works by young women composers, Gabriella Smith and Ellen Reid. Next week’s concert is more deeply rooted in history, not only in its menu of Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Mahler's Titan symphony, but through the august presence of the L.A. Phil's eminent maestro emeritus, Zubin Mehta.