The 2026-2027 season of BCN Clàssics will begin with an exceptional concert by Gustavo Dudamel with the New York Philharmonic and the Orfeó Català. It will take place on October 12 at L'Auditori. The concert is exceptional in three ways. Firstly, it marks a new collaboration between Dudamel and the Orfeó Català after the success of the Solemn Mass Beethoven in Los AngelesIn addition, the Venezuelan conductor, who is concluding his tenure with the Los Angeles Philharmonic this year, will lead the New York Philharmonic, of which he has been appointed artistic director. Finally, there is the program: On the transmigration of souls, by John Adams; the Symphony No. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev, and the state premiere of a work by Canadian composer Zosha Di Castri.

Los Angeles. Grand Avenue flanked by the characteristic palm trees of the Pacific. In the background, the peaks of the Saint Gabriel Mountains, still dusty in places. This morning, Spanish time, the afterglow of the Orfeó Català's explosive US debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel has triumphed over unusually cold days in the Californian metropolis.

The Solemn Mass Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is one of the most demanding works in the symphonic-choral repertoire. It is usually tackled by veteran conductors, but increasingly, younger generations are not afraid to take on its challenge. Among them is the Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, who will conduct it for the first time this weekend with the LA Phil in Los Angeles, on February 20, 21, and 22. For this exceptional occasion, Dudamel has invited the Orfeó Català and the Palau de la Música Chamber Choir to perform. The Orfeó Català will make history with its US debut, and, to top it all off, this is Dudamel's farewell season with the LA Phil.

The higher the expectations, the greater the likelihood of disappointment. And the expectation of hearing Leonard Bernstein's musical West Side Story at the Lyceum, in a concert directed by Gustavo Dudamel (who had already been in charge of conducting the soundtrack for Spielberg's 2021 film), was at the top of his game. That's why we went in playfully and left excited, because I don't think any of the spectators who were at the Liceu on Tuesday night will ever forget this performance. West Side Story.

There are few things more stimulating than the enthusiasm of musicians chatting about music, especially when they're not talking about their music. It happened this Monday during the press conference for the presentation of West Side Story at the Liceu, where two performances have been scheduled, in a symphonic concert version, on July 29 and 31. West Side Story You can feel New York under construction. It's fascinating," says Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, who will conduct the Liceu Symphony Orchestra in both performances. "Bernstein is a unique character: creator, pedagogue, composer, conductor, and a humanist." "Wonderful. I don't see anyone capable of doing everything he did. He was too many people in one person, like Maestro Abreu [the founder of the Venezuelan System of Orchestras and Hearts]," continues Dudamel, touched by Bernstein's influence from a young age: "West Side Story It has accompanied me since I was a child. Especially the mambo, it became an emblem of my youth with the youth orchestra of the Simón Bolívar System."

"The challenge is enormous," says the director general of the Palau de la Música, Joan Oller. The challenge is taken on by the Orfeó Català and the Chamber Choir of the Palau de la Música: 120 singers who will travel to Los Angeles to perform the Solemn masses with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, LA Phil, under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, on February 20, 21 and 22, 2026. Also participating as soloists will be the soprano Pretty Yende, the mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino, the tenor Seokj. "It's one of the most difficult works in the repertoire," says Oller to recall the magnitude of a colossal work. "It's like singing the song nine times." Ninth Symphony. And Dudamel will surely be demanding," he adds.