Under the glowing lights of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic opened its 2025–26 season Tuesday evening on Oct. 14 with Gustavo’s Fiesta, a title that proved both literal and emotional.
The gala marked the beginning of Gustavo Dudamel’s final season as Music and Artistic Director of the LA Phil, a role he’s held for 17 years. It was less a farewell and more a vibrant celebration of the joy, artistry, and humanity that have defined his time in Los Angeles.
Before the first note, LA Phil President and CEO Kim Noltemy took the stage to welcome guests and recognize benefactors, setting the tone for the evening and the season ahead, which the LA Phil has fittingly dubbed “Gracias Gustavo.”
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel and his wife Maria Valverde pose on the LA Phil’s opening night of his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA ) students joined the orchestra for a piece. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA ) students joined the orchestra for a piece. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Trombonist Oscar Dudamel poses with his son Gustavo Dudamel before LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Rapper LL Cool J and singer songwriter Beck attend the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel’s poses on the LA Phil’s opening night of his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Actress Supriya Ganesh attends the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Singer songwriter Beck attends the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel and rapper LL Cool J pose before LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Rapper LL Cool J attends the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel’s poses on the LA Phil’s opening night of his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Singer songwriter Beck attends the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA ) students wearing shirts with a message joined the orchestra for a piece. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel’s poses on the LA Phil’s opening night of his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) DJs Z-Trip and D-Nice join the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Gustavo Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel and rapper LL Cool J pose before LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates Dudamel’s final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 23Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil’s opening night as it commemorates his final season conducting and leading the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Expand“We’re calling this the ‘Gracias Gustavo’ season because we want to thank him for his incredible commitment and everything he’s done for Los Angeles, for the LA Phil, and really for classical music over the last 17 years,” Noltemy emotionally shared with us on the red carpet ahead of the show. “It’s the start of a new chapter. We’ll continue working with him probably forever, just not with the same intensity each season. That means every project will feel even more special, more exciting, the kind of concert you simply can’t miss when he’s with us.”
Every selection in Gustavo’s Fiesta carried personal meaning, each one a reflection of milestones throughout Dudamel’s tenure with the LA Phil. The program opened with Falla’s “Final Dance” from “The Three-Cornered Hat,” followed by Beethoven’s “Allegro con brio” from “Symphony No. 7.” Midway through, musicians from YOLA (the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles), joined the LA Phil for Dvořák’s “Allegro con fuoco” from “Symphony No. 9,” creating one of the most touching moments of the night.
Seeing young musicians take the stage alongside Dudamel, who founded YOLA in 2007, felt like witnessing a generational shift within music, a program and legacy that will continue to carry on long after he departs.
“First of all, there’s YOLA, which Gustavo founded, and we’re going to continue growing it,” Noltemy shared. “We’ve made a commitment to double or even triple the number of students over the next five years. That’s his vision and something he deeply cares about, and we want to carry that forward.”
As YOLA’s musicians stood to a full-house ovation, their shirts reading “Gracias Gustavo” across the back, Dudamel’s face was full of emotion. He thanked the young players, offering a few heartfelt hugs before taking a bow. Later, Revueltas’ “Noche de encantamiento” from “La noche de los Mayas” closed the program with a massive cinematic end.
Between pieces, Dudamel took a moment to speak to the audience: “In a world where everything online and in life feels like it has to be perfect,” he said, “music doesn’t ask that of us. We celebrate the imperfections, we celebrate being imperfect from the perfect.”
Dudamel’s story is already part of Los Angeles history. Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he rose through El Sistema, the country’s revolutionary youth music program, before making his debut with the LA Phil in 2005. Just four years later, at 26, he became the orchestra’s youngest-ever music director. Over nearly two decades, he’s redefined what a symphony orchestra can be, leading the LA Phil to six Grammy Awards, a 2025 Coachella performance, and countless collaborations that have brought classical music into new cultural spaces.
A short video shown before the concert revisited those milestones, from his first days on the podium to playing the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. For Dudamel, it was a moving reminder of how far both he and the orchestra have come. He later shared that watching felt as if “the first day was just yesterday,” a testament to how fast 17 years can fly by when they’re filled with purpose.
Yet even in a night steeped in bittersweet reflection, joy was the dominant note.
When the final piece concluded, Dudamel returned for an encore, and then another, and another. Each time, he raised a single finger, signaling “one more” to the crowd. By the third time, laughter filled the room, and it was clear no one wanted the night to end. As confetti fell from the high ceilings of the hall, each piece printed with photos of Dudamel throughout his career and the words “Gracias Gustavo,” a Venezuelan flag waved proudly in the crowd, a final nod to the roots that shaped him.
“We’ve worked hard to make this a welcoming place, somewhere you can come and just relax and be happy,” Noltemy said. “You don’t have to be a musicologist, or even know the piece that’s being played, you’ll still have a great time.”
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