Having been to three different L.A. Philharmonic programs with new music director Gustavo Dudamel over the course of just a week, I feel like a groupie.  But honestly, I haven't experienced this kind of fervor or popular excitement over classical music since I was at the Proms in London a few summers back.  Simply put, the two concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall the past few days were exhilarating.

The 28-year-old Dudamel officially began his tenure last weekend with an outdoor concert of Beethoven's Ninth at the Hollywood Bowl.  With 18,000 people in attendance, it accentuated Dudamel the Populist, the Multicultural Champion.  Amid the pomp of tuxedoed donors and the intense eye of TV cameras (the concert will be broadcast on PBS on October 21), Thursday's concert, however, couldn't have been more different.  Critical kudos went to New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert when he premiered a new work by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg for his debut last month.  Well, Dudamel easily matched that, with a world premiere of John Adams' 'City Noir' at Thursday's gala, followed by the American premiere of Unsuk Chin's 'Su,' which I heard on Saturday.  Both programs also included Mahler's First Symphony.  Here was ambition - and artistry - with a capital "A."

 

The youthful exuberance of Mahler's music is a natural fit for Dudamel, who has made the work one of his calling cards.  May the Leonard Bernstein comparisons begin. But I don't think it's a helpful way to explain the particular magic Dudamel wields with a baton.   Dudamel's interpretative touches were inspired, including the opening movement's ineffable atmosphere; a folksy, almost raucous emphasis to the earthy second movement; and an inexorable cohesion to the finale.  Yet what's more remarkable is how he gives the members of the orchestra room to give their best.  Judging by the smiles, the orchestra was loving every minute of it.  Saturday's performance was especially triumphant.

 

The collaborative spirit continued into the new works on the programs.  John Adams, author of operas 'Nixon in China,' 'Death of Klinghoffer' and 'Doctor Atomic,' already had a significant track record with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  His grand symphonic score 'Naïve and Sentimental Music' was premiered by the orchestra and previous music director Esa-Pekka Salonen back in 1999.  At first listen, however, this new 'City Noir' had neither the impact nor sweep of 'Naïve and Sentimental Music.'  In fact, 'City Noir,' which is Adams' homage to 40s-era L.A., might rather belong in the same category of another California-inspired work, 'Dharma at Big Sur.' That is, attractive musical moments that don't quite add up to a convincing whole. 

 

This 30-minute piece included a smoky solo for saxophone, a gorgeous third movement opening and an abundance of jagged rhythms and jazzy sonorities.  The orchestra was huge and the layered sonorities are among the most complicated Adams has scored.  But complexity doesn't always translate into profundity.

 

I better enjoyed 'Su,' a concerto for sheng and orchestra, by the Korean-born, German-based Unsuk Chin. Best known for her violin concerto and operatic adaptation of 'Alice in Wonderland,' Chin had once studied with the great Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti.  In fact, the hazy, hallucinogenic sounds at the beginning of 'Su' evoked some of Ligeti's music from '2001.'  Exoticism came in abundance from the orchestra's percussion section (with Japanese temple bell, silk paper and water gong) and, naturally, the sheng, a Chinese mouth organ, whose sounds suggest in turn a harmonica, accordion and pan flute.  Wu Wei amazed as the soloist.

 

This was a sonic adventure of the first order.  According to the program notes, 'Su' derives from the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for air.  Predictably, a delicate, almost ghostly spirit suffused the piece.  In the beginning, the orchestra and Wei traded eerie whispers.  Chin's musical kaleidoscore later featured a bright rhythmic section and spectral coda. 

 

The music's reliance on bass pedal points and iridescent atmosphere beautifully complemented the Mahler.  What's more, the commitment of Wei, orchestra and Dudamel were exceptional.