From October 20 to 30, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel embarked on a three-city tour through Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei. Marking the LA Phil’s first return to Asia since its Centennial Season in 2018/19, the tour featured performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” and a program of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and The Rite of Spring paired with John Adams’ Frenzy: a short symphony.
Explore how much fun we had as you scroll through our tour recap below!
Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil perform Mahler's Second Symphony at Tokyo's Suntory Hall.
Seoul
After a 13-hour flight, the orchestra began its tour in Korea at the Seoul Arts Center for what The Korea Herald called “two monumental nights.”
In between rehearsals and performances, musicians took the opportunity to enjoy some sightseeing and explore the city. Assistant Principal Percussionist Wesley Sumpter, bassist Brian Johnson, and librarian Benjamin Picard climbed to a peak in Bukhansan National Park, overlooking Seoul.
Tokyo
The LA Phil has a long-standing relationship with the city of Tokyo. It traveled to the city on its first international tour, in 1956. More recently, the orchestra performed at Suntory Hall (which owes its sublime acoustics to Yasuhisa Toyota, who also worked on Walt Disney Concert Hall) in 2015 and 2019.
Dudamel expressed his gratitude for the extended ovation following a rousing performance of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony at Tokyo's Suntory Hall. The Los Angeles Times’ Mark Swed reported: "Applause remained movingly subdued, as if wanting to maintain a sense of awe. After several curtain calls, Dudamel motioned for the players to leave the stage. The ovation continued nonetheless. Musicians lingered, paused for selfies and after a long while Dudamel casually returned on stage to wave.”
Applause remained movingly subdued, as if wanting to maintain a sense of awe.
You can take the orchestra out of LA, but you can’t take Dodgers devotion out of the orchestra. Members joined for a Game 1 watch party at Tokyo’s Stadium Bar, which advertises “the same thrill and atmosphere as a real stadium.”
Taipei
Taiwan was the final stop on this year’s tour and marked the LA Phil’s first visit to the country since 1994. For Mahler’s Second Symphony, soloists Chen Reiss and Beth Taylor were joined by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Vienna’s Singverein for a performance at the National Concert Hall in Taipei.
LA Phil violinists Nickolai Kurganov, Jung Eun Kang, Michelle Tseng, and Vivian Kukiel also took time for sightseeing while in Taipei, visiting the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Support for the LA Phil on tour is generously provided by the Michele and Dudley Rauch Tour Fund and the Karl Loring Fund. Additional funding for performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” was provided by the Colburn Foundation and PIMCO.