New soul of Shanghai

Photos provided to China Daily

This is the six or seventh time the youthful Dudamel has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the leading orchestras in the world. He was principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony from 2007 to 2012, and has been music director of Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2007 and that of the Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar in his home country since 1999.

He is also a brand ambassador for Swiss luxury watch maker Rolex. Oncehewas younger than most of his surrounding players, "but that is changing now", he says. The combination of experienced and young people, and the interactions between them, gives the orchestra a unique sound, the conductor says, with his signature curly hair and easy charm.

Dudamel participated in El Sistema since childhood. The famous musical education programhas given opportunities to "people who are excluded from the society, to be part of the society through art", he says, proud of the way children in need can enrich their lives with the arts. El Sistema, founded by Jose Antonio Abreu in 1975, has been like "the flag or national symbol" of Venezuela, Dudamel says proudly. Dudamel started with El Sistema studying the violin, and he turned to conducting when he was 14.

He became the artistic director of Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar at the age of 18. "I started to play with them when I was 9 or 10 — 23 years later we are still together," Dudamel says of the orchestra that has become a family for him. "They are my brothers and my sisters. Some of them are my sons and my daughters by now."

In North America, Dudamel has worked with Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra for six seasons. He made his debut with LA Philharmonic soon after he won the Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize in 2005. The concert at Hollywood Bowl was watched by 7,000 people. "A moment like that always stays in your heart,"Dudamel says.