Los Angeles Philharmonic
American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, known for ambitious programming, contemporary music, education initiatives, and performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly known as the LA Phil, is an American symphony orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1919 by copper magnate and arts patron William Andrews Clark Jr., the orchestra was created as a civic cultural institution for a rapidly growing city. Clark personally financed its establishment and recruited Walter Henry Rothwell, a former assistant of Gustav Mahler, as its first music director. The orchestra gave its first concert at Trinity Auditorium in 1919, only eleven days after its first rehearsal. The LA Phil has maintained a distinctive relationship with the geography and cultural life of Los Angeles. Its regular winter season is presented primarily at Walt Disney Concert Hall, while its summer season is staged at the Hollywood Bowl. The organization also presents chamber music, contemporary music, family and educational programs, community initiatives, and other performance formats beyond the conventional symphonic subscription model. Through this broad activity, it operates less as a single concert series than as a large musical organization serving multiple audiences across the region. The orchestra survived serious institutional and financial challenges during the Great Depression. After Clark died without leaving an endowment, the Southern California Symphony Association was formed to help stabilize the organization. Association president Harvey Mudd personally guaranteed the music director's salary, while Hollywood Bowl performances supplied important revenue. This combination of civic support and diversified performance activity helped preserve the orchestra during a difficult period. Its artistic profile developed through successive music directors. Otto Klemperer, who arrived in 1933 after leaving Germany, introduced Los Angeles audiences to important works by composers including Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg. Alfred Wallenstein, a former cellist of the New York Philharmonic and an early member of the LA Phil, led the orchestra from 1943. Later leaders included Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, André Previn, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. The organization expanded its artistic identity particularly during the tenure of executive leader Ernest Fleischmann, who supported the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and the Green Umbrella contemporary-music series. The Salonen period reinforced the orchestra's reputation for artistic flexibility, international touring, and new music. Salonen led residencies and tours in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in the United States, and his work helped strengthen the case for a new concert hall. Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2003, giving the orchestra a purpose-built central venue and becoming one of the defining cultural buildings of modern Los Angeles. Since the hall's opening, the organization has presented numerous world, North American, and United States premieres and has commissioned or co-commissioned dozens of new works. Executive leader Deborah Borda, who began in 2000, worked with Salonen and architect Frank Gehry to guide the organization through its move to Walt Disney Concert Hall and to strengthen its finances and administrative structure. Her approach also emphasized composers as central artistic figures. The organization has continued to support living composers through Green Umbrella, composer residencies, commissions, and programming that places contemporary works alongside standard repertoire. Gustavo Dudamel became music director after making his LA Phil debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005 and his Walt Disney Concert Hall debut in 2007. His tenure has further increased the orchestra's international visibility and has connected its concert activity with music education and social-access initiatives. In 2007, the organization established Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, or YOLA, which provides free instruments and instruction to young people in underserved communities, drawing inspiration from Venezuela's El Sistema model. The LA Phil remains an active orchestra with a regular season at Walt Disney Concert Hall, a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl, education and community programs, contemporary-music projects, and international artistic activity. Gustavo Dudamel is the current music director; Esa-Pekka Salonen is conductor laureate; Zubin Mehta is conductor emeritus; and John Adams holds a creative-chair and composer-in-residence role. Daniel Harding is scheduled to become music director beginning with the 2027–28 season.
History
The Los Angeles Philharmonic was founded in 1919 by William Andrews Clark Jr., a wealthy copper industrialist, violinist, and arts patron who personally financed the new orchestra. Clark initially approached Sergei Rachmaninoff about becoming music director, but Rachmaninoff declined to relocate from New York. Walter Henry Rothwell, formerly associated with Gustav Mahler, was selected instead. The orchestra held its first concert at Trinity Auditorium eleven days after its first rehearsal, an unusually rapid beginning for a major symphonic institution. Clark occasionally played second violin with the ensemble. After Rothwell's death in 1927, the orchestra passed through several music-director changes, including Georg Schnéevoigt and Artur Rodziński. Otto Klemperer's appointment in 1933 brought an important European musical figure to Los Angeles. Klemperer conducted premieres and introduced local audiences to works by Stravinsky and Schoenberg, although illness and severe personal difficulties eventually disrupted his tenure. When Clark died without providing an endowment, the orchestra faced a serious financial problem. The Southern California Symphony Association was organized to support it, and its president, Harvey Mudd, personally guaranteed Klemperer's salary. Revenue from Hollywood Bowl performances also became essential, helping the orchestra survive the Depression. Alfred Wallenstein became music director in 1943. A former principal cellist of the New York Philharmonic and one of the LA Phil's earliest members, he had turned to conducting at Arturo Toscanini's suggestion. During his tenure, the orchestra recorded concertos with prominent musicians including Jascha Heifetz and Arthur Rubinstein. In the 1950s, civic and philanthropic leadership became increasingly important. Dorothy Buffum Chandler, a department-store heiress and wife of the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, became a powerful figure on the orchestra's board and led efforts to create a major performing-arts center for Los Angeles. That effort resulted in the Los Angeles Music Center and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The orchestra's planned appointment of Eduard van Beinum ended when he died of a heart attack during a rehearsal in 1959. Georg Solti was then signed in 1960, but he resigned before officially beginning his tenure after objecting to the board's appointment of the young Zubin Mehta as assistant conductor without consulting him. Mehta ultimately became music director in 1962 and led the orchestra until 1978, when he left for the New York Philharmonic. Ernest Fleischmann joined the organization in 1969 as executive vice president and general manager and remained a central administrative figure until 1998. His tenure encouraged an expanded conception of what an orchestra could be. The organization created the Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and the Green Umbrella series, giving musicians platforms for chamber music and contemporary works outside the main subscription series. This community-of-musicians model later influenced other orchestral organizations. Carlo Maria Giulini succeeded Mehta and was followed by André Previn in 1985. Previn's tenure was musically substantial but included tensions with Fleischmann, particularly over the appointment of Esa-Pekka Salonen as principal guest conductor. Previn resigned in 1989, and Salonen became music director designate before formally assuming the position in 1992. Salonen's tenure expanded the orchestra's international profile through tours and festival residencies, including appearances in Salzburg, Lucerne, London, Cologne, and Paris. The orchestra's performances in improved acoustics during a Paris residency helped renew support for building Walt Disney Concert Hall. Willem Wijnbergen briefly led the executive administration after Fleischmann's retirement. He departed after roughly a year marked by controversy, and Deborah Borda was appointed executive leader, beginning in 2000. Borda focused on organizational and financial stabilization while supporting the artistic direction developed with Salonen. Her administration, together with Salonen, architect Frank Gehry, and acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, helped bring Walt Disney Concert Hall to completion. The hall opened on October 23, 2003, and became the orchestra's principal winter home. The organization continued to broaden its audience and artistic scope. Programming at the Hollywood Bowl included greater attention to jazz and world music, while the Green Umbrella series and composer-focused presentations gave contemporary music a larger place in the institution. Since the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the orchestra has presented numerous world, North American, and United States premieres and has commissioned or co-commissioned many new works. Gustavo Dudamel made his first LA Phil appearance at the Hollywood Bowl in 2005 and debuted at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2007. He was appointed Salonen's successor in 2007 and began as music director in 2009. During the transition, the organization also established YOLA, an education and community program inspired by El Sistema. YOLA provides free musical instruments and instruction and uses ensemble participation to promote commitment, pride, and community among young people. The orchestra currently maintains its dual-season structure, with regular concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall and summer performances at the Hollywood Bowl. Dudamel remains music director, while Salonen serves as conductor laureate, Zubin Mehta as conductor emeritus, and John Adams as creative chair and composer-in-residence. Daniel Harding is scheduled to become music director in the 2027–28 season.
- 2009
Dudamel begins as music director
[1]Dudamel formally began his music-director tenure after Salonen's final season.
- 2007
Dudamel appointed successor and YOLA established
[1]The orchestra selected Dudamel to succeed Salonen and created Youth Orchestra Los Angeles as a free music-education initiative.
- 2005
Gustavo Dudamel makes LA Phil debut
[1]Dudamel first conducted the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl.
- 2003
Walt Disney Concert Hall opens
[1]The orchestra's new Frank Gehry-designed home opened on October 23, providing a purpose-built venue for its regular season.
- 2000
Deborah Borda becomes executive leader
[1]Borda began leading the organization and concentrated on financial stabilization, administrative strength, and the transition to the new concert hall.
- 1992
Esa-Pekka Salonen begins music-director tenure
[1]Salonen formally became music director after serving as music director designate and later led major tours and festival residencies.
- 1982
Green Umbrella new-music series established
[1]The organization developed Green Umbrella as a dedicated platform for contemporary music performed by members of the orchestra.
- 1969
Ernest Fleischmann joins the administration
[1]Fleischmann became executive vice president and general manager, beginning a long period of administrative and artistic innovation.
- 1962
Zubin Mehta becomes music director
[1]Mehta took over after the failed Solti appointment and led the orchestra until his departure for the New York Philharmonic in 1978.
- 1943
Alfred Wallenstein begins music-director tenure
[1]Former LA Phil cellist Alfred Wallenstein returned as music director and later made notable concerto recordings with Heifetz and Rubinstein.
Products and positioning
A major American orchestra positioned around artistic innovation, contemporary composition, civic participation, accessible education, and the cultural identity of Los Angeles. Unlike a traditional orchestra focused primarily on standard symphonic repertoire, the LA Phil combines orchestral concerts with new-music commissions, chamber ensembles, outdoor programming, community initiatives, and international touring.
Orchestral concert season · 2003
Walt Disney Concert Hall season
The LA Phil's principal regular-season presentation in downtown Los Angeles. The season combines canonical symphonic repertoire with new commissions, premieres, guest artists, composer-led projects, chamber music, and educational events. Walt Disney Concert Hall has served as the orchestra's main home since opening in 2003.
Outdoor concert season
Hollywood Bowl summer season
A summer performance program presented at the Hollywood Bowl from approximately July through September. It broadens the orchestra's reach through outdoor concerts and has also supported programming in jazz, world music, and other formats alongside orchestral performances.
Contemporary music · 1982
Green Umbrella
A dedicated contemporary-music series created during Ernest Fleischmann's administration. It gives orchestra musicians and visiting artists a setting for modern and recently composed works, helping make new music a regular part of the institution rather than an occasional special event.
Music education and community program · 2007
Youth Orchestra Los Angeles
YOLA provides young people in underserved communities with free instruments, musical instruction, and ensemble-based development. Its model was inspired by Venezuela's El Sistema and links musical training with community, commitment, pride, and social opportunity.
Chamber music
Los Angeles Philharmonic Chamber Music Society
A chamber-music platform involving members of the orchestra. It reflects the organization's broader approach of giving musicians performance opportunities beyond the main symphonic series and of treating the orchestra as a wider community of artists.
Marketing campaigns
- 2007Youth Orchestra Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States
The LA Phil established YOLA to deliver free instruments and music instruction to children and young people in underserved communities, using ensemble participation as a vehicle for musical and social development.
Outcome. Became a continuing education and community initiative associated with the orchestra.
- 1982Green Umbrella contemporary-music program
Los Angeles, United States
The organization created a recurring platform for contemporary works, later making new music a more visible and integrated part of its public identity.
Outcome. Helped build audiences for contemporary composition and supported the orchestra's innovation-focused positioning.
Brand decisions
2007
Gustavo Dudamel selected as music-director successorOtherBackground
The board announced Esa-Pekka Salonen's departure at the end of the 2008–09 season after a highly innovative tenure.
Action taken
The orchestra appointed Gustavo Dudamel as Salonen's successor.
Aftermath
Dudamel began as music director in 2009 and became a major international representative of the orchestra.
2003
Move into Walt Disney Concert HallStrategyBackground
The orchestra and civic leaders pursued a purpose-built concert venue to improve its artistic infrastructure and establish a prominent cultural home in Los Angeles.
Action taken
Walt Disney Concert Hall opened on October 23, 2003, and became the orchestra's principal regular-season venue.
Aftermath
The hall supported expanded commissioning, premiere activity, and the organization's 21st-century artistic identity.
1989
Transition from André Previn to Esa-Pekka SalonenOtherBackground
Relations between Previn and executive leader Ernest Fleischmann became strained, including disagreement over Salonen's appointment as principal guest conductor.
Action taken
Previn resigned, and Salonen was named music director designate before taking over in 1992.
Aftermath
Salonen led the orchestra through major international tours, contemporary-music initiatives, and the transition to Walt Disney Concert Hall.
1960
Contract with Georg Solti and subsequent appointment disputeOtherBackground
The orchestra signed Solti as music director, with his formal start planned for 1962. Before he took the position, the board appointed the young Zubin Mehta as assistant conductor without consulting Solti.
Action taken
Solti resigned before beginning his tenure, and Mehta was selected to lead the orchestra instead.
Aftermath
Mehta became music director in 1962 and remained until 1978.
Sources2 sources
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