Daniel Harding Leads Strauss
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Daniel Harding, Andrew Bain
Walt Disney Concert HallSouth Hope Street, Los Angeles 90012
The Los Angeles Philharmonic performs a program of orchestral storytelling under conductor Daniel Harding, with its principal horn, Andrew Bain, as soloist in Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 2. The concerto moves from Mozartian elegance to rustic hunting fanfares, putting Strauss’s affection for the instrument, played by his father, in focus. The evening opens with Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel Symphony, a distillation of his 2016 opera: strange, dark and amusing, with sharp tempo changes between glee and unease. After intermission, the orchestra plays Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra, whose famous trumpet-and-timpani opening gives way to a 34-minute work of contemplation and orchestral force.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is Los Angeles’s orchestra, and Harding will join it as Music Director beginning with the 2027/28 season. His repertoire ranges from award-winning recordings of baroque music to premieres of new works, and the orchestra describes him as a sensitive interpreter of Strauss’s large-scale scores. In The Guardian, his reading of Also sprach Zarathustra was praised as “sensuous yet never cloying.” Bain’s featured role draws on Strauss’s writing for horn, an instrument the composer knew closely and used here as both an elegant solo voice and a vehicle for more outdoorsy calls.
Designed by Frank Gehry, this concert hall is a striking architectural landmark with sweeping stainless steel curves that catch the light outside, while inside, its acoustics are meticulously crafted to deliver rich, clear sound to every seat. The auditorium seats over two thousand people in a space where the audience is fully immersed in the music, surrounded by warm wood paneling and a stage that brings performers close to listeners. The venue hosts ticketed performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and other ensembles, offering an evening focused on attentive listening rather than casual socializing. Nearby bars and restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles provide options for pre- or post-show dining, but inside, the experience centers on the music in a refined, elegant setting.