If you can attract fans from Karen O to Eva Mendes, and you can get a hot dog named after you at Pink's, and you can call Frank Gehry "Pancho," then, well, I'd say you've made it.

This past Sunday, I caught Dudamel's last concert with the LA Philharmonic until Nov. 24, next season. Again, it was a sold out show and we had to wait in a long standby line for tickets to free up via returns. The program consisted of Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun, Leila Josefowicz playing Bartok's Second Violin Concerto (with the encore being a piece by "our friend Esa-Pekka" as Josefowicz announced to the delight of the crowd), and finally, Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe which, at its best moments, is my favorite of Ravel's work.

There were only two odd moments. One was awkward, when a French horn player dropped his mute during a quiet moment in the Ravel. As it clattered to a stop, the guilty party hung his head sheepishly.

The second strange moment was the intrusion of a horn from the rear of the concert hall, also in the middle of the Ravel. Was it coming from outside? Through a speaker? Was it supposed to be part of the performance? If someone knows, let me know. Many in the audience looked towards the back of the auditorium, but I never figured out what it was.

classical, gustavodudamel, LA, music