The mane event

Shaham got some of his training right here in the Lincoln Center complex, at Juilliard, where he overlapped with another "young" (by orchestra standards) music director-in-waiting who has signed on to a bright-spotlight job. The 40-year-old Alan Gilbert will take the baton from Maazel in the 2009-10 season, just as Dudamel takes the podium in Los Angeles. Gilbert arrives with a distinct New York Phil pedigree, with both his parents having played violin for it and with him having guest conducted it several dozen times. But no one pretends that he has Dudamel's charisma, a fact that could be one undercurrent of this weekend, setting the stage for years of comparisons.

These four concerts initially were promoted as "Gil Shaham plays Dvorak," but by this week the radio ads instead were touting the "electrifying" guest conductor, which was fine with the violinist. "Definitely the buzz is about Gustavo," Shaham said before heading off, with his infant daughter in his arms, to rest up before the opening concert, just hours off.

The house was sold out Thursday evening, when the musicians got to play the program for real, without breaks to discuss which maracas the percussionists should use in the Chavez piece, which had not been performed here since 1961 (conducted by another flying-haired figure, Leonard Bernstein) or how to end the Prokofiev. The concert's climax would be done as Dudamel wanted, at breakneck speed.

After they were done, and the applause began, Dudamel hugged the orchestra leader who'd balked at that, concertmaster Dicterow, and allowed himself a quick raised fist of satisfaction. By the fourth set of bows, Dicterow was leading the string players in rapping on their music stands in appreciation of their young guest, who was scurrying around the orchestra, shaking everyone's hand. But after another round or two of soak-it-in time, Dudamel gave a kiss to the lead violinist and sprinted offstage for good.

By Friday morning, that night's concert was sold out too, as was Saturday's, and only a few seats remained for Tuesday, after which Dudamel moves on to another guest gig (in Tel Aviv), having left behind a taste of Dudamelmania and a lingering question: Why had he never asked those old guys and gals of the New York Philharmonic to mambo?

"I was expecting that," said Dicterow. "Well, that's something L.A.'s going to have to learn."

--

paul.lieberman@latimes.com