Dudamel's First Season at the New York Philharmonic

The 2026–27 season is Gustavo Dudamel's first as Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, the country's oldest orchestra, and it is a good year to hear what the orchestra sounds like in its rebuilt home. David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center reopened in 2022 with a redesigned auditorium in which the audience wraps around the stage, putting even inexpensive seats much closer to the players than before. Dudamel conducts several weeks of the subscription season, with guest conductors and soloists the rest of the year.

Buy single tickets on the Philharmonic's site, and look at the side and rear sections, which are cheaper and have good sightlines in the new layout. Check the site for current discount programs for students and young audiences. Weeknight concerts are easier to get than Dudamel's weeks. The Lincoln Center plaza is at its best at night, with the fountain lit between the hall, the Met and the Koch Theater.