MUSIC: LA Philharmonic 2010-2011 season

So, after a year when medical problems kept me from even bothering to subscribe to the Philharmonic -- hardly seemed worth spending all the money for concerts I might not be able to attend -- things have settled down enough that I'm subscribing again for next season. This will be my first time seeing Gustavo Dudamel, who is conducting most of the concerts I've bought, including the entire 5-week "Brahms Unbound" festival in May and June. I'm a sucker for Brahms, and since each concert pairs him with a new work -- and I always enjoy the new music -- I couldn't resist doing the entire thing.

So, here's the season I've purchased:

• Dudamel, conductor / Messiaen: Turangalila
• Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor; Peter Serkin, piano / Debussy: Jeux; Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Winds; Takemitsu: riverrun; Stravinsky: Firebird Suite
• Rafael Fruhbeck de Brugos, conductor; Hilary Hahn, violin / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
• Dudamel, conductor; Kelley O'Connor, mezzo-soprano / Adams: Slonimsky's Earbox; Bernstein: Symphony #1 ("Jeremiah"); Beethoven: Symphony #7
• Lionel Bringuier, conductor; Gautier Capucon, cello / Smetana: The Moldau; Schumann: Cello Concerto; Dvorak: Symphony #5
• Thomas Ades, conductor / Stravinsky: Les noces; Ades: In Seven Days
• Dudamel, conductor; Leonidas Kavakos, violin / Brahms: Academic Festival Overture; Golijov: Violin Concerto (world premiere); Brahms: Symphony #1
• Dudamel, conductor; Leila Josefowicz, violin; Christine Schafer, soprano; Matthias Goerne, baritone / Mackey: Beautiful Passing (West Coast premiere); Brahms: A German Requiem
• Dudamel, conductor; Glorious Percussion, percussion ensemble / Brahms: Tragic Overture; Gubaidulina: Glorious Percussion (U.S. premiere); Brahms: Symphony #2
• Dudamel, conductor; Pedro Carneiro, percussion / Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn; Lieberson: Percussion Concerto (world premiere); Brahms: Symphony #3
• Dudamel, conductor / Gorecki: Symphony #4 (U.S. premier); Brahms: Symphony #4

Some works I've never heard and wanted to (Messaien, Takemitsu), a couple of warhorses that I like a lot (Berlioz, Firebird, German Requiem), a Bernstein work that doesn't get played often, two new percussion works (another particular interest of mine) -- it should be a good season. Goodness knows I'll probably miss at least one or two of the concerts along the way for one reason or another, but I'm happy with the lineup.