The stomach flu that has swept through the New York City streets (because, as de Blasio knows, the street-sweepers aren't any help) has claimed the immunities of Gustavo Dudamel, the vibrant Venezuelan conductor.
Per the New York Times' ArtsBeat blog, Dudamel withdrew from his concerts with the New York Philharmonic earlier this week.
He was to lead the New York Phil Thursday through Saturday.
Manfred Honeck, conversational conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, took his place in the same program--which included Bruckner's Ninth Symphony and Claude Vivier's Orion.
Again, according to the New York Times' Tony Tommasini, Honeck proved quite the success.
"Mr. Honeck, who made his debut with the Philharmonic last year, drew assured and exciting performances of both works from the players, who looked and sounded inspired," writes Tommasini.
Dudamel contracted the flu during a tour with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but he led his players in the final concert of that tour at Symphony Hall in Boston on Sunday.
"He was in bad shape," Dudamel's spokeswoman, Mary Lou Falcone, said on Monday, "but he did it, and used his last ounce of energy before getting on a plane back to Los Angeles to recuperate."
So, keep your hands clean and your mouths closed--the spring sun should peer through soon enough and allow the Dude to continue waving his baton uninterrupted.
If you're just too upset, satiate your urge with this performance from Dvorak by Dudamel.
