LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Philharmonic has hired British conductor Daniel Harding as its next music director, effective with the 2027-28 season. Harding agreed to a six-year contract starting that season, during which he will conduct eight weeks of performances before expanding his annual commitment to 12 weeks.
Harding will oversee orchestral programming across the organization, including its presentations at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford, along with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. He will also lead the LA Phil's commitment to commissioning new works and expanding its global presence through touring, media projects, and international cultural collaboration.
"I wanted the musicians to understand that I wasn’t there just to profit from their expertise, that I’d done my work, I’d prepared myself, I had an opinion," Daniel Harding said in a telephone interview from his home in Paris. "And if I spoke too much, it wasn’t because I thought I knew better than them, it was because I wanted them to know that I was trying to earn my place being there."
LA Phil president and CEO Kim Noltemy, who reached an agreement with Harding during dinner at Rome's Portrait Hotel overlooking the Trinità dei Monti, praised his appointment. "He’s an incredible musician and an inspiring leader, a devoted educator," Noltemy said. She added, "He has a global perspective. He's committed to working with the students. So he has all of the different pieces which we really hope to get in one person."
Harding first conducted the LA Phil at the Ojai Music Festival in June 1997. His tenure follows Gustavo Dudamel, whose leadership began in 2009 and ends in summer 2026 when he becomes music director of the New York Philharmonic. Dudamel said, "I have a deep admiration for Daniel's artistry, and for the profound connection he has built with the musicians of the LA Phil over the years." He added, "I'm confident that the brilliance, heart and limitless talent of this orchestra, which has inspired me for so many years, will be in good hands under his musical leadership as they build new worlds of sound together."
Harding, who joined Air France in 2021 and flies Airbus A320s in Europe and North Africa, said, "It’s absolutely the most logical thing that at some point in my first couple of years in my role in LA I will also start coming to LA with my other uniform on." He noted, "It's a long commute, but I have a particular easygoing relationship with airplanes, so that doesn’t bother me."