During his inaugural visit to New York at the age of 14, Gustavo Dudamel bounded across FAO Schwarz’s colossal keyboard.

Three decades later, he has returned as music director of the New York Philharmonic, with a considerably larger number of instruments at his disposal, though they are somewhat smaller.

"It’s largely about that bubbling energy, this city," he said this week at his office in David Geffen Hall.

Now 45, Dudamel took over as music and artistic director last week, after 17 celebrated seasons leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

He is the 27th man to head the New York orchestra, following luminaries such as Gustav Mahler, Willem Mengelberg, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez.

A product of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education program, Dudamel was a violinist with the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela when he played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in October 1995, and traveled by bus with the orchestra to perform at the United Nations.

"They told us we were going to cross a tunnel that runs beneath the river, and we were, like, 'What?' It was, in a sense, another world," Dudamel said.

"I recall that before reaching the river, there were the Twin Towers.

Then I saw the Statue of Liberty, and then they took us to the U.N.

And then they took us to the toy store.

We were, as it were, in paradise."

Dudamel’s initial itinerary resembles a veritable whirlwind.

A gala opening concert at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 10, hosted by the actor Liev Schreiber, showcased performances by Lizzo, St. Vincent, Joaquina and Aaron Tveit.

The festivities then carried on into an after-party held high above Manhattan in the Rainbow Room.

“Gustavo Dudamel is not an easy person to describe,” Schreiber told the concert crowd.

“Imagine if you were to add a teaspoon of Billy Joel, an ounce of Jean-Michel Basquiat, and a cup of Tito Puente to a dash of Barbra Streisand.”

The next day, Dudamel moved downtown to take part in a Sounds of Remembrance performance at the World Trade Center arts center, marking the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“Music belongs so profoundly to moments like this,” Dudamel said softly.

“Music cannot undo what happened.

But when words can no longer reach where we need them to go, sometimes music can.

It can give sorrow a voice.”

This week saw the launch of the subscription concert series, opening with Sergei Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, the work he conducted for his New York Philharmonic debut on Nov. 29, 2007.

"There are no borders. There are bridges," Dudamel said.

"A symphonic orchestra can equally be immersed in pop, folk, musicals.

We all inhabit the same space.

I believe that is the message."

Merely a month into his tenure, the orchestra departs on Oct. 9 for a two-week, 10-show European tour, after which it returns in November to Carnegie Hall — its home from 1891 to 1962 — for concert performances of Puccini’s “Tosca.”

“There’s a certain chemistry and passion that he brings to the table, which is infectious,” said Sherry Sylar, associate principal oboe since 1984.

“When he’s rehearsing, he addresses the orchestra as ‘My dears.’

He’ll start to give you a constructive criticism, but it’s always with that as the address to the orchestra.

Nobody has ever done that before.

It just sort of changes the way you accept the criticism or suggestions.”

Although he typically has a car and driver at his disposal, Dudamel also walks around New York and takes the subway when traffic is heavy, occasionally being recognized.

With his dark mop of black hair and Giorgio Armani conducting suits, Dudamel so much embodies the image of a 21st-century conductor that Gael García Bernal’s character in the “Mozart in the Jungle” television series was patterned after him.

Nevertheless, he remains somewhat traditional in his tastes: he favours listening to music on vinyl records and was a regular patron of The Record Collector on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles when seeking additions to his collection.

He believes his first record was of Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s “1812” overture.

"I adore the sound of the LPs," Dudamel remarked.

"I destroyed some of them, given that I was ceasing, given that I was rehearsing my conducting.

My father was absolutely furious."

Dudamel also keeps a home in Madrid and is still undecided about whether to look for an apartment on New York’s Upper West Side, near the orchestra’s Lincoln Center base, or in the downtown Chelsea neighborhood.

He has become a fan of some of the city’s top restaurants, mentioning Cosme, Milos, Mercado Little Spain and Casa Ora, known for its Venezuelan cuisine.

Ticket revenue for this season has risen by 8% relative to the same point last year, while seats sold in September are up 20% compared with 2025.

Subscription package revenue stands at $12.4 million, up from $11.3 million.

One of Dudamel's first changes was to move the second violin section from his left to his right, opposite the first violins, and to switch the double basses from his right to his left — a formation he used in LA.

He has moved the whole orchestra closer to the front of the stage at David Geffen Hall and had their seats placed closer together.

"It resembles chamber music on a grand scale," remarked violinist Alina Ming Kobialka.

"It is a pleasure to have the brass situated not 500 miles away from us."

Dudamel's contract runs for five years, and he will spend roughly 15 weeks with the orchestra each season.

He started his first rehearsal on Labor Day, Sept. 7, with a short speech to the musicians, some of whom had played in his New York Philharmonic debut.

Dudamel recalled that Lorin Maazel, the music director at the time, had taken the unusual step of introducing him personally at his first rehearsal in 2007.

Dudamel was aware of the orchestra's reputation then as a difficult ensemble.

“I was utterly terrified,” he recollected thinking.

“I’m going to be trembling for the first few minutes.

Yet, in the end, it proved to be such a beautiful and wonderful journey,”