Gustavo Dudamel, waylaid by ‘severe’ flu, cancels in New York

Gustavo Dudamel has withdrawn from a series of concerts with the New York Philharmonic, citing a severe case of the flu. The conductor was expected to lead concerts featuring Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center starting Thursday.

Dudamel will be replaced on the podium by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra music director Manfred Honeck. The concerts are scheduled to run Thursday through Saturday. The program will also include Claude Vivier’s “Orion.”

Organizers said Monday in a release that Dudamel is experiencing a “severe flu.” The 33-year-old conductor recently completed a North America tour with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he serves as music director. The tour took the orchestra to cities including San Francisco, Kansas City, Washington, Toronto and New York.

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The tour ended on Sunday in Boston. A spokeswoman for Dudamel said that the conductor had been feeling unwell near the end of the tour but soldiered through the Sunday concert. He flew back to L.A. on Sunday evening after the tour’s completion. She said he is recuperating at his home in L.A.

In 2010, Dudamel injured his neck while conducting a concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He withdrew from the rest of the concert but was back conducting the next day.

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