New Yorkers enthusiastically embrace Gustavo Dudamel's baton.

New York music lovers are eager to hear Gustavo Dudamel, that musical genius whose movements and body language set the rhythm as much as his baton.

The maestro remains the designated musical and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. He won't officially assume the position until next year, and during this time he will be the principal conductor of the Los Angeles orchestra, where he has been since 2009, a venue where he will continue to uphold his banner with the proclamation "Thank you, Gustavo."

But New Yorkers were radiant, with a long and resounding ovation, at the conclusion of the inaugural concert of the new season of the Lincoln Center-based institution on Thursday night, which featured Dudamel and which they await with open arms and ears, hoping that it will be theirs, more than anyone else's.

Great names have graced the Philharmonic's podium, including Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, and Zubin Mehta. The David Geffen Hall audience awaits Dudamel with the same spirit of being in the presence of a superstar conductor they hope will define an era.

That feeling of being in the midst of something exciting was palpable from the very first moment of a concert that kicked off an agenda marked by the grand celebration in 2026 of the 250th anniversary of the independence and founding of the United States.

As Matías Tarnopolsky, president and executive director of the Philharmonic, explained, this event has special relevance in the program. This influence was already evident on the opening night with the inclusion of three pieces, all of them "American": "Of Light and Stone" by Hawaiian composer Leilehua Lanzilotti; Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 , which he wrote in 1943 while already settled in the Big Apple; and American Charles Ives' Symphony No. 2 .

All the works were generously allusive to traditional and folk music, a concert described as conventional with a fairly common and even conservative program by Dudamel's adventurous standards.

The evening, however, offered a glimpse into the near future and the passion this Venezuelan conductor inspires. From the first minute to the last, he was the star of the show.

It began with Lanzilotti's piece, the least conventional of the three, which Dudamel invited up on stage to receive his ovation and flowers once it was finished.

After that moment, the evening reached its climax with the appearance of South Korean piano phenomenon Yunchan Lim, who performed Bartók. At 21, Lim possesses a shy stage presence, according to critics, which gives way to magnificent artistry on the keyboard. He captivated with his pop-style appearance, wearing a tailored suit and narrow black tie, not to mention the impact of his stylish, flowing shock of jet-black hair.

Bartók's visual sound was followed by an energetic staging of Ives's composition, which Dudamel knows very well and conducted from memory, with great conviction and more physical freedom than in the rest of the session. This thrilled the New York music lovers, delighted to have Dudamel on the podium.