Alan Gilbert is about to begin his third season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, and he appears to remain as popular as ever. His particular combination of rapport with the orchestra, solid, insightful, often brilliant musicianship, flair for programming, and a winning, articulate manner have won him a support among the legendarily cantankerous music-lovers of New York, which seems rather more solid than the Dudamania that reigns in Southern California. This third season is a rich many-sided concoction, full of enticements for the jaded tastes of sophisticated concert-goers and popular attractions for novices and the general public, not to mention some programs containing treasures for both constituencies. While Gilbert’s programming has been rightly praised as innovative—in fact a fine balance between the new and the traditional, there are many traditional elements as well—most apparent in the established conductors who will share the New York podium with Boston.

This brief summary will, I hope, give you a convenient guide in making your ticket-buying decisions for the upcoming 2011-12 season. The official opening of the season will be anticipated by a series of events intended to reach out to the community and the general public. First comes a screening of Robert Wise’s 1961 film of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story with live orchestral accompaniment, then a commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center with a performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, the “Resurrection,” under Maestro Gilbert then another cinematic evening, a performance of Walton’s music to Olivier’s film of Shakespeare’s Henry V, with Christopher Plummer as narrator‚ all before a gala opening night on September 21 with Deborah Voigt singing Wagner, Barber, and her sempiternal favorite, the final scene from Richard Strauss’ Salome. Mahler’s Second will return the following day in the regular subscription concerts, relieved by a trip to Caramoor with a standard program of Schubert, a Mozart violin concerto with Augustin Hadelich, and Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the “Eroica.”

Like James Levine in Boston, Alan Gilbert has kept up a steady flow of world premieres of commissioned works. First comes John Corigliano’s One Sweet Morning on the weekend of September 30, paired with Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony. This will be followed the world premiere of Alexandre Lunsqui’s Fibers, Yarn, and Wires at the first of the two specifically contemporary Contact! chamber concerts in mid-December, Thomas Adès’ Polaris with the Philharmonic in early January, composer-in-residence, Marc Neikrug’s Concerto for Orchestra in April, Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Yefim Bronfman, and Yann Robin’s Backdraft and a new work by Michael Jarrell at the June Contact! concert. The Contact! concerts, by the way, take place at two “off-campus” venues the Metropolitan Museum on the Upper East Side and Norton Symphony Space on the Upper West Side. My advice is to go for the superior acoustics of Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium at the Met.

It is now established that the climax of the final stretch of the New York Philharmonic season in June is an all-out effort to present a little-known modern or contemporary work in some spectacular form that reveals the full potential of the composer’s intent. In 2010 it was Ligeti’s opera Le grand macabre. This year is was a staged production of  Janaček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. The upcoming season will end with a performance of Stockhausen’s seminal work for three orchestras, Gruppen (1955-58). It is not only one of the composer’s masterpieces, it is one of the defining compositions of the post-war period. As the three orchestras play different music simultaneously on three sides of the audience, all the elements which traditionally give musical compositions their stability are negated through multiplicity and other devices, which in themselves lead to a new kind of unity. Stockhausen drew his compositional principles from the natural forms he saw from his window during a retreat in an Alpine village. The work is rarely performed because of its difficulty, but it has usually, if not always, been executed in concert halls. The Seventh Regiment Armory should provide an especially dramatic space for this legendary work. Tickets will most likely go fast, as they have for the other climactic concerts of the Philharmonic’s extraordinarily long season.

Gilbert’s most visible innovations with the Philharmonic have been the two residence programs, one for composers and one for musicians. This season Magnus Lindberg will have his third and final year as composer-in-residence and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann will be the chosen musician. These programs come from just the right impulse, giving New York audiences an opportunity to get to know the work of an important composer and a major soloist over the course of one or more seasons. The premiere of Lindberg’s Second Piano Concerto will of course not be his only work on the schedule.

Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann has played with the Philharmonic several times in the past, and he has been closely connected with Alan Gilbert as a colleague and a friend. He is a musician of broad scope, and his interests will be amply covered in his Philharmonic residencies. Maestro Gilbert will play the violin together with Zimmermann in Bach’s Double Concerto. A special request of his, on the other hand, is the Berg Violin Concerto, which he will play on the same program in early October. It will also include Brahms’ Third Symphony. Berg’s concerto is closely linked to Bach through his quotation of one of the chorale preludes. A week later Zimmermann will play Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard with Enrico Pace playing a modern piano. In January Zimmermann will participate in a Brahms chamber music concert and will play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Alan Gilbert conducting. In March he will play the Dvořák Violin Concerto, supported by Christoph von Dohnányi, his final appearance in the residency. The selection of works is of course superb, lacking only a contemporary piece, another of Zimmermann’s specialities.

This selection, in fact, should leave a hint that the classics will not be neglected at all in the season’s varied programs. Alan Gilbert seems to be about as close as one can come to being a universal musician, barring an interest in historically informed performance, and I’ve yet to hear him give an unsympathetic or obtuse performance of any composer’s work. Typically, he will begin the season with Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony and end it with Mozart’s Mass in C Minor—that is, preceding the Stockhausen. There will be plenty of other minds in front of the Philharmonic during the season, most of them familiar, even venerated names: Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Zubin Mehta (three former Music Directors in a row!), Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, David Zinman, Peter Schreier, and at the more youthful end Jaap van Zweden and Daniel Harding.

Zinman will conduct his own series, called the Modern Beethoven, with historically-informed performances of the symphonies paired with concerti by twentieth-century composers, played by Peter Serkin, Alisa Weilerstein, and Gil Shaham. Case Scaglione, who conducted Debussy with impressive elegance and sensitivity with the Tanglewood Music center Orchestra this summer, will conduct  a youth concert of Leonard Bernstein’s music in a series called “Four Greats.” Never mind that it’s ridiculous to place Bernstein on an equal footing with Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Maazel, making his first return after his retirement as Music Director, will play Mozart, Debussy, and a All-Strauss program, including the “Alpine” Symphony. Masur will conduct Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, “Babi Yar.” Haitink will conduct Strauss’ Don Quixote and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pastorale,” as well as Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony. Daniel Harding will offer Mahler’s Tenth in Deryck Cooke’s reconstruction, as well as a program with Knussen, Tchaikovsky (Violin Concerto with Joshua Bell), and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Peter Schreier will conduct the annual Messiah. When Gilbert returns in January he will conduct Ravel, Gershwin, Bernstein, Haydn, Schubert (Songs with orchestra with Anne Sofie von Otter, and Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. His program with the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, and Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé should be especially rewarding. Zubin Mehta will conduct Bruckner’s Eighth. Christoph von Dohnányi will Henze and Schubert (the “Great” C Major Symphony) and Schnittke and Tchaikovsky (Pathétique).

At the same TMC Concert this past summer at which Mr. Scaglione appeared, Jaap van Zweden made a tremendous impression with his Tchaikovsky Fourth. This was a taut, urgent, electrically rapid performance with a huge dynamic range, but crystal clear textures. He created intense excitement in his interpretation but showed full respect for the score. This kind of lightning bolt approach is rare today, and it seemed like a return to the days of Toscanini and Erich Kleiber, whom von Zweden strikingly resembles, with his bald head and short, stocky figure. With the Philharmonic, he will accompany Yuja Wang in Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, followed by Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, in what should prove an unusual and fascinating approach. Van Zweden will conduct in Boston as well this season. Herbert Blomstedt will accompany Garrick Ohlsson in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth.

Gilbert will return in late April with Debussy’s La Mer and Mahler’s Sixth, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, Bartók’s First Violin Concerto with the Philharmonic’s great concertmaster, Glenn Dicterow. The concert in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine will consist of Mahler’s Ninth, carrying the Mahler year well into 2012. Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, with its counterpoint and rich textures, should prove especially satisfying in Gilbert’s hands, in a program which will include Korngold’s rarely heard Violin Concerto with Leonidas Kavakos.

Pinchas Zukerman will conduct and play Bach, Mozart, and Stravinsky, and Frühbeck de Burgos will conduct Orff’s Carmina Burana, an event that should not be missed under any circumstances. Frühbeck is one of the great conductors of choral music. His Tanglewood performance of Carmina Burana was a revelation, which cherished all the simple refinements of Orff’s writing, as well as the surprisingly sophisticated interchanges of voice, percussion, and rest of the orchestra. There will be a fine group of singers, including Erin Morley, Nicholas Phan, and Jacques Imbrallo.

This summary was a bit more detailed than I planned, simply because there was so much I hated to leave out. The variety and intelligence of the programming is thoroughly admirable, more like what one might hear in Chailly’s Leipzig or Rattle’s Berlin than in a hide-bound American city…but of course this in New York, and the audience seems to love it.

 

Music With Film: West Side Story

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 8, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

David Newman, conductor

Bernstein – West Side Story (with film)

Archival Exhibit:
In Times of Strife: The Philharmonic’s Response — from Abraham Lincoln to 9/11
Bruno Walter Gallery September 9–October 30, 2011

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A Concert for New York for the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 — In Remembrance and Renewal

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, September 10, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
New York Choral Artists
Joseph Flummerfelt, director

Mahler – Symphony No. 2, Resurrection

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Andrea Bocelli Live In Central Park

Central Park, The Great Lawn
Thursday, September 15, 2011, 7:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Andrea Bocelli, tenor
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Joe Miller, director

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Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, September 17, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Christopher Plummer, narrator
Manhattan School of Music Symphonic Chorus and Chamber Choir

Kent Tritle, director American Boychoir,
Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, director

Wagner – Overture and Bacchanal from Tannhäuser
Walton – Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario, arranged by Christopher Palmer

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: Gala Opening Night Concert With Deborah Voigt

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, September 21, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Live From Lincoln Center

Alan Gilbert, conductor Deborah Voigt, soprano

Barber – The School for Scandal Overture
Wagner – “Dich, teure Halle,” from Tannhäuser
Barber – Andromache’s Farewell
Wagner – Overture to Tannhäuser
R. Strauss – Intermezzo, Dance of the Seven Veils
Final Scene from Salome

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, September 22, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 24, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Miah Persson, soprano
Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-sopran
New York Choral Artists
Joseph Flummerfelt, director

Mahler = Symphony No. 2, Resurrection

—

Alan Gilbert With Augustin Hadelich At Caramoor

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts Katonah, New York
Friday, September 23, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Augustin Hadelich, violin

Schubert – Overture to Rosamunde
Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish
Beethoven – Symphony No. 3, Eroica

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: World Premiere of John Corigliano’s One Sweet Morning

Avery Fisher Hall

Friday, September 30, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, October 1, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano

John Corigliano – One Sweet Morning (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra)
Dvořák Symphony No. 7

—

Saturday Matinee Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, October 1, 2011, 2:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Michelle Kim, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Carter Brey, cello
Satoshi Okamoto, bass Anne-Marie McDermott, piano

Schubert – Quintet in A major, Trout
Dvořák – Symphony No. 7

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Artist-In-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann Performs Bach With Alan Gilbert

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, October 5, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 6, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 7, 2011, 11:00 a.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor and violin Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

J.S. Bach – Concerto for Two Violins
Berg – Violin Concerto
Brahms – Symphony No. 3

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New York Philharmonic Ensembles at Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street

Sunday, October 9, 2011, 3:00 p.m. WOLF

Wolf – Italian Serenade
Lisa Kim, Hyunju Lee, violin Rebecca Young, violin; Wei Yu, cello

Beethoven – String Trio in G major, Op. 9, No. 1
Kuan-Cheng Lu, violin; Peter Kenote, viola Wei Yu, cello

Sean Shepherd – Aperture in Shift
Quan Ge, violin; Sumire Kudo, cello Steven Beck, piano

Schumann – Piano Trio No. 3
Yulia Ziskel, violin; Ru-Pei Yeh, cello Helen Huang, piano

—

Artist-In-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann All-Bach Recital

Avery Fisher Hall
Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin Enrico Pace, piano

J.S. Bach Complete Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard, BWV 1014–1019

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Lorin Maazel Conducts Mozart and Debussy

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, October 13, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 14, 2011, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 15, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Lorin Maazel, conductor Robert Langevin, flute Nancy Allen, harp

Mozart – Symphony No. 38, Prague
Mozart – Flute and Harp Concerto
Debussy – Jeux
Debussy – Ibéria

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Young People’s Concert

Avery Fisher Hall

Saturday, October 15, 2011, 2:00 p.m.

 

Four Greats: Johann Sebastian Bach

Joshua Weilerstein, conductor  Theodore Wiprud, host

Program tba

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Lorin Maazel Conducts Richard Strauss

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, October 20, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 21, 2011, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, October 22, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Lorin Maazel, conductor Philip Myers, horn

R. Strauss – An Alpine Symphony
Horn Concerto No. 1
Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

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Music With Film: John Williams

Avery Fisher Hall
Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 7:30 p.m. John Williams, conductor

Program to include excerpts from Hollywood scores such as Alex North’s for Spartacus; Bernard Herrmann’s for Vertigo; and Mr. Williams’s for the Harry Potter series and Star Wars.

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Kurt Masur Conducts Schubert and Shostakovich

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, October 27, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, October 29, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Kurt Masur, conductor
Sergei Leiferkus, baritone
Men of the New York Choral Artists

Joseph Flummerfelt, director

Schubert – Symphony in B minor, Unfinished
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar

—

Archival Exhibit
Who’s Listening? A Look at the Philharmonic Subscribers Since 1842
Bruno Walter Gallery, November 2–December 31, 2011

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Music With Film: Philip Glass and Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi Live

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, November 2, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 3, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Michael Riesman, conductor
Philip Glass  and the Philip Glass Ensemble

Philip Glass – Koyaanisqatsi (with film)

—
Bernard Haitink Conducts R. Strauss And Beethoven

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, November 10, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 11, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 12, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Bernard Haitink, conductor Cynthia Phelps, viola Carter Brey, cello

R. Strauss – Don Quixote
Beethoven – Symphony No. 6, Pastoral

—

Young People’s Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, November 12, 2011, 2:00 p.m.

Four Greats: Leonard Bernstein

Case Scaglione, conductor  Theodore Wiprud, host

Program tba

—

Chamber Music

College of Staten Island
City University of New York
Monday, November 14, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Musicians of the Philharmonic

—

Bernard Haitink Conducts Haydn And Bruckner

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, November 17, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 18, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 19, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Bernard Haitink, conductor

Haydn – Symphony No. 96, Miracle
Bruckner – Symphony No. 7

—

New York Philharmonic Ensembles At Merkin Concert Hall
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street
Sunday, November 20, 2011, 3:00 p.m.

Jonathan Pieslak – Gray Fractures
Eric Bartlett, Sumire Kudo, Ru-Pei Yeh, Wei Yu, cello
Janáček – Mládí (Youth)
Sandra Church, flute; Sherry Sylar, oboe
Pascual Martinez Forteza, clarinet
Amy Zoloto, bass clarinet ; Kim Laskowski, bassoon R. Allen Spanjer, horn

Brahms – Piano Quartet No. 2
Lisa Kim, violin; Rebecca Young, viola Maria Kitsopoulos, cello
William Wolfram, piano

—

Jeffrey Kahane Conducts From The Piano

Avery Fisher Hall
Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 25, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 26, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Jeffrey Kahane, conductor, harpsichord, and piano Sheryl Staples, violin
Liang Wang, oboe

J.S. Bach – Concerto for Violin and Oboe
Mozart – Symphony No. 33
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 1

—

Saturday Matinee Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, November 26, 2011, 2:00 p.m.

Jeffrey Kahane, conductor, harpsichord, and piano Glenn Dicterow, violin
Sheryl Staples, violin
Carter Brey, cello

Liang Wang, oboe

Schubert – Piano Trio in B-flat major
(Glenn Dicterow, Carter Brey, Jeffrey Kahane)
J.S. Bach – Concerto for Violin and Oboe (Sheryl Staples, Liang Wang)
Mozart – Symphony No. 33

—

Daniel Harding Conducts Mahler

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, December 1, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 2, 2011, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 3, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Daniel Harding, conductor

Mahler – Symphony No. 10
(Completed by Deryck Cooke)

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New York Philharmonic Ensembles At Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street
Sunday, December 4, 2011, 3:00 p.m.

Beethoven – Duo No. 1 in C major, WoO 27
Na Sun, violin; Qiang Tu, cello

Britten – String Quartet No. 2
Fiona Simon, Sharon Yamada, violin, Robert Rinehart, viola; Elizabeth Dyson, cello

Douglas Vistel – Three Pieces for Violin, Double Bass and Piano
Vladimir Tsypin, violin; William Blossom, bass Adonis Gonzales, piano

Beethoven – String Quartet in D major, Op. 18, No. 3
Anna Rabinova, Joo Young Oh, violin Irene Breslaw, viola; Qiang Tu, cello

—

Daniel Harding and Joshua Bell

Avery Fisher Hall

Wednesday, December 7, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 8, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 9, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, December 10, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Daniel Harding, conductor Joshua Bell, violin

Oliver Knussen – Flourish with Fireworks
Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto
Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring

—

Holiday Brass

Avery Fisher Hall
Sunday, December 11, 2011, 3:00 p.m.
New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet Program tba

Peter Schreier Conducts Messiah Avery Fisher Hall

Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 15, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 16, 2011, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 17, 2011, 7:30 p.m.

Peter Schreier, conductor
Ute Selbig, soprano
Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto
Steve Davislim, tenor
Peter Rose, bass
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Joe Miller, director

Handel – Messiah—

—
Contact!, The New York Philharmonic New-Music Series

Friday, December 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m. Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue

Saturday, December 17, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Peter Norton Symphony Space
2537 Broadway, at 95th Street

Alan Gilbert, conductor HK Gruber, chansonnier 

Alexandre Lunsqui – Fibers, Yarn, and Wire (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
Magnus Lindberg – Gran Duo

HK Gruber – Frankenstein!!

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: with Anne Sofie Von Otter

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 29, 2011, 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 30, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano

Haydn – Symphony No. 88
Schubert – Selected Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra
Ravel – Mother Goose (complete ballet)
Ravel – La Valse

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: a New Yorker’s New Year’s Eve with Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, December 31, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Live From Lincoln Center

Alan Gilbert, conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano

Bernstein – Overture to Candide
Gershwin – Concerto in F
Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: Bernstein and Ravel At Rush Hour

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 6:45 p.m. Alan Gilbert, conductor

Bernstein – Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Ravel – Mother Goose (complete ballet)
Ravel – La Valse

—

Archival Exhibit
An Extraordinary Musician: Remembering Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter Gallery January 5–February 25, 2012

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: New York Premiere of Thomas Adès’s Polaris and Mahler’s Ninth

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, January 5, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 7, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Alan Gilbert, conductor Thomas

Thomas Adès – Polaris (New York Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Miami’s New World Symphony, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra, London’s Barbican Centre, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony)

Mahler – Symphony No. 9

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: Mahler At
The Tilles Center For The Performing Arts

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts C.W. Post Campus
Long Island University
Brookville, New York
Friday, January 6, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor

Thomas Adès – Polaris (New York Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Miami’s New World Symphony, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra, London’s Barbican Centre, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and San Francisco Symphony)

Mahler –  Symphony No. 9

—

Zubin Mehta Conducts Bruckner

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 14, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Zubin Mehta, conductor
Bruckner – Symphony No. 8

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New York Philharmonic Ensembles At Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street
Sunday, January 15, 2012, 3:00 p.m.

Mozart – Trio in E-flat major, K.498
Pascual Martinez Forteza, clarinet
Judith Nelson, viola; Gema Nieto-Forteza, piano

Foote – Piano Quartet
Charles Rex, violin; Vivek Kamath, viola
Eileen Moon, cello; June Choi Oh, piano

Daniel Schnyder – Trio for Trumpet, Horn, and Bass Trombone
Thomas Smith, trumpet; Howard Wall, horn; James Markey, bass trombone

Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello
Kuan-Cheng Lu, violin; Sumire Kudo, cello

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: with Lang Lang, and Magnus Lindberg’s Feria

Avery Fisher Hall

Wednesday, January 18, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 19, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 20, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 21, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Lang Lang, piano

Magnus Lindberg – Feria
Bartók – Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev – Symphony No. 5

—

Artist-In-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann All-Brahms Chamber Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Sunday, January 22, 2012, 3:00 p.m.

Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin Enrico Pace, piano
Philip Myers, horn
Sheryl Staples, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Alan Gilbert, viola
Carter Brey, cello
Eileen Moon, cello

Brahms – Scherzo for Violin and Piano (from the FAE Sonata)
Brahms – Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano
Brahms – String Sextet No.1

—

Chinese New Year
Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 7:30pm Avery Fisher Hall

Long Yu, conductor
Lang Lang, piano
Liang Wang, oboe
Tang Jun Qiao, bamboo flute  Quintessenso Children’s Chorus

Traditional – Spring Festival Overture
Bao Yuankai – China Air Suite
Traditional – Mongolian Folk Song Suite
Chen Qigang – Extase for oboe and orchestra
Traditional – Works for bamboo flute and orchestra
Liszt – Piano Concerto No. 1

—

Artist-in-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann
Alan Gilbert Conducts: Beethoven Violin Concerto

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, January 26, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 28, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Beethoven – Violin Concerto
Stravinsky – Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel – Daphnis and Chloé

—

Europe / Winter 2012

In February 2012 Alan Gilbert will lead the Orchestra in performances throughout European music capitals on the EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour. The London stay represents the Philharmonic’s inaugural residency as an International Associate of the Barbican Centre, part of a long-term agreement between the two institutions, and will include a performance of Thomas Adès’s Polaris, a Co-Commission with Miami’s New World Symphony, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra, London’s Barbican Centre, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony. Traveling with the Orchestra in Europe will be Frank Peter Zimmermann, The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence. Details to be announced.

—

Alan Gilbert Conducts: with Joyce DiDonato

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 25, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano

Steven Stucky – Son et lumière
Berlioz – Les Nuits d’été
Mussorgsky/Ravel – Pictures at an Exhibition

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Alan Gilbert And Joyce DiDonato At The Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Friday, February 24, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano

Steven Stucky – Son et lumière
Berlioz – Les Nuits d’été
Mussorgsky/Ravel – Pictures at an Exhibition

—

Archival Exhibit

Beethoven in 19th-Century America: Why Did He Take So Long to Be Heard Here?
Bruno Walter Gallery March 1–June 23, 2012

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The Modern Beethoven: A Philharmonic Festival Conducted By David Zinman

Program I

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, March 1, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, 2012, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 3, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

David Zinman, conductor Peter Serkin, piano

Beethoven – Symphony No. 2
Stravinsky – Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra
Beethoven – Symphony No. 7

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The Modern Beethoven: A Philharmonic Festival Conducted By David Zinman

Program II

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, March 8, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 10, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

David Zinman, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Beethoven – Symphony No. 8
Barber – Cello Concerto
Beethoven – Symphony No. 4

David Zinman and the Philharmonic at NJPAC

Friday, March 9, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
David Zinman, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Beethoven – Symphony No. 8
Barber – Cello Concerto
Beethoven – Symphony No. 4

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The Modern Beethoven: A Philharmonic Festival Conducted By David Zinman

Program III

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, March 15, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, 2012, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

David Zinman, conductor Gil Shaham, violin

Beethoven – Symphony No. 1
Hartmann – Concerto funèbre for Solo Violin and String Orchestra
Beethoven – Symphony No. 3, Eroica

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David Zinman Conducts A Young People’s Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, March 17, 2012, 2:00 p.m. David Zinman, conductor

Four Greats: Ludwig van Beethoven

Program tba

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Christoph Von Dohnányi Conducts Henze And Schubert

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, March 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2012, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 24, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor

Henze – Adagio, Fugue, and Maenads’ Dance from The Bassarids
Schubert – Symphony No. 9, Great

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Rush Hour Concert: Christoph Von Dohnányi Conducts Schnittke And Tchaikovsky

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 6:45 p.m.

Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor

Schnittke – (K)ein Sommernachtstraum
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

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Artist-In-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann Dvořák With Christoph Von Dohnányi

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, March 29, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 30, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, March 31, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Christoph von Dohnányi, conductor Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Schnittke – (K)ein Sommernachtstraum
Dvořák – Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

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Jaap van Zweden Conducts

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, April 12, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 13, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, April 14, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Jaap van Zweden, conductor  Yuja Wang, piano

Prokofiev – Piano Concerto No. 3
Mahler – Symphony No. 1

Young People’s Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, April 14, 2012, 2:00 p.m.

Four Greats: Johannes Brahms

Case Scaglione, conductor
Theodore Wiprud, host

Program tba

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New York Philharmonic Ensembles At Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street
Sunday, April 15, 2012, 3:00 p.m. DVOŘÁK

John Harbison – Terzetto
Quan Ge, Lisa GiHae Kim, violin; Vivek Kamath, viola
Emily Tu – Twilight Music
Anna Rabinova, violin; Philip Myers, horn Virginia Perry Lamb, piano
Emily Tu – Dusk to Dawn
Kuan-Cheng Lu, violin; Qiang Tu, cello Emily Tu, piano
Dvořák – Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 8
Sheryl Staples, violin; Rebecca Young, viola Eric Bartlett, cello; Jon Klibonoff, piano

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Herbert Blomstedt Conducts

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, April 19, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 20, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, April 21, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano

Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 9, Jeunehomme
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: With Lisa Batiashvili At Rush Hour

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 6:45 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Lisa Batiashvili, violin

Berlioz – Le Corsaire Overture
Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish
Debussy – La Mer

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: World Premiere of Marc Neikrug’s Concerto for Orchestra

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2012, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 28, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Lisa Batiashvili, violin

Berlioz – Le Corsaire Overture
Marc Neikrug – Concerto for Orchestra
(World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish
Debussy – La Mer

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall
Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Alan Gilbert, conductor

Mahler – Symphony No. 6

Alan Gilbert Conducts: World Premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2

Avery Fisher Hall
Thursday, May 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 4, 2012, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 5, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Yefim Bronfman, piano

Dvořák – Carnival Overture
Magnus Lindberg – Piano Concerto No. 2 (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony)
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 4

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West Coast Tour
In May 2012 Alan Gilbert will lead the Philharmonic on a tour of the West Coast, including an appearance as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s Centennial Celebration and the Orchestra’s debut at Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall; the tour repertoire will include the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Magnus Lindberg, The Marie-Josée Composer in Residence. Details to be announced.

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Alan Gilbert Conducts, with Glenn Dicterow in Bartók

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, May 19, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 26, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Glenn Dicterow, violin

Dvořák – Carnival Overture
Bartók – Violin Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 4

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Saturday Matinee Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, May 19, 2012, 2:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Glenn Dicterow, violin
Judith LeClair, bassoon
Philip Myers, horn Sheryl Staples, violin
Michelle Kim, violin
Rebecca Young, viola
Eileen Moon, cello
Satoshi Okamoto, bass

Schubert – Octet
Bartók – Violin Concerto No. 1
Dvořák – Carnival Overture

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Alan Gilbert Conducts, with Evgeny Kissin

Avery Fisher Hall
Wednesday, May 23, 2012, 7:30 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Evgeny Kissin, piano

Program to include:
Grieg – Piano Concerto

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: Free Annual Memorial Day Concert

The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine 112th Street and Amsterdam Avenue

Monday, May 28, 2012, 8:00 p.m.
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Mahler – Symphony No.9

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Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Conducts Carmina Burana
Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, May 31, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 1, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 2, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor
Erin Morley, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Jacques Imbrailo, baritone

Orfeón Pamplonés , chorus
Igor Ijurra Fernández, director

Falla – Selections from Atlàntida
Orff – Carmina burana

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Pinchas Zukerman Performs And Conducts

Avery Fisher Hall

Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 7, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, 2012, 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 9, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and violin

J.S. Bach – Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 3
Stravinsky – Concerto in D major for String Orchestra (1961 revision)
Mozart – Symphony No. 39

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Contact!, The New York Philharmonic New-Music Series

Friday, June 8, 2012, 7:00 p.m. Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue

Saturday, June 9, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Peter Norton Symphony Space 2537 Broadway, at 95th Street

David Robertson, conductor

Yann Robin – Backdraft (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Casa da Música, Porto) New work (U.S. Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Ensemble Contrechamps)
Michael Jarrell – New Work
Pierre Boulez – … explosante-fixe …

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: with Leonidas Kavakos

Avery Fisher Hall

Thursday, June 14, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 15, 2012, 2:00 p.m. Saturday, June 16, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor Leonidas Kavakos, violin Joshua Hopkins, baritone

Beethoven – Coriolan Overture
Korngold – Violin Concerto
Nielsen – Symphony No. 3, Sinfonia espansiva

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Saturday Matinee Concert

Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, June 16, 2012, 2:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor and violin Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Cynthia Phelps, viola
Carter Brey, cello
Maria Kitsopoulos, cello
Joshua Hopkins, baritone

Schubert – String Quintet in C major
Nielsen – Symphony No. 3, Sinfonia espansiva

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New York Philharmonic Ensembles At Merkin Concert Hall

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center 129 West 67 Street
Sunday, June 17, 2012, 3:00 p.m.

Handel – Trio Sonata in G major, Op. 5, No. 4
Anna Rabinova, violin; Robert Rinehart, viola Satoshi Okamoto, bass; Lionel Party, harpsichord

Elliott Schwartz – Sonata for Violin and Double Bass
Duoming Ba, violin; David J. Grossman, bass

Cras – Quintette
Mindy Kaufman, flute; Sharon Yamada, violin Cynthia Phelps, viola; Ru-Pei Yeh, cello Nancy Allen, harp

Gaubert – Divertissement grec
Robert Langevin, Sandra Church, flute Barbara McKenzie, piano

Ravel – Piano Trio
Hae-Young Ham, violin; Wei Yu, cello Cecile Licad, piano

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Great Avery Fisher Hall

Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 21, 2012, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 22, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 23, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano
Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano Paul Appleby, tenor
Joshua Hopkins, baritone
New York Choral Artists,
Joseph Flummerfelt, director

Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 22
Mozart – Mass in C minor, Great

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Alan Gilbert Conducts: Stockhausen’s Gruppen in Co-Production with Park Avenue Armory

Wade Thompson Drill Hall
Park Avenue Armory
643 Park Avenue (between 66th and 67th Streets)

Friday, June 29, 2012, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 30, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Magnus Lindberg, conductor (Stockhausen)
Matthias Pintscher, conductor  (Stockhausen)

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Pierre Boulez – Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna
Mozart – Act I Finale from Don Giovanni
Stockhausen – Gruppen
Ives – The Unanswered Question

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ALL PROGRAMS SUBJECT TO CHANGE