Spring 2015 Gala to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of New York Phil's 'Concerts in the Parks', May 19

By: Feb. 10, 2015
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The New York Philharmonic's Spring Gala will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, featuring a concert of music from iconic moments throughout the history of the free concert series, Tuesday, May 19, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.

The Gala event will honor New York Philharmonic Chairman Oscar Schafer and his wife, Didi, for their generosity and dedication in presenting the Concerts in the Parks since 2007, and will raise funds to support the future of the beloved outdoor performances, which have been enjoyed by more than 14 million concertgoers since their inception in 1965. Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct; baseball legend Joe Torre will narrate Copland's Lincoln Portrait.

The repertoire for the Spring Gala concert was chosen to recall some of the Concerts in the Parks' most iconic moments. The program will feature Schuman's Philharmonic Fanfare, which was commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic on the first-ever parks concert, August 10, 1965, in Central Park's Sheep Meadow. The concert will also feature the Finale from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 - the most-performed piece in the history of the Concerts in the Parks (43 times plus 3 partial performances) - and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture - the second-most frequently played piece in the parks concerts' repertoire (41 performances). Also on the program are the Andante molto moto: Scene by the Brook movement from Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, Pastoral (chosen for its musical portrayal of nature and pastoral motifs) and Copland's majestic Lincoln Portrait, narrated by Joe Torre, which the Philharmonic performed in Central Park on July 4, 1976, as part of the nation's bicentennial, with Bernstein conducting and William Warfield as narrator. Throughout the concert there will be screenings of archival video from past Concerts in the Parks as well as video interviews with Orchestra musicians, soloists, and supporters.

For information about the Gala, which includes a pre-concert reception, concert, and post- concert seated dinner on the Grand Promenade, contact Jennifer Levine at levinej@nyphil.org, or call her at (212) 875-5757. The 90-minute concert will be performed without an intermission.

This summer, the 2015 Concerts in the Parks, presented for the ninth year by Didi and Oscar Schafer, will take place throughout the boroughs of New York City, June 17-23, 2015. They will feature an all-American program conducted by Alan Gilbert - who will appear at the Great Lawn in Central Park, Manhattan (June 17), Cunningham Park, Queens (June 22), and Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx (June 23) - and a Franco-Russian program led by Charles Dutoit, who will lead concerts on the Great Lawn in Central Park (June 18) and Prospect Park, Brooklyn (June 19). Soloists will include violinist and Board Member Joshua Bell, who returns to the series after 14 years; and violinist Renaud Capuc?on and soprano Julia Bullock, both making their New York Philharmonic debuts, along with a tenor to be announced. Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will perform in a free chamber concert in Staten Island (date and venue to be announced at a later date).

As part of the celebratory activities, the Philharmonic is creating Crowdsourcing Memories: 50 Years of the Philharmonic in New York City's Parks, an online portal through which the public can share their personal Concerts in the Parks memories. These submissions will be preserved forever in the New York Philharmonic Archives (which maintains the Orchestra's historical treasures dating back to its founding in 1842), and many will be featured throughout the Concerts in the Parks 50th-anniversary celebrations, including on the Philharmonic's website. Members of the public are invited to contribute their memories of the Philharmonic's parks concerts since 1965 - not only favorite musical moments under the stars, but also family outings, reunions with friends, elaborate picnics, first dates, marriage proposals, and more - through photographs, home movies, and personal recollections. For information on how to submit material, visit nyphil.org/parks50memory.

Artists:

Music Director Alan Gilbert began his New York Philharmonic tenure in September 2009, the first native New Yorker in the post. He and the Philharmonic have introduced the positions of The Marie-Jose?e Kravis Composer-in-Residence, The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in- Residence, and the Artist-in-Association; CONTACT!, the new-music series; and the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, an exploration of today's music by a wide range of contemporary and modern composers inaugurated in spring 2014. As New York magazine wrote, "The Philharmonic and its music director Alan Gilbert have turned themselves into a force of permanent revolution."

In the 2014-15 season Alan Gilbert conducts the U.S. Premiere of Unsuk Chin's Clarinet Concerto, a Philharmonic co-commission, alongside Mahler's First Symphony; La Dolce Vita: The Music of Italian Cinema; the Verdi Requiem; a staging of Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake, featuring Oscar winner Marion Cotillard; World Premieres; a CONTACT! program; and Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. He concludes The Nielsen Project - the multi-year initiative to perform and record the Danish composer's symphonies and concertos, the first release of which was named by The New York Times as among the Best Classical Music Recordings of 2012 - and presides over the EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour. His Philharmonic tenure highlights include acclaimed productions of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre, Jana?c?ek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd starring Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson, and Philharmonic 360 at Park Avenue Armory; World Premieres by Magnus Lindberg, John Corigliano, Christopher Rouse, and others; Bach's B-minor Mass and Ives's Fourth Symphony; the score from 2001: A Space Odyssey alongside the film; Mahler's Second Symphony, Resurrection, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11; and eight international tours.

Conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of Hamburg's NDR Symphony Orchestra, Alan Gilbert regularly conducts leading orchestras around the world. His 2014-15 appearances include the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. He made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams's Doctor Atomic in 2008, the DVD of which received a Grammy Award. Rene?e Fleming's recent Decca recording Poe?mes, on which he conducted, received a 2013 Grammy Award. His recordings have received top honors from the Chicago Tribune and Gramophone magazine. Mr. Gilbert is Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at The Juilliard School, where he holds the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies. In May 2010 Mr. Gilbert received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and in December 2011, Columbia University's Ditson Conductor's Award for his "exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers and to contemporary music." In 2014 he was elected to The American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

Hall of Famer Joe Torre returns to the New York Philharmonic following his appearance in a concert in Central Park celebrating the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game on July 13, 2013, when he narrated Casey at the Bat, Ernest Lawrence Thayer's famous poem, set to music by Steven Reineke. He is MLB's chief baseball officer, overseeing all baseball operations, and since 2011 has been the Office of the Commissioner's primary liaison to the general managers and field managers of the 30 Major League Clubs and the Major League Umpires.

Mr. Torre, a manager for 29 seasons, ranks fifth all-time with 2,326 managerial wins. He led the New York Yankees to four World Series Championships, six American League pennants and 12 postseason appearances in his 12 years (1996-2007) as manager. The two-time A.L. Manager of the Year also led the New York Mets (1977-81), the Atlanta Braves (1982-84), the St. Louis Cardinals (1990-95) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-10). During his 18-year playing career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1960-68), the Cardinals (1969-74), and the Mets (1975- 77), the nine-time All-Star compiled a .297 batting average, 2,342 hits, and 252 home runs. He was the National League's 1971 Most Valuable Player, batting .363 with 24 home runs and a league-leading 137 RBI. On December 9, 2013, the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that its Expansion Era Committee had unanimously elected Mr. Torre to its Class of 2014. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 27, 2014, in Cooperstown.

Joe Torre is the chairman of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, which he and his wife, Ali, launched in 2002. The Safe At Home Foundation's mission is to develop educational programs to end the cycle of domestic violence and save lives. Since its inception, the foundation has educated thousands of students, parents, teachers, and school faculty about the devastating effects of domestic violence.

Tickets start at $49. Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic's Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. [Ticket prices subject to change.]

Pictured: Joe Torre with Alan Gilbert the NY Philharmonic. Photo by Stephanie Berger.



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