Emanuel Ax to Perform with NY Philharmonic, 428

Music Director Alan Gilbert, The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair, will conduct the New  York Philharmonic in Messiaen's Couleurs de la cité céleste and Mahler's Symphony  No. 5, Thursday, April 28, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 29, at 2:00 p.m., and  Saturday, April 30, at 8:00 p.m. He will be joined in these concerts by pianist Emanuel  Ax, who is performing his 100th concert with the New York Philharmonic on April 28,  and who will play Debussy's Estampes for solo piano, and the Messiaen work with the  Orchestra.

Mr. Gilbert will also conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 5 at the Rush Hour Concert on  Wednesday, April 27, at 6:45 p.m. Reflecting on Mr. Ax, Mr. Gilbert said: "Emanuel Ax is one of the most beloved artists to  appear regularly with the New York Philharmonic, and we've recently enjoyed some  memorable and impressive performances of Beethoven. I'm excited that he's going to be  playing something entirely different. Couleur de la cité céleste is one of Messiaen's great  works for piano and small ensemble, and from the French music I've heard Manny play,  I'm sure he will bring something very important and special to this."

Emanuel Ax made his debut with the New York Philharmonic on September 29, 1977,  performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, conducted by Andrew Davis. Since then, he  has appeared numerous times with the Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall performing  repertoire that has included works by Beethoven, Brahms Chopin, Liszt, Saint-Saëns,  Richard Strauss, Szymanowski, Hans Werner Henze, Michael Tippett, William Bolcom, Christopher Rouse, and Bright Sheng. In addition to his New York performances, Mr. Ax  also joined the musicians for two tours: The first, the 2007 New York Philharmonic Tour  of Europe, led by Lorin Maazel, took him to his native Poland on May 3, 2007, where he  performed Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1, which he reprised a few days later in Vienna.

In the second - the October 2009 Asian Horizons tour - he played Beethoven's Piano  Concerto No. 4 with the New York Philharmonic in its debut at the historic Hanoi Opera  House, and in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, U.A.R. His most recent appearance with the  Philharmonic was in Avery Fisher Hall in September 2009, performing Beethoven's  Piano Concerto No. 3, led by Alan Gilbert.

Mr. Gilbert, in discussing the April 28-30 concerts, noted: "This program combines  Debussy's solo piano works and the Messiaen, which has winds, percussion, and brass  along with the solo piano, with the Mahler symphony, which is for full orchestra. It takes  us through a progression that starts very small, with one pianist playing, and goes all the  way to the biggest orchestral sound you can imagine."

Single tickets for these performances start at $32. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $18. v Pre-Concert Talks are $7; discounts are available for multiple concerts, students, and  groups (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). All other tickets may be  purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.,  Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be  purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at  Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. 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. A
limited number of $12.50 tickets for select concerts may be available through the Internet
Alan Gilbert and Emanuel Ax/6 for students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the day of. Valid  identification is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic's
Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. [Ticket prices subject to change.]

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