Alan Gilbert Conducts Program Featuring Emanuel Ax and Christopher Rouse Tonight

Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead a program that highlights both The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse and The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-inResidence Emanuel Ax in the next installment of Gilbert's Playlist - four weeks of programs conducted by Alan Gilbert showcasing themes and ideas that have become a hallmark of the Music Director's tenure - tonight, June 20, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, June 22 at 8:00 p.m. Emanuel Ax will return for the final performances of his Philharmonic residency with Haydn's Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major. (Mr. Ax was originally scheduled to perform Rouse's Seeing, for Piano and Orchestra, but due to a pinched nerve was advised against preparing for this physically demanding work.) Next on these concerts is the New York Premiere of the Symphony No. 3 by Christopher Rouse, whose association with the Orchestra will continue next season. The program will conclude with A Ring Journey, Mr. Gilbert's own synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring Cycle, based on Erich Leinsdorf's condensed version.

"I love Haydn - when asked that terrible question, 'Who is your favorite composer?' that's the name I give," Alan Gilbert said. "This season I have worked with Manny on Mozart and Schoenberg, and I am stunned by his pure, unaffected approach to everything, so doing the Dmajor with him will be a pleasure."

"Christopher Rouse's music, while being highly individualistic, is absolutely rooted in the tradition from which it springs," the Music Director continued. "Chris has described his Symphony No. 3 as new wine he poured into the older bottle of Prokofiev's Second Symphony. These are two great pieces, and together they represent both our Artist-in-Residence and our Composer-in-Residence on the same program. Doing so reflects that whole idea of connecting and collaborating to which I am committed."

Alan Gilbert's A Ring Journey begins with The Ride of the Valkyries and moves chronologically
through the entire cycle, offering selections that are not often heard in the concert hall to form a
rich orchestral telling of the complex story.

"The Ring Cycle is some of the greatest music ever written, and it's a find for orchestral musicians when they get to put their hands on this incredible sound world," Alan Gilbert said. "Wagner is an amazing composer because without singers, without words, the story still comes through. I'm a Ring fanatic!"

The programs in Gilbert's Playlist, taking place during the final weeks of the 2012-13 subscription season, May 30-June 29, 2013, are united by the themes of collaboration, breaking boundaries, theatricality, and wide-ranging music. Gilbert's Playlist concludes June 27-29 with A Dancer's Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky, a genre-bending fusion of symphony orchestra, ballet, puppetry, filmmaking, and more in a theatrical reimagining of the ballets The Fairy's Kissand Petrushka, directed/designed by Doug Fitch, created by Giants Are Small, and starring New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns.

Related Events

• Pre-Concert Talks: Composer/conductor Victoria Bond will introduce the program June 20-22. Pre-Concert. Talks are $7. They take place one hour before each performance in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org or (212) 875-5656.
• National and International Radio Broadcast: The program will be broadcast the week of July 7, 2013,* on The New York Philharmonic This Week, a radio concert series syndicated weekly to more than 300 stations nationally, and to 122 outlets internationally, by the WFMT Radio Network.The 52-week series, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin, is generously underwritten by The Kaplen Foundation, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philharmonic's corporate partner, MetLife Foundation. The broadcast will be available on the Philharmonic's Website, nyphil.org. The program is broadcast locally in the New York metropolitan area on 105.9 FM WQXR on Thursday at 8:00 p.m.
  *Check local listings for broadcast and program information.

Tickets
Tickets for these concerts start at $29. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $18. Pre-Concert Talks
are $7; discounts are available for multiple concerts, students, and groups (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). All 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. on Saturday, and noon to 5:00 p.m. on 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. A limited number of $13.50 tickets for select concerts may be available through the Internet 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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