Alan Gilbert to Lead Marc Neikrug World Premiere; Emanuel Ax to Perform Brahms

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere- Philharmonic Commission of Marc Neikrug's Canta-Concerto, featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke; Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Emanuel Ax as soloist; and Brahms's Tragic Overture. The performances take place Thursday, October 1, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 3, at 8:00 p.m. Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic will also perform Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Emanuel Ax as soloist, on a program that includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, on September 30, 2015, at 7:30 p.m., as well as at Long Island University's Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York, on October 2, 2015, at 8:00 p.m.

Written for Ms. Cooke, the four-movement Canta-Concerto places the singer in the role of a concerto soloist; rather than utilizing text, this piece allows the singer to explore her voice purely as an instrument.

"In Canta-Concerto Marc Neikrug has created a fascinating challenge for himself in the approach to vocal writing, removing words to work with a much freer canvas," said Alan Gilbert. "The piece will be well served by the incredibly beautiful and distinctive voice of Sasha Cooke, whose very powerful presence enriched The Metropolitan Opera production of John Adams's Doctor Atomic that I led, as well as her moment in the spotlight in our centennial performances of Britten's Spring Symphony. I know that her unique and ravishing timbre will help make Marc's new piece come to life."

"I'm deeply grateful for the support and encouragement given by both Alan Gilbert and Sasha Cooke in this unusual project," said Marc Neikrug. "The thought of hearing it performed by them with my favorite orchestra in the world is exhilarating."

Eternity's Sunrise

This program also features two works by Brahms, whose chamber music Marc Neikrug has performed and recorded as a pianist, most notably with recital partner Pinchas Zukerman, his co-star in the documentary Romantic Brahms with Pinchas Zukerman and Marc Neikrug.

With the first of these upcoming concerts, Emanuel Ax - former Philharmonic Artist-in- Residence and an Honorary Member of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York - returns for his 127th appearance with the Orchestra. The New York Philharmonic gave the U.S. Premiere of Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1882 with pianist Rafael Joseffy and conductor Theodore Thomas.

"It is always a pleasure to reunite with Manny," said Alan Gilbert. "He plays with such a natural touch that you don't even notice the amazing technique that supports it. When he comes on our stage there is an instant connection between him and the musicians, and I know that the mutual respect he and I share can also be felt by the audience."

Composer Daniel Felsenfeld will introduce the David Geffen Hall performances. Pre-Concert Insights are $7; discounts available for multiple talks, students, and groups. They take place one hour before these performances in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org/preconcert or (212) 875-5656.

Artists
Music Director Alan Gilbert began his New York Philharmonic tenure in 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 Artist-in-Association; CONTACT!, the new-music series; NY PHIL BIENNIAL, an exploration of today's music; and New York Philharmonic Global Academy, collaborations with partners worldwide offering training of pre-professional musicians, often alongside performance residencies. As The New Yorker wrote, "Gilbert has made an indelible mark on the orchestra's history and that of the city itself."

Alan Gilbert's 2015-16 Philharmonic highlights include R. Strauss's Ein Heldenleben to welcome Concertmaster Frank Huang; Carnegie Hall's Opening Night Gala; and five World Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic have performed the World Premieres of two New York Philharmonic commissions by Marc Neikrug: his Quintessence: Symphony No. 2 (2008) and Concerto for Orchestra (2012). Previously, the Orchestra gave the World Premiere of (1980, led by Zubin Mehta) and, more recently, then Artist-in-Residence Yefim Bronfman played the World Premiere of his Passions, Reflected on a CONTACT! program hosted by Mr. Neikrug in January 2014.

Premieres. He co-curates and conducts in the second NY PHIL BIENNIAL and performs violin in Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. He leads the Orchestra as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy Residency and Partnership and appears at Santa Barbara's Music Academy of the West. Philharmonic-tenure highlights include acclaimed stagings 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 (for which Mr. Gilbert is nominated for a 2015 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction), and Honegger's Joan of Arc at the Stake starring Marion Cotillard; 24 World Premieres; The Nielsen Project, a performance and recording cycle; Verdi Requiem and Bach's B-minor Mass; the score from 2001: A Space Odyssey alongside the film; Mahler's Resurrection Symphony on the tenth anniversary of 9/11; and nine tours around the world. In August 2015 he led the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in the U.S. Stage Premiere of George Benjamin's Written on Skin, co-presented as part of the Lincoln Center-New York Philharmonic Opera Initiative.

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. This season Mr. Gilbert makes debuts with four great European orchestras - Filarmonica della Scala, Dresden Staatskapelle, London Symphony, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields - and returns to The Cleveland Orchestra and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony 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. His honors include an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music (2010), Columbia University's Ditson Conductor's Award for his "exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers and to contemporary music" (2011), election to The American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2014), and a Foreign Policy Association Medal for his commitment to cultural diplomacy (2015).

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition; he went on to receive other honors including the Young Concert Artists Michaels Award (1975), Avery Fisher Prize (1979), and being named an Honorary Member of the New York Philharmonic (2011) and the Orchestra's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence (2012-13 season).

Three prominent duo collaborations will be carried through Mr. Ax's current season. He partners with longtime friend and colleague Itzhak Perlman first with the release of Faure? and Strauss sonatas on the Deutsche Grammophon label, and then for concerts in Kansas City, Ravinia, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and La Jolla. He also joins violinist Pamela Frank for Mozart sonatas in Philadelphia and New York, and longstanding partner Yo-Yo Ma in Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., as well as at Carnegie Hall for all of the Beethoven cello and piano sonatas. In addition to his annual appearances with the New York Philharmonic, he will returns to orchestras in Houston, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, as well as the Tokyo Symphony, and then appear in concerts in Paris, Berlin, Rome, Tel Aviv, and Amsterdam. Mr. Ax will give solo recitals in Tokyo, Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Boston, as well as at Carnegie Hall as part of the venue's 125th anniversary celebrations in May.

Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning artist exclusive to Sony Classical since 1987; his most recent release is a recital disc exploring the variations form by composers including Haydn, Schumann, and Copland. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates from Yale and Columbia universities. Mr. Ax made his Philharmonic debut in September 1977 performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 conducted by Andrew Davis; he most recently collaborated with the Orchestra in two difference performances in July 2015 in Shanghai, China, as part of the Global Academy's Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency: on July 5 he performed Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, conducted by Charles Dutoit, and on July 10 he played Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 14, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke appears frequently this season singing Mahler, whose works she has sung to great acclaim on four different continents. A regular at the world's leading orchestras, opera companies, and chamber music ensembles for her versatile repertoire and commitment to new music, in the 2015-16 season she continues to bring world premiere performances and participate in unusual artistic collaborations. Symphonic engagements include performances of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the San Francisco Symphony and New World Symphony (both conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas), as well as with the Tucson Symphony; Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with Carlos Prieto and the Louisiana Philharmonic; Handel's Messiah with Trevor Pinnock and the National Arts Centre Orchestra; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero and the Seattle Symphony conducted by Andrew Grams. A frequent performer of contemporary works, she appears not only in the World Premiere of Marc Neikrug's Canta-Concerto with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert, but in the World Premiere of Mark Grey's operatic adaption of Frankenstein at The?a?tre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. Ms. Cooke's other operatic engagements this season include her role debut as Magdalena in David McVicar's production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nu?rnberg with San Francisco Opera led by Mark Elder and, with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, her role debut as Medoro in Handel's Orlando on tour to Vienna's Theater an der Wien, Birmingham's Town Hall, Valencia's Palau de la Mu?sica, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, London's Barbican Centre, and New York's Carnegie Hall. Sasha Cooke made her Philharmonic debut as part of the June 2012 Philharmonic 360 presentation of the Finale to Act I of Mozart's Don Giovanni at Philharmonic 360 at Park Avenue Armory, conducted by Alan Gilbert; she most recently joined the Orchestra for Britten's Spring Symphony, again led by Alan Gilbert, in November 2013.

Repertoire
The summer of 1880 saw Johannes Brahms (1833-97) composing two concert overtures: the Academic Festival Overture, acknowledging the honorary doctorate conferred on him the previous year, followed by its dramatic counterpart, the Tragic Overture. Brahms said of the contrast between the two: "One laughs while the other cries." Brahms had sketched the turbulent material that would eventually form the basis of the Tragic Overture ten years before. Premiered in Vienna in December 1880, it is an evocative work that juxtaposes the darkness of human struggle and a more hopeful feeling of victory over tragedy. Theodore Thomas led the New York Philharmonic's first performance of the work in November 1888. The Philharmonic most recently performed it in April 2007, led by then Music Director Lorin Maazel.

Marc Neikrug (b. 1949) created the four-movement Canta-Concerto, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, specifically for mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, placing the singer in the role of a concerto soloist, without text. Mr. Neikrug writes: "The Canta-Concerto was composed with a specific thought in mind. Instrumental students are always told by their teachers that the voice is the most natural and beautiful instrument and should be imitated. But it struck me that with the exception of a concerto by Glie?re, there are no concertos for voice. Since vocalists are very tied to 'the word,' they are always choosing a middle ground between diction and pure sound production. I wanted to write a piece where the sound production dominates and the range of emotional context was that of a concerto for an instrument. The piece is in four movements: a dramatic first movement, a scherzo-like interlude, a slow movement, and a finale that owes more than a bit to jazz."

Johannes Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, begun in the spring of 1878 and finished in 1881, is considered one of the greatest works of its genre. Its composition was likely influenced by Brahms's vacations to sunny Italy, but the concerto offers an array of changing moods. It presents many technical challenges for the soloist, requiring a powerful technique and the highest level of musicianship. Brahms dedicated the concerto to one of his most influential teachers, Eduard Marxsen, also a pianist, and the work was premiered in 1881 in Budapest, with the composer as soloist. The New York Philharmonic gave the concerto's U.S. Premiere in 1882 with pianist Rafael Joseffy as soloist and led by Theodore Thomas. Alan Gilbert led the Orchestra's most recent performances in February 2013, with Rudolf Buchbinder as soloist.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) conducted the first performance of his Symphony No. 7 on December 8, 1813, in Vienna, at a charity concert for soldiers wounded during the defense of the city against the invading forces of Napoleon. The premiere was so successful that popular demand called for a repeat performance of the symphony four nights later. The work had been completed in the eventful year of 1812, when the composer - by that time almost completely deaf - met the German philosopher Goethe, penned the mysterious "immortal beloved" letter, interfered in his estranged brother's personal affairs, composed the last of his piano sonatas, and finished two symphonies. While Weber stated that the Seventh Symphony suggested that Beethoven was "ripe for the madhouse," Wagner praised its Dionysian spirit and termed it the "apotheosis of the dance." The New York Philharmonic performed the work's U.S. premiere on November 18, 1843, led by the Orchestra's founder, Ureli Corelli Hill. The Orchestra's most recent performance was in November 2014, led by Jaap van Zweden.

Single tickets for this performance start at $33. Pre-Concert Insights are $7; discounts are available for multiple talks, students, and groups (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). 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 David Geffen 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 $16 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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