Alan Gilbert News

New York Philharmonic Board Chairman Oscar Straus Schafer and his wife, Didi, are making the largest gift to the New York Philharmonic from an individual donor in the organization's history. The $25 million gift includes $20 million to help build the Philharmonic's endowment as well as the renovation of its concert home. The Schafers are also continuing their support of the Philharmonic's free Concerts in the Parks series with an additional commitment of $5 million.

The New York Philharmonic's 2015-16 season reflects Music Director Alan Gilbert's and the organization's belief in the rich rewards of collaboration with artistic and institutional leaders, and in expanding the idea of what a symphony orchestra can be through a range of diverse programming and educational activities. Artistic partnerships will grow through enhanced curatorial influences, and national and international collaborations will continue to further cement the Orchestra's role as a resource in New York City and around the world.

Jaap van Zweden will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, with Artist-in-Association Inon Barnatan as soloist; Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The performances take place Thursday, October 29, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, October 30 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, October 31 at 8:00 p.m. 

The New York Philharmonic will present the third season of THE ART OF THE SCORE: Film Week at the Philharmonic September 18-21, 2015, featuring two complete Academy Award-winning films screened with live performances of their acclaimed scores: On the Waterfront and The Godfather.

Semyon Bychkov will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct works composed or inspired by Brahms: Brahms's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, with violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Gautier Capuc?on; Detlev Glanert's Brahms-Fantasie; and Brahms's Symphony No. 1.

Live From Lincoln Center's telecast of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET has won the Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Program. Therefore, six-time Tony Award-winner McDonald, is now just an Oscar Award away from the coveted 'EGOT' distinction.

Alec Baldwin will present the Theordore L. Kesselman Award for the Arts to honor Alan Gilbert at the New York Youth Symphony's (NYYS) 53rd Annual Benefit Gala.

Pianist Maurizio Pollini will return to the New York Philharmonic for the first time since 1994 to join Music Director Alan Gilbert and the Orchestra for a one-night-only performance of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1, Friday, October 16, 2015, at 8:00 p.m. The program also includes Berlioz's Le Corsaire Overture and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, Overture-Fantasy.

Eric Owens will begin his tenure as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence by curating, hosting, and performing in In Their Footsteps: Great African American Singers and Their Legacy, conducted by Thomas Wilkins in his Philharmonic debut.

Music Director Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall's Opening Night Gala Concert, launching the Hall's 125th anniversary season. The program will feature the World Premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Vivo, a Carnegie Hall co-commission; Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1, with Evgeny Kissin as soloist; and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe? Suite No. 2, and takes place Wednesday, October 7, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. WQXR, New York's classical music radio station, will broadcast and stream the concert live on air at 105.9 FM and online at www.wqxr.org, hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon.

Carnegie Hall opens its 2015-2016 125th anniversary season on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m. with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert, performing the world premiere of Vivo by Magnus Lindberg, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Evgeny Kissin.

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.

Music Director Alan Gilbert opens the New York Philharmonic's 2015-16 season with two programs marking major moments for the Orchestra. Mr. Gilbert will conduct the Philharmonic's inaugural performance in its home under its new name, David Geffen Hall, with an Opening Gala Concert featuring Grieg's Piano Concerto, with Lang Lang as soloist, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Wednesday, September 24, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be nationally telecast that night on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS stations at 8:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) and broadcast live on WQXR, New York's classical station, at 105.9 FM and wqxr.org at 7:30 p.m.

Ten outstanding Music Academy of the West musicians have been selected to travel to New York in January 2016 to participate in the second year of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program, which offers opportunities to train and play with Philharmonic musicians, representing a new approach to training the next generation of world-class musicians for successful careers.

The New York Philharmonic will present the third season of THE ART OF THE SCORE: Film Week at the Philharmonic September 18-21, 2015, featuring two complete Academy Award-winning films screened with live performances of their acclaimed scores: On the Waterfront and The Godfather.

New York City's famed Collegiate Chorale - founded in 1941 by legendary conductor Robert Shaw - announced four strategic initiatives that position the organization for its next phase of performing excellence.

In the summer of 2015 the New York Philharmonic will undertake its first performance residencies in Shanghai, as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership, and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

Jane Moss, Lincoln Center's Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, today announced details of the 49th season of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, New York's annual summer celebration of the genius of Mozart and his enduring impact, with vibrant performances running from today, July 25-August 22, 2015.

The third week of Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, August 11 through 16, features 11 events comprising orchestral performances, late-night recitals, contemporary music, a lecture, and the U.S. stage premiere ofWritten on Skin, a highly-acclaimed opera by George Benjamin, this summer's Composer-in-Residence and the centerpiece of the Festival's focus on his music.

The Verbier Festival is sorry to announce that James Levine will not be able to conduct the opening concert on 17 July due to a serious ear infection which prevents him from flying.