Lorin Maazel News

Broadway In Chicago is excited to announce Tony Award winners Roger Bart and Shuler Hensley will reprise the roles of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and The Monster in the first national tour of The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein. The Chicago engagement will play the Cadillac Palace Theatre for a limited six week engagement November 3 - December 13, 2009.

An Evening with Andrea Bocelli and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Asher Fisch, will take place at Carnegie Hall, Tuesday, September 8, Wednesday, September 9, and Friday, September 11, 2009, all at 8:00 p.m. The three acoustic performances of classical repertoire by the Italian tenor - who is making his Carnegie Hall debut -will feature opera arias as well as instrumental works performed by the Orchestra. The concerts will be presented by Princeton Entertainment and the New York Philharmonic.

Lorin Maazel was honored last night by The City of New York and by the New York Philharmonic at the first of his final series of concerts with the Orchestra as Music Director. The French-born American conductor, who first led the Philharmonic at the age of 12, received a Proclamation from the Office of the Mayor designating June 24, 2009, as 'Maestro Lorin Maazel Day.'

The New York Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, conducted by Lorin Maazel in his last program with the Orchestra as Music Director, will be broadcast live, Thursday, June 25, 2009, on The New York Philharmonic This Week - a two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the Philharmonic.

In celebration of Lorin Maazel's tenure as Music Director, the New York Philharmonic is releasing a set of new digital recordings - The Complete Mahler Symphonies, Live - recorded at Philharmonic concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, led by Mr. Maazel, over the course of his seven years with the Orchestra. The release coincides with Mr. Maazel's performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, June 24-27, 2009, in his final concerts as Music Director of the Philharmonic.

Lorin Maazel will ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday, June 22, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. as part of the grand finale events marking the final weeks of his seven-year tenure as Music Director of the Philharmonic.

Lorin Maazel will ring the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday, June 22, 2009, at 4:00 p.m. as part of the grand finale events marking the final weeks of his seven-year tenure as Music Director of the Philharmonic.

Gary W. Parr was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., today at a meeting of the organization's Board of Directors. He will hold the title of Chairman Designate through the summer and assume the Chairmanship on September 24, 2009, succeeding Paul B. Guenther, who has held the post since September 1996. As Chairman, Mr. Parr will serve as the Society's chief volunteer officer.

New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker, who will retire from the Orchestra at the end of the 2008-09 season concluding a 60-year tenure, has set a new Guinness World Record for the 'Longest Career as a Clarinetist.' The record text reads: 'The longest career as a clarinetist was achieved by Stanley Drucker (USA, b. 4 February 1929) who performed professionally for 62 years, 7 months, 1 day as of June 4, 2009.'

New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker, who will retire from the Orchestra at the end of the 2008?09 season concluding a 60-year tenure, will give his final concerto appearances in performances of Copland?s Clarinet Concerto, conducted by Lorin Maazel, Tuesday, June 4, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 6, at 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Drucker, who joined the New York Philharmonic at age 19 in 1948, and whose tenure encompasses one-third of the history of the 167-year-old orchestra, will have performed as soloist with the Orchestra some 200 times (both at home and abroad), and will have played in more than 10,200 concerts under nine New York Philharmonic conductors at the conclusion of his tenure.

Lorin Maazel?s final weeks as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic will culminate with wide-ranging repertoire that includes a new work, and large-scale masterpieces that represent Mr. Maazel?s myriad interests, influences, and personal passions while also showcasing the artistry of the New York Philharmonic. Highlights include a World Premiere?New York Philharmonic Co-Commission; works by Bach and Copland that feature soloists from the Orchestra; Britten?s War Requiem; Mahler?s rarely performed Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand; and performances of two of Mr. Maazel?s own works ? Monaco Fanfares and Farewells.

At a press conference in Tokyo today, New York Philharmonic Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert and President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta announced the details of Asian Horizons: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, October 8?24, 2009. This will be the Orchestra?s inaugural international concert tour under the leadership of Alan Gilbert, who will begin his tenure as Music Director in September 2009. Asian Horizons will consist of eleven concerts, spanning five Asian countries, with performances in Tokyo, Japan (a destination of special significance in light of Mr. Gilbert?s Japanese heritage); Seoul, Korea; Singapore; and the Philharmonic?s debut performances in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Pianist Emanuel Ax and violinists Frank Peter Zimmermann and Ye-Eun Choi (Philharmonic debut) are the featured soloists on the tour. Asian Horizons marks the fourth New York Philharmonic concert tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse, the Orchestra?s Global Sponsor, and the second in Asia.

New York Philharmonic Program Annotator and Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence James M. Keller will curate and host ?Music in Time of War,? a multimedia Insight Series event, Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at 6:30 p.m., in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building, 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The lecture will include musical examples that trace the relationship between composers and war over the centuries, and archival footage of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic?s 1959 tour to the Soviet Union.

The New York Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, conducted by Lorin Maazel in his last program with the Orchestra as Music Director, will be broadcast live, Thursday, June 25, 2009, on The New York Philharmonic This Week - a two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the Philharmonic.

With a vital role on band sensation Grizzly Bear's new CD Veckatimest (officially released today) and an appearance this Thursday backing up the band at Town Hall, the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus embarks on a six-week run of performances spanning music as diverse as indie rock and Mahler's 8th.

The World Premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis?s a Voice, a Messenger, featuring New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith as soloist, and previously announced for June 4, 6, and 9, 2009, has been postponed until the 2009?10 season to allow the composer and the soloist more time to collaborate on the work. The piece, a Philharmonic co-commission with the Big Ten Band Association, will be replaced by Haydn?s Trumpet Concerto, to be performed by Mr. Smith. Lorin Maazel will conduct these concerts, which are part of his final weeks as New York Philharmonic Music Director.

David Zinman will conduct the New York Philharmonic in programs May 13?16, 2009, replacing Esa-Pekka Salonen, who has withdrawn due to back trouble. Mr. Zinman will lead the Rush Hour Concert on Wednesday, May 13, at 6:45 p.m., which will now comprise Mussorgsky?s Night on Bald Mountain and Shostakovich?s Violin Concerto No. 1, with Christian Tetzlaff as soloist. On Thursday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 16, at 8:00 p.m., he will conduct the Mussorgsky and Shostakovich works, concluding with the previously announced Sibelius Symphony No. 5. On Friday, May 15, at 8:00 p.m., the stories behind the Sibelius symphony will be explored during a multimedia Inside the Music program, narrated by Gerard McBurney, followed by a complete performance of the work conducted by Mr. Zinman.

In June 2009, The New York Philharmonic This Week ? a two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the New York Philharmonic ? begins with a concert from the Philharmonic?s sixth annual residency in Vail, Colorado, as part of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. In this program, from the July 18, 2008 performance, Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert leads the Orchestra in Tchaikovsky?s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Lang Lang as soloist; Beethoven?s Symphony No. 4; and Sibelius?s Finlandia. The following week, after conducting J.S. Bach?s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Music Director Lorin Maazel leads the World Premiere of Aaron Jay Kernis?s a Voice, a Messenger (a Co-Commission with the New York Philharmonic and the Big Ten Band Association); Copland?s Clarinet Concerto, with Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker as soloist; and Ravel?s Boléro. The third June broadcast, conducted by Lorin Maazel, will be Britten?s powerful War Requiem. Lionel Bringuier conducts the chamber orchestra (in his Philharmonic debut), and soprano Nancy Gustafson, tenor Vale Rideout (Philharmonic debut), and baritone Ian Greenlaw will be the soloists with the New York Choral Artists, the Dessoff Symphonic Choir, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. In the final June broadcast, Lorin Maazel conducts two of his own compositions, Monaco Fanfares and Farewells, concluding with Sibelius?s Symphony No. 2.

New York Philharmonic Program Annotator and Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence James M. Keller will curate and host ?Music in Time of War,? a multimedia Insight Series event, Tuesday, June 2, 2009, at 6:30 p.m., in the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building, 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The lecture will include musical examples that trace the relationship between composers and war over the centuries, and archival footage of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic?s 1959 tour to the Soviet Union.

Alan Gilbert, who will become Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2009, returns to New York to lead two weeks of programs with the Orchestra. The first series of concerts ? Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, and 8:00 p.m., and Tuesday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. will comprise Dvorák?s The Golden Spinning Wheel; Saint-Saëns?s Violin Concerto No. 3, with Joshua Bell as soloist; and Martin's Symphony No. 4.