Pierre Boulez News

The first New York Philharmonic Young People's Concert (YPC) of the 2009-10 season will take place Saturday, November 7, 2009, at 2:00 p.m.

'The Concert to End Polio,' presented by Rotary International, with the New York Philharmonic and violinist Itzhak Perlman, will feature Liszt's tone poem, Les Préludes; Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, with Mr. Perlman; Tchaikovsky's Capriccio italien; and the Theme from Schindler's List by John Williams and Kreisler's Tambourin Chinois, both with Mr. Perlman.

Alan Gilbert will launch the New York Philharmonic's 168th season's subscription concerts in his new role as Music Director, conducting works that reflect his interest in creating programs that feature established repertoire and new and lesser-known music in innovative contexts.

Lincoln Center: Celebrating 50 Years, the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the evolution and influence of America's first performing arts center, will feature an extensive collection of some 400 historic and contemporary objects including photographs, ephemera, correspondence, costumes, set pieces, props and video recordings.

Alan Gilbert will launch the New York Philharmonic's 168th season's subscription concerts in his new role as Music Director, conducting works that reflect his interest in creating programs that feature established repertoire and new and lesser-known music in innovative contexts.

The Metropolitan Opera has reason to celebrate; $2.5 million worth of tickets were sold on Sunday, the first day of sales, through its box office, telephone call center and Web site, up from $2 million on the first day of sales last year, according to the Associated press.

Thomas W. Morris, artistic director of the Ojai Music Festival and Ojai's 2009 music director eighth blackbird have announced the final programming for the 2009 Ojai Music Festival, which takes place from Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14, 2009. This season, the four-day Festival, which for six decades has become well known for its fearlessness in championing pioneering musical ideas and personalities, pushes the envelope again with programming that reflects the qualities that have made eighth blackbird a growing musical phenomenon-genre-defying variety in wildly collaborative and visually dramatic presentations.

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.

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.

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.

Violinist Karen Gomyo will join the New York Philharmonic to perform Vaughan Williams?s The Lark Ascending at the Orchestra?s 18th free, Annual Memorial Day Concert at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street, Monday, May 25, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. David Robertson will conduct. The program also features Ives?s The Unanswered Question, Barber?s Adagio for Strings, and Messiaen?s L?Ascension.

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.

Thomas W. Morris, artistic director of the Ojai Music Festival and Ojai's 2009 music director eighth blackbird have announced the final programming for the 2009 Ojai Music Festival, which takes place from Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14, 2009. This season, the four-day Festival, which for six decades has become well known for its fearlessness in championing pioneering musical ideas and personalities, pushes the envelope again with programming that reflects the qualities that have made eighth blackbird a growing musical phenomenon-genre-defying variety in wildly collaborative and visually dramatic presentations.

The Philharmonic begins the Winter U.S. Tour 2009 with performances in Atlanta and West Palm Beach led by Lorin Maazel, who is making his final tour with the Orchestra as Music Director. The trip, which will take the musicians to 10 cities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and will include 13 concerts, marks the first American tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse, the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.

Lorin Maazel will make his valedictory tour as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic featuring 13 concerts in 9 cities in the United States and Puerto Rico, February 21-March 9, 2009.

Eight new productions, four of which are company premieres, will highlight the Metropolitan Opera's 2009-10 season. General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine jointly announced plans that include: the Met premieres of Rossini's Armida, Verdi's Attila, Jan?ček's From the House of the Dead, and Shostakovich's The Nose; new productions of Bizet's Carmen, Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Thomas's Hamlet, and Puccini's Tosca; and 18 revivals from the company's repertory. The season is the first to be entirely planned under Gelb's leadership, in collaboration with Levine (the past three seasons were planned before Gelb became General Manager in 2006-07 but included some productions, repertoire, and casting changes made by Gelb).

Lorin Maazel will make his valedictory tour as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic featuring 13 concerts in 9 cities in the United States and Puerto Rico, February 21-March 9, 2009.

Marin Alsop will lead the New York Philharmonic in four concerts, each featuring Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World, October 7, 10, and 11, 2008. The programs on October 7 at 7:30 p.m. and October 11 at 8:00 p.m. will comprise Bartók's The Wooden Prince Suite; Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Rafał Blechacz making his New York Philharmonic debut; and the Dvořák symphony.

Marin Alsop will lead the New York Philharmonic in four concerts, each featuring Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World, October 7, 10, and 11, 2008. The programs on October 7 at 7:30 p.m. and October 11 at 8:00 p.m. will comprise Bartók's The Wooden Prince Suite; Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, with Rafał Blechacz making his New York Philharmonic debut; and the Dvořák symphony.