Stanley Drucker News

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Bryant Park Corporation announces the inaugural season of a series of early fall classical music concerts featuring musicians from the New York Philharmonic, New York City Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and The New York Pops. Entitled Bank of America presents New York Now in Bryant Park, the series runs for three weeks, from September 23 through October 8, kicking off with musicians from the New York Philharmonic, featuring Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker.