In his time, Emil von Reznicek (1860–1945) was a prominent and highly accomplished late-Romantic composer and conductor, producing an impressive body of operas, symphonies, and other works. He is known, however, primarily by the Overture to Donna Diana, an 1894 opera that was perhaps his greatest success. This sunny and highspirited piece has remained in the concert repertory even as the opera from which it comes has fallen into obscurity. The Philharmonic first performed the overture in November 1907, with Walter Damrosch leading the New York Symphony (which later merged with the New York Philharmonic to form today’s New York Philharmonic), and most recently, in December 1988, led by Zubin Mehta.

Johannes Brahms was, like many of his contemporaries, enamored of the “Hungarian” or “Gypsy” music that had been popularized throughout Europe. The earthy, folkinflected charm of the style, although it may have been somewhat less than authentic from a musicologist’s perspective, proved irresistible to composers and to audiences alike. Brahms’s Hungarian Dances, composed in 1869 and in 1880, were originally written for piano four-hands, and were tremendous bestsellers for his publisher, Fritz Simrock. A few were later orchestrated by Brahms himself, with the rest of the set given the same treatment by various other hands, including those of Antonín Dvorák, who arranged Nos. 17–21. The New York Philharmonic first performed selections from Brahms’s Hungarian Dances in January 1899, with Frank Damrosch leading the New York Symphony (which later merged with the New York Philharmonic to form today’s New York Philharmonic). The most recent performance took place on tour in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2009, led by Alan Gilbert.

Nearly 25 years passed between the time that Franz Liszt first sketched the themes of his Piano Concerto No. 1 and the work’s premiere in 1855 — with the composer at the piano and Hector Berlioz on the podium. From its dramatic opening phrase to its brilliant finale, this spectacularly virtuosic work set the standard for the grand Romantic piano concerto tradition. The New York Philharmonic first performed the concerto in April 1867, conducted by Carl Bergmann, with S.B. Mills as soloist, and most recently, in June 2007, with pianist Markus Groh, conducted by Bramwell Tovey.

Tchaikovsky’s 1876 Marche slave was composed for a benefit concert in support of a Serbian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, a conflict that would eventually escalate into war between Russia and Turkey. Using a mournful folk song and the Russian anthem “God Save the Tsar,” Tchaikovsky created a stirring expression of patriotic solidarity, which still stirs audiences today as a highly effective, brilliantly scored concert showpiece. The Philharmonic first performed Marche slave in November 1893, with Walter Damrosch leading the New York Symphony (which merged with the New York Philharmonic in 1928 to form today’s New York Philharmonic). The most recent performances took place in August 1985, led by Leonard Slatkin, on the annual Concerts in the Parks.

Franz von Suppé was a prolific composer of operetta and other light stage works, but his reputation rests almost entirely on the enormous popularity of several of his overtures, including that of Light Cavalry, an 1866 comic operetta. The bounding good cheer of the famous “galloping” theme has made this piece a favorite not just of concertgoers but of film and TV viewers, who will no doubt recognize it from its many uses as accompaniment to scenes of horses and chases. The New York Philharmonic first performed the Light Cavalry Overture in 1901, with Walter Damrosch leading the New York Symphony (which later merged with the New York Philharmonic to form today’s New York Philharmonic), and most recently, in January 1993, led by Leonard Slatkin.

In June of 1846, Johann Strauss II made a week-long series of concert appearances with his own orchestra in Hungary’s cities of Pest and Ofen (which would later be unified as today’s Budapest). For the occasion, he added a new composition to his ever-growing repertoire of original light works, a piece composed specially for the city of Pest, which he called Pesther Csárdás. The csárdás is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, and the work demonstrates not only Strauss’s inimitable knack for creating crowd-pleasing dance melodies, but also his mastery at incorporating national elements into his works. These concerts represent the Philharmonic’s first performances of Pesther Csárdás.

The Viennese tradition of operetta was carried into the early 20th century by Franz Lehár. His ever-popular The Merry Widow is one of the best known of all operettas. Its simple and charming plot and blend of memorable tunes and bittersweet romance continue to entertain and delight audiences. Its waltz melodies, including the Ballsirenen Waltzes, are characteristically Viennese — full of grace, elegance, and a touch of the nostalgic. The New York Philharmonic first performed excerpts from The Merry Widow in July 1943, led by Robert Stolz, and most recently in December 2008, with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, led by Lorin Maazel.

Many of Georges Enesco’s compositions were influenced by the folk music of his native Romania, and among them are two works for orchestra entitled Romanian Rhapsody, which are by far the most well known. Making savvy use of all the colors of the orchestra, the composer begins the work quietly and poignantly, and then builds gradually to a raucous, festive conclusion. The New York Philharmonic first performed the work in October 1913, with Walter Damrosch leading the New York Symphony (which later merged with the New York Philharmonic to form today’s New York Philharmonic), and most recently, in June 1970, led by Andre Kostelanetz.

Conductor, composer, and pianist Bramwell Tovey has been music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) since September 2000 and is also principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He has presided as host and conductor of the New York Philharmonic’s Summertime Classics series at Avery Fisher Hall since its founding in 2004. Mr. Tovey has appeared as a guest conductor with ensembles including the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Frankfurt Radio, and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras, and, in North America, the orchestras of Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Seattle, Montreal, and Toronto, where his trumpet concerto, Songs of the Paradise Saloon, was premiered in December 2009. This season Mr. Tovey appears with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall; in January and February he led the VSO in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, featuring the Toronto Mendelssohn and Vancouver Bach Choirs and an international cast, at the Cultural Olympiad of the Winter Olympic Games. In May 2010 he will return to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as curator, conductor, and piano soloist for the contemporary Metropolis Festival, and to the main subscription season in the fall of 2011. He will make his Sydney Symphony debut in the 2010–11 season.

Mr. Tovey’s recent compositions include Urban Runway, co-commissioned by the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, premiered in the summer of 2008, and The Inventor, a full-length opera for the Calgary Opera to be premiered in January 2011. In 2003 he was honored with a Juno Award for Best Canadian Classical Composition for his Requiem for a Charred Skull. Bramwell Tovey received a 2008 Grammy Award and a 2008 Juno Award for his recording of violin concertos by Barber, Korngold, and Walton with violinist James Ehnes and the VSO. His other numerous honors include fellowships from the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and honorary doctorates of law from the University of Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, and Kwantlen University College. In 1999 he received the M. Joan Chalmers National Award for Artistic Direction, a Canadian prize awarded to artists for outstanding contributions to the performing arts.

Alexander Gavrylyuk began his piano studies at the age of seven and gave his first concerto performance at age nine. He won first prize at the third Horowitz International Piano Competition (in 1999), Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan (2000), and Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition (2005), which also awarded him honors for Best Performance of a Classical Concerto. In 2005 VAI International recorded his live performance at the Miami Piano Discoveries Festival, U.S.A., for an international DVD release; two years later he recorded another DVD with VAI. Mr. Gavrylyuk performs regularly at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Hall, and the Sydney Opera House, and has given a solo recital at the Kremlin. In 2009 he recorded all of Prokofiev’s concertos with the Sydney Symphony. His first two CDs were recorded in Japan and he performs in that country often, including at Suntory Hall and Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. Mr. Gavrylyuk has performed with the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM; Russian National Orchestra; Moscow, Israel, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Netherlands, Seoul, and National Philharmonic of Russia orchestras; Tokyo and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras; Israeli Chamber Orchestra; and other ensembles. He has worked with conductors including Ashkenazy, Blomstedt, Lazarev, Pletnev, Sanderling, Segerstam, Simonov, Spivakov, Talmi, and Tovey. Upcoming engagements include the Moscow Virtuosi; Orchestre de Paris; Royal Concertgebouw, Quebec Symphony, and Hague Philharmonic orchestras; Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana at the Lugano Festival; and returns to the National Philharmonic of Russia, Russian National Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Moscow, Rotterdam, and Netherlands philharmonic orchestras.

"Stunning... There probably hasn’t been a pianist like this on the scene since Vladimir Horowitz." (The Georgia Straight, Vancouver)