Spring Gala: Disney’s “Fantasia” in Concert

Posted April 21, 2022

The New York Philharmonic celebrated its 2022 Spring Gala in style, bringing the magic of the movies to life in a festive evening chaired by Alexander and Kristen Klabin, James and Margo Nederlander, and Mary Wallach. Academy Award–nominated composer David Newman led the Orchestra in selections from Disney’s Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 — including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 6, Pastoral, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite, Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, and, of course, Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — while Disney’s groundbreaking animation was projected on a giant screen for audience members of all ages to enjoy. Part of the NY Phil’s The Art of the Score, the performance was preceded by a cocktail reception and followed by dinner.

Newman remarked from the podium on how the original Fantasia had the power to uplift and inspire when the country was emerging from the Great Depression, as it does now as we emerge from two years of the pandemic.

Opening the Gate

Posted April 04, 2022

The panelists participating in 'Opening the Gate,' part of 'The Unanswered Questions'

Throughout our history, and to this day, artists from marginalized groups — including the Black community and women — have faced barriers to entry erected around historically white institutions and arts organizations. On Friday, April 8, 2022, at 1:45 p.m. ET, The Unanswered Questions: Opening the Gate examines this issue, as well as the various means by which artists have challenged the status quo and successfully broken down these barriers, while making new spaces for creative expression. The conversation was inspired in part by the backlash within the classical music establishment to the Grammy nominations of Black artists Curtis Stewart and Jon Batiste, whose works were considered by some to be not truly classical.

The fifth installment of The Unanswered Questions — the new series presented by the NY Phil and John Jay College of Criminal Justice delving into complex societal topics raised by the Orchestra’s programming — will feature a panel comprising Stewart, the Grammy-nominated violinist who previously participated in NY Phil Bandwagon; Anna Glass, executive director of Dance Theatre of Harlem; and Edward Yim, chief content officer and senior vice president at WQXR. Ethnomusicologist Dr. Fredara Hadley, a professor at The Juilliard School and a previous Unanswered Questions panelist, will moderate the discussion.

The full discussion will be streamed live on the Philharmonic’s Facebook page. Previous installments of The Unanswered Questions series are available to view on YouTube; Opening the Gate will be added at a later date.

Oklahoma!

Posted March 22, 2022

The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University during the NY Phil's 2019 visit; photo by Chris Lee

The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University and the New York Philharmonic announced today a three-year residency partnership. The collaboration provides valuable educational opportunities for Oklahoma State University (OSU) Greenwood School of Music and Stillwater Public Schools students. Each year the residency will include a gala event and public performances conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden, plus a youth education concert and a multitude of masterclasses in which students can interact with some of the world’s greatest musicians. As part of the program, select OSU music students will travel to New York City every year for immersive learning opportunities with the Philharmonic.

The NY Phil looks forward to returning to Stillwater to build on the friendship that began when the Orchestra inaugurated the McKnight Center in 2019.

Dawn of a New Era

Posted March 22, 2022

“It’s finally happening — we are returning to our ‘new’ concert hall in October 2022. Thank you for your patience and support, and now, the musicians of the New York Philharmonic and I can’t wait to welcome you home,” said Music Director Jaap van Zweden about the New York Philharmonic’s 2022–23 season, announced today.

After two years of pandemic-related disruptions, and following an accelerated renovation of David Geffen Hall, the NY Phil makes its triumphant return home this fall. Van Zweden and the Orchestra kick off this new era with a diverse slate of concerts — featuring everything from groundbreaking new works to familiar favorites that activate the hall’s new spaces — and with a renewed commitment to providing greater access and fostering deeper connections with the community.

Here’s a peek at what’s in store:

Lincoln Center and the NY Phil co-present HOME, an inaugural festival that, throughout October, features a combination of free events and concerts and multimedia performances conducted by the Music Director celebrating the capabilities of the new hall. Repertoire highlights include premieres of Marcos Balter’s Oyá, which features lighting and electronics to celebrate the new hall’s capabilities; Caroline Shaw’s Project 19 commission, with Roomful of Teeth; and Etienne Charles’s San Juan Hill, commissioned by Lincoln Center. The festivities culminate with Open House Weekend, including Family Day and Sonic Arcade.

Over the course of the season the NY Phil delves into the critical questions that have become more urgent over recent years. LIBERATION presents themes of social justice and equity in semi-staged performances featuring works by Courtney Bryan & Tazewell Thompson, Adolphus Hailstork, and William Grant Still. Jaap van Zweden takes the podium for two additional artistic explorations: SPIRIT, a musical expression of the exploration of the human spirit through epic works by Messiaen and J.S. Bach, and EARTH, which focuses on humanity’s impact upon the planet and the climate crisis through premieres by Julia Wolfe and John Luther Adams.

The Philharmonic introduces several new series: The 65th Street Session, a four-concert series curated by composer, singer, and mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile; Artist Spotlight, which presents artists ranging from Eric Owens and Joshua Bell to Sterling Elliott and Harlem Chamber Players; and, in the new Sidewalk Studio, NY Phil @ Noon, with Philharmonic musicians, and the relocated Kravis Nightcap series of informal post-concert events.

There’s more than a dozen World, US, and New York Premieres by composers ranging from Wang Lu to Chick Corea.

Increased accessibility for New Yorkers is a priority, leading to initiatives including the 50-foot-long Digital Wall in the David Geffen Hall lobby, which will stream concerts free in real-time, flexible pricing for NY Phil @ Noon, and more.

“The journey has been long, and as we move into the new David Geffen Hall, the dawn of a new era for the New York Philharmonic has arrived,” said Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s Linda and Mitch Hart President and CEO. “It is time to begin anew.”

We can’t wait to see you next season!

NY Phil’s New Look

Posted March 21, 2022

NY Phil x OGILVY

New York City is always changing and reinventing itself. So is the NY Phil.

We are turning the new David Geffen Hall into a home. Our ambition is to create a renewed relationship between the city and its Orchestra, kicking off a new chapter in our history.

Our new home will allow people to see, hear, and experience the NY Phil from every angle. By inviting people to surround the Orchestra, we will give them a more immediate connection to our music.

Ogilvy was invited to define a new identity for the NY Phil with New York at its heart. At 65th and Broadway, the NY Phil is located on the main plaza of Lincoln Center, a singular square inside the grid that is New York City. This city and the audience’s experience of embracing the Orchestra in the new hall are the inspirations behind our new visual identity.

This video is available with audio description here.

America’s Touring Orchestra Is Back!

Posted March 10, 2022

The Peenemünde Power Plant, where the New York Philharmonic will perform at the Usedom Music Festival

For almost three years the New York Philharmonic — a veteran of orchestral tours, having performed in 435 cities in 63 countries around the world — has been homebound, unable to travel overseas. Finally, the Orchestra is preparing to take to the skies again, and for a debut, no less, bringing the city count up to 436!

The New York Philharmonic will make its debut at the Usedom Music Festival, on an island in the Baltic Sea, in a residency presided over by Music Director Jaap van Zweden from May 20 to 24, 2022.

Jaap van Zweden conducts three orchestral performances, with repertoire that ranges from cornerstones by Beethoven and Bartók to European debuts by Joan Tower and Nina Shekhar. The soloists joining them are pianist Jan Lisiecki, for Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, May 20; Anne-Sophie Mutter, in the Violin Concerto her late husband, André Previn, composed for her, May 21; and baritone (and the inaugural Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence) Thomas Hampson, singing selections from Mahler’s Des knaben Wunderhorn, May 22. There will also be one open rehearsal, on May 21.

The residency features a two-pronged collaboration between the New Yorkers and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic: a side-by side performance of Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony on the May 20 concert, on which the NY Phil will be joined by members of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, and two chamber music concerts, May 23 and 24, in which players from both orchestras will perform works by Barber, Brahms, and Mozart.

The New York Philharmonic, representing our city, our country, to new audiences. It’s about time!

Learn more.

Reclaiming Our Joy

Posted March 08, 2022

Reclaiming Our Joy: Celebrating Our Right to Happiness, upcoming in The Unanswered Questions series

For artists, the notions of joy and justice have long been drivers of creative expression. But to what extent are the expression of joy and the pursuit of justice connected? On Friday, March 18, 2022, at 1:45 p.m. ET, Reclaiming Our Joy: Celebrating Our Right to Happiness explores this question and more. The conversation — part of the Philharmonic’s Authentic Selves: The Beauty Within, a festival examining issues of identity — will be streamed live on the Philharmonic’s Facebook page.

The event — the fourth installment of The Unanswered Questions, a new series presented by the NY Phil and John Jay College of Criminal Justice exploring complex societal topics raised by the Orchestra’s programming — features a panel comprising countertenor and the Philharmonic’s 2021–22 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Anthony Roth Costanzo; composer Joel Thompson; trans-genre artist Justin Vivian Bond; and housing policy advocate / interdisciplinary artist Rasheedah Phillips. Educator and activist Toya Lillard moderates the discussion.

Previously, on January 27–29, Costanzo and Bond explored their joy and issues of queer identity with Only an Octave Apart — featuring classical / pop mashups from Henry Purcell and Dido to Philip Glass and the Bangles — a production The New York Times called “sublime.” These performances were a part of the first week of orchestral concerts in the Authentic Selves festival, conducted by Jaap van Zweden and also featuring the world premiere of Thompson and Tracy K. Smith’s The Places We Leave.

The first three events in The Unanswered Questions are already available on demand on YouTube; Reclaiming Our Joy will be added at a later date.

Dedication to the People of Ukraine

Posted February 28, 2022

The New York Philharmonic stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and dedicates this week’s concerts to the strength, courage, and resilience of those resisting Russia’s invasion of that sovereign nation.

This week’s program pays tribute to the fortitude of the human spirit in the face of the fiercest adversity. Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, The Inextinguishable, was composed during World War I and extols, in the composer’s words, “the elemental will to live.” And under the weight of manifold crises, Beethoven proclaimed, “I will seize Fate by the throat; it shall certainly not crush me completely.” His Fifth Symphony has become emblematic of human struggle.

That such enduring music was created in times of fear and conflict reminds us of eternal truths: that music has the power to unite; that the will for freedom and self-determination is indomitable. The New York Philharmonic joins our voice with those heard in crowds gathered across the world to support the Ukrainians in their defiance of such stark, violent aggression, and hopes for the time when their sacrifices will be rewarded with enduring independence and peace.

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