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New York Philharmonic Presents: The Philip Smith Collection

NY Philharmonic Philip Smith Collection

We all miss Philip Smith, the longtime New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet who retired in June, but soon you can reconnect with him, in concert and on a recording!

We are happy to announce a new collection of recordings, to be released March 24, 2015, celebrating his 36 seasons as a beloved member and leader of the trumpet section. In addition, Phil is returning to join his New York Philharmonic Brass and Percussion colleagues for the annual Holiday Brass concert on December 14, a tradition that he helped introduce in 1995. Phil will host and conduct the program, which will include works by Bach and Gabrieli, Christmas carols and songs, and Chanukah music.

Everyone buying a ticket to Holiday Brass will receive a free copy of the CD in the mail when the CD is released, in March. (One CD per order.) Click here to buy your ticket(s) and get your free CD.

Click here to email us and we'll notify/remind you when the recording is available.

The recording includes selections from Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 3, 5, and 9 and the Blumine; Musorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; Ives's The Unanswered Question; Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man; Gershwin's An American in Paris; Respighi's Pines of Rome; Handel's The Trumpet Shall Sound; Lew Pollack's jazz standard "That’s a Plenty"; Stravinsky's Petrushka and Song of the Nightingale; and Bach's B minor Mass.

Additional concerto recordings, including Tomasi's Trumpet Concerto, Bach's Cantata No. 51, Arutunian's Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra, and Tamberg's Trumpet Concerto No. 1, will be available online only.

VIDEOS: Phil Smith Memory Lane

Retiring Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith is world-renowned not only for his lyrical, soaring sound, but also for his kind collegiality, masterful teaching, and inspiring influence — as both a musician and role model for living a good life. His colleagues around the country sent us video postcards of their favorite Phil memories.

Make your own Phil Smith memories this Saturday at the celebratory concert honoring Phil Smith July 5 at 2:00 p.m. (Student Rush available.) Be prepared for some surprises.

Jazz trumpeter Vincent DiMartino shares his favorite memory of Phil Smith — calm, cool, collected, and the ultimate colleague.


Hunter Eberly, Detroit Symphony Orchestra Principal Trumpet, shares his favorite Phil Smith memories — from his well-loved copies of Phil Smith's orchestral excerpts CD, to his two-and-a-half-hour drive to see Phil teach a masterclass.


Trumpeter/composer/arranger Brandon Ridenour, formerly of Canadian Brass, finally gets a chance to ask Phil Smith, his favorite orchestral trumpeter, a question he's been meaning to ask for years. In the meantime he shares a (probably) heartwarming story and reflects on what makes Phil great.


A Phil Smith Scrapbook

Philip Smith NY Philharmonic 

Join us in honoring Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, who is leaving after 36 years in the Orchestra. Enjoy some videos and photos, and don't miss our celebratory concert this Saturday, July 5, at 2:00 p.m. (Student Rush available.) Be prepared for some surprises.

For more archival photos and history, check out the exhibit on Phil Smith in the Bruno Walter Gallery on Avery Fisher Hall's Grand Promenade.

Following the first of two of the Orchestra's concerts at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, on February 13, 2012, the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet favors the audience with an extra encore: Lew Pollack's "That's a Plenty."



New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith takes a moment before the October 26 concert in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to reveal his pre-concert ritual.

On the Orchestra's day off in Berlin, May 20, 2011, Philharmonic Principal trumpet Philip Smith and Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi finally find an unusual place to practice, and end up in a friendly competition.

On February 5, 2012, when the EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour brings them to Luxembourg, New York Philharmonic Principal Trumpet Philip Smith and Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi stay in adjoining rooms, with musical consequences.

In Vienna, Austria, during the New York Philharmonic's EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour, Principal Trumpet Philip Smith offers his beleaguered colleague, Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi, a solution to the never-ending question of where and how brass players can practice on the road. Hint: it involves pillows. Lots of pillows.

 

Phil Smith NY Philharmonic

October 8, 2009, 8:40PM: Alan Gilbert conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, as seen from the brass section of the Orchestra. Of his performance of the work in New York last spring, The New York Times wrote: “It was a thrill to hear the work performed with such precision and daring by the Philharmonic under Mr. Gilbert. The tremendous ovation bodes well for his coming tenure as the orchestra’s music director.”

Photo Credit: Chris Lee


Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Ensemble

Photo Credit: Chris Lee

Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Phil Smith performs the haunting trumpet solo in Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Phil 360 at Park Avenue Armory in 2012.


Photo Credit: Chris Lee


Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Phil Smith and Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow are pictured here with former Music Director Zubin Mehta, from January 1990

Photo Credit: The New York Philharmonic Archives

 

Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Glenn Dicterow, violin; Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Philip Smith, trumpet; Music Director Zubin Mehta; and Lorne Munroe, cello

Photo Credit: The New York Philharmonic Archives


Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Phil warms up while on tour in the 1980s.

Photo Credit: The New York Philharmonic Archives

Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Phil Smith gives a master class in Denver on a 1979 U.S. Tour.

Photo Credit: The New York Philharmonic Archives

Phil Smith NY Philharmonic 

Thursday, January 21, 2010, 9:25AM: There’s music in the air as members of the trumpet section warm up before the first rehearsal at Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana. From left are Principal Trumpet Philip Smith and trumpeters Ethan Bensdorf and Thomas V. Smith.

Photo Credit: Chris Lee

VIDEO: Brass Bash in Zurich, 5/5/2013

It’s standing room only in Zurich’s Main Station for a free performance by the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet, including “New York, New York.” Philharmonic Executive Director Matthew VanBesien introduces the event by thanking Credit Suisse, the Orchestra’s Global Sponsor, for its support and creativity.