This season, Alan Gilbert will become the 25th music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra since its inception in 1842. Gilbert expressed his desire to take the Philharmonic to new levels this season.
Mr. Gilbert’s gala opening night concert on Wednesday September 16 will introduce audiences to the new music director’s way of thinking. According to the press release it comprises the world premiere of a New York Philharmonic Commission by Composer-in-House Magnus Lindberg. The evening concert will be broadcast nationwide on PBS.
Gilbert is the first native New Yorker to become music director and will appear 12 times a year with the orchestra. Gilbert will also conduct other concerts within the tri-state area, play chamber music with orchestra musicians, conduct and guide educational concerts and projects, and lead the orchestra on national and international tours.
The Orchestra is scheduled for a premier performance in Viet Nam at the Hanoi Opera House in October 2009. Another debut performance will take place later in the year in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during a tour that will span Asia.
New initiatives will be seen this year that include a Composer-in-Residence, an Artist-in-Residence, an annual three-week Philharmonic festival, and CONTACT, which is an all new-music series.
Lindberg will be the Composer-in-Residence for the next two years, he will write music, play with the orchestra, give pre-concert talks, and take part in educational programs. Lindberg’s first season will feature the world premieres of two of his new works and the U.S. premier of his Clarinet Concerto, written for and performed by Finnish clarinetist Kari Kriikku.
Thomas Hampson, a baritone, is the first Artist-in-Residence for the Philharmonic, which is a once a year appointment. Hampson will participate as a soloist in three concert programs during the upcoming season.
