Alan Gilbert’s adventurous new season: 2011-12 highlights
Alan Gilbert begins his third season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic on September 21, 2011, when soprano Deborah Voigt joins him for a program of Wagner, R. Strauss and Barber that will be broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS and on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR. The concert launches an adventurous new season for Gilbert that features world and New York premieres, three Mahler symphonies, a residency at London’s Barbican Centre, tours to Europe and California, and a season-ending musical exploration of space at the Park Avenue Armory that features Stockhausen’s theatrical immersion, Gruppen. Additional highlights for Gilbert’s 2011-12 season include fall concerts with the Munich Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Hamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra (where he is Principal Guest Conductor), and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, as well as spring performances of Wagner’s Lohengrin with the Royal Swedish Opera and a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (of which he is Conductor Laureate). In September 2011 Alan Gilbert becomes Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies at The Juilliard School, where he is also the first to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies.
The first world premiere for Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic this season will be John Corigliano’s One Sweet Morning, a 30-minute song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, composed for Stephanie Blythe, the soloist for the concerts (Sep 30, Oct 1 and 4). Co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the work is a perspective on the years following September 11, 2001, featuring meditations on war and peace by Czeslaw Milosz, Homer (from the Iliad), the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Po, and from E. Y. “Yip” Harburg’s poem “One Sweet Morning.” Another New York Philharmonic Commission, Marc Neikrug’s Concerto for Orchestra, will receive its world premiere in the spring (Apr 26 – 28), soon followed by the world premiere of a New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony: Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto 2, performed by pianist Yefim Bronfman, for whom it is written (May 3 – 5). Lindberg will be in his third season as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence of the New York Philharmonic and he will once again oversee CONTACT!, the Philharmonic’s new-music series. Gilbert will conduct the first concert in the series, a program featuring the world premiere of Fibers, Yarn, Wire, a New York Philharmonic Commission from the Brazilian-American composer Alexandre Lunsqui; Frankenstein!! by HK Gruber, who will make his Philharmonic debut in the performance; and Lindberg’s Gran Duo.
The music of former Philharmonic Music Director Gustav Mahler, always in the lifeblood of the orchestra, will be heard throughout the season, beginning with the Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” which is the first subscription program of the season (Sep 22, 24 and 27), as well as the program for the recent Concert for New York, the free, nationally and internationally televised performance on September 10. Gilbert will also conduct Mahler’s valedictory Symphony No. 9 at Avery Fisher Hall (Jan 5, 7 and 10), and the tragic Symphony No. 6 at Carnegie Hall (May 2) as part of the storied venue’s 120th-season celebrations. Favorite symphonic masterpieces by other composers – including Dvorák’s Seventh, Brahms’s Third, Prokofiev’s Fifth and Tchaikovsky’s Fourth – will appear on programs throughout the season in striking juxtapositions with contemporary works.
Soon after the close of the Philharmonic’s subscription season, which ends with Mozart’s glorious Great Mass in C Minor (Jun 20 – 23), Gilbert and the orchestra head across town for two concerts co-produced by the Philharmonic and the Park Avenue Armory (June 29 and 30). The centerpiece of the program, which has been designed to exploit the cathedral-like sonic and massive spatial qualities of the Armory’s 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Hall, is Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gruppen. Described by London’s Guardian as “one of the most remarkable of all 20th-century orchestral works,” Gruppen requires three orchestras and three conductors; Gilbert will be sharing duties with Magnus Lindberg and composer-conductor Matthias Pintscher (making his Philharmonic conducting debut).
Gilbert and the Philharmonic will leave their home base in Manhattan for a major residency in London and a tour of California. In February, Gilbert will lead the orchestra in performances throughout European music capitals. The London stay represents the Philharmonic’s inaugural International Associates residency at the Barbican Centre, part of a long-term agreement between the two institutions. In May, Gilbert leads the Philharmonic on a tour of the West Coast that will include an appearance as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s Centennial Celebration and the Orchestra’s debut at Los Angeles’s Walt Disney Concert Hall.
In addition to his busy career as a conductor, Alan Gilbert remains active as a violinist and violist. This season he will conduct and play the violin with his longtime friend and colleague, violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann – this year’s Philharmonic Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence – in a performance of J.S. Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins (October 5 – 7). Later in the season he will join Zimmermann and musicians from the New York Philharmonic for Brahms’s String Sextet No. 1, part of an all-Brahms program (Jan 22). A matinee concert on June 16 will feature Gilbert as violinist in Schubert’s String Quintet in C, joining violinist Leonidas Kavakos and musicians from the Philharmonic.
Along the way, Gilbert will post items on his “Curiously Random” blog for Musical America and somehow find the time to shop at Fairway and other Upper West Side markets so that he can best enjoy his other greatest passions: cooking, entertaining friends, and spending time with his family.
A complete list of programs for Alan Gilbert’s 2011-12 season follows.
Alan Gilbert: 2011-12 Season
All concerts with New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, NYC unless otherwise noted
Sep 21
New York Philharmonic and Deborah Voigt
Barber: The School for Scandal Overture
Wagner: “Dich teure Halle” from Tannhäuser
Barber: Andromache’s Farewell
Wagner: Overture to Tannhäuser
R. Strauss: Intermezzo, Dance of the Seven Veils, and Final Scene from Salome
Free open rehearsal at 9:45AM
Gala concert begins 7:30PM
Sep 22, 24, 27
New York Philharmonic with Miah Persson, soprano; Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano; and the New York Choral Artists, Joseph Flummerfelt, director
Mahler: Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
Sep 23
Katonah, NY
New York Philharmonic with Augustin Hadelich, violin
Schubert: Overture to Rosamunde
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
Sep 30, Oct 1, 4
New York Philharmonic with Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano
John Corigliano: One Sweet Morning
Dvorák: Symphony No. 7
Oct 1 (Matinee)
New York Philharmonic
Program to include:
Dvorák: Symphony No. 7
Oct 5, 6, 7
New York Philharmonic with Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Bach: Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo in D Minor, BWV 1043 (Double Violin Concerto)
Berg: Violin Concerto (“To the memory of an angel”)
Brahms: Symphony No. 3
Oct 16, 18, 19
Munich, Germany
Münchner Philharmoniker with Joshua Bell, violin
Dvorák: Zlaty kolovrat (“The Golden Spinning Wheel”)
Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Janácek: Sinfonietta (“Military Sinfonietta” or “Sokol Festival”)
Oct 27, 28, 29
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Symphony with Renaud Capuçon, violin
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8
Henri Dutilleux: L’arbre des songes
Haydn: Symphony No. 99
Nov 11, 12, 13
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Orchestra with William Preucil, violin
Severance Hall
Beethoven: Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50
Webern: Im Sommerwind
Bruch: Adagio Appassionata
Schoenberg: Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5
William Preucil, violin
Dec 1, 2, 3
Hamburg, Germany (Laeiszhalle Musikhalle, 12/1, 2)
Kiel, Germany (Schloss, 12/3)
NDR Hamburg Sinfonieorchester with Yefim Bronfman, piano
Schumann: Manfred Overture, Op. 115
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra
Brahms: Piano Concert No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Dec 9
Paris, France
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Barry Douglas, piano
Liszt: Tasso, Lamento, e Trionfo
Liszt: Totentanz, S. 126
Wagner, arr. Gilbert: The Ring Without Words, for Orchestra
Dec 10
Paris, France
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Wagner, arr. Gilbert: The Ring Without Words, for Orchestra
Dec 16, 17
New York, NY
Metropolitan Museum of Art (12/16)
Symphony Space (12/17)
New York Philharmonic with HK Gruber, chansonnier
Alexandre Lunsqui: Fibers, Yarn, Wire
Magnus Lindberg: Gran Duo
HK Gruber: Frankenstein!! A Pan-Demonium for Chansonnier
Dec 28, 29, 30
New York Philharmonic with Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Haydn: Symphony No. 88
Schubert: Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra
orch. Britten: “Die Forelle”
orch. Reger: “Gretchen am Spinnrade”
orch. Webern: “Du bist die Ruh”
orch. Unknown: “An Silvia”
orch. Reger: “Nacht und Träume”
orch. Reger: “Erlkönig”
Ravel: Ma Mere I’Oye
Ravel: La Valse
Dec 31
New York Philharmonic with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Gershwin: Concerto in F
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Jan 4
New York Philharmonic
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Ravel: Ma Mere I’Oye
Ravel: La Valse
Jan 5, 7, 10
New York Philharmonic
Thomas Adès: Polaris (New York Premiere)
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Jan 6
Brookville, NY
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts
New York Philharmonic
Thomas Adès: Polaris
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Jan 18, 19, 20, 21
New York Philharmonic with Lang Lang, piano
Magnus Lindberg: Feria
Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
Jan 22
All-Brahms Recital with Frank Peter Zimmermann
Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin; Enrico Pace, piano; Philip Myers, horn; Sheryl Staples, violin; Cytnhia Phelps, viola; Alan Gilbert, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Eileen Moon, cello
Brahms: Scherzo for Violin and Piano (from FAE Sonata)
Brahms: Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano, Op. 40
Brahms: String Sextet No. 1
Jan 26, 27, 28
New York Philharmonic with Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
Feb 2 – Feb 18
EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour with New York Philharmonic
Dates/programs TBA
Feb 23, 25, 28
New York Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Steven Stucky: Son et Lumière
Berlioz: Les Nuits d’été
Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
Feb 24
Philadelphia, PA
Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
New York Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Steven Stucky: Son et Lumière
Berlioz: Les Nuits d’été
Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
March 2
New York, NY
Avery Fisher Hall
Juilliard Orchestra with soloist TBA
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Rouse: Violin Concerto
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
April 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20
Stockholm, Sweden
Royal Swedish Opera
Wagner: Lohengrin
April 12, 14
Stockholm, Sweden
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor, “Tragic”
April 25
New York Philharmonic with Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Berlioz: Le Corsaire Overture
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
Debussy: La Mer
April 26, 27, 28
New York Philharmonic with Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Berlioz: Le Corsaire Overture
Marc Neikrug: Concerto for Orchestra
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
Debussy: La Mer
May 2
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
New York Philharmonic
Mahler: Symphony No. 6, “Tragic”
May 3, 4, 5
New York Philharmonic with Yefim Bronfman, piano
Dvorák: Carnival Overture
Magnus Lindberg: Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
May 7 – 15
CALIFORNIA / Spring 2012
New York Philharmonic
Dates/programs TBA
May 19 (matinee)
New York Philharmonic with Glenn Dicterow, violin
Schubert: Octet
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1
Dvorák: Carnival Overture
May 19, 22, 26
New York Philharmonic with Glenn Dicterow, violin
Dvorák: Carnival Overture
Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
May 23
New York Philharmonic with Evgeny Kissin, piano
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Other works TBD
May 28
New York, NY
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
New York Philharmonic
Memorial Day Concert
Program TBA
June 14, 15, 16
New York Philharmonic with Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Joshua Hopkins, baritone
Beethoven: Coriolan Overture
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia espansiva”
June 16 (matinee)
New York Philharmonic with Alan Gilbert, conductor and violin; Leonidas Kavakos, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola; Carter Brey, cello; Maria Kitsopoulos, cello; Joshua Hopkins, baritone
Schubert: String Quintet in C Major
Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, “Sinfonia espansiva”
June 20, 21, 22, 23
New York Philharmonic with Emanuel Ax, piano; Jennifer Zetlan, soprano; Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano; Paul Appleby, tenor; Joshua Hopkins, baritone; New York Choral Artists, Joseph Flummerfelt, director
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22
Mozart: Mass in C minor, “Great”
June 29, 30
New York, NY
The Park Avenue Armory
New York Philharmonic
Pierre Boulez: Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna
Mozart: Act I Finale from Don Giovanni
Stockhausen: Gruppen for Three Orchestras
Ives: The Unanswered Question
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