NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 2017–18 SEASON

Music Director Designate JAAP VAN ZWEDEN TO OPEN 176th SEASON 
OPENING WEEK: MAHLER’s Fifth Symphony and 
N.Y. Premiere of PHILIP GLASS’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra with Katia and Marielle Labèque 

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN Also To Conduct
Act I of WAGNER’s Die Walküre with N.Y. Premiere of JOHN LUTHER ADAMS’s Dark Waves
STRAVINSKY’s The Rite of Spring 
ASIA / WINTER 2018 Tour and Residency with University Musical Society of the University of Michigan

BERNSTEIN’S PHILHARMONIC: A CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL
Featuring His COMPLETE SYMPHONIES 
Conducted by ALAN GILBERT and LEONARD SLATKIN;
Young People’s Concert; Plus New Year’s Eve: Bernstein on Broadway

Pianist LEIF OVE ANDSNES: The Mary and James G. Wallach ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN: Final Season as The Marie-Josée Kravis COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL: Third Citywide Exploration of Today’s Music, May–June 2018
CONTACT!, the New-Music Series, Returns to NATIONAL SAWDUST
WORLD PREMIERE–NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC COMMISSIONS by
Kravis Emerging Composer ANNA THORVALDSDOTTIR and BENT SØRENSEN

World Premiere of STAR WARS — FILM CONCERT SERIES To Feature Iconic Scores Performed Live to Film
John Williams’s Complete Scores Conducted by David Newman

THE ART OF THE SCORE: N.Y. Premiere of AMADEUS — LIVE
Alec Baldwin To Serve as Artistic Advisor

New York Philharmonic’s 175th Birthday Led by ALAN GILBERT with Philharmonic Musicians as Soloists

Returns by SUSANNA MÄLKKI, GIANANDREA NOSEDA, STÉPHANE DENÈVE,
MANFRED HONECK, ANTONIO PAPPANO, CHARLES DUTOIT, SEMYON BYCHKOV, and More 
EDWARD GARDNER To Make Debut

Soloists To Include AUDRA MCDONALD in Spring Gala, YUJA WANG, and EMANUEL AX
BERTRAND CHAMAYOU and ROOMFUL OF TEETH in Debuts 
Ackman Prize Recipient BENJAMIN GROSVENOR in Subscription Debut

The New York Philharmonic welcomes Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden in 2017–18, a season that celebrates the Philharmonic’s greatest strengths and essential commitments while looking to the future as an innovative, global ensemble, spotlighting its musicians and partners, dedication to new music, wide-ranging repertoire, education programs, and accessibility.

Offering a glimpse of his upcoming tenure as Music Director, Jaap van Zweden will conduct three weeks of diverse programs, featuring works by both canonic and contemporary composers with whom he has a history: Mahler, Philip Glass, John Luther Adams, Wagner, Stravinsky, and Brahms. He also begins appearing with the Orchestra outside New York, during its second residency with the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan and on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour. A new recording agreement with Universal Music Group’s U.S. Classical Division and the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden will bring performances to a broader audience throughout his tenure.

While anticipating its new era with Jaap van Zweden, the Philharmonic also honors the partnerships, artists, and programs that have created the legacy of excellence and innovation for which it is known. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes appears as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence and Esa-Pekka Salonen serves in his third and final season as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence. In his first appearances after concluding his tenure as Music Director, Alan Gilbert conducts concerts honoring the Philharmonic’s family and history. These include two programs in Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival and a program celebrating the New York Philharmonic’s 175th birthday, spotlighting the unique contributions of the Orchestra’s own musicians through solo appearances by Philharmonic Principals.

The Philharmonic bolsters its enduring commitment to new music with the return of the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, the citywide exploration of today’s music, and CONTACT!, the new-music series, and by commissioning and premiering new works. The Orchestra will maintain its tradition of performing wide-ranging repertoire, from movie scores performed live to film (Star Wars — Film Concert Series and Amadeus — Live) to Philharmonic premieres past and present, as well as classical masterworks including Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.

The Philharmonic continues to reach out to more people through free and low-cost access to performances. These include both longstanding traditions — such as the annual free Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer — and newer initiatives, including Philharmonic Free Fridays for young people. The 2017–18 season also furthers the Philharmonic’s role as a global ambassador through its relationships with educational institutions. Under the New York Philharmonic Global Academy, the Philharmonic enters the fourth year of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership and continues its partnership with the Music Academy of the West. Maintaining its century-old tradition of touring, the Orchestra will embark on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour, led by Jaap van Zweden.

“I am so looking forward to returning to the New York Philharmonic as Music Director Designate next season, which will be just the beginning of our exciting partnership,” said Jaap van Zweden. “I cannot wait to develop a very personal relationship with the Philharmonic musicians and audiences. I have chosen repertoire that represents a range of my interests — but there is so much more to come!”

“The 2017–18 season will mark a truly exciting moment at the New York Philharmonic,” said President Matthew VanBesien. “The Orchestra will welcome Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden — who will conduct a variety of repertoire both in New York and around the world, offering a taste of the Philharmonic’s next era of inspired programs and music-making — and celebrate its 175th birthday with a program that spotlights the Philharmonic’s remarkable musicians and storied legacy. And the institution will reaffirm its core commitments: to serving the community by increasing access to the Philharmonic, and to presenting brilliant performances of the greatest works, ranging from pillars of the repertoire to music by today’s most interesting composers.”

“I am thrilled by the plans for the 2017–18 season, which opens the next chapter of the New York Philharmonic’s story,” said Chairman Oscar S. Schafer. “The astounding talent of the New York Philharmonic musicians, who can play absolutely anything with passion as well as perfection, inspires us as we continue to build on our solid foundation for an even more vibrant future, which begins with the new era under Jaap van Zweden.”

2017–18 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• In the 2017–18 season the New York Philharmonic welcomes Jaap van Zweden as Music Director Designate before he becomes Music Director in the 2018–19 season. van Zweden will lead three weeks of diverse programs in New York City, and appear with the Orchestra abroad on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour and during its University Musical Society residency at the University of Michigan.

• Jaap van Zweden will open the Philharmonic’s 2017–18 season, leading the Opening Gala Concert, September 19, 2017, and opening subscription program, September 22–23, 2017. Both programs include Mahler’s Symphony No. 5; the opening subscription program also features the New York Premiere of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, with Katia and Marielle Labèque as soloists.

• Jaap van Zweden will also conduct the New York Premiere of John Luther Adams’s Dark Waves alongside Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre; Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring; and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Yuja Wang as soloist.

• Jaap van Zweden leads the Orchestra in Ann Arbor as part of the Philharmonic’s second residency with the University Musical Society; he also makes his first international appearances with the Orchestra on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour, which includes performances in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

• The New York Philharmonic honors Leonard Bernstein, former Philharmonic Music Director and Laureate Conductor, with Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival, October 25–November 14, 2017. Part of the worldwide celebrations of Bernstein’s centennial, the festival celebrates Bernstein’s enduring legacy as a composer, conductor, and educator through performances of his music, including his complete symphonies, and music by composers he admired and championed, as well as a Young People’s Concert.

• Alan Gilbert will lead Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium), with violinist Joshua Bell; Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah, with mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor; Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs, with Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill; and Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, with jazz pianist Makoto Ozone in his Philharmonic subscription debut, on a program that also features Mr. Ozone in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

• Leonard Slatkin conducts Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, paired with Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, with Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps and Principal Cello Carter Brey.

• The festival also includes the Young People’s Concert Inspirations and Tributes: “Celebrating Leonard Bernstein,” conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

• The Philharmonic’s celebrations of Bernstein’s centennial will continue after the festival with programs representing the music he composed for the Broadway stage: the New Year’s Eve concert, Bernstein on Broadway, featuring Members of the New York Philharmonic led by Bramwell Tovey, and Assistant Conductor Joshua Gersen conducting Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story in his Philharmonic subscription debut.

• Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes — “a pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight” (The New York Times) — has been named The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in Residence for the 2017–18 season. He will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Britten’s Piano Concerto, Debussy’s Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, and a recital.

• Esa-Pekka Salonen will begin his third and final season as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence. The Orchestra will perform the New York Concert Premiere of Mr. Salonen’s Helix; Mr. Salonen will curate a project for the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL; and he will conduct the World Premiere of a new work by Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Benjamin Grosvenor as soloist (inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic).

• The New York Philharmonic will present the third NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a wide-ranging exploration of today’s music by an array of contemporary and modern composers in venues throughout New York City. Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen will curate a project for the biennial. Complete details of the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL will be announced at a later date.

• CONTACT!, the Philharmonic’s new-music series, will return to National Sawdust with Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen advising. In its ninth season, the series will continue to highlight the works of both emerging and established contemporary composers, performed by smaller ensembles of Philharmonic musicians in intimate venues outside the Lincoln Center campus. Complete details of the 2017–18 season of CONTACT! will be announced at a later date. 

• The Orchestra will perform two World Premieres commissioned by the New York Philharmonic — both made possible with the support of the Kravis Prize for New Music — by Philharmonic Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Bent Sørensen. 

• The New York Philharmonic will present the World Premiere of the Star Wars — Film Concert Series, September 15–October 7, 2017, featuring screenings of the complete films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens with Oscar-winning composer John Williams’s musical scores performed live to the films. The concerts will be led by acclaimed conductor David Newman. 

• The fifth annual THE ART OF THE SCORE, with Artistic Advisor Alec Baldwin, will continue in April 2018 with the New York Premiere screening of Amadeus — Live, with the score performed live to the film, conducted by Richard Kaufman in his Philharmonic debut. 

• Alan Gilbert will return to lead the Orchestra in a subscription week that celebrates the New York Philharmonic on its 175th birthday. The program combines an homage to the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural concert — with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Weber’s Oberon Overture — with a salute to the musicians who comprise the Orchestra itself — with Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for Winds performed by Principal Oboe Liang Wang, Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, and Principal Horn Philip Myers. 

MUSIC DIRECTOR DESIGNATE JAAP VAN ZWEDEN

In the 2017–18 season the New York Philharmonic welcomes Jaap van Zweden as Music Director Designate; he will become Music Director in the 2018–19 season. The Philharmonic announced that Mr. van Zweden — Musical America’s 2012 Conductor of the Year — would become the Orchestra’s next Music Director in January 2016. Following the announcement, The New York Times praised Mr. van Zweden as a “formidable technician” who delivers “compelling performances” and “exudes energy.”

As Music Director Designate, Jaap van Zweden will lead three weeks of programs in New York City that demonstrate a diverse repertoire, ranging from new music and pillars of the classical repertoire to American works. He will also appear with the Orchestra abroad, leading performances on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour and during the Orchestra’s residency with the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan. A new recording agreement with Universal Music Group’s U.S. Classical Division and the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden, launching in the 2017–18 season, will bring performances to a broader audience throughout his tenure.

Jaap van Zweden has been music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, a position he will hold through 2017–18, after which he will become conductor laureate. He will continue to serve as music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, a post he has held since 2012.

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN TO OPEN 176TH SEASON

As Music Director Designate, Jaap van Zweden will open the New York Philharmonic’s 176th season, leading both the Opening Gala Concert and opening subscription program.

The 2017–18 season begins on September 19, 2017, with the Opening Gala Concert, featuring Jaap van Zweden conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. The music of Mahler, who served as Music Director of the Philharmonic from 1909 until his death in 1911, has figured prominently in Mr. van Zweden’s conducting career, including a 2008 recording of the Fifth Symphony with the London Philharmonic. Mahler’s First Symphony is the first work Mr. van Zweden ever conducted, when Leonard Bernstein asked Mr. van Zweden, then concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, to conduct part of a rehearsal. Mahler’s First Symphony was also among the works he conducted in his New York Philharmonic debut in April 2012, which The New York Times called “a dynamic, all-out performance. … He drew blazing playing from the orchestra.” In May 2020 Mr. van Zweden will lead the Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 at the opening concert of the Mahler Festival in Amsterdam, presented by The Royal Concertgebouw; that performance will be part of the Orchestra’s first Europe tour with Mr. van Zweden, and the Orchestra’s first performance in the 100-year history of the Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival.

Jaap van Zweden will conduct the opening subscription program of the Philharmonic’s 2017–18 season, September 22–23, 2017, featuring the New York Premiere of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, with Katia and Marielle Labèque as soloists, in addition to Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Philip Glass — who will be celebrating his 80th birthday season — wrote this concerto for the Labèque sisters, and the duo gave the World Premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in May 2015. Jaap van Zweden led the Labèques and the Orchestre de Paris in the work’s French Premiere in March 2016 at the Philharmonie de Paris. Katia and Marielle Labèque made their Philharmonic debuts in October 1986 performing Berio’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra — a work the Philharmonic had commissioned and premiered in March 1973 — conducted by the composer.

Jaap van Zweden said: “The DNA of Mahler is so deep in the New York Philharmonic that performing his music with this Orchestra is — not only for me, but for every conductor — an incredible responsibility. There are many things I remember from Bernstein, who really understood Mahler as a composer and man, that are still in the back of my heart and head, and continue to influence how I look at this music.”

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN — ADDITIONAL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

On February 14–15 and 17, 2018, Jaap van Zweden leads the Orchestra in a program pairing the New York Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams’s Dark Waves with Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre (in concert), the second of the four operas that make up the Ring cycle, with soprano Heidi Melton as Sieglinde, tenor Simon O’Neill as Siegmund (in his New York Philharmonic debut), and bass John Relyea as Hunding.

Jaap van Zweden led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Dark Waves in October 2010. In this program with the New York Philharmonic, he connects the theme of primordial nature in Dark Waves with the struggle between life and death in Wagner’s Die Walküre. John Luther Adams writes: “As I composed Dark Waves, I pondered the ominous events of our times: terrorism and war, intensifying storms and wildfires, the melting of the polar ice and the rising of the seas. Yet, even in the presence of our deepening fears, we find ourselves immersed in the mysterious beauty of this world. Amid the turbulent waves, we may still find the light, the wisdom, and the courage we need to pass through this darkness of our own making.”

Jaap van Zweden said: “I am happy that introducing new pieces — to the Orchestra, the audience, and the world — is so core to the New York Philharmonic and what it offers. This Orchestra has a long history of presenting new work, and I am excited to build on this tradition.”

In 2015 Mr. van Zweden and the Hong Kong Philharmonic embarked on a four-year project to present and record the first-ever concert performances in Hong Kong of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen; recordings of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were released in November 2015 and November 2016, respectively. The Guardian praised Mr. van Zweden’s interpretation of Das Rheingold for evoking “orchestral textures [that] have a spaciousness and transparency, and an unforced sense of architectural shaping and dramatic flow.” Gramophone called the recording of Die Walküre “an impressive … achievement.” In Mr. van Zweden’s most recent Philharmonic appearance, in November 2016, he led the Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin, which The New York Times called “a radiant account.”

On February 28 and March 1–3, 2018, Jaap van Zweden leads the Orchestra in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Yuja Wang as soloist. Mr. van Zweden recorded The Rite of Spring with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010. The Guardian wrote of Mr. van Zweden in that recording: “What is one of Stravinsky’s greatest neoclassical scores suits him perfectly.” Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year, Yuja Wang was the soloist in Jaap van Zweden’s acclaimed New York Philharmonic debut in April 2012.

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN TO CONDUCT ASIA / WINTER 2018 TOUR AND 
RESIDENCY WITH UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Jaap van Zweden makes his first international appearances with the New York Philharmonic when he leads the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour, March 8–18, 2018. The tour features eight performances in five cities in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Mr. van Zweden leads the New York Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 during its second residency with the University Musical Society (UMS) in Ann Arbor, November 17–19, 2017. The Orchestra’s five-year residency partnership with UMS, in conjunction with the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, began in 2015 and features the Philharmonic in performances and educational activities in Ann Arbor in 2017 and 2019.

BERNSTEIN’S PHILHARMONIC: A CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL

The New York Philharmonic will present Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival, October 25–November 14, 2017, celebrating the former Philharmonic Music Director and Laureate Conductor on the centennial of his birth (August 25, 1918). The festival — which is part of the worldwide salute to the legacy of the renowned composer, conductor, pianist, and educator — will center on Bernstein’s symphonic cycle, conducted by Alan Gilbert and Leonard Slatkin, and will also include other Bernstein works, music by composers he admired and championed, and a Young People’s Concert. Bernstein served as the Philharmonic’s Music Director from 1958 to 1969, when he was named Laureate Conductor, a title he held until his death in 1990.

In his first appearance after concluding his tenure as Music Director, Alan Gilbert will open Bernstein’s Philharmonic on October 25–28 and 31, 2017, with Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium), with violinist Joshua Bell, and Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah, with mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor. Bernstein conducted the Philharmonic’s first performance of his Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium) in July 1965, with Zino Francescatti as soloist. He led the Philharmonic in the New York Premiere of his Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah, in March 1944, with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel as soloist, a few months after his Philharmonic debut, when he stepped in as Assistant Conductor to replace an ailing Bruno Walter. He wrote that the subject of his Jeremiah Symphony, dedicated to his father, is “not one of literalness, but of emotional quality.”

On November 2–4, 2017, Alan Gilbert leads Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs, with Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill as soloist, as well as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, both featuring jazz pianist Makoto Ozone in his Philharmonic subscription debut. Bernstein greatly admired Gershwin’s success as both a composer and performer, and his incorporation of blues and jazz in his music. The riffs in Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs are what give the classical work its feeling of improvisation. Bernstein said that he hoped audiences would “feel in [this piece] some of the special beauty of jazz that I felt when I was writing the piece,” and that he considers the work “a serious piece of American music.”

The Philharmonic first performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in July 1927, with Gershwin as soloist, at Lewisohn Stadium. Gershwin performed it with the Orchestra seven more times, and Bernstein, a champion of the work, performed it with the Orchestra 37 times, leading from the piano. Makoto Ozone made his Philharmonic debut performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on the ASIA / WINTER 2014 tour; his performances were so celebrated that the Philharmonic created a one-night-only concert for Mr. Ozone in New York after the tour, featuring works by Gershwin and Bernstein. The New York Times called Mr. Ozone’s performance “thrilling, virtuosic and unabashedly personal.”

Bernstein led the Philharmonic in the New York Premiere of his Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, in February 1950, with pianist Lukas Foss as soloist. The work was inspired by W.H. Auden’s 80-page, 1947 poem, The Age of Anxiety. Bernstein wrote that the poem “began immediately to affect me lyrically,” and that the idea for the symphony emerged “from the extremely personal identification of myself with the poem.”

Alan Gilbert participated in the Philharmonic’s 2008–09 season celebration of the composer-conductor’s 90th birthday year by leading an all-Bernstein concert at Carnegie Hall.

Alan Gilbert said: “It is impossible to overstate the important role that Leonard Bernstein played in American cultural life and at the New York Philharmonic. He was and remains a larger-than-life cultural personality, and his love for music and for people was boundless. I was fortunate to have been able to work with him and have meaningful interactions with him as my teacher at Tanglewood and Harvard. And I was also lucky to have witnessed his last chapter at the Philharmonic, when he would return to guest conduct. There were so many unforgettable concerts. Something of his spirit still remains in this Orchestra. I think that the New York Philharmonic has a natural sense of his music — they capture the outsized nature of Lenny’s personality, and bring an energy, power, and feeling that few other orchestras can match.”

On November 9, 11, and 14, 2017, Leonard Slatkin conducts Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, featuring Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps and Principal Cello Carter Brey. Bernstein led the New York Philharmonic in the New York Premiere of his Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, in April 1964. He dedicated the work to the memory of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated less than three weeks before the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra premiered it in December 1963. In the Jewish liturgy, Kaddish is used as a prayer for mourners, although it never explicitly mentions death. The structure and content of the Kaddish Symphony reflect Bernstein’s complex relationship with religion and his nuanced reflections on faith and mortality. These performances will feature the Brooklyn Youth Chorus directed by Dianne Berkun Menaker; the soprano, speaker, and chorus will be announced at a later date.

At age 25, while serving as Assistant Conductor, Bernstein made his Philharmonic debut leading a program that included R. Strauss’s Don Quixote, filling in with a few hours’ notice and without rehearsal for an ailing Bruno Walter. The New York Times ran a front-page story the next day, calling his performance “a good American success story.”

On November 11, 2017, Leonard Slatkin leads the Young People’s Concert Inspirations and Tributes: “Celebrating Leonard Bernstein,” featuring music by Bernstein, Copland, and Richard Strauss. The Philharmonic began its Young People’s Concerts in 1924, and Bernstein made them an international sensation with the televised broadcasts, which he conducted and hosted, that ran from 1958 to 1972 and were syndicated in 40 countries. Bernstein is credited with inspiring generations of young musicians through his Young People’s Concerts, which he described as “among my favorite, most highly prized activities of my life.”

Leonard Slatkin conducted the Philharmonic in concerts commemorating Bernstein in October 1990 and June 1993. In his book Conducting Business: Unveiling the Mystery Behind the Maestro, Mr. Slatkin writes about seeing Bernstein conduct the Philharmonic while he was a student: “Watching the master was always a joy to me. … clarity of beat and, more importantly, a genuine musical meaning conveyed by every gesture.” He recounts his first time meeting Bernstein, at Tanglewood in 1986: “He looked me in the eyes and exclaimed, ‘My God, finally,’ and proceeded to give me a gigantic hug. … The first thing he asked me was why I did so much of his music. My reply was that I loved it.”

The Philharmonic’s celebrations of Bernstein’s centennial will continue after the festival with programs representing the music he composed for the Broadway stage: the New Year’s Eve concert, Bernstein on Broadway, featuring Members of the New York Philharmonic led by Bramwell Tovey, December 31, 2017, and Assistant Conductor Joshua Gersen leading Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (which the Philharmonic premiered in 1961) in his Philharmonic subscription debut on February 22–24, 2018. Bernstein on Broadway will feature selections from On the Town, Wonderful Town, West Side Story, and Candide; soloists will be announced at a later date. Bernstein wrote the scores for the Broadway musicals West Side Story, On the Town, and Wonderful Town, as well as for the operetta Candide, which debuted and has been revived on Broadway — all of which were nominated for or won Tony Awards.

For complete festival programming and Alan Gilbert’s and Leonard Slatkin’s performance histories and biographies, see Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival: In Brief.

PIANIST LEIF OVE ANDSNES: THE MARY AND JAMES G. WALLACH ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The New York Philharmonic has named pianist Leif Ove Andsnes The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence for the 2017–18 season. Mr. Andsnes’s residency will feature three concerto appearances and a recital, marking his only performances in New York City in the 2017–18 season. The New York Times said: “Andsnes has entered an elite circle of pianistic stardom. … When he sits in front of the keyboard … extraordinary things happen.”

Leif Ove Andsnes said: “What I love with these kinds of residencies is that you can engage with musicians and with the audience in a closer way, and you can show the diversity of your musical persona. I decided to revisit some lesser-known pieces that I performed a long time ago. I am particularly looking forward to spending so much time with the New York Philharmonic: I’ve had wonderful experiences on stage with this Orchestra. I was 27 the first time I played with them, and, my goodness, it was such a feeling of event for me. I felt tremendous support from the Orchestra. There is lyricism to the playing and diversity. And I think New York is my favorite city: I’ve been so welcomed over the years. It’s really an artistic home to me. I love the people and the directness of spirit.”

Leif Ove Andsnes begins his residency on October 12–14 and 17, 2017, with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, led by Paavo Järvi. Mr. Andsnes and Mr. Järvi’s previous collaborations include a recording of works by Britten, Shostakovich, and Enesco. Mr. Andsnes recorded Rachmaninoff’s complete piano concertos with Antonio Pappano (who will conduct Mr. Andsnes in February 2018), released on two CDs — both of which were nominated for Grammy Awards. The program will also include Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.

On February 8–10, 2018, Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Britten’s Piano Concerto, conducted by Antonio Pappano. Mr. Andsnes’s recording of this concerto with Paavo Järvi and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was released in 1999 by EMI Classics (now Warner Classics), and Gramophone described his performance as “ravishing,” with “an unflustered, aristocratic poise about it.” The program will also include Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3, Organ, with Philharmonic organist Kent Tritle.

On April 26–28, 2018, Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Debussy’s Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra, led by Edward Gardner in his Philharmonic debut. Mr. Gardner and Mr. Andsnes’s previous collaborations include performances of Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway in January 2016. The program will also include Sibelius’s Pohjola’s Daughter and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. They will perform the same program at Long Island University’s Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on April 27, 2018.

Leif Ove Andsnes will conclude his residency with a recital on May 2, 2018, at David Geffen Hall. The program will feature Nielsen’s Chaconne; selected works by Sibelius; Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 17, Tempest; Schubert’s Two Scherzos, D.593; Jörg Widmann’s Idyll and Abyss; and Schubert’s Three Piano Pieces, D.946.

For Leif Ove Andsnes’s New York Philharmonic performance history, complete season programming, and biography, see Leif Ove Andsnes: In Brief.

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN: FINAL SEASON AS THE MARIE-JOSÉE KRAVIS COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

In the 2017–18 season Esa-Pekka Salonen enters his third and final season as the New York Philharmonic’s Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Salonen has expanded the role to fuse performance and curating with composition, with the Orchestra performing four of his works, including three New York Premieres, and Mr. Salonen conducting eight performances. In his final season as Composer-in-Residence, the Orchestra will perform the New York Concert Premiere of his Helix, and he will conduct a World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission by Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Benjamin Grosvenor as soloist in his Philharmonic subscription debut (inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic). Mr. Salonen will continue his advisory role in the Philharmonic’s new-music initiatives: he will curate a project for the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL and advise in the planning of CONTACT!, the Philharmonic’s new-music series.

On January 11–13, 2018, Susanna Mälkki will conduct the Philharmonic in the New York Concert Premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Helix. Mr. Salonen describes Helix as “a celebratory and direct overture-like piece,” but one that is “very rigidly structured and based on essentially one continuous process.” That process, he said, is “a nine-minute accelerando. The tempo gets faster, but the note values of the phrases become correspondingly longer.” Mr. Salonen wrote Helix on commission from the BBC, and Valery Gergiev and the World Orchestra for Peace — the work’s dedicatees — premiered it at the BBC Proms in August 2005.

Ms. Mälkki made her Philharmonic debut in May 2015, in a performance The New York Times praised as “inquisitive,” “ebullient and imaginative,” and “auspicious.” Both she and Mr. Salonen were born in Helsinki and attended the Sibelius Academy. Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year, Susanna Mälkki is chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which Esa-Pekka Salonen led as music director (1992–2009) and currently serves as conductor laureate. The program will also include Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, with Baiba Skride as soloist, and Debussy’s La Mer.

On April 4–6, 2018, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads a program featuring a young composer and a young soloist, both of whom the Philharmonic has championed. The repertoire includes the World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission of a new work by Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Benjamin Grosvenor in his Philharmonic subscription debut (inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic). The program also includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica. In the 2016–17 season, Mr. Salonen conducts Ms. Thorvaldsdottir’s Aeriality with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra; the New York Philharmonic, led by Alan Gilbert, gives the New York Premiere of Aeriality in May 2017.

In his capacity as Composer-in-Residence, Esa-Pekka Salonen will participate in the planning of two of the Philharmonic’s new-music initiatives: he will curate a project for the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL and continue his advisory role in the planning of CONTACT!.

For Esa-Pekka Salonen’s New York Philharmonic performance history, complete season programming, and biography, see Esa-Pekka Salonen: In Brief.

NY PHIL BIENNIAL

The New York Philharmonic will present the third NY PHIL BIENNIAL, a wide-ranging exploration of today’s music by an array of contemporary and modern composers, May–June 2018. A flagship project of the New York Philharmonic, the NY PHIL BIENNIAL brings together an international roster of composers, performers, and curatorial voices for concerts presented both on the Lincoln Center campus and in venues throughout the city.

The New York Times called the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL, in 2014, “among the most ambitious contemporary music festivals ever overseen by a major American orchestra,” and praised the 2016 NY PHIL BIENNIAL for continuing to be a “visionary initiative.” Since it was inaugurated in 2014, the NY PHIL BIENNIAL has presented works by 146 composers from 24 countries, including more than 74 World Premieres, 22 U.S. Premieres, and 29 New York Premieres.

Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen will curate a project for the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL. Complete programming and details of the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL will be announced at a later date, to allow for the inclusion of the most recent works and to showcase the most current trends in contemporary music.

CONTACT!

Entering its ninth season in 2017–18, CONTACT!, the new-music series, will continue to highlight the works of both emerging and established contemporary composers, performed by smaller ensembles of Philharmonic musicians in intimate venues outside the Lincoln Center campus. In the 2017–18 season CONTACT! will return to National Sawdust in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which opened in fall 2015. By the end of the 2016–17 season, the Philharmonic will have premiered 23 works as part of CONTACT!. Dates and programs for the 2017–18 season of CONTACT! will be announced at a later date.

WORLD PREMIERE–NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC COMMISSIONS

In the 2017–18 season the Philharmonic will perform two World Premieres commissioned by the New York Philharmonic — both made possible with the support of the Kravis Prize for New Music — by Philharmonic Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Bent Sørensen. The Philharmonic has long championed the new music of its time, commissioning and / or premiering works by composers from every era since it was founded in 1842.

On November 30 and December 1–2, 2017, Christoph von Dohnányi will conduct the World Premiere of Bent Sørensen’s Evening Land, a New York Philharmonic commission with the support of the Kravis Prize for New Music. Mr. Sørensen says that his Evening Land “has moments of a soft landscape, which is very far from New York. In the middle is an energetic echo of New York.” Mr. Sørensen studied composition with Per Nørgård, the second recipient of the Philharmonic’s Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music in 2014. Mr. Nørgård shared the proceeds of the award with Mr. Sørensen to compose this Philharmonic commission, which will be the first work by Mr. Sørensen to be performed by the Philharmonic. Honorary conductor for life of the Philharmonia Orchestra and music director laureate of The Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi is a longtime champion of new music. He has led the New York Philharmonic in works by contemporary composers including Schnittke, Jörg Widmann, and Manfred Trojahn. The program will also include Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, with Emanuel Ax as soloist, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 2.

Bent Sørensen said: “I grew up with New York Philharmonic recordings. There’s a big dream about this Orchestra, and when you have the possibility to go into that dream you have to say yes. I’m sure that the Philharmonic will make a fantastic performance, and to work with a conductor with the kind of history that Christoph von Dohnányi has is just fantastic. Per Nørgård was my teacher for three years, and then he became a friend and good colleague; he helped me see and hear my own music.”

On April 4–6, 2018, The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct the World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission of a new work by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, named the Philharmonic’s Kravis Emerging Composer in 2015. The Philharmonic is commissioning this new work as part of the honor, bestowed on an up-and-coming composer as part of The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music. Ms. Thorvaldsdottir says that the work is inspired by “the natural phenomenon of chaos and its relationship to structure, order, and beauty. The focus point is to find ways to translate the inspiration into music rather than to describe it through the music.” This premiere follows the New York Premiere of Ms. Thorvaldsdottir’s Aeriality in May 2017, led by Alan Gilbert. Both Mr. Salonen and Ms. Thorvaldsdottir are beneficiaries of the $10 million gift given to the Philharmonic in 2009 by Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josée; the gift funds The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music as well as the Kravis Emerging Composer and Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence positions. The program will also include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Benjamin Grosvenor in his Philharmonic subscription debut (inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic).

Anna Thorvaldsdottir said: “It’s been a tremendous honor to be the Kravis Emerging Composer, and this commission means the world to me. Orchestras like the New York Philharmonic are doing a wonderful job presenting contemporary pieces; it means everything for the music, because in order for the music to live, it needs to be performed. The New York Philharmonic is powerful and precious, and Esa-Pekka Salonen brings an amazing energy to everything he does. I can’t wait to hear my piece performed by them; I think it’s a wonderful fit.”

Works that will be premiered during the 2018 NY PHIL BIENNIAL and on CONTACT! will be announced at a later date.

Landmark works commissioned by the Philharmonic throughout its 176-year history include Gershwin’s Concerto in F (1925), Copland’s Connotations (1962), Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia (1968), Thomas Adès’s America (A Prophecy) (1999), John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigration of Souls (2002) and Scheherazade.2 — Dramatic symphony for violin and orchestra (2015), Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto (2007), Magnus Lindberg’s EXPO (2009), Christopher Rouse’s Symphony No. 4 (2014), Peter Eötvös’s Senza sangue (2015), and Wynton Marsalis’s The Jungle (Symphony No. 4) (2016).

WORLD PREMIERE OF STAR WARS — FILM CONCERT SERIES

The New York Philharmonic will present the World Premiere of the Star Wars — Film Concert Series, September 15–October 7, 2017, featuring screenings of the complete films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens with Oscar-winning composer John Williams’s musical scores performed live to the films. The concerts will be led by acclaimed conductor David Newman.

Since the release of the first Star Wars movie nearly 40 years ago, the Star Wars saga has had a seismic impact on both cinema and culture, inspiring audiences around the world with its mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects, and iconic musical scores composed by Williams. Fans will be able to experience the scope and grandeur of these beloved Star Wars films in a live symphonic concert experience, as the Star Wars — Film Concert Series premieres from September 15 through October 7 at David Geffen Hall in New York City. Legendary composer Williams is well known for scoring all seven of the Star Wars saga films, beginning with 1977’s Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope), for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score. His scores for Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens each were nominated for Oscars for Best Original Score.

Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and 22 Grammy Awards. With 50 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the Academy’s most nominated living person and the second most-nominated individual in history, after Walt Disney. In 2005 the American Film Institute selected Williams’s score to 1977’s Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The sound track to Star Wars also was preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl’s Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams has composed the scores for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).

The Star Wars — Film Concert Series is produced under license by Disney Concerts in association with 20^th Century Fox and Warner/Chappell Music.

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

THE ART OF THE SCORE: AMADEUS — LIVE

Returning for its fifth season, THE ART OF THE SCORE, exploring some of the most distinctive uses of music in film, will return for the 2017–18 season, April 11–14 and 17, 2018, with Amadeus — Live, the New York Premiere screening of Amadeus with the Mozart-centered score performed live to the film, conducted by Richard Kaufman in his Philharmonic debut. Directed by Miloš Forman and adapted for the screen by Peter Shaffer from his Tony Award–winning play of the same name, Amadeus is a fictionalized account of Mozart’s life as told by one of his contemporaries, composer Antonio Salieri, who (in Shaffer’s story) is consumed by his jealousy of Mozart’s talent. Amadeus’s score includes selections from more than a dozen works by Mozart, including his Requiem; his operas The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni; and his Piano Concerto No. 20, Symphony No. 25, and Serenade for 13 Winds, Gran partita. The film’s sound track won the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album and reached number one on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart. Amadeus was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won eight, including Best Picture. Actor and Philharmonic Board Member Alec Baldwin continues as Artistic Advisor of THE ART OF THE SCORE.

Amadeus — Live is a production of Avex Classics International.

ALAN GILBERT TO LEAD 175TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT

Alan Gilbert will return to lead the Orchestra in a subscription week that celebrates the New York Philharmonic’s 175th birthday, December 6–9, 2017, concluding the 175th anniversary celebrations that began in the 2016–17 season. The program combines an homage to the New York Philharmonic’s inaugural concert with a salute to the musicians who comprise the Orchestra itself. The inaugural concert, on December 7, 1842, which took place in the Apollo Rooms in downtown Manhattan, featured Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Weber’s Oberon Overture, which figure on the anniversary program. The 175th birthday program also features Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for Winds, selected to spotlight Principal Oboe Liang Wang, Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, and Principal Horn Philip Myers.

The Philharmonic is marking its 175th anniversary season in 2016–17 by celebrating its hometown of New York City through The New World Initiative, which explores Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World — which the Orchestra premiered in December 1893 — through performances, education projects, and community outreach; The New York Commissions, which presents the World Premieres of New York–themed works by New York–based composers with strong ties to the Philharmonic; and THE ART OF THE SCORE and Spring Gala, featuring complete screenings of iconic New York City films Manhattan, West Side Story, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, with live performances of the scores.

Alan Gilbert said: “I feel truly honored to preside over the New York Philharmonic’s 175th birthday concert, and to help to mark such an impressive milestone. We continue the Philharmonic’s tradition of celebrating landmark birthdays with works from the inaugural program. But this time we wanted not only to hark back to that inaugural concert, but also to add a nod to the present day. Because this Orchestra is made up of an astounding array of virtuosos, it only seemed right to present several of these amazing musicians as soloists in Mozart’s delightful Sinfonia concertante for Winds.”

2017–18 CONDUCTORS AND SOLOISTS

In the 2017–18 season, the New York Philharmonic presents programs led by 26 conductors, four of whom are making their Philharmonic debut or subscription debut. All of the season’s conductors, and the programs and soloists they will lead, are listed below in alphabetical order by conductor.

Conductors Making Their New York Philharmonic Debuts

Edward Gardner, chief conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and former music director of the English National Opera, makes his New York Philharmonic debut on April 26–28, 2018, leading Sibelius’s Pohjola’s Daughter, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Debussy’s Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra featuring the 2017–18 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes. Mr. Gardner leads the same program at Long Island University’s Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on April 27, 2018.

Joshua Gersen, the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor, makes his New York Philharmonic subscription debut on February 22–24, 2018, leading Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, in one of the programs that complement Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival; the program also features Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Copland’s Symphony No. 3.

Richard Kaufman — in his tenth season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s CSO at the Movies series; principal pops conductor of the Pacific Symphony; and pops conductor laureate of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra — makes his New York Philharmonic debut on April 11–14 and 17, 2018, leading Amadeus — Live, the New York Premiere screening of Amadeus with the Mozart-centered score performed live to the film, as part of THE ART OF THE SCORE.

Nikolaj Znaider, principal guest conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra, makes his New York Philharmonic conducting debut on May 10–12, 2018, leading Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1, Winter Dreams, and Elgar’s Cello Concerto, with Jian Wang in his Philharmonic subscription debut. Mr. Znaider will also appear as soloist in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, led by Manfred Honeck, on May 3–5 and 8, 2018.

Returning Conductors

Semyon Bychkov, the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Günter Wand conducting chair and the Royal Academy of Music’s Otto Klemperer chair of conducting, leads the Philharmonic on May 17–19 and 22, 2018, in Brahms’s Tragic Overture, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, and Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Bertrand Chamayou in his Philharmonic debut. On May 24–26, 2018, Semyon Bychkov conducts Richard Strauss’s tone poem An Alpine Symphony and Berio’s Sinfonia, which the Philharmonic commissioned and premiered in 1968, featuring the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth in its Philharmonic debut.

Stéphane Denève, music director of the Brussels Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on January 25–27, 2018, in an all-Prokofiev program featuring the Violin Concerto No. 1, with James Ehnes; The Love for Three Oranges Suite; and selections from Romeo and Juliet.

Christoph von Dohnányi, honorary conductor for life of the Philharmonia Orchestra and music director laureate of The Cleveland Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on November 30 and December 1–2, 2017, in the World Premiere of Bent Sørensen’s Evening Land, a New York Philharmonic commission made possible with the support of the Kravis Prize for New Music; Brahms’s Symphony No. 2; and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27, with Emanuel Ax.

Charles Dutoit, principal conductor and artistic director of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on January 17–20, 2018, in a Ravel-centered program in honor of the 90th anniversary of the composer’s only U.S. tour. Mr. Dutoit conducts Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet; Le Tombeau de Couperin; Valses nobles et sentimentales; Boléro; and Ravel’s orchestration of Debussy’s Sarabande et Danse.

Andy Einhorn, a Broadway conductor and music director, leads the Philharmonic’s Spring Gala on May 1, 2018, featuring six-time Tony Award–winning actress and singer Audra McDonald in her first return to the New York stage in more than a year. The program will feature musical standards as well as selections by today’s songwriters. Ms. McDonald made her Philharmonic debut in May 2000 as the Beggar Woman in a concert version of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, conducted by Andrew Litton and directed by Lonny Price. She reprised the role in her most recent Philharmonic appearance, in March 2014, conducted by Alan Gilbert and directed by Mr. Price; she also appeared as host of the production’s Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center national telecast.

Alan Gilbert, who concludes his tenure as the New York Philharmonic’s Music Director in the 2016–17 season, returns to conduct three programs, two of which are part of Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival. On October 25–28 and 31, 2017, Mr. Gilbert leads Bernstein’s Serenade (after Plato’s Symposium), with violinist Joshua Bell, and Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah, with mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor. On November 2–4, 2017, Mr. Gilbert conducts Bernstein’s Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs, featuring Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, and two works with pianist Makoto Ozone in his Philharmonic subscription debut: Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. On December 6–9, 2017, Mr. Gilbert leads a program in honor of the Philharmonic’s 175th birthday that includes Weber’s Oberon Overture; Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for Winds, spotlighting Philharmonic Principal Oboe Liang Wang, Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill, Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair, and Principal Horn Philip Myers as soloists; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

Bernard Haitink, former chief conductor of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on April 19, 21, and 24, 2018, in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22, with Till Fellner in his Philharmonic debut, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9.

Manfred Honeck, music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on May 3–5 and 8, 2018, in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, with Nikolaj Znaider; his own arrangement of Dvořák’s Rusalka Fantasy; and selections from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty.

Frank Huang leads the Philharmonic from his chair as Concertmaster on May 31 and June 1–2 and 5–6, 2018, in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3, with Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples as soloist; Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik; and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.

Paavo Järvi, chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra and music director laureate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on October 12–14 and 17, 2017, in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, with The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist; Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo, and Finale; and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.

Jeffrey Kahane, music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic January 4–6 and 9, 2018, in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 from the piano, and he also conducts Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, with cellist Alisa Weilerstein as soloist, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 98. On January 6, 2018, Mr. Kahane leads the Young People’s Concert Inspirations and Tributes: “Classical Echoes,” featuring music by Stravinsky influenced by Baroque composers, Haydn paying tribute to Mozart, and Tchaikovsky borrowing from the Rococo style.

Susanna Mälkki — chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year — leads the Philharmonic on January 11–13, 2018, in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, with Baiba Skride; the New York Concert Premiere of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Helix; and Debussy’s La Mer.

Andrew Manze, principal conductor of Hannover’s NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on December 12–16, 2017, in Handel’s Messiah, with soprano Joélle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, tenor Ben Bliss in his Philharmonic subscription debut, bass Andrew Foster-Williams, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir directed by Joe Miller.

David Newman, composer and conductor of numerous film scores, conducts the World Premiere of the Star Wars — Film Concert Series, September 15–October 7, 2017, featuring screenings of the complete films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens with Oscar-winning composer John Williams’s musical scores performed live to the films.

Gianandrea Noseda, music director of the Teatro Regio Torino, leads the Philharmonic on November 22 and 24–25, 2017, in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh Suite; Saint-Saëns’s Violin Concerto No. 3, with Concertmaster Frank Huang; and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3.

Antonio Pappano, music director of the Orchestra della Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, leads the Philharmonic on February 8–10, 2018, in Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Britten’s Piano Concerto, with The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes; and Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3, Organ, with Philharmonic organist Kent Tritle.

Esa-Pekka Salonen, The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, leads the Philharmonic on April 4–6, 2018, in the World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission of a new work by Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Benjamin Grosvenor, inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic, in his Philharmonic subscription debut; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica.

András Schiff leads the Philharmonic on October 19–21, 2017, in Schumann’s Piano Concerto and J.S. Bach’s Piano Concerto in A major, BWV 1055, both from the piano; he also conducts Haydn’s Symphony No. 80 and Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra.

Leonard Slatkin, as part of Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival, leads the Philharmonic on November 9, 11, and 14, 2017, in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus directed by Dianne Berkun Menaker, and Richard Strauss’s Don Quixote, with Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps and Principal Cello Carter Brey. He also conducts the Young People’s Concert Inspirations and Tributes: “Celebrating Leonard Bernstein” on November 11, 2017, and reprises both programs during the Orchestra’s University Musical Society residency at the University of Michigan, November 17–19, 2017.

Bramwell Tovey, music director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, leads the Philharmonic on December 27–30, 2017, in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride Overture; Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel); and Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with Yefim Bronfman. Bramwell Tovey also leads the New Year’s Eve concert, Bernstein on Broadway, on December 31, 2017, featuring Members of the New York Philharmonic.

Long Yu — artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, co-director of the MISA Shanghai Summer Festival, and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra — leads the Philharmonic on February 20, 2018, in the seventh annual Chinese New Year Concert and Gala, celebrating the Year of the Dog with traditional Chinese and Western classical music.

Jaap van Zweden, New York Philharmonic Music Director Designate, conducts three weeks of diverse programs during the 2017–18 season. He leads the Opening Gala Concert on September 19, 2017, featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and the opening subscription program on September 22–23, 2017, which also features Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in addition to the New York Premiere of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, with Katia and Marielle Labèque as soloists. On February 14–15 and 17, 2018, Mr. van Zweden conducts the New York Premiere of John Luther Adams’s Dark Waves alongside Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre (in concert), featuring soprano Heidi Melton, tenor Simon O’Neill in his Philharmonic debut, and bass John Relyea. On February 28 and March 1–3, 2018, he leads the Orchestra in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Yuja Wang. Mr. van Zweden also conducts the Orchestra during its second residency with the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan, November 17–19, 2017, and on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, March 8–18, 2018.

TOURS AND RESIDENCIES

The New York Philharmonic’s second residency with the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan (UMS) will include three orchestral performances at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium in addition to chamber music, master classes, lectures, and workshops for University of Michigan students, as well as activities for the regional community. Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden will lead Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (November 17), and Leonard Slatkin will lead the Young People’s Concert “Celebrating Leonard Bernstein” (November 18) as well as R. Strauss’s Don Quixote, featuring Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps and Principal Cello Carter Brey, and Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, with UMS Choral Union directed by Scott Hanoian and Michigan State University Children’s Choir directed by Kyle Zeuch (November 19).

The Philharmonic will appear on the ASIA / WINTER 2018 tour, March 8–18, 2018, led by Jaap van Zweden in his first international appearances with the Philharmonic. The tour features eight performances in five cities in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

The Philharmonic’s fourth annual performance residency as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership will take place in July 2018 with performances and activities associated with the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, including master classes, lessons, and coachings. The performances are presented as part of Shanghai’s Music in the Summer Air (MISA) festival.

The Philharmonic will return to Colorado’s Bravo! Vail music festival for its 16th annual residency, July 20–27, 2018. Since 2003 the series has attracted audiences from around the country to the scenic Rocky Mountains and features a variety of conductors and soloists, as well as diverse repertoire.

CHAMBER MUSIC

The New York Philharmonic Ensembles chamber music series spotlights Philharmonic musicians in six concerts at Merkin Concert Hall. All concerts are Sundays at 3:00 p.m., and will take place on October 15, 2017; December 3, 2017; January 14, 2018; February 18, 2018; April 15, 2018; and May 27, 2018. Artists and repertoire will be announced at a later date.

The Philharmonic’s four Saturday Matinee Concerts pair a chamber work with music for full orchestra. Three of the concerts are followed by a Q&A session with Philharmonic musicians; the other is followed by Philharmonic musicians performing original works by students in the Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program. All Saturday Matinee Concerts begin at 2:00 p.m., and will take place on October 14, 2017; November 25, 2017; January 20, 2018; and April 7, 2018.

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will perform at 92nd Street Y twice in the 2017–18 season. The New York Philharmonic String Quartet — comprising Concertmaster Frank Huang, Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, and Principal Cello Carter Brey — will make its New York recital debut performing Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F minor; Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4; and Dvořák’s String Quartet in F major, American, on November 12, 2017. In his capacity as the inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor and Philharmonic musicians will perform Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 1, and Schubert’s Piano Quintet, Trout, on April 10, 2018.

FREE AND LOW COST ACCESS TO THE PHILHARMONIC

The Philharmonic will present its Annual Free Memorial Day Concert at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on Monday, May 28, 2018. The conductor and program will be announced at a later date.

The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, will return for its 53rd season in June 2018, bringing free Philharmonic concerts to all five New York City boroughs. Further details will be announced at a later date.

Launched in the 2014–15 season, Philharmonic Free Fridays offers 100 free tickets to 13- to 26-year-olds for select Friday evening concerts. Nearly 5,000 Philharmonic Free Friday tickets have been distributed to young people throughout New York to date. Information is available at nyphil.org/freefridays.

MyPhil offers young adults ages 17 through 35 three or more concerts at a special price, in addition to benefits including free ticket exchange and ticket add-ons. MyPhil for the 2017–18 season will be announced in September 2017.

Student Rush Tickets can be purchased for select concerts up to 10 days before the concert at nyphil.org/rush, or at the David Geffen Hall Box Office on the day of the performance. Senior tickets can only be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office on the day of the performance. For senior rush ticket availability please call (212) 875-5656. Identification is required.

The New York Philharmonic’s website, nyphil.org, provides free access to concerts through streaming, downloads, videos, playlists, and photos, as well as educational opportunities and behind-the-scenes interviews with Philharmonic musicians and guest artists. The New York Philharmonic This Week episodes are made available free of charge for a minimum of 90 days following each broadcast; video footage of many of the Philharmonic’s notable productions — including A Concert for New York, Philharmonic 360 at Park Avenue Armory, and A Dancer’s Dream — are available to watch free; and curated playlists of Philharmonic performances are available to stream free.

BROADCASTS, WEBCASTS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA

A longtime media pioneer, the New York Philharmonic has made more than 2,000 recordings since 1917, with more than 500 currently available. The Philharmonic began radio broadcasts in 1922 and is currently represented by The New York Philharmonic This Week, syndicated nationally 52 weeks per year. On television in the 1950s and ’60s, the Orchestra’s Young People’s Concerts with Leonard Bernstein were telecast on CBS. Its television presence has continued with annual appearances on the Emmy Award–winning Live From Lincoln Center on PBS, and Philharmonic performances have been webcast through medici.tv. In 2006 the New York Philharmonic was the first major American orchestra to offer downloadable concerts, recorded live. In September 2016 the Philharmonic produced its first Facebook Live concert broadcast.

A new recording agreement with Universal Music Group’s U.S. Classical Division and the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden, launching in the 2017–18 season, will bring performances to a broader audience throughout his tenure in a continuation and evolution of the Philharmonic’s long recording history. Details will be announced at a later date.

In the 2016–17 season the Philharmonic produced its first Facebook Live concert broadcast: the Opening Gala Concert on September 21, 2016. The video reached more than 1.2 million people, received 150,000 views, and logged 25,000 engagements. The Philharmonic also broadcast on Facebook Live the January 2017 performance featuring Alan Gilbert and Stephen Hough, which reached more than 1.7 million people, received 196,000 views, and logged 42,000 engagements.

Emmy Award–winning actor Alec Baldwin will return to host The New York Philharmonic This Week, the Orchestra’s national and international radio broadcast, for the series’s 13th season. These two-hour programs are heard 52 weeks per year. Produced by the Philharmonic, they are syndicated to more than 400 outlets nationally and in dozens of countries by the European Broadcasting Union and Chicago’s WFMT Radio Network, including to the Shanghai East Radio Co. as part of a cultural exchange between the U.S. and China; streamed to approximately 25,000 listeners via the Philharmonic’s website, nyphil.org; available on SoundCloud; and distributed worldwide to millions of households abroad. The program is heard locally in the New York metropolitan area on 105.9 FM WQXR on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (Check local listings for times outside New York City.) The New York Philharmonic has had a nearly unbroken radio presence since 1922.

The New York Philharmonic has developed a vital link to audiences through numerous social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, and Pinterest. In addition to daily information and content, the Philharmonic’s social media channels feature such series as NY Philharmonic Backstage, live video interviews streamed on Facebook Live with guest artists playing and talking about music, and On the Cover, introducing the individual musicians of the New York Philharmonic through video and social media content created by the musicians themselves. Fans can also get a behind-the-scenes view and learn about the latest Philharmonic news through the Philharmonic’s blog, What’s New (nyphil.org/whats-new). In the Watch & Listen section of the Philharmonic’s website, visitors can listen to concert recordings and radio broadcasts, watch performances, and more.

EDUCATION

The New York Philharmonic has been a leader in education since the 19th century, and its groundbreaking educational events continue today, collectively serving more than 40,000 people in live events, and millions more online, each year. Education at the New York Philharmonic includes four overarching programs, each of which is composed of several projects that reach out to communities of varying ages and levels of experience: Young People’s Concerts, Learning Communities, Insights, and the New York Philharmonic Global Academy.

Young People’s Concerts explore musical topics through repertoire of all periods, including new music, in three series tailored to three distinct audiences.

• Each season of Young People’s Concerts (ages 6–12 / audiences of 10,000 annually), made famous by Leonard Bernstein on live television in the 1960s, takes a different approach to exploring the repertoire with the full Orchestra. The 2017–18 series, titled Inspirations and Tributes, is scheduled for November 11, 2017 (“Celebrating Leonard Bernstein”), January 6, 2018 (“Classical Echoes”), February 3, 2018 (“An African American Lineage”), and May 19, 2018 (“The Riddle of Shostakovich”). These concerts are preceded by YPC Overtures, at which children can meet Philharmonic musicians, try out orchestral instruments, and hear live performances of works by Very Young Composers inspired by the YPC’s thematic content.
• In Very Young People’s Concerts (ages 3–6 / audiences of 3,600 annually), Philharmonic musicians introduce preschool children to classical music through games, active listening, and hands-on music-making. Dates and programs for the 2017–18 series will be announced at a later date.
• Young People’s Concerts for Schools (grades 3–12 / audiences of 14,000 annually) are developed by Philharmonic Teaching Artists and partner school teachers to adapt Young People’s Concerts to classroom audiences, many of whom have been prepared through the in-school curriculum offered by Philharmonic Schools (see below). The Young People’s Concerts for Schools will take place January 31–February 2, 2018, at David Geffen Hall, and will feature music by African American composers.
• In November 2016 the Philharmonic launched Young People’s Concerts Play! (grades 3–6), available at nyphil.org/ypcplay, a new online learning platform making Young People’s Concerts available for on-demand streaming, enhanced by innovative interactive lessons for classrooms. New Young People’s Concerts Play! releases will be announced.

Learning Communities comprise nationally recognized school-based programs that foster children’s ownership of music and develop their innate musical responses through informed listening, playing, and composing.

• Philharmonic Schools (grades 3–5 / 5,000 students in 16 schools in all five boroughs) is an in-school program in all five boroughs in which Teaching Artists use orchestral repertoire to teach students how to listen, perform, and compose, and to prepare them to hear concerts in their schools and at David Geffen Hall.
• The Very Young Composers program (grades 4–12 / 132 composers in NYC in addition to thousands of students working with national and global partners) enables students to create their own music. Very Young Composers serves fourth- and fifth-graders as an afterschool program as part of Philharmonic Schools; middle-schoolers in the Composer’s Bridge program at David Geffen Hall; and children and teens around the world.

Insights events are programs for adults featuring musicians and scholars discussing the music featured throughout the season.

• Insights at the Atrium (1,000 attendees) are free events at the David Rubenstein Atrium that combine discussion, often with live performance and video, to explore themes of the season.
• The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, a position created to support significant research in the New York Philharmonic Archives, also takes part in Insights at the Atrium.

New York Philharmonic Global Academy, established by the Philharmonic as part of its commitment to develop tomorrow’s leading orchestra musicians, features customized collaborations with partners worldwide that offer intensive training of pre-professional musicians by New York Philharmonic members, often alongside regular performance residencies by the full Orchestra.

• The Global Academy was created following the launch of the flagship collaboration with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Conservatory of Music, forming the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership and establishing the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. In the 2017–18 season groups of Philharmonic musicians will travel to Shanghai to train students studying for their advanced music performance degrees at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy (SOA) in September 2017, January–February 2018, and March 2018; a group of SOA students selected by audition will travel to New York City to train and play with New York Philharmonic musicians in David Geffen Hall as Zarin Mehta Fellows under the Global Academy Fellowship Program; and the full Orchestra will return to Shanghai in the summer of 2018 for its fourth annual performance residency.
• The Orchestra’s partnership with the Music Academy of the West, the first American partner in the Global Academy, continues when a new group of Music Academy of the West students travel to New York in January 2018 to train and play with the Philharmonic as Zarin Mehta Fellows under the Global Academy Fellowship Program.
• Philharmonic Academy, Jr., offers training of pre-college students by Philharmonic musicians in partnership with institutions in New York committed to strong orchestra programs. The Philharmonic is currently working with the Harmony Program (an El Sistema–inspired system of youth orchestras) and with Hoff-Barthelson Music School.

The New York Philharmonic’s five-year residency partnership with the University Musical Society of the University of Michigan (UMS), in conjunction with the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD), features the Philharmonic in performances and educational activities in Ann Arbor in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

THE ARCHIVES

The New York Philharmonic Archives, the oldest and most comprehensive collection of any symphony orchestra, contains approximately six million pages that date back to its founding in 1842, with holdings that include correspondence, business records, orchestral scores and parts, photographs, concert programs, and newspaper clippings, as well as concert and broadcast recordings dating from the 1920s. The New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives, archives.nyphil.org, currently contains more than 1.3 million pages, including printed programs, marked conducting scores, business documents, and photographs. Supported by the Leon Levy Foundation, since 2005 the Digital Archives has received a total of $5 million to implement one of the world’s most ambitious and comprehensive digitization programs. When completed, the online collection will contain every document in the New York Philharmonic Archives from 1842 through 1970 as well as all public documents from 1970 through today. The Philharmonic is the first major symphony orchestra to provide open access to its performance history data, through archives.nyphil.org/performancehistory, the longest running collection of data on classical music in the United States; it now links to the Digital Archives to facilitate access to the history of any artist, concert location, date, and work. The Archives presents a number of changing exhibitions in the Bruno Walter Gallery on David Geffen Hall’s Grand Promenade. In the 2017–18 season the Archives will present an exhibition on Leonard Bernstein’s centennial; other exhibitions will be announced at a later date. The Archives also organizes additional activities, such as lectures and presentations, and is open for research by appointment, Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call (212) 875-5930.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The New York Philharmonic’s 2017–18 subscription season features 102 concerts over 38 weeks. Season ticket packages go on sale February 8, 2017, for subscription series made up of four to eight concerts; packages start at $120. Single tickets go on sale to the general public August 8, 2017.

The David Geffen Hall Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m.

Concertgoers requiring information or a complimentary accessibility guide to services for people with disabilities may contact the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities by calling (212) 875-5375. Information is also available 24 hours a day through the Accessibility Hotline: (212) 875-5380.