FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 28, 2014 Contact: Katherine E
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 28, 2014 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected] ALAN GILBERT AND THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC WORLD PREMIERE of The Marie Josée-Kravis Composer-in-Residence CHRISTOPHER ROUSE’s Thunderstuck LISA BATIASHVILI To Give First Performances as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Performing BRAHMS’s Violin Concerto Program Also To Include Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Drumroll October 9–11 and 14, 2014 Saturday Matinee Concert To Feature Dvořák’s String Quartet in F major, American, Performed by Philharmonic Musicians Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Thunderstuck, a Philharmonic commission by The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse; Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Drumroll; and Brahms’s Violin Concerto, featuring Lisa Batiashvili in her first appearance as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in- Residence, Thursday, October 9, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, October 10 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, October 11 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m. Thunderstuck is the third Philharmonic-commissioned orchestral work by The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse, whose term has been extended for a third season, through 2014–15. The rock-inspired piece pays homage to some of Mr. Rouse’s favorite artists from the 1960s and 1970s. “In essence, Thunderstuck is a rock ’n’ roll piece, and it’s all in fun,” Christopher Rouse said. “The bands from my younger days that I really love will be referenced, though most of the references will be twisted around to the point of being virtually unrecognizable. That’s the fun part for me, sneaking these things in.” Also this season, the Philharmonic will perform the New York Premiere of Christopher Rouse’s Flute Concerto, featuring Principal Flute Robert Langevin and led by Leonard Slatkin (October 30–31 and November 1, 2014), and Iscariot, led by David Zinman (February 5–7, 2015). (more) Alan Gilbert / Lisa Batiashvili / 2 “Christopher Rouse has been truly great as our Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in- Residence since he began in 2012,” Alan Gilbert said. “There’s a palpable connection between him and the Orchestra, and he has written pieces for us based on how that chemistry feels to him at the moment. It was natural to extend his term into a third season, as there’s just simply more to do.” In these performances violinist Lisa Batiashvili will inaugurate her Philharmonic residency, which will include three orchestral appearances — featuring concertos by Brahms, Barber, and Bach as well as a U.S. Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission written for her by Thierry Escaich; an appearance on CONTACT!, the new-music series; and a recital, presented in association with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with pianist Paul Lewis. A friend of the Philharmonic, she made her debut in 2005 and has returned annually since Alan Gilbert became Music Director. “The New York Philharmonic has become my favorite musical family,” Lisa Batiasvhili said. “Working with Alan Gilbert is an amazing pleasure: he is one of the people I would love to work with my whole life. Whenever I play, he can guess everything that will come, which makes the life of a soloist much easier and more pleasant. I also feel so welcomed by this Orchestra and its audience, which is so open-minded, warm, and supportive.” “Lisa Batiashvili is beloved by our audiences and the Orchestra,” Alan Gilbert said. “Her astounding technique makes her playing seem effortless, but her passionate and fierce approach to music imbues everything she does with a life and death quality. I’ve worked with her for more than ten years now, and we are very much on the same wavelength: things just fall into place in rehearsal and performance without our ever having to speak about them. It’s a great chemistry. Hers is one of the great versions of the Brahms Violin Concerto, so it is the perfect way to start her residency.” “I also consider Haydn a particular friend,” said Alan Gilbert, speaking of the second work on the program, Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Drumroll. “I love his music, and the Philharmonic musicians love playing it. He is so human — there’s much in his music that you can really identify with, and he’s a composer who really does have a sense of humor without being forced or trite. It’s just profoundly funny, and it makes everybody smile.” The Saturday Matinee Concert October 11 at 2:00 p.m. features Christopher Rouse’s Thunderstuck; Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, Drumroll; and Dvořák’s String Quartet in F major, American, with Philharmonic principal players: Acting Principal Associate Concertmaster Michelle Kim; Acting Principal, Second Violin Group, Lisa Kim; Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young, and Associate Principal Cello Eileen Moon. Each of the concerts on this season’s Saturday Matinee series features chamber music by Dvořák. Related Events Pre-Concert Insights Composer Joelle Wallach will introduce the program. Pre-Concert Insights are $7; discounts (more) Alan Gilbert / Lisa Batiashvili / 3 available for multiple talks, students, and groups. They take place one hour before these performances in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org/preconcert or (212) 875-5656. National and International Radio Broadcast The program will be broadcast the week of November 16, 2014,* on The New York Philharmonic This Week, a radio concert series syndicated weekly to more than 300 stations nationally, and to 122 outlets internationally, by the WFMT Radio Network. The program is broadcast locally in the New York metropolitan area on 105.9 FM WQXR on Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., and will be available on the Philharmonic’s Website, nyphil.org. The 52-week series, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin, is generously underwritten by The Kaplen Brothers Fund, the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Philharmonic’s corporate partner, MetLife Foundation. *Check local listings for broadcast and program information, which is subject to change. Artists Music Director Alan Gilbert began his New York Philharmonic tenure in September 2009, the first native New Yorker in the post. He and the Philharmonic have introduced the positions of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in- Residence, and the Artist-in-Association; CONTACT!, the new-music series; and the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, an exploration of today’s music by a wide range of contemporary and modern composers inaugurated in spring 2014. As New York magazine wrote, “The Philharmonic and its music director Alan Gilbert have turned themselves into a force of permanent revolution.” In the 2014–15 season Alan Gilbert conducts the U.S. Premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Clarinet Concerto, a Philharmonic co-commission, alongside Mahler’s First Symphony; La Dolce Vita: The Music of Italian Cinema; Verdi’s Requiem; a staging of Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake featuring Oscar winner Marion Cotillard; World Premieres; a CONTACT! program; and Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. He concludes The Nielsen Project — the multi-year initiative to perform and record the Danish composer’s symphonies and concertos, the first release of which was named by The New York Times as among the Best Classical Music Recordings of 2012 — and presides over the EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour. Last season’s highlights included the inaugural NY PHIL BIENNIAL; Mozart’s final three symphonies; the score from 2001: A Space Odyssey alongside the film; a staging of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd starring Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson; and the ASIA / WINTER 2014 tour. Mr. Gilbert is Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies and holds the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at The Juilliard School. Conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of Hamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra, he regularly conducts leading orchestras around the world. He made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams’s Doctor Atomic in 2008, the DVD of which received a Grammy Award. Renée Fleming’s recent Decca recording Poèmes, on which he conducted, received a 2013 Grammy Award. His recordings have received top honors from the Chicago Tribune and Gramophone magazine. In May 2010 Mr. Gilbert received an Honorary Doctor of (more) Alan Gilbert / Lisa Batiashvili / 4 Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and in December 2011, Columbia University’s Ditson Conductor’s Award for his “exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers and to contemporary music.” In 2014 he was elected to The American Academy of Arts & Sciences. As the 2014–15 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, Lisa Batiashvili will make three orchestral appearances — featuring concertos by Brahms, Barber, and Bach as well as a U.S. Premiere–New York Philharmonic Co-Commission written for her by Thierry Escaich; an appearance on CONTACT!, the new-music series; and a recital, presented in association with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with pianist Paul Lewis. This season the Georgian violinist also serves as artist-in-residence for Hamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra, where she and her husband, François Leleux, give the World Premiere of Escaich’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, led by Alan Gilbert, before giving the work’s U.S. Premiere with the New York Philharmonic. Other 2014–15 season engagements include Filarmonica della Scala and Berlin Staatskapelle, both led by Daniel Barenboim; Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, led by Antonio Pappano; The Philadelphia Orchestra’s European tour, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Rotterdam Philharmonic’s Gergiev Festival; and concerts with Mr.