FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPDATED October 22, 2014 October 14, 2014 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected] JAAP VAN ZWEDEN TO RETURN TO THE PHILHARMONIC TO CONDUCT TWO PROGRAMS ACTING CONCERTMASTER SHERYL STAPLES and PRINCIPAL VIOLA CYNTHIA PHELPS To Perform MOZART’s Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola Program Also To Include SHOSTAKOVICH’s Symphony No. 8 November 20–22, 2014 HILARY HAHN To Perform KORNGOLD’s Violin Concerto Program Also To Include J. WAGENAAR’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture and BEETHOVEN’s Symphony No. 7 Saturday Matinee Concert To Feature Dvořák’s Wind Serenade Performed by Philharmonic Musicians November 26 and 28–29, 2014 Jaap van Zweden — music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic as well as former concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra — will return to the New York Philharmonic for the first time since his debut in April 2012 to conduct two weeks of concerts. In the first program, Mr. van Zweden will conduct Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola, featuring Acting Concertmaster Sheryl Staples and Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8, Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 21 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m. The following week, Mr. van Zweden will lead the Orchestra in Korngold’s Violin Concerto, with Hilary Hahn as soloist; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7; and J. Wagenaar’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture, marking the Philharmonic’s first time performing the work, Wednesday, November 26, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 28 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 29 at 8:00 p.m. “These are cherished opportunities to be featured with our colleagues, and I consider it a great honor,” Sheryl Staples said. “These are the highlights of my musical existence.” “The Sinfonia concertante is a very sweet dialogue, personal and intimate,” Cynthia Phelps said. “The beauty of this piece is that it showcases the differences between these two voices and the colors each of them creates.” (more) Jaap van Zweden / Sheryl Staples / Cynthia Phelps / Hilary Hahn / 2 Sheryl Staples and Cynthia Phelps last performed Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with the Philharmonic in March 2002, led by the late Colin Davis. In its review, The New York Times wrote: “Cynthia Phelps ... brought some alluring touches to her solo line.... And Sheryl Staples ... played the violin line with sweet sound and an appealing directness. Both in the tandem writing and in the dialogues, their playing was lively and well matched.” Ms. Staples and Ms. Phelps also performed the work in September 2014 for the opening concert of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Hall during the inaugural weeks of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, co- founded by the Philharmonic. Hilary Hahn performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto with Mr. van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in November 2012 and on that orchestra’s March 2013 tour of Europe. In its review of the 2012 performance, Backtrack.com wrote: “Ms. Hahn’s implacable technique, massive yet easy sound, and cool stage demeanor lent themselves well to the Korngold Violin Concerto. She was doggedly attentive to the music’s twists and turns, integrating cadenza-like outbursts into the fabric of the piece, and making each note and harmony speak with the relevance needed to make this concerto come alive.” The Saturday Matinee Concert November 29 at 2:00 p.m. opens with Dvořák’s Wind Serenade, with Philharmonic Principal Oboe Liang Wang and oboist Robert Botti; Principal Clarinet Anthony McGill and clarinetist Pascual Martínez Forteza; Principal Bassoon Judith LeClair and bassoonist Roger Nye; contrabassoonist Arlen Fast; Principal Horn Philip Myers and hornists R. Allen Spanjer and Howard Wall; Associate Principal Cello Eileen Moon; and Principal Bass Timothy Cobb. The rest of the program features J. Wagenaar’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture and Korngold’s Violin Concerto, with Hilary Hahn as soloist. Each of the concerts on this season’s Saturday Matinee series features chamber music by Dvořák. Related Events Pre-Concert Insights New York Philharmonic Program Annotator James M. Keller, The Leni and Peter May Chair, will introduce the program November 20–22. Musicologist and professor Elizabeth Seitz will introduce the program November 26 and 28–29. Admission/Tickets to Pre-Concert Insights are $7; discounts are available for multiple talks, students, and groups. These events take place one hour before performances, and are held in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org/preconcert or (212) 875- 5656. Artists Amsterdam-born Jaap van Zweden has been music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008 and music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. Mr. van Zweden received Musical America’s Conductor of the Year Award 2012 in recognition of his critically acclaimed work with the Dallas Symphony, as well as his appearances as guest conductor with other U.S. orchestras. Highlights of his 2014–15 season and beyond include tours of major venues in Europe with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, subscription debuts with the Israel and Czech Philharmonic orchestras, German Symphony Orchestra Berlin, and Budapest Festival Orchestra, and return visits to The Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, (more) Jaap van Zweden / Sheryl Staples / Cynthia Phelps / Hilary Hahn / 3 Orchestre de Paris, and the Rotterdam and London Philharmonic orchestras. With the Dallas Symphony, Mr. van Zweden will conduct 12 of 18 programs in the 2014–15 Texas Instruments Classical Series, the inaugural SOLUNA: International Music & Arts Festival in Dallas in May 2015, and return to Colorado’s Bravo! Vail festival. Jaap van Zweden has appeared as guest conductor with orchestras including the Chicago and Cologne’s WDR symphony orchestras; The Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw orchestras; Munich, Oslo, Rotterdam, and London philharmonic orchestras; and Orchestre National de France. Recent highlights have included acclaimed debuts with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras; Zurich’s Tonhalle-Orchestra; Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Boston, San Francisco, and London symphony orchestras; and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic in his BBC Proms debut. Among his numerous recordings are Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Petrushka, Britten’s War Requiem, and complete cycles of the Beethoven and Brahms symphonies. For the Dallas Symphony’s record label (DSO Live) he has released recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies, Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, and the World Premiere recording of Steven Stucky’s concert drama August 4, 1964, which garnered a Grammy nomination for its composer. Mr. van Zweden made his New York Philharmonic debut in April 2012, leading Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with Yuja Wang. Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate Concertmaster, The Elizabeth G. Beinecke Chair, in September 1998 and currently serves as Acting Concertmaster, The Charles E. Culpeper Chair. She made her solo debut with the Philharmonic in 1999 performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, led by then Music Director Kurt Masur, and has since been featured in concertos by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Vivaldi with conductors including Alan Gilbert, Lorin Maazel, and Colin Davis. She has performed as soloist with more than 40 other orchestras nationwide, including The Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego and Richmond Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic orchestras. Previously she was the associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra and concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony and Santa Barbara Chamber orchestras. Ms. Staples frequently performs chamber music in the New York area in venues including Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has performed chamber music for U.S. Ambassadors in London, Paris, Berlin, Beijing, and Hong Kong, and in 2013 she toured Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. Ms. Staples has participated in the La Jolla, Boston, Salt Bay, Santa Fe, Mainly Mozart, and Aspen chamber music festivals. She appears on three Stereophile compact discs with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Currently she is on faculty at The Juilliard School working with students aspiring toward orchestral careers. Ms. Staples and her husband, percussionist Barry Centanni, premiered William Kraft’s Concerto a Tre for piano, violin, and percussion (written for them, at Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society’s summer festival and recorded for release on the Albany Records label in 2008) and David Sampson’s Black River Concerto (for solo violin, percussion, and orchestra in April 2011 with the Montclair State University Symphony). Ms. Staples performs on the “Kartman” Guarneri del Gesu, c. 1728, previously on loan from private collector Peter Mandell and now in the collection of the New York Philharmonic. (more) Jaap van Zweden / Sheryl Staples / Cynthia Phelps / Hilary Hahn / 4 Cynthia Phelps is the New York Philharmonic’s Principal Viola, The Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose Chair. Highlights of her solo appearances with the Orchestra have included performances on the 2006 Tour of Italy, sponsored by Generali, performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in 2010 and 2014, and Sofia Gubaidulina’s Two Paths, which the Orchestra commissioned for her and Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young and which they premiered in 1999 and reprised both in New York and on tour, most recently in Avery Fisher Hall performances in 2011. Other solo engagements have included the Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Ms. Phelps performs with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Jupiter Chamber Players, and the Santa Fe, La Jolla, Seattle, Chamber Music Northwest, and Bridgehampton festivals. She has appeared with the Guarneri, Tokyo, Orion, American, Brentano, and Prague Quartets, and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.