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Home , Charles Dutoit, Garrick Ohlsson, New York Philharmonic, Yuja Wang

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2015 : Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected]

CHARLES DUTOIT and TO RETURN TO

MOZART’s No. 9, Jeunehomme RESPIGHI’s Roman Festivals, Fountains of Rome, and

February 3–6, 2016

Charles Dutoit will return to the New York Philharmonic to lead Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, Jeunehomme, with Yuja Wang as soloist, and Respighi’s Roman Festivals, Fountains of Rome, and Pines of Rome, Wednesday, February 3, 2016, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 5 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, February 6 at 8:00 p.m.

The program marks a rare performance of Respighi’s complete Roman Trilogy; the Philharmonic presented all three works together only once before, in October 1998, led by Simone Young. The Philharmonic gave the World Premiere of Roman Festivals in 1929, led by ; the U.S. Premiere of Pines of Rome in 1926, led by Arturo Toscanini; and the U.S. Premiere of Fountains of Rome in 1919, led by Josef Stransky. Charles Dutoit released an acclaimed recording of the Trilogy, featuring the Montreal Symphony , in 1983. The Guardian wrote of his 2014 performance of the Trilogy with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: “The constant shifts in orchestral colour have a mesmerising, almost narcotic quality … Dutoit reminded us of an eclectic mix of influences. … it was hard to imagine them better done.”

Charles Dutoit and Yuja Wang are frequent collaborators, and this program marks their first collaboration together with the Philharmonic. The Chicago Tribune said that their 2007 performance “generated enough electricity to light up Symphony Center for days.”

Yuja Wang will return in March 2016 for performances of Messiaen’s Turangalîla-symphonie, conducted by The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen, as part of the Philharmonic’s Messiaen Week.

Related Events  Philharmonic Free Fridays The New York Philharmonic is offering 100 free tickets for young people ages 13–26 to the concert Friday, February 5 as part of Philharmonic Free Fridays. Information is available at nyphil.org/freefridays. Philharmonic Free Fridays offers 100 free tickets to 13–26-year-olds to each of the 2015–16 season’s 15 Friday evening subscription concerts. (more)

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 Pre-Concert Insights Writer, music historian, and former Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic Harvey Sachs will introduce the program. Pre-Concert Insights take place one hour before these performances in the Helen Hull Room, unless otherwise noted. Pre-Concert Insights are $7, and discounts are available for three (3) or more talks and for students. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org/preconcert or (212) 875-5656.

Artists Charles Dutoit has performed with all the major on most stages of five continents. Artistic director and principal conductor of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he recently celebrated his 30-year artistic collaboration with The Orchestra, which bestowed upon him the title of conductor laureate. He collaborates regularly with the New York Philharmonic, as well as with the orchestras of Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and is also a regular guest on stages in London, Berlin, Paris, Munich, Moscow, Sydney, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. His more than 200 recordings for Decca, , EMI, Philips, and Erato have garnered multiple awards and distinctions, including two Grammys. For 25 years Mr. Dutoit was artistic director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. From 1991 to 2001 he was music director of the Orchestre National de France, and in 1996 he was appointed principal conductor and, soon thereafter, music director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), for which he now serves as music director emeritus. He was music director of The ’s Mann Music Center season for ten years, as well as at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for 21 years. Mr. Dutoit’s interest in the younger generation has always held an important place in his career, and he has successively been music director of the Sapporo Pacific Music Festival and Miyazaki International Music Festival in Japan, as well as the Canton International Summer Music Academy in Guangzhou. In 2009 he became music director of the Verbier Festival Orchestra. When still in his early 20s, Charles Dutoit was invited by to conduct the Vienna Staatsoper. He has since conducted at The , Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Rome Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He has been named Honorary Citizen of the City of Philadelphia (1991), Grand Officier de l’Ordre national du Québec (1995), and Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France (1996); was invested as Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada (1998); received the Gold Medal of the city of Lausanne, his birthplace (2007); and was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Awards (2014). He holds honorary doctorates from McGill, Montreal, and Laval universities and the Curtis Institute of Music. A globetrotter motivated by his passion for history, archaeology, political science, art, and architecture, Charles Dutoit has traveled in all 196 nations of the world. He made his New York Philharmonic debut in February 1982 leading works by Haydn, Franck, and Stravinsky; he most recently led the Philharmonic in the summer of 2015 at the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and in Shanghai as part of the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Residency Partnership.

Since her debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007 while still a student at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, pianist Yuja Wang has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Chicago, San Francisco, National, London, NHK, Melbourne, and Sydney symphony orchestras; The Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; the (more) Charles Dutoit / Yuja Wang / 3

Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Munich, Israel, and China philharmonic orchestras; and the , Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orchestra della Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Mariinsky Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. She was championed early on by conductors including , , and the late , and is a fiercely dedicated chamber musician and recitalist, appearing at concert halls and festivals worldwide. An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2009, she has released three solo and two concerto recordings to date, garnering two Grammy nominations. She has been the subject of television documentaries and graced the pages of magazines ranging from arts and culture to fashion. Born in Beijing in 1987, Yuja Wang began piano lessons at the age of six and completed studies at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music and ’s Mount Royal College Conservatory, as well as at Curtis. She is a Rolex ambassador and a Steinway Artist. Ms. Wang made her Philharmonic debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, led by , in July 2006 at Bravo! Vail; she most recently appeared with the Philharmonic in the 2014 Chinese New Year Concert and Gala, led by Long Yu, performing works by and Rachmaninoff.

Repertoire (1756–91) completed his Piano Concerto No. 9, Jeunehomme, in 1777. Some believe that he wrote it for a touring French pianist named Mlle. Jeunehomme. The concerto represents a leap forward in ambition and achievement for the 21-year-old composer. The scoring is modest — only pairs of oboes and French horns join the strings — but the concerto gives the impression of being big: the plays a melody in unison with the piano, and Mozart explores the sonority of the keyboard joined only by the two oboes. The piano frequently plays at unexpected moments, and the matter of who plays when becomes the subject of continuing subtle jokes and surprises. The New York Symphony (which merged with the New York Philharmonic in 1928 to form today’s New York Philharmonic) first performed the concerto in October 1902, conducted by with Roul Pugno as soloist. It was last performed by the New York Philharmonic in April 2012, with and led by Herbert Blomstedt.

Between 1916 and 1928 (1879–1936) composed a triptych paying homage to the city of Rome: Fountains of Rome (1916), Pines of Rome (1924), and Roman Festivals (1928). While Fountains essentially captures the composer’s impressions of man-made objects and Pines his ruminations inspired by nature, Roman Festivals evokes four entire scenes: the Circenses, the Jubilee, the October Festival, and the Epiphany. After Festivals — which is packed with motives, evocative orchestration, and thick sonorities — Respighi turned away from symphonic writing, noting that “with the present constitution of the orchestra, it is impossible to achieve more.” The New York Philharmonic gave the World Premiere of Roman Festivals in February 1929, one year after its composition, led by Arturo Toscanini; the Orchestra most recently performed the work in January 2007, led by .

Fountains of Rome is a virtuosic kaleidoscope of sound meant to express, as Respighi noted, “the sentiment and visions suggested by four of Rome’s fountains at the hour in which the character of each is most in harmony with the surrounding landscape, or in which their beauty appears the most suggestive to the observer.” These are the Fountain of Valle Giulia at dawn, the (more) Charles Dutoit / Yuja Wang / 4

Triton Fountain in the morning, the Trevi Fountain at midday, and the Villa Medici fountain at sunset. The New York Philharmonic gave the U.S. Premiere of Fountains of Rome in 1919, led by Josef Stransky; conducted the Orchestra’s most recent performance of the work in April 2013.

Pines of Rome, Respighi wrote, “uses nature as a point of departure, in order to recall memories and vision. The century-old trees which so characteristically dominate the Roman landscape became witnesses to the principal events in Roman life.” The four movements are titled The Pines of Villa Borghese, The Pines Near a Catacomb, The Pines of the Janiculum, and The Pines of the Appian Way. The Philharmonic performed the U.S. Premiere of Pines of Rome in January 1926, led by Arturo Toscanini; the most recent performance was in September 2012, conducted by Alan Gilbert.

* * * Charles Dutoit’s appearance is made possible through the Daisy and Paul Soros Endowment Fund.

* * * Yuja Wang’s performances this week are made possible through the Lawrence and Ronnie Ackman Family Fund for Distinguished Pianists.

* * * Major support for Philharmonic Free Fridays is provided by The Pratt Foundation.

* * * Philharmonic Free Fridays was created, in part, by a donation from an anonymous donor through the New York Philharmonic’s 2014 Share the Music! campaign.

* * * Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Tickets Single tickets for this performance start at $33. Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $20. Pre- Concert Insights are $7 (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office. The 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. A limited number of $16 tickets for select concerts may be available through the Internet for students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the day of. Valid identification is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. (Ticket prices subject to change.) (more) Charles Dutoit / Yuja Wang / 5

For press tickets, call Lanore Carr at the New York Philharmonic at (212) 875-5714, or email her at [email protected].

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New York Philharmonic

David Geffen Hall at

Wednesday, February 3, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Open Rehearsal — 9:45 a.m. Thursday, February 4, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 5, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, February 6, 2016, 8:00 p.m.

Pre-Concert Insights (one hour before each concert) with writer, music historian, and former Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic Harvey Sachs

Charles Dutoit, conductor Yuja Wang, piano

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 9, Jeunehomme RESPIGHI Roman Festivals RESPIGHI Fountains of Rome RESPIGHI Pines of Rome

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