FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: February 12, 2015 New York Philharmonic contact: Katherine E. Johnson +1 (212) 875-5700; [email protected] Konzertdirektion Schmid contact: Meike Becker +49 (0)30 - 5213702-25; [email protected] EUROPE / SPRING 2015 TOUR ALAN GILBERT AND THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC APRIL 16–MAY 1, 2015 TOUR TO INCLUDE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC’S RETURN TO DUBLIN AFTER 19 YEARS Orchestra To Return to LONDON, PARIS, COLOGNE, AMSTERDAM, LUXEMBOURG, and FRANKFURT Second International Associate Residency at London’s BARBICAN CENTRE To Feature Reprise of 2013 GIANTS ARE SMALL’s Staging of PETRUSHKA, Highlights from CONTACT!, the New-Music Series, and Education Component Including YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERT and VERY YOUNG COMPOSERS WORLD PREMIERE in Cologne of Peter EÖTVÖS’s Senza sangue, Co-Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and KölnMusik, with ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER and RUSSELL BRAUN Esa-Pekka SALONEN’s Nyx Performances at PHILHARMONIE DE PARIS in Its Inaugural Season JOYCE DIDONATO To Perform RAVEL’s Shéhérazade Credit Suisse Is the Exclusive Tour Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic NEW YORK — Music Director Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic on the EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour, April 16–May 1, 2015. The two-week tour — the Philharmonic’s eighth international concert tour, the sixth to Europe, under Alan Gilbert’s leadership — will feature twelve orchestral concerts and one contemporary chamber music concert in six countries, with performances in Dublin, Ireland; London, England; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Luxembourg; Paris, France; and Frankfurt and Cologne, Germany. The soloists are mezzo- (more) EUROPE / SPRING 2015 Tour / 2 soprano Joyce DiDonato (Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and Paris), and mezzo- soprano Anne Sofie von Otter and baritone Russell Braun (Cologne). Tour highlights include two performances of Giants Are Small’s theatrical reimagining of Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka, adapted from the Philharmonic’s 2013 A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky (London); Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Nyx (London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, and Cologne); the World Premiere of Peter Eötvös’s Senza sangue, co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and KölnMusik, with Anne Sofie von Otter and Russell Braun as soloists (Cologne); and a concert featuring highlights from the Philharmonic’s recent concerts as part of CONTACT!, the new- music series (London). The tour marks the Philharmonic’s second residency at the Barbican Centre under the auspices of its International Associates initiative. As part of the residency, the Philharmonic will present its acclaimed staging, in collaboration with Giants Are Small, of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, including during a Young People’s Concert; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Nyx; Ravel’s Shéhérazade with mezzo- soprano Joyce DiDonato; and a CONTACT! concert featuring highlights from recent CONTACT! performances. The residency will also feature some of the Philharmonic’s signature educational projects, including a performance of works by Very Young Composers of New York and London, a Young People’s Concert featuring the theatrical staging of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and an interactive installation by Musicjelly — the London-based visual sampling project that experiments with the use of video and new media in music composition and performance — featuring Philharmonic musicians. In addition, Alan Gilbert will present the annual Royal Philharmonic Society Lecture, speaking on Orchestras in the 21st Century: A New Paradigm, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s Milton Court Concert Hall. The Philharmonic’s last International Associate residency at the Barbican Centre occurred during the EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour and totaled four concerts, including a Young People’s Concert, and a series of educational and outreach activities. EUROPE / SPRING 2015 marks the New York Philharmonic’s twelfth concert tour and seventh European tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse. A complete schedule of EUROPE / SPRING 2015 performances appears at the end of this press release. “This will be my sixth European tour with the New York Philharmonic, so I wanted to present programs and projects that reflect the artistic vision that has become integral to our activities at home in New York City,” said Music Director Alan Gilbert. “The Philharmonic musicians are astoundingly versatile, allowing us to bring to European audiences everything from Richard Strauss to Esa-Pekka Salonen. I look forward to returning to cities we have visited before — including Cologne, where we will premiere Peter Eötvös’s new opera, and Paris, where I’m excited to perform in the newly opened Philharmonie — and to making new musical friends in my first-ever performance in Dublin. And our residency in London will capture many of our signature projects, including Giants Are Small’s staging of Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and a chamber concert featuring highlights of CONTACT!, the Philharmonic’s new-music series.” (more) EUROPE / SPRING 2015 Tour / 3 “It is always momentous when the New York Philharmonic travels to Europe,” said President Matthew VanBesien, “but the EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour is particularly meaningful, as it demonstrates our belief in collaboration with like-minded institutions and our commitment to being a cultural resource to our hometown and around the world. All of this tour’s performances result from a warm, collaborative spirit with our partners, and I am particularly proud of the comprehensive series of informative and inspiring education activities that will take place at London’s Barbican Centre. The combination of performance and classroom activity is a model of how music can strengthen ties across borders.” “I am looking forward to traveling on my first New York Philharmonic tour as Chairman,” said Chairman Oscar S. Schafer. “I know that hearing Alan Gilbert and our Philharmonic musicians perform for the sophisticated and appreciative audiences of these cultural capitals will bring a fresh appreciation for how truly top-notch they are. I thank and congratulate Credit Suisse, the Exclusive Tour Sponsor; their support allows the New York Philharmonic to further advance its commitment not only to be a great orchestra for New York City, but a musical and cultural ambassador around the world.” “We are delighted to deepen our long-standing relationship with the New York Philharmonic by acting as Exclusive Tour Sponsor for their EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour,” said Gael de Boissard, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “Alan Gilbert and the exceptionally talented musicians of the Orchestra have developed a program which is sure to delight audiences whether they are revisiting classical pieces or experiencing the Orchestra for the first time. Coupled with unique educational experiences in schools, the magic of the Orchestra will appeal to a whole new generation as a result of this tour.” The EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour begins with a performance in Dublin at the National Concert Hall on April 16, marking the New York Philharmonic’s first visit to the city in 19 years. The Orchestra then heads to London for its second residency at the Barbican Centre under the auspices of its International Associates initiative; concerts will take place at the Barbican Centre on April 17–19. The tour continues in Amsterdam at the Royal Concertgebouw on April 21–22; Luxembourg at Philharmonie Luxembourg on April 23; Paris at the newly established Philharmonie de Paris on April 25–26; Frankfurt at the Alte Oper on April 28; and concludes in Cologne at the Kölner Philharmonie on April 30–May 1. Tour Programs The repertoire for EUROPE / SPRING 2015 will feature highlights from many of the initiatives introduced during Music Director Alan Gilbert’s tenure — including theatrical collaboration, CONTACT!, commissions, and educational initiatives — in addition to canonic masterworks. EUROPE / SPRING 2015 opens in Dublin with Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Nyx; Ravel’s Shéhérazade, sung by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales; and Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite. The same program will be performed in London, Amsterdam, and Paris. The Orchestra will also perform Nyx by Esa-Pekka Salonen (who will begin a three-year tenure as the Philharmonic’s Marie-Josée Kravis (more) EUROPE / SPRING 2015 Tour / 4 Composer-in-Residence in the 2015–16 season) in Cologne; Ravel’s Shéhérazade, with Joyce DiDonato, in Luxembourg; Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales in Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Cologne; and Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite in Frankfurt and Cologne. The Philharmonic will also perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 in Amsterdam and Luxembourg. In London the Philharmonic will present two performances of its acclaimed staging, in collaboration with Giants Are Small, of Stravinsky’s Petrushka; the first performance will take place at the Young People’s Concert and the second will also include Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin Suite — which the Orchestra will also perform in Paris and Cologne — and Debussy’s Jeux — which the Orchestra will also perform in Paris. Directed and conceived by Doug Fitch and produced by Edouard Getaz, Petrushka blends music with dance, live animation, pre-recorded video, puppetry, and circus arts, and spotlights Philharmonic musicians juggling, acting, and dancing. Featured in the pre-recorded footage will be New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns; opera star Eric Owens (the bass-baritone who will begin his tenure as the Philharmonic’s