FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPDATED December 7, 2017 November 2, 2017 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5700; [email protected] NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC 2017 HOLIDAY CONCERTS HANDEL’S MESSIAH Presented by Gary W. Parr Conducted by ANDREW MANZE December 12–16, 2017 22nd ANNUAL HOLIDAY BRASS NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC BRASS AND PERCUSSION Former Principal Trumpet PHILIP SMITH To Conduct, Host, and Perform Trumpet Player DOC SEVERINSEN in His 90th Birthday Year as Special Guest Soloist December 17, 2017 NEW YEAR’S EVE: BERNSTEIN ON BROADWAY ANNALEIGH ASHFORD, CHRISTOPHER JACKSON, LAURA OSNES, and AARON TVEIT Conducted by BRAMWELL TOVEY Nationally Telecast on LIVE FROM LINCOLN CENTER December 31, 2017 The New York Philharmonic’s 2017 holiday season presents classical and seasonal hallmarks, four Broadway stars singing Laureate Conductor Leonard Bernstein’s musical theater highlights, and the beloved annual traditions of Holiday Brass and Handel’s Messiah. December 12–14 and 16, 2017, 7:30 p.m.; December 15, 2017, 11:00 a.m.: Handel’s Messiah Handel’s celebrated and celebratory oratorio returns, conducted by Andrew Manze and sung by soprano Joélle Harvey, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, tenor Ben Bliss (in his Philharmonic subscription debut), and bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, as well as the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Joe Miller, director. December 17, 2017, 3:00 p.m.: Holiday Brass The 22nd annual Holiday Brass concert will feature the New York Philharmonic Brass and Percussion, presided over by conductor / host / former Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, performing holiday favorites and works from the brass canon, from the Baroque to the contemporary. This season they are joined by trumpet player Doc Severinsen, celebrating his 90th birthday year, as special guest soloist. (more) Holiday Concerts / 2 December 31, 2017, 8:00 p.m.: New Year’s Eve: Bernstein on Broadway New Year’s Eve: Bernstein on Broadway will feature Bramwell Tovey leading Members of the New York Philharmonic and vocalists Annaleigh Ashford (Philharmonic debut), Christopher Jackson (Philharmonic debut), Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit (Philharmonic debut), and the Westminster Festival Chorus directed by Joe Miller singing songs from Bernstein’s On the Town, Wonderful Town, West Side Story, and Candide — all of which were nominated for or won Tony Awards. The concert will be telecast nationally on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS stations at 9:00 p.m. (check local listings). The program continues the Philharmonic’s celebrations of its Laureate Conductor’s 100th birthday year, centered on Bernstein’s Philharmonic: A Centennial Festival, October 25–November 14. Artists HANDEL’S MESSIAH (December 12–16, 2017) Andrew Manze is celebrated for his inspirational conducting, extensive and scholarly knowledge of repertoire, skillful communication, and boundless energy. He became principal conductor of Hannover’s NDR Radiophilharmonie in the 2015–16 season; his contract has been renewed, for the second time, until the summer of 2021. In addition to a busy touring schedule within Germany and Austria, they toured China and South Korea in 2016 with András Schiff. In 2017–18 they tour the U.K. and return to the Far East in 2019. They have embarked on a recording series for Pentatone, initially focusing on Mendelssohn’s orchestral works. As a guest Mr. Manze has relationships with orchestras including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, the Hallé, Camerata Salzburg, and the Scottish and Swedish chamber orchestras. He is also a regular guest at the Mostly Mozart Festival and has a close relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he is in the process of recording the complete Vaughan Williams symphonies for Onyx Classics. In 2017–18 he makes debuts with Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie, and the Melbourne Symphony, and returns to the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics. From 2006 to 2014, Mr. Manze was principal conductor and artistic director of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, with which he made a number of recordings, including Beethoven’s Eroica (Harmonia Mundi) and a cycle of Brahms symphonies (CPO). From September 2010 to August 2014 he was associate guest conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and he was principal guest conductor of the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2011. After studying classics at Cambridge University, Mr. Manze focused on the violin and rapidly became a leading specialist in the world of historical performance practice. He became associate director of the Academy of Ancient Music in 1996, then artistic director of the English Concert from 2003 to 2007. As a violinist, he has released an array of CDs, many of them award-winners. Andrew Manze, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and visiting professor at the Oslo Academy, has contributed to new editions of sonatas and concertos by Mozart and J.S. Bach published by Bärenreiter and Breitkopf & Härtel. He also teaches, edits, and writes about music, and broadcasts regularly on radio and television. In November 2011 he received the Rolf Schock Prize in Stockholm. Andrew Manze made his New York Philharmonic debut leading Handel’s Messiah in December 2013. (more) Holiday Concerts / 3 A native of Bolivar, New York, soprano Joélle Harvey is the recipient of a 2011 First Prize Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, a 2009 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, and a 2010 Encouragement Award (in honor of Norma Newton) from the George London Foundation. Ms. Harvey began the 2017–18 season in concert with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, performing Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. She subsequently makes her Pittsburgh Opera debut as Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and joins The English Concert as Almirena in Handel’s Rinaldo. Additional concert appearances include a return to the New York Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah and an appearance with the Laguna Music Festival. In the summer of 2018 she returns to the Glyndebourne Festival Opera for her role debut as Cleopatra in David McVicar’s production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, conducted by William Christie. Last season, Ms. Harvey joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Pat Nixon in John Adams’s Nixon in China, and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Servilia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. In concert she appeared at the Mostly Mozart Festival for Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Requiem, which she also sang with the Kansas City and Utah Symphony Orchestras. She also joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Handel & Haydn Society for Handel’s Messiah, the National and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras for Mahler’s Das klagende Lied, and the London Symphony Orchestra and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for John Adams’s El Niño. She also appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the North Carolina Symphony. She concluded the season with a return to Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Servilia in La clemenza di Tito, a role she also performed at the BBC Proms. Joélle Harvey made her New York Philharmonic debut in J.S. Bach’s Magnificat in March 2013, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki; she most recently appeared with the Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah in December 2013, conducted by Andrew Manze. Jennifer Johnson Cano is noted for her commanding stage presence and profound artistry with a warm, velvety timbre. Winner of a 2012 Richard Tucker Career Grant and 2014 George London Award, she joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera in 2008 and was the First Prize winner of the 2009 Young Concert Artist International Auditions. Ms. Cano has given more than 100 performances at The Metropolitan Opera, with recent roles including Bersi in Giordano’s Andrea Chenier, Emilia in Verdi’s Otello, Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff, Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen, Nicklausse in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, and Wellgunde and Waltraute in Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Other appearances include Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Boston Lyric and Arizona Operas, the title role in Bizet’s Carmen with Boston Lyric Opera, Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo et Eurydice with Des Moines Metro Opera, Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Cincinnati Opera, and Marguerite in Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust with the Tucson Symphony. She has worked with conductors including Marin Alsop, Andrew Davis, Manfred Honeck, James Levine, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Robert Spano, Osmo Vänskä, and Franz Welser-Möst. Last season, she made her European debut performing John Adams’s El Niño on tour with Mr. Adams and the London Symphony Orchestra in London and Paris, and with Markus Stenz and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw. In 2017–18 Ms. Cano portrays Orfeo with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and The Sharp Eared Fox in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in concert with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and The Cleveland Orchestra in Cleveland, Vienna, and Luxembourg. Orchestral engagements include Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on tour with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with the (more) Holiday Concerts / 4 New York Philharmonic and Colorado Symphony Orchestra; Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony with the Atlanta, Phoenix, and Charlotte symphony orchestras; Mozart’s Requiem with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra; and Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Johnson Cano made her New York Philharmonic debut in November 2010 in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, conducted by then Music Director Alan Gilbert; she most recently appeared with the Orchestra in July 2017 during its Bravo! Vail residency, performing Beethoven’s Symphony No.