FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2017 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5700; [email protected] 2017–18 ARTISTIC PARTNERSHIPS BEGIN In Program Conducted by PAAVO JÄRVI NEW YORK PREMIERE of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence ESA-PEKKA SALONEN’s Gambit RACHMANINOFF’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence LEIF OVE ANDSNES SIBELIUS’s Symphony No. 5 Saturday Matinee Concert To Feature LEIF OVE ANDSNES, Concertmaster FRANK HUANG, and Principal Cello CARTER BREY Performing Grieg’s Andante con moto, for piano trio, and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio in E minor October 12–14 and 17, 2017 The New York Philharmonic’s Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen and Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes will both launch their 2017–18 Philharmonic residencies in a Scandinavian-themed program led by Paavo Järvi. The Orchestra will perform the New York Premiere of Gambit by the Finnish Esa-Pekka Salonen, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, and the program will conclude with Finnish composer Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5. The concerts take place Thursday, October 12, 2017, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, October 13 at 11:00 a.m.; Saturday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. In the Saturday Matinee Concert on October 14 at 2:00 p.m., Leif Ove Andsnes collaborates with two key figures from the New York Philharmonic: Concertmaster Frank Huang and Principal Cello Carter Brey. Together they will perform Grieg’s Andante con moto, for piano trio, and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio in E minor; the program also features Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5, conducted by Paavo Järvi. Esa-Pekka Salonen — the composer-conductor who displays “a kind of complete musicianship rarely encountered today” (The Boston Globe) — is in his third and final season as The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence. The Guardian writes that his Gambit, receiving its New York Premiere in these performances, “gleams with the confidence of an assured professional. … Its steady build towards climax has a sense of luxuriating in its own sonority that lights it up from within.” The Orchestra will also give the New York Concert Premiere of Mr. Salonen’s Helix in January 2018, and Mr. Salonen (more) Paavo Järvi / Leif Ove Andsnes / Esa-Pekka Salonen / 2 will conduct a World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission by Kravis Emerging Composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica; and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Benjamin Grosvenor as soloist (inaugural recipient of the Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize at the New York Philharmonic) in April 2018. Highlights of Esa-Pekka-Salonen’s tenure as Composer-in-Residence include the New York and European Premieres of his Cello Concerto with Yo- Yo Ma as soloist (2017); his curating the CONTACT! concerts “Salonen’s Floof and Other Delights” (2016) and “The Messiaen Connection” (2016); and his conducting Messiaen’s Turangalîla-symphonie as part of the Philharmonic’s Messiaen Week (2016) and Circle Map, a program celebrating Kaija Saariaho presented by Park Avenue Armory (2016). Leif Ove Andsnes, whose collaborations with the New York Philharmonic began in 1997, has recorded Rachmaninoff’s complete piano concertos with Antonio Pappano (who will conduct Mr. Andsnes at the Philharmonic in February 2018), earning accolades including Record Geijutsu’s Record Academy Award and a Grammy nomination. In its review of Mr. Andsnes’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Fourth Piano Concerto, BBC writes that it marks “Andsnes at his most attentive…. Technical challenges are shaken off like rainwater, subtler sections are given the requisite grace and poise, and everything else in between is a joyous blur.” His previous collaborations with Paavo Järvi include a recording of works by Britten, Shostakovich, and Enesco. Related Event Insights at the Atrium — “An Evening with Leif Ove Andsnes” The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes, speaker New York Philharmonic Vice President, Artistic Planning, Isaac Thompson, moderator Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 7:30 p.m. David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (Broadway at 62nd Street) Artists Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi is opening his third season as chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, which presents repertoire ranging from Mozart to Bernstein. Their acclaimed Richard Strauss recording project continues with the second album, featuring Don Quixote, Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks, and Der Rosenkavalier Suite. As artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, he continues the critically acclaimed Brahms symphony cycle and launches its Schubert project touring in Europe. Beginning in the 2019–20 season, Mr. Järvi will be chief conductor and music director of Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra. He is also conductor laureate of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, music director laureate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and former music director of the Orchestre de Paris. Mr. Järvi is in much demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, Berlin Staatskapelle, and Dresden Staatskapelle. Recent and upcoming highlights include Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala Milan, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, in addition to the New York Philharmonic. Paavo Järvi is a dedicated supporter of Estonian composers and artistic adviser to the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Each season concludes with a week of performances and master classes at Estonia’s Pärnu Music Festival, which he founded in 2010. As a festival celebrating the orchestra at its heart, Mr. Järvi created (more) Paavo Järvi / Leif Ove Andsnes / Esa-Pekka Salonen / 3 the Estonian Festival Orchestra, which he will take to Europe’s major capital cities for a tour that coincides with the 100th anniversary of Estonian Independence in January 2018. He was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia in 2013 for his outstanding contribution to Estonian culture. With an extensive discography, Paavo Järvi has won a Grammy Award for his recording of Sibelius’s Cantatas and was named Artist of the Year by both Gramophone and Diapason magazines. He has also been appointed Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for his contribution to music in France. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Paavo Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn School of Music. He moved to the United States in 1980 and continued his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. Mr. Järvi made his New York Philharmonic debut in March 1999, conducting works by Bartók and Brahms; his most recent appearance, in March 2011, featured works by Britten and Beethoven, as well as the New York Premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Aditus for Symphony Orchestra. Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is the 2017–18 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic. Acclaimed for his commanding technique and searching interpretations, he performs recitals and concertos in the world’s leading concert halls and with its foremost orchestras, and is an active recording artist. An avid chamber musician, he is the founding director of the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival, was co-artistic director of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music for almost two decades, and served as music director of California’s 2012 Ojai Music Festival. Mr. Andsnes was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2013, and received honorary doctorates from New York’s Juilliard School and Norway’s University of Bergen in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Mr. Andsnes now records exclusively for Sony Classical. His earlier discography comprises more than 30 discs for EMI Classics — solo, chamber, and concerto releases, many of them bestsellers — spanning repertoire from J.S. Bach to the present day. He recently completed Beethoven Journey with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, in which he led the orchestra from the keyboard in Beethoven’s five concertos in residencies around the world, a multiple-season project recorded for Sony Classics. A frequent collaborator with the New York Philharmonic, as Artist-in-Residence Mr. Andsnes will perform chamber music, a solo recital, Britten’s Piano Concerto led by Antonio Pappano, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 led by Paavo Järvi, and Debussy’s Fantaisie led by Edward Gardner. These concertos figure prominently in his 2017–18 programming: he plays the Britten with orchestras including Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Rachmaninoff with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Bergen Philharmonic orchestras; and Debussy with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic, and New World Symphony. He embarks on an extensive European recital tour with a program featuring selected pieces by Sibelius, whose rarely performed solo piano oeuvre is also the focus of his upcoming Sony Classical release. Leif Ove Andsnes made his New York Philharmonic debut in February 1997 performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, conducted by Neeme Järvi. He most recently joined the Orchestra, led by Alan Gilbert, for György Kurtág’s … quasi una fantasia … and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in September 2012. Insights at the Atrium Speakers See Leif Ove Andsnes’s biography above (more) Paavo Järvi / Leif Ove Andsnes / Esa-Pekka Salonen / 4 Isaac Thompson is Vice President, Artistic Planning, of the New York Philharmonic. He has led a multifaceted career as performer, writer, educator, and arts administrator. Appointed director of Artistic Administration for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Cincinnati May Festival in February 2015, Mr. Thompson was responsible for creating and implementing a wide variety of artistic initiatives, including season programming, commissioning, special artistic projects, and recording projects in collaboration with music director Louis Langrée.