Vienna Waits for You

The Philharmonic’s EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour wraps up with a set of concerts to celebrate the centenary of the Wiener Konzerthaus, bringing all of the major works performed on tour together for three performances. Join in to see the activity around the Konzerthaus (including the return of some familiar faces) courtesy of our Virtual Tour.

(Photos by Chris Lee)

Jimmy and Lenny

Congratulations to James Levine as he prepares to return to the concert stage this weekend, following a two-year hiatus. While his performance this weekend will be with his “home” team of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Jimmy would occasionally step next door to conduct the Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall (you can see the full measure of his appearances with us by searching his name here). In this photo from the Digital Archives, he shares shop talk with Leonard Bernstein.

Welcome back, Jimmy!

A Presidential Visit

Our list of distinguished audience members on tour grew a bit longer last night: Austrian Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer came to our May 15 concert, our first of three at the Vienna Konzerthaus celebrating the Konzerthaus’s centenary. Federal President Fischer offered his congratulations post-concert to Alan Gilbert, Matthew VanBesien, and our soloist for that evening, Emanuel Ax, before the three gentlemen went to the post-concert reception for our Global Sponsor Credit Suisse. Thank you very much for joining us, Dr. President, and happy birthday to the Wiener Konzerthaus! Here’s to another 100 years.

Found in Translation

The latest from our EUROPE / SPRING 2013 Virtual Tour is now available for your voyeuristic pleasure! Among the highlights of our time in Dresden are the beautifully ornate Semperoper, where we played Mozart, Bloch, and Musorgsky, and its striking contrast in Volkswagen’s Die Gläserne Manufaktur, the site of Magnus Lindberg’s Kraft, plus works by Christopher Rouse and Leonard Bernstein. Not to mention a familiar face in the audience…

(Photos by Chris Lee)

There It Is

“But they showed no corrections of any kind. Not one. He had simply written down music already finished in his head. Page after page of it as if he were just taking dictation. And music, finished as no music is ever finished. Displace one note and there would be diminishment. Displace one phrase and the structure would fall.”

A very happy 87th birthday to British playwright Sir Peter Shaffer, the man behind Amadeus in both stage and screen forms. Appropriately enough, we marked Sir Peter’s natal day with a performance of Mozart in Vienna. Laughs (though none to the degree of Tom Hulce’s) were had by all.

(Source: vladpopovic)

Doug Adams ‏@DougAdamsMusic 4h

Love that Bill Murray attended the @nyphil’s Dresden show … and that they call him “Peter Venkman” on Facebook — pic.twitter.com/be6p0ai97q

That’s the Fact, Jack

Well, there’s somethin’ you don’t see everyday… While filming in Dresden, Bill Murray (aka Phil Connors aka Bob Harris aka Steve Zissou) spent his day off at Volkswagen’s Die Gläserne Manufaktur watching Alan and the Orchestra perform Christopher Rouse’s Prospero’s Rooms, Bernstein’s Serenade (with Joshua Bell), and Magnus Lindberg’s wildly theatrical and raucous Kraft (which used reporposed Volkswagen auto parts for its found instruments).

If we had to pick one day to live over and over, yesterday may not be a bad choice; if you missed the performance, for the next 90 days you’ll have the change to re-live it, courtesy of medici.tv.

EUROPE / SPRING 2013: Dortmund und Berlin

Late last week, we visited flying rhinos in Dortmund, enjoyed a free day in Essen, and made a historic return to the Konzerthaus Berlin (our last performances in the hall were in 1988, when it was still part of East Berlin). Check out the highlights as part of the latest installment of our virtual tour for EUROPE / SPRING 2013!

(Photos by Chris Lee)

Revving Up

If you’re not yet psyched about experiencing Magnus Lindberg’s Kraft by watching the Webcast on medici.tv — which begins at 2:00 p.m. New York time — you will be after watching this video of Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic’s preparations for today’s concert at Dresden’s Volkswagen Transparent Factory! Then check in tomorrow for photos and more video on our Virtual Tour.