A Triumphant Tour

Hop on board the Virtual Tour — the final installment of the EUROPE / WINTER 2012  — and experience the tour’s triumphant final stop in London, which included performances at the Barbican Centre featuring Joyce DiDonato, Lang Lang, and Frank Peter Zimmermann, and a Young People’s Concert with Jamie Bernstein.

Do-Over

In need of a New Year’s do-over? Watch this video of the Philharmonic’s Chinese New Year concert —recorded live — and you may find the motivation you need. Relive the moments — from the Dragon Parade on the Plaza to performances by Lang Lang, Principal Oboe Liang Wang, bamboo flute player Junqiao Tang, and the Quintessenso Mongolian Children’s Choir, conducted by Long Yu. 

Going Dutch

Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic have arrived in Amsterdam — the sixth stop on the EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour — for two sold-out concerts at the Concertgebouw. View the complete slideshow of their arrival in this city of canals via the Virtual Tour.

Accolades from Abroad

Here’s what the European press has to say about the Orchestra’s recent performances in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf on the EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour:

“It was clear, transparent, and enhanced by the flawless balance of sound that once again underscored the orchestra’s world-class quality.” — the Offenbach Post on the Orchestra’s performance of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5

“The New York Philharmonic impressively and precisely captured the various moods of the movements with its never cocky, controlled orchestral sound, meticulously illuminated the characteristics of this fabric of sound. Thunderous applause.” — the Frankfurter Neue Presse on Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony

“New York native Alan Gilbert, Music Director of this orchestra since 2009, brought out the texture of this composition with great precision and uncanny sureness.” — the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg’s Feria

“The level of this orchestra was heavenly. Whether in the broad, multicolor expanses of the first movement, the harsh developments of the Scherzo, or the damp, almost mossy tundra of the Adagio, the Philharmonic played with a passionate delicacy that was reminiscent of the days under Mitropoulos or Bernstein.” — the Rheinische Post on Lindberg’s Feria

Visit the Virtual Tour for an inside look at EUROPE / WINTER 2012.

Check out what Philharmonic news has had the international Twitter-sphere a-buzz …

Your Weekend and the Week Ahead: Plan Now

1) Catch up with the Orchestra through slideshows and videos via the Virtual Tour — your VIP access to EUROPE / WINTER 2012.

2) Read what the critics are saying about the Orchestra’s February 8 performance in Frankfurt with Frank Peter Zimmermann:

Blitz und Sonne

“[…] New York and its merits are the subject of countless declarations of love. The city’s most famous assets rightly include the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, as its Frankfurt appearance underscored. Throughout the concert the New Yorkers showed what they can do. It is impossible to decide who had the greatest honor on this evening — the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who was allowed to play with the Philharmonic, or the orchestra, which has engaged the Duisburg native as guest soloist for the entire season. […] On an evening like this, one would like to join in Frank Sinatra’s paean to New York at the top of one’s voice.” — Cara Gutman, the Darmstädter Echo

Mit Präzision, Disziplin und Eleganz

 “[…] Thus, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the opening of the Pro Arte Concert was an ideal match. Controlled emotion, quiet elegance, and beautiful tone did great justice to this unique work, without rough edges or extremes. […] [The orchestra’s] absolute precision, the discipline, the sound – which never strays from objectivity – and stylistic competence are flawless. The musicians strike the “classical,” well-balanced Beethoven tone as well as the modern, twentieth-century sounds of Ravel and Stravinsky.” — Frankfurter Neue Presse

Konsequente Klasse

“The musical styles were wide-ranging, the level consistently world class […] At the first guest appearance by the New York Philharmonic at the sold-out Alte Oper, the perfection, flexibility, and tremendous musicality of this 170-year-old orchestra were thrilling. […]” — Axel Zibulski, Offenbach-Post

“Glenn Dicterow plays tennis, but never slices rolls.”

Despite a busy tour schedule, Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow takes some time to speak to the Westdeutsche Zeitung in Düsseldorf, Germany, ahead of the Orchestra’s February 11 performance there during EUROPE / WINTER 2012. Alan Gilbert makes his debut as Music Director in Düsseldorf, leading a program of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with pianist Lang Lang, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.

Thanks to the visionary support of Global Sponsor Credit Suisse, the New York Philharmonic continues its role as a ”leading cultural ambassador” both at home and abroad. EUROPE / WINTER 2012 is the eighth Philharmonic tour under the aegis of Credit Suisse, and the fifth in Europe. In “New York Philharmonic: Cultural Ambassadors in Europe,” Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses life on tour, programming new music for audiences, guest artists — Lang Lang, Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Joyce DiDonato — and Credit Suisse’s sponsorship.

Now (Virtually) Arriving In: Luxembourg

Catch up with the Philharmonic in the latest installment of the Virtual Tour and tag along as they perform two sold-out concerts at the Salle de Concerts Grande-Duchesse, Joséphine-Charlotte, and enjoy a frigid day of sightseeing in “the Gibraltar of the North.”

Next stop: “The City of Lights”