fantasmiq:

It’s that time of year again…..

Ah yes, we’ve been hearing a lot of this as the Philharmonic’s home, Avery Fisher Hall, has been the site of numerous commencement ceremonies. Congrats to all the grads!

(via musicalmelody)

Happy Birthday, Bubbles

Today marks the 83rd birthday anniversary of the late, great, American soprano Beverly Sills (here with conductor Andre Kostelanez in a photo from the Philharmonic’s Digital Archives).

A close friend of the Philharmonic, ”Bubbles” appeared with the Orchestra 25 times, and hosted numerous concerts for PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center. After decades as a darling of the opera stage, she became a fixture on the arts scene as general director of the New York City Opera, then chairman of Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Opera.

Campus News

Congrats to a Lincoln Center campus colleague, Mostly Mozart Music Director Louis Langrée for being named new Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra! He’ll certainly be logging some serious frequent flier miles, between Cincinnati, New York, and Salzburg (where he is Chief Conductor).

(Source: lincolncenter)

lincolncenter:

Avery Fisher, After-School Special

“Philharmonic Hall [now Avery Fisher Hall] provided me with a 1960’s version of child care and was where I got some of my earliest music education. After school I went there and stayed under the watchful eyes of security guards and box office staff. Leonard Bernstein was the music director of the New York Philharmonic and a Pied Piper of music for kids. A few of us were often allowed to sit in on rehearsals and hear Lenny guide the orchestra deeper into the music. He would swivel in his chair and lecture us about modes, chords, key signatures and what Beethoven or Brahms was thinking about when they wrote their symphonies and concertos.

— Fred Plotkin in “Memories of Lincoln Center, Fifty Years On” via WXQR’s Operavore blog. Plotkin’s mother worked at Lincoln Center, and the author continues his association through Philharmonic pre-concert talks. Read the piece in its entirety here.

(Photo by Mark Bussell)

Offstage in Three Hours

Don’t forget about tonight’s FREE Offstage event with Yuja Wang and Jaap van Zweden, in conversation with WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon, tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Lincoln Center’s David Rubinstein Atrium. It’s your chance to get up close and personal with two people who are making major waves in the business. 

Offstage on the Program

Join Yuja Wang and Jaap van Zweden on April 16 at 7:00 p.m. for an evening of musical insights at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium in the upcoming New York Philharmonic Offstage event. Check out videos from past events to see what’s in store for this unique experience.

The event (and the observations) are completely free of charge! Be sure to arrive early: seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Like a Bridge Over 65th Street

Tonight marks the first night of construction on the pedestrian bridge that will span across 65th street, connecting the Rose Building to Hearst Plaza — making it that much easier for visitors to get from matinee concerts across the way to the New York Philharmonic concert in the evenings!

lincolncenter:

BUILDING A BRIDGE AT THE WORLD’S LARGEST PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

A RARE OCCURRENCE IN NEW YORK CITY: PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE MAKES LINCOLN CENTER DEBUT THIS WEEKEND

Three Massive Bridge Sections to be Joined Across West 65th Street

WHEN: Friday, March 30, at 10 p.m. (Bridge installation continues through the weekend.)

WHERE: “Street of the Arts,” West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue

WHAT: Lincoln Center begins the final stages of a multi-year $1.2 billion redevelopment project with the installation of the sculpturally expressive bridge designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro across 65th Street, Lincoln Center’s “Street of the Arts.” The bridge will connect the more than 5 million people who visit the world’s leading performing arts center each year to event spaces including the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall (home of the New York Philharmonic), the Koch Theater (home of New York City Ballet), Lincoln Center Theater, The Juilliard School, Rose Building (home to School of American Ballet and the Film Society of Lincoln Center) and Alice Tully Hall.

The bridge will be commissioned and open to the public in early fall.

Spanning 80 feet by 10 feet wide, the ADA compliant bridge will connect the Rose Building to Hearst Plaza (which houses Barclays Capital Grove, Illumination Lawn and the acclaimed LINCOLN restaurant). Easing the passage between the northern and southern sections of the Lincoln Center campus, the bridge will provide a safe alternate crossing for visitors of all ages.

 

Were You There?

Did you see the Philharmonic come to Japan in 1961 with Leonard Bernstein? Do you know the others in this photo with him? Let us know! The Philharmonic’s Digital Archives invites you to tag the photos, to add to our knowledge of our own history. This photo and more than 12,000 others from The International Era, 1943-1970 — a pivotal time when the Philharmonic became a worldwide touring orchestra and moved to its new home at Lincoln Center — are now available to the public for the very first time.

The devil is in the details and that is certainly true of the Philharmonic’s move to Lincoln Center in 1962. The minutes of the December 13, 1961, Board of Directors meeting state that “all seems to be going as scheduled,” but because construction costs had “greatly increased,” Lincoln Center (which was to have purchased all the furnishings) asked the Philharmonic to provide items connected with spaces that it would be using exclusively: “These furnishings would include those for such rooms as the conductor’s studio, library, subscription department, locker room, and lounge.” The Board agreed, with a cap, and — as is obvious to anyone who attends the Orchestra’s concerts today — the move was achieved.

This is but one of the many, many details revealed in the images, photographed by Ardon Bar Hama, that will be added to the Philharmonic Digital Archives Be part of the online discussion featuring scholars from around the world on launch day: March 22, at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern).