Kudos!

Congratulations to our Principal Trumpet Phil Smith and to Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis on the belated premiere of a Voice, a Messenger, which the New York Phil co-commissioned and was to have premiered in December 2010 (only to have a blizzard preempt the proceedings). Composed for a large ensemble without strings, the honor of the April 2, 2013, premiere fell to the Illinois Wind Symphony. The piece was inspired by biblical references to trumpets and horns, which gave Phil the auspicious challenge of performing on three (count ‘em) instruments. The performance was so well received that soloist and composer were both called back on stage during the ovations.

The Phil’s Phil

Many happy returns to our Principal Trumpet, Philip Smith! Phil celebrates his 35th anniversary of playing with us this year and has been featured as a soloist more than 100 times during that time. He’s also been known to show off his comic chops, as seen in this video from our EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour, above (brace yourself for his priceless grin at 2:51).

And speaking of the Phil on tour, Smith shares his birthday with composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Enjoy a selection from his Symphony No. 2, conducted by Alan Gilbert in Dortmund on our EUROPE / WINTER 2010 jaunt.

Unanswered Questions

Speaking of, you can still relive the Philharmonic’s performance of Ives’s The Unanswered Question (with a beautiful trumpet solo by Phil Smith), plus Stockhausen’s Gruppen and more, from Philharmonic 360, co-produced by the Orchestra and the Park Avenue Armory.

Q2 Music, WQXR’s contemporary-music station, will stream the concert audio July 14 at 10 a.m., and it will be available on-demand for 30 days on q2music.org. Or you can watch a Philharmonic-produced webcast via medici.tv.

(Cartoon by Pablo Helguera via NPR’s classical music blog, Deceptive Cadence.)

“The EUROPE / WINTER 2012 tour introduces … the Philharmonic’s inaugural International Associates residency with the Barbican Centre, and I look forward to seeing Alan Gilbert and the musicians create a meaningful exchange with the people of London through their artistic leadership and outreach.” —  Zarin Mehta

During the Philharmonic’s first International Associates residency in London, Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, Principal Cello Carter Brey, Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi, and Principal Percussion (and recent Grammy winner) Christopher S. Lamb shared their expertise and wisdom with music students through master classes held at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the Barbican Centre.  

View more videos and the first two slideshow installments of our Virtual Tour at EUROPE / WINTER 2012.

Hark! Holiday Music with a New Beat

Expect the unexpected when the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet returns for its popular Holiday Brass concert on December 11. Joining the brass folks for a first-time collaboration will be the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning pianist, arranger, and conductor Lee Musiker, in a program of holiday favorites featuring his own arrangements for brass quintet and jazz trio — don’t be surprised if the “Little Drummer Boy” reminds you of Ravel’s Bolero or “Sleigh Ride” swings to a samba beat.