“ I feel sometimes as someone who is running an orchestra that there is pressure to get rid of that formality, to break away that sense of formality and sacredness, if you will, within the concert hall. ”

— Music Director Alan Gilbert, on the changing relationship between orchestras and their audiences. A new podcast from the recent American Orchestras Forum continues the conversation. The Music Director and Executive Director Matthew VanBesien participated in the live forum during the Philharmonic’s California 2012 tour.

While in San Francisco on the CALIFORNIA 2012 tour, Music Director Alan Gilbert and Executive Director Designate Matthew VanBesien weighed in on the issues facing American orchestras — and now it’s your turn! As part of the American Orchestra Forum, our friends at the San Francisco Symphony want to hear your reflections on what the future holds for the American Orchestra. Submit an original blog post and be eligible to win tickets to a very cool San Francisco Symphony performance or recording.  

Open Ears, Open Arms

Connection and trust, exploration and risk-taking, “and the possibility to essentially program something that might be totally unknown, and have it received with open arms, and with enthusiasm, despite the fact that many people in the audience may have never heard it before.”

Music Director Alan Gilbert share’s his vision for forging a relationship with audiences in this keynote conversation with Executive Director Matthew VanBesien from the San Francisco Symphony’s American Orchestra Forum event on Sunday

Check out the video for their full conversation.

East Coast, Represent!

The Philharmonic Penguins, led by Zubin Mehta (pictured),won the prized Davies Cup in a 24-16 game against the San Francisco Symphomaniacs in 1981. Sadly, they then lost the trophy two years later when the West Coasters met their rivals in New York in 1983 with an 11 to 6 win. The team - now led by Captain Alan Gilbert - is poised for a comeback to settle the score this Sunday, when the Penguins and the Symphomaniacs square off again for the trophy in SF during the CALIFORNIA 2012 tour. Look closely at this 1981 photo, and you’ll spot a young Alan Gilbert celebrating. (Photo courtesy of New York Philharmonic Digital Archives).

Organized by “Coach” Walter Rosenberg, the Philharmonic’s former Principal Percussionist, the Penguins have played in New York and all over the world. Famous maestros who have led the Penguins onto the field have been Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, and Leonard Slatkin.

East Coast Meets West Coast

“Congratulations to the great San Francisco Symphony on their Centennial. After conducting them just last fall, I can say unequivocally, they are fresh and powerful at 100! Their invitation to bring the New York Philharmonic to California as part of their celebration made it possible for us to return to California for the first time in many years.” — Alan Gilbert

The Music Director will conduct the New York Philharmonic in San Francisco May 13–14 as part of the left-coast orchestra’s centennial celebrations, just one of the highlights of the CALIFORNIA 2012 tour. With additional stops in Costa Mesa, Santa Barbara, Davis, and San Diego, Alan Gilbert’s first U.S. tour with the Orchestra has a rich array of repertoire, including the West Coast premiere of Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with longtime friend Yefim Bronfman. Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow will also takes the solo spotlight in San Francisco when he performs Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

“The New York Philharmonic … showed me what an orchestra can mean for the community.”

During his recent trip to San Francisco — and as part of the San Francisco Symphony’s American Orchestra Forum — Music Director Alan Gilbert took a few minutes to discuss the idea of ”community” and how it is at the heart of everything the Philharmonic does.

In Praise of the French Tradition

Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses the works by Haydn and Beethoven he conducted during his recent appearances with the San Francisco Symphony and explains why he thinks Henri Dutilleux — whoseL’Arbre des songes was performed by violinist Renaud Capuçon on those concerts — may be the greatest living composer.

“ Gilbert appreciated the value of those two gems; and, in his engagement with SFS, he made sure that we did, too. ”

—  The San Francisco Examiner on Alan Gilbert’s concert last night with the San Francisco Symphony, when he led two “gems” — Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 — as well as Henri Dutilleux’s L’Arbre des songes, performed by Renaud Capuçon on the “Panette” 1737 Guarneri del Gesù violin that had previously belonged to Isaac Stern, who commissioned the concerto for the SFS.

As the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, the New York Philharmonic has had its share of birthday celebrations. On May 12–13, 2012, as part of a West Coast Tour, Music Director Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic will join the San Francisco Symphony when it marks a milestone of its own — its 100th birthday. The SFS’s Centennial Season festivities will include the American Orchestra Forum, a “nationwide dialogue on the 21st century American orchestra.” The Forum will be made up of free events throughout the season, each of which will be led by visiting conductors  — including Alan Gilbert, who will discuss the future of orchestral audiences on May 13, 2012.

Join the conversation and check out the Forum’s website for more info.