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)

Happy Birthday, Jazz Style

Acting Principal Clarinet Mark Nuccio is celebrating his birthday far from home, by traveling on the EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour. And it’s not all Bruckner and Tchaikovsky while he’s on the road, as he has already been practicing (in photo, by Chris Lee, above) for his solo in Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, conducted by Alan Gilbert, in the jazz-infused program May 31–June 1.

If  you’re one of the lucky ones to have tickets for these almost sold-out concerts, check out this taste of the score for the piece that Leonard Bernstein marked (which lives in our Digital Archives) to prep for when you hear him jam!

West Side Jump

Gee, that move looks familiar. New York City Ballet, our neighbor across the plaza at Lincoln Center, is mounting an American Music Festival this month, with repertoire including West Side Story Suite, featuring Leonard Bernstein’s Oscar-winning score.

Tonight, principal dancer Tiler Peck, who joined the Philharmonic’s recent production of Carousel, takes the stage in Carousel (A Dance), choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s distillation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.

On the Air: Ives’s Fourth

Here’s another chance to hear the Philharmonic’s recent, critically acclaimed performance of Charles Ives’s Symphony No. 4, for which Music Director Alan Gilbert called on Assistant Conductor Case Scaglione for help in marshalliing the controlled chaos. 

The work airs on The New York Philharmonic This Week, tonight at 8:00 p.m. on WQXR (or check local listings). The All-American program includes the World Premiere of Composer-in-Residence Christopher Rouse’s Prospero’s Rooms, and Bernstein’s Serenade, with violinist Joshua Bell. 

(Chris Lee photo)

The Last Five Years

Hard to believe that it’s been half a decade, but five years ago today the Philharmonic made one of its more unprecedented debuts with its first concert in North Korea under then-Music Director Lorin Maazel. Following  the U.S. and DPRK national anthems, the Orchestra played works by Wagner, Dvořák, Gershwin, and Bernstein (the latter three were all originally Philharmonic premieres).

Relive the journey via the photos above (all by Chris Lee) or on The Pyongyang Concert, EuroArts’s DVD available in the Philharmonic shop that includes the entire concert as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary.

Remembering Hizzoner

The New York Philharmonic honors former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who died this morning at the age of 88. Ever the promoter of his beloved city, Koch was also a steady presence at Philharmonic events over the decades, from our Concerts in the Parks (these photos show him “backstage” with Lenny in 1986) to our Opening Night Galas and fundraising Radiothons.  

Thanks for the memories, Ed. 

A Peek into Past Loves and Lives

The New York Philharmonic Digital Archives is poised to add millions of new pages to the already vast trove sharing tons of scores, programs, and business documents with the world. Almost 80,000 visitors from 143 countries have already enjoyed perusing the treasures available online, such as this plea for Leonard Bernstein to compose a new work for the Phil.

As The Wall Street Journal reported today, “The project is notable for the vast amount of material it is making available to the public. A core group of researchers has emerged to dive into the trove: 2,557 people have logged on to the archives 200 or more times in the past six months. In person, that number of visitors and page turns would have turned fragile documents to dust.” Read more about what’s being added in February, including musical love letters, intimate photos, and marked orchestral parts, some of which go back to 1842.

Shosty Five

One of the most eloquent works of the 20th century, Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony still touches hearts and minds. Check out this video of the last movement, with Leonard Bernstein leading the Philharmonic, from 1979.

Lorin Maazel leads performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 tonight through Saturday. Read more about the origins of the work in our online program notes.

Awards Season Listening

With today’s announcement of Academy Award nominations, WQXR issues a Top Five Classical Music Films to Watch This Awards Season list. Coming in at No. 1 is Moonrise Kingdom, the Wes Anderson film that charmed moviegoers, and prominently featured the Philharmonic’s 1962 recording of Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. 

Moonrise Kingdom was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but if only there were an Oscar category for Best Use of Previously Recorded Music…