Ciao, Béla!

Béla Bartók, who made his home in New York in his final years, would have been celebrating his 132nd birthday today. The Hungarian-born composer gave music lovers many gifts, including his First Violin Concerto and Second Piano Concerto, which will be aired and posted online this week (from performances last season conducted by Alan Gilbert, with Glenn Dicterow and Lang Lang, respectively) on The New York Philharmonic This Week. Tune in and join us in celebrating this astonishing composer’s natal day.

From the Radio Room with … Charles Dutoit

Conductor Charles Dutoit joined us this afternoon following his performance with pianist Nikolai Lugansky and the Philharmonic. He spoke about Hurricane Sandy, saying, “It’s been a difficult week for all.” The Orchestra had only one rehearsal before its performance last night, which included Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The program will be repeated tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m.

From the Radio Room … with Augustin Hadelich

Violinist Augustin Hadelich joined us this afternoon following his performance of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole with guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. He admitted that it was “a blast” to be up on stage with the Philharmonic last night and this morning, and he’s looking forward to performing with the Orchestra again tomorrow evening and next Tuesday, October 23.

Catch his interview as part of the intermission feature when this week’s program program airs on The New York Philharmonic This Week on WQXR, Thursday, November 7 at 8:00 p.m.

Guiding Star

Tonight’s edition of The New York Philharmonic This Week radio series features something sparklingly new and something magnificently old.

First up: the New York Premiere of Thomas Adès’s Polaris. The British composer was inspired by the use of star constellations for guidance at sea and “the emotional navigation between the absent sailors and what they leave behind.”

Then it’s on to Mahler’s final completed symphony, of which Alan Gilbert, who conducts the performance from last January, said, “Mahler’s Ninth Symphony never fails to go straight to the heart.”

New York listeners: tune in to WQXR tonight at 8:00 p.m. Or check local listings.

Resurrecting the Resurrection on the Radio

Flashback to the first subscription concerts of the Philharmonic’s 170th season tonight at 8:00 p.m. as WQXR 105.9 FM broadcasts the Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, on The New York Philharmonic This Week.

A Big Weekend for the Baldwins

Love seems to agree with Alec Baldwin. The Philharmonic radio host wed lady-love Hilaria Thomas on Saturday evening, and today it was announced that he has made a $1 million donation to the Orchestra in honor of departing President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta.

Thanks Alec and congrats! We look forward to sharing more nights at the Philharmonic with you and the newly minted Mrs. Baldwin.

Tune in to 89.9 FM from 10:00-11:00 a.m. TODAY when director/designer Michael Counts is the guest on WKCR’s ”Cereal Music” discussing the program and production of Philharmonic 360, a co-presentation with Park Avenue Armory.

You can also catch the interview on WKCR’s RealAudio or MP3 streams.

Making (Air)waves

Check out the April showers of composers whose tunes can be caught on The New York Philharmonic This Week:

TONIGHT, April 5: Beethoven / Hartmann / Beethoven

April 12: Haydn / Schubert / Ravel / Ravel

April 19: Bernstein / Gershwin / Bernstein / Gershwin (Relive New Year’s Eve 2011!)

April 26: Schnittke / Dvořák / Tchaikovsky

*All programs above air on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. on WQXR 105.9FM in the New York area. Check local listings.

** We do not recommend listening to your radio outdoors during April showers.