Jaap van Zweden, departing music director of the New York Philharmonic.
In the May 20 Wall Street Journal, David Mermelstein writes, “With all the hoopla surrounding Gustavo Dudamel’s ascension as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 2026, the departure at the end of this season of Jaap van Zweden, the orchestra’s current maestro, isn’t generating the attention it should…. About a quarter of the current roster of musicians received appointments from Mr. van Zweden. The ensemble’s playing, across all instrumental choirs, sounds richer and more flexible than it did before his tenure…. Van Zweden’s final series of local performances as the Philharmonic’s music director starts on Thursday, with concerts through May 28 featuring Sofia Gubaidulina’s Viola Concerto and Mozart’s Requiem…. Naturally, Mr. van Zweden, like all conductors, has his strengths and weaknesses across repertory traversing centuries … In the core repertory—particularly the big orchestral works of the 19th century, primarily Germanic—Mr. van Zweden is among the era’s most compelling exponents, injecting often searing energy and freshness into works that many concertgoers may love but have heard countless times…. With luck, he will return often to Geffen Hall to remind both the orchestra and its audiences what made his term here so special.”
