“The Alan Gilbert era of the New York Philharmonic will draw to a close next season with a blaze of new music (seven premieres), intriguing juxtapositions (Schoenberg’s shattering ‘A Survivor From Warsaw’ and Beethoven’s Ninth) and several other nods to hallmarks of his tenure as music director, including one last semi-staged opera: Wagner’s ‘Das Rheingold,’ ” writes Michael Cooper in Wednesday’s (2/3) New York Times. “The season, which will mark the Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary, was presented on Wednesday, a week after the orchestra announced that Mr. Gilbert would be succeeded by the Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden. … For his last season, [Gilbert] will conduct new works by Lera Auerbach, John Corigliano, H K Gruber, Wynton Marsalis and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and several by Esa-Pekka Salonen.… The season will include a three-week Tchaikovsky festival conducted by Semyon Bychkov.… And the orchestra will celebrate its 175th anniversary with a series of programs related to its history and its place in New York.… Mr. van Zweden, who will become music director in the 2018–19 season, will appear in November.” The Philharmonic said that Gilbert’s final subscription concerts in June “would explore ‘how music and musicians can effect positive change and harmony in the world.’ ”
Posted February 3, 2016
