New York Philharmonic

Subterms

    Latest story

    113 Shares67 Views

    Review: The Philharmonic Gives a Master Class in Programming

    by

    The composer John Adams led the New York Philharmonic in a program of contemporary works that didn’t make a big deal of contemporary music.For a master class in orchestral programming, look to this week’s concerts at the New York Philharmonic.Blink, though, and you might miss them. The program, while the best-crafted of the season so far, opened on Thursday night at David Geffen Hall and repeats only once, on Saturday. Led by John Adams, our greatest living American composer, in his occasional capacity as a conductor, it is a rarity for this orchestra: an evening billed as ordinary yet featuring mostly contemporary work, with the sole “classic” just eight decades old.You could see the concert as parallel halves, each with a brief, spare 20th-century work (Arvo Pärt’s “Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten” and Aaron Copland’s “Quiet City”) followed by a hefty modern portrait of California (Gabriella Smith’s new cello concerto, “Lost Coast,” and Adams’s “City Noir”).On a superficial level, you could also call it an evening of contemporary music. Of the four composers, three are alive: Adams, Pärt and the young, brilliant Smith. But even that doesn’t seem fitting for works that nod to centuries-old chant music and film noir.Regardless, these pieces have been assembled, as well as conducted, with thoughtfulness and care. And as an audience member, all you need to do is sit back and enjoy. This is contemporary sound to dispel clichéd fears of abrasive modernism while never cheaply pandering to mass appeal. It’s just fundamentally good music.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 113 Shares132 Views

      in Music

      Susanna Mälkki and Santtu-Matias Rouvali Take Over the Philharmonic

      by

      Susanna Mälkki and Santtu-Matias Rouvali made back-to-back appearances with the orchestra, leading similar programs with distinct style.Finland’s top exports may be machinery and fuel, but in classical music it is also one of the world’s leading producer of conductors.Over the past century, Finland has nurtured a culture of musical education that has brought about generations of brilliance at the podium. It has given us some of the finest conductors working today, like Esa-Pekka Salonen, as well as some of our buzziest, like Klaus Mäkelä, who picked up storied jobs in Amsterdam and Chicago before the age of 30.As if in a testament to the saturation of Finnish conductors, the New York Philharmonic booked two back-to-back: Santtu-Matias Rouvali, for a program that continues through Tuesday at David Geffen Hall, and Susanna Mälkki last week.The similarities between the two conductors’ programs don’t end with their nationality. Both opened with a contemporary work making its Philharmonic premiere; both featured late pieces by Richard Strauss; and both ended with music written during, and in the shadow of, World War I.Yet these two weeks at the Philharmonic felt satisfyingly distinct. There may be many Finnish conductors, but there is not a Finnish style of conducting. Mälkki and Rouvali both have an intelligent, even wise sense of shape, but are excellent in their own ways; she is a master of color, he of surprise. And the music they programmed, while superficially similar, differed in sound and scale.The biggest difference was between the two contemporary works. Rouvali’s concert, on Thursday, opened with Julia Wolfe’s “Fountain of Youth” (2019), a nine-minute exclamation that starts percussively, with scratch tones in the strings and scraped washboards. Then the score gradually expands to include the whole orchestra: fluttering, sustained notes in the winds and wailing, animalistic cries in the trombones, as well as stylistic interjections like blues, folk fiddle and rock.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares95 Views

      in Music

      Philharmonic Dismisses 2 Players Over Sexual Misconduct Accusations

      by

      The orchestra said an inquiry found credible claims against the musicians of sexual assault and harassment. They denied the charges.The New York Philharmonic said on Monday that it had dismissed two players after an inquiry uncovered what it described as credible claims against them of sexual assault and harassment.The players — the associate principal trumpet, Matthew Muckey, and the principal oboist, Liang Wang — had previously been accused of misconduct, and the Philharmonic tried and failed to fire them in 2018.But the musicians were put on paid leave in April when the orchestra fielded new questions about that case. An investigation that began then has now turned up additional claims of misbehavior, the Philharmonic said.The orchestra last month informed the players that they would be dismissed at the start of the next season. They will remain on paid leave until then.“We have done the right thing and we have followed the letter of the law,” said Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s interim leader. “The facts strongly supported our case.”Ms. Borda said the inquiry had uncovered “patterns of sexual misconduct and abuse of power” by the two men. She added that Mr. Wang had engaged in inappropriate relationships with students and had improperly tried to influence decisions about tenure. In total, 11 women came forward with accusations against Mr. Wang, the Philharmonic said, and three against Mr. Muckey. The orchestra said the accusations ranged from inappropriate remarks to assault.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 100 Shares128 Views

      in Music

      Review: A Standard Rushes Back to the Philharmonic

      by

      The New York Philharmonic has played Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony twice in two years. Rafael Payare led its latest outing.Earlier this month, the New York Philharmonic brought back two standards by Beethoven and Brahms after just a couple of years. And this week, under the conductor Rafael Payare, the orchestra did it again, playing Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony at David Geffen Hall not even two years after its last outing.Programming like this may be driven by fear. With two seasons to fill before Gustavo Dudamel arrives as music director, the Philharmonic could be nervous about losing audiences and is juicing the programs with classics. It’s unfortunate: Even though these works are beloved for a reason, there is just too much great music that goes unheard to justify endless repetitions of a tiny core repertoire.But there was also something new this week: the Philharmonic’s first performances of “Fairytale Poem” by Sofia Gubaidulina — just five months after the ensemble played this 93-year-old Soviet-born composer’s Viola Concerto. (That is the kind of repetition I can get behind.)Gubaidulina’s music manages to be both uncompromising and accessible. Its strange colors are so alluring and changeable, its sense of drama and timing so sure, its desire to communicate — even if enigmatically — so evident, that it’s irresistible.“Fairytale Poem” (1971) shows that this was true from her earliest works. The 14-minute piece was inspired by a Czech children’s story; the main character is a piece of chalk that wants to draw gardens and castles but is stuck doing dry work at the classroom blackboard until a boy takes it home and finally gives it free imaginative rein.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 75 Shares99 Views

      in Music

      Philharmonic’s Afromodernism Festival Gathers Black Artists

      by

      An Afromodernism festival at the New York Philharmonic shines a light on Black artists, who are vastly underrepresented in classical music.At the New York Philharmonic’s festival Afromodernism: Music of the African Diaspora, the composer Nathalie Joachim plans to showcase the richness of Black musical expression, like Haitian funeral brass bands, swing and New York Minimalism.“We are not a monolith,” she said.Black artists have long struggled to be seen or heard in classical music. And despite some recent progress, they remain vastly underrepresented among orchestra players, soloists, composers and conductors.But this week, Black musicians will be front and center at the Philharmonic, which is devoting a series of concerts and events to the music of the African diaspora. On Thursday and Friday, the orchestra will play works by living composers like Joachim and Carlos Simon and revered figures like William Grant Still, whose Symphony No. 4 celebrates the fusion of musical cultures in the United States.On Saturday, the orchestra will host a Young People’s concert focused on diasporic experiences. And later this month, the Philharmonic will also present a concert by the International Contemporary Ensemble, the contemporary music group, featuring a variety of Black composers.The composer Carlos Simon wants to shatter stereotypes about Black American culture, with a piece highlighting dance forms including tap, holy dance, ring shout and waltz.“There will be people in the audience who had no idea that Black people were doing a waltz,” he said about wealthy Black Americans in the 1930s who had debutante balls for their children. “It’s going to be a learning experience.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares179 Views

      in Music

      The $550 Million Question: How Does David Geffen Hall Sound?

      by

      When the New York Philharmonic English horn player and oboist Ryan Roberts performs at the renovated David Geffen Hall these days, he feels naked and exposed, as if he were appearing on a high-definition television screen.“The sound is honest,” he said. “You hear everything — for better or for worse.”The star violinist Hilary Hahn, a frequent soloist, has a sense of comfort. “You can trust your sound will project,” she said.And John Adams, the composer and conductor, said that gone were the days of a concert hall that felt like Yankee Stadium. “It’s such a breath of fresh air,” he said. “You can go for much greater delicacy and subtlety.”Geffen Hall, the home of the New York Philharmonic, reopened two years ago after a $550 million renovation. By gutting and rebuilding the interior, the project was meant to break, once and for all, the acoustical curse that had plagued the hall for decades. Unveiling the new space, the Philharmonic’s leaders declared a new era, clinking champagne glasses and hailing “our 2,200-seat crown jewel.”So, after two years and more than 270 concerts, how does the hall sound?While the acoustics are still evolving, the reviews of Geffen Hall have largely been positive. The hall is more resonant and enveloping, according to more than a dozen Philharmonic players, guest artists, conductors and audience members. But there are still shortcomings. The hall, some say, can be cool and clinical — and at the highest volumes, blaring.“It’s definitely better than it was,” said Rebecca Young, the Philharmonic’s associate principal viola, who joined in 1986. “But I don’t think it’s perfect.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares179 Views

      in Music

      Review: Philharmonic Returns to Classics, at Its Own Expense

      by

      Led by Manfred Honeck, the orchestra all too quickly revisited Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and, with Vikingur Olafsson, Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1.A risk of programming standard repertory works over and over is that an orchestra is practically begging to be compared with its own recent performances — not to mention a huge and ever-growing body of recordings. Why should someone buy a ticket to a concert if they just heard the same group do the same piece, or if they can stay home and listen to dozens of masterly versions online?That question came to mind on Friday, when the New York Philharmonic played Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony at David Geffen Hall. Just over a year and a half ago, the ensemble did Beethoven’s Seventh at Geffen under Esa-Pekka Salonen — a stirring rendition that balanced accented force and long-lined legato into a propulsive, joyful whole.If the work came around every five or 10 years, it would be easier to judge each arrival in a vacuum. But the Philharmonic’s choice to perform it again so soon — its programming this season is particularly uninspired — meant that Friday’s concert, conducted by Manfred Honeck, was inevitably going to be held up against the last one.Honeck, who led without a score, is experienced in Beethoven’s classic; his 2015 recording with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, of which he is the longtime music director, is one of the finest in a crowded field. But under his baton, the Philharmonic didn’t come close to matching its February 2023 self, let alone Pittsburgh’s rich, vigorous example.In the first movement, Honeck lingered over pastoral passages, perhaps to try and provide respite from — and intensification of — the relentlessly rhythmic surrounding music. But the orchestra negotiated these transitions of speed and atmosphere in a way that was stiff, not agile. An unusually drawn-out tempo in the third movement’s contrasting Trio section could have conveyed wistful longing if the Philharmonic had fuller, creamier tone, but as it was the orchestra just seemed strained by the slowness.Honeck always approaches standards like this with fresh ideas. He presented the second movement as a hushed hymn rather than the traditional sturdy dirge, a choice that elicited extraordinarily soft, silky sound from a group that generally doesn’t like to whisper.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Music

      New York Philharmonic Players Reach Deal Raising Base Pay to $205,000

      by

      Under a new labor agreement, expected to be ratified Friday, the musicians will get a 30 percent raise over three years, making them among the highest paid in the country.The New York Philharmonic, the oldest orchestra in America, has long been one of the most revered. But in recent years, its musicians have been paid significantly less than their peers in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.That will soon change. Under a new labor contract announced on Thursday, the Philharmonic’s musicians will get a raise of 30 percent over the next three years, bringing the base salary to $205,000. They will be among the highest paid orchestra musicians in the country.“It’s transformative,” said Colin Williams, the associate principal trombone, who helped lead the negotiations. “It speaks to the commitment from the Philharmonic’s leadership to making sure this place is really a destination orchestra.”The Philharmonic’s leaders praised the agreement, which the ensemble’s roughly 100 musicians are expected to ratify on Friday, when their existing contract expires.“This is a restorative settlement that brings our musicians to the level of their peer orchestras,” Deborah Borda, the Philharmonic’s interim leader, said in an interview.Included in the agreement are changes meant to make the hiring process fairer and more transparent, including provisions that will require musicians to play from behind a screen in the final rounds of auditions. (A screen has been optional in the final round.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Music

      New York Philharmonic Opens Its Season Amid Labor Talks and Troubles

      by

      The orchestra is working to negotiate a new contract with musicians, resolve a misconduct inquiry and hire a new chief executive.On a recent night at Lincoln Center, a group of New York Philharmonic musicians, dressed in matching black shirts and carrying union leaflets, fanned out and began to evangelize.“Support the musicians!” Thomas Smith, a trumpet player, told a crowd of concertgoers.It was one of the New York Philharmonic’s first concerts of the fall, and the musicians, in the middle of high-stake labor talks, were alerting their audience to what they hoped would be embraced as startling facts.The orchestra’s players have not had a raise since 2019, and they are paid substantially less than colleagues in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.“We need your help,” Alina Kobialka, a violinist, said as she handed out leaflets.The scene was a reminder of the stark challenges this season for the Philharmonic, which not so long ago seemed to be beginning a vibrant new chapter.The labor agreement between management and the musicians expires on Friday, only a few days before the orchestra’s opening gala, a major fund-raising event.The Philharmonic lacks a permanent president and chief executive, after the sudden resignation in July of its leader, Gary Ginstling. An investigation into sexual harassment and misconduct at the Philharmonic has dragged on. And the ensemble, which is awaiting the arrival in 2026 of the star conductor Gustavo Dudamel, has no full-time music director this season or next.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More