focus on mahlerdata.instantencore.com/pdf/1003995/01-06+nyp+ades+-+e.pdf · january2011 19 focus on...

19January 2011

FOCUS ON MAHLER

Thursday, January 6, 2011, 7:30 p.m.15,113th ConcertOpen rehearsal at 9:45 a.m.

Friday, January 7, 2011, 8:00 p.m.15,114th Concert

Saturday, January 8, 2011, 8:00 p.m.15,115th Concert

Alan Gilbert, ConductorThomas Hampson, BaritoneThomas Adès, Piano(New York Philharmonic Debut)

Tal Rosner, Video Artist(New York Philharmonic Debut)

This concert will last approximately oneand three-quarter hours, which includesone intermission. New York PhilharmonicProgram Annotator James M. Keller willgive a talk one hour prior to the performance.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln CenterHome of the New York Philharmonic

Guest artist appearances aremade possible through theHedwig van Ameringen GuestArtists Endowment Fund.

Major support provided by theFrancis Goelet Fund.

Classical 105.9 FM WQXR isthe Radio Station of the New YorkPhilharmonic.

Programs are supported, in part, by publicfunds from the New York City Departmentof Cultural Affairs, New York StateCouncil on the Arts, and the NationalEndowment for the Arts.

Instruments made possible, in part, byThe Richard S. and Karen LeFrakEndowment Fund.

Steinway is the Official Piano of the New YorkPhilharmonic and Avery Fisher Hall.

Exclusive Timepiece of the New York Philharmonic

Global Sponsor

01-06 NYP Ades:Layout 1 12/28/10 4:34 PM

New York Philharmonic

Focus on Mahler

Alan Gilbert, ConductorThomas Hampson, BaritoneThomas Adès, Piano (New York Philharmonic Debut)Tal Rosner, Video Artist (New York Philharmonic Debut)

MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 (1788)*(1756–91) Molto allegro

AndanteMenuettoAllegro assai

MAHLER Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children;(1860–1911) 1901–04)*

“Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n”(“Once More the Sun Will Rise As Brightly”)“Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen”(“Now I See Well, with Such Dark Flames”)“Wenn dein Mütterlein” (“When Your Dear Mother”)“Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen”(“I Often Think They’ve Only Gone Out”)“In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus”(“In This Weather, in This Tumult”)

THOMAS HAMPSON

Intermission

New York Philharmonic20


21January 2011

Thomas ADÈS In Seven Days (Concerto for Piano with Moving(b. 1971) Image) (2008; New York Premiere)

1. Chaos — Light — Darkness2. Separation of the Waters into the Sea and Sky3. Land — Grass — Trees4. Stars, Sun, MoonFugue 5. Creatures of the Sea and Sky6. Creatures of the Land7. Contemplation

THOMAS ADÈSTAL ROSNER

*Recorded by the New York Philharmonic andcurrently available

The New York Philharmonic’s recording series,Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic:2010–11 Season, is available through iTunesvia an iTunes Pass. For more information, visitnyphil.org/itunes.

Other New York Philharmonic recordings areavailable on all major online music stores aswell as on major labels and the New YorkPhilharmonic’s own series.

The New York Philharmonic This Week, nationallysyndicated on the WFMT Radio Network, isbroadcast 52 weeks per year. Radio schedulesubject to change; for updated information visitnyphil.org.

In consideration of both the artists and the audi-ence, please be sure that your cell phones andpaging devices have been set to remain silent.

The photography, sound recording, or videotapingof these performances is prohibited.



Alan Gilbert on This Progam

Tonight’s program charts a path through powerful works that reflect upheaval, spanning threecenturies. We open with Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, composed in 1788. This, his penultimatesymphony, explores a turbulent terrain filled with urgency, agitation, and, in the slow movement,heartrending beauty. The next piece is Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder,which was premiered in 1905.Gustav Mahler was a Music Director of the New York Philharmonic and also one of the great-est composers of the 20th century. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his birth and the100th of his death and of his last season leading the New York Philharmonic, so we are play-ing several of his works as part of our Focus on Mahler. The Kindertotenlieder is an importantand compelling piece, and our soloist is the American baritone Thomas Hampson, a great pro-ponent of Mahler whose interpretation of Kindertotenlieder is really unparalleled. He will bringgreat drama and expressivity to these five poems that the German poet Friedrich Rückert wrotein reaction to the death of his two children.The concert ends on a different note, with the New York Premiere of In Seven Days, a retelling

of the Biblical story of creation by Thomas Adès, a wonderful composer whose music is incrediblypowerful. I became very close to Tom’s music when I conducted a production of his opera, TheTempest, in Santa Fe. Tom is also a remarkable pianist, and I am pleased that he will be play-ing this significant and incredibly difficult piano part in our performances. In Seven Days is sub-titled “Concerto for Piano with Moving Image,” and it introduces a distinctly modern take on thetraditional piano concerto by adding in a video element created by Tal Rosner. This multimediacollaboration embraces and builds on a familiar genre to result in a theatrical experience that Ifelt was so exciting and vibrant that it had to be presented in New York. I also felt it a good choiceto follow the Mozart and Mahler as this 21st-century piece, which begins in chaos and evolvesinto creation, covers many of the same themes that are touched on in those earlier works.


January 2011 23

Notes on the ProgramBy James M. Keller, Program Annotator

but it was probably around the beginning ofJune, not quite a month afterDonGiovanni hadreceived a lukewarm reception at its Viennapremiere. In any case, there is no questionthat he finished the E-flat-major Symphonyon June 26, and that he went on to completethe succeeding symphonies on July 25 andAugust 10.Unlike the three-movement Symphony

No. 38 (Prague), which Mozart had writtentwo years earlier, each of these symphoniescomprise the standard four movements ofthe late Classical genre. Twelve movementsin nine weeks would mean that, on average,Mozart expended five days and a few hourson the composition of each movement. Fur-ther, he was also writing other pieces, givingpiano lessons, tending a sick wife, enduringthe death of a six-month-old daughter, enter-taining friends, moving to a new apartment,and begging his fellow freemason Michael

Symphony No. 40 in G minor,K.550

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart’s biography contains such an amaz-ing procession of extraordinary experiencesand achievements that it reads almost likean 18th-century novel. One might think itwas all made up, yet there is the inescapableevidence that he did live and breathe andwrite music unlike anything produced before,during, or after his lifetime.The story of his final three symphonies

occupies a full chapter of this life-as-novel —unfortunately, one that falls not terribly farfrom its end. More than two centuries afterthey were written, these works — Mozart’sSymphonies No. 39 in E-flat major, No. 40 inG minor, and No. 41 in C major, Jupiter —continue to stand at the summit of the sym-phonic repertoire, wherethey keep company witha small and supremelyselect group of master-pieces by fellow A-listcomposers.Mozart seems to have

scarcely broken a sweatin writing these sym-phonies. Incredibly, allthree were producedover the course of aboutnine weeks, during thesummer of 1788. Wedon’t know preciselywhen he began writingthe Symphony No. 39,

In Short

Born: January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria

Died: December 5, 1791, in Vienna

Work composed: June 26–July 25, 1788

World premiere: There is scant information concerning the early performancehistory of this work. It was likely played during Mozart’s trips to Leipzig, Dresden, andBerlin in 1789, and to Frankfurt in 1790. Antonio Salieri apparently conducted it atthe Burgtheater in Vienna on April 16–17, 1791 (apparently not its premiere), withinstrumentation slightly revised from the original version.

New York Philharmonic premiere: April 25, 1846, Henry C. Timm, conductor

Most recent New York Philharmonic performance: October 7, 2006, LorinMaazel conducting, at Baker Hall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Estimated duration: ca. 26 minutes



Puchberg for assistance that might see himand his family through what was turning intoan extended financial crisis.In one of his desperate letters to Puchberg,

Mozart mentioned that he had hopes forsome income from two concerts that were totake place the following week. However, noneof the city’s newspapers made mention ofsuch concerts, and it seems probable thatthey were cancelled, perhaps due to insuffi-cient interest from listeners. If they did takeplace, Mozart was certainly not encouragedby them, for he never performed in publicthereafter. It is likely that he was intending tounveil his three new symphonies at his Viennaconcerts, but there is no evidence that anybut the G-minor, No. 40, was performed in hislifetime. That work figured on a program giventwice in Vienna — on April 16–17, 1791 —when it was conducted by Antonio Salieri,who had been named Kapellmeister of theVienna Court in the same year that Mozartcomposed his last three symphonies.These three symphonies have beenminutely

analyzed over the years, and they have provedto be so rich in their structural details that the

analytical conversation continues at full force tothis day. Still, words come with difficulty whenone tries to discuss Mozart’s final symphonies.One can dissect their harmonic structures,their deployment of themes, their contrapuntalsubtlety, and the mastery of their instrumenta-tion, and still fail to convey the exceptionallywell-wrought personalities that all three displayeven at first hearing. Each is sublimely beauti-ful, but each elicits a very different response.Symphony No. 40 is a work of Sturm und

Drang, a score whose overriding emotionsrange from the quirky to the unsettling and onto the downright terrifying. It links the senti-ments of the 18th century to those of the19th, and it therefore comes as no surprise tolearn that it was one of the rather few large-scale works by Mozart to remain steadfastly inthe repertoire through the Romantic era.

Instrumentation: This performance employsMozart’s original orchestration for flute, twooboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings,and so does not include the pair of clarinetsthat he added for the April 1791 perform-ances conducted by Antonio Salieri.

Listen for … The Development

Among the many sources of astonishment in Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, perhaps the most shocking falls at thebeginning of the development section in the last movement, which is cast in a sonata form. The exposition hasmoved from the tonic key (G minor) to cadence in the relative major (B-flat major), which is not so unusual forminor-key, sonata-form expositions. However, here Mozart’s woodwinds and strings play forte (loudly) and inunison (or at the octave, to accommodate the different ranges of instruments) a passage in which 11 of the 12notes in the chromatic scale are sounded:

The only note missing is G, which happens to be the tonic key of the entire symphony and therefore might besaid to hover in the background anyway. I am not aware of any earlier music that suggests the possibility ofchromatic deracination as emphatically as this passage does. Obviously Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 is not apiece of 20th-century twelve-tone music. These measures, however visionary, are essentially a set-up for anentirely tonal conclusion: a modulation into D minor, which transforms into D major, then resolves in a standarddominant-to-tonic formula. However, these eight measures do qualify as a passage of twelve-tone music, onethat can even be analyzed with the twelve-tone concepts of motivic inversions and retrogrades.


January 2011 25

Mahler, notwithstanding the political prob-lems that led to his withdrawing from con-ducting the Vienna Philharmonic’s concertsand a personal health issue from which hesuffered extreme discomfort. He was a bach-elor, and that he should entertain such vividthoughts of children — not to say of deadchildren — may strike us as curious. Nonethe-less, it was in the summer of 1901 thatMahler immersed himself in the poetry ofFriedrich Rückert, a master of what we mayconsider depressive poetry. The texts thatMahler selected for Kindertotenlieder are onlyfive of the 428 poems Rückert penned tolament his own two children, both of whomwere casualties of scarlet fever.When Mahler completed his cycle three

summers later, his life was very different. InNovember 1901 he met Alma Schindler, whowas just then concluding a fling with her com-position teacher, Alexander von Zemlinsky.Gustav and Alma were smitten with oneanother and they married a few months later,

Kindertotenlieder

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler’s confidante, Natalie Bauer-Lechner, reported that the composer

felt sorry for himself that he should haveto write … the Kindertotenlieder; and hefelt sorry for the world that would have tohear them one day, so terribly sad wastheir content.

The composer’s biography does little to clar-ify why this project should have captured himwhen it did. In the summer of 1901 Mahlerwas still engaged in setting generally upbeatsongs based on the poetic collection DesKnaben Wunderhorn, and he began work onhis Fifth Symphony. He was in his fourth yearas director of the prestigious Vienna Hof-oper, and he had begun to strike the balancethat would allow him to maintain an active,high-profile life as aconductor (during theconcert season) whilealso pursuing his workas a composer (duringhis summer vacations).When in Vienna he oc-cupied a spacious apart-ment designed by theeminent architect OttoWagner; for his sum-mer escapes he built awelcoming home atMaiernigg, on the southshore of theWörthersee,in bucolic Carinthia.In a life otherwise

filled with neurosis andtragedy, it was a gener-ally positive time for

In Short

Born: July 7, 1860, in Kalischt (Kalište), Bohemia, near the town of Humpolec

Died: May 18, 1911, in Vienna, Austria

Work composed: “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n,” “Wenn dein Mütterlein,”and “Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen” date from the summer of 1901;“Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen” and “In diesem Wetter, in diesemBraus” from the summer of 1904

World premiere: January 29, 1905, at the Kleiner Musiksaal of the ViennaMusikverein, Mahler conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, Friedrich Weidemann, soloist

New York Philharmonic premiere: January 26, 1910, Gustav Mahler conductingthe U.S. premiere of the work, Ludwig Wüllner, soloist

Most recent New York Philharmonic performance: November 18, 2005, LorinMaazel, conductor, Anna Larsson, soloist, at one of the Concerts of Reconciliation atthe Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany, on the Orchestra’s 75th AnniversaryEuropean Tour




on March 9, 1902. Their first daughter, Maria,arrived on November 2 of that year; a seconddaughter, Anna, was born less than two yearslater, on June 15, 1904. The Mahler whoreturned to the Kindertotenlieder project in thesummer of 1904 was a family man, and hisundertaking became a subject of contention athome. Alma held a superstitious resentmenttoward her husband’s involvement with suchtexts as these. They had two happy, healthychildren, and she could not imagine that Gus-tav’s preoccupation with dead children couldlead to any good. In fact, she never reconciledherself to these songs, and throughout herlife avoided promoting them. “I found thisincomprehensible,” she wrote, adding:

I could understand setting such frightfulwords to music if one had no children, orhad lost those one had. … Rückert didnot write these harrowing elegies solelyout of his imagination; they were dictatedby the cruelest loss of his whole life. WhatI could not understand was bewailing thedeaths of children who were in the bestof health and spirits … hardly one hour

after having kissed and fondled them. Iexclaimed at the time: “For Heaven’ssake, don’t tempt Providence!”

When the Mahlers’ elder daughter fell victimto a fatal combination of scarlet fever anddiphtheria in the summer of 1907, Alma natu-rally held that Providence was extracting itsinevitable fee. Her husband took a more dis-passionate view and proceeded with his workas a more abstract challenge. Mahler was per-sonally familiar with death, having by that timeexperienced the loss of siblings and friends, inaddition to his parents. Still, when he com-posed this cycle, the bereavement surroundingthe loss of a child was no more than an exploitof his imagination. “When I really lost mydaughter,” he would later observe, “I could nothave written these songs anymore.”

Instrumentation: two flutes and piccolo,two oboes and English horn, two clarinetsand bass clarinet, two bassoons and contra-bassoon, four horns, harp, timpani, orchestrabells, tam-tam, celesta, and strings, in additionto the solo voice.

About the Instrumentation

At the mention of Mahler, many listeners think instinctively of huge per-formance forces — such as those called for in his Second, Third, andEighth Symphonies — where singers and players may crowd the stageand balconies. Still, even when he has a very large orchestra at his dis-posal he often uses his players very selectively, as evident in Kinder-totenlieder. Although the orchestra includes three players from thestandard woodwind groups, the brass section is sparse (consisting of onlyfour horns — no trumpets, trombones, or tubas), and the percussion com-plement is restrained. While the score calls for an apparently standardstring section, musicological research has suggested that Mahler — whowas insistent about unveiling this piece in the Kleiner Musiksaal (“SmallConcert Hall”) of Vienna’s Musikverein — used a reduced number of string

players for the cycle’s premiere and subsequent performances: perhaps 8 to 10 of first and the same numberof second violins, 6 to 8 violas, 4 to 6 cellos, and 2 to 4 double basses. Even with that number of musicians sit-ting at the ready, consider how few of them Mahler would call upon to play at a given moment: in the openingten measures of the first song we hear no more than four instruments plus the singer, and nowhere in the cyclewould the notes on the page of the score be described as dense.

Mahler


January 2011 27

Ensemble Modern. Apart from symphony or-chestras, he has conducted productions ofStravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the ZurichOpera and the Royal Opera House, CoventGarden. In fact, Adès’s long-standing contractwith the recording company EMI has ensuredthat he is richly represented onCDs through hiswork as pianist, conductor, and composer. As aperformer he often plays or conducts his ownworks, but he is also acclaimed for his inter-pretations of other modern composers (includ-ing Conlon Nancarrow, György Kurtág, PoulRuders, and Gerald Barry) and of standardclassical repertoire (by Beethoven, Schubert,Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Janácek, and others).He has served as composer in residence

for several organizations, including the HalléOrchestra (1993–95) and the Ojai Festival(2000). He held Carnegie Hall’s composerchair during the 2007–08 season, and in2009–10 he was the Royal Stockholm Phil-harmonic’s featured composer. His two op-eras have met with considerable success. Hisfirst, Powder Her Face, was first seen at theCheltenham Festival in 1995, and his second,The Tempest,was premiered and later revivedat Covent Garden and received further per-formances from the opera companies ofCopenhagen, Strasbourg, and Santa Fe.

In Seven Days(Concerto for Pianowith Moving Image)

Thomas Adès

Although he has not quite yet reached his40th birthday, Thomas Adès is widely hailed asone of the most significant of contemporarycomposers, and was recently named MusicalAmerica’s 2011 Composer of the Year. Hestudied piano and composition at London’sGuildhall School of Music and Drama, andthen went on to advanced study at King’sCollege, Cambridge, where his compositionteachers included Alexander Goehr and RobinHolloway. Already in 1989 he was awardedsecond prize in the BBC’s Musician of theYear contest, in recognition of his skill as a pi-anist; to this day he continues to concertizeand record as a pianist, both in solo repertoire(including recently at Carnegie Hall and theBarbican in London) and as a collaborativepianist with such musicians as tenor IanBostridge and cellist Steven Isserlis.He also appears regularly as a conductor.

In May 2009 he led the Los Angeles Phil-harmonic in the U.S. premiere of the pieceperformed in this concert, and he has alsoconducted such en-sembles as the City ofBirmingham SymphonyOrchestra, Chamber Or-chestra of Europe, Phil-harmonia Orchestra,Mariinsky Theatre Or-chestra, London Sym-phony Orchestra, RoyalStockholm PhilharmonicOrchestra, the Finnishand Danish Radio Sym-phony Orchestras, Lon-don Sinfonietta, and

In Short

Born: March 1, 1971, in London, England

Resides: in London

Work composed: 2008, on commission from the Southbank Centre and theLos Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director

World premiere: April 28, 2008, at the Royal Festival Hall, London, the composerconducting the London Sinfonietta, Nicolas Hodges, soloist

New York Philharmonic premiere: these performances, which mark the work’sNew York premiere




Adès has served as Britten Professor ofComposition at the Royal Academy of Music,was music director of the Birmingham Con-temporary Music Group (1998–2000), andfrom 1999 to 2008 was artistic director of theAldeburgh Festival. He has been honored withmany awards, including the Stoeger Prize ofThe Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Cen-ter (1998) and an honorary doctorate fromEssex University (2004). In 2000 he receivedthe prestigious Grawemeyer Award for hisorchestral work Asyla. The EMI recording ofThe Tempest recently earned him the Diapa-son d’Or de l’année and the 2010 ClassicalBRIT Award for Composer of the Year.Adès’s collaborator for In Seven Days is the

video artist Tal Rosner, who builds up and“sculpts” his visuals through the manipula-tion of digital images and photographs. Hehas become deeply involved in works that

explore the intersection of music and video. Inthis arena, he has carried out collaborationsinvolving the music of Nancarrow (for theBarbican Festival), of Debussy and Stravinsky(with the pianists Katia and MarielleLabèque), and of Esa-Pekka Salonen (withviolinist Jennifer Koh). Later this month theNew World Symphony’s new Miami campus,designed by Frank Gehry, will open with thepremiere of Polaris, a site-defined work byAdès and Rosner.In 2008 Rosner was awarded the British

Academy of Film and Television Arts’ awardfor Best Title Sequence for the British televi-sion series Skins. The same year brought thedebut screening of his experimental filmWithout You, which won the Cinephilia BestExperimental Film Award at the 2010 LondonShort Film Festival. His current projects in-clude the film and animation element for a

The Work at a Glance

Thomas Adès and Tal Rosner have provided the followingcomment about In Seven Days:

This piece is a video-ballet in seven movements, playedcontinuously. The piece follows the story of creation:

1. Chaos – Light – Darkness2. Separation of the Waters into the Sea and Sky3. Land – Grass – Trees4. Stars, Sun, MoonFugue 5. Creatures of the Sea and Sky6. Creatures of the Land7. Contemplation

The story is set as a set of variations, reflecting the two-part structure of the story: Days 1, 2, and 3 are comple-mented by Days 4, 5, and 6. In Day 7 the theme ispresented in its simplest form. The visuals also tell thestory in an abstract way, using footage and photographsfrom the two places equally responsible for the work’scommission: Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, andthe Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and their im-mediate surroundings.Thomas Adès


January 2011 29

new ballet at Sadler’s Wells that will openthis spring.

Instrumentation: in addition to the solopiano and the video installation, this workcalls for three flutes (one doubling alto fluteand piccolo, another doubling piccolo), threeoboes, three clarinets, three bassoons (third

doubling contrabassoon), four horns, threetrumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani,vibraphone, orchestra bells, crotales, tubularbells, handbells, cymbals, two suspendedcymbals, small triangle, small claves, smallbongos, cabaça, three hanging bells or bellplates, three large gongs, tam-tam, four roto-toms, snare drum, bass drum, and strings.

In the Artist’s Words

In Seven Days (Concerto for Piano with Moving Image) was conceived from its beginning as an orchestral piecewhich will incorporate video projection on stage. The joint process with Thomas Adès was an organic collab-oration that included working simultaneously on both elements. As a result, the visuals are very responsive tothe music, beating in choreographed unison as if they were an additional part of the orchestra.

In my view, contemporary music has been neglected in terms of visual interpretation in comparison to othermusical fields. Being a big fan of the genre, I saw this piece as an opportunity to communicate my own under-standing of the music and enable the viewers to follow my personal interpretation of various patterns and pro-gressions with both ears and eyes.

The video element in the piece originates from an in-depth documentation of two architectural sources:The Royal Festival Hall in London and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles (the two venues that hostedits live premieres). The visuals are an exploration of these magnificent structures, their interiors and exteriors,as well as facades and immediate surroundings.

In restricting myself to using only elements from these two buildings, whether they were recorded on filmor in still photographs, I created a new vocabulary of forms and compositions. The result is a wide spectrumof colors, shapes, and rhythms that form a sound-responsive interpretation of the music across six screens,changing speed and direction, and moving between canon and independence.

The material alternates from the obvious (e.g., the silhouette of the Disney Hall against a blue sky), to theobscure (e.g., light fixtures, air-vents, and so on). It was a fascinating process to illustrate the Genesis story ofcreation by abstracting these elements. For example, the trees in Day 3 are in fact many layers of scaffoldingsuper-imposed on top of each other, creating a very organic texture from a very man-made source.

— Tal Rosner

One of Tal Rosner’s images projected during performances of In Seven Days.



I. Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n

Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n,Als sei kein Unglück die Nacht gescheh’n!Das Unglück geschah nur mir allein!Die Sonne, sie scheinet allgemein!

Du musst nicht die Nacht in dirverschränken,Musst sie ins ew’ge Licht versenken!Ein Lämplein verlosch in meinem Zelt!Heil sei dem Freudenlicht der Welt!

II. Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum sodunkle Flammen

Nun seh’ ich wohl, warum so dunkle FlammenIhr sprühtet mir in manchem Augenblicke.O Augen, gleichsam, um voll in einem BlickeZu drängen eure ganze Macht zusammen.

Doch ahnt’ ich nicht, weil Nebel michumschwammen,Gewoben vom verblendenden Geschicke,Daß sich der Strahl bereits zur Heimkehrschicke,Dorthin, von wannen alle Strahlen stammen.

Ihr wolltet mir mit eurem Leuchten sagen:Wir möchten nah dir bleiben gerne!Doch ist uns das vom Schicksal abgeschlagen.

Sieh’ uns nur an, denn bald sind wirdir ferne!Was dir nur Augen sind in diesen Tagen:In künft’gen Nächten sind es dir nur Sterne.

I. Now the Sun Will Rise as Brightly

Now the sun will rise as brightly,as if no misfortune had befallen in the night.The misfortune befell me alone,The sun — it shines for everyone.

You must not enfold the nightwithin you,You must let it drown in eternal light!A little lamp has gone out in my dwelling!Hail to the joyous light of the world!

II. Now I See Well, with SuchDark Flames

Now I see well, why with such dark flamesYou flash upon me in many glances.O eyes, as if you wished to gather upAll of your strength into a single look.

But I did not suspect, for mistswoven byDeceiving destiny enveloped me,That this beam of light was already turnedhomewards,To the source of all beams.

You wanted to tell me with your light:We would love to stay with you!But Fate will not allow us.

Look at us now, for soon we shall be faraway from you!These which now are just eyes to you,In nights to come will be but stars to you.

Texts and Translations

Kindertotenlieder Songs on the Death of Children


January 2011 31

III. Wenn dein Mütterlein

Wenn dein Mütterleintritt zur Tür herein,Und den Kopf ich drehe,ihr entgegen sehe,Fällt auf ihr Gesichterst der Blick mir nicht,Sondern auf die Stelle,näher nach der Schwelle,Dort, wo würde deinlieb Gesichten sein,Wenn du freudenhelleträtest mit herein,Wie sonst, mein Töchterlein.

Wenn dein Mütterleintritt zur Tür herein,Mit der Kerze Schimmer,ist es mir, als immerKämst du mit herein,huschtest hinterdrein,Als wie sonst ins Zimmer!O du, des Vaters Zelle,Ach, zu schnell,erloschner Freudenschein!

IV. Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nurausgegangen

Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen,Bald werden sie wieder nach Hause gelangen,Der Tag ist schön, o sei nicht bang,Sie machen nur einen weiten Gang.

Ja wohl, sie sind nur ausgegangen,Und werden jetzt nach Haus gelangen,O, sei nicht bang, der Tag ist schön,Sie machen nur den Gang zujenen Höh’n.

Sie sind uns nur voraus gegangen,Und werden nicht wieder nach Haus verlangen.Wir holen sie ein auf jenen Höh’n,Im Sonnenschein, der Tag ist schön!

III. When Your Dear Mother

When your dear mothercomes in at the door,And I turn my headto look at her,My gaze does not fallfirst upon her face,But on the placenear the threshold;there, where yourdear little face would be,If you, bright with joy,Were to enter, too, as usual,My little daughter.

When your dear mothercomes in at the doorIn the candlelight,it seems to me as ifyou were entering, too,Flitting after her,as you used to, into the room.O you, light of your father,Alas, too soon, my joyful light,too soon extinguished!

IV. I Often Think They’ve OnlyGone Out

I often think they’ve only gone out,Soon they will be home again.It’s a lovely day, oh don’t be anxious,They’re only out taking a long walk.

Of course, they’ve only gone out,And will come home now.Don’t be anxious, it’s a beautiful day,They’ve only gone out walking toyonder heights.

They’ve only gone off ahead of us,And don’t want to come home again.We’ll catch up with them on yonder heights,In the sunshine, it’s a beautiful day!

(Please turn the page quietly.)



V. In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus

In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus,Nie hätt’ ich gesendet die Kinder hinaus;Man hat sie getragen hinaus,Ich durfte nichts dazu sagen!

In diesem Wetter, in diesem Saus,Nie hätt’ ich gelassen die Kinder hinaus,Ich fürchtete sie erkranken;Das sind nun eitle Gedanken.

In diesem Wetter, in diesem Graus,Nie hätt’ ich gelassen die Kinder hinaus;Ich sorgte, sie stürben morgen,Das ist nun nicht zu besorgen.

In diesem Wetter, in diesem Graus!Nie hätt’ ich gesendet die Kinder hinaus!Man hat sie hinaus getragen,ich durfte nichts dazu sagen!

In diesem Wetter, in diesem Saus, indiesem Braus,Sie ruh’n als wie in derMutter Haus,Von keinem Sturm erschrecket,Von Gottes Hand bedecket.

V. In This Weather, in This Tumult

In this weather, in this tumult,I’d never have sent the children out;Someone took them out,I had no say in the matter!

In this weather, in this tumult,I’d never have let the children go out,I’d have been afraid they might fall ill;Those are vain thoughts now.

In this weather, in this horror,I’d never have let the children go out;I’d have been afraid they’d die tomorrow,No need to worry about that now.

In this weather, in this horror!I’d never have sent the children out!They were taken out,I had no say in the matter!

In this weather, in this storm, inthis tumult,They are resting, as if at home in theirmother’s house,Not frightened by any storms,Sheltered by God’s hand.

Translation by Michael Steinberg


January 2011 33

2010–2011 SEASONALANGILBERT, Music Director, The Yoko Nagae Ceschina ChairDaniel Boico, Assistant ConductorLeonard Bernstein, Laureate Conductor, 1943–1990Kurt Masur, Music Director Emeritus

VIOLINSGlenn DicterowConcertmasterThe Charles E. CulpeperChairSheryl StaplesPrincipal AssociateConcertmasterThe Elizabeth G. BeineckeChairMichelle KimAssistant ConcertmasterThe William PetschekFamily ChairEnrico Di CeccoCarol WebbYoko Takebe

Minyoung Chang+Hae-Young HamThe Mr. and Mrs. TimothyM. George ChairLisa GiHae KimKuan-Cheng LuNewton MansfieldThe Edward and PriscillaPilcher ChairKerry McDermottAnna RabinovaCharles RexThe Shirley Bacot ShamelChairFiona SimonSharon YamadaElizabeth ZeltserThe William and ElfriedeUlrich ChairYulia Ziskel

Marc GinsbergPrincipalLisa Kim*In Memory of Laura MitchellSoohyun KwonThe Joan and Joel I. PicketChairDuoming Ba

Marilyn DubowThe Sue and EugeneMercy, Jr. ChairMartin EshelmanQuan GeJudith GinsbergStephanie JeongThe Gary W. Parr ChairHanna LachertHyunju LeeJoo Young OhDaniel ReedMark SchmoocklerNa SunVladimir Tsypin

VIOLASCynthia PhelpsPrincipalThe Mr. and Mrs. FrederickP. Rose ChairRebecca Young*Irene Breslaw**The Norma and LloydChazen ChairDorian Rence

Katherine GreeneThe Mr. and Mrs. William J.McDonough ChairDawn HannayVivek KamathPeter KenoteKenneth MirkinJudith NelsonRobert RinehartThe Mr. and Mrs. G. ChrisAndersen Chair

CELLOSCarter BreyPrincipalThe Fan Fox and Leslie R.Samuels ChairEileen Moon*The Paul and DianeGuenther Chair

The Shirley and JonBrodsky Foundation ChairEvangeline Benedetti

Eric BartlettThe Mr. and Mrs. James E.Buckman ChairElizabeth DysonMaria KitsopoulosSumire KudoQiang TuRu-Pei YehThe Credit Suisse Chairin honor of Paul CalelloWei YuWilhelmina Smith++

BASSESEugene LevinsonPrincipalThe Redfield D. BeckwithChairOrin O’BrienActing Associate PrincipalThe Herbert M. Citrin Chair

William BlossomThe Ludmila S. and Carl B.Hess ChairRandall ButlerDavid J. GrossmanSatoshi Okamoto

FLUTESRobert LangevinPrincipalThe Lila Acheson WallaceChairSandra Church*Mindy Kaufman

PICCOLOMindy Kaufman

OBOESLiang WangPrincipalThe Alice Tully ChairSherry Sylar*Robert Botti

ENGLISH HORN

The Joan and Joel SmilowChair

CLARINETSMark NuccioActing PrincipalThe Edna and W. Van AlanClark ChairPascual MartinezForteza

Acting Associate PrincipalThe Honey M. Kurtz FamilyChairAlucia Scalzo++Amy Zoloto++

E-FLAT CLARINETPascual MartinezForteza

BASS CLARINETAmy Zoloto++

BASSOONSJudith LeClairPrincipalThe Pels Family ChairKim Laskowski*Roger NyeArlen Fast

CONTRABASSOONArlen Fast

HORNSPhilip MyersPrincipalThe Ruth F. and Alan J.Broder ChairStewart Rose++*Acting Associate PrincipalCara Kizer Aneff**R. Allen SpanjerErik Ralske+Howard WallDavid Smith++

(continued)




TRUMPETSPhilip SmithPrincipalThe Paula Levin ChairMatthew Muckey*Ethan BensdorfThomas V. Smith

TROMBONESJoseph AlessiPrincipalThe Gurnee F. and Marjorie L. HartChairAmanda Davidson*David FinlaysonThe Donna and Benjamin M. RosenChair

BASS TROMBONEJames Markey

TUBAAlan BaerPrincipal

TIMPANIMarkus RhotenPrincipalThe Carlos Moseley ChairKyle Zerna**

PERCUSSIONChristopher S. LambPrincipalThe Constance R. Hoguet Friends ofthe Philharmonic Chair

Daniel Druckman*The Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. UlrichChairKyle Zerna

HARPNancy AllenPrincipalThe Mr. and Mrs. William T. Knight IIIChair

KEYBOARDIn Memory of Paul Jacobs

HARPSICHORDLionel Party

PIANOThe Karen and Richard S. LeFrakChairHarriet WingreenJonathan Feldman

ORGANKent Tritle

LIBRARIANSLawrence TarlowPrincipalSandra Pearson**Sara Griffin**

ORCHESTRA PERSONNELMANAGERCarl R. Schiebler

STAGE REPRESENTATIVELouis J. Patalano

AUDIO DIRECTORLawrence Rock

* Associate Principal** Assistant Principal+ On Leave++ Replacement/Extra

The New York Philharmonic usesthe revolving seating method forsection string players who arelisted alphabetically in the roster.

HONORARY MEMBERS OF THESOCIETYPierre BoulezStanley DruckerLorin MaazelZubin MehtaCarlos Moseley


34AJanuary 2011

The Artists

In September 2009 Alan Gilbert becamethe New York Philharmonic’s Music Director,The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair. The firstnative New Yorker to hold the post, he ush-ered in what The New York Times called “anadventurous new era” at the Philharmonic.In his inaugural season he introduced anumber of new initiatives: the positions of TheMarie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence,held by Magnus Lindberg; The Mary andJames G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, heldin 2010–11 by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter;an annual three-week festival, which in2010–11 is titled Hungarian Echoes, led byEsa-Pekka Salonen; and CONTACT!, theNew York Philharmonic’s new-music series.In the 2010–11 season Mr. Gilbert is leadingthe Orchestra on two tours of European musiccapitals; two performances at Carnegie Hall,including the venue’s 120th Anniversary Con-cert; and a staged presentation of Janácek’sThe Cunning Little Vixen. Highlights of hisinaugural season included a major tour ofAsia in October 2009, with debuts in Hanoi

and Abu Dhabi, and performances in ninecities on the EUROPE / WINTER 2010 tourin February 2010. Also in the 2009–10season he conducted world, U.S., and NewYork premieres, as well as an acclaimedstaged presentation of Ligeti’s opera, LeGrand Macabre.Mr. Gilbert is the first person to hold the

William Schuman Chair in Musical Studiesat The Juilliard School, and is conductor lau-reate of the Royal Stockholm PhilharmonicOrchestra and principal guest conductor ofHamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra. He hasconducted other leading orchestras in the U.S.and abroad, including the Boston, Chicago,and San Francisco symphony orchestras;Los Angeles Philharmonic; Cleveland andPhiladelphia Orchestras; and the Berlin Phil-harmonic, Munich’s Bavarian Radio Sym-phony Orchestra, and Amsterdam’s RoyalConcertgebouw Orchestra. From 2003 to2006 he served as the first music director ofthe Santa Fe Opera.Alan Gilbert studied at Harvard University,

The Curtis Institute of Music, and The JuilliardSchool. From 1995 to 1997 he was the assis-tant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra.In November 2008 he made his MetropolitanOpera debut conducting John Adams’sDoctorAtomic.His recording of Prokofiev’s ScythianSuite with the Chicago Symphony Orchestrawas nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award,and his recording of Mahler’s SymphonyNo. 9 received top honors from the ChicagoTribune and Gramophone magazine. On May15, 2010, Mr. Gilbert received an HonoraryDoctor of Music degree from The CurtisInstitute of Music.


34B New York Philharmonic

American baritone Thomas Hampson hasperformed in the world’s preeminent concerthalls and opera houses, and with many oftoday’s renowned musicians and orchestras.He has also won worldwide recognition for hisprograms that explore song repertoire in awide range of styles, languages, and periods.An important interpreter of German romanticsong, he is also a leading proponent of thestudy of American song through his “Song ofAmerica” project, and the Hampsong Founda-tion, which he established in 2003 to promoteintercultural dialogue and understanding.Much of Mr. Hampson’s 2010–11 season

is devoted to performances celebrating the150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birthand the 100th anniversary of his death. Hebegan the worldwide celebrations on July 7,2010 — Mahler’s birthday — in Kalište, CzechRepublic, and will perform works by Mahlerthroughout the season in a series of recitals inBerlin, Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, Zurich, Lon-don, Amsterdam, Paris, Milan, Madrid, and Oslo.His new recording ofDes KnabenWunderhornwith the Wiener Virtuosen will be released onDeutsche Grammophon in January 2011.Additional highlights of Mr. Hampson’s

2010–11 season include season-openingperformances in the title role of a new pro-duction of Verdi’sMacbeth at Chicago’s LyricOpera; three all-Strauss concerts with Renée

Fleming and the Berlin Philharmonic con-ducted by Christian Thielemann; selectionsfrom George Crumb’s American Songbooksperformed with The Chamber Music Society ofLincoln Center; “Song of America” recitals atDuke University and the Minnesota BeethovenFestival; performances and a world-premiererecording of Richard Danielpour’s Songs ofSolitude, commissioned for him and ThePhiladelphia Orchestra; and the world pre-miere of William Bolcom’s Laura Sonnets, alsowritten for him. In Switzerland he performs atthe Zurich Opera in new productions of Verdi’sI Masnadieri andWagner’s Parsifal under AdamFischer and Daniele Gatti, respectively, andappears in a series of opera galas.

Composer and performer Thomas Adèsheld important orchestral positions through-out Britain early in his career, and numerousworldwide festivals have focused on hismusic, including Helsinki’s Musica Nova,Salzburg Easter Festival, Radio France’sPrésences, and the Barbican Centre’s TracedOverhead. He held Carnegie Hall’s DebsComposer’s Chair during the 2007–08 sea-son. Most of Mr. Adès’s works have beenrecorded by EMI, and his music has attractednumerous awards and prizes, including theprestigious Grawemeyer Award (2000), ofwhich he is the youngest-ever recipient. The


34CJanuary 2011

New York Philharmonic commissioned Mr.Adès’s orchestral America (A Prophecy) asone of the Messages for the Millennium, andpremiered it in November 1999. His firstopera, Powder Her Face, was commissionedby Almeida Opera for the Cheltenham Festi-val in 1995. The Tempest, his second opera,was commissioned by the Royal Opera House,Covent Garden, and premiered in 2004. AlanGilbert led the first U.S. production of thisopera in 2006, when he was music director ofthe Santa Fe Opera; it was revived at CoventGarden in 2007, and has since been per-formed in Copenhagen and Strasbourg.Born in London in 1971, Thomas Adès

studied piano and composition at the GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama in London, andread music at King’s College, Cambridge.Between 1993 and 1995 he was Composerin Association with the Hallé Orchestra, whichresulted in his writing The Origin of the Harp(1994) and These Premises Are Alarmedfor the opening of Bridgewater Hall in 1996.Asyla (1997) was a Feeney Trust commissionfor Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birming-ham Symphony Orchestra, who toured it to-gether and performed it at Symphony Hall inAugust 1998 in Sir Simon’s last concert asmusic director. The conductor subsequentlyprogrammed Asyla in his opening concert asmusic director of the Berlin Philharmonic inSeptember 2002.

Artist and filmmaker Tal Rosner made hisname through radical interpretations of mu-sical compositions. He received his bachelor’sdegree from the Bezalel Academy of Art andDesign, Jerusalem (1999–2003), and amaster’s in graphic design from Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design, London(2003–05). Since 2005 he has been col-laborating with musicians, combining multiplelayers of sound and visuals to create a newlanguage of classical-contemporary musicvideos. His independent experimental filmsDoppelganger (2005) and Without You(2008) have been screened at prestigiousfilm festivals and venues, including Clermont-Ferrand (France), Rotterdam (Netherlands),Tribeca (New York City), the internationalOnedotzero festival, and Tate Modern in Lon-don. A retrospective of his work was held atthe Forum des Images in Paris as part of theNemo Festival in April 2009.Born in Jerusalem in 1978, Mr. Rosner

won the 2008 BAFTA for Best Title Se-quence for the Channel 4 television seriesSkins, and is currently developing the titlesequences for the fifth season of the series.His work continues to cross over into theworlds of music, art, and performance/theater. His video for Esa-Pekka Salonen’sLachen Verlernt (2009), with violinist JenniferKoh, had its live performance premiere at


34D New York Philharmonic

Oberlin in October 2009 and is being followedby a U.S. tour during the 2010–11 season.In 2010 he was commissioned to create theonstage video projections for a unique pro-duction of I Was Looking at the Ceiling andThen I Saw the Sky, a 1995 musical/opera composed by John Adams. Mr. Rosner

is currently creating the film and animationelements for a new ballet production forSadler’s Wells, The Most Incredible Thing,which will open in the spring of 2011. Thefull-length dance work features music by thePet Shop Boys and direction/choreographyby Javier De Frutos.


34EJanuary 2011

TheNewYork Philharmonic, founded in 1842 bya group of local musicians led by American-born UreliCorelli Hill, is by far the oldest symphony orchestrain the United States, and one of the oldest in theworld. It currently plays some 180 concerts a year,and on May 5, 2010, gave its 15,000th concert — amilestone unmatched by any other symphonyorchestra in the world.Alan Gilbert began his tenure as Music Director in

September 2009, the latest in a distinguished line of20th-century musical giants that has included LorinMaazel (2002–09); Kurt Masur (Music Director from1991 to the summer of 2002; namedMusic DirectorEmeritus in 2002); Zubin Mehta (1978–91); PierreBoulez (1971–77); and Leonard Bernstein, who wasappointed Music Director in 1958 and given the life-time title of Laureate Conductor in 1969.Since its inception the Orchestra has championed

the new music of its time, commissioning or pre-miering many important works, such as Dvorák’sSymphony No. 9, From the New World; Rachmani-noff’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin’s PianoConcerto in F; and Copland’s Connotations. ThePhilharmonic has also given theU.S. premieres of suchworks as Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. This pioneering tra-dition has continued to the present day, with works ofmajor contemporary composers regularly scheduledeach season, including John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize–and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigrationof Souls; Stephen Hartke’s Symphony No. 3; Au-gusta Read Thomas’s Gathering Paradise, EmilyDickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto; Magnus Lindberg’sEXPO; and Christopher Rouse’s Odna Zhizn.The roster of composers and conductors who

have led the Philharmonic includes such historic fig-ures as Theodore Thomas, Antonín Dvorák, GustavMahler (Music Director, 1909–11), Otto Klemperer,Richard Strauss, WillemMengelberg (Music Director,1922–30), Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini(Music Director, 1928–36), Igor Stravinsky, AaronCopland, Bruno Walter (Music Advisor, 1947–49),Dimitri Mitropoulos (Music Director, 1949–58),

Klaus Tennstedt, George Szell (Music Advisor,1969–70), and Erich Leinsdorf.Long a leader in American musical life, the Phil-

harmonic has over the last century become renownedaround the globe, appearing in 429 cities in 62 coun-tries on 5 continents. In October 2009 theOrchestra,led by Music Director Alan Gilbert, made its debut inHanoi, Vietnam. In February 2008 the Orchestra, ledby then-Music Director Lorin Maazel, gave a historicperformance in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Re-public of Korea — the first visit there by an Americanorchestra and an event watched around theworld andfor which the Philharmonic earned the 2008 Com-monGroundAward for Cultural Diplomacy. Other his-toric tours have included the 1930 Tour to Europe,with Toscanini; the first Tour to the USSR, in 1959;the 1998Asia Tour with KurtMasur, featuring the firstperformances in mainland China; and the 75th An-niversary European Tour, in 2005, with Lorin Maazel.A longtimemedia pioneer, the Philharmonic began

radio broadcasts in 1922, and is currently repre-sented by The New York Philharmonic This Week —syndicated nationally 52 weeks per year, and avail-able on nyphil.org. On television, in the 1950s and1960s, the Philharmonic inspired a generationthrough Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts onCBS. Its television presence has continued withannual appearances on Live From Lincoln Centeron PBS, and in 2003 it made history as the firstOrchestra ever to perform live on the GrammyAwards, one of the most-watched television eventsworldwide. In 2004 the Philharmonic became thefirst major American orchestra to offer download-able concerts, recorded live, and in 2009 theOrchestra announced the first-ever subscriptiondownload series: Alan Gilbert: The InauguralSeason, available exclusively on iTunes, compris-ing more than 50 works performed during the2009–10 season. Since 1917 the Philharmonichas made nearly 2,000 recordings, with more than500 currently available.On June 4, 2007, the New York Philharmonic

proudly announced a new partnership with CreditSuisse, its first-ever and exclusive Global Sponsor.



34F New York Philharmonic

The Facts: Born in Cortland, New York. Attendedthe North Carolina School of the Arts; received abachelor’s in music from Indiana University. Priorto the Philharmonic: Principal violist with theOmaha Symphony; member of the ConcertoSoloists of Philadelphia. At the Philharmonic:Joined in 1979. Helped found CONTACT!, thePhilharmonic’s new-music series.

Earliest musical memories: My father was acomposer and was always listening to symphonicmusic around the house. My grandfather was aviolinist in the NBC Symphony, and I decided Iwanted to play the violin, too. I started the violinat age 10, but the following summer I heardthe viola at Merrywood Music Camp. I loved thesound and knew at once that it was the instru-ment for me. I started playing the viola at 11.

Who were your most important musicalinfluences? Jerry Horner at the North CarolinaSchool of the Arts, who taught me how to pro-duce a beautiful sound; the late violist, WalterTrampler; and of course, the incomparableLeonard Bernstein

When did you know that you wanted tobe a professional musician? As soon as Istarted playing the viola. I never had any doubtthat I would be a violist.

What is the best thing about being amusician? Seeing the look of pleasure onthe faces of audience members

What would you be if not a musician?A wildlife conservation biologist

Most memorable moments with theOrchestra: Performing with LeonardBernstein in his last years

If you could play another instrument, whatwould it be? Percussion. I envy them and theirability to play so many different instruments. Theyalways look like they’re having so much fun!

What’s in your CD player right now? Theoboe quartet of James Matheson, whose workwas heard at the Philharmonic this season

Do you ever perform in other groups?I play a lot of chamber music. I would have lovedto play jazz, but I never learned to improvise.

Are you performing in any PhilharmonicEnsembles concerts this year? I’m playingthe Matheson Oboe Quartet and the BrahmsViola Quintet in G major.

Are there musicians in your family? Mymother was a flutist. My father was head ofmusic theory and composition at the Universityof North Carolina. He was very prolific, andwrote 10 symphonies.

What do you like to do outside of work?Wildlife conservation, bird watching, and hikingand camping with my dog, Toby. In August 2010I volunteered on a wildlife census in South Africa,done on foot amongst rhinoceroses and lions!I’m also an avid painter and reader, and I studyand speak Spanish.

Q & A: Dawn Hannay, Viola

MIC

HA

EL

DiV

ITO


34GJanuary 2011

The Facts: Born in Sandusky, Ohio; grew up inFlint, Michigan. Attended the Eastman School ofMusic and received a Fulbright Scholar Award tolecture and conduct research in Australia. Priorto the Philharmonic: The Metropolitan OperaOrchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic. At the Phil-harmonic: Joined in 1985. Solo debut: WorldPremiere–New York Philharmonic Commissionof Joseph Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto.Most recent recording: Tan Dun’s Concerto forWater Percussion on New York PhilharmonicSpecial Editions set. Current teaching post:Manhattan School of Music. Recently appointedInternational Fellow on the faculty of the RoyalScottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Earliest musical memory: My parents buyingme a snare drum in the second grade and get-ting me private lessons. I was really energeticand playing on everything. I guess they wantedto direct that energy.

Why did you choose percussion? Myparents directed my choice. I soon appreci-ated the variety and almost endless array of

instruments — anything from a marimba, xylo-phone, vibraphone, orchestra bells, chimes, andcrotales (antique cymbals) to triangles, tam-bourines, castanets, cymbals, and a bass drum.

What was the most challenging instru-ment to find? A bidoni. It turned out to be aplastic garbage can turned upside down.

When did you know that you wanted to bea professional musician? In seventh grade. Iknew I wanted to do something with music afterattending Interlochen National Music Camp.

Who was your most important musicalinfluence? Salvatore Rabbio, former principaltimpanist, of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

What would you be if not a musician?I would do something highly disciplined, like ajob in the police or the military.

What is the most difficult aspect ofyour job? Being both a performer and anadministrator. I mark music, study scores,and purchase and repair equipment.

Most memorable moment with theOrchestra: Premiering Joseph Schwantner’sPercussion Concerto. The audience andOrchestra reactions were amazing.

Most inspiring composers: Stravinsky,Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Bartók — becauseof their percussion writing!

How do you prepare for concerts? Bykeeping in shape physically — swimming indoorsin winter, and outdoors in summer. Otherwise,you can’t move from one instrument to the next.

What’s in your CD player right now?John Coltrane’s My Favorite Things

Are there musicians in your family?My wife, Virginia Perry Lamb, is a pianist; myson Casey, 19, plays guitar; my other sonJody, 17, plays electric bass and keyboards.

Q & A: Christopher S. Lamb, Principal PercussionThe Constance R. Hoguet Friends of the Philharmonic Chair

CH

RIS

LEE


34H New York Philharmonic

To Order Tickets or SubscribeOnline Visit our Website, nyphil.org, to order ticketswith a major credit card.

By phone Call (212) 875-5656.In person Visit the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office atBroadway and 65th Street. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.,Monday through Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m., Sunday.On performance evenings, the Box Office remains openone-half hour past performance time.

Tickets for groups Groups of 20 or more can saveup to 27% by calling Group Sales at (212) 875-5672.

Donate Your Concert TicketsIf you find you can’t attend a concert as planned, even atthe last minute, please call Customer Relations at (212)875-5656 to donate your tickets for re-sale. You notonly allow someone else to enjoy the concert, but yourdonation benefits the Philharmonic, and you receive areceipt for tax purposes in return.

For the Enjoyment of AllLate seating In consideration of both artists and au-diences, latecomers will be seated only after the com-pletion of a work. Patrons who leave the hall will not bereseated during a work.

Quiet, please Please be sure to set cell phones,paging devices, and other electronic devices to remainsilent throughout the performance.

For Your Comfort and ConvenienceRest rooms All levels except Grand Promenade, Eastand West. Grand Promenade: Men’s Room on West sideonly. Wheelchair accessible rest rooms for women onPlaza and Orchestra Level and for men on Plaza Level.

Public telephones Rest room vestibules on all levelsCoat rooms Plaza Level, east and westElevators One elevator east, two elevators westEscalators Southeast and southwest corners ofPlaza and Grand Promenade levels

Restaurants Espresso Bar in west lobby;Arpeggio Food and Wine in east lobby

Meet the ArtistsAfter the performance, you may offer your congratula-tions by visiting the Green Room, located on the FirstTier, northwest corner.

New York Philharmonic Gift KioskPick up the perfect gift for anyone — or treat yourself —at the Philharmonic’s Gift Kiosk located on the GrandPromenade. Open prior to concert time and during inter-missions, the Gift Kiosk is staffed entirely by volunteers,with proceeds directly benefiting the Philharmonic.

For Patrons with DisabilitiesFor information or to obtain a complimentaryaccessibility guide, please call the Department of Pro-grams and Services for People with Disabilities at (212)875-5375. For information 24 hours a day, call the Ac-cessibility Hotline at (212) 875-5380.Large type and Braille programs Availablefree of charge. Lincoln Center’s Large Type andBraille program services are made possible by a generousendowment established by Frederick P. Rose, Daniel Rose,and Elihu Rose in honor of their mother, Belle B. Rose.

Sennheiser infrared hearing systemsAvailable at the House Manager’s Desk on the Orches-tra Level of Avery Fisher Hall. If you require a wheelchairto go to and from your seat please dial house phones lo-cated in the lobby (extension 5005 or 5006).

For Your SafetyFire notice The exits indicated by a red light and thethe sign nearest to the seat you occupy are the shortestroutes to the street. In the event of fire or other emer-gency, please do not run — walk to that exit.

Resuscitation masks and latex gloves are availableat the house manager’s station in the center of theGrand Promenade and from any of the ushers on thesecond tier.

For information about renting Avery Fisher Hall auditorium or public areas, contact the Director of Concert Halls/ Admin-istration at (212) 875-5003. For more information on the List Poster & Print Program, contact the Director at (212) 875-5018.

Avery Fisher Hall StaffKerry A. Madden, Vice President, Concert Halls and

OperationsGerry DeCastro, Director of Concert Hall

Performance ServicesJack L. Kirkman, Associate Director of Production,

Concert HallsMary Sarah Baker, Associate Director, BookingsTerence Michael Larsen, Assistant Director,

Production and MaintenancePete Meyers, Box Office TreasurerRichard Norton, Stage Crew HeadDan Lasman, Assistant to the Vice President

User’s Guide to the New York Philharmonic


focus on mahlerdata.instantencore.com/pdf/1003995/01-06+nyp+ades+-+e.pdf · january2011 19 focus on...

Documents