Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic begin their EUROPE/WINTER 2012 tour this week with a concert on Feb 2 in Cologne, Germany. The tour features 14 concerts in seven cities including Luxembourg (Feb 3, 4), Paris (Feb 6, 7), Frankfurt (Feb 8, 9), Düsseldorf (Feb 11) and Amsterdam (Feb 13, 14). Four concerts in London Feb 16 – 18 inaugurate the New York Philharmonic's International Associates residency at the Barbican Centre. Tour soloists include Philharmonic's 2011–12 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Frank Peter Zimmermann, pianist Lang Lang, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, in programs featuring works by Magnus Lindberg, the Philharmonic's Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, Thomas Adès – the UK premiere of Polaris – as well as Bartók, Beethoven, Mahler, Prokofiev, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky.

Tonight, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic present the first of three concerts featuring the music of Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Ravel. Artist-in-Residence Frank Peter Zimmerman is the soloist in Beethoven's Violin Concerto, often described as "the Mount Everest of violin concertos" and "Beethoven's tenth symphony with violin obbligato." Rounding out the program are Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements — a piece the Philharmonic premiered, under Stravinsky himself, in 1946 — and Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2. The program will be repeated on January 27 and 28. Tickets and other information are available at the Philharmonic website.

Alan Gilbert was faced with a surprise marimba solo during a performance of Mahler's 9th Symphony Tuesday night, when an iPhone alarm went on for several minutes — long enough to force him to stop the performance and have the ringtone silenced. This act sparked an online sensation as journalists and bloggers wrote about the experience: apart from dozens of blogs (including Paul Pelkonen's Superconductor), it made Page Six of the New York Post, as well as an ArtsBeat post by the New York Times' Dan Wakin.

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic kick off 2012 with the New York premiere of Thomas Adès's Polaris, on January 5 at Avery Fisher Hall, almost one year to the day after presenting the New York premiere of Adès's piano concerto In Seven Days. The program also includes Mahler's Symphony No. 9, Gilbert's recording of which with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra was named Best Classical Recording of 2009 by John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune, who praised its "wonderful balance between desolation and acceptance, with luminous sonics to match." The program will be repeated on January 6 at the Tilles Center for Performing Arts, and January 7 and 10 at Avery Fisher Hall.

Alan Gilbert welcomes 2012 leading the New York Philharmonic in its annual New Year's Eve concert at Avery Fisher Hall. The program features Leonard Bernstein's Overture to Candide and Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, and George Gershwin's Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue. Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins Gilbert in the Gershwin works. The performance will be broadcast nationally on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS. Details, including a list of local PBS stations and broadcast times, can be found here.

Alan Gilbert was given the 2011 Ditson Conductor's Award for his "exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers and to contemporary music" this past Friday by Lee C. Bollinger, the president of Columbia University. The award was presented during the season-opening performance of the New York Philharmonic's CONTACT! series, with a program that included the world premiere of Alexandre Lunsqui's "Fibres, Yarn and Wire," as well as the NY Phil's composer in residence Magnus Lindberg's "Gran Duo" and H. K. Gruber's 'pan-demonium for chansonnier and orchestra,' "Frankenstein!!".

The New York Philharmonic's spring production of Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen made the "Best of 2011" lists of two New York Times music critics. Vivien Schweitzer praised Alan Gilbert and the orchestra for their "vibrant performance" and Doug Fitch for his "enchanting production," while Anthony Tommasini paid tribute to the "glowing, textured" performances and the "disarming production." The production was earlier named by New York critic Justin Davidson as the top classical music event of 2011.

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic will perform H.K. Gruber's "Frankenstein!!" as part of the orchestra's CONTACT! Series (Friday, December 16 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Saturday, December 17 at Symphony Space). The Austrian composer calls the work a "pan-demonium," a reference to its manic energy, quick-cut cultural references, and unusual scoring (including toy instruments). Allan Kozinn wrote about it in this past Sunday's New York Times. Ticket and other information at the New York Philharmonic website.

In his end of the year wrap-up, New York critic Justin Davidson picked the New York Philharmonic's spring production of Janacek's "The Cunning Little Vixen" as the Number One Classical Music Event of 2011. The complete Top 10 List is available here. Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic similarly made the magazines top slot a year ago for their production of Ligeti's "Le Grande Macabre."

Alan Gilbert returns to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France this week for two concerts December 9 and 10 featuring a synthesis of music from Wagner's epic "Ring" cycle. Gilbert calls this "Ring Without Words," which he constructed from an arrangement by conductor Eric Leinsdorf, "a wonderful way to enjoy the music," noting, "Even though we actually play in a couple of places where ordinarily there are voices, the orchestral texture is so complete that, even without the voices, you can get a very strong picture of the psychology, the humanity, and the expression of the music." Ticket information here.

Sony Classical's DVD of the Metropolitan Opera's production of John Adams's "Doctor Atomic" has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording category. New York magazine named the performance, which Alan Gilbert conducted in his Metropolitan Opera debut, the number one classical music event of 2008. The DVD is available for purchase from amazon.com.

Alan Gilbert has been Principal Guest Conductor of Hamburg's NDR Symphony Orchestra since 2004, and returns there this week to conduct three concerts – December 1 and 2 in Hamburg, and December 3 in Kiel. The program features Schumann's "Manfred" Overture, Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra, and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2 with guest soloist Yefim "Fima" Bronfman. Lutosławski's "Concerto," which was given its premiere in Warsaw in 1954, was a breakthrough work for the Polish composer in that it greatly enhanced his visibility in the West.

"A Concert for New York," Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic's performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, given in remembrance and renewal on the eve of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, is now available on DVD. The performance, seen on public television, features Dorothea Röschmann, Michelle DeYoung, and the New York Choral Artists, and the DVD includes reflections by audience members and interviews with Alan Gilbert and Zarin Mehta. For further information and to purchase, visit Amazon.com.

This week, Alan Gilbert returns to the podium of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he was formerly Assistant Conductor for three seasons. The program for three concerts (Nov 11 – 13) includes Beethoven's Romance No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50 and Bruch's Adagio Appasionata, both with the orchestra's concertmaster, William Preucil, and two lush, late-Romantic works: Webern's Im Sommerwind and Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande, Op. 5. Gilbert calls Bill Preucil "a great artist," and Pelleas und Melisande, "one of my favorite Schoenberg pieces." For ticket information visit clevelandorchestra.com.

This week, Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in two concerts at La Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the newly opened home of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The concert on Friday, November 4 features the Overture and Venusberg music from Wagner's Tannhäuser, and Mahler's Symphony No. 5. A matinee concert on Saturday, November 5 features Schubert's Overture to Rosamunde, Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp (with two New York Philharmonic principals: Robert Langevin, flute, and Nancy Allen, harp) and Brahms's Symphony No. 3. For ticket information visit osm.ca.

Alan Gilbert leads three performances with the San Francisco Symphony October 27 – 29. Says Gilbert, "The San Francisco Symphony is one of the orchestras I've enjoyed guest conducting the most. I've always had a good time there and it's an excellent orchestra. I particularly remember doing Mozart's Jupiter Symphony with them a few years ago, so I'm excited to be doing Haydn and Beethoven with them, as well as one of the masterpieces of the 20th century by one of our greatest living composers, Henri Dutilleux. We'll be doing his violin concerto."

In his latest blog post for Musical America, Alan Gilbert takes a break between his performances with the Munich Philharmonic to reflect on various subjects, including the ways that managing a restaurant is similar to running an orchestra. He also apologizes for the long gaps in between his posts! Read the latest here.

After an extraordinarily busy start to his new season with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert hits the road this month for a series of guest conducting engagements with major orchestra in the U.S. and Europe. His first stop will be in Germany where he will make his debut with the Munich Philharmonic (Oct 16, 18, 19) in a program that will include his first performance of Janacek's thrilling Sinfonietta.

A violin bow, that is, when Alan Gilbert joins New York Philharmonic artist-in-residence Frank Peter Zimmermann as one one of the two soloists in Bach's Concerto for Two Violins, Strings and Continuo in D Minor, BWV 1043. The three concerts, Oct 5 – 7, feature a program that includes Zimmermann playing Berg's searing Violin Concerto, "To the memory of an angel," and Gilbert conducting Brahms's elusive yet richly expressive Symphony No. 3 – dubbed "Brahms's 'Eroica'" by conducting legend Hans Richter.

The first world premiere given by Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic this season will be John Corigliano's One Sweet Morning, a 30-minute song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, composed for Stephanie Blythe, the soloist for the concerts (Sep 30, Oct 1 and 4). Co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the work is a perspective on the years following September 11, 2001, featuring meditations on war and peace by Czeslaw Milosz, Homer (from the Iliad), the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Po, and from E. Y. "Yip" Harburg's poem "One Sweet Morning" (program/ticket details here). An additional matinee concert on Sat, Oct 1 will feature Gilbert conducting Dvorak's Symphony No. 7, preceded by a performance of Schubert's "Trout" Quintet with Michelle Kim (violin), Rebecca Young (viola), Carter Brey (cello), Satoshi Okamoto (bass) and Anne-Marie McDermott (piano).

Alan Gilbert begins his third season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic with a gala concert on September 21 featuring guest soprano Deborah Voigt. Gilbert conducts Barber's School for Scandal Overture and Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser, and Voigt joins him and the orchestra for Barber's Andromache's Farewell, Wagner's "Dich, teure Halle" from Tannhäuser, and the Final Scene from Richard Strauss's Salome. Info about the concert's open rehearsal that morning, and tickets for the opening night gala, is available here. The next night, Gilbert and the orchestra give the first of three performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection" (additional performances 9/24 and 9/27).

The text for Alan Gilbert's spoken introduction at the New York Philharmonic's "Concert for New York" is now available on his "Curiously Random" blog for Musical America. You can also watch the entire, unedited "Concert for New York" at the Great Performances website.

Before the official start of the New York Philharmonic's 2011-12 season on September 21, Alan Gilbert will lead the orchestra in two special concerts. The first is a free concert in Central Park with superstar Andrea Bocelli on Thursday, September 15 (details here). Then, on Saturday, September 17, Gilbert and the orchestra are back at Avery Fisher Hall, where they will perform Sir William Walton's magnificent score for the Laurence Olivier film of Henry V, which will feature legendary actor Christopher Plummer narrating (details here).

On Saturday, September 10, Alan Gilbert will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a special performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, a concert of "Remembrance and Renewal" commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11. The concert will take place at Avery Fisher Hall at 7:30PM, broadcast live on 105.9 Classical WQXR, telecast on PBS's Great Performances at 9:00 PM on September 11 (check local listings), and broadcast on WYNC 93.9 FM at 8:00PM on September 11. Tickets are first-come, first-serve, and will be distributed (one pair per person) beginning at 4:00 pm on the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center on September 10, the day of the concert. There will be additional seating on the Plaza for the live projection of the concert. Additional information is available at the New York Philharmonic website.

Alan Gilbert heads to Japan for his debut performances with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (July 17, 18). Soon after, he returns to the US to conduct three performances with the New York Philharmonic at the orchestra’s summer home at the Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado (Jul 22-24).

On his "Curiously Random" blog for Musical America, Alan Gilbert takes a look back at the recent success of the New York Philharmonic's production of Janacek's "The Cunning Little Vixen," and other highlights of the 2010-11 Season – his second as Music Director of the orchestra.

Alan Gilbert brings his second season as the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic to a thrilling conclusion this week when he conducts Czech composer Leos Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen at Avery Fisher Hall (June 22 – 25). The fully staged production reunites Gilbert and the orchestra with designer/director Doug Fitch, with whom they collaborated on last season's sold-out, critically acclaimed production of György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre – described by the New York Times as "an instant Philharmonic milestone." Learn more about the New York Philharmonic's season finale at its website.

Well, you can find out directly from the Music Director himself in his latest blog post for Musical America. Among the topics he covers: the recent New York Philharmonic tour of Europe, and the upcoming production of Janáček's opera, "The Cunning Little Vixen," which opens on June 22.

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic will, over the next several seasons, perform and record Carl Nielsen's six symphonies and three instrumental concertos. The details of the recordings, to be released on the Dacapo label from 2012 through 2015, were announced today at an event attended by Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark. With this project, Alan Gilbert joins Leonard Bernstein as the only Philharmonic music directors to record Nielsen's music with the orchestra.

On Sunday June 12 at 4:30 PM, Alan Gilbert will appear live at The Greene Space with the creative team responsible for the New York Philharmonic's upcoming production of Janacek's "Cunning Little Vixen" (Jun 22 – 25). The special "Vixen on Varick" preview will be hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon and will feature Gilbert along with designer/director Doug Fitch and choreographer Karole Armitage, as well as performances by Alan Opie (The Forester) and Marie Lenormand (The Fox) among others. For ticket and webcast/broadcast information, visit wqxr.org. A special video preview of the production is available here on YouTube.

Alan Gilbert will lead the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Sebastian Currier's Time Machines on Thursday, June 2, featuring violin soloist and Philharmonic Artist-in-Residence Anne-Sophie Mutter. The program, which also features Beethoven's Romance No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra and Bruckner's Symphony No. 2, will be repeated on June 3rd and 4th. For more information, visit the New York Philharmonic website.

Following their highly successful European tour, Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic return to New York City to perform a free concert on Memorial Day (Monday, May 30) at 8PM at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. The program features Barber's hauntingly beautiful Adagio for Strings and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Eroica. For more information, visit the New York Philharmonic website.

Alan Gilbert and New York Philharmonic finish their EUROPE/SPRING 2011 tour with concerts in Leipzig (May 23) and Prague (May 24). The Leipzig concert, featuring an all-Mahler program – Symphony No. 5 and "Kindertotenlieder" with baritone Thomas Hampson – will be webcast online live at 2pm EDT on the 23rd and can be viewed at the New York Philharmonic website.

Alan Gilbert leads the New York Philharmonic on its EUROPE / SPRING 2011 tour, May 12 - 24, 2011. This tour — the fourth with Gilbert as Music Director — will take the Philharmonic to the music capitals of Central Europe, with eleven concerts in nine cities: Basel, Baden-Baden, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Prague. Although Gilbert has a long history of conducting concerts across Europe — his most recent performances there were with the Berlin Philharmonic in early April — and has taken the New York Philharmonic on two previous European tours, this excursion marks his first appearances in all nine cities as Music Director of the orchestra.

Beethoven comes in "threes" this week with the New York Philharmonic, with Alan Gilbert conducting the Third Symphony, "Eroica," in an open rehearsal on Tuesday, May 3, and in evening concerts on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. Also on the program at Avery Fisher Hall, Lisa Batiashvili is the soloist for Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2. In between these performances, Gilbert and the orchestra will head to Carnegie Hall on Thursday, May 5 for a concert celebrating the storied venue's 120th Anniversary. Beethoven's "Triple" Concerto, with soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and Emanuel Ax, is on a festive program that also includes Dvorák's Carnival Overture, and arrangements by Larry Hochman of songs by Duke Ellington, sung by the remarkable soprano Audra McDonald.

"I was very moved at the ceremony giving Manny honorary membership in the Philharmonic Symphony Society last night after his 100th performance with the orchestra, because he was so genuinely moved himself and he seemed so truly honored to be inducted into this incredible group of musicians and people who have been important for music. We kept the surprise really well, so he had no idea beforehand. It was such a wonderful New York moment: you could feel how much the crowd was with him, and loved him, and admired him. The audience and the musicians of the orchestra showed such great affection for him. It was a very special moment, and I can't honestly think of anyone who is more deserving." Ax became the 66th Honorary Member, joining the likes of such historic luminaries as Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner in the 19th century, and Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein and Isaac Stern in the 20th. The honor, first introduced in 1843, is the highest given by the New York Philharmonic.

Mahler's mighty Fifth Symphony is the centerpiece of Alan Gilbert's next programs with the New York Philharmonic. On Wed, Apr 27, Mahler 5 is the solo work on a Rush Hour program beginning at 6:45PM. For the three concerts that follow (Apr 28 – 30), Gilbert adds Messiaen's exuberant Couleurs de la cité céleste to the program, with Emanuel Ax performing the work's hugely demanding part for piano. Ax will also perform selections from Debussy's evocative Estampes for solo piano.

One of Alan Gilbert's recent concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic is now available for viewing online in the orchestra's Digital Concert Hall. The concert includes a performance of Stravinsky's complete Firebird ballet that prompted one critic to write, "Seldom has the score been heard with such substance, seriousness and class."

This Friday, April 15 at 8PM, Alan Gilbert conducts the Juilliard Orchestra in Mahler's Symphony No 9 at Avery Fisher Hall. Tickets are available at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, from CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500, or online.

On Monday, April 4, 2011, Alan Gilbert became the first New York Philharmonic Music Director to give the annual Erich Leinsdorf Lecture. His remarks, titled "Performance and Interpretation," were webcast live. An excerpt from the lecture is available at his blog for Musical America. The complete lecture can be watched in full on the New York Philharmonic's website.

Alan Gilbert was honored last night at the Lotos Club, once described by Mark Twain as the "Ace of Clubs." He was thrilled to join Elie Wiesel and Dave Brubeck, both at the event yesterday, as a member of this renowned club, which has celebrated arts and letters since 1870.

Alan Gilbert and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra received an enthusiastic ovation and rave reviews for their weekend performances at Berlin's Philharmonie. The Berliner Morgenpost called Gilbert and Emanuel Ax a "dream team" in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22, noting, "Rarely are a conductor and soloist so elegant together... under Gilbert's inspiring direction [this was] a Mozart interpretation full of vibrancy, elegance and sensitive power." The reviewer concluded, "After the final chord [of Stravinsky's Firebird], the hall seemed to almost burst with admiration." A reviewer for Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg observed, "Under Alan Gilbert's leadership, the [Firebird] was substantial and full of tension from the very first note. He did not exaggerate but demonstrated that all effects have their meaning in this piece...A 'Firebird' which did not flutter chaotically but floated gracefully."

Alan Gilbert Performs with Berlin Philharmonic, Juilliard Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic, and Gives Annual Erich Leinsdorf Lecture in April. Read the complete details in the news release.

On March 17, 2011, Music Director Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic performed Takemitsu's Requiem for String Orchestra, as an expression of support and admiration for the Japanese people. A recording of that performance is now available for download through InstantEncore and other online music stores, with proceeds going to benefit relief efforts for Japan. Click here to purchase the recording and view a video of the performance.

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic performed Takemitsu's Requiem for String Orchestra on Thursday, March 17 before the regularly scheduled concert conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. You can now view this Takemitsu performance, dedicated to the people of Japan, at the New York Philharmonic's website.

Tonight, before Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted his scheduled program with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert dedicated the next three New York Philharmonic concerts to the people of Japan and then conducted a performance of Takemitsu's Requiem for String Orchestra. Earlier today, Gilbert, who has deep family and professional ties to Japan, recorded a video message to the people of that tragedy-stricken nation. He was joined by New York Philharmonic violinist Fiona Simon.

Michelangelo and Hans Werner Henze make vivid guest appearances in Alan Gilbert's latest blog entry, "Roman Holiday". Read the post at his Musical America blog.

Mendelssohn's Elijah, with baritone Gerald Finley in the title role, will be the fifth release in the 2010-11 Season iTunes Pass from the New York Philharmonic. Recorded in November and available on February 15 , Mendelssohn's biblical oratorio is one of twelve recordings from Alan Gilbert and the Orchestra that will be available for download from iTunes this season, both individually and as part of the season pass.

On Wednesday, February 9 at 7:30pm, Alan Gilbert will conduct the young musicians of the JCC Thurnauer School of Music in its 20th annual Gift of Music Gala. The concert takes place at the Bergen Performing Arts Center; ticket and program information available here.

The New York Philharmonic has announced the details for Alan Gilbert's third season as music director of the orchestra. View the 2011/12 season schedule at the Philharmonic website.

Well, actually the schools are coming to hear Alan and the New York Philharmonic this week at Avery Fisher Hall. Specifically, 10,000 New York area students from grades 3 through 12 will attend three days of School Day Concerts (February 2 – 4), with Alan conducting all six concerts featuring a program entitled "Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony: Man and Nature". Attendees will also hear new works by various young composers including some by participants in the NY Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program (ages 10 – 12!).

Alan Gilbert's next program with the New York Philharmonic features two ebullient symphonies — Beethoven's 8th and Nielsen's 2nd – as well as fiery soprano Karita Mattila singing Beethoven's "Ah, Perfido!" and orchestral songs by Sibelius (Jan 27 – 29, Feb 1).

The Juilliard School announced today that Alan Gilbert has been named the new director of conducting and orchestral studies at the Juilliard School. Gilbert is an alumnus of the school, and is already the first holder of Juilliard's William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies. A feature story in the New York Times provides details about the new appointment.

Alan Gilbert takes time away from his busy schedule in New York for performances later this month with The Philadelphia Orchestra. The three concerts (Jan 20 – 22) feature a program of works by Lindberg (EXPO), Rouse (Oboe Concerto) and Beethoven (Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral"). Gilbert's last performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra were in February 2008.

Alan Gilbert's winter concerts with the New York Philharmonic continue with a program featuring the New York premiere of Thomas Adès's In Seven Days, described as a concerto for piano with moving images (Jan 6 – 8). The work is a collaboration between Adès — who is also the piano soloist — with his partner, Israeli video artist Tal Rosner. Rounding out the program is Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, with baritone Thomas Hampson, and Mozart's Symphony No. 40.

Two New York Times critics picked Alan Gilbert's work with the New York Philharmonic in their summaries of the classical music highlights of 2010. Vivien Schweitzer praised their "vividly realized" production of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre, and a Carnegie Hall concert that featured Gilbert/NY Phil team performing music by Wagner, Sibelius and Lindberg. Meanwhile, Steve Smith lauded the "Philharmonic Renewed Under a Bold Conductor." Smith noted, "with the arrival of Alan Gilbert as the music director of the New York Philharmonic in 2009 came the promise of youthful vigor and bold initiatives. But who could have anticipated that by the midpoint of Mr. Gilbert's second season the Philharmonic would be a potent, even groundbreaking force for contemporary music?". Read more at left.

In the final week of 2010, Alan Gilbert leads the Philharmonic in a program that includes a world premiere and some beloved favorites of the classical repertoire. The concerts feature a world premiere of a Voice, a Messenger by American composer Aaron Jay Kernis and Ravel's hypnotic masterpiece Bolero. Also on the program are Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins. Hindemith's Horn Concerto and Christopher Rouse's Oboe Concerto, all featuring members of the orchestra as soloists. Details at the NY Phil website.

This coming weekend, Alan Gilbert conducts the next installment of the Philharmonic's acclaimed new-music series, CONTACT!, in performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Dec 17) and Symphony Space (Dec 18). The CONTACT! concerts feature the world premieres of James Matheson's True South and Jay Alan Yim's neverthesamerivertwice, both New York Philharmonic commissions. Rounding out the program is the U.S. premiere of Julian Anderson's Comedy of Change. Details at the NY Phil website.

In its annual list of the Top 10 classical music events of the year, New York magazine has selected the New York Philharmonic's performances of György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre for the top spot in 2010. Critic Justin Davidson writes "Music director Alan Gilbert has been carefully sending up flares to guide a once-stodgy orchestra toward more audacity, and Doug Fitch's exuberantly ghoulish production of György Ligeti's apocalyptic opera from 1978 delivered an avant-garde triumph that took even the Philharmonic by surprise." See the entire list here.

Returning to a work he performed earlier this season with the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 6 with Hamburg's NDR-Symphony Orchestra (NDRSO). The three performances take place in Hamburg (Dec 9 and 12) and Lübeck (Dec 10). Gilbert has been principal guest conductor of the NDRSO since 2004. Details at the NDRSO website.

Read Alan's new post about the "Paris Pelleas Project" at his Musical America blog.

Watch Alan Gilbert conduct the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande, featuring visual enhancements by designer/director Doug Fitch, at Arte Live Web. The concert was filmed on November 27 in Paris's Salle Pleyel, and begins with Yvonne Naef singing orchestral songs by Zemlinsky featuring poems by Maurice Maeterlinck — the author of the Symbolist play that inspired this Schoenberg work, and works by other composers.

After last season's triumphant production of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre at the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert teams up again with designer/director Doug Fitch for a visually-enhanced performance of Arnold Schönberg's "Pelleas und Melisande" with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France on Nov 27: http://bit.ly/eClbuI

In his latest blog entry for MusicalAmerica.com, Alan Gilbert praises the Orchestra for its "uniquely awesome capability" to perform a mammoth amount of music magnificently over the last few weeks during the EUROPE / AUTUMN 2010 tour and the first week back in New York, with back-to-back concerts at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. Click here to read Alan Gilbert's blog.

This week, Alan Gilbert conducts two concerts in the Philharmonic's new-music series, CONTACT!, at Peter Norton Symphony Space (Nov 19) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Nov 20). The CONTACT! concerts feature the world premiere of Magnus Lindberg's Souvenir (in memoriam Gérard Grisey), which was commissioned by the orchestra and is a tribute to Lindberg's late teacher, and Gérard Grisey's own Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil.

After nine-city European tour with New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert's first concerts with the orchestra back in NYC will feature Mendelssohn's "Elijah." Alan calls this biblical oratorio, "a great piece — a very dramatic and vivid telling of the story." Three performances November 10, 11 and 13.

On Sunday, October 24 Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic begin a nine-concert, seven-city tour of Europe. The "Europe / Autumn 2010" performances include concerts in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia (10/24), Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia (10/26), Warsaw, Poland (10/28 and 10/29), Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania (10/30), Hamburg, Germany (11/1), Paris, France (11/2) and Luxembourg, Luxembourg (11/3 and 11/4).