When the New York Philharmonic announced this season鈥檚 programs, I immediately sought out what I didn鈥檛 want to miss. For starters: Mahler鈥擨鈥檝e sung in the chorus for Mahler symphonies and performed the songs from them, so Mahler Four (in March) and Two (in June) are on my Create Your Own subscription series. In the latter, I particularly look forward to hearing the jaunty tune about St. Anthony delivering a sermon to fish; Urlicht, sung by solo alto; and, in the glorious fifth movement, the soprano soloist joining the full chorus for the radiant Resurrection that gives the symphony its nickname.
Then, I began to wonder what members of the Philharmonic were particularly looking forward to playing, and why.
Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples is with me on Mahler鈥檚 Second, which will mark Jaap van Zweden鈥檚 final subscription concerts as the NY Phil鈥檚 Music Director. 鈥淒iscovering Mahler in my teens was life-altering, as if a door was opened to appreciating a whole new dimension of music and humanity,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淭his monumental work is a profound journey for musicians and audience alike, and sure to be a very powerful and deeply moving experience with Jaap.鈥�
Staples is also 鈥渢hrilled to have the opportunity to perform Mozart鈥檚 Sinfonia concertante with my wonderful colleague [Principal Viola] Cynthia Phelps. I particularly love the sentimental second movement, with its deep and beautiful melodies passed back and forth and intertwined between violin and viola.鈥�
Speaking of Mozart, as a former oboe player I can鈥檛 wait to hear Liang Wang perform Mozart鈥檚 gorgeous concerto for that instrument. He鈥檚 played many concertos with the Philharmonic since becoming Principal Oboe in 2006, but this will be his first time with this one. 鈥淵ou kind of have to be perfect,鈥� he says. No pressure there! He intends to write his own cadenzas 鈥� the virtuosic sections where the soloist gets to show off.
Wang is also looking forward to big works he thinks the Philharmonic does especially well, like Felix Mendelssohn鈥檚 Scottish Symphony. That shares a program with a commission by Joel Thompson. Having heard Lawrence Brownlee sing the terrific songs that Thompson composed for him, I now want to hear everything Thompson writes.
Principal Cello Carter Brey joins the others in looking forward to another piece at the top of my own list: Bart贸k鈥檚 Concerto for Orchestra, which I鈥檝e loved ever since receiving a recording of it for my 21st birthday. The piece reminds Brey of his friend Konrad Wolff, the late pianist and musicologist. When Brey asked Wolff鈥攚ho, like Bart贸k, fled Nazi-occupied Europe鈥攚hat his favorite 20th-century composition was, Wolff 鈥渘amed the Bart贸k without hesitation. This was a statement by a fellow refugee that explores very dark corners of human experience, only to end with an overwhelming 鈥榶es鈥� to life.鈥�
Brey is also excited about joining Concertmaster Frank Huang as soloists in the Brahms Double Concerto. 鈥淭he printed music I鈥檒l be using is the same part that I鈥檝e owned since high school, and from which I鈥檝e played in each of my many Philharmonic performances of it over the past 27 years. By now it looks like something fished out of a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, but I鈥檒l never replace it.鈥� The Brahms shares the program with another piece from my own list: Shostakovich鈥檚 Concerto No. 1 for Piano (Igor Levit, in these performances), Trumpet (Principal Trumpet Christopher Martin), and Strings, with its hilarious, silent-movie style race to the finish.
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted such a great Philharmonic concert last season that I鈥檒l be there when he conducts Berlioz鈥檚 Symphonie fantastique, plus the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with Sheku Kanneh-Mason as soloist. You may remember the cellist from the internationally televised wedding of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; he has half a dozen recordings, and an impressive touring schedule. St茅phane Den猫ve is conducting Saint-Sa毛ns鈥檚 Organ Symphony, featuring NY Phil organist Kent Tritle, which Sheryl Staples says is 鈥渙ne of those classic pieces that sounds familiar from beginning to end, even if you can鈥檛 quite place where you might have heard it. (Have you seen the movie Babe?) The organ鈥檚 grand entrance at the beginning of the last movement is just breathtaking, and I can鈥檛 wait to hear how it fills our new David Geffen Hall.鈥�
I agree about the Organ Symphony鈥攁nd about the new hall, which makes it a joy to listen to the extraordinary musicians of the New York Philharmonic.
What else is coming up this season at the New York Phil. Visit to learn more.
- Jaap van Zweden conducting works by composers he鈥檚 championed, from Steve Reich鈥檚 Jacob鈥檚 Ladder to the Mozart Requiem, and collaborating with NY Phil musicians as soloists, including Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi in a concerto by Tan Dun
- A focus on Ligeti on his centennial, which includes a US Premiere of one of his early pieces as well as Pierre-Laurent Aimard鈥檚 survey of his 脡tudes on Artist Spotlight
- The US Premiere of 脡尘颈驳谤茅, an oratorio composed by Aaron Zigman with lyrics by Mark Campbell and Brock Walsh co-commissioned with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, in a semi-staged production
- Hilary Hahn as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence
- 14 World, US, and New York Premieres
- The celebration of the Young People鈥檚 Concerts at 100
Naomi Lewin is the former weekday afternoon music host on WQXR, where her show Classics for Kids airs on Saturday mornings, and has produced features for NPR and The Metropolitan Opera and hosted online programs for 92NY. She now hosts live events, performs as a narrator, and creates music podcasts.
