FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPDATED November 23, 2015

October 14, 2015

Contact: Katherine E. Johnson

(212) 875-5718; johnsonk@nyphil.org

RACHMANINOFF: A PHILHARMONIC FESTIVAL

Featuring Pianist DANIIL TRIFONOV

November 10–28, 2015

RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI, PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2, and THE ISLE OF THE DEAD

Conducted by CRISTIAN MĂCELARU

Broadcast Live on WQXR 105.9 FM

November 11–14 and 17, 2015

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 4, SYMPHONY NO. 1, and RUSSIAN SONG, Op. 11, No. 3

Conducted by NEEME JÄRVI

November 19–21, 2015

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 and SYMPHONIC DANCES

Conducted by LUDOVIC MORLOT

November 24 and 27–28, 2015

Saturday Matinee Concert To Feature Works by Bernstein, Glinka, Albinoni, and Handel

Performed by New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet

CHAMBER MUSIC PROGRAM at 92nd Street Y with

DANIIL TRIFONOV and NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC Musicians, November 22, 2015

FROM RUSSIA TO RIVERSIDE DRIVE: RACHMANINOFF AND FRIENDS

New York Festival of Song, November 10, 2015

The New York Philharmonic will present Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival, November

10–28, 2015, featuring 24-year-old Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov performing three of the

composer’s piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini over the course of three

consecutive all-Rachmaninoff programs, each led by a different conductor: Cristian Măcelaru (in

his Philharmonic debut), Neeme Järvi, and Ludovic Morlot. The festival will also include a

chamber program on which Mr. Trifonov will collaborate with Musicians from the New York

Philharmonic, co-presented with 92nd Street Y, and a vocal concert co-presented by the

Kaufman Music Center and New York Festival of Song. Rachmaninoff continues the

Philharmonic’s annual, multiweek festivals, an initiative Alan Gilbert introduced in his inaugural

season as Music Director.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 2

Daniil Trifonov made his Philharmonic debut in the 2012–13 season performing Prokofiev’s

Piano Concerto No. 3, led by Alan Gilbert. He returned in the 2014–15 season to perform

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, led by Juanjo Mena. The New York Times wrote of that

performance: “His sound bright and lean at the start, he brought out the work’s focus, even as he

gave the impression of flexibility. In the first movement, confidently varying the pulse, he wove

his lines around the orchestra’s. The great solo melody near the start of the slow second

movement had a wandering if attentive feel, as if it were an impromptu, and Mr. Trifonov’s

sound took on a calm lucidity but without a hint of chill. In the finale, he gave his tone silky

diaphanousness, keeping a quality of roundedness even in Rachmaninoff’s most pounding runs.”

“Daniil Trifonov plays with a technical ability that is jaw-dropping: he can do anything he wants,

and his playing can be mysterious and captivating,” said Music Director Alan Gilbert. “He wraps

you around his finger and brings you along on a wild, fantastic, and sometimes terrifying

journey. Exploring Rachmaninoff’s breathtakingly difficult but beautifully expressive repertoire

through Daniil’s performances is sure to be an adventure.”

“My Philharmonic debut was a special experience and a great honor. I was captivated by the

energy, and it was really enjoyable music-making,” said Daniil Trifonov. “The Rachmaninoff

cycle will be an exciting adventure. Each of his concertos has a particular atmosphere: in the

Second Concerto, his suffering gave birth to amazing music; the first movement of the Third

Concerto is one of the most substantial works he ever wrote; the harmonic courage of the Fourth

Concerto, where he searches for a new language, is captivating; and in the Rhapsody on a Theme

of Paganini there is a sense of something lost and a sense of perfection.”

Rachmaninoff himself appeared as a soloist with either the New York Philharmonic or the New

York Symphony (the two orchestras that merged in 1928 to form the modern Philharmonic)

in 41 performances between 1909 and 1942, including numerous performances of his concertos.

Week I

In the festival’s opening orchestral program, Daniil Trifonov is spotlighted in both

Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Piano Concerto No. 2, and the

Orchestra performs The Isle of the Dead, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru in his Philharmonic

debut, Wednesday, November 11, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m.;

Friday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 14 at 8:00 p.m.; and Tuesday,

November 17 at 7:30 p.m. The November 12 performance will be broadcast live on WQXR,

New York’s classical station, at 105.9 FM and wqxr.org at 7:30 p.m. Rachmaninoff was soloist

with the Philharmonic for the New York Premiere of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in 1934.

The composer was also the soloist for the 1901 World Premiere, in Moscow, of his Piano

Concerto No. 2.

On November 10, 2015, Kaufman Music Center and the New York Festival of Song will co-

present From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff and Friends, a vocal concert at Merkin

Concert Hall featuring Rachmaninoff’s Russian songs and the music he heard during his years in

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 3

America, including works by Gershwin, Ellington, Schillinger, and others, performed by soprano

Dina Kuznetsova, baritone Shea Owens, thereminist Dalit Warshaw, and pianists and hosts

Steven Blier and Michael Barrett.

Week II

The festival’s second program features Daniil Trifonov in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto

No. 4 and the Orchestra performing Symphony No. 1 and Russian Song, Op. 11, No. 3

(orchestrated by A. Leytush), led by Neeme Järvi, Thursday, November 19, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.;

Friday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November 21 at 8:00 p.m. These concerts mark

the New York Philharmonic’s first performance of Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony.

The festival will also include a chamber music program at 92nd Street Y, which is co-

presenting the concert, November 22, 2015. The program will feature Rachmaninoff’s String

Quartet No. 1 (unfinished), String Quartet No. 2 (unfinished), and Trio elégiaque No. 2 in D

minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, performed by Daniil Trifonov and Principal Associate

Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Assistant Concertmaster Michelle Kim, Principal Viola Cynthia

Phelps, and Principal Cello Carter Brey.

Week III

The festival concludes with Daniil Trifonov in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and the

Orchestra performing the Symphonic Dances, conducted by Ludovic Morlot, Tuesday,

November 24, 2015, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, November 27 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, November

28 at 8:00 p.m. Rachmaninoff was soloist in the concerto’s World Premiere with the New York

Symphony (which would merge with the New York Philharmonic in 1928 to form today’s New

York Philharmonic) in 1909, conducted by Walter Damrosch; it was so well received that the

composer-pianist repeated the performance two months later with the Philharmonic, led by

Gustav Mahler. Rachmaninoff recalled that Mahler “touched my composer’s heart straight away

by devoting himself to my Concerto until the accompaniment, which is rather complicated, had

been practiced to the point of perfection … according to Mahler, every detail of the score was

important — an attitude which is unfortunately rare amongst conductors.”

The Saturday Matinee Concert on November 28 at 2:00 p.m. opens with arrangements of

Handel’s La Réjouissance (Rejoicing) from Music for the Royal Fireworks, Albinoni’s Sonata

Saint Mark, Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla Overture, and Bernstein’s On the Town Suite

performed by the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet — Acting Associate Principal

Trumpet Ethan Bensdorf, Associate Principal Horn Richard Deane, Principal Trombone Joseph

Alessi, Principal Tuba Alan Baer, and, in these performances, guest trumpet Kevin Cobb —

followed by Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, conducted by Ludovic Morlot.

Related Events

Philharmonic Free Fridays

The New York Philharmonic is offering 100 free tickets for young people ages 13–26 to the

concerts Friday, November 13 and Friday, November 27 as part of Philharmonic Free

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 4

Fridays. Information is available at nyphil.org/freefridays. Philharmonic Free Fridays offers

100 free tickets to 13–26-year-olds to each of the 2015–16 season’s 15 Friday evening

subscription concerts.

Pre-Concert Insights

Composer Joelle Wallach will introduce the program November 11–14 and 17; author,

pianist, and professor Arbie Orenstein will introduce the program November 19–21;

musicologist and professor Elizabeth Seitz will introduce the program November 24 and 27–

28. Pre-Concert Insights are $7, and discounts are available for three (3) or more talks and for

students. They take place one hour before these performances in the Helen Hull Room, unless

otherwise noted. Attendance is limited to 90 people. Information: nyphil.org/preconcert or

(212) 875-5656.

Artists

Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity, Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has

made a spectacular ascent to classical stardom. Since taking First Prize at both the Tchaikovsky

and Rubinstein competitions in 2011 at the age of 20, he has appeared with most of the world’s

foremost orchestras and given solo recitals at many of its most prestigious venues. Following the

release of Rachmaninov Variations, recorded for Deutsche Grammophon with The Philadelphia

Orchestra, in the 2015–16 season Mr. Trifonov is spotlighted in both the New York

Philharmonic’s Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival and the Philharmonia Orchestra’s

Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Cycle. He also plays Rachmaninoff concertos in debuts with the

Berlin Staatskapelle, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (where he anchors the Nobel Prize

Concert), Philadelphia Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, and Orchestre National de Lyon, and on

the Czech Philharmonic’s tour of Asia. He is performing Prokofiev in his Montreal Symphony

debut and returns to the Orchestre National de France and London Symphony Orchestra, and

Chopin with the San Francisco Symphony, Tchaikovsky with the London Philharmonic

Orchestra at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, and Liszt with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at

home and on a North European tour. An accomplished composer, Mr. Trifonov reprises his own

acclaimed piano concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony. In addition to making his Los Angeles

recital debut, he undertakes a European recital tour and residencies in Lugano and at London’s

Wigmore Hall. Last season saw the release of Trifonov: The Carnegie Recital, the pianist’s first

recording as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, which scored a Grammy nomination and

an ECHO Klassik Award. His discography also features a Chopin album for Decca and

Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. Born in

Nizhny Novgorod in 1991, Daniil Trifonov studied at Moscow’s Gnessin School of Music and

the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2013 he won Italy’s Franco Abbiati Prize for Best

Instrumental Soloist. Daniil Trifonov made his New York Philharmonic debut in September

2012 performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert. During

the 2014–15 season he returned to perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the

Philharmonic, led by Juanjo Mena.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 5

Winner of the 2014 Solti Conducting Award, Cristian Măcelaru is conductor-in-residence of

The Philadelphia Orchestra, with which he made his unexpected subscription debut in April

2013. He has since conducted four of its subscription programs, and leads another in the 2015–

16 season. Other season highlights include his Lincoln Center debut at the Mostly Mozart

Festival, as well as this New York Philharmonic debut. He returns to the Chicago Symphony

Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and National Symphony

Orchestra. Internationally, he makes debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin,

Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal

Scottish National, Dublin’s RTE National Symphony, and Tokyo’s Metropolitan Symphony

orchestras. In North America, his debuts include the Atlanta, Cincinnati, New World, and San

Diego symphony orchestras, Minnesota Orchestra, and National Arts Centre Orchestra. Cristian

Măcelaru made his first appearance at Carnegie Hall in 2012, leading a work alongside Valery

Gergiev in a Georg Solti Centennial Celebration, and in 2015 he made his full Carnegie debut

leading the Danish National Symphony Orchestra with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. In June

2015 he made his Cincinnati Opera debut in highly acclaimed performances of Verdi’s Il

Trovatore. An accomplished violinist from an early age, Christian Măcelaru was the youngest

concertmaster in the history of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and played in the first violin

section of the Houston Symphony for two seasons. After participating in the conducting

programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival and School, he

received the Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award in 2012. He completed undergraduate

studies in violin performance at the University of Miami and subsequently studied with Larry

Rachleff at Rice University, where he received master’s degrees in conducting and violin

performance.

The head of a musical dynasty, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s most respected maestros and has

amassed a discography of almost 500 recordings. Over his long and highly successful career he

has worked with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Bavarian

Radio Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, New York

Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, and continues to have regular

relationships with the NHK, Shanghai, and Singapore symphony orchestras. Mr. Järvi has held

positions with ensembles across the world, and is currently artistic director of the Estonian

National Symphony Orchestra, music director emeritus with both the Residentie Orkest and the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony,

conductor laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and head of conducting/artistic

advisor of the Gstaad Conducting Academy. Until the summer of 2015 he was artistic and music

director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and ended his tenure with a European tour.

Having recorded with Chandos for more than 30 years, his latest disc is A Festival of Fucík with

the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Other recent releases include Tchaikovsky’s complete

ballets with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as works by Joachim Raff, Massenet,

Chabrier, Saint-Saëns, Atterberg, Suchon, and Xaver Scharwenka. His discography also includes

critically acclaimed complete orchestral cycles of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss,

Mahler, Dvořák, Glazunov, Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen, and Brahms. He has championed less

widely known composers such as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfvén, and Niels Gade; Franz

Berwald, Johann Svendsen, and Johan Halvorsen of Norway; and composers from his native

Estonia including Rudolf Tobias, Artur Kapp, Eduard Tubin, and Arvo Pärt. He has also

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 6

recorded with Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, and EMI throughout his career. Neeme Järvi’s

international awards and accolades include an honorary doctorate from the Music Academy of

Estonia in Tallinn and the Order of the National Coat of Arms from the President of the Republic

of Estonia, Mr. Lennart Meri. The Mayor of Tallinn presented Mr. Järvi with the city’s first-ever

ceremonial sash and coat of arms insignia, and he has been named one of the Estonians of the

Century. He holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Detroit’s Wayne State

University and the University of Michigan, honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen

and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and has received the Commander of the North Star

Order from King Karl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Neeme Järvi made his New York Philharmonic

debut in February 1980 leading an all-Sibelius program; his most recent appearance was in

November 2010, conducting works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Zemlinsky.

French conductor Ludovic Morlot is the music director of the Seattle Symphony. During the

2014–15 season, he led the orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem, Dvořák’s last three symphonies,

Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3; works by Ives, Dutilleux, and Esa-

Pekka Salonen; and premieres by Sebastian Currier, Julian Anderson, and Trimpin. In the 2015–

16 season Mr. Morlot conducts the Atlanta Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National

Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Curtis Symphony orchestras, as well as,

internationally, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Geneva Camerata. He has

a strong connection with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which he conducts regularly in

Boston and Tanglewood, and recently led on a West Coast tour. This relationship started when

he was the Tanglewood Music Center’s Seiji Ozawa Fellowship Conductor and subsequently

appointed assistant conductor for the orchestra and its music director James Levine (2004–07).

While chief conductor of Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (2012–14), he conducted several new

productions including Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Janáček’s Jenůfa, and Debussy’s Pelléas et

Mélisande. Concert performances in Brussels and Aix-en-Provenceincluded works by

Beethoven, Stravinsky, Britten, Webern, and Bruneau. He has conducted The Philadelphia, and

Cleveland Orchestras, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Concertgebouw, London

Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Budapest Festival, Orchestre

National de France, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra,

and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Trained as a violinist, Ludovic Morlot studied conducting in

London and was conductor-in-residence with the Orchestre National de Lyon (2002–04). He was

elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2014. He is chair of orchestral conducting

studies at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle. Ludovic Morlot made his

New York Philharmonic debut in March 2006 leading works by Carter, Schumann, and Brahms.

He most recently led works by Musorgsky, Walton, and Ravel in June 2011, then joined the

Orchestra for its Bravo! Vail residency that July.

Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate

Concertmaster, The Elizabeth G. Beinecke Chair, in September 1998. She made her solo debut

with the Orchestra in 1999 performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, led by Kurt Masur. Since

then she has been featured in more than 25 performances with the Philharmonic in concertos by

Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, Bach, and Vivaldi with conductors including Alan Gilbert, Lorin

Maazel, Kent Nagano, Jeffrey Kahane, and Colin Davis. Most recently, she performed Mozart’s

Sinfonia concertante with Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, led by Jaap van Zweden in November

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 7

2014. Previously she was the associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra and

concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony and Santa Barbara Chamber orchestras. She has

appeared as soloist with more than 45 orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra and Los

Angeles Philharmonic. Ms. Staples has participated in the La Jolla, Boston, Salt Bay, Santa Fe,

Mainly Mozart, and Aspen chamber music festivals. She was a member of the Cleveland

Orchestra Piano Trio, and she currently frequently performs in the New York area in venues

including Merkin Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ms.

Staples is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard Pre-College Division, and

The Juilliard School. She performs on the “Kartman” Guarnerius del Gesù, c. 1728.

Violinist Michelle Kim has been Assistant Concertmaster, The William Petschek Family Chair,

of the New York Philharmonic since 2001. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such

as the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra,

and Pacific Symphony. An active chamber musician, Ms. Kim has collaborated with violinists

Cho Liang Lin, Christian Tetzlaff, and Pinchas Zukerman; cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn

Harrell, and Gary Hoffman; and pianists Lang Lang and Yefim Bronfman. She has performed at

various festivals including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, La Jolla Chamber Music

Festival, Strings in the Mountain, and Bravo! Vail. Ms. Kim has also served as the first violinist

of the Rossetti String Quartet, and was a Sterne Virtuoso Artist at Skidmore College in 2007–08.

A student of Robert Lipsett and a former Presidential Scholar, Ms. Kim attended the University

of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music as a Starling Foundation scholarship

recipient, and considers Heiichiro Ohyama and Henry Gronnier as her mentors. She has been a

member of the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music, the Colburn School, and the

University of California Santa Barbara, and currently teaches at the Mannes College of Music.

Cynthia Phelps is the New York Philharmonic’s Principal Viola, The Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P.

Rose Chair. Highlights of her solo appearances with the Orchestra have included performances

on the 2006 Tour of Italy, sponsored by Generali, performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante

in 2010 and 2014, and Sofia Gubaidulina’s Two Paths in 2011, which the Orchestra

commissioned for her and Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young and which

was premiered in 1999. Other solo engagements have included the Minnesota Orchestra, San

Diego Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Ms. Phelps

performs with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Jupiter Chamber Players, and the

festivals of Santa Fe, La Jolla, Seattle, Chamber Music Northwest, and Bridgehampton. She has

appeared with the Guarneri, Tokyo, Orion, American, Brentano, and Prague Quartets, and the

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. She has given recitals in the major music capitals of Europe

and the U.S., and her honors include First Prize in both the Lionel Tertis International Viola

Competition and the Washington National Competition. Winner of the Pro Musicis International

Award, Ms. Phelps’s most recent recording, Air, for flute, harp and viola, was nominated for a

Grammy Award. She has performed as soloist on Live From Lincoln Center, American Public

Media’s Saint Paul Sunday Morning, Radio France, and RAI in Italy.

Carter Brey was appointed Principal Cello, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Chair, of the

New York Philharmonic in 1996. He has since performed as soloist with the Orchestra each

season and gave two performances of the cycle of all six of Bach’s cello suites during The Bach

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 8

Variations: A Philharmonic Festival in March 2013. His honors include the Rostropovich

International Cello Competition, Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Prize, Avery Fisher Career Grant,

and Young Concert Artists’ Michaels Award; he was the first musician to win the Arts Council

of America’s Performing Arts Prize. Mr. Brey has appeared as soloist with virtually all of the

major American orchestras, performing under the batons of conductors Claudio Abbado,

Semyon Bychkov, Sergiu Comissiona, and Christoph von Dohnányi. He has collaborated

regularly with the Tokyo and Emerson String Quartets, in the Spoleto Festivals in the United

States and in Italy, and in the Santa Fe and La Jolla Chamber Music Festivals. His most recent

recording features Chopin’s complete works for cello and piano with pianist Garrick Ohlsson.

Mr. Brey was educated at the Peabody Institute and at Yale University, where he was a

Wardwell Fellow and a Houpt Scholar. His cello is a rare J.B. Guadagnini made in Milan in

1754.

The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet enjoys worldwide exposure and an

international reputation. The members of the group are Acting Associate Principal Trumpet

Ethan Bensdorf, Associate Principal Horn Richard Deane, Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi,

Principal Tuba Alan Baer, and, in these performances, guest trumpet Kevin Cobb. The

ensemble’s debut came at the invitation of the Canadian Brass, when they joined that ensemble

in a 1983 concert in Ottawa, Canada. The two groups have since collaborated at the summer

festivals of Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, Great Woods, and Mostly Mozart; with their brass

colleagues from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra on five

recordings and one educational video; and for performances in cities throughout Canada and the

United States. Since 1995 the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet has hosted an

annual New York Philharmonic Christmas Holiday Concert at Lincoln Center. Its guests have

included groups such as the Canadian Brass and the German Brass. The Principal Brass Quintet

also joined forces with the Salvation Army’s New York Staff Band in two Gala Festivals at Alice

Tully Hall in New York City. In addition, the Principal Brass Quintet performed with the Empire

Brass at the Carnegie Hall Centennial Gala in May 1991. The New York Philharmonic Principal

Brass Quintet has been a regular encore feature on the Orchestra’s tours, with appearances in

Europe, South America, Asia, and in the U.S., as well as at the Orchestra’s residencies in

Cagliari, Italy and Vail, Colorado; the group also represented the Philharmonic for special

occasions such as the opening of the Upper West Side Apple Store (in 2009), the opening of

UNIQLO’s Fifth Avenue flagship store (2014), and a free performance at Zurich’s Main Station

as part of the Orchestra’s EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour. The ensemble has performed solo

concerts throughout the U.S. and Japan, and in the cities of Luxembourg, Monterrey (Mexico).

Repertoire, November 10

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) set out two write a string quartet on two occasions, and both

times he stopped after writing only two movements. He began his first attempt, the String

Quartet No. 1 (unfinished), while a student at the Moscow Conservatory, probably around

1890. He finished half of what would have been a traditional four-movement quartet, producing

a miniature that foreshadows the much grander works that would make Rachmaninoff famous.

The Romance: Andante, favors the violin with a gentle, graceful melody, sometimes echoed by

the cello and supported by an accompaniment presented by the second violin and viola; while the

third movement, Finale: Presto, shows influences of Tchaikovsky and Borodin.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 9

Rachmaninoff made his second attempt at writing a quartet circa 1896, and again did not finish.

The two movements of the String Quartet No. 2 (unfinished), Allegro moderato and Andante

molto sostenuto, tip their hat to Tchaikovsky, and place more weight on melody than the First

Quartet. Featuring intriguing moments and especially expressive passacaglia, the short work is

yet another example of the young Rachmaninoff developing his rich, emotional style.

Rachmaninoff composed his Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D minor while only 20 years old in

memory of Tchaikovsky, who had recently died at the age of 53, and who had helped

Rachmaninoff get his first opera, Aleka, produced. The trio is modeled on the three-movement

structure of Tchaikovsky’s trio, which was also dedicated to someone who had passed away:

Nikolai Rubenstein. Rachmaninoff completed the work in December 1893, and he performed the

piano part for its January 1894 Moscow premiere. Already bearing many of Rachmaninoff’s

familiar compositional hallmarks, the piano part also reflects the composer’s standing as a

virtuoso pianist, and the demanding part includes an extended cadenza-like passage.

Repertoire, November 11–14 and 17

Rachmaninoff composed The Isle of the Dead in 1909, inspired by Arnold Böcklin’s famous

symbolist painting of the same name. The painting depicts a mysterious, dreamlike island with

high rock cliffs containing burial chambers, where a boat navigated by a black-clad helmsman is

conveying an enshrouded passenger to the shore. Rachmaninoff’s symphonic poem creates a

similarly ominous atmosphere. The score is built on a slowly rocking motif that suggests the

quiet lapping of the water and the inexorable progression of the boat. The composer also quotes

the somber motivic theme of the Dies irae, the melody used in the Roman Catholic Mass for the

Dead. The New York Philharmonic first performed the work in January 1919, led by Joseph

Stransky; it was most recently performed in June 2011, conducted by David Robertson.

In 1934 Rachmaninoff used the last of Niccolò Paganini’s notoriously difficult 24 Caprices for

Solo Violin (1805) as the basis for his 24 variations for piano and orchestra, Rhapsody on a

Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninoff premiered the work with The Philadelphia Orchestra under

Leopold Stokowski shortly after its completion, and it became his signature piece, which he

performed often and to great acclaim. A pianist known for his long, slender fingers and

formidable hand span (which reached a 13-note interval), even he admitted this work was a

challenge: “The composition is very difficult, and I should start practicing it.” The 24 variations

fall into roughly three movement-like groups: Variations 1–11, 12–18, and the final 19–24.

Highlights include the 7th, with its echoes of the medieval chant Dies irae (Day of Wrath); the

ultra-romantic 18th, which is Paganini’s theme turned upside down; and the conclusion, which

wraps up a bombastic finale with a sly, soft “curlicue.” Rachmaninoff himself was the soloist for

the Philharmonic’s first performance of the Rhapsody for its 1934 New York Premiere, led by

Bruno Walter. Most recently, Bramwell Tovey conducted the work with the Philharmonic

featuring Anne-Marie McDermott as soloist in July 2015 during the Orchestra’s annual Bravo!

Vail summer residency.

After the dismal reception received by his Symphony No. 1 in 1897, Rachmaninoff (still in his

early 20s) began to give more emphasis to his career as a concert pianist and conductor. For a

few years we would attempt a return to composition, but with mixed results. Then, in 1901, he

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 10

finally produced the Piano Concerto No. 2, which has become one of the most celebrated piano

concertos of the 20th century. Asked about this sudden reversal of fortune, the composer said he

had undergone hypnotherapy. The work was the first in a string of triumphs that continued with

the Symphony No. 2 and the Piano Concerto No. 3. The Piano Concerto No. 2 was first

performed by the New York Symphony (which would merge with the New York Philharmonic

in 1928 to form today’s New York Philharmonic) in December 1914, led by Walter Damrosch,

with Ossip Gabrilowitsch as soloist; the Philharmonic most recently performed it in December

2012, led by Juraj Valčuha and featuring André Watts as soloist.

Repertoire, November 19–21

Rachmaninoff’s Russian Song, Op. 11, No. 3 (1894) is the third “Thème russe” of his

collection of Six Pieces, or Six Morceaux, for piano four hands, Op. 11, which he wrote

following his time at the Moscow Conservatory. This short piece reflects the sound of his home

nation, comprising a simple, melancholy folk-song melody that is repeated again and again as a

theme and variations, gradually broadening and increasing in power. This orchestral version was

orchestrated by Russian-born conductor Arkady Leytush in 2011. These performances mark the

New York Philharmonic’s first of this work.

Rachmaninoff began his Piano Concerto No. 4 (1926; rev. 1927/41) at his winter headquarters

— an apartment in New York City — where he withdrew to begin a sabbatical from the concert

hall to return to composing. It had been some eight years since he had completed a major

composition. As was his habit, he began his new work in secret, but his progress was impeded

and he was unable to complete the work until the following summer in Dresden at a health resort

overlooking the Elba. The work received its premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra in March

1927, with Rachmaninoff as soloist, and received its New York Premiere several days later. The

audience’s response was enthusiastic, but critical reactions were cool. Rachmaninoff was so

discouraged that he soon stopped playing the work in public, and it was over a decade before he

could attempt the revisions he felt were necessary. The revised version was premiered in 1941.

The first Philharmonic performance of the concerto was in April 1954, led by Dimitri

Mitropoulos, featuring Leonid Hambro as soloist, and was most recently performed in June

2004, conducted by Lorin Maazel and featuring Yefim Bronfman as soloist.

In 1897 the young Rachmaninoff listened in horror as a possibly drunk Alexander Glazunov

conducted the disastrous, under-rehearsed premiere of his Symphony No. 1; Rachmaninoff

called it “the most agonizing hour of my life.” He was so scarred by the event that he had a

psychological collapse: it was two years before he was able to compose again (the first work he

wrote ended up being his much-loved Second Piano Concerto), and ten years until he was able to

face working on his Second Symphony. Comprising four movements, the First Symphony is

thematically connected by two ideas that appear throughout the work: a simple original motf, and

another derived from the Requiem mass’s Dies irae. Rachmaninoff’s own score was lost, but the

orchestral parts were discovered during World War II, and the symphony received its second

performance in 1945. These performances mark the New York Philharmonic’s first of this work.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 11

Repertoire, November 24 and 27–28

Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 in 1909 just before leaving Russia for his

first concert in the United States. The New York Symphony (which would merge with the New

York Philharmonic in 1928 to become today’s New York Philharmonic) gave the concerto’s

World Premiere in November 1909, with Walter Damrosch conducting and the composer at the

piano; it was subsequently performed in January 1910, this time with Gustav Mahler conducting

the New York Philharmonic. The piece quickly gained popularity, although some critics found it

overly long and all agreed with The New York Herald that “its great length and extreme

difficulties bar it from performance by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers.” It was

last performed by the Philharmonic in November 2012, with Nikolai Lugansky as soloist and

Charles Dutoit conducting.

Rachmaninoff began work on the Symphonic Dances during the summer of 1940, following

two years of compositional inactivity. Always juggling his overlapping careers as pianist,

composer, and conductor, he had grown frustrated with the public failure of several of his large-

scale compositions in the 1930s. A summer residence near Huntington, Long Island, however,

provided him with the ideal circumstances to renew contact with his muse, and by August he had

informed conductor Eugene Ormandy of the completion of a new symphonic work, originally

titled Fantastic Dances. It turned out to be Rachmaninoff’s final symphonic composition — he

died less than three years later, in 1943. As such, the Symphonic Dances is a synthesis of some

of his chief influences — Orthodox chant motifs, Prokofiev-like theatricality, and

experimentation with color. The New York Philharmonic first performed the work in December

1942, led by Dimitri Mitropoulos; it most recently performed the work in November 2012,

conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

* * *

Major support for these concerts is provided by Laura Chang and Arnold Chavkin.

* * *

Cristian Măcelaru’s appearance is made possible through the Daisy and Paul Soros

Endowment Fund.

* * *

The November 12 performance of The Isle of the Dead and November 24 performance are

graciously sponsored by Kimberly V. Strauss.

* * *

Major support for Philharmonic Free Fridays is provided by The Pratt Foundation.

* * *

Philharmonic Free Fridays was created, in part, by a donation from an anonymous donor through

the New York Philharmonic’s 2014 Share the Music! campaign.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 12

* * *

Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural

Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the

New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the

New York State Legislature.

Tickets

Tickets for these performances start at $30. Tickets for From Russia to Riverside Drive:

Rachmaninoff and Friends may be purchased online at 92y.org/Event/Daniil-Trifonov or by

calling (212) 501-3330. Tickets for the November 22 chamber music program at 92nd Street Y

may be purchased at kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/buy-tickets/ or by calling (212) 415-5500.

Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $20. Pre-Concert Insights are $7 (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for

more information). Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656,

10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to

5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office. The

Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On

performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other

evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. A limited number of $16 tickets for select concerts may be

available through the Internet for students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the

day of. Valid identification is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s

Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

For press tickets, call Lanore Carr at the New York Philharmonic at (212) 875-5714, or email her

at carrl@nyphil.org.

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 13

From Russia to Riverside Drive: Rachmaninoff and Friends

A Co-Presentation of the Kaufman Music Center and New York Festival of Song

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center

129 West 67th Street

Tuesday, November 10, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Dina Kuznetsova, soprano

Shea Owens, baritone

Dalit Warshaw, thereminist

Steven Blier, pianist and host

Michael Barrett, pianist and host

This program delves into the soulful cry of Rachmaninoff’s Russian songs and samples the

music he heard during his years in America. Also featuring songs by Gershwin, Ellington,

Schillinger, and others.

_____________________________________

New York Philharmonic

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Wednesday, November 11, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Open Rehearsal — 9:45 a.m.

Thursday, November 12, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Concert broadcast live on WQXR 105.9 FM and on wqxr.org at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, November 13, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 14, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Pre-Concert Insights (one hour before each concert) with composer Joelle Wallach

Cristian Măcelaru*, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

RACHMANINOFF The Isle of the Dead

RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and

Orchestra

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2

_____________________________________

* New York Philharmonic debut

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 14

New York Philharmonic

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Thursday, November 19, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Open Rehearsal — 9:45 a.m.

Friday, November 20, 2015, 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 21, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Pre-Concert Insights (one hour before each concert) with author, pianist, and professor Arbie

Orenstein

Neeme Järvi, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

RACHMANINOFF/Orch. A. Leytush Russian Song, Op. 11, No. 3

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 4

RACHMANINOFF Symphony No. 1

_____________________________________

Chamber Music Concert

A Co-Presentation of the New York Philharmonic and 92nd Street Y

92nd Street Y

1395 Lexington Avenue

Sunday, November 22, 2015, 3:00 p.m.

Sheryl Staples, Michelle Kim, violin

Cynthia Phelps, viola

Carter Brey, cello

Daniil Trifonov, piano

RACHMANINOFF String Quartet No. 1 (unfinished)

RACHMANINOFF String Quartet No. 2 (unfinished)

RACHMANINOFF Trio élégiaque No. 2 in D minor

_____________________________________

(more)

Rachmaninoff: A Philharmonic Festival / 15

New York Philharmonic

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Tuesday, November 24, 2015, 7:30 p.m.

Open Rehearsal — 9:45 a.m.

Friday, November 27, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 28, 2015, 8:00 p.m.

Pre-Concert Insights (one hour before each concert) with musicologist and professor Elizabeth Seitz

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3

RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

_____________________________________

Saturday Matinee Concert

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Saturday, November 28, 2015, 2:00 p.m.

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet

HANDEL/Arr. C. Seipp La Réjouissance (Rejoicing), from

Music for the Royal Fireworks

ALBINONI/Arr. D. Hickman Sonata Saint Mark

GLINKA/Arr. S. Sutherland Ruslan and Ludmila Overture

BERNSTEIN/Arr. A. DiLorenzo On the Town Suite

RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances

# # #

ALL PROGRAMS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

What’s New — Get the Latest News, Video, Slideshows, and More

Photography is available in the New York Philharmonic’s online newsroom, nyphil.org/newsroom or by

contacting (212) 875-5700 or PR@nyphil.org.