More Information About Pinchas Zukerman and Brahms

Website

http://nyphil.org

Description

Program:

Matthias Pintscher: Towards Osiris (U.S. Premiere)
Berg: Violin Concerto
Brahms/ Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No. 1

Pinchas Zukerman has been a classical music phenomenon for some forty years. Growing up in Israel, he played recorder, then clarinet; but by the time he was eight, he was following in his father’s footsteps, taking up the violin.

As a teen, Pinchas Zukerman came to the United States to pursue his musical studies under the guidance and encouragement of Isaac Stern and Pablo Casals. “My brain became a sponge, soaking up everything I could. I’d sneak out of school and go to rehearsals or concerts, often several in one night.”

He made his debut at Lincoln Center in 1969, and the rest is history. Since 1976 the much-admired and respected violinist, violist, conductor, and educator has been affiliated with the National Arts Centre of Canada in Ottawa—and, since 1998, as music director of its resident orchestra. He is deeply committed to enriching the Orchestra’s cultural involvement within the region, and, since his appointment, has taken an interest in virtually every aspect of Ottawa’s artistic community. He has introduced a new Acoustic Control System to the NAC’s Southam Hall, has been involved in national radio and television broadcasts, and has initiated the NAC Young Artists Program. The Conductors’ Program, launched in 2001, provides an opportunity for conductors to develop under the guidance of accomplished orchestra leaders, and the Zukerman Musical Instrument Fund works to acquire donated and new instruments for orchestral musicians.

In the 2009-2010 he also marked his first season as principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic in London. His well over 100 recordings have garnered him 21 Grammy nominations and two awards.

About the Ticket Supplier: New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic is by far the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. Founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians led by American-born Ureli Corelli Hill, the Orchestra currently plays some 180 concerts a year. On December 18, 2004, the Philharmonic gave its 14,000th concert--a milestone unmatched by any other orchestra in the world.

Alan Gilbert began his tenure as Music Director in September 2009, the latest in a distinguished line of musical giants that has included Lorin Maazel (2002-09); Kurt Masur (Music Director from 1991 to the summer of 2002; named Music Director Emeritus in 2002); Zubin Mehta (1978-91); Pierre Boulez (1971-77); and Leonard Bernstein, who was appointed Music Director in 1958 and given the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor in 1969.

Since its inception, the Orchestra has championed the new music of its time, giving the first performances of many important works such as Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"; Rachmaninoff 's Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin's Concerto in F; and Copland's Connotations, in addition to the U.S. premieres of works such as Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9, and Brahms's Symphony No. 4. This pioneering tradition has continued to the present day, with works of major contemporary composers regularly scheduled each season. John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls, written in memory of September 11, 2001, and commissioned by the New York Philharmonic with Lincoln Center's Great Performers, received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Music; a CD of the work, performed in concert by the Orchestra in 2002, was released on Nonesuch in August 2004, and garnered three Grammy awards.

The roster of composers and conductors who have led the Philharmonic includes such historic figures as Theodore Thomas, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Antonin Dvork, Gustav Mahler (Music Director, 1909-11), Otto Klemperer, Richard Strauss, Willem Mengelberg (Music Director, 1922-30), Wilhelm Furtwngler, Arturo Toscanini (Music Director, 1928-36), Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Bruno Walter (Music Advisor, 1947-49), Dimitri Mitropoulos (Music Director, 1949-58), Klaus Tennstedt, George Szell (Music Advisor, 1969-70), and Erich Leinsdorf.

The Philharmonic's remarkable achievements in radio, television, and other media have helped shape communications history. In 1922 the Philharmonic became one of the first orchestras to broadcast a live concert, and its coast-to-coast radio broadcast of 1930 was the first of its kind. In addition, the Philharmonic undertakes a diversified touring schedule each season to share its music with new audiences around the world. From its first tour in 1882, through the 2004-05 season, the Orchestra has performed in 416 cities in 57 countries on five continents.

Television and the Internet have further expanded the Philharmonic's audiences. For more than 20 years, the Orchestra regularly telecast its legendary Young People's Concerts, most of them led by Leonard Bernstein; and, since 1976, the frequent annual appearances of the Philharmonic on PBS's Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center have made it one of the most "watched" orchestras in the world. In 1999 the Philharmonic launched the hugely popular and award-winning Kidzone, an interactive Website for children and educators alike, and in 2002, a unique initiative in the orchestra world began the streaming of live radio broadcasts for a period of two weeks following the performance, bringing the Philharmonic to a worldwide audience through its Website.

Since 1917 the Philharmonic has recorded nearly 2,000 albums; more than 500 recordings are currently available. In February 2003, the Orchestra was honored by The Recording Academy with a Trustees Award in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the industry and American culture. Members of the Philharmonic also performed on the 45th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, televised internationally from New York's Madison Square Garden--the first time that a major symphony orchestra had performed live on the Grammy Awards.