New York Philharmonic Podcast

Podcast host Mark Travis speaks with Christoph von Dohnányi about the program he is leading, comprising the "Beethovenesque" Con brio, Concert Overture for Orchestra, by Jörg Widmann, as well as Schumann's Fourth Symphony and Brahms's Second Piano Concerto, which will feature Yefim Bronfman as soloist. Composer and conductor Victoria Bond also sheds light on the history of the Schumann symphony, and Mr. Travis guides you through highlights of the Brahms concerto.

Podcast host Mark Travis shares the history and impact of Mozart's penultimate symphony, No. 40, and talks with baritone Thomas Hampson about Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, settings of poems Rückert wrote reacting to the death of his children. Philharmonic Artistic Administrator John Mangum discusses Thomas Adès's In Seven Days (Concerto for Piano with Moving Image) — a musical exploration of the creation story in Genesis — which will feature the composer as pianist as well as imagery created by video artist Tal Rosner.

Alan Gilbert discusses the program, which features New York Philharmonic musicians as soloists. Podcast host Elliott Forrest is joined by composers Aaron Jay Kernis — whose a Voice, a Messenger will receive its World Premiere, featuring Principal Trumpet Philip Smith — and Christopher Rouse, whose Oboe Concerto will receive its New York Premiere, with Principal Oboe Liang Wang, soloist. Also discussed are Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins, featuring violinists of the Philharmonic, Hindemith’s Horn Concerto, Principal Horn Philip Myers, soloist; and Director of Education Theodore Wiprud explores the sensual power of Ravel’s Boléro.

Podcast host Elliott Forrest is joined by composer-conductor Joelle Wallach in a lively discussion of the operatic origins and secular traditions of Handel's Messiah, a perennial favorite that will be performed by the New York Philharmonic in five concerts conducted by Baroque specialist Bernard Labadie.

This special podcast is designed especially to acquaint young listeners with the themes and music of our December 4, 2010 Young People’s Concert - Ages of Music, which features Baroque music of the 17th and 18th centuries, including music by Bach and Handel.

Violinist Nikolaj Znaider discusses Elgar's Violin Concerto, which he will be playing on the very instrument that was used at the work's premiere 100 years ago. Composer-conductor Victoria Bond travels back in time to explore what Mozart was doing when he wrote his Symphony No. 36, Linz, and joins podcast host Mark Travis in a discussion of Elgar's Introduction and Allegro — a work the composer described as "a devil of a fugue" — and his Violin Concerto, considered by many to be one of Elgar's most personal expressions in music.

Podcast host Elliott Forrest explores the first work on this program, Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, and is joined by Philharmonic Director of Education Theodore Wiprud, who shares a letter Beethoven wrote at the time in which he reflected on his own increasing isolation due to his deafness. The Philharmonic's season-long Focus on Mahler continues with Des Knaben Wunderhorn; tenor Ian Bostridge discusses his role as a soloist in these performances — the first time he will sing the complete work with orchestra.

Alan Gilbert expresses his and the Orchestra's enthusiasm for presenting CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series, and discusses the experience of making musical contact with New York audiences in a less formal setting. Podcast host Elliott Forrest explores the works programmed on this season's CONTACT! concerts with Philharmonic Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg, and the composers on the programs: Julian Anderson, James Matheson, and Jay Alan Yim.

Joining podcast host Elliott Forrest is Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, who discusses the thematic connection between the works on this mostly Russian program — from Glinka's boisterous Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto to Debussy's Nocturnes and Stravinsky's Suite from The Firebird. Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos shares a musical exploration of the romanticism of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

Podcast host Mark Travis spends time with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who discusses her role as the 2010–11 Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence and what she hopes the audience will find challenging and memorable experiences during her residency. Music Director Alan Gilbert also offers his thoughts on her residency, and Ms. Mutter talks about the concerts of November 18–20 and 23, on which she will perform three Mozart Violin Concertos and the World Premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's Lichtes Spiel.

Music Director Alan Gilbert talks about his passion for Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah, as well as the commitment required of singers in performing this dramatic work. Bass-baritone Gerald Finley, who sings the title role in these performances, discusses the "fire-and-brimstone" drama of the libretto, with its sensitive and powerful depiction of its main character. Podcast host Mark Travis provides a guide to the biblical story of the prophet Elijah and the history of Mendelssohn's work.

Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses this program, which both begins and ends with music based on the traditional form known as the passacaglia, with Webern's first published work opening the program. Mr. Gilbert also discusses the awe-inspiring artistry of Pinchas Zukerman, the soloist in Brahms's Violin Concerto, and Program Annotator James M. Keller and podcast host Mark Travis shed light on the history and highlights of Brahms's Fourth — and final — Symphony.

Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses the New York Premiere of the theatrical event that is Magnus Lindberg's Kraft. Lindberg, the Orchestra's Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, traces the origin of the work to his experiences with the alternative music scene of 1980s Berlin, and talks about the instrumentation, staging, and choreography of this sound spectacle. Podcast host Elliott Forrest explores the lush, sensual sound-world of Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Sibelius's masterful Violin Concerto, which will be performed on these concerts by Joshua Bell.

Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses the New York Philharmonic's 2010–11 season Mahler Focus — the Orchestra's tribute to the composer-conductor on the 150th anniversary of his birth and the 100th anniversary of his death and final Philharmonic season, and shares his thoughts on the musical journey that is Mahler's Symphony No. 6. New York Philharmonic Archivist/Historian Barbara Haws talks about the importance of Mahler's tenure with the Orchestra at a pivotal time in its history, and Elliott Forrest shares a recording from the New York Philharmonic Archives of a 1964 interview with a Philharmonic musician who recollects playing under Mahler's baton.

Music Director Alan Gilbert discusses the works on the program, including R. Strauss's Don Juan, which Mr. Gilbert describes as an "explosion of creative energy"; Henri Dutilleux's Métaboles, with its echoes of Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky; and Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, a true orchestral showcase. Joining Mr. Gilbert and the Philharmonic for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto is virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who talks about the pleasure of performing this work.