The New York Philharmonic’s 2019–20 season and Music Director Jaap van Zweden’s fuse past and present, representing today’s composers and the new-music landscape while reflecting on relevant historic achievements.

The season’s first week September 18–21, 2019, features the World Premiere of a New York Philharmonic commission by Philip Glass; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with soprano Kelli O’Hara; and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. The program marks the Philharmonic’s first-ever commission of a work by Philip Glass.

During its second week, The New York Philharmonic will present the US Stage Premiere of director / designer Bengt Gomér’s production of Schoenberg’s Erwartung and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, both conducted by Jaap van Zweden, September 26–28, 2019. Bengt Gomér’s fully staged production incorporates video, lighting, and shadow actors to integrate the two operas into a complete narrative united by an exploration of the subconscious. Bluebeard’s Castle will feature soprano Nina Stemme (debut), recipient of the 2018 Birgit Nilsson Prize, as Judith and baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle (debut) as Duke Bluebeard; Erwartung will feature mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus as A Woman (debut). These performances will be complemented by a GRoW @ Annenberg Sound ON concert on the theme of narratives at The Appel Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center on October 1, 2019. More information is available at nyphil.org/bluebeard.

Anchors of the 2019–20 Season
The 2019–20 season will be anchored by three special initiatives, each exploring a culturally relevant topic through subscription programs, new-music concerts, and collaborations with partners across the city:

• Project 19 will mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment with commissions by 19 female composers; the multi-season initiative will launch with eight World Premieres in 2019–20, six during a three-week focus in February 2020.
• The three-week hotspotsfestival will spotlight three new-music centers — Berlin, Reykjavík, and New York — through subscription programs and new-music concerts across the Lincoln Center campus in May–June 2020.
• Before the Philharmonic opens the Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival as the first American orchestra in the festival’s 100-year history, Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic will examine Mahler’s time in New York as composer and as the Philharmonic’s tenth Music Director through Mahler’s New Yorkin April 2020.
• Premieres and Commissions
  Jaap van Zweden will lead six World Premieres commissioned by the New York Philharmonic — by Philip Glass, Tania León, Nico Muhly, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Nina C. Young, and Ellen Reid — as well as a New York Premiere by Steve Reich.

Phil the Hall and Young People’s Concert
For the second season, Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic will invite its fellow New Yorkers to Phil the Hall, April 3, 2020. Jaap van Zweden will also connect with the Philharmonic’s younger audience members at the season’s opening Young People’s Concert, December 7, 2019, his first time conducting the Philharmonic’s signature education series.

Repertoire Highlights
Jaap van Zweden will lead works by composers ranging from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Schoenberg to Björk, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and John Adams. He will lead symphonic masterworks such as Mozart’s Mass in C minor; Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Romantic; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5; Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, Resurrection; and John Adams’s Harmonium.

More information on Jaap van Zweden’s second season is available at nyphil.org/jaap.

OTHER SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Soprano Renée Fleming will join the Philharmonic, led by Jaap van Zweden, in songs by Icelandic singer / songwriter Björk,orchestrated by Hans Ek — Virus, Joga, All Is Full of Love, and Undo — February 20–22, 2020. She recorded the first three songs in her 2017 Decca album Distant Light (also featuring Anders Hillborg’s The Strand Settings, which Ms. Fleming premiered with the New York Philharmonic in 2013). Both Ms. Fleming and Björk are recipients of Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.

In addition to seven World Premieres, the Philharmonic will also perform the:

• New York Premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Castor,conducted by the composer, November 6, 8–9, and 12, 2019
• New York Premiere of Bryce Dessner’sWires, featuring the composer — lead guitarist of The National — on electric guitar in his Philharmonic debut, conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali in his Philharmonic debut, November 14–16, 2019
• New York Premiere of Steve Reich’s Music for Ensemble and Orchestra — a Philharmonic co-commission with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Baltic Sea Philharmonic — Mr. Reich’s first orchestral work in more than 30 years, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, December 5–7, 2019
• New York Premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s Piano Concerto, Universos infinitos,with Sergio Tiempo in his Philharmonic debut, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, January 15–18 and 21, 2020
• New York Premiere of Brett Dean’s Cello Concertowith Alban Gerhardt in his Philharmonic debut, conducted by Simone Young, January 30–31, 2020

PERFORMANCES FOR THE COMMUNITY

For the second year, Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic will invite its fellow New Yorkers to Phil the Hall, a low-cost performance led by Jaap van Zweden at David Geffen Hall, April 3, 2020. Repertoire and artists will be announced at a later date. More information on Phil the Hall is available at nyphil.org/philthehall2020.

The Philharmonic will present its Annual Free Memorial Day Concert at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine on May 25, 2020. The conductor and program will be announced at a later date.

The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, will return for its 55th season in June 2020, bringing free Philharmonic concerts to all five New York City boroughs. Details will be announced at a later date.

NIGHTCAP and SOUND ON
HOSTED BY NADIA SIROTA, THE MARIE-JOSÉE KRAVIS CREATIVE PARTNER

Nightcap and Sound ON, the two new-music series introduced in Jaap van Zweden’s inaugural season, will return in the 2019–20 season with seven late-night concerts curated by today’s composers and three evening chamber concerts performed by Philharmonic musicians. The Marie-Josée Kravis Creative Partner Nadia Sirota will return as host of both series and curator of Sound ON. Nadia Sirota is a viola soloist and member of the ensemble yMusic. A leader in the new-music community, she won a Peabody Award as host and producer of the podcast Meet the Composer, and in 2019 she launches a new podcast and concert series, Living Music with Nadia Sirota.

More information on the two new-music series is available at nyphil.org/nightcap and nyphil.org/soundon.

TOURS AND RESIDENCIES

The New York Philharmonic will embark on the 2020 European tour, April 30–May 12, 2020, led by Jaap van Zweden in his first appearances with the Philharmonic in Europe.

The Orchestra will return to China July 2–8, 2020, for the Shanghai Orchestra Academy and Partnership and annual China tour. Philharmonic musicians will teach at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy, and the Orchestra will perform on its annual China tour.

The Philharmonic will be in residence at Oklahoma State University (OSU), October 11–13, 2019, performing the inaugural concerts of the new McKnight Center for the Performing Arts on the OSU campus in Stillwater. Jaap van Zweden will lead the Philharmonic in three programs at the McKnight Center.

The Philharmonic will return to Colorado’s Bravo! Vail music festival for its 18th annual residency, July 22–29, 2020.

FILM MUSIC

The New York Philharmonic will present several movie scores performed live to the complete films throughout the 2019–20 season. The seventh annual The Art of the Score — with Alec Baldwin as Artistic Advisor and conducted by Richard Kaufman — will feature two New York Premiere screenings: Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind in Concert with John Williams’s Oscar-nominated, Grammy-winning score performed live to the film, September 11–12, 2019, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho in Concert with Bernard Herrmann’s score performed live to the film, September 13–14, 2019.

The Philharmonic will also present Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert with John Williams’s score performed live to the film, conducted by Justin Freer, December 11–14, 2019; the New York Premiere screening of Singin’ in the Rain with Nacio Herb Brown’s score performed live to the film, conducted by David Newman, on the Spring Gala, May 20, 2020; and Disney’s Mary Poppins in Concert with the Sherman Brothers’ score performed live to the film, conducted by David Newman, May 21–23, 2019.

More information is available at nyphil.org/film.

NOTABLE GUEST CONDUCTORS

• Susanna Mälkkireturns October 18–19 and 22, 2019, to conduct The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize Winner Unsuk Chin’s Šu, for Sheng and Orchestra, with Wu Wei as soloist in his Philharmonic debut.
• Philippe Jordanreturns October 30–November 2, 2019, to conduct works by Prokofiev; Mendelssohn, with violinist Julia Fischer as soloist; and Beethoven.
• Esa-Pekka Salonen returns November 6, 8–9, and 12, 2019, to conduct two of his works, including the New York Premiere of Castor;Schoenberg orchestrations of works by J.S. Bach; and Hindemith.
• Santtu-Matias Rouvali makes his Philharmonic debut November 14–16, 2019, conducting the New York Premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Wires,with the composer as soloist on electric guitar in his debut.
• Daniel Hardingreturns January 9–11, 2020, to conduct works by Grieg, with pianist Paul Lewis as soloist, and R. Strauss.
• Gustavo Dudamel returns for two consecutive weeks: January 15–18 and 21, 2020, to conduct works by Ives; the New York Premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s Piano Concerto, Universos infinitos,with Sergio Tiempo as soloist in his Philharmonic debut; and Dvořák, and January 23–25, 2020, to lead works by Schubert and Mahler with mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and tenor Simon O’Neill.
• Simone Young returns January 30–February 1, 2020, to conduct the New York Premiere of Brett Dean’s Cello Concerto, with Alban Gerhardt as soloist in his Philharmonic debut.
• Franz Welser-Möstreturns February 27–29, 2020, to conduct works by Jörg Widmann and R. Strauss.
• Valery Gergiev returns March 12–14, 2020, for an all-Russian program featuring works by Shchedrin; Rachmaninoff, with pianist Denis Matsuev as soloist; and Stravinsky.

NOTABLE SOLOISTS

• Pianist Lang Langperforms Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2, led by Jaap van Zweden, in the Fall Gala, October 7, 2019.

Pianist Emanuel Ax returns October 24–26, 2019, for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1, led by Stéphane Denève.

• Pianist Yefim Bronfman returns December 5–7, 2019, for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, conducted by Jaap van Zweden.
• Violinist Janine Jansen returns February 13, 15, and 18, 2020, for Brahms’s Violin Concerto, led by Jaap van Zweden.
• Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonardreturns March 5, 7, and 10, 2020, in a French program featuring Ravel’s Shéhérazade, led by Louis Langrée in his Philharmonic debut.
• Concertmaster Frank Huang performs Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole,March 26–28, 2020, conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada in his Philharmonic debut.

For more information on the New York Philharmonic visit: nyphil.org