Jaap van Zweden & New York Philharmonic Performances 2019/2020

Sun, Sep 1 - Mon, Aug 31  2020

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

_T_he New York Philharmonic’s 2019–20 season, Jaap van Zweden’s second as Music Director, will fuse past and present, representing today’s composers and the new-music landscape while reflecting on relevant historic achievements. As in van Zweden’s inaugural season, the Philharmonic reaffirms its vital commitments to serving as New York’s Orchestra and to championing new music. The season is also distinguished by dynamic collaborations with groundbreaking artists, as well as landmark appearances in the US and abroad. Scroll down for the season highlights and a chronological list of events in the US.

Jaap van Zweden said: “What a joy it is to collaborate with the great musicians of the New York Philharmonic. While our first season together concentrated almost exclusively on performing in New York, our 2019–20 season not only deepens that relationship but also connects us to audiences in Europe and Asia, including some milestone performances for the Orchestra. There are so many season highlights to look forward to, among them a concentration on our beloved Mahler both in New York and on tour, an innovative, immersive staging of Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, and many World Premieres woven throughout the entire season, most of them by women as part of our Project 19 initiative. I also look forward to conducting my first Young People’s Concert for our future audiences!”

Season 2019/2020 Highlights

Project 19

Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic will mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting equal voting rights to women, by commissioning works by 19 women. The multi-season Project 19 initiative will launch with three consecutive weeks in February 2020, each featuring a World Premiere complemented by collaborations with partners across the city. The 19 commissioned composers, whose works will be premiered over multiple seasons, are Unsuk Chin, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Joan La Barbara, Tania León, Nicole Lizée, Caroline Mallonee, Jessie Montgomery, Angélica Negrón, Olga Neuwirth, Paola Prestini, Ellen Reid, Maria Schneider, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Joan Tower, Melinda Wagner, Nina C. Young, and Du Yun. More information on Project 19 is available at nyphil.org/project19.

Mahler’s New York

Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic will celebrate composer and former Philharmonic Music Director Gustav Mahler in both New York and Europe. In New York, the Philharmonic will connect New Yorkers to the composer / conductor who spent time in New York as the Philharmonic’s tenth Music Director (1909–11) through Mahler’s New York in April 2020. After celebrating Mahler in New York, the Philharmonic will embark on its 2020 European tour and open the Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival — which began 100 years ago and takes place every 25 years — as the first American orchestra in the festival’s history. More information on Mahler’s New York is available at nyphil.org/mahlerny.

Hotspots Festival

Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic will conclude the 2019–20 season with the three-week hotspots festival, May–June 2020, spotlighting three global hotbeds of classical music innovation — Berlin, Reykjavík, and New York — each represented by a World Premiere by a composer associated with that city. Each of the commissioned composers will curate a Nightcap concert. More information on the hotspots festival is available at nyphil.org/hotspots.

Season 2019/2020 Calendar

In his second season as Music Director, Jaap van Zweden will conduct a wide range of repertoire, including six World Premieres and symphonic cornerstones. As in his inaugural season, he has prioritized connecting with New York City through impactful projects, special concerts, and collaborations with other cultural institutions. Jaap van Zweden will also lead the Orchestra on the international stage, both in China and on his first European tour as Music Director.

Kelli O’Hara Sings Barber

September 18, 19, 20, 21 | David Geffen Hall

Jaap van Zweden begins his second season by conducting the opening subscription program, featuring 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.

Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung

September 26, 27, 28 | David Geffen Hall

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. Bengt Gomér’s fully staged production — premiered by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2019 — 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). As a prologue to Erwartung, Ms. Stemme will sing the early Schoenberg song Erwartung from Four Songs Op. 2; Ms. Karnéus will recite the Bard’s Prologue for Bluebeard’s Castle. Composed within two years of each other at the turn of the 20th century, the one-act operas each center on the psychology of a woman in relation to her lover. 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.

Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique

October 3, 4, 5 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique

Fall Gala with Lang Lang

October 7 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

Oklahoma State University Residence

October 11, 12, 13 | McKnight Center Performance Hall | Tickets

Jaap van Zweden will conduct the New York Philharmonic in three programs during its residency 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. Tony Award winner and Oklahoma native Kelli O’Hara will sing Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 on a program that also includes Brahms’s Academic Festival Overture and Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (October 11), and Bernstein songs on a program that also includes Bernstein’s Candide Overture and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (October 13). Concertmaster Frank Huang will perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto on a program that also features Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique (October 12). The residency will include educational opportunities for OSU students with Philharmonic musicians, such as master classes.

Daniil Trifonov Performs Scriabin

November 27, 29, 30, December 3 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Pianist Daniil Trifonov will serve as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence for the 2019–20 season.

SCRIABIN Piano Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Saturday Matinee: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5

November 30 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

MOZART Wind Serenade in E-flat major, K.375b
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5

Bronfman and Beethoven

December 5, 6, 7 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2
Steve REICH Music for Ensemble and Orchestra (New York Premiere– New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Baltic Sea Philharmonic)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4

Young People’s Concerts: “A Composer’s Toolkit”

December 7 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Jaap van Zweden will connect with the Philharmonic’s younger audience members at the season’s opening Young People’s Concert, his first time conducting the Philharmonic’s signature education series. The host and program are to be announced.

Project 19: Mozart, Haydn, and Nina C. Young

February 5, 6, 8, 11 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Nina C. YOUNG New work (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
HAYDN Cello Concerto in C major
MOZART Mass in C minor, Great

Project 19: Brahms, Strauss, and Tania León
With Janine Jansen

February 13, 15, 18 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

BRAHMS Violin Concerto
Tania LEÓN New work (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
R. STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier Suite

Janine Jansen © Harald Hoffman

Project 19: Renée Fleming Sings Björk

February 20, 21, 22 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Ellen REID New work (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
BJÖRK / Orch. H. Ek Virus, Joga, All Is Full of Love, and Undo
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4

Joshua Bell Performs Beethoven

April 1, 2, 4 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5

Phil the Hall

April 3 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic invite New Yorkers to Phil the Hall, a low-cost performance led by Jaap van Zweden. Program to be announced.

Mahler’s New York: Daniil Trifonov and Mahler

April 15, 16, 18, 21 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25
MAHLER Symphony No. 1

Mahler’s New York: Mahler Grooves with Roderick Williams

April 17 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Program to include:
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer
MAHLER Symphony No. 1

Mahler’s New York: Saturday Matinee Concert

April 18 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

BERNSTEIN Dance Suite
ARNOLD Brass Quintet No. 1
Joseph HOROVITZ Music Hall Suite
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer

Mahler’s New York: Resurrection Symphony

April 23, 24, 25 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

MAHLER Symphony No. 2, Resurrection

Hotspots Festival: Copland and Nico Muhly

June 4, 5, 6, 9 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Nico MUHLY Concerto for Two Pianos (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
COPLAND Third Symphony

Hotspots Festival: Yuja Wang Performs Shostakovich

June 11, 12, 13 | David Geffen Hall | Tickets

Sarah Kirkland SNIDER New work (World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commission)
SHOSTAKOVICH Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings
John ADAMS Harmonium

Bravo! Vail music festival

July 22 – 29

The Philharmonic will return to Colorado’s Bravo! Vail music festival for its 18th annual residency. Program and schedule to be announced.

Jaap van Zweden © Chris Lee

About Jaap van Zweden

Conductor Jaap van Zweden has become an international presence on three continents over the past decade. The 2018–19 season marks his first as the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. He continues as Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, a post he has held since 2012. Guest engagements this season include the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he is Conductor Laureate. He has appeared as guest conductor with many other leading orchestras around the globe, among them the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre national de France, and London Symphony Orchestra.

In his inaugural season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, Jaap van Zweden conducts repertoire ranging from five World Premieres to symphonic cornerstones. He presides over three season pillars — each presenting a World Premiere — that contextualize music through programs complemented by citywide collaborations. Music of Conscience explores composers’ responses to the social issues of their time, with music by Beethoven, Shostakovich, John Corigliano, and David Lang. New York Stories: Threads of Our City looks at musical expressions of the immigrant experience in New York, centered on a premiere by Julia Wolfe. The Art of Andriessen spotlights the music of Dutch composer Louis Andriessen. Maestro van Zweden also welcomes New Yorkers to Phil the Hall, concerts for community and service professionals; the Annual Free Memorial Day Concert; and the Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer.

New York Philharmonic orchestra portrait 2018 at David Geffen Hall, 9/26/18. Photo by Chris Lee

Jaap van Zweden has made numerous acclaimed recordings. In February 2019 Decca Gold will release his live New York Philharmonic performances of Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps and Debussy’s La Mer, continuing the Philharmonic’s partnership with Universal Music Group’s newly established US classical music label. In 2018 he completed a fouryear project with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, conducting the first-ever performances in Hong Kong of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, which have been recorded and released on Naxos Records. His highly praised performances of Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal — the last of which earned him the prestigious Edison Award for Best Opera Recording in 2012 — are available on CD and DVD.

Born in Amsterdam, Jaap van Zweden was appointed at age 19 as the youngest-ever concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He began his conducting career almost 20 years later, in 1996. He remains Honorary Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, where he was Chief Conductor from 2005 to 2013, served as Chief Conductor of the Royal Flanders Orchestra from 2008 to 2011, and was Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2018. Jaap van Zweden was named Musical America’s 2012 Conductor of the Year and was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on CBS in October 2018.

In 1997 Jaap van Zweden and his wife, Aaltje, established the Papageno Foundation to support families of children with autism. The Foundation has grown into a multifaceted organization that focuses on the development of children and young adults with autism. The Foundation provides in-home music therapy through a national network of qualified music therapists in The Netherlands; opened the Papageno House in 2015 (with Her Majesty Queen Maxima in attendance) for young adults with autism to live, work, and participate in the community; created a research center at the Papageno House for early diagnosis and treatment of autism and for analyzing the effects of music therapy on autism; develops funding opportunities to support autism programs; and, most recently, launched the app TEAMPapageno, which allows children with autism to communicate with each other through music composition.