Alec Baldwin to Host Facebook Live Broadcast of New York Philharmonic's Opening Gala

Actor Alec Baldwin will host the New York Philharmonic's Facebook Live broadcast of 106 All-Stars: Opening Gala Concert of New York's Orchestra, which launches the 2017-18 season with Mahler's Symphony No. 5 led by Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden, on Tuesday, September 19, 2017.

Directed by Habib Azar, the broadcast begins at approximately 7:20 p.m. and will later be available for on-demand viewing on the Philharmonic's website, YouTube, and Facebook. It will mark the Philharmonic's fourth live concert broadcast on Facebook.

Alec Baldwin is the Radio Host of the New York Philharmonic, as well as a Board Member and Artistic Advisor of THE ART OF THE SCORE, the Philharmonic's series exploring some of the most distinctive uses of music in film.

Launching the New York Philharmonic's 176th season, the Opening Gala Concert showcases the individual musicians of the Orchestra in a work closely tied to the Philharmonic's lineage: Mahler served as Music Director of the Philharmonic from 1909 until his death in 1911.

About the Artists:

Alec Baldwin is the Radio Host of the New York Philharmonic. Since 1980 Mr. Baldwin has appeared in numerous productions on stage, in films, and on television. He has received a Tony nomination (A Streetcar Named Desire, 1992) and an Oscar nomination (The Cooler, 2004), and has won two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and seven consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on NBC's 30 Rock. His films include The Hunt for Red October, Glengarry Glen Ross, Malice, The Edge, It's Complicated, Blue Jasmine, Still Alice, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and Boss Baby, among many others. Alec Baldwin earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1994, and received an honorary doctorate in 2010. He is co-chairman of the Board of the Hamptons International Film Festival. He is the author of two books, A Promise to Ourselves and his memoir, Nevertheless.He serves on numerous boards related to the arts, the environment, and progressive politics. Mr. Baldwin is married to author and fitness expert Hilaria Thomas Baldwin. They have three children, Carmen Gabriela Baldwin, Rafael Thomas Baldwin, and Leonardo Angel Charles Baldwin. His eldest child is his daughter Ireland Baldwin. Alec Baldwin hosts ABC's Match Game, the classic television game show; a portion of his proceeds are donated to charity. He is also the host of the Turner Classic Movies series The Essentials.

Jaap van Zweden has become an international presence on three continents over the last decade. The 2017-18 season marks a major milestone as he completes his ten-year tenure as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and becomes Music Director Designate of the New York Philharmonic, anticipating his inaugural season, in 2018-19, when he becomes the Orchestra's Music Director. He continues as Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic, a post he has held since 2012. In addition to performances with the New York Philharmonic in New York and on tour, his 2017-18 season highlights include returns to the Chicago Symphony, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic orchestras and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Maestro van Zweden has also guest conducted The Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; Boston, London, and Shanghai symphony orchestras; Los Angeles, Vienna, Berlin, and Munich philharmonic orchestras; Orchestre National de France; and Orchestre de Paris. In 2015 he launched the annual SOLUNA International Music & Arts Festival with the Dallas Symphony, and embarked on a four-year project with the Hong Kong Philharmonic to conduct the first-ever Hong Kong performances of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, to be released on Naxos Records. In the summers of 2017-19 he serves as principal conductor of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra and Gstaad Conducting Academy.

Jaap van Zweden's acclaimed recordings include Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Petrushka, Britten's War Requiem, and complete cycles of the Beethoven, Brahms, and Bruckner symphonies. He recordEd Mahler's Symphony No. 5 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and released Mozart piano concertos with the Philharmonia Orchestra and David Fray. His celebrated performances of Wagner's 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. On the Dallas Symphony's record label, he has released symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mahler, and Dvo?ák, as well as the World Premiere recording of Stucky's August 4, 1964. A new recording agreement with Universal Music Group's U.S. Classical Division and the New York Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden is being launched in the 2017-18 season.

Born in Amsterdam, Jaap van Zweden was appointed the youngest-ever concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at 19. He began his conducting career 20 years later, in 1995. He is honorary chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, where he served as chief conductor, 2005-13, and conductor emeritus of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra. He also held the post of chief conductor of the Royal Flanders Orchestra, 2008-11. Maestro van Zweden was named Musical America's 2012 Conductor of the Year.

In 1997 Jaap van Zweden and his wife, Aaltje, established the Papageno Foundation to support families of children with autism, including by training music therapists and musicians. In August 2015 the opening of Papageno House, a home for autistic young adults and children, in Laren, The Netherlands, was attended by Her Majesty Queen Maxima.

The Opening Gala Co-Chairmen are Elizabeth and Frank Newman, Klara and Larry A. Silverstein, Maggie Ueng Tsai and Richard Tsai, and Jariya Wanapun and Arthur Chu. Generous underwriting support is provided by BNY Mellon, Elizabeth and Frank Newman, Didi and Oscar Schafer, Klara and Larry A. Silverstein, Maggie Ueng Tsai and Richard Tsai, and Jariya Wanapun and Arthur Chu.

Single tickets for the Opening Gala Concert start at $75. Tickets are available 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. 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. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic's Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

For more information about the Opening Gala, which includes a pre-concert champagne reception, concert, and post-concert dinner, call the Office of Special Events at (212) 875-5755, or email specialevents@nyphil.org.

PROGRAM:

106 All-Stars: Opening Gala Concert of New York's Orchestra

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Tuesday, September 19, 2017, 7:30 p.m.

Concert will be broadcast live free on Facebook (facebook.com/nyphilharmonic)
On-demand on the Philharmonic's website (nyphil.org), YouTube (youtube.com/newyorkphilharmonic), and Facebook

Jaap van Zweden, conductor

MAHLER Symphony No. 5

Photo Credit: Walter McBride