Itzhak Perlman To Conduct And Perform With New York Philharmonic, Today

Itzhak Perlman will return to the New York Philharmonic to conduct and perform Beethoven's Romances Nos. 1 and 2 for Violin and Orchestra, and to conduct Brahms's Symphony No. 4 and Academic Festival Overture, Tuesday, November 15, 2016, at 7:30 p.m.

This concert will mark Itzhak Perlman's 84th appearance with the New York Philharmonic. He has conducted and performed with the Orchestra twice before: in October 2005 and March 2004. Of the most recent dual appearance, The New York Timeswrote: "Just by being Itzhak Perlman, this particular conductor had the Philharmonic's string players emulating his own relaxed warmth and breadth of tone."

"It's a pleasure for me to return to the podium of the New York Philharmonic to conduct this great orchestra in their 175th anniversary season and perform two of my favorite composers, Beethoven and Brahms," said Itzhak Perlman.

Itzhak Perlman made his New York Philharmonic debut in May 1965 as the 1964 Leventritt Award Winner in a program conducted by William Steinberg. Most recently, he performed in the 2012-13 season Opening Gala Concert, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

Artists
Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he is treasured by audiences throughout the world, who respond not only to his remarkable artistry, but also to his irrepressible joy for making music. Having performed with every major orchestra and at venerable concert halls around the globe, Mr. Perlman was granted a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Obama in 2015, a Kennedy Center Honor in 2003, a National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 2000, and a Medal of Liberty by President Reagan in 1986. He has also received 16 Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Kennedy Center Honor, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Genesis Prize. In the 2016-17 season Mr. Perlman performs season-opening gala concerts with the Baltimore and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, and appears with other ensembles including the Toronto, Cincinnati, Houston, and San Diego symphony orchestras. He conducts the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Seattle Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, and Chicago Symphony orchestras (the last at the Ravinia Festival).

He performs recitals with his regular collaborator, pianist Rohan De Silva, across North America including in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. This fall Warner Classics is releasing a new album that Mr. Perlman recorded earlier this year in Paris with the renowned pianist Martha Argerich. The recording, which explores masterpieces by J.S. Bach, Schumann, and Brahms, marks their historic first studio album and the first at all since their live recital from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center 18 years ago. Mr. Perlman recorded a bonus track for the original cast recording of the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Bock and Harnick'sFiddler on the Roof, released on Broadway Records in March 2016. The cast recording features Mr. Perlman on a track titled "Excerpts from Fiddler on the Roof, arranged by John Williams. Over the past two decades, Itzhak Perlman has become actively involved in music education through his work with the Perlman Music Program and The Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair. Mr. Perlman, a Member of the New York Philharmonic's Board of Directors since 2010, made his New York Philharmonic debut in May 1965 as the 1964 Leventritt Award Winner in a program conducted by William Steinberg; most recently, he appeared in the Opening Gala Concert in September 2012, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

Repertoire
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) composed two Romances for violin and orchestra: his Romance No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra was likely written in 1802 and published in 1803; the Romance No. 2 was likely composed in 1798 (or earlier), but wasn't published until 1805. Both works allow the soloist to show off his or her mastery of ornamental, fluid lines, and - predating Beethoven's 1806 Violin Concerto - show the composer's experimentation with form. These Romances follow the rondo format (a refrain interspersed with contrasting themes); the first is especially lyrical, while the second, slower and more dramatic, foreshadows the slow movement of his Symphony No. 3, Eroica. Maurice Kaufmann joined Walter Damrosch and the New York Symphony Society (which merged with the Philharmonic in 1928) for the Orchestra's earliest presentation of the Romance No. 1, in November 1902; Anne-Sophie Mutter joined the Orchestra and Kurt Masur for its most recent presentation, in May 2002. David Mannes and the New York Symphony, conducted by Walter Damrosch, first performed the Romance No. 2 in March 1901; Anne-Sophie Mutter, led by Alan Gilbert, most recently presented it in June 2011.

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) composed his 10-minute Academic Festival Overture in 1880 as a thank-you to the University of Breslau, which had presented him with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1879. Brahms described this new celebratory work - an adaptation of the Rakóczy March, a favorite tune since childhood - as "a very boisterous potpourri of student songs à la Suppé," integrating four beer hall favorites: "Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus" ("We have built a stately house"), "Der Landesvater" ("The father of our country"), "The Fox Song - Was komm dort von der Höh" ("What comes from afar"), and "Gaudeamus igitur" ("Therefore, let us be merry"). Brahms conducted the premiere in Breslau in January 1881. The New York Symphony Society (a Philharmonic forebear), conducted by Walter Damrosch, presented the U.S. Premiere in November 1881, conducted by Walter Damrosch; the Orchestra most recently performed the work on its November 2010 tour of Europe, led by Alan Gilbert.

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) composed his Symphony No. 4 in the Alpine village of Mürzzuschlag, in the Styrian Alps, in the summers of 1884 and 1885. Brahms approached the symphony's premiere, on October 15, 1885, in Meiningen, Germany, with mounting apprehension, but to his amazement, it proved a success, and the symphony's popularity only increased with repeated performances. "With his Fourth Symphony," writes New York Philharmonic Program Annotator James M. Keller, "Brahms achieves a work of almost mystical transcendence, born of opposing emotions: melancholy and joy, severity and rhapsody, solemnity and exhilaration." The New York Symphony (which merged with the New York Philharmonic in 1928 to form today's New York Philharmonic) performed the work's U.S. Premiere on December 10, 1886, led by Walter Damrosch; Manfred Honeck led the Orchestra's most recent presentation in May 2015.

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Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with theCity Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Tickets
Single tickets start at $79. Tickets may be purchased 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. Tickets may also be purchased at theDavid Geffen Hall Box Office. 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.)