Itzhak Perlman to Perform with New York Philharmonic, 4/11

Violinist Itzhak Perlman will perform music from Vienna and Hollywood with the New York Philharmonic on Monday, April 11, 2011, at 7:30 p.m., conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. The program replaces the previously announced Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario, narrated by Christopher Plummer. Mr. Plummer has had to reschedule his appearance with the Orchestra due to the extended filming of Barrymore; a new concert date will be announced at a later time. Repertoire for Mr. Perlman's program will be announced shortly.

Music Director Alan Gilbert, The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair, assumed his position at the Philharmonic in September 2009, the first native New Yorker to hold the post, ushering in what The New York Times called "an adventurous new era" at the Philharmonic. In his inaugural season he introduced a number of new initiatives: the positions of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence, held by Magnus Lindberg; The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, held in 2010-11 by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter; an annual three-week festival, which in 2010-11 is titled Hungarian Echoes, led by Esa-Pekka Salonen; and CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series. In the 2010-11 season Mr. Gilbert is leading the Orchestra on two tours of European music capitals; two performances at Carnegie Hall, including the venue's 120th Anniversary Concert; and a staged presentation of Janá?ek's The Cunning Little Vixen. Highlights of his inaugural season included major tours of Asia and Europe and an acclaimed staged presentation of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre.

Mr. Gilbert is the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at The Juilliard School, and is conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and principal guest conductor of Hamburg's NDR Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted other leading orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, including the Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; and the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich's Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. From 2003 to 2006 he served as the first music director of the Santa Fe Opera.

Alan Gilbert studied at Harvard University, The Curtis Institute of Music, and The Juilliard School. From 1995 to 1997 he was the assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. In November 2008 he made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams's Doctor Atomic. His recordings have received a 2008 Grammy Award nomination and top honors from the Chicago Tribune and Gramophone magazine. On May 15, 2010, Mr. Gilbert received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music.

Itzhak Perlman took part in the Inauguration of President Barack Obama, premiering a piece written for the occasion by John Williams and performing with clarinetist Anthony McGill, pianist Gabriela Montero, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. President Reagan granted him a "Medal of Liberty" in 1986, and President Clinton awarded him the "National Medal of Arts" in December 2000. In December 2003 Mr. Perlman was a Kennedy Center Honoree, and in May 2007 he performed at the State Dinner for Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House.

In the 2010-11 season, Mr. Perlman travels to Chile and Brazil for orchestral and recital performances, and appears in Japan with pianist and frequent collaborator Rohan De Silva. Other highlights include a special performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to benefit the Rotary Foundation's campaign to End Polio Now; a performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; and recitals across North America. Mr. Perlman also appears with students and alumni from the Perlman Music Program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Itzhak Perlman also performs as conductor with leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic. He recently served as artistic director of the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, was music advisor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2004, and was principal guest conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2005. He has received four Emmy Awards and fifteen Grammy Awards, and collaborated with composer John Williams on the soundtrack of Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List, in which he performed the violin solos. Mr. Perlman holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair at The Juilliard School. He made his New York Philharmonic debut on May 9, 1965, performing the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, conducted by William Steinberg; he most recently appeared with the Orchestra in September 2010, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, conducted by Alan Gilbert.

Tickets for this performance start at $35. Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. 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 press tickets, call Lanore Carr in the New York Philharmonic Communications Department at (212) 875-5714, or e-mail her at carrl@nyphil.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos