Jaap van Zweden To Lead Conrad Tao World Premiere and Bruckner's Symphony No. 8

Music Director Jaap van Zweden will conduct the New York Philharmonic in the World Premiere of Conrad Tao's Everything Must Go, commissioned by the Philharmonic, and Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, September 28 at 8:00 p.m. In addition, the New York Philharmonic will inaugurate the Kravis Nightcap series with a new-music program curated by Conrad Tao and hosted by Kravis Creative Partner Nadia Sirota on September 28 at 10:30 p.m. at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse; more details will be announced at a later date. To enable even more New Yorkers to meet Jaap, the Philharmonic will present a Free Open Rehearsal on September 27, 2018, as a gift from Jaap van Zweden and the Orchestra. After the rehearsal, Maestro van Zweden will stay onstage for a chat with President and CEO Deborah Borda and Conrad Tao.

Everything Must Go was commissioned by the Philharmonic as a prelude to Bruckner's Symphony No. 8, including the same instrumentation. Conrad Tao responded to the metaphor of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony as a cathedral of sound, imagining that structure coming to life and then decaying. He also took inspiration from other preludes, including classic French overtures and movie title sequences. Though he did not deliberately quote Bruckner in Everything Must Go, the composer acknowledges "happy accidents" where his work echoes Bruckner's harmonic and rhythmic structures. "The deadliest brief is, 'You can do anything you want.' That is the most terrifying thing to hear," Conrad Tao said. "I think creativity is spurred on by boundaries."

BBC Music Magazine called Jaap van Zweden "the leading interpreter of Bruckner's symphonies" in its review of his recordings of the complete symphonies. Maestro van Zweden has previously premiered four works by Conrad Tao: Alice (2016), The world is very different now (2013), New Word (2012), and Páng? (2012). "I think it is time for New York to know Conrad as a composer," Jaap van Zweden said regarding the premiere of Everything Must Go, the second of three commissions that he and the New York Philharmonic are premiering in as many weeks. The other premieres are Ashley Fure's Filament and Louis Andriessen's Agamemnon as part of The Art of Andriessen.

General admission tickets to the Free Open Rehearsal on September 27 will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, one per person, starting that morning at 9:00 a.m. on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza. Prizes will be given to the first fans to arrive in line. Raffles and other activities on the Plaza will begin at 8:00 a.m. Previous Free Open Rehearsals have drawn thousands of music lovers to David Geffen Hall. More information will be announced at a later date.

Kravis Nightcap is a series of late-night, cabaret-style concerts curated by composers of today, performed by guest musicians and ensembles, and hosted by Kravis Creative Partner Nadia Sirota, who will engage in conversation with the artists. Taking place at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at 10:30 p.m. after select subscription programs, the collaborative concerts will explore themes related to those programs in a casual and interactive setting. Kravis Nightcap is one of two new contemporary music series - along with the GRoW @ Annenberg Sound ON series, also hosted by Nadia Sirota - that Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic are introducing in the 2018-19 season.

The New York Philharmonic will offer an allotment of free tickets to young people ages 13-26 for the concert on Friday, September 28 as part of Philharmonic Free Fridays.

Single tickets to the September 27-28 program start at $33. Single tickets to the September 28 Kravis Nightcap performance start at $25. A limited number of $18 tickets for select concerts may be available for students within 10 days of the performance at nyphil.org/rush, or in person the day of; valid identification is required. The New York Philharmonic is offering an allotment of free tickets to young people ages 13-26 for the concert Friday, September 28 as part of Philharmonic Free Fridays; learn more at nyphil.org/freefridays. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

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 the David 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.

General admission tickets to the Free Open Rehearsal on September 27 will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, one per person, starting that morning at 9:00 a.m. on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza. Prizes will be given to the first fans to arrive in line. Raffles and other activities on the Plaza will begin at 8:00 a.m.

Photo Credit: Chris Lee