New York Philharmonic 2023/2024 Season To Feature Live Score To WEST SIDE STORY (2021) & More

The New York Philharmonic has announced its 2023-24 season, the farewell season of Jaap van Zweden's tenure as the Orchestra's Music Director. Over the course of the season van Zweden leads works by composers he has championed at the NY Phil, and celebrates his relationship with the Orchestra's musicians by collaborating with six Principal players as soloists.

Jaap van Zweden said: "As this is my final season as Music Director, I actually am not thinking of it as a farewell, but rather as a new chapter. This 2023-24 season reflects my love and respect for the musicians of the New York Philharmonic as we unite to bring you our collective best, including occasions on which our musicians will be highlighted. It's an honor to be Music Director of this great institution, and I look forward to this season and beyond."

In the 2023-24 season - the second season in the new David Geffen Hall - the NY Phil uses its platform to explore history and to serve as a catalyst for today's composers. The US Premiere of Aaron Zigman & Mark Campbell's Émigré - a semi-staged production of an oratorio co commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic- offers the opportunity to examine Shanghai's welcoming of Holocaust-era Jews. The Orchestra presents several works by the late György Ligeti on the occasion of his centennial and collaborates with Hilary Hahn, who, as The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, appears in contexts that reflect the variety of her musical interests.

The NY Phil performs 14 World, US, and New York Premieres, including works commissioned through Project 19, the multiyear initiative commissioning works by 19 women composers to mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment.

The NY Phil also reprises its performance on the soundtrack to the 2021 version of West Side Story as the film is screened. The Orchestra's legacy of inspiring generations of music lovers is marked by a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts.

Deborah Borda, Linda and Mitch Hart President and CEO, said: "Jaap van Zweden's farewell season as Music Director invites us to reflect on his tenure, with landmarks including World Premieres of works by Julia Wolfe, David Lang, Tania León, and Ash Fure. We are grateful for his championing of the reimagined David Geffen Hall, and the remarkable concerts that he and the NY Phil gave to inaugurate our new home."

Gary Ginstling, Executive Director, said: "The experience of attending a New York Philharmonic performance at David Geffen Hall has been completely transformed, from the Karen and Richard LeFrak Lobby to the intimate atmosphere and vibrant acoustics of the WuTsai Theater. Our 2023-24 season celebrates Jaap van Zweden and presents the Orchestra in repertoire ranging from fresh new works by a diverse group of composers to beloved cornerstones of the repertoire. It is an honor to be joining the Philharmonic as we explore the possibilities of our extraordinary new home and how we can share the experience with as many people as possible."

In the 2023-24 season - beginning with the Opening Gala, featuring Yo-Yo Ma, September 27 - the New York Philharmonic celebrates Jaap van Zweden as he concludes his tenure as the Orchestra's Music Director.

In September 2018 van Zweden became the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Highlights of his tenure have included presiding over the Orchestra's return to the new David Geffen Hall; the launch of Project 19, the multiyear initiative marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment with commissions by 19 women composers, including Tania León's Pulitzer Prize- winning Stride; and the World Premieres of Julia Wolfe's Fire in my mouth (2019) and David Lang's prisoner of the state (2020), both later released by Decca Gold.

He helped navigate the NY Phil through challenging times, conducting concerts away from home during the accelerated renovation of David Geffen Hall. In 2022 the New York Philharmonic became the first American orchestra to perform in Europe since the onset of the pandemic when van Zweden led its first-ever residency at the Usedom Music Festival in Germany. In 2023-24, Jaap van Zweden conducts works by composers he has championed over the course of his tenure.

He unveils new works by composers he and the NY Phil have commissioned previously:

The World Premiere of Steve Reich's Jacob's Ladder, October 5-7, a New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with Radio France Paris, O/Modernt, BBC Proms, Casa da Música Porto, and Istanbul International Festival; this follows the New York Premiere of Reich's Music for Ensemble and Orchestra, also co-commissioned by the NY Phil, which van Zweden led in December 2019.

The World Premiere of a new work by Joel Thompson, March 21 and 23-24, a New York Philharmonic Co-Commission with the American Composers Forum, Aspen Music Festival, and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; this follows the World Premiere of Thompson's The Places We Leave, commissioned by the NY Phil, which van Zweden conducted in January 2022.