New York Philharmonic Announces Details of National Weekly Radio Broadcasts for March 2011

In March 2011 The New York Philharmonic This Week - the two-hour, national, weekly radio program of concerts by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin - begins with a concert conducted by Andrey Boreyko. He leads the Orchestra in Haydn's Symphony No. 60, Il distratto; Glazunov's Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Schulhoff's Jazz Concerto (Hot-Sonate) featuring soloist Branford Marsalis; and R. Strauss's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. The following week, Paavo Järvi conducts the New York Premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür's Aditus; Britten's Violin Concerto, featuring Janine Jansen as soloist; and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The third broadcast, led by conductor Daniel Harding in his Philharmonic debut, will feature Szmanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1, with New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow as soloist; and Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with soprano Lisa Milne, also in her Philharmonic debut.

In the fourth week, Esa-Pekka Salonen begins Hungarian Echoes: A Philharmonic Festival, focusing on the music of Haydn, Bartók, and Ligeti - three composers of different periods, styles, and approaches all bearing strong ties to Hungary. The first program comprises Haydn's Symphony No. 6, Le Matin; Ligeti's Piano Concerto, with Pierre-Laurent Aimard as soloist; and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. The March broadcasts conclude with Mr. Salonen conducting Ligeti's Concert Românesc; Haydn's Symphony No. 7, Le Midi; and Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, with soloists mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and bass Gábor Bretz in his Philharmonic debut. 

The New York Philharmonic's first Live National radio broadcast took place on October 5, 1930, over the CBS radio network. On that Sunday, Erich Kleiber was on the podium leading the Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Since that historic broadcast, the Philharmonic has enjoyed an almost continuous presence on national radio. Advancing its role as a media pioneer, the Philharmonic, since 2002, has shared its radio broadcast with a worldwide audience through its Website, nyphil.org. In 2004, the New York Philharmonic was the first major American orchestra to offer downloadable concerts, recorded live. Following on this innovation, in 2009 the Orchestra announced the first-ever subscription download series: Alan Gilbert: The Inaugural Season, available exclusively on iTunes, produced and distributed by the New York Philharmonic, and comprising more than 50 works performed during the 2009-10 season. This season the Orchestra released another iTunes pass: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2010-11 Season. Since 1917 the Philharmonic has made nearly 2,000 recordings, with more than 500 currently available. 

The New York Philharmonic This Week airs locally in the New York metropolitan area on Classical 105.9 FM WQXR, Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. [Check local listings]. Concerts are available on the Philharmonic's Website, nyphil.org, for two weeks following the broadcast. The broadcasts are produced and syndicated to more than 300 outlets nationwide by the WFMT Radio Network. Alec Baldwin is the host of the program, WFMT's Mark Travis is the broadcast producer, and New York Philharmonic Audio Director Lawrence Rock is the engineer and music producer.