New York Philharmonic Wins 2011 ASCAP Award

The New York Philharmonic is to be honored today with a 2010.11 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, winning first place in the Awards for Programming of Contemporary Music, at the Annual Meeting Breakfast at the League of American Orchestras' National Conference in Minneapolis. The Orchestra will be presented with a plaque and $3,000 in recognition of its commitment to new music programming during the past season. This is the second consecutive year that the Philharmonic has received this award.

In the 2010.11 season the New York Philharmonic, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert, The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair, played a variety of new and contemporary works, having launched its 169th season with the U.S. Premiere of Wynton Marsalis' Symphony No. 3, Swing Symphony, a New York Philharmonic Commission. In October Magnus Lindberg's groundbreaking 1985 Kraft, in its New York Premiere, took over the stage and parts of the Avery Fisher Hall, with musicians performing around the hall on various instruments, some from a junkyard. The Orchestra also gave the New York Premieres of Thomas Ades's In Seven Days (Concerto for Piano with Moving Image) and Christopher Rouse'fs Oboe Concerto.

CONTACT!, the Philharmonic's new-music series, in its second season, presented the World Premiere.New York Philharmonic Commission of Souvenir (in memoriam Gerard Grisey) by Mr. Lindberg, who is The Marie-Josee Kravis Composer-in-Residence, coupled with Grisey?fs Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil. The second CONTACT! program, in December, featured the U.S. Premiere of Julian Anderson?fs Comedy of Change, and two World Premieres: True South by James Matheson, and neverthesamerivertwice by Jay Alan Yim, both commissioned by the New York
Philharmonic.

Other contemporary works performed by the Philharmonic this season included Ligeti?fs Concert Romanesc and Clocks and Clouds. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, joined the Philharmonic for several new works . the New York Premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina?fs In Tempus Praesens, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, and the World Premieres of Wolfang Rihm?fs Lichtes Spiel and Dyade, Krzysztof Penderecki?fs Duo concertante, and Sebastian Currier?fs Time Machines. Ms. Gubaidulina was also represented by Two Paths: Music for Two Solo Violas andSymphony Orchestra, which the Philharmonic premiered in 1991.

The ASCAP and the League present the awards each year to orchestras of all sizes for programs that challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in music of our time. More than $1 million have been bestowed on orchestras since the awards were established in 1947.

The New York Philharmonic is proud to receive this distinguished ASCAP award for the second consecutive season,. said President and Executive Director Zarin Mehta. ?Music Director Alan Gilbert has been committed to performing and programming new music in thought-provoking and adventurous combinations. This wonderful award is an acknowledgement of the success of that goal.

Founded in 1842, the New York Philharmonic is the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest in the world; on May 5, 2010, it performed its 15,000th concert. Music Director Alan Gilbert, The Yoko Nagae Ceschina Chair, began his tenure in September 2009, succeeding a distinguished line of 20th-century musical giants that goes back to Gustav Mahler and Arturo Toscanini. The Orchestra has always played a leading role in American musical life, commissioning and premiering works by each era's leading composers.

Renowned around the globe, the Philharmonic has appeared in 430 cities in 63 countries . including the February 2008 historic visit to Pyongyang, DPRK, for which the Philharmonic earned the 2008 Common Ground Award for Cultural Diplomacy. The Philharmonic is the only American orchestra to have a 52 week per year nationally syndicated radio series . The New York Philharmonic This Week. also streamed on nyphil.org. The Philharmonic has made nearly 2,000 recordings since 1917, with more than 500 currently available. The most recent initiative is Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic: 2010.11 Season .

Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world's largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 410,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. www.ascap.com

The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions America?fs orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. Its diverse membership of nearly 900 orchestras across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned symphonies to community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles. The only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge and innovation, advocacy, and leadership advancement for managers, musicians, volunteers, and boards. Its conferences and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, Website, and other publications inform music lovers around the world about orchestral activity and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors,
managers and administrators, board members, volunteers, and business partners. Visit americanorchestras.org to learn more.