Early last month, the New York Philharmonic made global headlines by announcing that Gustavo Dudamel, the Venezuelan conducting superstar who presently leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is bound for New York, where he’ll serve as the orchestra’s next music and artistic director starting in the 2026-27 season.
Now, with current music director Jaap van Zweden in town for two unusual and striking concert programs back to back – Messiaen’s ecstatic “Turangalîla-Symphonie” last weekend, and Bach’s profound “St. Matthew Passion” starting on Thursday – the Philharmonic has announced the details of its 2023-24 season, which will be van Zweden’s last.
“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,” Van Zweden said in a media statement. “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.” (As that statement implies, members of the Philharmonic will serve as soloists during concerts in March and May 2024.)
Among the major projects announced today is the U.S. premiere of “Émigré,” an oratorio by composer Aaron Zigman and librettist Mark Campbell. The work, which will be conducted by Long Yu in February and March, was jointly commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and was inspired by Shanghai providing refuge to Jews fleeing the Holocaust in the late 1930s and early ‘40s. Another substantial venture celebrates the 100th birthday of Hungarian composer and avant-garde icon György Ligeti, in multiple programs scheduled for October and November.
Returning to composers with whom Van Zweden has collaborated successfully in previous seasons during his tenure, the orchestra will present new works by Steve Reich (“Jacob’s Ladder,” in October) and Joel Thompson (a work as yet untitled, in March). Further events involving contemporary music include the U.S. premiere of “The Elements,” a five-movement concerto for violinist Joshua Bell jointly composed by Jake Heggie, Jennifer Higdon, Edgar Meyer, Jessie Montgomery and Kevin Puts (Sept. 29-Oct. 1); the first U.S. performance of Bryce Dessner’s Concerto for Two Pianos, featuring Katia and Marielle Labèque (Nov. 30-Dec. 2); and Project 19 commissions by Olga Neuwirth, Mary Kouyoumdjian and Melinda Wagner.
The season ahead includes numerous substantial debuts, the most highly anticipated likely being that of conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, who canceled a previously scheduled debut in 2019. Other conductors making notable first appearances are Fabio Biondi (leading the orchestra’s annual “Messiah” performances), Karina Canellakis, Brad Lubman, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kwame Ryan and Thomas Søndergård.
Soloists performing for the first time with the orchestra include cellist Sol Gabetta, pianist Alice Sara Ott and mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova. Among the artists making their subscription-series debuts are pianists Igor Levit and Conrad Tao, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges and conductor Jeannette Sorrell.
Other noteworthy inclusions in the season to come are a two-program residency by violinist Hilary Hahn, events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the orchestra’s Young People’s Concerts series, and screenings of “West Side Story,” “Black Panther” and “Vertigo” with live orchestral accompaniment.
After Van Zweden departs, the New York Philharmonic will operate without a designated music director in 2024-25. Gustavo Dudamel will serve as music director-designate in 2025-26.
Details of the complete 2023-24 season are available now at nyphil.org.
