New York Philharmonic Podcast

Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker reflects on performing Copland’s soulful Clarinet Concerto as he ends his unprecedented 60-year tenure with the Orchestra; Music Director Lorin Maazel discusses featuring Philharmonic musicians as soloists in J.S. Bach’s warmhearted Fourth Brandenburg Concerto; Mark Travis explores Haydn’s charming Trumpet Concerto, featuring Principal Trumpet Philip Smith; and Philharmonic Director of Education Theodore Wiprud describes what makes Ravel’s Boléro the most dramatic piece in the orchestral repertoire.

Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen talks about how he went from disliking his fellow countryman, Sibelius, as a composer, to greatly admiring his work — including his masterful Symphony No. 5, in which David Zinman will lead the New York Philharmonic for the concerts of May 14–16.

Mark Travis explores the tortured origins of Mahler's Blumine and Symphony No. 1; Peter Lieberson discusses the diverse literary and spiritual inspirations behind his New York Philharmonic Commission The World in Flower; and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato expresses her excitement over joining baritone Russell Braun in the World Premiere of Lieberson's piece.

New York Philharmonic Program Annotator and Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence James M. Keller discusses Dvorák's tone poem The Golden Spinning Wheel and why Martinu's optimistic Symphony No. 4 is very much a work of our time, and Philharmonic Director of Education Theodore Wiprud reflects on what makes Saint-Saëns's pyrotechnic Third Violin Concerto an exciting vehicle for virtuoso Joshua Bell.

Mark Travis explores conductor Riccardo Muti's all-Italian program, which features Verdi's rarely heard Overture to Giovanna d'Arco and graceful Ballet of the Four Seasons, from Les Vêpres siciliennes; Puccini's gorgeous Preludio sinfonico; and Respighi's evocative tone poem Pines of Rome.

Matías Tarnopolsky, New York Philharmonic Vice President of Artistic Planning, expresses his excitement over virtuoso Mitsuko Uchida performing Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major – one of the masterpieces of the 20th century – and Theodore Wiprud, Philharmonic Director of Education, explains why, as a listener, he never wants Schubert's Great Symphony in C major to end.

New York Philharmonic Vice President of Artistic Planning Matías Tarnopolsky talks about Stravinsky's Bach-inspired Dumbarton Oaks Concerto in E-flat; Prokofiev's searching and mysterious Violin Concerto No. 2, featuring Lisa Batiashvili; and Tchaikovsky's momentous Symphony No. 5.

Conductor Nicholas McGegan discusses his upcoming all-Handel program with the New York Philharmonic, which features the composer's Concerto a due cori No. 3 in F major, soprano Christine Schäfer singing arias from three of his operas — Partenope, Alcina, and Giulio Cesare — the Concerto Grosso in C major, and Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Composer Avner Dorman discusses his exciting work Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! – which is receiving its U.S. premiere and features dynamic percussion duo PercaDu – and the Philharmonic’s Vice President of Artistic Planning, Matías Tarnopolsky, talks about conductor Zubin Mehta’s brilliant pairing of Dorman’s work with Bartok’s percussive masterpiece, Concerto for Orchestra.

Philharmonic oboe d'amorist Thomas Stacy discusses performing Telemann's virtuosic Concerto in A major under the baton of Music Director Lorin Maazel, Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow talks about the joys of playing Bruch's heart-melting Violin Concerto in G minor, and Elliott Forrest explores Mendelssohn's spirited Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream and Mussorgsky's evocative Pictures at an Exhibition.

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter discusses her love of Mendelssohn's passionate and enduringly popular Violin Concerto, and Elliott Forrest explores Mendelssohn's fiery Overture to Ruy Blas and mysterious Die erste Walpurgisnacht (The First Walpurgis Night).

Conductor Riccardo Muti discusses how Scriabin's own personality as well as his many influences can be heard in his masterful Symphony No. 2, and Matías Tarnopolsky, Vice President of Artistic Planning, expresses the Philharmonic's excitement over Radu Lupu performing Beethoven's pivotal Piano Concerto No. 3.

Bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff talks about performing arias from Haydn's Armida and L'anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice; Matías Tarnopolsky, Philharmonic Vice President of Artistic Planning, discusses why he is delighted that the concerts will open with Haydn's Symphony No. 89; and Mark Travis looks at Brahms's exquisite Serenade No. 1.

New York Philharmonic Director of Education Theodore Wiprud talks with Elliott Forrest about Oliver Knussen's colorful Violin Concerto, performed by Pinchas Zukerman, Mahler's emotional Symphony No. 5, and the return to the Philharmonic of the electrifying conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

Conductor Ludovic Morlot and pianist Olli Mustonen talk about the French-inspired program, which features the U.S. Premiere of Tristan Murail's Gondwana, Messiaen's ingenious Oiseaux exotiques, and Debussy's evocative La Mer, in addition to Mozart's joyous yet rarely performed Piano Concerto in F major.