NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC - CARAMOOR DEBUT

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC AND ALAN GILBERT
WITH EMANUEL AX
TO MAKE CARAMOOR DEBUT
OPENING CARAMOOR'S FIRST FALL FESTIVAL

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2009
IN THE VENETIAN THEATER
Alan Gilbert to Conduct an All-Beethoven Program
Featuring Symphony No. 7 and Piano Concerto No. 4
with Guest Soloist Emanuel Ax, Piano

"Conducting the inaugural concert at Caramoor's Fall Festival will be a highlight of the first weeks of my tenure at the New York Philharmonic," said Alan Gilbert. "I look forward to extending the Orchestra's reach beyond our home at Avery Fisher Hall and to connect with people throughout New York City and the region, so it is an honor to lead the Philharmonic's first-ever performance at Caramoor. The beauty of early autumn in the Hudson Valley will be a perfect backdrop for these Beethoven masterpieces."

"This is a most welcome and long-overdue Caramoor debut of one of the finest symphony orchestras in the world," said Michael Barrett. "I am delighted that Alan has scheduled this performance as one of the early events in his tenure as the Philharmonic's new Music Director. This Fall Festival is a natural extension to our annual summertime Caramoor International Music Festival and comes at a time when the weather is still pleasant and our magnificent gardens are beginning their colorful autumn season. As with our summer Festival, these three days offer concert-going opportunities for all ages and for audiences with diverse musical interests."

About the Artists - Friday, October 2, 2009 at 8:00pm in the Venetian Theater
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Alan Gilbert begins his tenure as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in the 2009-10 season, the first native New Yorker to hold the post. For his inaugural season he has introduced a number of new initiatives: Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg; Artist-in-Residence Thomas Hampson; an annual three-week festival; and CONTACT, the Philharmonic's new-music series. He will lead the Orchestra on a major tour of Asia in October 2009. Also in the 2009-10 season Mr. Gilbert becomes the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at The Juilliard School, a position that will include coaching, conducting, and performance master classes.

Highlights of Mr. Gilbert's 2008-09 season with the New York Philharmonic included the November 14, 2008, Bernstein anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall, and a performance with the Juilliard Orchestra, presented by the Philharmonic, featuring Bernstein's Symphony No. 3, Kaddish. In May 2009 he conducted the World Premiere of Peter Lieberson's The World in Flower, a New York Philharmonic Commission, and in July he led the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, and performances at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado.

Mr. Gilbert was named conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in June 2008, following his final concert as its chief conductor and artistic advisor. He has been principal guest conductor of Hamburg's NDR Symphony Orchestra (NDRSO) since 2004 and regularly conducts other leading orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, including the Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; The Cleveland Orchestra; Munich's Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw; and Orchestre National de Lyon. In 2003 he was named the first music director of Santa Fe Opera.

Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Gilbert studied at Harvard University, The Curtis Institute, and The Juilliard School; he was a substitute violinist with The Philadelphia Orchestra for two seasons, and assistant conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra from 1995 to 1997. In November 2008 he made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams's Dr. Atomic. His recording of Prokofiev's Scythian Suite with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.

Emanuel Ax, piano
Emanuel Ax is renowned not only for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity, but also for the exceptional breadth of his performing activities. One of the most popular and respected pianists in the world, Mr. Ax's distinguished career includes appearances with major symphony orchestras worldwide, recitals in the most celebrated concert halls, chamber music collaborations, the commissioning and performance of new music, and adding to his acclaimed discography. Mr. Ax started his piano career in Warsaw when he was just seven years old. He was the recipient of the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 1974, and the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in 1979. Numerous Grammy Awards further attest to his achievements. His exquisite lyricism and brilliant technique allow him to tackle all parts of the repertoire, from Mozart to today's music. In recent seasons as guest artist with the New York Philharmonic he has premiered John Adams's Century Rolls, Christopher Rouse's Seeing, and Bright Sheng's Red Silk Dance.

New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians led by American-born Ureli Corelli Hill, is by far the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. It currently plays some 180 concerts a year, and on December 18, 2004, gave its 14,000th concert - a milestone unmatched by any other symphony orchestra in the world. Alan Gilbert becomes Music Director in September 2009, the latest in a distinguished line of 20th-century musical giants that has included Lorin Maazel (2002 - 2009); Kurt Masur (Music Director from 1991 to the summer of 2002; named Music Director Emeritus in 2002); Zubin Mehta (1978-91); Pierre Boulez (1971-77); and Leonard Bernstein, who was appointed Music Director in 1958 and given the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor in 1969. Since its inception the Orchestra has championed the new music of its time, commissioning or premiering many important works, such as Dvoøák's Symphony No. 9, From the New World; Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F; and Copland's Connotations. The Philharmonic has also given the U.S. premieres of works such as Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 and Brahms's Symphony No. 4. This pioneering tradition has continued to the present day, with works of major contemporary composers regularly scheduled each season, including John Adams's Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning On the Transmigration of Souls; Stephen Hartke's Symphony No. 3; Augusta Read Thomas's Gathering Paradise, Emily Dickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra; and Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto.

About Caramoor
Caramoor is the legacy of Walter and Lucie Rosen, who built their summer home - now known as the historic Rosen House at Caramoor - and filled it with their treasures. Walter Rosen was the master planner for the Caramoor estate, bringing to reality his dream of creating a place to entertain friends from around the world. Their musical evenings were the seeds of today's Caramoor International Music Festival. Realizing the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor - the house with its art collection, the gardens, and the musical programs on summer evenings - in 1946 the Rosens established a public charity to open Caramoor to the community.

Lucie Rosen survived her husband by seventeen years. During those years, she expanded the Music Festival: the Spanish Courtyard was used as a setting for musical events, as it is today, and, under her direction, the great stage of the Venetian Theater was built.

Caramoor is a Garden of Great Music where audiences are invited to come early, explore the beautiful grounds, take a tour of the Rosen House, visit the gift shop, enjoy a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens. With its unique heritage, Caramoor remains a place where magical summer days and nights are shared and enjoyed by thousands. "Caramoor is the loveliest Festival of them all." - The New York Times

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, New York.

Tickets
Tickets for the New York Philharmonic on Friday, October 2, 2009 at 8:00pm are $45, $60, $75, $90 and $110 and may be purchased online at www.caramoor.org or by calling the Box Office at 914.252.1252. Special arrangements may be made for groups of 16 or more. Contact Matt Scarella at 914.232.5035 ext. 266.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is located at 149 Girdle Ridge Road in Katonah, New York.

PRESS TICKETS:
Laura Malick
917.339.7183
lmalick@cohndutcher.com

CARAMOOR FALL FESTIVAL

October 2                                                   The New York Philharmonic - Caramoor Debut
Friday, 8:00 pm                                           Emanuel Ax, piano
Venetian Theater                                        New York Philharmonic
                                                                    Alan Gilbert, conductor and Music Director

   Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
   Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

This concert is made possible, in part, through the generous support of The William Petschek Family.

The New York Philharmonic concert is made possible, in part, through funding from the Rudyard and Emanuella Reimss Memorial Fund of the Westchester Community Foundation.

The Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) is a non-profit community endowment for the benefit of Westchester County. Its mission is to develop and manage philanthropic resources, and to distribute them in a way that is responsive to donor interest and community needs. The Foundation actively promotes charitable giving on behalf of the area's non-profit organizations. WCF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country with assets of approximately $2 billion.

October 3                                  Caramoor Cavalcade
Saturday                                    1:00pm           Polygraph Lounge in Spanish Courtyard
All Afternoon                              2:30pm           Fun with Words and Music on the Tapestry Hedge lawn
                                                   4:00pm           Chamber Music in the Sunken Garden

Saturday, 8:00 pm An Evening with Chick Corea
Venetian Theater Chick Corea, piano