“As he closes his tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert is inviting musicians from around the world—including Iran and Iraq, two of the nations that were a target of President Trump’s travel ban—to play Mahler with his orchestra,” writes Michael Cooper in Wednesday’s (3/1) New York Times. “ ‘A Concert for Unity’ … will be performed from June 8 through June 10 at David Geffen Hall. [Gilbert came] up with the idea before the travel ban was announced.… He first spoke publicly about his hopes for establishing a new international ensemble in December, when he conducted the Philharmonic [at] the United Nations…. For his Philharmonic finale in June, he has invited musicians from orchestras in Australia, China, Cuba, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Venezuela, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the United States to join the musicians of the Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 7.… ‘More than anything, I hope it is a positive, feel-good moment,’ he said, ‘when musicians from different backgrounds and countries and cultures can share the stage and point to a positive future.’ ”
Posted March 2, 2017
Photo of Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonic by Richard Termine / New York Times
