Concert Review: A Calmer, Simpler, More Nervous Time

Alan Gilbert revisits The Age of Anxiety.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Very, very nervous: Makoto Ozone (at piano) and conductor Alan Gilbert bring The Age of Anxiety
to the New York Philharmonic. Photo by Chris Lee © 2017 New York Philharmonic.

Americans who do not live in the bubbling cauldron of New York City, claim to long for a simpler, easier time. When picket fences were white, the mail was delivered regularly, and people's lives echoed the covers of trite magazines sold in supermarket checkout lines. However, New Yorkers know different. That difference was on proud display Saturday night as Alan Gilbert led the second of three programs at the New York Philharmonic dedicated to the music of Leonard Bernstein.

Concert Review: Baton Man Returns

Alan Gilbert is back...to open the Bernstein's Philharmonic festival.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Alan Gilbert returned to the New York Philharmonic this week.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2017 The New York Philharmonic.

Of the clouds gathered lately over the New York Philharmonic, the darkest has surely been the departure of music director Alan Gilbert last season. Mr. Gilbert, the son of two orchestra members who was hailed as a breath of fresh air when he was hired, ended his time with the Philharmonic in June of 2017, after a relatively brief tenure of eight years. This week marked the conductor's first concerts with his old band since his exit. It was also the first program inBernstein's Philharmonic: a three-week festival celebrating the centennial of the orchestra's most famous and most beloved music director.