New York Philharmonic to Resume Live Concerts in September

The orchestra announced their 2021-2022 season on Tuesday, which will largely take place amid major renovations at David Geffen Hall

After 18 months away from live concerts, the New York Philharmonic will return to the stage this fall for a shortened 78-concert season.

Due to the $550 million renovations of David Geffen Hall, which is scheduled to reopen later this fall, the upcoming season's concerts will mostly take place at Alice Tully Hall and the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The venues have 1,086 and 1,233 seats, respectively, compared to the approximately 2,200 seats that will be in the renovated Geffen Hall.

The orchestra will open on September 17 with a concert titled “From Silence to Celebration,” featuring soloist Daniil Trifonov performing Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 4.” The concert will be the first of 50 at Alice Tully Hall.

The remainder of the season will include music by composers ranging from Schubert, Mahler, and Shostakovich to Eastman, Chen Yi, and Walker, in addition to several premieres. Featured soloists include pianist Yuja Wang, violinists Hilary Hahn and Joshua Bell, and saxophonist Brandon Marsalis. This year’s artist in residence is countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo.

The orchestra will also present several special projects. In March of 2022, Gustavo Dudamel plans to conduct a Schumann symphonic cycle focusing on the relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann. The orchestra also plans to proceed with its third installment of Project 19, an initiative to commission and premiere 19 new works by 19 women composers, with pieces by Joan Tower and Sarah Kirkland Snider.

In total, the orchestra will present 78 concerts this season, compared to the approximately 120 concerts in a typical full season.

According to the New York Philharmonic’s website, the orchestra plans to closely follow city, state, and CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19. A New York Philharmonic ticket buyer survey from May 7 revealed that 89 percent of New York Philharmonic ticket buyers were at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. Still, the orchestra is implementing contactless touchpoints for ticketing and entry, and there will be no intermissions through at least December.

“As we return to live orchestral concerts, the Orchestra and I cannot wait to greet our audiences with programs that are full of wonderful surprises, embracing the traditional and welcoming the new,” Music Director Jaap van Zweden wrote in a June 15 press release about the upcoming season, which will be his fourth at the helm of the ensemble.