Alan Gilbert (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Alan Gilbert is an American violinist and conductor
. He is currently the Music Director
of the New York Philharmonic
, making his debut performance as the orchestra's music director on September 16, 2009.
, into a New York Philharmonic family. Both his father, Michael Gilbert, and his Japanese mother, Yoko Takebe, have had careers as violinists in the Philharmonic — his father retired in 2001, and his mother still performs in the orchestra. Growing up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gilbert attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School
. As a youth, he learned the violin, viola, and piano.
In the 1980s Gilbert studied music at Harvard University
, where he was music director of the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra
in 1988–89. While in Boston, Gilbert also studied with violinist Masuko Ushioda at the New England Conservatory of Music
. After obtaining his degree at Harvard, Gilbert studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music
and the Juilliard School of Music with Otto-Werner Mueller. In 1994, he won the Georg Solti
prize, which garnered him a week's private tutoring with maestro Solti. Also in 1994, Gilbert won first prize at the International Competition for Musical Performance
in Geneva
.
. In 1997, he won the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
.
in January 2000, his first leadership post with an orchestra. During his Stockholm tenure, audience attendance increased, and Gilbert helped to secure additional financial support from the regional government. He concluded his Stockholm tenure in 2008.
dates back to 1993, when he served as the orchestra's assistant concertmaster
. Prior to that, both of Gilbert's parents played in the opera's orchestra, and his father served as concertmaster for a number of years. In 2001, Gilbert conducted his first Santa Fe Opera production, Verdi's Falstaff
. In 2003, he became Santa Fe Opera's first Music Director
. His initial contract concluded at the end of the 2006 season. In November 2006, it was reported that Gilbert was to be on "official sabbatical from June through August 2007" to spend more time with his family. In May 2007, Santa Fe Opera announced that Gilbert had officially concluded his tenure as their music director.
in 2001. After a total of 37 appearances as guest conductor, on July 18, 2007, the New York Philharmonic appointed Gilbert as its next Music Director, effective with the 2009–10 season. He is the first native New Yorker to hold this position. His contract includes a commitment of 12 subscription weeks of concerts per season for five years. Gilbert made his debut performance as the orchestra's new music director on the September 16, 2009 opening night gala, with a well-received program of Magnus Lindberg
, Olivier Messiaen
, and Hector Berlioz
, which was telecast nationally on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center
.
Gilbert is a conductor who has built much of his reputation conducting contemporary and American music, and his appointment by the Philharmonic marks somewhat of a shift by the orchestra away from his more conservative predecessors Lorin Maazel
, Kurt Masur
, and Zubin Mehta
. For his inaugural 2009–10 Philharmonic season, Gilbert has introduced a number of new initiatives, including the presence of Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg
and Artist-in-Residence Thomas Hampson. The festivals and tours he has introduced include CONTACT — the Philharmonic's new-music series; and a major tour of Asia and the Middle East in October 2009, with debuts in Hanoi
and Abu Dhabi
. During his tenure Gilbert will lead the orchestra in performances of several world, U.S., and New York premieres.
in November 2008, with an acclaimed performance of John Adams' new opera, Doctor Atomic
.
Gilbert is also the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at the Juilliard School. The position includes coaching, conducting, and performance master classes, and Gilbert assumed the post in the fall of 2009.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. He is currently the Music Director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, making his debut performance as the orchestra's music director on September 16, 2009.
Early years
Alan Gilbert was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, into a New York Philharmonic family. Both his father, Michael Gilbert, and his Japanese mother, Yoko Takebe, have had careers as violinists in the Philharmonic — his father retired in 2001, and his mother still performs in the orchestra. Growing up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gilbert attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School
Ethical Culture Fieldston School
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as "Fieldston", is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people , led by Dr. Damian J...
. As a youth, he learned the violin, viola, and piano.
In the 1980s Gilbert studied music at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he was music director of the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra
Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard University
The Bach Society Orchestra, known as BachSoc, is Harvard's premier chamber orchestra. The orchestra is staffed, managed, and conducted entirely by students. Each year, the members of the orchestra select the next year's conductor, always an undergraduate...
in 1988–89. While in Boston, Gilbert also studied with violinist Masuko Ushioda at the New England Conservatory of Music
New England Conservatory of Music
The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...
. After obtaining his degree at Harvard, Gilbert studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
and the Juilliard School of Music with Otto-Werner Mueller. In 1994, he won the Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
prize, which garnered him a week's private tutoring with maestro Solti. Also in 1994, Gilbert won first prize at the International Competition for Musical Performance
Geneva International Music Competition
The Geneva International Music Competition is a music competitions held in Geneva, founded in 1939 in the Geneva Conservatory for a wide variety of instruments, voice, conducting, and chamber music.-See also:* List of classical music competitions* World Federation of International Music...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.
Conducting career
During 1995–97, Gilbert was an assistant conductor with the Cleveland OrchestraCleveland Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1918, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at Severance Hall...
. In 1997, he won the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award
The Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award was an award for conductors in the United States.-History:The award was established in 1985 as the Affiliate Artists' Seaver Conducting Award. The award was being given every two or three years. The award was conceived by the Seaver...
.
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
Gilbert became the Chief Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm.The orchestra was founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society . The orchestra became a permanent ensemble in 1914. Since 1926, it has been based in the Stockholm Concert Hall...
in January 2000, his first leadership post with an orchestra. During his Stockholm tenure, audience attendance increased, and Gilbert helped to secure additional financial support from the regional government. He concluded his Stockholm tenure in 2008.
Santa Fe Opera
Gilbert's long association with Santa Fe OperaSanta Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
dates back to 1993, when he served as the orchestra's assistant concertmaster
Concertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
. Prior to that, both of Gilbert's parents played in the opera's orchestra, and his father served as concertmaster for a number of years. In 2001, Gilbert conducted his first Santa Fe Opera production, Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
. In 2003, he became Santa Fe Opera's first Music Director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
. His initial contract concluded at the end of the 2006 season. In November 2006, it was reported that Gilbert was to be on "official sabbatical from June through August 2007" to spend more time with his family. In May 2007, Santa Fe Opera announced that Gilbert had officially concluded his tenure as their music director.
New York Philharmonic
Gilbert made his first conducting appearance with the New York PhilharmonicNew York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in 2001. After a total of 37 appearances as guest conductor, on July 18, 2007, the New York Philharmonic appointed Gilbert as its next Music Director, effective with the 2009–10 season. He is the first native New Yorker to hold this position. His contract includes a commitment of 12 subscription weeks of concerts per season for five years. Gilbert made his debut performance as the orchestra's new music director on the September 16, 2009 opening night gala, with a well-received program of Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.-Education:...
, Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, and Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, which was telecast nationally on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center
Live from Lincoln Center
Live From Lincoln Center is an ongoing series of musical performances produced by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in conjunction with Thirteen/WNET in New York City....
.
Gilbert is a conductor who has built much of his reputation conducting contemporary and American music, and his appointment by the Philharmonic marks somewhat of a shift by the orchestra away from his more conservative predecessors Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
, Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, and Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
. For his inaugural 2009–10 Philharmonic season, Gilbert has introduced a number of new initiatives, including the presence of Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.-Education:...
and Artist-in-Residence Thomas Hampson. The festivals and tours he has introduced include CONTACT — the Philharmonic's new-music series; and a major tour of Asia and the Middle East in October 2009, with debuts in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
and Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
. During his tenure Gilbert will lead the orchestra in performances of several world, U.S., and New York premieres.
Additional work
Gilbert has been Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra since 2004. He made his conducting debut at the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in November 2008, with an acclaimed performance of John Adams' new opera, Doctor Atomic
Doctor Atomic
Doctor Atomic is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on 1 October 2005. The work focuses on the great stress and anxiety experienced by those at Los Alamos while the test of the first atomic bomb was...
.
Gilbert is also the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at the Juilliard School. The position includes coaching, conducting, and performance master classes, and Gilbert assumed the post in the fall of 2009.
Personal life
In 2002, Gilbert married Swedish cellist Kajsa William-Olsson, a member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. They have three children.External links
- Alan Gilbert – Official Website
- Profile – Who's Who
- Bio through 1999
- IMG Artists – Profile
- "Young Conductor at Home with N.Y. Philharmonic." All Things ConsideredAll Things ConsideredAll Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
(NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
), 2007 - Classical Archives Interview