Albuquerque, NM

commissioned by The New York Philharmonic, to receive its
world premiere under baton of Alan Gilbert in March

Traveling to New York any time soon? If so, don’t miss the opportunity to hear the world premiere of Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Artistic Director Marc Neikrug’s Quintessence: Symphony No. 2. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Quintessence: Symphony No. 2 will be performed at Avery Fisher Hall on March 13 and 15, 2008.

New York Philharmonic

Alan Gilbert, conductor

Mark Neikrug, Quintessence: Symphony No. 2

Richard Strauss, Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)

Avery Fisher Hall – Lincoln Center

Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 7:30 pm

(Hear & Now Premiere Preview at 6:30 pm – Steven Stucky, Host)

Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 8:00 pm

(Hear & Now Premiere Preview at 7:00 pm – Steven Stucky, Host)

(Open rehearsal Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 9:45 am)

The performances will be conducted by New York Philharmonic music director designate, Alan Gilbert. Quintessence began as a composition for piano quintet and was re-worked into the symphonic work premiering in March. Constructed in one 30-minute movement, Quintessence: Symphony No. 2 encompasses many distinct parts, with certain melodic intervals returning again and again, and building emotional intensity with each repetition.

Quintessence: Symphony No. 2 is Mr. Neikrug’s third piece performed by the Philharmonic. In 1980, Marc Neikrug’s Eternity’s Sunrise opened a New York Philharmonic concert conducted by Zubin Mehta, and his Violin Concerto No. 1 was performed by the orchestra and violinist Pinchas Zukerman in the 1990’s, also under the baton of Maestro Mehta.

These performances are part of the Hear & Now Premiere Preview program offered by the New York Philharmonic. Concert patrons are welcome to attend an engaging introduction to the new work one hour before concert time. Admission is free with your concert ticket. If you should be in New York before the 13th of March, you also have the opportunity to sit in on an open rehearsal at 9:45 am on March 12. This is a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the creative exchange between orchestra and conductor. The commissioning of Marc Neikrug’s Quintessence was made possible with generous support from the Francis Goelet Fund.

An artist whose international career spans 30 years, Marc Neikrug has written chamber music, symphonic music, music theater and opera. Major performances have taken place with the New York, Los Angeles and Buffalo Philharmonics, as well as the symphonies in Pittsburgh, Houston, Atlanta, Cincinnati, New World (Miami), St. Louis, Washington DC, Chicago, Utah, Dallas, Phoenix, New Mexico, and the Minnesota and Cleveland orchestras. Internationally, his works have been performed by the BBC Symphony, London Synfonietta, English Chamber Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa, Zurich Tonhalle, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Berlin Radio Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Lisbon Orchestra, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Festival performances have included Ravinia, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, Aspen, Angel Fire, La Jolla, Marlboro, London’s South Bank, Aldeburgh, Berlin Festival, Franfurt Festival, Schleswig Holstein, Zurich, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Jerusalem.

Among the numerous musicians of note who have performed his music are Zubin Mehta, Loren Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Christoph von Dohnanyi, David Zinman, Leonard Slatkin, Lawrence Foster, Oliver Knussen, James Galway, Pinchas Zukerman, and the Emerson, Vermeer, Tokyo and Orion Quartets.

Mr. Neikrug’s music theater work ‘Through Roses’ was commissioned by London’s South Bank Festival with the National Theater. Since its premiere in 1980 it has had hundreds of performances world wide and has been translated into 11 languages. Two CD’s of this work have been released and a third is planned for November 2008. There have also been two films produced, a documentary by Christopher Nupen, and a feature film directed by Jurgen Flimm and starring Maximilian Schell. His full-length opera, Los Alamos, is the only American opera ever commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin. It received its American premiere at the Aspen Music Festival.

Mr. Neikrug’s numerous works can be heard on Deutsche Grammaphon, Koch International, Stereophile, and Enya records. Publishers are Chester Music and Theodore Presser.

A multi-faceted artist, Mr. Neikrug divides his busy life among composing, serving as artistic director of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, performing as a pianist at the Festival, and touring worldwide with Pinchas Zukerman, his regular playing partner for over thirty years.

We hope to see you in New York!

Tickets: $46, $56, $66, $76, $99

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone or in-person:

Online: go to http://nyphil.org go to season calendar and follow instructions

By phone: call the box office at
212-875-5656, 7 days a week from
9AM – 9PM. You may use your American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Diner’s Club or Discover card for payment.

In Person - Visit the box office at Avery Fisher Hall (corner of Broadway and 65th Street) from Mon - Sat 10AM - 6PM and Sun 12PM- 6PM. Please note: On performance evenings, the box office closes 30 minutes after performance time.

So anyone, anywhere who can get to NYC in March…what an experience you can add to
your agenda!

A man of many talents, helps us reach beyond sweet dreams and forges a path for any to follow to great accomplishment. If you are a musician, or a student aspirining a dedicated life to creativity and accomplishment, learn more about what it takes to add achievement, dedication and love to your work! Obviously Mark Neikrug hasn’t limited his efforts to one arena or one type of work with his musical endeavors. Such openess to opportunity, variety, and new challenges has opened his audiences to pleasure, and he to success and wonder.

His committment to community and youth also sparks imagination and provides an example for all trailblazers to consider. The gift to inspire students to be bold and expressive provides a tribute to their teacher and those who yearn to explore the musical profession. Congratulations! Enjoy the NYC performances. Bravo!!!

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