New York Philharmonic Launches CONTACT Series in April

CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new music series, is in its fourth season. In this second of two programs, Music Director Alan Gilbert conducts a program of recent European works. Principal Oboe Liang Wang is featured in the U.S. premiere of Poul Ruders's Oboe Concerto (1998). Unsuk Chin's Gougalon (2012) has its U.S. premiere performance, as does Yann Robin's Backdraft (2012), a co-commission by the New York Philharmonic and the Fundacao Casa da Musica, Portugal. And Anders Hillborg's Vaporized Tivoli (2010) has its New York premiere.

Ticket-holders are invited to a reception after the concert, with beer provided by Brooklyn Brewery.

Principal Oboe Liang Wang, The Alice Tully Chair, joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2006. Previously, he was principal oboe of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2005-06) and principal oboe of the Santa Fe Opera (2004-05). Born in Qingdao, China, in 1980, Mr. Wang began oboe studies at the age of seven. In 1993 he enrolled at the Beijing Central Conservatory, and two years later became a full-scholarship student at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. He completed his bachelor's degree in 2003 at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal oboe Richard Woodhams.

Tickets: $20

Bring the Kids! $1 tickets available, see www.metmuseum.org/tickets

Friday, April 12, 2013, at 7:00 p.m. in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium

The Sau-Wing Lam Collection in Action: The Dark Arts of the Viola

In four concerts during the 2012-13 season, New York's dynamic young Salomé Chamber Orchestra will present programs featuring members and guest artists performing on instruments from The Sau-Wing Lam Collection of Rare Italian Stringed Instruments, a selection of which will be on view in the Metropolitan Museum's André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments through June 30, 2013.

These concerts are made possible by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

In this program, violinist Philippe Quint joins Salomé co-founders Sean Avram Carpenter and violist David Aaron Carpenter in performances of works featuring viola: Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, and String Orchestra, K. 364; Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater for Violin, Viola, Vibraphone, and Orchestra (2008); and and Paganini's Sonata per la Grand Viola et Orchestra Op. 35, featuring violist David Aaron Carpenter, violinist Philippe Quint (performing on the "Bavarian" Stradivari in the Mozart work), and violinist Sean Carpenter (performing on the "Baltic" Guarneri del Gesù of 1731).

This is the first time that musical instruments from the renowned collection assembled by Sau-Wing Lam (1923-1988) are on public display in the United States. The instruments on view-nine violins and one viola-include such masterpieces as the Baltic violin by Giuseppe Guarneri "del Gesù" (1698-1744) and the Scotland University and Bavarian violins by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737). The opening date of the installation, December 18, coincided with the 275th anniversary of the death of Antonio Stradivari.

The Salomé Chamber Orchestra, New York City's electrifying new conductor-less string ensemble, was formed in September 2009. Founded by the Carpenter siblings (violinists Sean and Lauren and violist David), Salomé is dedicated to advancing the works of both underappreciated and well-recognized chamber composers, and to performing a broad range of repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. Salomé's intelligent, artistic, and interdisciplinary approach to music-making produces refreshing and vibrant performances that attest to the wealth of talent that can be found in this great city and in this generation of musicians. www.salomechamber.org

This event is in conjunction with the exhibition The Sau-Wing Lam Collection of Rare Italian Stringed Instruments on view through June 30, 2013. The exhibition is made possible by The Amati, Friends of the Department of Musical Instruments.

Tickets: $35

Bring the Kids! $1 tickets available, see www.metmuseum.org/tickets

Saturday, April 27, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. in The Charles Engelhard Court

Dan Deacon in The Charles Engelhard Court - World Premiere, MMA Commission

Electronic composer and party instigator Dan Deacon performs in places ranging from the streets to the clubs to Carnegie Hall. His latest project, America, is a love letter and a call to action. In a New York Times profile, Deacon stated: "it's impossible to think about the land without the history of it, and that's a mixture of guilt and shame." Deacon brings his fluorescent creativity to the Met Museum with a new music/video piece, specifically created for The Charles Engelhard Court in the Met's American Wing. This once-in-a-lifetime performance, combining audience-triggered sound and light, video projection with live and electronic sounds, explores Dan's commitment to civic responsibility through the lens of innovative multimedia performance. "If Dan Deacon comes your way, go...It will change your life forever," says Bob Boilen of NPR Music. "Oh, and the music is insanely good." www.dandeacon.com

Watch and listen to Dan Deacon in performance on the event page.

Deacon says about his work America, "Compositionally, America is layering of dichotomies: light and dark, acoustic and synthetic, celebration and contemplation. The result can be heard as simple or complex depending on how one listens to it. The music is rooted in triadic harmony set to a fixed pulse while the individual lines are complex, phasing layers of sound. The outcomes are dense asymmetrically rhythmic phrases of textured patterns framed as pop songs.

"The inspiration for the music was my love of cross-country travel, seeing the landscapes of the United States, going from east to west and back again over the course of seasons. The lyrics are inspired by my frustration, fear and anger towards the country and world I live in and am a part of. As I came closer to finishing the album these themes began to show themselves more frequently and greater clarity. There seemed no better world to encapsulate both inspirations than the simple beauty found in the word America."

Tickets: $27 Unreserved seating

Every Friday and Saturday, 5:00-8:00 p.m. on the Balcony Bar-Free with admission

ETHEL and Friends

ETHEL, the acclaimed string quartet that Pitchfork.com described as "a necessary jet of cold water in the contemporary classical scene," began as resident ensemble at the Metropolitan Museum's Balcony Bar in October. Marking the first time that a prominent musical group has been featured in that venue, ETHEL will perform there each Friday and Saturday evening on a regular basis, sometimes with friends and collaborators, throughout the year. The quartet will also select musical groups from ETHEL's expansive list of notable colleagues to perform when the group is on the road. This new programming initiative will provide a variety of musical experiences to Met audiences, delivered by a range of ensemble types and compositions.

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