New York Philharmonic: Philharmonic 360

The Philharmonic 360 program begins with Giovanni Gabrieli's Canzon XVI, a piece from the 16th century arranged by Arthur Frackenpohl. Then, Pierre Boulez's Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna, with New York Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert on the podium. He also conducts a semi-staged Finale from Act I of Mozart's Don Giovanni, with stage direction and design by Michael Counts. The cast features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny in the title role, along with bass-baritone Keith Miller (Leporello), soprano Julianna Di Giacomo (Donna Anna), tenor Russell Thomas (Don Ottavio), soprano Keri Alkema (Donna Elvira), mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke (Zerlina), baritone Kelly Markgraf (Masetto) and dancer Brian T. Scott (Waiter). The program continues with Stockhausen's Gruppen, one of the composer's most iconic creations – a work for three orchestral ensembles, with Gilbert joined by two composers as additional conductors: Magnus Lindberg and Matthias Pintscher. The concert concludes with The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives.

And if you were wondering what "spatial music" is, Alan Gilbert said:
"What music is and what it means to us, how we experience it and the space in which we experience it – these are all questions that have come up in my mind. So I had the idea of building a program around the idea of spatial music; that is, music that relies on physical space, or is about the physical space in which it's performed. I would like for the audience to feel that they are following a story line from the beginning of the evening to the end."

© Picture: Chris Lee

This performance was first broadcast on medici.tv on the 6th of July 2012 and then again during the I love New York Philharmonic festival on October 28.