Only in New York.
The New York Philharmonic is set to take the stage at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, Jan. 25, and proponents say it’s magic in the making − especially since it is the first concert to utilize Radio City’s brand-new Sphere Immersive Sound system.
“This event is really a moment in time. It’s a can’t-miss event,” said Josephine Vaccarello, Executive Vice President, Live for MSG Entertainment. “It’s not just for people who love classical music, it’s really for any music lover to hear the beauty of the sound within the venue.”
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the New York Philharmonic.
The concert marks the first-ever appearance at the storied venue by the legendary orchestra, which was founded in 1842, making it the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932.
“We’re super excited to be on the verge of making history, the very first time that the New York Philharmonic is going to play a note of music on the stage of the beautiful Radio City Music Hall,” said New York Philharmonic President and CEO MatÃas Tarnopolsky.
“It’s so tremendously moving and exciting. The New York Philharmonic and Radio City are all about New York moments. Throughout our histories we’ve been creating beautiful memories for our audiences, whether from New York, from around the country or around the world, This is going to be a New York moment for the ages,” Tarnopolsky said.
The new sound system debuted with “The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” over the holiday season, to a warm reception.
More: NJ Rockettes in ‘awe’ as legendary troupe enjoys 100th anniversary
But what comes next?
“When we put immersive sound into the Music Hall and we premiered it with the ‘Christmas Spectacular,’ our thoughts immediately went to what would be the first live performance that would use this new ground-breaking system,” Vaccarello said “We knew we wanted to make it a special moment.”
Radio City reached out to the Philharmonic and “the rest is really history. We were both really excited about it from ‘go,'” she said.
Sphere Immersive Sound system
The new system encompasses more than 7,000 individually amplified speakers, and “transform how audio is delivered,” according to Vaccarello, giving a degree of control unseen before.
The result is “purity, clarity and controlled, consistent sound throughout the venue. So no matter where you are, whether you’re in the first row of the orchestra or the last row of the third mezzanine, everyone has the same purity, clarity and volume of audio.”
Being able to have that sort of control over sound is a new experience for the Philharmonic, as well as all performances that will follow at Radio City Music Hall.
“I think every act is going to come in and they’re all going to take the system and use it in their own different and unique way. That’s really the exciting part. With a new toolkit or a new box of crayons, they can decide what they’re going to do.”
The New York Philharmoic will play Radio City Music Hall for the first time.
The system was created and customized for Sphere in Las Vegas, with a version also installed at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic will be conducted by Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music & Artistic Director Designate Gustavo Dudamel.
The more-than-80-piece ensemble will be one of the largest orchestras ever to perform at Radio City.
The Philharmonic’s program will include classics from Bernstein, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin and more, including a number of uniquely New York pieces.
“The music is really a story of New York,” Tarnopolsky said, “whether it’s the music of Leonard Bernstein, we open with ‘Wonderful Town,’ the music of Julia Adolphe, who’s a New York composer, the iconic ‘Night Piece’ from ‘Taxi Driver,’ ‘Times Square’ from ‘On the Town’ or finishing with George Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris.’ It is New York through and through. And we’re going to have some surprises in there as well, which will make make it even more New York.”
New York Philharmonic at Radio City Music Hall program
The program, which is subject to change, is as follows:
BERNSTEIN “Wonderful Town Overture”
TCHAIKOVSKY “Waltz from Swan Lake”
Julia ADOLPHE “Underneath the Sheen”
Jos. STRAUSS “Winterlust Polka”
J. STRAUSS II “On the Beauiful Blue Danube”
HERRMANN “A Night Piece from Taxi Driver”
BERNSTEIN “Times Square: 1944 from On the Town”
Jessie MONTGOMERY “Strum”
GERSHWIN “An American in Paris”
Go: The concert is set for 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.com or in person at the Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden and Beacon Theatre box offices. Tickets start at $99.
Ilana Keller is an award-winning journalist and lifelong New Jersey resident who loves Broadway and really bad puns. Reach out: ikeller@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Philharmonic, Radio City Music Hall poised for iconic New York moment