Alan Gilbert conducts Beethoven for the final time!

New York Philharmonic's lead maestro Alan Gilbert marks his farewell in 2017 with Beethoven's celebrated Ode To Joy, in a double program paired with Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw. Now considered to be Beethoven's greatest work, it is hard to believe that the Ninth was written off early on as inferior to his previous eight symphonies. It is often performed throughout the globe, and yet has lost none of it's power or gravitas, drama and feeling.

Now celebrating its 175th landmark season, Gilbert's eighth and final season as Music Director marks a tenure of experimental works, as well as being the first native New Yorker to fill the post. Of his time at the Phil, he said, " It's a wonderful atmosphere, which of course I will be sorry to leave. But as I've thought about it, the next logical step - it's just longer than I want to stay around. It's actually that simple.