Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Yuja Wang, and New York Philharmonic

I urge anyone reading this who has never seen the remarkable young Lithuanian, to get on a train, a plane or whatever it takes to get to Symphony Hall Birmingham and see her with the CBSO.

Confident, charming and assured, she conducts with an almost balletic grace combined with speed, precision and endless energy.

Mirga and her orchestra in one of the worlds greatest concert halls is an irresistible combination.

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the Big Five American orchestras. Having been an institution since 1842, it is one of the oldest and most respected symphony orchestras in the world. It performed for the 14,000th time in 2004. The Philharmonic has seen an extensive ensemble of respected historical names take its helm, including Theodore Thomas, Antonín Dvorák, Gustav Mahler, Otto Klemperer, Richard Strauss, Willem Mengelberg , Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini, and Igor Stravinsky. It has seen the advent of radio and television and, in 2009, this historical institution announced its first podcast, Alan Gilbert: The Inaugural Season, available on iTunes. To this day, watching the New York Philharmonic Orchestra is a breathtaking experience. Playing the masterpieces of the maestros who helped to sculpt it into what it is today, and a staggering range of others from classical composers by no means limited to Beethoven and Mozart, to the modern jazz of George Gershwin, the many compositions are delivered with world-class passion and poise.
Under the current direction of Alan Gilbert, the Philharmonic has taken a more contemporary turn, and embarked upon a far-reaching tour of Asia and the Middle-East.