Berlin Philharmonic for the first time in the USA

NEW YORK (Carnegie Hall Official Website) - Simon Rattle will conduct the Berlin Philharmonic for the first time in the United States, taking the orchestra to Carnegie Hall for three performances in November.

Rattle's programs will include Gyorgy Ligeti's violin concerto, the U.S. premiere of a new work by Henri Dutilleux and the U.S. premiere of a new work by Heiner Goebbels.

Carnegie Hall's 2003-04 season, announced Tuesday, includes world premieres of compositions by Marc-Andre Dalbavie, Osvaldo Golijov, Kaija Saariaho and Steven Stucky. The four works will be performed in Zankel Hall, a new performing space that opens next season below the main auditorium. The complete schedule for Zankel Hall is to be announced April 2.

While some music organizations have seen substantial drops in ticket sales, Carnegie Hall's box office this season is only "a tad behind last year," according to the organization's executive director, Robert Harth.

To prevent a deficit, about $2.5 million was trimmed from a budget of approximately $62 million in the year ending last June 30, Harth said at a news conference.
He said corporate giving had decreased slightly, but that foundation support was unchanged. While the percentage of single-ticket sales had increased slightly, 63 to 65 percent of tickets were sold as subscriptions.

The hall's 113th season opens Oct. 1 with the Kirov Orchestra and violinist Maxim Vengerov conducted by Valery Gergiev.