A tradition extending back more than 160 years was broken in 2009 when a New York-born conductor was appointed musical director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. What is more, it was from the orchestra's inner circle that the successor to Mengelberg, Toscanini, Bernstein and Maazel emerged – both Alan Gilbert's parents played in the NYPO. Currently in his second year at the helm of one of the world's leading and most travelled orchestras, the 44-year-old has a Harvard degree and also studied at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School of Music. In 1994, he won the Georg Solti prize entitling him to a week of private tuition from the master himself. In the same year, he also achieved first place in the International Competition for Musical Performance in Geneva, one of classical music's top prizes. In parallel to his prestigious position in New York, Gilbert is also honorary conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and principle guest conductor at the NDR Symphonic Orchestra in Hamburg. He has frequently conducted Beethoven's Eroica, but there are still occasions after a successful concert when he feels exalted to be in the presence of such wonderful music. Georgian-born violinist Lisa Batiashvili is among his favourite performers for her unwavering ability to reproduce melodies naturally and without force. This comes to the fore in Bartók's violin concerto, premièred in 1939 with Zoltán Székely as soloist and Willem Mengelberg as conductor. The New York Philharmonic arrives in Budapest well versed in the work of our composers – as part of the Hungarian Echoes series in March, the orchestra played four different programmes conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, including several Bartók pieces. Presented by: The Palace of Arts

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