In what is undoubtedly a signature event of his first season as music director, Alan Gilbert leads the New York Philharmonic in the New York premiere of György Ligeti's outrageous and absurdist opera Le Grand Macabre. Premiered in Stockholm in 1978, the opera has received numerous stagings throughout Europe but only one in the U.S., in San Francisco in 2004. The Philharmonic's production features a cast of 11 soloists and the New York Choral Artists with direction and design by Douglas Fitch and production by Edouard Getaz.

Curious György is a two-week exploration of the sounds and life of György Ligeti. Twice each weekday, we'll hear from New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert as we examine different aspects of the Hungarian composer's music and its context.