I have been listening with enormous pleasure to the Alan Gilbert Era Begins -an album of music by the New york Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by their new Musical director, Alan Gilbert.
Both of Gilbert’s parents have played violin for NYP (his mother still does) and Alan is as local as local talent can get though he made his way here via the Santa Fe opera where he spent a year.
The Era Begins is available on Itunes an excerpt from the Inaugural season for 99 cents (for $150 bucks you get hours of the stuff) and I have never enjoyed Hector Berlioz this much, the waltz from Fantasy Symphony is a sweeping sound for full orchestra but the harpsichord is dominant and it starts so quietly and builds like a rush of full dresses sweeping through a ballroom.
Awesome stuff… try it!!