Not your mother's matinee

Not your mother's matinee

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Soloist Chen Halevi rehearses at the Volkswagen Phaeton sedan assembly plant.

The New York Philharmonic created another level of musical drama entirely this week, when it performed Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg’s "Kraft" using parts of a luxury sedan as percussion instruments, and with a Volkswagen suspended above them.

. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The NYPO under its first native New York music director, Alan Gilbert, showed during two concerts at the Dresden Music Festival in central Germany why the 46-year-old conductor has a reputation for brushing off the cobwebs at one of America's most distinguished orchestras.

"Whatever you do, you have to do it with conviction and you actually have to believe in it," Gilbert told Reuters in an interview after a super-charged rehearsal.

This may not be the New York Philharmonic that someone's father, mother or grandparents bought a matinee subscription for, but it is an orchestra that Gilbert says stands up for what it believes in.

. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Composer Magnus Lindberg hammered away on assorted car parts, including coil springs, part of a spare wheel assembly and a cylinder used in the Phaeton's air suspension.

Lindberg said he aimed to go beyond experimenting with the clanging sounds of car parts that might only be familiar to fans of Japanese techno and electronic music.

"But on top of this we have the full symphony orchestra here so at moments it goes to a very classical orchestral sound, using the whole span from very classical to the extreme."

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Gilbert, the son of musician parents who played in the Philharmonic, believes passionately not only in the new and modern repertoire, but also in upholding the standards that made the orchestra famous.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Gilbert, the son of musician parents who played in the Philharmonic, believes passionately not only in the new and modern repertoire, but also in upholding the standards that made the orchestra famous.

In a meeting of tradition and technology, Gilbert's podium was backed by part of a Phaeton front grill.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

In a meeting of tradition and technology, Gilbert's podium was backed by part of a Phaeton front grill.

The New York Philharmonic horn, wind, percussion and string players were kept busy rotating to different places and levels in the performance area for a piece Lindberg said is a celebration of sound and space.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The New York Philharmonic horn, wind, percussion and string players were kept busy rotating to different places and levels in the performance area for a piece Lindberg said is a celebration of sound and space.

A brake disk sit's on a table during the rehearsal.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

A brake disk sit's on a table during the rehearsal.

Soloist Chen Halevi (right) plays precussion next to the wind section.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Soloist Chen Halevi (right) plays precussion next to the wind section.

A Phaeron chassis is seen in the forground, as the orchestra rehearse. Regional Volkswagen CEO Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler called the concert a "special crazy idea".
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

A Phaeron chassis is seen in the forground, as the orchestra rehearse. Regional Volkswagen CEO Hans-Joachim Rothenpieler called the concert a "special crazy idea".

Magnus Lindberg was the Composer in Residence at the New York Philharmonic from 2009 - 2012.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Magnus Lindberg was the Composer in Residence at the New York Philharmonic from 2009 - 2012.

Conductor Alan Gilbert leads a performance, with a Volkswagen dangling precariously over his orchestra.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Conductor Alan Gilbert leads a performance, with a Volkswagen dangling precariously over his orchestra.

Gilbert (left) and Lindberg acknowledge the audience's applause after the performance.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Gilbert (left) and Lindberg acknowledge the audience's applause after the performance.

Patrons leave the Glaeserne Manufaktur (transparent factory) where Germany's car maker Volkswagen AG assemble the luxury Phaeton model.
. DRESDEN, Germany. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Patrons leave the Glaeserne Manufaktur (transparent factory) where Germany's car maker Volkswagen AG assemble the luxury Phaeton model.