gilbert

But by senior year, two-thirds have moved up to physics," says Gilbert "Our kids are coming to school in part because they know there are adults here who know them and care for them.

Gilbert, presented Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

The decision of the New York Philharmonic to hire Alan Gilbert as its next music director has been the talk of the classical-music world ever since the sudden announcement of his appointment in 2009.

One of the reasons why the appointment came as such a surprise, however, is that Gilbert is comparatively little known.

If Gilbert and the Philharmonic are to succeed, they must first change the relationship between America’s oldest orchestra and the new audience it hops to attract.

Gilbert’s own interest in new music has been widely noted: Alex Ross, a classical-music critic, has described him as a man who is capable of turning the Philharmonic into “a markedly different, more vibrant organization”.

For my part, I have no idea whether Gilbert is a great conductor or even a good one.

Even Tommasini, who had advocated Gilbert’s appointment in the Times, calls him “an unpretentious musician with no air of the formidable conductor about him”.

If Gilbert and the Philharmonic are to succeed, they must first change the relationship between America's oldest orchestra and the new audience it hopes to attract.