Alan Gilbert: ‘I Feel No Duty To Conduct New Music’

“My aim is to bring a personal belief to everything I do, and avoid routine and duty as much as I can. … What I want to avoid is the dutiful rendition of a new piece placed first in the programme so it can be got out of the way quickly. That attitude was all part of a certain corporate feel, which [the New York Philharmonic] has suffered from in the past, and which I’m keen to get away from.”