Inside the New York Philharmonic's December Gala

On December 2, the New York Philharmonic held its annual December Gala for the first time since 2018—and it sure felt good to be back. The evening marked the orchestra's first return to its Lincoln Center stage in nearly 18 months, and came with a fittingly celebratory soundtrack, including Mozart’s "The Marriage of Figaro" Overture, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, "Classical," and J. Strauss II’s "On the Beautiful Blue Danube." The performance was masterminded by Music Director Jaap van Zweden and featured violinist Itzhak Perlman as a soloist in Bruch’s "Violin Concerto No. 1."

Guests including Isabel Leonard, Daniel Boulud, and Henry Timms gathered in the Och Foyer of Alice Tully Hall for cocktails prior to the concert and retreated to the Morgan Stanley Lobby for dinner afterward. Later in the evening, the jazz combo Del and the Rad Rompers took the stage as specialty cocktails flowed. All told, the evening raised over $1.5 million for the philharmonic, which will be opening its new David Geffen Hall in 2022.