I missed the news from last Friday: Alan Gilbert announced that he will leave the NY Philharmonic in 2017, eight years after he took the position. He will help program the 2017-18 Biennial, according to this NPR report.
He also said,
The Avery Fisher Hall is supposed to go from 2019-21, and he pointed out this would give the new conductor a chance to forget relationships with the subscribers and donors. Since fundraising starts much earlier, the following makes sense for the subscriber and donor base,
http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/new-york-philharmonic-next-music-director/?utm_source=Newsletter%3A+This+Week+In+WQXR&utm_campaign=674c651101-This_Week_on_WQXR_5_15_14_copy_01_5_22_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_aa1c2a6097-674c651101-66206777&mc_cid=674c651101&mc_eid=81482feaf0
however, with the orchestra homeless for two years, the forward-thinking Gilbert would have been perfect for utilizing unusual venues, as he did at the New York Armory.
The two biggest issues raised in the WQXR article are that most major conductors are locked into long-term contracts, and 2017 is very soon, and that it will be difficult to fill the concertmaster position, since the new conductor usually brings in his or her own concertmaster, and for anyone who doesn't want an interim job, it's not ideal.
I love the quote from Deborah Borda, though: