Bradley Cooper and Alec Baldwin Enjoyed Beethoven at the New York Philharmonic’s Opening-Night Gala

The crowd at the New York Philharmonic’s opening-night benefit was just as you would have expected: distinguished, silver-haired men in black tie with their arms looped through their dates’—women in tasteful ball gowns that they actually owned. All had gathered to watch Chinese star pianist Lang Lang (his lovely new bride in tow) play some Beethoven—watch and not hear because Lang puts on quite the show with his theatrical gesticulations on the piano bench. The night began with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2—Lang adroitly pricked the piano keys of his Steinway Black Diamond and filled the theater with music—and ended with the Symphony No. 5, which, as the program explained, was the first piece of music ever performed by the orchestra in 1842. The latter piece was conducted with such vigor that music director Jaap van Zweden accidentally snapped his baton in half mid performance.

Afterward guests migrated from Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall to its David H. Koch Theater for a gala dinner, stopping to admire the illuminated fountain along the way. In attendance were the likes of Bradley Cooper; Alec and Hilaria Baldwin; Joshua Bell and Larisa Martinez; and Deniece Williams. The dining room had been transformed into a lush green space with towering leafy centerpieces punctuating the tables. Midway through a dinner of butternut-squash soup and braised beef filets, the New York Philharmonic’s president and CEO Deborah Borda took to the stage to welcome everyone in the crowd that night. “There’s a special group here tonight, and they’re spread around the room,” she said. “They’re the reason we exist and have existed for 179 years, and they are the heart of this operation. They’re the orchestra so many in this room grew up listening to, and I’m not allowed to say this, but they are second to none.”

The evening also came together thanks to a record number of cochairs, who helped raise $3.7 million. The monies will go directly to the philharmonic (and also likely to a new baton for van Zweden).