The concertmaster signals for the oboe’s A, which is then echoed by the tuning orchestra. The house lights go out and a spotlight picks up maestro Hugo Fiorato as he enters the pit, his white hair a halo of light, his blue eyes gleaming. This is the closing performance of the New York City Ballet’s winter season, and the generous applause is begun by a patron who frequently sits directly behind the podium. As Fiorato bows his head, he says to the familiar balletomane, “Good evening. How the hell are you?”
Helmsman, taskmaster, colleague and father figure for what many consider the finest ballet orchestra in the world, Fiorato is, by turns, serious and impish. At age eighty-seven, he’s the bearer of the torch that was lit by one of the century’s geniuses, George Balanchine, who began the New York City Ballet more than a half century ago. As principal conductor since 1989, Fiorato embodies the mission of a company known for its devotion to music, for its unique melding of classical and modern, for being so esteemed it has become the lodestar of ballet organizations.