Some fear that Mr. van Zweden will retrench from Alan Gilbert’s forays into modern and new music. Oddly, because I was otherwise occupied during his visits to the Philharmonic, I have seen him conduct only new music: Steven Stucky’s Lyndon B. Johnson oratorio, “August 4, 1964,” of 2008, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, which he currently directs (along with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra).

Obviously, giving the premiere of a work commissioned before his arrival in Dallas is not enough to certify Mr. van Zweden as a champion of new music. But in another hopeful sign, after that Mahler Fifth gala, the opening Philharmonic subscription program will add the New York premiere of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Two Pianos (Sept. 22 and 23).

I am inclined to give Mr. van Zweden the benefit of the doubt. I well remember how skeptical I was when another conductor, Kurt Masur, took over the Philharmonic in 1991. From his previous New York visits with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, I, like many others, thought of Mr. Masur as a somewhat stodgy, provincial Central European, but from his first performances as music director, he electrified the Philharmonic, which fared spectacularly well through much of his tenure. More of the same, please.

What the strong-willed Mr. Masur could not do was peacefully coexist with the equally strong-willed Ms. Borda, who decamped in 1999 to run the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which she helped elevate to a standard-setter in many regards. Since she and Mr. van Zweden seem to be working in harmony, her return to New York bodes only well for the Philharmonic.

In Los Angeles, Ms. Borda oversaw the inauguration of Walt Disney Concert Hall, an experience that should serve her well in dealing with the Geffen Hall situation. There has been talk — so much talk — of revamping the hall yet again, or razing the building and starting over. Which way will Ms. Borda’s vote go, and will it finally prove decisive?

— James R. Oestreich