Friday Afternoon B

2:00 pm
COPLAND / YANNICK / ALL MOZART / GERSHWIN / ALEXANDER NEVSKY / SHAHAM / BRAHMS / BISS / TCHAIKOVSKY / RUNNICLES

Sounds of America

Friday, November 2, 2012

Giancarlo Guerrero - Conductor

Kirill Gerstein - Piano

program

Barber - Medea's Dance of Vengeance

Gershwin - Piano Concerto in F

Copland - Appalachian Spring

Sierra - Sinfonia No. 4

As America elects its president, celebrate our democracy with composers whose music is as varied as the American landscape. Copland’s Appalachian Spring portrays the American countryside with brilliant simplicity, while Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F is propelled by the urban energy of New York’s jazz clubs. The music of Puerto Rican-born roberto Sierra is known for its rhythmic propulsion and dance-like melodies.

Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky

Friday, November 16, 2012

Stéphane Denève - Conductor

Michelle DeYoung - Mezzo-soprano

The Philadelphia Singers Chorale - Mixed chorus

program

Prokofiev - Alexander Nevsky, with film directed by Sergei Eisenstein

Prokofiev’s overpowering score for large orchestra, chorus, and mezzo-soprano is accompanied by Sergei Eisenstein’s cinematic masterpiece, filmed under the watchful eye of Stalin’s reign. It portrays a proud event in Russian history: Nevsky’s 13th-century victory over an invading army of Teutonic Crusaders.

Rachmaninoff in Philadelphia

Friday, December 7, 2012

Gianandrea Noseda - Conductor

Denis Matsuev - Piano

program

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2

Rachmaninoff said that he would “rather perform with The Philadelphia Orchestra than any other of the world.” A relationship fostered by Stokowski, Rachmaninoff maintained a long-term connection to Philadelphia. His Symphony No. 2, perhaps his greatest work, is filled with longing melodies and sweeping solos that highlight the amazing musicians of our Orchestra.

Mozart in His Time

Friday, January 11, 2013

David Kim - Conductor

Imogen Cooper - Piano

Imogen Cooper - Conductor

program

Mozart - Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Serenade in G major

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491

Mozart - Symphony No. 25

It’s The Philadelphia Orchestra as you rarely hear it. Concertmaster David Kim leads Mozart’s A Little Night Music from his seat at the front of the violin section as it would have been done in Mozart’s time, without a conductor. The frenetic beginning of Symphony No. 25 was chosen to open the memorable film Amadeus. And Imogen Cooper also leads from the keyboard in Mozart’s rebellious C-minor Piano Concerto.

Yannick and Bruckner

Friday, January 25, 2013

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor

program

Wagner - Siegfried Idyll

Bruckner - Symphony No. 7

Yannick considers Bruckner to be one of his favorite composers and his recordings of Bruckner have received wide praise. In his first season as music director, Yannick imparts his own passionate conviction about this great Viennese master. Bruckner himself was deeply influenced by Wagner, especially after attending a performance of Wagner’s opera Parsifal. Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, named for his newborn son, was a love letter to his wife, Cosima.

Tchaikovsky's Fifth

Friday, March 22, 2013

Andrey Boreyko - Conductor

Colin Currie - Percussion

program

Wagner - "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla," from Das Rheingold

Rouse - Der gerettete Alberich ("Alberich Saved")

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5

The program opens with the imperial “Entrance of the Gods” from Das Rheingold. Then, American composer Christopher Rouse imagines a postlude to the Ring, about the mischeivous character Alberich, portrayed by a solo percussionist. The second half of the program features Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, beginning with the distant call of fate that later evolves into a rousing march.

Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev

Friday, April 12, 2013

Jaap van Zweden - Conductor

program

WORK(S) TBA

Tchaikovsky - Souvenir de Florence, for string orchestra

Prokofiev - Symphony No. 5

The premiere of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony was the pinnacle of his career. Composed in the final days of World War II, this wildly successful work is marked by the optimism of impending victory. While Prokofiev’s Symphony is firmly rooted in a Russian style, Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence is inspired by his infatuation with the sights and sounds of Italy. This work, originally scored for string sextet, will be performed in an expanded version for the full strings of The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Biss Plays Mozart

Friday, April 26, 2013

Donald Runnicles - Conductor

Jonathan Biss - Piano

program

Elgar - Cockaigne Overture ("In London Town")

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 13, K. 415

Brahms - Symphony No. 2

While Brahms struggled over his First Symphony for nearly two decades, he composed his radiant Second Symphony in a burst of creativity over a few short months. Its pastoral qualities were inspired by the bucolic setting where he wrote this score in the summer of 1877. conversely, Elgar’s spirited Cockaigne Overture draws its character from the urban sounds of marching bands, church bells, and drunken revelers. Curtis graduate Jonathan Biss returns to perform Mozart’s rarely-heard Piano concerto No. 13.

Gil Shaham Plays Brahms

Friday, May 24, 2013

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor

Gil Shaham - Violin

program

Dvorák - Slavonic Dance No. 1

Dvorák - Slavonic Dance No. 10

Dvorák - Slavonic Dance No. 8

Janácek - Sinfonietta

Brahms - Violin Concerto

Enescu - Romanian Rhapsody in D major

Eastern Europe comes alive in Janáček’s Sinfonietta, a festive work with a stunning opening brass fanfare that includes 12 trumpets. A folk ethos likewise infuses the music of Enescu and Dvořák; the latter credited Brahms with the success of his career, as the elder composer encouraged him greatly. The famous Violin Concerto of brahms is performed by the incomparable Gil Shaham.