Saturday 9B

8:00 pm
CARMINA BURANA / GERSHWIN / HAYDN / NOSEDA / BRAHMS / ST. MATTHEW PASSION / RATTLE / LIGETI / BEETHOVEN / MOZART

Bell, Bernstein, and Brahms

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor

Joshua Bell - Violin

program

Gabriela Lena Frank - New Work (world premiere)

Bernstein - Serenade (after Plato's Symposium)

Brahms - Symphony No. 4

Violinist Joshua bell returns to Philadelphia, performing Bernstein’s lyrical Serenade, inspired by the great Greek philosophers and their testimonies on love and romance. The Fourth Symphony of Brahms, long a favorite of Philadelphia audiences, is known for its expressive melodies and rich harmonies. Gabriela Lena Frank, whose music is deeply influenced by her diverse heritage from Peru, china, and Lithuania, composes a new celebratory work—commissioned for our new music director.

A Taste of Paris

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Stéphane Denève - Conductor

program

Debussy - Images

Poulenc - Suite from Les Biches

Gershwin - An American in Paris

Take a musical journey from French Impressionism to jazz. Debussy’s Images contains some of his boldest writing. The charming Suite from Poulenc’s ballet Les Biches, originally composed for the Ballets Russes, is filled with humorous, syncopated melodies. In An American in Paris, Gershwin vividly depicts taxi horns, smoky cafés, and falling in love in the city of light.

Tchaikovsky and a Genius

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Gianandrea Noseda - Conductor

Alisa Weilerstein - Cello

program

Borodin - Overture to Prince Igor

Elgar - Cello Concerto

Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 3 ("Polish")

Tchaikovsky wrote seven symphonies, but the third is an often-neglected masterpiece. It gets its nickname, the “Polish,” from the energetic folk dances of the finale. recent MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Alisa Weilerstein is featured as soloist in Elgar’s noble cello concerto.

Carmina burana

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos - Conductor

David Bilger - Trumpet

The Philadelphia Singers - Mixed chorus

program

Haydn - Symphony No. 1

Hummel - Trumpet Concerto

Orff - Carmina burana

Orff’s raucous retelling of 24 medieval poems praises springtime, love, lust, and fortune. It requires a huge orchestra and a chorus singing a mix of old languages. the riveting choral refrains of “O Fortuna” open and close Carmina burana. Nothing equals the power when you hear this live, in its entirety.

Haydn, Schumann, Stravinsky

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor

program

Haydn - Symphony No. 38

Schumann - Symphony No. 1 ("Spring")

Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring remains one of the most powerful, unique, and challenging orchestral pieces ever written. The modern costumes, sets, and choreography ignited a riot at its Paris premiere. Here, the work will be performed in the concert version without any additional visual elements. Stravinsky’s masterpiece is contrasted by Schumann’s “Spring” Symphony—a work with a more festive and romantic view of spring. This is paired with Haydn’s bright and lively Symphony No. 38 to open the program.

The St. Matthew Passion

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Conductor

The American Boychoir - Boys choir

The Westminster Symphonic Choir - Mixed chorus

program

Bach - The Passion According to St. Matthew

Originally premiered on Good Friday in 1727, Bach’s setting of the Gospel of St. Matthew features solo voices, children’s choir, double choir, and a double orchestra. Yannick re-introduces this passion oratorio—not performed by the orchestra in nearly 30 years—over the Easter weekend.

Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev

Saturday, April 13, 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

Saturday, April 27, 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.

Beethoven's "Pastoral"

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Simon Rattle - Conductor

Barbara Hannigan - Soprano

program

Webern - Passacaglia

Berg - Three Fragments from Wozzeck

Ligeti - Mysteries of the Macabre

Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 ("Pastoral")

Featured in Disney’s Fantasia, the “Pastoral” Symphony paints vivid scenes of gathering thunderstorms, wandering brooks, and breezy countrysides. Both Webern’s Passacaglia and Berg’s Wozzeck received their U.S. premieres in Philadelphia as part of Stokowski’s vision for 20th-century music. Barbara Hannigan stuns audiences with her dramatic portrayal (and provocative costuming) in scenes from Ligeti’s thrilling opera, Le Grande Macabre.