Thursday A

8:00 pm
CARMINA BURANA / BERNSTEIN / PROKOFIEV / TCHAIKOVSKY / YANNICK

Bell, Bernstein, and Brahms

Thursday, October 25, 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.

Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky

Thursday, November 15, 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.

Tchaikovsky and a Genius

Thursday, December 13, 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

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos - Conductor

David Bilger - Trumpet

The Philadelphia Singers Chorale - 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.

Garrick Ohlsson and Brahms

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Jaap van Zweden - Conductor

Garrick Ohlsson - Piano

program

Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 1

Schoenberg - Transfigured Night

Strauss - Suite from Der Rosenkavalier

Garrick Ohlsson’s powerful yet graceful style is the perfect match for Brahms’s First Piano concerto. With the endearing melodies and waltzes from his opera Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss elicits exceptionally powerful sounds from the orchestra. Schoenberg’s most enduring work, Transfigured Night, is a mysteriously romantic piece that highlights the richness of the Philadelphia strings.

Biss Plays Mozart

Thursday, April 25, 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.