27 Season 2015-2016

Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 The Philadelphia Friday, December 18, at 7:00 Saturday, December 19, Bramwell Tovey Conductor and at 7:00 Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia Sunday, December 20, Paul Rardin Artistic Director and Principal at 2:00 Conductor

Traditional/arr. Elms “Coventry Carol” Traditional/arr. Elms “In dulci jubilo” Mendelssohn/arr. Harris “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” Traditional/arr. Tovey “Personent hodie” Holst/arr. Tovey “In the Bleak Midwinter” Traditional/arr. Tovey “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” Tovey “The Rittenhouse Carol” Moore “The Night Before Christmas,” a poem with music Tchaikovsky “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” from The Nutcracker, Op. 71

Intermission

Anderson Sleigh Ride Traditional/arr. Tovey “Go Tell It on the Mountain” Gruber/arr. Tovey “Silent Night” Hopkins, Jr./arr. Tovey “We Three Kings” Pierpont/arr. Tovey Jingle Bells Overture Traditional/arr. Tovey “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”

This program runs approximately 2 hours.

Philadelphia Orchestra are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit wrti.org to listen live or for more details.

3 Story Title 29 The Jessica Griffin

The Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra also reaches and the is one of the preeminent thousands of listeners on the Kennedy Center while also in the world, radio with weekly Sunday enjoying summer residencies renowned for its distinctive afternoon broadcasts on in Saratoga Springs, New sound, desired for its WRTI-FM. York, and Vail, Colorado. keen ability to capture the Philadelphia is home and The Philadelphia Orchestra hearts and imaginations the Orchestra nurtures an of audiences, and admired serves as a catalyst for important relationship with for a legacy of imagination cultural activity across patrons who support the and innovation on and off Philadelphia’s many main season at the Kimmel the stage. The communities, as it builds an Orchestra is transforming its Center, and also with those offstage presence as strong rich tradition of achievement, who enjoy the Orchestra’s as its onstage one. The sustaining the highest area performances at the Orchestra’s -winning level of artistic quality, but Mann Center, Penn’s Landing, Collaborative Learning also challenging—and and other cultural, civic, initiatives engage over exceeding—that level by and learning venues. The 50,000 students, families, creating powerful musical Orchestra maintains a strong and community members experiences for audiences at commitment to collaborations through programs such as home and around the world. with cultural and community PlayINs, side-by-sides, PopUp organizations on a regional concerts, free Neighborhood Music Director Yannick and national level. Concerts, School Concerts, Nézet-Séguin’s highly collaborative style, deeply- Through concerts, tours, and residency work in rooted musical curiosity, residencies, presentations, Philadelphia and abroad. and boundless enthusiasm, and recordings, the Orchestra The Orchestra’s musicians, paired with a fresh approach is a global ambassador for in their own dedicated to orchestral programming, Philadelphia and for the roles as teachers, coaches, have been heralded by United States. Having been and mentors, serve a key critics and audiences alike the first American orchestra role in growing young since his inaugural season in to perform in China, in 1973 musician talent and a love 2012. Under his leadership at the request of President of , nurturing the Orchestra returned to Nixon, The Philadelphia and celebrating the wealth recording, with two celebrated Orchestra today boasts a new of musicianship in the CDs on the prestigious partnership with the National Philadelphia region. For Centre for the Performing more information on The label, continuing its history Arts in Beijing. The ensemble Philadelphia Orchestra, of recording success. The annually performs at please visit www.philorch.org. 6 Music Director

Chris Lee Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and he has renewed his commitment to the ensemble through the 2021-22 season. His highly collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called him “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” Highlights of his fourth season include a year-long exploration of works that exemplify the famous Philadelphia Sound, including Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 and other pieces premiered by the Orchestra; a Music of Vienna Festival; and the continuation of a commissioning project for principal players.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling talents of his generation. He has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008 and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. He also continues to enjoy a close relationship with the Philharmonic, of which he was principal guest conductor. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles, and he has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with two CDs on that label; the second, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Daniil Trifonov, was released in August 2015. He continues fruitful recording relationships with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic and Choir for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique.

A native of Montreal, Yannick studied at that city’s Conservatory of Music and continued lessons with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are appointments as Companion of the of and Officer of the National Order of , a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier, ’s 2016 Artist of the Year, and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Westminster Choir College. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 30 Conductor

Epix Studios Pianist, composer, and Grammy Award-winning conductor Bramwell Tovey has been music director of the Vancouver Symphony (VSO) since 2000. His tenure there has included complete Beethoven, Mahler, and Brahms symphony cycles; tours of China, Korea, Canada, and the United States; and the establishment of an annual festival dedicated to contemporary music. He is also the artistic adviser of the VSO School of Music, which opened in downtown Vancouver in 2011. In 2018, the VSO’s centenary year, he becomes the ensemble’s music director emeritus. Since his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann in 2008, Mr. Tovey has performed with the ensemble at Saratoga and Wolf Trap and led holiday and New Year’s Eve concerts. He made his subscription debut in 2014. In addition to this return to conduct the Glorious Sound of Christmas concerts, highlights of Mr. Tovey’s 2015-16 season include guest appearances with the Montreal, Melbourne, New Zealand, and Pacific symphonies; he also conducts Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt with Opera. He reprises programs with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the at the Bravo! Vail Festival in summer 2016. The summer also includes returns to the Blossom Music Center, the Ravinia Festival, and the Hollywood Bowl. Mr. Tovey’s Requiem for a Charred Skull won the 2003 for Best Classical Composition. His opera The Inventor, written with playwright John Murrell, was commissioned by Calgary Opera and recorded with the original cast, the Vancouver Symphony, and the University of British Columbia Opera for release on Naxos. In 2014 his trumpet concerto, Songs of the Paradise Saloon, was performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with soloist Alison Balsom. As a pianist, Mr. Tovey has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras. In the summer of 2014 he played and conducted Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in Saratoga with the Philadelphians. He has performed his own Pictures in the Smoke with the Melbourne and Helsingborg symphonies and the Royal Philharmonic. Mr. Tovey is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. In 2013 he was appointed an honorary Officer of the for services to music. 31 Chorus

Sharon Torello Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, one of America’s longest-standing musical ensembles, is performing its 142nd season, and the inaugural season with its 13th artistic director, Paul Rardin. Since its founding in 1874 the chorus has carried on a rich tradition of performing the great works of the choral canon while also premiering, performing, and commissioning new choral works at the highest artistic level. The chorus has performed under the batons of such legendary conductors as , Eugene Ormandy, , Zubin Mehta, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Riccardo Muti. Mendelssohn Club made its Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1904 with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony led by Music Director Fritz Scheel. A decade later the choir was part of the monumental “Symphony of a Thousand” at the Academy of Music, providing more than 300 singers when the Orchestra and Leopold Stokowski gave the U.S. premiere of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Other historical milestones include the 1929 American premiere of Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov in concert version and the first performance outside the Soviet Union of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, under the direction of Mr. Ormandy. The RCA recording of that performance won the Prix Mondiale de Montreux. The ensemble was also nominated for a Grammy for its recording of Persichetti’s Winter Cantata. Since 1990 Mendelssohn Club has commissioned more than 55 works and in 2013 won the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming. The 2014 commission of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Other recent commissions include works by Alberto Ginastera, Alice Parker, and Jennifer Higdon. Artistic Director Paul Rardin is also Elaine Brown Chair of Choral Music at Temple University, where he conducts the Concert Choir, teaches graduate conducting, and oversees the seven-choir program at Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. He is a graduate of Williams College and the University of Michigan, where he received the M.M. in composition and the D.M.A. in conducting. For information about Mendelssohn Club’s concerts and programs, please visit www.mcchorus.org. 32 The Music Sing-Along Text

“O Come, All Ye Faithful” (John F. Wade)

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the King of angels: O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; sing, all ye citizens of heaven above: “Glory to God, all glory in the highest.” O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing: O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. 33 December/January The Philadelphia Orchestra

Enjoy the ultimate in flexibility with a Create-Your-Own 4-Concert Series today! Choose 4 or more concerts that fit your schedule and your tastes and receive exclusive subscriber benefits. Choose from over 50 performances including: New Year’s Eve December 31 7:30 PM Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Angela Meade Soprano Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” January 7 & 9 8 PM January 8 2 PM Fabio Luisi Conductor Christian Tetzlaff Violin Glinka Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”) Yannick Conducts Beethoven January 13 & 16 8 PM January 15 2 PM Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Jan Lisiecki Piano J. Strauss Jr. “Tales from the Vienna Woods” Waltz Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Beethoven/arr. Mahler String Quartet No. 11 (“Serioso”) Gruber Charivari The January 13 concert is sponsored by the Hassel Foundation.

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