Season 2015-2016

Home , Air and Simple Gifts, Soundings (Williams)

23 Season 2015-2016

Wednesday, May 4, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Stéphane Denève Conductor+ John Williams Conductor++

Williams Sound the Bells!+

Williams Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind+

Williams “Sayuri’s Theme” and “Brush on Silk,” from Memoirs of a Geisha+ Hai-Ye Ni, solo cello

Williams “Harry’s Wondrous World,” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone+

Williams “Night Journeys,” from Dracula+

Williams “Adventures on Earth,” from E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial+

Intermission

Williams “The Raiders’ March,” from Raiders of the Lost Ark+

Williams Excerpts from The Book Thief+

Williams “The Barrel Chase,” from Jaws+

Williams from the Star Wars series:++ 1. “March of the Resistance” and “Rey’s Theme,” from Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens— 2. “Throne Room” and Finale, from Star Wars

This program runs approximately 2 hours.

Stéphane Denève, John Williams, and the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra are graciously donating their services for tonight’s concert.

Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 24 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin

The Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra also reaches Carnegie Hall and the is one of the preeminent thousands of listeners on the Kennedy Center while also orchestras 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 concert 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 award-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 classical music, 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 Deutsche Grammophon 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 London 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 Order of Canada and Officer of the National Order of Quebec, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier, Musical America’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. 25 Principal Guest Conductor

Jessica Griffin As principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Stéphane Denève spends multiple weeks each year with the ensemble, conducting subscription, Family, and summer concerts. His 2015-16 subscription season appearances include his first tour with the Orchestra, of Florida, and a two-week focus on the music of John Williams, a composer he feels passionately about, and with whom he has a close friendship. Mr. Denève has led more programs than any other guest conductor since making his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2007, in repertoire that has spanned more than 100 works, ranging from Classical through the contemporary, including presentations with dance, film, and cirque performers. Mr. Denève is also chief conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the Brussels Philharmonic and director of its Centre for Future Orchestra Repertoire. Recent engagements in Europe and Asia include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; the NHK, Vienna, London, Bavarian Radio, and Swedish Radio symphonies; the Munich Philharmonic; the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome; the Orchestre National de France; the Philharmonia Orchestra; and the Deutsches Symphonie- Orchester Berlin. In North America he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 with the Boston Symphony, with which he is a frequent guest. He also appears regularly with the Chicago and San Francisco symphonies, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He made his New York Philharmonic debut in February 2015. Mr. Denève has won critical acclaim for his recordings of the works of Poulenc, Debussy, Ravel, Roussel, Franck, and Connesson. He is a double winner of the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, was shortlisted in 2012 for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year award, and won the prize for symphonic music at the 2013 International Classical Music Awards. A graduate of, and prizewinner at, the Paris Conservatory, Mr. Denève worked closely in his early career with Georg Solti, Georges Prêtre, and Seiji Ozawa. He is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and listeners, and works regularly with young people in the programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and the New World Symphony. For further information please visit www.stephanedeneve.com. 26 Conductor

Todd Composer and conductor John Williams made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1984 in Saratoga and most recently appeared with the ensemble in 2003 at the Mann Center. In a career that spans five decades, he has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and for the concert stage. He has served as music director of one of the country’s treasured musical institutions, the Boston Pops Orchestra (he is now its laureate conductor), and maintains thriving artistic relationships with many of the world’s great orchestras, including the Boston and Chicago symphonies, and the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics. He also holds the title of artist-in-residence at Tanglewood. Born and raised in New York, Mr. Williams moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1948, where he studied composition. After service in the Air Force, he studied piano at the Juilliard School before returning to Los Angeles to begin his career in the film industry. He has composed the music and served as music director for more than 100 films and his 40-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg is legendary. He has also composed numerous works for the concert stage, including two symphonies and concertos for flute, violin, clarinet, viola, oboe, and tuba, among others. His cello concerto was commissioned by the Boston Symphony and premiered by Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood in 1994. He has appeared on recordings as pianist and conductor with Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Jessye Norman, and others. Mr. Williams has composed music for many important cultural and commemorative events. Liberty Fanfare was written for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. His orchestral work Soundings was performed at the celebratory opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. He has contributed musical themes for the 1984, 1988, and 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and the 1987 International Summer Games of the Special Olympics. Mr. Williams holds honorary degrees from 21 American universities. He was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2009, the same year he composed and arranged Air and Simple Gifts especially for the first inaugural ceremony of President Barack Obama. 27 The Music

John Williams’s sound has dominated film music for decades, the dramatic arc of its melodies and deep colors of its orchestration showing up in the films of directors such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Oliver Stone, and limning the memories of millions who enjoy such cinematic franchises as Home Alone, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and, of course, Star Wars. Born in Queens, Williams moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was 16. “Johnny Williams,” as he was known in his young days, served a long apprenticeship to the film music industry, working as studio pianist for senior Hollywood composers such as Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith, orchestrating music by other composers (including Franz Waxman and Alfred Newman), scoring “B” movies in the 1950s, and enduring the weekly chore of providing music for the TV series Lost in Space (1965- 68). Williams’s score for The Reivers (1969) was a breakthrough. Then he orchestrated the 1971 film version of the Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof and won his first Oscar for it (Best Score of a Musical Picture—Adaptation). Directors began to notice him. In 1972 his music for the John Wayne filmThe Cowboys got the attention of young director Steven Spielberg, who hired Williams to score The Sugarland Express (1974). Thus began one of the longest lasting director-composer collaborations in cinematic history. Jaws (1975) sealed the Spielberg- Williams partnership and suddenly John (he had long since dropped “Johnny”) Williams was in demand. At exactly the right moment, the right film appeared to make Williams a household name. Spielberg suggested Williams to his friend George Lucas for Lucas’s space opera, Star Wars (1977). A large part of the film’s spectacular success was due to Williams’s epic music, which caught the sweep of the action and the personalities of the characters. He scored all six subsequent films in the franchise; in 2005 the American Film Institute named the music for the original Star Wars as the Best Movie Score of All Time. In 1977, the same year as Star Wars, Williams scored Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Superman followed in 1978, Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, and many more including E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Home Alone (1990), JFK (1991), Schindler’s List 28

(1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), War Horse (2011), and this summer’s BFG. He has received 49 Oscar nominations (more than anyone except Walt Disney) and won four times for Best Original Score: Jaws, Star Wars, E.T., and Schindler’s List. His music has also garnered 22 Grammy awards, four Golden Globes, five Emmys, and numerous gold and platinum records, among many other honors. In 2004 Williams received the Kennedy Center Honor and in 2009 was given the National Medal of Arts at the White House. —Kenneth LaFave

The remainder of the 2015-16 season is filled with outstanding live performances rich with incomparable and unforgettable musical experiences. Don’t miss a concert. Great seats are still available—order today!

Stéphane Denève Conducts Williams May 5 & 7 8 PM May 6 2 PM Stéphane Denève Conductor James Ehnes Violin

Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte Williams Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7 Yannick and Lang Lang May 12-14 8 PM Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Lang Lang Piano Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 Mahler/Cooke Symphony No. 10 The May 12 concert is sponsored by Ballard Spahr. The May 12 concert is sponsored by Constance Smukler.

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