23 Season 2018-2019 Thursday, January 24, at 7:30 The Philadelphia Orchestra Friday, January 25, at 2:00 Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Charlotte Blake Alston Speaker Nadine Sierra Soprano Elizabeth DeShong Mezzo-soprano John Osborn Tenor Krzysztof Bączyk Bass Philadelphia Symphonic Choir Joe Miller Director Philadelphia Boys Choir Jeffrey R. Smith Artistic Director Bernstein Symphony No. 3 (“Kaddish”) I. Invocation: Adagio— Kaddish 1: L’istesso tempo—Allegro molto II. Din-Torah: Di nuovo adagio— Kaddish 2: Andante con tenerezza— III. Scherzo: Presto scherzando, sempre pianissimo— Kaddish 3— Finale: Adagio, come nel Din-Torah— Allegro vivo, con gioia Intermission 24 Rossini Stabat Mater I. Chorus and Quartet: Stabat Mater II. Tenor Aria: Cujus animam III. Soprano and Mezzo-soprano Duet: Quis est homo IV. Bass Aria: Pro peccatis V. Chorus and Bass Recitative: Eia Mater VI. Quartet: Sancta Mater VII. Mezzo-soprano Cavatina: Fac ut portem VIII. Soprano Air and Chorus: Inflammatus et accensus IX. Quartet: Quando corpus X. Chorus: Amen This program runs approximately 2 hours, 10 minutes. These concerts are sponsored by Gretchen and M. Roy Jackson and an anonymous donor. Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM, and are repeated on Monday evenings at 7 PM on WRTI HD 2. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 25 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin The Philadelphia Orchestra Philadelphia is home and orchestra, and maximizes is one of the preeminent the Orchestra continues impact through Research. orchestras in the world, to discover new and The Orchestra’s award- renowned for its distinctive inventive ways to nurture winning Collaborative sound, desired for its its relationship with its Learning programs engage keen ability to capture the loyal patrons at its home over 50,000 students, hearts and imaginations of in the Kimmel Center, families, and community audiences, and admired for and also with those who members through programs a legacy of imagination and enjoy the Orchestra’s area such as PlayINs, side-by- innovation on and off the performances at the Mann sides, PopUP concerts, concert stage. The Orchestra Center, Penn’s Landing, free Neighborhood is inspiring the future and and other cultural, civic, Concerts, School Concerts, transforming its rich tradition and learning venues. The and residency work in of achievement, sustaining Orchestra maintains a Philadelphia and abroad. the highest level of artistic strong commitment to Through concerts, tours, quality, but also challenging— collaborations with cultural residencies, presentations, and exceeding—that level, and community organizations and recordings, the on a regional and national by creating powerful musical Orchestra is a global cultural level, all of which create experiences for audiences at ambassador for Philadelphia greater access and home and around the world. and for the US. Having engagement with classical been the first American Music Director Yannick music as an art form. orchestra to perform in the Nézet-Séguin’s connection The Philadelphia Orchestra People’s Republic of China, to the Orchestra’s musicians serves as a catalyst for in 1973 at the request has been praised by cultural activity across of President Nixon, the both concertgoers and Philadelphia’s many ensemble today boasts critics since his inaugural communities, building an five-year partnerships with season in 2012. Under his offstage presence as strong Beijing’s National Centre for leadership the Orchestra as its onstage one. With the Performing Arts and the returned to recording, with Nézet-Séguin, a dedicated Shanghai Media Group. In four celebrated CDs on body of musicians, and one 2018 the Orchestra traveled the prestigious Deutsche of the nation’s richest arts to Europe and Israel. The Grammophon label, ecosystems, the Orchestra Orchestra annually performs continuing its history of has launched its HEAR at Carnegie Hall while also recording success. The initiative, a portfolio of enjoying summer residencies Orchestra also reaches integrated initiatives that in Saratoga Springs and Vail. thousands of listeners on the promotes Health, champions For more information on radio with weekly broadcasts music Education, eliminates The Philadelphia Orchestra, on WRTI-FM and SiriusXM. barriers to Accessing the please visit www.philorch.org. 6 Music Director Chris Lee Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead The Philadelphia Orchestra through at least the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he became the third music director of the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the 2018-19 season. Yannick, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. His intensely 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.” 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 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, and in summer 2017 he became an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He was music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2008 to 2018 (he is now honorary conductor) and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles and has conducted critically acclaimed performances at many of the leading opera houses. Yannick signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon (DG) in May 2018. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with three CDs on that label. His upcoming recordings will include projects with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Orchestre Métropolitain, with which he will also continue to record for ATMA Classique. Additionally, he has recorded with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records, and the London Philharmonic for the LPO label. A native of Montreal, Yannick studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. Among Yannick’s honors are an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada; an Officer of the Order of Montreal; Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year; the Prix Denise-Pelletier; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal, the Curtis Institute of Music, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, McGill University, and the University of Pennsylvania. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit philorch.org/conductor. 26 Soloists Deborah Boardman Photography Charlotte Blake Alston is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, narrator, singer, and librettist. She has appeared as host and narrator on The Philadelphia Orchestra’s School and Family concerts since 1991 and is in her 25th season as host of Sound All Around, the Orchestra’s preschool concert series. She has also appeared on each of the Orchestra’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Tribute Concerts since 2003. She was the featured host, storyteller, and narrator on Carnegie Hall’s Family and School concert series from 1995 to 2016. She has made multiple appearances at the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center, the National Museum for Women in the Arts, and at the National Storytelling Festival and the National Festival of Black Storytelling, among others. She was one of two storytellers selected to present at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Her numerous honors include a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and the Zora Neale Hurston Award, the highest award given by the National Association of Black Storytellers. She makes her Philadelphia Orchestra subscription debut with these performances. Marri Cyr Soprano Nadine Sierra makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with these performances. She was the winner of the Richard Tucker Award in 2017 and the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Award in 2018, and she has made a string of successful debuts at the Met, the Teatro alla Scala, the Opéra National de Paris, and the Berlin State Opera. Her debut album, There’s a Place for Us, was released in August on the Deutsche Grammophon label. On the opera stage this season she reprises the roles of Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff at the Berlin State Opera and Gilda, one of her signature roles, in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera; makes her highly anticipated house and role debut in the title role of Massenet’s Manon at the Opéra National de Bordeaux; and performs Gilda in the Berlin State Opera’s new production of Rigoletto under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. In addition to these current performances, highlights on the concert stage include Maria in Bernstein’s West Side Story with Antonio Pappano at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Teatro la Fenice’s televised New Year Concert, the Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall, and concert debuts in Prague, Bordeaux, and Baden-Baden. 27 Soloists Kristin Hoebermann Kristin Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with these performances. Other highlights on the concert stage this season include a tour of Europe and the United States with the English Concert singing the role of Juno in Handel’s Semele; a solo recital for Vocal Arts DC at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater with pianist Mark Markham; John Adams’s The Gospel According to the Other Mary with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with the composer conducting; Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma in concert with North Carolina Opera; and Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco and Houston symphonies.