Season 2013-2014
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27 Season 2013-2014 Thursday, October 10, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Friday, October 11, at 2:00 Saturday, October 12, Semyon Bychkov Conductor at 8:00 Yefim BronfmanPiano Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 I. Allegro moderato II. Andante con moto— III. Rondo: Vivace Intermission Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103 (“The Year 1905”) I. The Palace Square (Adagio)— II. The 9th of January (Allegro—Adagio— Allegro—Adagio)— III. In Memoriam (Adagio)— IV. The Tocsin (Allegro non troppo— Allegro—Moderato—Adagio—Allegro) This program runs approximately 2 hours. Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 228 Story Title The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin The Philadelphia Orchestra community itself. His concerts to perform in China, in 1973 is one of the preeminent of diverse repertoire attract at the request of President orchestras in the world, sold-out houses, and he has Nixon, today The Philadelphia renowned for its distinctive established a regular forum Orchestra boasts a new sound, desired for its for connecting with concert- partnership with the National keen ability to capture the goers through Post-Concert Centre for the Performing hearts and imaginations of Conversations. Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra audiences, and admired for annually performs at Under Yannick’s leadership a legacy of innovation in Carnegie Hall while also the Orchestra returns to music-making. The Orchestra enjoying annual residencies in recording with a newly- is inspiring the future and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at released CD on the Deutsche transforming its rich tradition the Bravo! Vail festival. Grammophon label of of achievement, sustaining Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring Musician-led initiatives, the highest level of artistic and Leopold Stokowski including highly-successful quality, but also challenging transcriptions. In Yannick’s Cello and Violin Play-Ins, and exceeding that level, by inaugural season the shine a spotlight on the creating powerful musical Orchestra has also returned Orchestra’s musicians, as experiences for audiences at to the radio airwaves, with they spread out from the home and around the world. weekly Sunday afternoon stage into the community. Music Director Yannick broadcasts on WRTI-FM. The Orchestra’s commitment Nézet-Séguin triumphantly to its education and Philadelphia is home and opened his inaugural community partnership the Orchestra nurtures an season as the eighth artistic initiatives manifests itself important relationship not leader of the Orchestra in numerous other ways, only with patrons who support in fall 2012. His highly including concerts for families the main season at the collaborative style, deeply- and students, and eZseatU, Kimmel Center but also those rooted musical curiosity, a program that allows full- who enjoy the Orchestra’s and boundless enthusiasm, time college students to other area performances paired with a fresh approach attend an unlimited number at the Mann Center, Penn’s to orchestral programming, of Orchestra concerts for Landing, and other venues. have been heralded by a $25 annual membership The Orchestra is also a global critics and audiences alike. fee. For more information on ambassador for Philadelphia Yannick has been embraced The Philadelphia Orchestra, and for the U.S. Having been by the musicians of the please visit www.philorch.org. the first American orchestra Orchestra, audiences, and the 8 Music Director Nigel Parry/CPi Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the fall of 2012. 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 Yannick “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton “the ensemble … has never sounded better.” In his first season he took the Orchestra to new musical heights. His second builds on that momentum with highlights that include a Philadelphia Commissions Micro-Festival, for which three leading composers have been commissioned to write solo works for three of the Orchestra’s principal players; the next installment in his multi-season focus on requiems with Fauré’s Requiem; and a unique, theatrically-staged presentation of Strauss’s revolutionary opera Salome, a first-ever co-production with Opera Philadelphia. Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. Since 2008 he has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and since 2000 artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. In addition he becomes the first ever mentor conductor of the Curtis Institute of Music’s conducting fellows program in the fall of 2013. 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 Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership the Orchestra returns to recording with a newly-released CD on that label of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. Yannick continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for DG, BIS, and EMI/Virgin; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin 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 an appointment as Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise- Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec, awarded by the Quebec government; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 29 Conductor Sheila Rock Since leaving St. Petersburg in the mid-1970s, Semyon Bychkov has balanced his time between operatic and symphonic repertoire, enjoying long-standing relationships with the orchestras and major opera houses in London, Paris, Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Chicago, and New York. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1986 at the Mann Center; these current performances mark his subscription debut. Mr. Bychkov came to international attention while music director of the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Following a series of high-profile cancellations that resulted in invitations to conduct both the New York and Berlin philharmonics and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, he was signed to an exclusive recording contract with Philips Classics. He moved to Paris where he was appointed music director of the Orchestre de Paris (1989), principal guest conductor of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic (1990), principal guest conductor of the Maggio Musicale in Florence (1992), chief conductor of the WDR Symphony in Cologne (1997), and chief conductor of the Dresden Semperoper (1998). He currently holds the Otto Klemperer Chair of Conducting Studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Günter Wand Conducting Chair at the BBC Symphony. Since completing his 13-year tenure with the WDR Symphony, Mr. Bychkov has focused on the guest relationships he enjoys with many of the world’s most prestigious ensembles, including the Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras; the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; the Vienna, Berlin, Munich, and Czech philharmonics; the London and BBC symphonies; and, in the U.S., the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, the Chicago and San Francisco symphonies, and the Los Angeles and New York philharmonics. Mr. Bychkov made his Royal Opera House debut in 2003 with a new production of Strauss’s Elektra. He has led numerous productions there and returns in 2014 for Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten. At the Metropolitan Opera he conducted Musorgsky’s Boris Godunov in 2004 and Verdi’s Otello, both in 2007 and in 2012 when it was broadcast live in HD to 54 countries. Mr. Bychkov’s recordings include works by Mahler, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff; the complete cycle of Brahms’s symphonies; and Verdi’s Requiem, all with the WDR Symphony. 30 Soloist Frank Stewart Frank Pianist Yefim Bronfmanmade his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1977 and has been a frequent guest ever since. Widely regarded as one of the most talented virtuoso pianists performing today, he has won consistent critical acclaim for his solo recitals, orchestral engagements, and rapidly growing catalogue of recordings. In the 2013-14 season Mr. Bronfman is artist-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic. Other season highlights include a winter tour of chamber concerts in the Far East; a spring tour of North America with violinist Pinchas Zukerman; a performance with Zubin Mehta and the Berlin Philharmonic at the ensemble’s spring residency in Baden-Baden; return visits to the orchestras of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, Boston, Houston, Dallas, and Detroit; and an Australian tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Mr. Bronfman’s summer featured performances