April/May 2015 2 From the President J.D. Scott Dear Friends:

I hope you’ve all subscribed to our 2015-16 season—it promises to be extraordinary. If you haven’t renewed or become a new subscriber yet, I urge you to do so now. You can choose from a traditional subscription, or you can create your own six-concert package if you’d like more flexibility. Subscribers also receive great benefits, including the ability to add on single tickets before they go on sale to the general public (including for our May 4, 2016, benefit concert conducted by ), some at to 20% off; easy ticket exchanges; and discounted parking. Many concerts do sell out and the only way to make sure that you’ll see the performances you want is to subscribe now. Visit www.philorch.org/2016 to learn all about the new season and how you can subscribe.

From May 21 to June 6 Yannick and the embark on their first tour of Europe together, performing 14 concerts in 10 cities, with debut appearances in Dortmund and Lyon. Other stops on the tour include Luxembourg City, Cologne, Dresden, Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, and London. Three friends of Yannick’s and the Orchestra join the tour: pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Lisa Batiashvili, and pianist Jan Lisiecki. The repertoire will be taken from works you’ve enjoyed this season: the Third Symphonies of Rachmaninoff and Brahms; Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony; Beethoven’s Third Concerto; the Suite from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier; and Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto. The Orchestra also brings Nico Muhly’s new commission, Mixed Messages, which receives its European premiere at the first concert, in Luxembourg. As they do in Philadelphia and in cities they visit around the globe, Orchestra musicians will engage in residency work, including a Side-by-Side chamber performance in Lyon with musicians of the Orchestre National de Lyon, and community activities in London. As ever, we carry you, our loyal hometown audiences, with us whenever we travel.

The Orchestra also returns to summer homes at the Mann Center, the Bravo! Vail festival, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for its annual visits. Those audiences have come to expect a diverse selection of programs, from the classics to film, jazz, and pop and this year will be no exception. Stay tuned to our website and blog for more information and for reports from the tour. We hope that you will join us at any of our summer activities.

Thank you for being a part of our 2014-15 season. I wish you a summer full of great music and quality time spent with family and friends, and I look forward to seeing you back in Verizon Hall in the fall.

Yours in Music,

Allison Vulgamore President & CEO 4 Music Director

Chris Lee Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues his inspired leadership of The Philadelphia Orchestra, which began 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 Nézet-Séguin “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” He has taken the Orchestra to new musical heights. Highlights of his third season as music director include an Art of the Pipe Organ festival; the 40/40 Project, in which 40 great compositions that haven’t been heard on subscription concerts in at least 40 years will be performed; and Bernstein’s MASS, the pinnacle of the Orchestra’s five- season requiem cycle.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting 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 a CD on that label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. He continues a fruitful recording relationship 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 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; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 6 The Philadelphia Orchestra 2014–2015 Season

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Violas Flutes Music Director Choong-Jin Chang, Principal Jeffrey Khaner, Principal Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair Ruth and A. Morris Williams Chair Paul and Barbara Henkels Chair Kirsten Johnson, Associate David Cramer, Associate Principal Stéphane Denève Principal Rachelle and Ronald Kaiserman Principal Guest Conductor Kerri Ryan, Assistant Principal Chair Cristian Ma˘celaru Judy Geist Loren N. Lind Conductor-in-Residence Renard Edwards Kazuo Tokito, Piccolo Lio Kuokman Anna Marie Ahn Petersen Assistant Conductor Piasecki Family Chair Charles Dutoit David Nicastro Richard Woodhams, Principal Conductor Laureate Burchard Tang Samuel S. Fels Chair First Violins Che-Hung Chen Peter Smith, Associate Principal David Kim, Concertmaster Rachel Ku Jonathan Blumenfeld Dr. Benjamin Rush Chair Marvin Moon* Edwin Tuttle Chair Juliette Kang, First Associate Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English Concertmaster Cellos Horn Joseph and Marie Field Chair Hai-Ye Ni, Principal Joanne T. Greenspun Chair Ying Fu, Associate Concertmaster Albert and Mildred Switky Chair Marc Rovetti, Assistant Yumi Kendall, Acting Associate Concertmaster Principal Ricardo Morales, Principal Herbert Light Wendy and Derek Pew Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Larry A. Grika Chair Foundation Chair Chair Barbara Govatos John Koen, Acting Assistant Samuel Caviezel, Associate Wilson H. and Barbara B. Taylor Principal Principal Chair Richard Harlow Sarah and Frank Coulson Chair Jonathan Beiler Gloria dePasquale Paul R. Demers, Bass Hirono Oka Orton P. and Noël S. Jackson Peter M. Joseph and Susan Richard Amoroso Chair Rittenhouse Joseph Chair Robert and Lynne Pollack Chair Kathryn Picht Read Yayoi Numazawa Winifred and Samuel Mayes Jason DePue Chair Daniel Matsukawa, Principal Lisa-Beth Lambert Robert Cafaro Richard M. Klein Chair Jennifer Haas Volunteer Committees Chair Mark Gigliotti, Co-Principal Miyo Curnow Ohad Bar-David Angela Anderson Smith Elina Kalendarova Catherine R. and Anthony A. Holly Blake, Daniel Han Clifton Chair Yiying Li Derek Barnes Horns Mollie and Frank Slattery Chair Jennifer Montone, Principal Second Violins Alex Veltman Gray Charitable Trust Chair Kimberly Fisher, Principal Jeffrey Lang, Associate Principal Peter A. Benoliel Chair Basses Daniel Williams Paul Roby, Associate Principal Harold Robinson, Principal Jeffry Kirschen Sandra and David Marshall Chair Carole and Emilio Gravagno Denise Tryon Dara Morales, Assistant Principal Chair Shelley Showers Anne M. Buxton Chair Michael Shahan, Associate Philip Kates Principal Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan Joseph Conyers, Assistant David Bilger, Principal Family Foundation Chair Principal Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest Booker Rowe John Hood Chair Davyd Booth Henry G. Scott Jeffrey Curnow, Associate Paul Arnold David Fay Principal Lorraine and David Popowich Chair Duane Rosengard Gary and Ruthanne Schlarbaum Yumi Ninomiya Scott Robert Kesselman Chair Dmitri Levin Anthony Prisk Boris Balter Some members of the string Robert W. Earley William Polk sections voluntarily rotate Amy Oshiro-Morales seating on a periodic basis. Mei Ching Huang Roster continues on pg. 8 8 The Philadelphia Orchestra 2014–2015 Season

Trombones Percussion Librarians Nitzan Haroz, Principal Christopher Deviney, Principal Robert M. Grossman, Principal Neubauer Family Foundation Mrs. Francis W. De Serio Chair Steven K. Glanzmann Chair Anthony Orlando, Associate Matthew Vaughn, Co-Principal Principal Stage Personnel Eric Carlson Ann R. and Harold A. Sorgenti Edward Barnes, Manager Blair Bollinger, Bass Chair James J. Sweeney, Jr. Drs. Bong and Mi Wha Lee Chair Angela Zator Nelson James P. Barnes

Tuba Piano and Celesta Carol Jantsch, Principal Kiyoko Takeuti *On leave Lyn and George M. Ross Chair **Regularly engaged musician Keyboards Timpani Davyd Booth Don S. Liuzzi, Principal Michael Stairs, Organ** Dwight V. Dowley Chair Angela Zator Nelson, Associate Harp Principal Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Patrick and Evelyn Gage Chair Patricia and John Imbesi Chair

Musicians Behind the Scenes Choong-Jin Chang Principal Viola

Jessica Griffin Where were you born? In Seoul, Korea. What piece of music could you play over and over again? Anything by Johann Sebastian Bach. What’s your favorite Philadelphia restaurant? Bluefin Sushi Restaurant. Tell us about your instrument. It’s believed to have been made around 1650. It was originally a five-stringed tenore viola cut down to become a regular viola in 1842. What’s in your instrument case? My viola, three bows, four different rosins, about five sets of strings, more than 10 mutes, two dampits, a tuning fork, some tools, scotch tape, pencils, steel wool, sand paper, and an extra bridge. If you could ask one composer one question what would it be? I would ask Beethoven why he wrote “Must it be?” over the introduction to the last movement of the Op. 135 String Quartet and “It must be” over the faster main theme. I want to ask “What must be?!” What piece of music never fails to move you? So many but especially the slow movement of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola. When did you join the Orchestra? I joined the Orchestra in 1994 as the associate principal viola and in 2006 I became principal viola. Do you play any other instruments? I use to play the violin but not anymore. What’s your favorite type of food? Korean, of course! Do you speak any other languages? Korean. Do you have any hobbies? I am a wine drinker/collector.

To read the full set of questions, please visit www.philorch.org/chang. 10 Let’s Go Hear a Movie By Steve Holt BreakThru Films

Suzie Templeton’s Oscar- If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you’re winning Claymation film Peter settled into a comfortable seat in Verizon Hall about to enjoy & the Wolf Live will be shown a superb live orchestral concert by the fabulous Philadelphia in concerts April 16-18 Orchestra! While we may think of orchestral music only in while the Orchestra performs terms of live performances in acoustically tuned halls, the Prokofiev’s score. sound of orchestral instruments is perhaps more ubiquitous outside the concert hall than we realize. Audiences worldwide hear symphonic music every day: And they’re not even sitting in a concert hall! Orchestral music is omnipresent in films, video games, and television, enjoyed by millions of people all the time.

This incredible output of orchestral music far outweighs what’s created exclusively for the concert hall each year. And thus, says Jeremy Rothman, vice president for artistic planning, the Orchestra looks to tease out some of the true gems of film music that will stand the test of time, and are worthy of sitting alongside the great masterworks it performs so regularly.

04.15 Article.indd 8 3/2/15 5:46 PM 12 Let’s Go Hear a Movie © Disney Enterprises Inc.

A still from Disney’s Fantasia. The line between serious “concert hall” music and other forms of entertainment has been blurry for ages, ever since music written for opera, ballet, or theater found its way onto the orchestral stage. That line got even less distinct once music was added to movies, starting with so-called “silent” films. They were frequently shown with a live musical accompaniment: piano, organ, even orchestra. (One big reason for the musical enhancement: Those silent films weren’t very silent, thanks to noisy, distracting projectors; early exhibitors figured the music would cover up the racket.) Once movies found their voice in the “talkies,” there was no turning back. A movie without music became almost unthinkable.

An important part of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s history is tied up with film, thanks to the 1940 masterpiece Fantasia, featuring classical music thrillingly realized by Walt Disney’s animators. Leopold Stokowski led the Philadelphians in Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor (in his own orchestration); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”); even Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (already a classic less than three decades after its tumultuous premiere).

Of course the music in Fantasia wasn’t written specifically for the film. But at about the same time that Fantasia was taking shape in Disney’s fertile imagination, Hollywood was attracting a new generation of composers, who would leave an indelible impression on , showing how critical a good score could be to the success of a film.

04.15 Article.indd 8 3/2/15 5:46 PM 14 Let’s Go Hear a Movie Derek Brad

The Philadelphia Orchestra Even if you don’t know their names, you know their work: performing the score to (King Kong, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca); West Side Story at the Mann (High Noon, The High and the Mighty); Erich Center in 2014. Wolfgang Korngold (The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk); Miklós Rózsa (Spellbound, Ben Hur).

Not only did many of these film composers also write for , but Rothman points out that virtually all the major composers of the 20th century wrote for the movies as well, including such giants as Shostakovich, Copland, and Bernstein.

Over the years, this back and forth between the concert hall and the movie theater has created countless indelible pairings: Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant use of Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra and György Ligeti’s Atmosphères in 2001: A Space Odyssey; Ravel’s Bolero in 10; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in Elvira Madigan. And beyond specific works, Rothman says there are echoes of Orff, Rachmaninoff, and Verdi in many of today’s most popular movie soundtracks (not to mention video games and TV commercials).

The Philadelphia Orchestra prides itself on commissioning new works and has a storied history of U.S. and world premieres. But the Orchestra has also taken advantage of what Rothman calls “this incredible machine that creates remarkable film scores.”

This season alone has already featured excerpts from As You Like It (a 1936 film starring Laurence Olivier, with music by William Walton); Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony (from Fantasia); selections from The Gadfly (a 1955 Soviet film with

04.15 Article.indd 12 3/2/15 5:46 PM a score by Shostakovich); the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, 1957); Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (used in Death in Venice, 1971); and the above- mentioned Also sprach Zarathustra and Atmosphères.

In recent seasons, the Orchestra has also played the score live for screenings of West Side Story, Gladiator, Star Trek into Darkness, and Alexander Nevsky. And they return to the metaphorical movie house for this spring’s Peter & the Wolf Live, performing Prokofiev’s sparkling original score for a live screening of the 2008 Oscar® winner for best animated short film (April 16-18).

No discussion of movies and the music would be complete without mentioning John Williams, arguably the most listened to composer of the 20th century. Rothman says, “He has a gift for melody and for orchestration; his music speaks immediately in that sense. He’s also extremely fluid in almost every musical style of the world. He’s able to capture so vividly and accurately different geographies, cultures, and sounds. And you can say the same of all the great composers that we still perform today: Whether it was Tchaikovsky trying to capture an Italian style, or Rimsky-Korsakov trying to capture a Spanish style, or Copland writing Cuban music, the great composers had this way of adapting other genres and styles into their own sound.”

04.15 Article.indd 13 3/2/15 5:46 PM 16 Let’s Go Hear a Movie Todd

The music of John Williams On April 23-25 the Orchestra performs excerpts from is featured on Orchestra Williams’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind with principal concerts this April and next Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève on the podium. A huge spring, all led by Principal champion (and personal friend) of the composer, Denève Guest Conductor Stéphane returns next season to conduct Williams’s Cello Concerto Denève. In addition Williams with Yo-Yo Ma, his Violin Concerto with James Ehnes, and himself conducts a special Tributes! For Seiji, written in honor of the legendary conductor benefit concert in May 2016. Seiji Ozawa. And (fanfare, drumroll): John Williams himself conducts many of his most beloved movie pieces next spring in a special benefit concert.

Steve Holt, managing partner Rothman admits he got some raised eyebrows when the at re:Write, is a veteran Orchestra programmed Williams. “There are people who refer journalist and musician. to film music as being watered-down or derivative,” because it wasn’t written for the concert hall. But as he points out, much of the core repertoire the Orchestra performs regularly was originally created for other media: We’re comfortable hearing The Rite of Spring and The Firebird without the ballet; A Midsummer Night’s Dream without the play; overtures without their attached opera score. “This concept that music has to be purely a concert art form in order to be presented is really a false precept in my opinion.”

As to John Williams specifically, Rothman points out that some of the most famous movie scenes ever (for example, when the shark finally appears in ) make absolutely no sense without Williams’s music. “The question is, if you listen to the music without the scene, does the music make any sense? That’s where you do find a great film score for the concert hall, one that can project drama and tension and have

04.15 Article.indd 14 3/2/15 5:46 PM an architecture to it outside of the visuals it was designed to accompany,” a score that is creating original, fresh ideas, often blending different styles and forms.

“Take a piece like Close Encounters,” says Rothman. “It combines a very popular tune (‘When You Wish Upon a Star’) with this very avant-garde Ligeti-sounding sound world. Those are the kinds of things that are really creative pieces of music that can stand on their own” with or without a film.

Rothman maintains it doesn’t matter how we first encounter classical music: whether hearing the theme to The Lone Ranger or listening to “Full Moon and Empty Arms” and realizing it’s Rachmaninoff, or laughing along to classic cartoons with equally classic music tracks. “However you come to the music, it takes you on that journey to explore the piece further and experience it in your own way. That’s what’s great about art: You bring your own experience, taste, and lens to it.”

What’s the future of movie music in the concert hall? Rothman says it will be fascinating to see in coming years and decades how this music endures. We can only hope Al Jolson was prescient when he uttered these immortal lines in the very first “talkie,” The Jazz Singer: “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” P

04.15 Article.indd 15 3/2/15 5:46 PM 18 Beyond the Baton This Month Yannick Talks about Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Chris Lee What was your first experience with this Concerto? It was not a piece which was part of my learning. With Shostakovich I knew the symphonies, the string quartets, the piano music, the piano concertos, the cello concertos much before I heard his First Violin Concerto. The first time I really got to know the piece was when I was assigned to conduct a concert of the laureates of the Queen Elisabeth Competition. It was in Luxembourg and two winners that year were two wonderful violinists. One of the two was Sergey Khachatryan, he’s been here with the Orchestra a few seasons ago, Armenian violinist, and he played the First Concerto of Shostakovich. I couldn’t believe it. Beautiful from the very first note. I think it’s Shostakovich at his best. Each movement has such a profound message, meaning. There is also the interaction between the orchestra and the violin. The finale and the second movement are both very difficult to put together because they are so virtuosic and have a lot to do with solo winds dialoguing with the solo instrument. Of course the centerpiece of it is the passacaglia, which is this bass line that’s coming back and coming back, almost like an entire nation marching to something that’s inexorable and which we don’t know exactly how it will end. There’s a sense of threat and yet a sense of weight. But with Shostakovich there’s always a glimpse of hope, too. And in the hands and talent of this young violinist from Armenia, this was extraordinary.

Are you looking forward to performing it in Philadelphia? Here in Philadelphia it was important to do this piece with a musical partner that combines all the qualities of the greatest violinists but also a very deep human connection to what this Concerto means. I’m so thrilled that we will be performing with Lisa Batiashvili. Lisa is a great friend of the Orchestra, for years now, and she’s a great personal friend of mine, for years, too. I believe when she plays, anything she plays, she gets beyond the notes, beyond even the first degree of significance of the piece. And doing this Concerto with her will be the first time that we collaborate on that particular piece. But I can not imagine a better way for me to get to know this piece even better and to bring it to our audiences.

Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 will be performed May 13-16.

To read the continuation of this Beyond the Baton, or to read previous Beyond the Batons, please visit www.philorch.org/baton. 20

In the Spotlight A Monthly Profile of Orchestra Fans and Family

There’s one thing Osagie Imasogie thinks everyone should know about The Philadelphia Orchestra: “It’s a lot of fun. Not just fun. A lot of fun!” says the business leader, Penn law professor, and Philadelphia Orchestra Board member. “People have the sense that it’s a stodgy institution and nothing could be farther from the truth. The musicians are extraordinarily passionate individuals. They enjoy what they do. They spend a lifetime of training to create this amazing music for us. Same thing with the conductors that we have, particularly Yannick, so it’s a lot of fun. It’s a place where you have joy and happiness.” Imasogie has been on the Orchestra Board since 2008 and now serves on the Executive Committee, among others. He co-chaired Opening Night in 2012, and is instrumental in fundraising—a job he takes on with gusto. What’s his pitch? “I always start with the music. There is nothing more ethereal than listening to The Philadelphia Orchestra perform. There’s just nothing that touches Osagie Imasogie that. The music is robust, it is unique, it is sublime, and can be extraordinarily moving if you release yourself to the flow of that music. If you listen to the Orchestra, you will fundamentally understand its importance and its value.” And if you prefer jazz, or some other type of music? “It’s no excuse at all!” he laughs. “My second argument tends to be, look, it’s an iconic opportunity. We should all be very, very proud that the Orchestra is based in Philadelphia. There are many other great cities that do not have orchestras, or do not have orchestras as great as that of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and that we should feel a sense of heritage, as it were, to maintaining the Orchestra, and supporting the Orchestra. … There are people who may not like classical music but who understand the heritage and the cultural angle. So for me, that’s my one-two punch. If I can’t get you on the music, I’ll get you on the culture. I prefer to get you on both!” With enthusiasm effusing the way it does, we wondered: Does anyone ever say no to him? More hearty laughter, and then: “All I try to do is to convey what I deeply feel about this amazing institution that we have in Philadelphia.”

For more on Osagie Imasogie visit www.philorch.org/imasogie.

The Orchestra and Partners Bring the Best of the State and City to Europe

Yannick and the Orchestra cross the pond for their first tour of Europe together, performing 14 concerts in 10 cities from May 21 to June 6. As the Orchestra has done in recent seasons, it once again joins together in partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a coalition of the City of Philadelphia and its premier civic, cultural, business, and tourism organizations to promote city and state trade and tourism. The Commonwealth will link its economic trade mission to the Rhône-Alpes region of France to the Orchestra’s visit to Lyon. And the Governor’s trade and investment mission to the U.K., Germany, and France, along with the city, Select Greater Philadelphia, Visit Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Global Philadelphia, will promote Pennsylvania as a prime international destination for business, tourism, higher education, and arts and culture, all in tandem with the Orchestra’s concerts. As they do in Philadelphia and in cities they visit around the globe, Orchestra musicians will engage in residency work, including a chamber concert where members of the Orchestra will sit side-by-side with musicians from the Orchestre National de Lyon. In London a Community Weekend of Innovation, Music, and Art, a three-day initiative, will be created that blends the Orchestra’s two Yannick and the Orchestra concerts at the Royal Festival Hall with a collection of return to London for the final community events. Two of those involve musicians of the two concerts of their 2015 Orchestra and members of the Water City Orchestra in Tour of Europe, along with collaborative concerts, one outside the Southbank Centre some community residency (home to the Royal Festival Hall) in central London, and one activities. at the Bromley by Bow Centre, a community initiative in East London, one of the most deprived boroughs in the country. The Water City Orchestra was formed to allow residents, students, and those who work in East London to experience music making and creating art together.