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 John Williams), some at up 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 Orchestra 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 Piano Concerto; the Suite from Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier; and Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto. The Orchestra also brings Nico Muhly’s new Philadelphia Orchestra 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 Oboes 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 Clarinets 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 Clarinet 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 Bassoons 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, Contrabassoon 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 Trumpets 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 Trombone 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