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CONTACT: Katherine Blodgett Vice President of Public Relations and Communications Phone: 215.893.1939 E-mail: [email protected]
Jesson Geipel Public Relations Manager FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone: 215.893.3136 DATE: October 18, 2012 E-mail: [email protected]
YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN’S INAUGURAL SEASON AS MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA BEGINS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012, WITH A GALA CONCERT FEATURING THE INCOMPARABLE RENÉE FLEMING
Opening Weeks of Nézet-Séguin’s Tenure to Feature Verdi’s Requiem, His Carnegie Hall Debut, and Concerts with Violinist Joshua Bell
(Philadelphia, October 18, 2012)—Yannick Nézet-Séguin officially begins his tenure as The Philadelphia Orchestra’s eighth music director with a gala Opening Concert on October 18, 2012, two weeks of subscription concerts at the Orchestra’s home in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center, and with his Carnegie Hall debut on October 23 in New York City. Nézet-Séguin was named music director designate of the legendary ensemble in 2010. The gala concert, featuring soprano Renée Fleming, includes Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Brahms’s Symphony No. 4, and “Mein Elemer!” from Arabella by Richard Strauss. For the Orchestra’s first subscription series at the Kimmel Center and for his Carnegie Hall debut, Nézet-Séguin has chosen Verdi’s Requiem, featuring soprano Marina Poplavskaya, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice, tenor Rolando Villazón, bass Mikhail Petrenko, and the Westminster Symphonic Choir.
Philadelphia Orchestra Association President and CEO Allison Vulgamore said, “This is the launch of a new chapter for The Philadelphia Orchestra. We have been anticipating this moment for what seems a very long time, and the entire organization couldn’t be more thrilled that it is finally upon us. Since he began as music director designate two years ago, we have watched Yannick’s relationships with both our musicians and our audiences flourish. The camaraderie he has established with the Orchestra is palpable, and it seems that every concert is more electric than the last. He is the right person at the right time for The Philadelphia Orchestra.”
“I fell in love with this Orchestra from the first moment I met them—there was an immediate connection, a unity of purpose in our music-making,” said Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “From a young age, listening to my parents’ records, I knew I must conduct one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Little did I know that my - more - Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s Inaugural Season PAGE 2 dream would become a reality—and that I would someday find my home in Philadelphia. There is great joy when I’m together with our Philadelphia Orchestra musicians, and I want everyone feel this joy, this pride in their Orchestra.”
Nézet-Séguin is an extraordinarily accomplished and respected conductor who is very much in demand around the globe. In addition to his Philadelphia post, he is concurrently music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal. He is also in great demand as a guest conductor around the globe, with appearances this year with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Paris, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, leading Verdi’s La traviata.
Praised by critics for the passionate excitement he draws at each performance, Nézet-Séguin’s respect for, and intense bond with, his musicians creates a connection between Orchestra and audience that is at once spellbinding and magnetic. Nézet-Séguin’s training at Westminster Choir College, his studies with Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini, and early studies in piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Montreal have made him equally at home conducting orchestral, opera, and choral repertoire and pursued by the great orchestras and opera companies of the world.
At 37 years of age, Nézet-Séguin joins a long line of young music world titans who have led the legendary Philadelphia Orchestra, including Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, and Riccardo Muti, who became music director of the ensemble at ages 30, 38, and 39 respectively. Nézet-Séguin’s opening night, on October 18, 2012, comes nearly 100 years to the day to Leopold Stokowski’s first concerts as music director in Philadelphia.
Following the Opening Night Gala and the Verdi Requiem, highlights of Nézet-Séguin’s inaugural season with the Orchestra include late October concerts with violinist Joshua Bell performing Bernstein’s Serenade on a program that also features a world premiere by Gabriela Lena Frank and the Brahms Fourth Symphony; a New Year’s Eve concert; January concerts at the Kimmel Center and at Carnegie Hall featuring Ravel’s La Valse, Leonidas Kavakos performing the U.S. premiere of a new Violin Concerto by Osvaldo Golijov, and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5; February concerts featuring a world premiere by Oliver Knussen, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, in collaboration with New York-based Ridge Theater.
March brings performances of Bach’s epic St. Matthew Passion, as well as a performance of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony that will incorporate dramatic narration, lighting effects, and other theatrical elements.
The season concludes with performances in May with two celebrated violinists: Hilary Hahn, who will perform the Korngold Violin Concerto on a program that also includes the love scene from Feuersnot by Richard Strauss and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, and Gil Shaham playing the Brahms Violin Concerto on a program
- more - Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s Inaugural Season PAGE 3 with Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances Nos. 1, 10, and 8; the Janáček Sinfonietta; and Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody in D major.
About Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin became the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra with the start of the 2012-13 season. Named music director designate in June 2010, he made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in December 2008. Over the past decade, Nézet-Séguin 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. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles—the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and all the major Canadian orchestras, among many others. Throughout Europe and North America, Yannick’s appearances have left indelible marks on the international classical music scene, making him one of the most sought-after conductors in the world.
Since his first appearance in Philadelphia Yannick has connected not only with the musicians of the Orchestra but with the community. His concerts of diverse repertoire offerings attract sold-out houses, and he has established a regular forum for connecting with audiences through Meet & Greets and Post-Concert Conversations following his performances.
Yannick has led The Philadelphia Orchestra in a breadth of repertoire ranging from the intimate—Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (which he led from the keyboard)—to the monumental—Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (which is available for download) and launched a multi-year exploration of the world’s great requiems with performances of the Mozart Requiem in January 2011 and Brahms’s A German Requiem in November 2011. He continues this survey in the 2012-13 season with the Verdi Requiem, which includes his debut at Carnegie Hall. Yannick leads two additional performances at that historic concert hall during the season. Other highlights of his inaugural season include an Opening Night Concert featuring soprano Renée Fleming, two world premieres (by Gabriela Lena Frank and Oliver Knussen), the U.S. premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Violin Concerto, and performances of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring in collaboration with New York-based Ridge Theater, complete with dancers, video projection, and theatrical lighting.
Widely praised by audiences, critics, and artists alike for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s talents extend beyond symphonic music into the world of opera and choral music. His critically acclaimed performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera (where he appears annually), Milan’s La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House, and the historic Salzburg Festival demonstrate that he is an artist of remarkable versatility and depth.
In July 2012 Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon announced a major long-term collaboration, following highly successful DVD releases of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet from the Salzburg Festival and Bizet’s Carmen from the Metropolitan Opera. Yannick’s discography with the Rotterdam Philharmonic includes recordings of Strauss and Berlioz for BIS Records, and three EMI/Virgin releases, including an Edison Award-winning album of Ravel’s orchestral works. He has also recorded several award-winning albums with the Orchestre Métropolitain for the Canadian label ATMA Classique.
Yannick’s appearances with other ensembles in the 2012-13 season include two separate tours to Japan and the Far East with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, a German tour with the London Philharmonic, and a cycle of
- more - Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s Inaugural Season PAGE 4 the complete Schumann symphonies and concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Paris. He also returns to the Bavarian Radio Symphony and to the Metropolitan Opera for Verdi’s La traviata. A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin 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.
In 2012 Yannick was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors. His other honors include a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; an Echo Award; the Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council; 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.
The Philadelphia Orchestra Renowned for its distinctive sound, beloved for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of “firsts” in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2012. With the 2012-13 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music director designate in 2010, Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic music into the vivid world of opera and choral music.
Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts but also those who enjoy the Orchestra’s other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn’s Landing, and other venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association also continues to own the Academy of Music—a National Historic Landmark—as it has since 1957.
Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the United States. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week residency in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and a strong partnership with the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
The ensemble maintains an important Philadelphia tradition of presenting educational programs for students of all ages. Today the Orchestra executes myriad of education and community partnership programs serving over 45,000 annually, including its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts, and eZseatU.
For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.
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