23 Season 2016-2017 Wednesday, May 3, at 8:00 Friday, May 5, at 2:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Saturday, May 6, at 8:00 Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Sasha Cooke Mezzo-soprano Radu Lupu Piano Bernstein Symphony No. 1 (“Jeremiah”) I. Prophecy II. Profanation III. Lamentation Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 I. Allegro II. Larghetto III. Allegretto Intermission Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 I. Sostenuto assai—Allegro ma non troppo II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace III. Adagio espressivo IV. Allegro molto vivace This program runs approximately 2 hours, 5 minutes. Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 1 PM. Visit WRTI.org to listen live or for more details. 24 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin The Philadelphia Orchestra Philadelphia is home and impact through Research. is one of the preeminent the Orchestra continues The Orchestra’s award- orchestras in the world, to discover new and winning Collaborative renowned for its distinctive inventive ways to nurture Learning programs engage sound, desired for its its relationship with its over 50,000 students, keen ability to capture the loyal patrons at its home families, and community hearts and imaginations of in the Kimmel Center, members through programs audiences, and admired for and also with those who such as PlayINs, side-by- a legacy of imagination and enjoy the Orchestra’s area sides, PopUP concerts, innovation on and off the performances at the Mann free Neighborhood concert stage. The Orchestra Center, Penn’s Landing, Concerts, School Concerts, is inspiring the future and and other cultural, civic, and residency work in transforming its rich tradition and learning venues. The Philadelphia and abroad. of achievement, sustaining Orchestra maintains a strong Through concerts, tours, the highest level of artistic commitment to collaborations residencies, presentations, quality, but also challenging— with cultural and community and recordings, The and exceeding—that level, organizations on a regional Philadelphia Orchestra is by creating powerful musical and national level, all of which a global ambassador for experiences for audiences at create greater access and Philadelphia and for the home and around the world. engagement with classical US. Having been the first Music Director Yannick music as an art form. American orchestra to Nézet-Séguin’s connection The Philadelphia Orchestra perform in China, in 1973 to the Orchestra’s musicians serves as a catalyst for at the request of President has been praised by cultural activity across Nixon, the ensemble today both concertgoers and Philadelphia’s many boasts a new partnership with critics since his inaugural communities, building an Beijing’s National Centre for season in 2012. Under his offstage presence as strong the Performing Arts and the leadership the Orchestra as its onstage one. With Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, returned to recording, with Nézet-Séguin, a dedicated and in 2017 will be the first- two celebrated CDs on body of musicians, and one ever Western orchestra to the prestigious Deutsche of the nation’s richest arts appear in Mongolia. 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, NY, and thousands of listeners on the promotes Health, champions Vail, CO. For more information radio with weekly Sunday music Education, eliminates on The Philadelphia afternoon broadcasts on barriers to Accessing the Orchestra, please visit WRTI-FM. orchestra, and maximizes www.philorch.org. 4 Music Director Chris Lee Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is now confirmed to lead The Philadelphia Orchestra through the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he becomes music director of the Metropolitan Opera beginning with the 2021-22 season. Yannick, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of the Orchestra. His intensely collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm 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.” Highlights of his fifth season include an exploration of American Sounds, with works by Leonard Bernstein, Christopher Rouse, Mason Bates, and Christopher Theofanidis; a Music of Paris Festival; and the continuation of a focus on opera and sacred vocal works, with Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Mozart’s C-minor Mass. 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 music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008 and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. He was also 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 Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with two CDs on that label. He continues fruitful recording relationships with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. In Yannick’s inaugural season The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM. 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, Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier, and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 25 Soloist Dario Acosta Grammy Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke is sought after by the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies, and chamber music ensembles for her versatile repertoire and commitment to new music. Operatic highlights of her 2016-17 season include Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at Seattle Opera and the world premiere of composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Santa Fe Opera. Orchestral engagements include appearances with the Chicago Symphony and Riccardo Muti in Prokofiev’sIvan the Terrible, Bernstein’s First Symphony with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and a staged version of Verdi’s Requiem with Houston Grand Opera under Patrick Summers. Her season also features performances of Christopher Theofanidis’s Creation/ Creator with the Atlanta Symphony and Robert Spano; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Milwaukee Symphony and Edo de Waart; Duruflé’s Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Matthew Halls and with the National Symphony under Donald Runnicles; Handel, Mahler, and Mozart with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Krzysztof Urbański and the Indianapolis Symphony; and Mozart’s Requiem with the Oregon Symphony. Ms. Cooke appears with the Minnesota Orchestra to sing and record Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by Osmo Vänskä and with the Nashville Symphony for Harbison’s Requiem, also being recorded. On DVD she can be seen in the Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Hansel and Gretel and Adams’s Doctor Atomic under conductor Alan Gilbert, which won a Grammy Award. Her recordings can be found on the Hyperion, Naxos, Bridge Records, Yarlung, GPR Records, and Sono Luminus labels. Ms. Cooke made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in Handel’s Messiah in 2013 and makes her subscription debut with these current performances. A graduate of Rice University and the Juilliard School, she also attended the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen and Marlboro music festivals, the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute, the Wolf Trap Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and Central City Opera’s Young Artist Training Program. 26 Soloist Zdenek Chrapek Pianist Radu Lupu is firmly established as one of the most important musicians of his generation and is widely acknowledged as a leading interpreter of the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Schubert. Since winning the prestigious Van Cliburn (1966) and Leeds (1969) piano competitions, he has regularly performed as soloist and recitalist in the musical capitals of Europe and the United States. He has appeared many times with the Berlin Philharmonic since debuting with that ensemble at the 1978 Salzburg Festival under Herbert von Karajan, and with the Vienna Philharmonic, including the opening concert of the 1986 Salzburg Festival under Riccardo Muti. He is also a frequent visitor to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra