23 Season 2013-2014 Friday, February 28, at 2:00 Saturday, March 1, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Stéphane Denève Conductor Eric Le Sage Piano The Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) Joan Myers Brown Executive Artistic Director Stravinsky Concerto in E-flat major for Chamber Orchestra (“Dumbarton Oaks”) I. Tempo giusto— II. Allegretto— III. Con moto Poulenc Aubade (choreographic concerto), for piano and 18 instruments Janine N. Beckles Dancer Jennifer Jones Dancer Roxanne Lyst Dancer Courtney Robinson Dancer Lauren Putty White Dancer Tommie-Waheed Evans Choreographer Intermission 24 ProkofievExcerpts from Cinderella a. Introduction b. Shawl Dance c. Interrupted Departure d. Clock Scene e. Dance of the Prince f. Cinderella’s Arrival at the Ball g. Grand Waltz h. Promenade i. First Galop of the Prince j. The Father k. Amoroso l. Cinderella’s Departure for the Ball m. Waltz Coda n. Midnight Stravinsky Suite from The Firebird (1919 version) I. Introduction—The Firebird and its Dance II. The Princesses’ Round Dance III. Infernal Dance of King Kastcheï— IV. Berceuse— V. Finale This program runs approximately 1 hour, 55 minutes. The March 1 concert is sponsored by Medcomp. 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. 3 Story Title 25 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. 26 Conductor J. Henry Fair Stéphane Denève is chief conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony and the former music director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He is a familiar presence with The Philadelphia Orchestra on stage in Verizon Hall, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, having appeared as guest conductor numerous times since making his debut in 2007. He conducted the Orchestra in two subscription series in the 2012-13 season and returns for two more this season. Recent European engagements include appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw and Philharmonia orchestras; the Bavarian Radio, Swedish Radio, and London symphonies; the Munich Philharmonic; the Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome; and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In North America Mr. Denève made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2012 with the Boston Symphony. He appears regularly with the Chicago and San Francisco symphonies, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In the field of opera Mr. Denève has conducted productions at the Royal Opera House, the Glyndebourne Festival, La Scala, Netherlands Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, Paris Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Comunale Bologna, and Cincinnati Opera. He enjoys close relationships with many of the world’s leading artists, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leif Ove Andsnes, Emanuel Ax, Lars Vogt, Nikolaï Lugansky, Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Leonidas Kavakos, Hilary Hahn, Gil Shaham, and Natalie Dessay. As a recording artist, Mr. Denève has won critical acclaim for his recordings of the works of Poulenc, Debussy, Roussel, Franck, and Connesson. He is a double winner of the Diapason d’Or, was shortlisted in 2012 for Gramophone’s Artist of the Year award, and won the prize for symphonic music at the 2013 International Classical Music Awards. A graduate of, and prizewinner at, the Paris Conservatory, Mr. Denève worked closely in his early career with Georg Solti, Georges Prêtre, and Seiji Ozawa. Mr. Denève is a champion of new music and has a special affinity for the music of his native France. 27 Soloists Jean-Baptiste Millot Pianist Eric Le Sage made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut earlier this week. He has appeared with the Los Angeles, Toronto, Rotterdam, Radio France, Dresden, and Bremen philharmonics; the Saint Louis, NHK, Netherlands Radio, and Stuttgart Radio symphonies; the Royal Scottish National and Munich Chamber orchestras; the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; and the Orchestre National d’Ile-de-France, with conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Armin Jordan, Edo de Waart, Louis Langrée, Michel Plasson, and Simon Rattle. Mr. Le Sage has performed recitals and chamber music concerts in venues across Europe, North and South America, and Japan. He has won numerous recording awards, including the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, and the Grand Prix du Disque. In 2010 he completed recording Schumann’s complete works for piano on the independent French label Alpha. He has also recorded for RCA-BMG, Naïve, and EMI. Born in Aix-en-Provence, Mr. Le Sage was the winner of major international competitions including Porto in 1985 and the Robert Schumann competition in Zwickau in 1989.