23 Season 2013-2014 Thursday, January 16, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Friday, January 17, at 2:00 Saturday, January 18, at 8:00 Cristian Ma˘celaru Conductor Hai-Ye Ni Cello Borodin Polovtsian Dances, from Prince Igor I. Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens II. Polovtsian Dance Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33, for cello and orchestra Intermission Tchaikovsky Serenade in C major, Op. 48, for strings I. Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo—Allegro moderato—Andante non troppo II. Walzer: Moderato. Tempo di valse III. Élégie: Larghetto elegiaco—Poco più animato—Tempo I IV. Finale (Tema russo): Andante—Allegro con spirito—Molto meno mosso— Tempo I—Più mosso Balakirev/orch. Liapunov Islamey This program runs approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes. 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. 224 Story Title 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. 25 Conductor Matthew Evearitt Cristian Ma˘celaru is the associate conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He began his tenure as assistant conductor in September 2011; in recognition of his artistic contributions to the Orchestra, his title was elevated to associate conductor in November 2012. In addition to assisting Yannick Nézet-Séguin, he leads several subscription and non-subscription performances in the 2013-14 season. Other highlights of the season include a subscription debut with the National Symphony and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter as soloist, a return to the Chicago Symphony, and appearances with the Florida Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, and the Alabama and San Antonio symphonies. He also returns to his home country to lead the National Radio Orchestra of Romania in Mozart’s Requiem. He recently made two overwhelmingly successful appearances with the Chicago Symphony on subscription programs two seasons in a row as a replacement for Pierre Boulez. An accomplished violinist from an early age, Mr. Ma˘celaru was the youngest concertmaster in the history of the Miami Symphony and made his Carnegie Hall debut with that orchestra at age 19. He also played in the first violin section of the Houston Symphony for two seasons. Formerly he held the position of resident conductor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. A proponent of music education, Mr. Ma˘celaru was the founder and artistic director of the Crisalis Music Project, a program in which young musicians perform in a variety of settings, side-by-side with established, renowned artists. He also served as a conductor with the Houston Youth Symphony. Last year Mr. Ma˘celaru received the 2012 Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award, a prestigious honor only awarded once before in the Foundation’s history. He has participated in the conducting programs of the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival, studying under David Zinman, Murry Sidlin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Robert Spano, Oliver Knussen, and Stefan Asbury. Mr. Ma˘celaru’s main studies were with Larry Rachleff at Rice University, where he received master’s degrees in conducting and violin performance. He completed undergraduate studies in violin performance at the University of Miami. Mr. Ma˘celaru currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Cheryl, and children, Beniamin and Maria. 26 Soloist Ryan Donnell Hai-Ye Ni joined The Philadelphia Orchestra as principal cello at the beginning of the 2006-07 season after having served as associate principal cello of the New York Philharmonic since 1999. She first came into prominence after her critically praised New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1991, a result of her winning first prize at the Naumburg International Cello Competition; she was the youngest recipient ever of that award. She has since won first prize in the 1996 International Paulo Cello Competition in Finland and became a recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2001. Her recent engagements have included a recital at the San Francisco Conservatory; a chamber music performance with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott and violist Paul Neubauer at the Bravo! Vail festival; a performance with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; and a recital at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with pianist Cecilia Licad. Ms. Ni made her solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2010 with Saint-Saens’s Cello Concerto No. 1. Past performances of note include Tan Dun’s The Map in July 2010 at the World Expo in Shanghai with the composer conducting and appearances with pianist Lang Lang on the October 2009 Carnegie Hall series Ancient Paths, Modern Voices: A Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture.