27 Season 2012-2013 Friday, May 3, at 8:00 Saturday, May 4, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Sunday, May 5, at 2:00 Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Hilary Hahn Violin Strauss Love Scene from Feuersnot, Op. 50 Korngold Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 I. Moderato nobile II. Romance: Andante III. Finale: Allegro assai vivace Intermission Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major I. Langsam. Schleppend. Wie ein Naturlaut— Immer sehr gemächlich II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell— Trio: Recht gemächlich—Tempo primo III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen— IV. Stürmisch bewegt This program runs approximately 1 hour, 55 minutes. The May 3 concert is sponsored by the Louis N. Cassett Foundation. Philadelphia Orchestra concerts are broadcast on WRTI 90.1 FM on Sunday afternoons at 2 PM. Visit www.wrti.org to listen live or for more details. 228 Story Title The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin Renowned for its distinctive Philadelphia is home and Carnegie Hall and the sound, beloved for its the Orchestra nurtures Kennedy Center while also keen ability to capture the an important relationship enjoying a three-week hearts and imaginations not only with patrons who residency in Saratoga of audiences, and admired support the main season Springs, N.Y., and a strong for an unrivaled legacy of at the Kimmel Center but partnership with the Bravo! “firsts” in music-making, also those who enjoy the Vail festival. The Philadelphia Orchestra Orchestra’s other area The ensemble maintains is one of the preeminent performances at the Mann an important Philadelphia orchestras in the world. Center, Penn’s Landing, tradition of presenting and other venues. The The Orchestra has educational programs for Philadelphia Orchestra cultivated an extraordinary students of all ages. Today Association also continues history of artistic leaders the Orchestra executes a to own the Academy of in its 112 seasons, myriad of education and Music, a National Historic including music directors community partnership Landmark. Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, programs serving nearly Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Through concerts, 50,000 annually, including Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, tours, residencies, its Neighborhood Concert Wolfgang Sawallisch, and presentations, and Series, Sound All Around Christoph Eschenbach, and recordings, the Orchestra and Family Concerts, and Charles Dutoit, who served is a global ambassador eZseatU. as chief conductor from for Philadelphia and for In February 2013 the 2008 to 2012. With the the U.S. Having been the Orchestra announced a 2012-13 season, Yannick first American orchestra recording project with Nézet-Séguin becomes the to perform in China, in Deutsche Grammophon, eighth music director of 1973 at the request of in which Yannick and The Philadelphia Orchestra. President Nixon, today The the ensemble will record Named music director Philadelphia Orchestra Stravinsky’s The Rite of designate in 2010, Nézet- boasts a new partnership Spring. Séguin brings a vision that with the National Centre extends beyond symphonic for the Performing Arts For more information on music into the vivid world of in Beijing. The Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra, opera and choral music. annually performs at please visit www.philorch.org. 4 Music Director Jessica Griffin Yannick Nézet-Séguin triumphantly opened his inaugural season as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in the fall of 2012. From the Orchestra’s home in Verizon Hall to the Carnegie Hall stage, 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, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” Over the past decade, 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. He has appeared with such revered ensembles as the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics; the Boston Symphony; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; the Dresden Staatskapelle; the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; and the major Canadian orchestras. His talents extend beyond symphonic music into opera and choral music, leading acclaimed performances at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House, and the Salzburg Festival. In February 2013, following the July 2012 announcement of a major long-term collaboration between Yannick and Deutsch Grammophon, the Orchestra announced a recording project with the label, in which Yannick and the Orchestra will record Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. His discography with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for BIS Records and EMI/Virgin includes an Edison Award-winning album of Ravel’s orchestral works. He has also recorded several award-winning albums with the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique. A native of Montreal, Yannick studied at that city’s Conservatory of Music and continued studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini and 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 Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec; and an honorary doctorate by the University of Quebec in Montreal. To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor. 29 Soloist Peter Miller Peter A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, American violinist Hilary Hahn was 14 years old when she made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1993. Now, at age 33, she has achieved international fame and recognition, including seven Echo Klassik awards, two Grammy awards, and the 2008 Gramophone Artist of the Year award. Highlights of her 2012-13 season include concerts throughout South America, Spain, and Scandinavia; a tour of Europe with the Dallas Symphony; a tour of Japan; a series of European recitals performing works by Fauré, Bach, Corelli, and pieces from her multi-year “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores” project; and appearances with the London and Vienna philharmonics, the Seattle Symphony, and the Spanish National Orchestra. In the 16 years since she began recording, Ms. Hahn has released 14 feature albums on the Deutsche Grammophon and Sony labels, as well as three DVDs, an Oscar-nominated movie soundtrack, an award-winning recording for children, and various compilations. All of her recordings have debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard classical chart. A concerto recording pairing Schoenberg and Sibelius spent 23 weeks on the Billboard chart and won Ms. Hahn her second Grammy, the 2009 award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra. Her first Grammy win came in 2003 for her Brahms and Stravinsky concerto album. A recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Violin Concerto, written for Ms. Hahn, was released in 2010. Her most recent album, Silfra, is a collaboration with German pianist and composer Hauschka and features entirely improvised performances. Ms. Hahn has appeared on the covers of all the major classical music publications and has been featured in mainstream periodicals such as Vogue, Elle, Town and Country, and Marie Claire. In January 2010 she appeared as guest artist on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Ms. Hahn is an avid writer, posting journal entries and information for young musicians and concertgoers on her website, hilaryhahn.com; she also produces a YouTube channel, youtube.com/hilaryhahnvideos. You can learn about life as the traveling companion of a famous musician by following Ms. Hahn’s violin case on Twitter and Instagram at @violincase. 30 Framing the Program The three composers featured on the program today Parallel Events enjoyed fascinating personal connections. Mahler and 1888 Music Strauss were friends and rivals—they conducted each Mahler Tchaikovsky other’s pieces and sparred over what path the future of Symphony Symphony music should take. Mahler’s famous comment “My time No. 1 No. 5 will come” is usually quoted out of context: The rest of the Literature sentence reads: “when his [Strauss’s] has passed.” Zola La Terre We hear two early works by these Modern masters. Art When Mahler composed what we now know as his First Van Gogh Symphony in 1888 it was a five-part “Symphonic Poem” The Yellow with a program, much along the lines of what Strauss was Chair doing at the same time. Over the next few years Mahler got History rid of the program and recast the work as a Symphony in Jack the Ripper D major—one of the most imaginative and remarkable first murders in symphonies ever composed. London The year 1888 was also when Strauss composed Don 1901 Music Juan, his first great tone poem. In the years to come he Strauss Sibelius would win wide acclaim with his orchestral works (hence Love Scene Symphony Mahler’s jealous comment), but he initially struggled with from Feuersnot No. 2 opera, a genre in which he hoped to emerge as Richard Literature Wagner’s heir. Today we hear a marvelous orchestral Kipling excerpt, a sumptuous love scene from the end of his Kim rarely performed second opera, Feuersnot. Art Klimt Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a generation younger than Buchenwald Mahler and Strauss but was admired and supported History by both of them. He was widely hailed as the greatest McKinley musical prodigy since Mozart and Mendelssohn. History assassinated dealt him a difficult hand. As a Viennese Jew he ultimately immigrated to America, where he had already established 1945 Music ties with Hollywood, and emerged as a leading film Korngold Bartók Violin Concerto Viola Concerto composer.