Playbill April/May 2018 | the Philadelphia Orchestra

April 2018 2 From the Executive Office

Dear Friends:

Summertime brings trips to the shore, plenty of sunshine, and beautiful music from The Philadelphia Orchestra— wherever we are in the world! The ensemble’s commitment to cultural diplomacy is on display with a tour to Europe and Israel, with 11 concerts in nine cities between May 24 and June 3: Brussels, Luxembourg, Paris, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Vienna, Haifa (an Orchestra debut), Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. This is only the second time the Orchestra has traveled to Israel, and just the fifth trip by a major American orchestra since 1949. Be Ryan Fleur sure to check our blog, www.philorch.org/blog, to follow our adventures overseas.

The Orchestra returns to the U.S. to make beautiful music at our longtime summer homes: the Mann Center, the Bravo! Vail festival, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The Orchestra’s connection to Fairmount Park dates back to at least 1922 and the ensemble, or members of the ensemble, have been performing there ever since. This year’s Mann series under the stars promises the annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular, along with a Leonard Bernstein celebration and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope shown on giant screens while the Orchestra performs the unforgettable scores live. Matthew Loden For the 12th season, the Philadelphians perform at the Bravo! Vail festival, from July 6 to 14, with the gorgeous Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. Principal Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève shares the podium with Donald Runnicles and David Newman. Guest artists include violinists Nikolaj Znaider and Augustin Hadelich, and pianists Nicholas Angelich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Daniil Trifonov.

The Orchestra finishes the summer, as it has since 1966, with its three-week residency in Saratoga Springs, NY. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts six of the 12 concerts, leading such audience favorites as Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Musorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, and Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” Symphony.

Thank you for being a part of our 2017-18 season. We wish you a summer full of great music, and we look forward to seeing you back in Verizon Hall in the fall.

Sincerely,

Ryan Fleur Matthew Loden Interim Co-President Interim Co-President 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 the third music director of the Metropolitan Opera beginning with the 2018-19 season; he is currently music director designate. Yannick, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. His intensely 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 him “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.”

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling talents of his generation. He is in his 10th and final season as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, and he has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. In summer 2017 he became an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. 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 and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) enjoy a long-term collaboration. Under his leadership The Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with three 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 a 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 philorch.org/conductor. 6 The Philadelphia Orchestra 2017–2018 Season

Yannick Nézet-Séguin Violas Flutes Music Director Choong-Jin Chang, Principal Jeffrey Khaner, Principal Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair Ruth and A. Morris Williams Chair Paul and Barbara Henkels Chair Kirsten Johnson, Associate David Cramer, Associate Principal Stéphane Denève Principal Rachelle and Ronald Kaiserman Principal Guest Conductor Kerri Ryan, Assistant Principal Chair Kensho Watanabe Judy Geist Erica Peel, Piccolo Assistant Conductor Renard Edwards First Violins Anna Marie Ahn Petersen Oboes David Kim, Concertmaster Piasecki Family Chair Richard Woodhams, Principal Dr. Benjamin Rush Chair David Nicastro Samuel S. Fels Chair Juliette Kang, First Associate Burchard Tang Peter Smith, Associate Principal Concertmaster Che-Hung Chen Jonathan Blumenfeld Joseph and Marie Field Chair Rachel Ku Edwin Tuttle Chair Ying Fu, Associate Concertmaster Marvin Moon Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English Marc Rovetti, Assistant Meng Wang Horn Concertmaster Joanne T. Greenspun Chair Barbara Govatos Cellos Robert E. Mortensen Chair Hai-Ye Ni, Principal Clarinets Jonathan Beiler Priscilla Lee, Associate Principal Ricardo Morales, Principal Hirono Oka Yumi Kendall, Assistant Principal Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Richard Amoroso Wendy and Derek Pew Chair Robert and Lynne Pollack Chair Foundation Chair Samuel Caviezel, Associate Yayoi Numazawa Richard Harlow Principal Jason DePue Gloria dePasquale Sarah and Frank Coulson Chair Larry A. Grika Chair Orton P. and Noël S. Jackson Socrates Villegas Jennifer Haas Chair Paul R. Demers, Bass Clarinet Miyo Curnow Kathryn Picht Read Peter M. Joseph and Susan Elina Kalendarova Robert Cafaro Rittenhouse Joseph Chair Daniel Han Volunteer Committees Chair Julia Li Ohad Bar-David Bassoons William Polk John Koen Daniel Matsukawa, Principal Derek Barnes Richard M. Klein Chair Second Violins Mollie and Frank Slattery Chair Mark Gigliotti, Co-Principal Kimberly Fisher, Principal Alex Veltman Angela Anderson Smith Peter A. Benoliel Chair Holly Blake, Contrabassoon Paul Roby, Associate Principal Basses Sandra and David Marshall Chair Harold Robinson, Principal Horns Dara Morales, Assistant Principal Carole and Emilio Gravagno Jennifer Montone, Principal Anne M. Buxton Chair Chair Gray Charitable Trust Chair Philip Kates Michael Shahan, Associate Jeffrey Lang, Associate Principal Mitchell and Hilarie Morgan Principal Hannah L. and J. Welles Family Foundation Chair Joseph Conyers, Assistant Henderson Chair Booker Rowe Principal Daniel Williams Joseph Brodo Chair, given by John Hood Jeffry Kirschen Peter A. Benoliel David Fay Ernesto Tovar Torres Davyd Booth Duane Rosengard Shelley Showers Paul Arnold Robert Kesselman Lorraine and David Popowich Chair Nathaniel West Trumpets Dmitri Levin David Bilger, Principal Boris Balter Some members of the string Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest Amy Oshiro-Morales sections voluntarily rotate Chair Mei Ching Huang seating on a periodic basis. Jeffrey Curnow, Associate Yu-Ting Chen Principal Jeoung-Yin Kim Gary and Ruthanne Schlarbaum Chair Anthony Prisk Robert W. Earley

Roster continues on pg. 8 8 The Philadelphia Orchestra 2017–2018 Season

Trombones Percussion Librarians Nitzan Haroz, Principal Christopher Deviney, Principal Robert M. Grossman, Principal Neubauer Family Foundation Anthony Orlando, Associate Steven K. Glanzmann Chair Principal Matthew Vaughn, Co-Principal Angela Zator Nelson Stage Personnel Eric Carlson James J. Sweeney, Jr., Manager Blair Bollinger, Bass Trombone Piano and Celesta James P. Barnes Drs. Bong and Mi Wha Lee Chair Kiyoko Takeuti

Tuba Keyboards Carol Jantsch, Principal Davyd Booth Lyn and George M. Ross Chair Harp Timpani Elizabeth Hainen, Principal Don S. Liuzzi, Principal Patricia and John Imbesi Chair Dwight V. Dowley Chair Angela Zator Nelson, Associate Principal

Musicians Behind the Scenes Ernesto Tovar Torres Horn

Where were you born? I was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. It’s a small town near the border with McAllen, TX. I grew up in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, until my early teens. What piece of music could you play over and over again? This is a hard question. If I had to pick, my favorite piece would have to be Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5. I could play the Swan Theme from the finale forever! What is your most treasured possession? My three adorable dogs: Cleo the Husky, Sammy the German Shepherd mix, and Francis the Border Collie mix. They shed so much but we still love them. Wanna see pictures? What’s your favorite Philadelphia restaurant? My wife and I haven’t been here long, but out of the ones we’ve tried Bing Bing Dim Sum on Passyunk Square has been the best! We live in the area and are excited to keep exploring different cuisines.

Jason Bartlett Tell us about your instrument. I play a Daniel Rauch double horn. He recently retired and is no longer making horns. I was very lucky to get his second to last horn ever made. It is number 431 out of 432 horns made in his lifetime. What’s in your instrument case? I actually just got a new case. It’s lighter and better for travel. But it means that I’ve had to cut down on what I carry. Now it’s just my music and scores for the week, a couple of mouthpieces, a tuner/metronome, breath mints, and five pencils. (You always need to have a pencil). What piece of music never fails to move you? The opening of the third movement of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. I’m a romantic. For me, that’s as good as it gets. When did you join the Orchestra? I joined the Orchestra in the middle of this season. My first official concert as a full-time member was on January 5, 2018. Do you play any other instruments? I can whistle and get into a little trouble on the guitar, but I’m not very good.

To read the full set of questions, please visit www.philorch.org/Tovar. 10 Beyond the Baton This Month Yannick Talks about His Friendship with Pianist Hélène Grimaud. You’ve known and worked with Hélène Grimaud

Chris Lee for a long time and have a wonderful relationship with her. Friendship in music is the most wonderful gift. I believe that what makes an orchestra special is the friendship, or knowledge, of each other, the musicians having a history that they share with each other, day after day, week after week, and year after year; also between the conductor and the musicians. But there is also the relationship and the friendship between a soloist who regularly visits an ensemble. Of course this is felt by the audience as well. Hélène Grimaud has been visiting Philadelphia for many years. But when we first met, for Brahms’s First Piano Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic, there was an extra intensity there, a profound respect and understanding that very quickly turned into friendship. Since then we’ve explored much repertoire together with many orchestras, and I have toured with her many times. Now all of these elements are reunited, Hélène, me, this Orchestra, two concertos [Beethoven’s Fourth and Brahms’s First], and we also go on a tour of Europe afterwards with her. I’m sure this will be an extra special time because it will be yet another opportunity for us to deepen our connection together. Not only me and her but all of us with the music we are going to play.

Hélène Grmaud is a poet, but she is also an incredible force of nature. She is a citizen of the world. She is a long-standing defender of human rights and animal rights. She is also a writer. She has an imagination like no other artist I know. And yet she is also a consummate pianist, and what I find incredible is the passion with which she goes into the keyboard. It stops even being piano—it’s just something that is like an orchestra. When I was growing up studying piano I very much wanted to play like this, like a full orchestra. So I feel that when we have Hélène with us it feels like there really are two orchestras on stage, the piano with her and The Philadelphia Orchestra. This will be a joy to be able to make music this way and exchange those very special feelings with our audience.

Hélène Grimaud performs Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto and Brahms’s First Piano Concerto with the Orchestra May 10-20.

To read previous Beyond the Batons, please visit www.philorch.org/baton. 12 An Orchestral Tosca The Philadelphia Orchestra Presents Semi-Staged Performances of the Operatic Favorite

By Allan Kozinn

When operas turn up on a symphony orchestra’s season prospectus, some listeners are thrilled, and others—those who believe that the business of an orchestra is the great symphonic repertory—don’t quite see the point. Opera, they would argue, is a specialized, theatrical art that requires a small army of carpenters, electricians, designers, directors, and coaches to stage, and those are just the people you don’t see. Out in the house, the audience is focused primarily on the singers, and the world they are creating on the stage; the orchestra, relegated to the pit in an opera house, is of secondary interest; moreover, in some of the operatic canon, the orchestra is used, for long stretches, as little more than a magnified mandolin.

But that argument, however logical it may seem, is also remarkably shortsighted, and every now and then conductors like Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who believe that opera is a crucial element of musical life, make that point by programming one of the major works. In the greatest operas, after all, the orchestra is a character in the drama—more than that, really: Think of it as a kind of three-dimensional, interactive map that not only shows all the characters and the relationships between them, but also tells us what they are thinking, feeling, and planning. How better to demonstrate the orchestra’s role in conveying the work’s psychological underpinnings than to have one of the world’s great ensembles present A poster for the premiere of Tosca, the score in the best possible light? which took place in Rome in 1900 That, certainly, is what lies behind Nézet- Séguin’s decision to lead The Philadelphia Orchestra in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca on May 12, 16, and 19. Like his 2014 presentation of Richard Strauss’s Salome, Jessica Griffin this Tosca will be symphonically staged, 14 An Orchestral Tosca

The music just described accounts for the opera’s first 15 seconds, but it is packed with information. The three chords, which we will hear throughout the opera in many guises, represent Scarpia, who, besides pursuing Angelotti, has designs on Tosca, the great diva of the time.

As the opera unfolds, we will learn how vile Scarpia is, but at this point—before he is even seen onstage— Puccini has told plenty with those three chords. The distance between the first and last is the musical interval of an augmented fourth, known as diabolus in musica, or the devil in music. But even if you’re not up on your music theory, the chords sound terrifying. And by putting them first, Puccini shows us that Scarpia will loom menacingly View of the Castel with James Alexander directing a starry cast that includes over the whole drama. Sant’Angelo in Rome, Sonya Yoncheva in the title role; Yusif Eyvazov as Tosca’s by Pierre-Antoine Demachy. lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi; and Ambrogio Angelotti’s theme shows us what that terror feels like on The third act of Tosca takes Maestri as Scarpia, the heartless chief of police in this the receiving end. A few moments later, when his friend place at the Castel. story of revolution and repression, love and lust, set in Cavaradossi tells him of a well in his garden where he Rome in 1800 during the Napoleonic wars. can hide, we hear Scarpia’s chords again—this time in a fleeting, light-textured version that dissolves gently, Tosca has a special relevance now, set as it is in a showing us both Angelotti’s fear and loathing of his country caught between radically different political pursuer, even as he begins to believe that he may have ideas (the Republicanism of Napoleon, the royalism of found safety. Puccini accompanies the discussion of the the Hapsburgs), and depicting Tosca as the object of a powerful man’s lust, believing that Cavaradossi’s life depends on whether she succumbs. Tosca’s #MeToo moment is violent—“This is Tosca’s kiss,” is how she describes it as she stabs him. But Scarpia’s mendacity triumphs, nevertheless—unless you interpret her final line as she leaps from the parapet of the Castel Sant’Angelo, “Oh Scarpia! Before God!,” as a promise that the battle will continue on a higher plane of existence.

These performances are not The Philadelphia Orchestra’s first encounters with Tosca: Riccardo Muti, whose opera performances with the Philadelphians are among the most memorable concerts of his tenure, presented the work in 1991. Eugene Ormandy conducted the full opera in 1953, and singers have performed its most popular arias with the Orchestra going as far back as 1912—12 years after the work’s premiere—when Edna Harwood Baugher sang Tosca’s wrenching second act aria, “Vissi d’arte.”

Tosca is a magnificent object lesson in how central the orchestra’s role really is. There is no curtain-raising overture here. Instead, Puccini plunges directly into the drama, and to do that, he has the orchestra work its magic with three imposing, fortissimo chords—B-flat major, A-flat major, and E major, the last marked tutta forza and underscored with tremolando strings and timpani—followed by tense, descending figures, during which Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, runs into the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. 14 An Orchestral Tosca

well with a rising, five-note low E of the largest bell of St. Peter’s Basilica, which motif, which we hear again sounds during the orchestral introduction to Cavardossi’s in Act II when Scarpia forces aria of love and despair, “È lucevan le stelle.” Nathalie Gabay Tosca to reveal the hiding place—tentatively and gently Given all this carefully crafted detail, it seems odd that at first, as she resists, then in Joseph Kerman, in his indispensable book Opera as a fast, loud burst when she Drama, dismisses Tosca as a “shabby little shocker.” finally tells him (and again One thing that bothered Kerman, and has bothered when Scarpia sadistically other commentators, is the work’s final page. As Tosca reveals to Cavaradossi that stands on the castle’s parapet, about to jump to her she has). death, you might expect the work to end as it began, with a triumphant burst of Scarpia’s three chords. The score is packed with Instead, Puccini has the orchestra return to the strains of these touches. Cavaradossi’s Cavardossi’s despondent “È lucevan le stelle.” first aria, “Recondita armonia,” persuades us of the depth But let’s give Puccini the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps of his love for Tosca, but he considered a return to the Scarpia chords but found one of its motifs turns up, that too tidy and obvious a solution. Scarpia is dead, transformed, later in the and Tosca’s next move is her own final act of defiance. first act, when Scarpia, in a Though she was not present when Cavaradossi sang his deceptively courtly gesture, aria, the sentiments it expresses are now hers as well. offers Tosca holy water. This is their tragic but unified moment, and Scarpia’s Tosca’s own love motif, first malevolence has no power over it. It may not be the heard in Act I when she ending you expect, but it’s pretty close to perfect. P enters the church in search of Cavaradossi, is also hauntingly present in Act II when Scarpia weaves his web around her as Cavaradossi is heard being tortured.

No character is too insignificant to have a telling motif. The minor character Soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who of the Sacristan, in Act I, for example, is portrayed as portrays Tosca in the Orchestra’s a bumbling old man, with a silly theme that suits him; performances yet there are hints of menace around his music, too, because his sympathies are with the State and Scarpia, rather than with Napoleon’s Republican advocates like Allan Kozinn writes frequently Cavaradossi and Angelotti. about music and musicians. You might think that conveying the characters’ thoughts in his orchestral score would have been enough to keep Puccini busy, but he lavished nearly as much attention on depicting Rome, the opera’s setting. When the choristers sing a Te Deum at the end of Act I, Puccini took care to use the Te Deum melody that was actually sung at the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, where the entire act takes place.

He also researched the bells of Rome’s many churches and how they would sound from the Castel Sant’Angelo, where Act III takes place. He wove those bells into the depiction of dawn at the start of the act—ending on the 16 An Orchestral Tosca

When it comes to helping his beloved Philadelphia Orchestra, Board member Robert Mortensen likes the human touch. During intermissions at the Kimmel Center, armed with the knowledge of where a regular subscriber is sitting (courtesy of the Orchestra’s Development office), “I’ll go to them, introduce myself, and chat a bit on a broad range of subjects. It’s helped, especially in fundraising, or getting an additional gift.”

Of course, that’s not the only way Mortensen contributes to the Orchestra’s well-being. He sits on the Board’s Executive, Finance, and Development Committees, and he co-chairs the Maestro’s Circle Committee. He’s a generous donor as well.

Mortensen’s road to The Philadelphia Orchestra began at Rutgers, where he sang baritone in the mixed choir. In the early ’60s, Eugene Ormandy called on singers from Rutgers and several other colleges to perform Orff’s Carmina burana with Robert Mortensen the Orchestra. “We did a lot of hard work, line by line, until he was satisfied!”

Aside from music, another key element of Mortensen’s Rutgers education was ROTC. He graduated in 1963 as a second lieutenant and went on to serve in Vietnam, where he won the Bronze Star. (He remained in the Reserves for 28 years). After four years of active duty, he joined the New York Central Railroad as a management trainee. A series of mergers led him to relocate to Philadelphia, where, just shy of his 65th birthday, he retired after 30 years in the railroad business.

Getting involved on the Orchestra’s Board came naturally, given his musical background. He’s been a generous supporter of the music program at Rutgers (Robert E. Mortensen Hall is the first home of choral music at the school.) And it certainly helped that he was one of the original tenants at Academy House, right next door to the Academy of Music. The best part about serving on the Board? “Clearly, it’s my ability to support, at several levels, one of the greatest orchestras in the world.” A current challenge is building up the endowment, something he relishes. “I enjoy fundraising. I can make a cold call without much problem. We’ve gradually been able to add to our donor base, as well as get people to commit to increasingly larger annual gifts.”

One of his latest generous gifts: He endowed the Robert E. Mortensen Chair in the first violin section, currently held by Barbara Govatos. “I wanted to do something more for the Orchestra than just my annual gift. This is a long-term commitment to the Orchestra, and to its musicians.”

For more on Robert Mortensen’s story visit www.philorch.org/mortensen. 20 Bernstein’s MASS Released on Deutsche Grammophon

Yannick and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s performances of Leonard Bernstein’s MASS in April/May 2015 blew the roof off of Verizon Hall (“an otherworldy delight”—Philadelphia magazine). Now you can relive that excitement, or experience it for the first time, in a live recording from Deutsche Grammophon released in March.

Conceived as a requiem mass for John F. Kennedy in conjunction with the dedication of the Kennedy Center in 1971, the work draws on Broadway, religious, and popular influences to explore themes of religious beliefs, individual identity, war, and peace. The Orchestra’s performances provided the opportunity to utilize a wide range of participants, not only Broadway veterans (such as Kevin Vortmann, who portrayed the Celebrant), but also students from the Westminster Symphonic Choir and Temple University Concert Choir, high school dance students from the Rock School for Dance, students from the School District of Philadelphia, the Temple University Diamond Marching Band, and other local community performers.

The disc is available as part of Deutsche Grammophon’s Leonard Bernstein Centenary Collection, or as a single disc, and can be purchased through most digital music services, including iTunes and Amazon, in addition to other music retailers.