27 Season 2013-2014 Thursday, December 5, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Saturday, December 7, at 8:00 Sunday, December 8, at 2:00 Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor Hélène Grimaud Piano Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 I. Allegro non troppo II. Allegro appassionato III. Andante—Più adagio—Tempo I IV. Allegretto grazioso—Un poco più presto Intermission Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 I. Daydreams, Passions (Largo—Allegro agitato e appassionato assai) II. A Ball (Valse. Allegro non troppo) III. In the Meadows (Adagio) IV. March to the Scaffold (Allegretto non troppo) V. Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath (Larghetto— Allegro) This program runs approximately 2 hours, 5 minutes. The December 7 concert is sponsored by the Louis N. Cassett Foundation. 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. PO Book 12.indd 1 11/26/13 11:13 AM 28 Please join us immediately following the December 8 concert for a Chamber Postlude, featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Brahms String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1 I. Allegro II. Romanze (Poco adagio) III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo—Un poco più animato IV. Allegro Juliette Kang Violin Daniel Han Violin Che-Hung Chen Viola Yumi Kendall Cello PO Book 12.indd 2 11/26/13 11:13 AM 3 Story Title 29 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 PO Book 12.indd 3 11/26/13 11:13 AM 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. 30 Soloist Mat Hennek/DG French pianist Hélène Grimaud was born in 1969 in Aix-en-Provence where she began her piano studies. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatory at age 13 and in 1987 made her recital debut in Tokyo. That same year Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris, marking the launch of Ms. Grimaud’s musical career—one highlighted by concerts with most of the world’s major orchestras and many celebrated conductors. She has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon (DG) artist since 2002, and her recordings have been awarded numerous accolades, among them the Cannes Classical Recording of the Year, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Diapason d’Or, the Grand Prix du Disque, and, most recently, the 2013 ECHO Klassik Award for her recording Duo, a collaboration with cellist Sol Gabetta. Brahms has featured prominently in Ms. Grimaud’s programming repertoire throughout the past year. In September DG released her album of the two Brahms piano concertos, the first with Andris Nelsons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony and the second recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic. Performance highlights of 2013 have included appearances in the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Russia, Brazil, China, and Japan playing with ensembles including the Czech, St. Petersburg, and Los Angeles philharmonics; the Cleveland and Russian National orchestras; and the City of Birmingham Symphony. Ms. Grimaud is also an ardent chamber musician who performs frequently at the most prestigious festivals and cultural events with a wide range of musical collaborators. In addition to her many musical milestones, Ms. Grimaud has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, human rights activist, and writer. Between her debut in 1995 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and her first performance with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999, she established the Wolf Conservation Center in New York State. Her love for the endangered species was sparked by a chance encounter with a wolf in northern Florida. Ms. Grimaud is also a member of Musicians for Human Rights, a worldwide network of people working in the music field to promote a culture of social change. She made her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2000. PO Book 12.indd 4 11/26/13 11:13 AM 31 Framing the Program Hector Berlioz and Johannes Brahms more or less held Parallel Events opposite views on what kind of music to write. They 1830 Music met a few times and, somewhat surprisingly, admired Berlioz Bellini one another.