27 Season 2012-2013 Thursday, May 16, at 8:00 Saturday, May 18, at 8:00 The Philadelphia Orchestra Sunday, May 19, at 2:00 Simon Rattle Conductor Barbara Hannigan Soprano Webern Passacaglia, Op. 1 Berg Three Fragments from Wozzeck, Op. 7 Intermission Ligeti Mysteries of the Macabre First Philadelphia Orchestra performances Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 (“Pastoral”) I. Allegro, ma non troppo (Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arriving in the country) II. Andante molto moto (Scene by the brook) III. Allegro—Presto (Merry gathering of peasants)— IV. Allegro (Tempest, storm)— V. Allegretto (Shepherds’ hymn—Happy and thankful feelings after the storm) This program runs approximately 1 hour, 50 minutes. The May 16 concert is sponsored by the Hassel 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. 3 Story Title 29 The Philadelphia Orchestra Jessica Griffin Renowned for its distinctive vivid world of opera and Orchestra boasts a new sound, beloved for its choral music. partnership with the keen ability to capture the National Centre for the Philadelphia is home and hearts and imaginations Performing Arts in Beijing. the Orchestra nurtures of audiences, and admired The Orchestra annually an important relationship for an unrivaled legacy of performs at Carnegie Hall not only with patrons who “firsts” in music-making, and the Kennedy Center support the main season The Philadelphia Orchestra while also enjoying a at the Kimmel Center for is one of the preeminent three-week residency in the Performing Arts but orchestras in the world. Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and also those who enjoy the a strong partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra’s other area the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Orchestra has cultivated performances at the Mann Festival. an extraordinary history of Center, Penn’s Landing, artistic leaders in its 112 and other venues. The The ensemble maintains seasons, including music Philadelphia Orchestra an important Philadelphia directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Association also continues tradition of presenting Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, to own the Academy of educational programs for Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Music—a National Historic students of all ages. Today Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Landmark—as it has since the Orchestra executes a and Christoph Eschenbach, 1957. myriad of education and and Charles Dutoit, who community partnership Through concerts, served as chief conductor programs serving nearly tours, residencies, from 2008 to 2012. With 50,000 annually, including presentations, and the 2012-13 season, its Neighborhood Concert recordings, the Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin Series, Sound All Around is a global ambassador becomes the eighth music and Family Concerts, and for Philadelphia and for director of The Philadelphia eZseatU. the United States. Having Orchestra. Named music been the first American For more information on director designate in 2010, orchestra to perform in The Philadelphia Orchestra, Nézet-Séguin brings a China, in 1973 at the please visit www.philorch.org. vision that extends beyond request of President Nixon, symphonic music into the today The Philadelphia 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. 30 Conductor Simon Fowler Simon Rattle made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 1993 conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 and has been a familiar presence on the podium with the Philadelphians ever since. He has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2002. From 1980 to 1998 he was principal conductor and artistic adviser, then music director, of the City of Birmingham Symphony, recording and touring extensively with the ensemble. Recent season highlights have included projects with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Metropolitan Opera, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. An exclusive EMI artist for many years, Mr. Rattle has made over 70 recordings for the label that have received numerous international awards. Recent releases with the Berlin Philharmonic include Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Bizet’s Carmen. Other recordings include Brahms’s Requiem, which won a Grammy Award in 2008 for Best Choral Performance; Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, which won the 2009 Grammy for Best Choral Performance; Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique; Mahler’s Second and Ninth symphonies; and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9. With the Vienna Philharmonic he has recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos with Alfred Brendel. Born in Liverpool, Mr. Rattle studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He was knighted in 1994 by the Queen of England and has received many other distinctions in recognition of his artistic activities. Since taking up his appointment with the Berlin Philharmonic, he has broken new ground with the educational program Zunkunft@ Bphil. He and the Philharmonic were appointed international UNICEF ambassadors, the first time the honor has been conferred on an artistic ensemble. In 2013 Mr. Rattle and the Philharmonic begin a residency at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival, performing Mozart’s The Magic Flute and a series of concerts. Highlights of upcoming seasons include opera performances in Vienna, Berlin, London, and at the Salzburg Festival; extensive touring with the Berlin Philharmonic; and projects with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Vienna Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. 31 Soloist Marco Borggreve Soprano Barbara Hannigan makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with these performances. A frequent guest of the Berlin Philharmonic, she has also appeared with most of the other leading orchestras worldwide, with such conductors as Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Reinbert de Leeuw, Vladimir Jurowski, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kurt Masur, Alan Gilbert, and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Ms. Hannigan made her own conducting debut in 2010 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, leading Stravinsky’s Renard. Much sought after in contemporary music, Ms. Hannigan has given over 75 world premieres. Her operatic repertory has recently expanded to the roles of Agnes in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, created for the Aix-en- Provence Festival in July 2012 and recently performed to much acclaim at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Berg’s Lulu at La Monnaie in Brussels. She has sung the title role in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, Gepopo/Venus in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, and Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo, and she will make role debuts as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Melisande in Debussy’s Pelleas and Melisande, and Marie in Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten in the coming seasons. Ligeti’s Mysteries of the Macabre, a tour de force for soprano and orchestra, has become a signature work, which she has sung—and sometimes also conducted—at Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Théâtre du Châtelet, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the Salzburg Festival. Ms. Hannigan’s talent for programming has also been widely recognized, most recently in London as co-curator of the Southbank Centre’s innovative festival “The Rest is Noise,” based on Alex Ross’s seminal book of the same name. Last season saw her undertake an acclaimed European tour with Boulez’s Pli selon pli conducted by the composer. Born and brought up in Canada, Ms. Hannigan received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Toronto, studying with Mary Morrison. She continued her studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague with Meinard Kraak and privately with Neil Semer.