December 2014

Dear Friends:

At this time of year, people gather together to share special moments around the holidays. Here at the Orchestra we also bring people together through our concerts and neighborhood outreach, such as our free PlayINs that connect our musicians with wonderful amateur music-makers all over the region. This season we have expanded these popular offerings to include six musical get-togethers, plus a repeat of last season’s SingIN, which takes place on December 15. If you have yet to be a part of this fun (on stage or in the audience), please come enjoy the unique experience of seeing musicians of all ages and abilities perform with musicians from the Orchestra. Come join us—you won’t be disappointed! Please visit www.philorch.org/playin for more information.

Many of you have chosen to make our holiday traditions part of yours—we truly enjoy sharing them with you. The annual Glorious Sound of Christmas (Dec. 18-20), Messiah (Dec. 21), and New Year’s Eve concerts are now joined by Cirque de la Symphonie for the second year in a row (Jan. 3-4). Last year’s performances of Cirque were a huge hit with audiences of all ages—secure your tickets now as the concerts are sure to sell out again. We are so thrilled that Yannick will be conducting the New Year’s Eve Concert, ushering in 2015 as a proud resident of Philadelphia. And we have a Christmas Kids Spectacular Family Concert (Dec. 13), which, I’ve been told, will feature a special visit from a certain man from the North Pole who has a long white beard and wears a red and white suit!

This season is one of great success for our Orchestra–the music is uplifting, and our ticket sales and contributions are growing. That does not mean, however, that we no longer need your support to cultivate new audiences, to incubate and pilot new ideas, and to continue to bring music to all of Philadelphia. As this calendar year comes to a close, and you look back on what the Orchestra has meant to you, we ask you to consider making a charitable donation to our Annual Fund. No gift is too small. If you are already a donor, we extend our heartfelt thanks.

We now look ahead with tremendous excitement to what the New Year will bring. I wish you and yours the most joyous of holiday seasons and hope that our festive music helps brighten your celebrations.

Yours in Music,

Allison VulgamorePresident & CEO

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From the President

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Music DirectorMusic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues his inspired leadership of The Philadelphia Orchestra, which began 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 Nézet-Séguin “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.” He has taken the Orchestra to new musical heights. Highlights of his third season as music director include an Art of the Pipe Organ festival; the 40/40 Project, in which 40 great compositions that haven’t been heard on subscription concerts in at least 40 years will be performed; and Bernstein’s MASS, the pinnacle of the Orchestra’s five-season requiem cycle.

Yannick has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. He has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008 and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. He also continues to enjoy a close relationship with the London Philharmonic, of which he was principal guest conductor. He has made wildly successful appearances with the world’s most revered ensembles, and he 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 Philadelphia Orchestra returned to recording with a CD on that label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions. He continues a fruitful recording relationship with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic and Choir 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; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

To read Yannick’s full bio, please visit www.philorch.org/conductor.

Chris Lee

The Philadelphia Orchestra2014–2015 SeasonYannick Nézet-SéguinMusic Director Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair

Stéphane DenèvePrincipal Guest ConductorCristian MacelaruConductor-in-ResidenceLiu KuokmanAssistant ConductorCharles DutoitConductor Laureate

First ViolinsDavid Kim, ConcertmasterDr. Benjamin Rush ChairJuliette Kang, First Associate ConcertmasterJoseph and Marie Field ChairYing Fu, Associate ConcertmasterMarc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster Herbert Light Larry A. Grika ChairBarbara GovatosWilson H. and Barbara B. Taylor ChairJonathan BeilerHirono OkaRichard AmorosoRobert and Lynne Pollack ChairYayoi NumazawaJason DePueLisa-Beth LambertJennifer HaasMiyo CurnowElina KalendarovaDaniel HanYiying Li

Second ViolinsKimberly Fisher, PrincipalPeter A. Benoliel ChairPaul Roby, Associate PrincipalSandra and David Marshall ChairDara Morales, Assistant PrincipalAnne M. Buxton ChairPhilip KatesMitchell and Hilarie Morgan Family Foundation ChairBooker RoweDavyd BoothPaul ArnoldLorraine and David Popowich ChairYumi Ninomiya ScottDmitri LevinBoris BalterWilliam PolkAmy Oshiro-Morales

ViolasChoong-Jin Chang, PrincipalRuth and A. Morris Williams ChairKirsten Johnson, Associate PrincipalKerri Ryan, Assistant PrincipalJudy Geist Renard EdwardsAnna Marie Ahn PetersenPiasecki Family ChairDavid NicastroBurchard TangChe-Hung Chen Rachel KuMarvin Moon*

CellosHai-Ye Ni, PrincipalAlbert and Mildred Switky ChairYumi Kendall, Acting Associate PrincipalWendy and Derek Pew Foundation ChairJohn Koen, Acting Assistant PrincipalRichard HarlowGloria dePasqualeOrton P. and Noël S. Jackson ChairKathryn Picht ReadWinifred and Samuel Mayes ChairRobert CafaroVolunteer Committees ChairOhad Bar-DavidCatherine R. and Anthony A. Clifton ChairDerek BarnesMollie and Frank Slattery ChairAlex Veltman

BassesHarold Robinson, PrincipalCarole and Emilio Gravagno ChairMichael Shahan, Associate PrincipalJoseph Conyers, Assistant PrincipalJohn HoodHenry G. ScottDavid FayDuane RosengardRobert Kesselman

Some members of the string sections voluntarily rotate seating on a periodic basis.

FlutesJeffrey Khaner, PrincipalPaul and Barbara Henkels ChairDavid Cramer, Associate PrincipalRachelle and Ronald Kaiserman ChairLoren N. LindKazuo Tokito, Piccolo

OboesRichard Woodhams, PrincipalSamuel S. Fels ChairPeter Smith, Associate PrincipalJonathan BlumenfeldEdwin Tuttle ChairElizabeth Starr Masoudnia, English HornJoanne T. Greenspun Chair

ClarinetsRicardo Morales, PrincipalLeslie Miller and Richard Worley ChairSamuel Caviezel, Associate PrincipalSarah and Frank Coulson ChairPaul R. Demers, Bass ClarinetPeter M. Joseph and Susan Rittenhouse Joseph Chair

BassoonsDaniel Matsukawa, PrincipalRichard M. Klein ChairMark Gigliotti, Co-PrincipalAngela Anderson SmithHolly Blake, Contrabassoon

HornsJennifer Montone, PrincipalGray Charitable Trust ChairJeffrey Lang, Associate PrincipalDaniel WilliamsJeffry KirschenDenise TryonShelley Showers

TrumpetsDavid Bilger, PrincipalMarguerite and Gerry Lenfest ChairJeffrey Curnow, Associate PrincipalGary and Ruthanne Schlarbaum ChairAnthony PriskRobert W. Earley

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TrombonesNitzan Haroz, PrincipalNeubauer Family Foundation ChairMatthew Vaughn, Co-PrincipalEric CarlsonBlair Bollinger, Bass TromboneDrs. Bong and Mi Wha Lee Chair

TubaCarol Jantsch, PrincipalLyn and George M. Ross Chair

TimpaniDon S. Liuzzi, PrincipalDwight V. Dowley ChairAngela Zator Nelson, Associate PrincipalPatrick and Evelyn Gage Chair

PercussionChristopher Deviney, PrincipalMrs. Francis W. De Serio ChairAnthony Orlando, Associate PrincipalAnn R. and Harold A. Sorgenti ChairAngela Zator Nelson

Piano and CelestaKiyoko Takeuti

KeyboardsDavyd BoothMichael Stairs, Organ**

HarpElizabeth Hainen, PrincipalPatricia and John Imbesi Chair

LibrariansRobert M. Grossman, PrincipalSteven K. Glanzmann

Stage PersonnelEdward Barnes, ManagerJames J. Sweeney, Jr.James P. Barnes

*On leave**Regularly engaged musician

Where were you born? I was born in Rochester, PA.What piece of music could you play over and over again? Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” Symphony.Tell us about your instrument. I play the Shires/Bollinger Model bass trombone made by the S.E. Shires Company of Hopedale, MA. I helped design the instrument.What’s in your instrument case? Trombone, oils, tools, spare parts.If you could ask one composer one question what would it be? For Franz Schubert: Is that an accent or a diminuendo at the end of your “Great” C-major Symphony?What piece of music never fails to move you? Mahler’s Second Symphony. The resurrection chorale is always thrilling.When did you join the Orchestra? In 1986, right after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music.Do you play any other instruments? Not in public!What’s your favorite type of food? Anything on the grill.Do you speak any other languages? I can get by in German and order a beer in several others.Do you have any hobbies? Genealogy. Several branches of the family tree were in PA since the early 1700s.What’s the last recording you purchased? CD or download? Four Sketches by Anthony Plog played by the Center City Brass Quintet. Download.

To read the full set of questions, please visit www.philorch.org/bollinger.

Musicians Behind the ScenesBlair Bollinger Bass Trombone

Paul A

rnold

10 The Philadelphia Orchestra 2014–2015 Season

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Soul of a City

Each great city has its great music, composers and works that embody its history, geography, culture, and character. Paris remains in our minds the city of Berlioz and Debussy, London of Handel and Elgar, Berlin of Mendelssohn and Kurt Weill, Vienna of Mozart, Schubert, and Mahler. St. Petersburg, the bristling “Venice of the North,” represents in many ways the soul of Russian music: If Moscow is the intellectual center of Russian culture, St. Petersburg is its heart—the city not just of Pushkin but of Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff.

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg

By Paul J. Horsley

The Philadelphia Orchestra Takes Listeners on a Musical Tour of St. Petersburg

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This season The Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates this historic city on the Neva River with its St. Petersburg Festival, three weeks of subscription concerts in January devoted to music of, and about, the city—and the first of a series of festivals devoted to a single city. With its storied Mariinsky Theatre, its skyline dominated by St. Isaac’s Cathedral, its breathtaking Hermitage and Winter Palace, and its bustling Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg is as essential to the music of the 19th and 20th centuries as Vienna was to that of the 18th. The Orchestra’s focus, which to a larger extent spans the whole 2014-15 season, embraces music written by composers who made their careers in St. Petersburg, works first heard by the city’s audiences, and music whose very character is defined by the city’s cultural climate.

At the center of this distillation are works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff, composers with deep historical associations with The Philadelphia Orchestra. First among these, for the current season and Festival, is the music of Rachmaninoff, and through the course of the season Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in his third season as the Orchestra’s eighth music director, will lead all three Rachmaninoff symphonies and Stokowski’s transcription of the composer’s Prelude in C-sharp minor.

“The music of Sergei Rachmaninoff is the one of the things that makes people fall in love with the sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra,” Nézet-Séguin says, “and the close

Composer/pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff and Eugene Ormandy during a rehearsal at the Academy of Music in 1938

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relationship between Philadelphia and his music is a tradition that of course I’m very honored to keep alive.” Indeed, Rachmaninoff himself noted that he frequently composed with the sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra in his head—especially its incredible ability to sustain long, vocally inspired melodies. “When I was a young man I idolized [Russian opera singer Feodor] Chaliapin,” he told the Orchestra during a visit in 1941. “He was my ideal, and when I thought of composition I thought of song and of Chaliapin. … Nowadays when I compose my thoughts turn to you, the greatest orchestra in the world.” Moreover Rachmaninoff noted that, as piano soloist, he would “rather perform with The Philadelphia Orchestra than any other of the world.”

In addition to the works of Rachmaninoff, the St. Petersburg Festival features music that is part of the Orchestra’s 40/40 Project celebrating Nézet-Séguin’s 40th birthday in March 2015, with 40 works (such as Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suites and movements from Glazunov’s The Seasons) that are making their first appearances on subscription concerts since Yannick’s birth in 1975.

The Festival is, to some extent, also a way of putting together repertoire that is already part of the Orchestra’s lingua franca while reminding audiences of the music’s origins and suggesting new ties, says Jeremy Rothman,

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra

Jessica Griffin

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vice president for artistic planning. “Yannick carefully crafts and curates a season so that there is an overall theme, so that when you come into the hall every week the program has some connection to the season as a whole, or to something you heard last season, or to concerts that week or in recent weeks. We’re constantly exploring the repertoire to find new connections and new ways to relate these pieces to each other.” The idea of focusing on a musically rich city in January is going to be expanded into future seasons, he adds. “Yannick loves the experience of working with the Orchestra to connect with audiences over a period of three weeks.”

St. Petersburg saw the premieres of all three works on the Orchestra’s January 15-17 concerts: Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony in 1888, his Nutcracker ballet in 1892, and the St. Petersburg-born Glazunov’s “Winter” from The Seasons ballet in 1900. The January 22-23 concerts feature, in addition to the U.S. premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s jazz-inspired, rhythmic Piano Concerto (with soloist Marc-André Hamelin), Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony with its notable Philadelphia connection: The composer conducted the work’s U.S. premiere with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1909, just a year after leading its world premiere in St. Petersburg.

The concerts of January 28-31 feature Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (featuring Russian-born soloist Kirill Gerstein) and excerpts from his music for the film The Gadfly. Shostakovich’s long ties to The Philadelphia Orchestra, which gave U.S. premieres of several of his works including seven of his 15 symphonies, reached a culmination during his 1959 visit in connection with Mstislav Rostropovich’s U.S. premiere (and world premiere recording) of the First Cello Concerto with the Orchestra—one of the most heavily publicized musical events of the Cold War era.

The final St. Petersburg Festival concert also features Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, included with the music of Shostakovich as part of Nézet-Séguin’s ongoing initiative to underscore the ties between the two. “They are the monumental symphonic figures of their respective centuries,” Rothman says. “Yannick has put

Tchaikovsky is the subject of the first week of the St. Petersburg Festival (January 15-17), when his Nutcracker suites and Symphony No. 5 will be performed.

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In 1959 a delegation of Soviet musicians visited Philadelphia for the first recording of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 following its U.S. premiere by the Orchestra and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; from left to right, Ormandy, Rostropovich, Shostakovich (seated left) with an unidentified interpreter and a recording engineer.

the two together to show that Shostakovich was the great symphonist of the 20th century, the Beethoven of his time. He did everything for the symphony in his century, you can say, that Beethoven did in his—in terms of structure and orchestration, in terms of using music as a voice in political and cultural issues. And also in terms of becoming a solitary figure, the bust on the mantle.”

Russian music as a whole is a theme throughout the 2014-15 season, with additional works by Prokofiev (Symphony No. 5, February 12-13; Peter and the Wolf, April 16-18; Romeo and Juliet excerpts, April 23-25) and Stravinsky (Violin Concerto, November 21-22; Symphony in C, February 12-13). “And in the middle of the season, when it’s January and winter, we’re going to travel musically to St. Petersburg,” Nézet-Séguin says, “not only with the music of Rachmaninoff but also Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Glazunov, to feature this major city which brought us such a rich tradition of music that we still play today—and that we want to hear in a different perspective.”

The Russian connection is not arbitrary: Through the last century The Philadelphia Orchestra, perhaps more than any other major American ensemble, has made rich, Russian sound one of its hallmarks. Dating back at least to the Eugene Ormandy years, it is something the ensemble wishes to bring to the fore with the St. Petersburg Festival. “It’s a sound that originates in the strings,” Rothman says, “a freedom of line and of phrasing. There’s an expressiveness and emotional depth, but it’s unified, the players ‘move together’ in a way that is unique. There are more connections between notes creating a lush, pliable string sound. Yannick loves working with the musicians … to return to that sort of full-bow sound. It’s something in the DNA of the Orchestra, and a sound that just ‘speaks’ through this repertoire.”

Paul Horsley is performing arts editor at the Independent in Kansas City. He was The Philadelphia Orchestra’s program annotator and musicologist (1992-2000) and classical music and dance critic for the Kansas City Star (2000-08). He holds a Ph.D. in musicology from Cornell University and teaches at Park University in Kansas City.

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Beyond the Baton

You have often said Brahms is your favorite composer. How does his Third Symphony rank among his other symphonies? The most beautiful Brahms symphony, out of the four symphonies he wrote, is always the one you just heard or played or conducted. I am no exception. This is the way I feel with each of these wonderful masterpieces. However, if really called to choose one, No. 3 is my favorite because to me it’s the secret garden of Brahms. It’s where what makes Brahms Brahms: in his language, in his atmospheres, in his doublings. Where he is the most specific is really in this Third Symphony. It’s not a symphony that finishes loud and is not made to have rousing applause at the end, even if we play it very well or not. It’s more about poetic images and lower woodwinds, horn solos, complex rhythm. In the first movement there is a lot of disorientation rhythmically, so that, unless we look at the page, we think the first beat is there, but actually no, it’s there. It makes it also extra complex to perform, to understand, to conduct, to play as chamber music. Maybe for all these reasons I find it a real gem and treasure among his symphonic works.

How does the Symphony fit in with that specific concert program this month? Because of its nature, I was curious to program this Symphony not as a concert ending, but more as an opening. First of all those chords at the beginning of the Symphony—there’s a great feeling of introduction, of taking two big breaths of fresh air and then launching into that wonderful first movement, and then going into some hidden woods in the second and third movements. The ending that leaves the imagination going. I think this fits well with the second half of our program, with Haydn and Richard Strauss, who influenced Brahms, and who was influenced by Brahms, also with this Viennese thread with the three composers on that program. I want to keep exploring how we get out of the pattern of overture, concerto, intermission, symphony, and I think this is the ideal piece to experiment with this.

What is something people may not realize about the work? People don’t always realize that they already know the melody of the third movement of the Third Symphony. It’s been used in movies, in jazz, in crooning songs. To me it’s closely linked to this wonderful movie, Goodbye Again, that was also a book, Aimez-vous Brahms (Do You Love Brahms), and this is all based on this wonderful, very simple melody that has the most profound and touching effect.

Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 will be performed December 4 and 6.

Chris Lee

This month Yannick talks about Brahms’s Symphony No. 3.

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How do you attract a younger audience to classical music concerts? Consult “The Millennial Whisperer,” of course! That’s what the business magazine Fast Company dubbed 34-year-old Tina Wells, CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group and member of the Board of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association since 2008.

“I think that the biggest challenge is truly understanding that they’re a generation of digital natives,” says Wells. “What’s exciting for me is all of the new tools available to help brands connect with millennials. So campaigns are more easily measured today and can have deeper impact. The Orchestra is doing a great job connecting with a younger audience via social media, and Opening Night’s new format was fabulous!”

Born in Lancaster, PA, Wells grew up in South Jersey and first heard The Philadelphia Orchestra as a high school student. She started attending concerts regularly when she turned 27 and joined the Board a year later with, as one Orchestra fundraiser puts it, “a ton of great ideas.” She volunteered, for example, to spearhead efforts

to involve more Young Friends—patrons age 21-40—in Opening Night festivities, and brought nearly 100 young people to the concert hall.

“Working on the Young Friends initiative has been so much fun!” says Wells. “First, I was able to work with so many of my good friends. Given our busy schedules, it was nice to have something we could all do together to keep in touch. Second, it was a great way to get to know the musicians better. We have so many talented and fun musicians. They’re absolutely great people and I’m glad I have been able to get to know them better.”

Wells counts this year’s Opening Night—which featured Yannick Nézet-Séguin and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet performing a four-hand piano work in a French-themed evening—as a favorite moment of the 2014-15 season so far. “I loved the spotlight on musicians, and seeing them in small groups. It really felt like I was at a cabaret in Paris! It was one of those performances where you realize what a gift this orchestra is to this city and to the world.”

For more on Tina’s story visit www.philorch.org/wells.

In the SpotlightA Monthly Profile of Orchestra Fans and Family

Tina Wells

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For the second year the Orchestra performs its Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert at the Girard College Chapel, presented in partnership with Girard College and Global Citizen’s Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. This year’s celebration, on Monday, January 19, at 1:30, will be conducted by Yannick, who also led the 2013 concert. Girard College is the signature site for the Philadelphia-area MLK Day of Service. The concert, sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, is free but tickets will be required, and will be available beginning in early January. Ticket outlets will be announced prior to that date on the Orchestra’s website, www.philorch.org.

The Orchestra’s annual observance began in 1991 as a way to pay tribute to Dr. King’s religious beliefs, his vision of a society free of prejudice and racial divisions, and his belief in the power of music to effect change. The concert is part of the Orchestra’s strong commitment to collaborations with cultural and community organizations and decades-long tradition of presenting learning and community engagement opportunities for listeners of all ages across the Delaware Valley.

MLK Tribute Concert Returns to Girard College

Noted in Passing

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Jeff Fusco

The Philadelphia Orchestra mourns the passing of former Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Viola William Schoen, who died on July 21. Mr. Schoen was a member of the Orchestra for the 1963-64 season. He then became assistant principal viola of the Chicago Symphony. In 1988 he became assistant principal emeritus and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1996. A native of Czechoslovakia, he came to the U.S. as a child and began musical studies in Cleveland. He won a scholarship to attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and upon graduation became a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. He was a member of the All-American Youth Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, touring Latin America, the U.S., and Canada in 1940-41. During WWII he was a member of the U.S. Marine Band and Orchestra. After the war he was solo viola of the Columbia Broadcasting System for eight years, and a member of the Guilet and Claremont string quartets.