Riccardo Chailly Conducts Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig as Part of Great Orchestras on Tour Series at the Kimmel Center March 4
February 22, 2007
Free at the Kimmel Features the Kinski Ensemble as They Explore Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Tierkreis on the Commonwealth Plaza Stage at 1:30pm
Since its first concert hall performance in 1781, Gewandhaus Orchestra has never been less than one of Europe’s greatest ensembles, with celebrated resident conductors ranging from Mendelssohn and Furtwängler to their newest music director, Riccardo Chailly. As part of Great Orchestras on Tour Series, Maestro Chailly will conduct Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig in the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall on March 4, 2007 at 3pm. Recently named "Artist of the Year" by Diapason and Gramophone magazines, Chailly embodies the rich tradition of Gewandhaus while also embracing change, as he is the first musical director to hold the office of Gewandhauskapellmeister and Music Director of the Leipzig Opera. The program includes Schumann’s Symphony No. 1; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.
An organ postlude will follow the Gewandhaus Orchestra ticketed performance in Verizon Hall.
Tickets for the Gewandhaus Orchestra $35, $59, $65, $80, $100, $115 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-893-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Riccardo Chailly devotes himself to both concert and operatic repertoire. The native of Milan has conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and he has appeared at the most important opera houses throughout the world including Milan’s La Scala (where he made his debut in 1978), the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and the Zürich Opera. He opened the Salzburg Festival in 1984 and appeared as guest conductor at Salzburg’s Easter Festival and at the Lucerne Festival.
Riccardo Chailly was Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1983 to 1986 and Chief Conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1989. From 1986 to 1993 he was Music Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, where he conducted numerous opera productions with resounding success. Since his appointment as Chief Conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra (1988 to 2004), he has also devoted himself increasingly to symphonic repertoire. In 1994 he was awarded the title of Grand Officer of the Republic of Italy, and in 1996 he was made an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London. In November 1998, on the occasion of his tenth anniversary as Chief Conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. In 1998 he also became a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Republic of Italy.
In addition to his position in Amsterdam, Riccardo Chailly accepted an appointment as Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in 1999. Under its new Music Director, this municipal orchestra, founded by citizens of Milan, has become an internationally acclaimed ensemble that has since made recordings. Mr. Chailly left the Orchestra in 2005. Riccardo Chailly has recorded an extensive repertoire of symphonic works and operas, over 100 CDs all told. He has received many awards for his recordings, including several Edison Prizes and Gramophone Awards, as well as the Diapason d’Or, the Charles Cross Academy Award, Japan’s Unga Konotomo Award, the Toblach Komponierhäuschen (Composition Cottage) Award, and numerous Grammy nominations.
The Gewandhaus Orchestra can look back with pride today over their 250-year history. Back then, it was the Leipzig merchants who founded and financed the concert society, which has since made music history and brought forth one of the world’s best-known and most renowned orchestras. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Arthur Nikisch, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Franz Konwitschny and Kurt Masur have all been Gewandhauskapellmeisters. They left their imprint on this unique musical culture, which Herbert Blomstedt carried forward into the new millennium. His successor, the 19th Gewandhauskapellmeister, Riccardo Chailly, embodies tradition and change simultaneously and is the first musical director to hold both offices (Gewandhauskapellmeister and Musical Director of the Leipzig Opera) concurrently in 35 years.
In only one season and within Leipzig itself, around 70 Grand Concerts feature on the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s schedule. For over 200 years, it has also served as the regular orchestra for the Leipzig Opera, in addition to its weekly performances of the cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach at St. Thomas’s Church, as well as further 35 guest appearances a season throughout the world and numerous other recordings. Leipzig’s reputation as a city of music is largely attributable to the varied activities of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Kimmel Center Presents' 2006/2007 season is supported by: Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pennsylvania Health System, National Endowment for the Arts, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, ARC Wheeler, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, The Presser Foundation, Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Jazz and World Pop programming. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents. The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are media sponsors for the Great Orchestras on Tour series.
FREE AT THE KIMMEL events are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Sunday, March 4, 2007 | 3pm
Verizon Hall
Great Orchestras on Tour Series
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1, op. 38 in B-flat major
MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
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FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENTS
Sunday, March 4, 2007 | 1:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Kinski
Kinski ensemble explore Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Tierkreis, 12 pieces based on the signs of the Zodiac. Saxophone, clarinet, accordion, vibraphone, electric bass and guitar members improvise on stage together to then transition into the colors and textures of the group.
Sunday, March 4, 2007 | Post-concert
Verizon Hall
Alan Morrison, organist
Join us for an organ postlude in Verizon Hall following Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig ticketed performance.
UPCOMING FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENT:
Sunday March 11, 2007 | 1:30pm
The Brennans
Philly’s favorite Irishman, John Brennan and his sister sing and play traditional Irish favorites on piano and guitar.
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