Maestro Christoph Eschenbach’s Final Performance in Philadelphia with Special Guest Mezzo-Soprano Susan Graham and Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra,
May 12, 2008
"[T]he Philadelphia Orchestra sounds just as gorgeous as ever… Mr. Eschenbach probably has more adventure in his soul than any of [the Orchestra’s] conductors since Stokowski."
Kimmel Center Presents Master Musician Series’ final recital for the 2007/08 season brings a farewell concert for Maestro Christoph Eschenbach in a program of solo piano and chamber music featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra and special guest mezzo-soprano Susan Graham on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 3pm on Verizon Hall stage. The concert pays tribute to Maestro Eschenbach’s five-year tenure as Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The visionary pianist and conductor’s contributions to the Orchestra include the initiation of a landmark recording contract and various successful national and international tours.
Grammy® winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, named "America’s favorite mezzo" by Gramophone, will provide her lustrous vocals to selected songs, accompanied by Maestro Eschenbach. The program will also include Dvorák’s Piano Quintet in A Major, Beethoven’s Piano and Wind Quintet in E Flat Major, Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1 and Schumann’s Kinderszenen.
"The American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham has for the better part of a decade impressed audiences with her creamy singing and chiseled characterizations."
This is the final concert in the Master Musicians Recitals Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season.
Tickets for Christoph Eschenbach & Friends are $34, $40, $45, $52, $60 and $69 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 215-790-5883.
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.
One of today’s leading international conductors, Christoph Eschenbach has contributed his creative insight and dynamic energy to The Philadelphia Orchestra since 2003. One of the significant hallmarks of Eschenbach’s tenure with the Orchestra was the initiation of its first recording contract in 10 years, with the Ondine label. In 2005, the Orchestra’s first release of works by Bartók, Martinu and Klein was awarded BBC Music magazine’s "CD of the Month" and Gramophone magazine’s "Editor’s Choice" award. Other highlights of Eschenbach’s leadership include his appointment of nine players, including four principals. He was also influential in raising significant funds for the Orchestra, including an unprecedented grant from the Annenberg Foundation in 2003. As music director, Eschenbach made 18 Carnegie Hall appearances with the Orchestra, as well as six highly acclaimed tours throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Florida and Puerto Rico. In June 2006, Eschenbach received the title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France presented by French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. Eschenbach has also served as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris since 2000. He will return for concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra in January 2009.
"An eloquent interpreter of a large repertory, from German Classicism to contemporary American music."
Opera sensation Susan Graham is in demand at home and abroad for opera, concert and recital engagements. She has sung leading roles from the Baroque and Classical to contemporary creations in the great opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Dresden's Semperoper and at the Salzburg Festival, and has appeared with most of the world's leading conductors and orchestras. Graham's extensive discography includes her album of Charles Ives songs with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, which won a Grammy in 2005. Graham’s most recent solo recording, Poèmes de l'amour (2005), includes Ravel's Shéhérazade and Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Sunday, May 18, 2008 | 3pm
Verizon Hall
Master Musicians Recitals
Christoph Eschenbach & Friends
DVORÁK: Piano Quintet in A Major (Christoph Eschenbach, David Kim, Paul Roby, Choon-Jin Chang, Efe Baltacigil)
BEETHOVEN: Piano and Wind Quintet in E Flat Major (Christoph Eschenbach, Richard Woodhams, Ricardo Morales, Jennifer Montone, Daniel Matsukawa)
SCHOENBERG: Chamber Symphony No. 1 (Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; Jennifer Montone; Jeffrey Lang; Richard Woodhams; Jeffrey Khaner; Kazuo Tokito; Ricardo Morales; Daniel Matzukawa; Samuel Caviezel; Paul Demers; Holly Blake; David Kim; Paul Roby; Choong-Jin Chang; Hai-Ye Ni; Harold Robinson; Elizabeth Starr Masoudnia)
Selected Songs with Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano and Christoph Eschenbach, piano
SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen (Christoph Eschenbach, piano)
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Sunday, May 18, 2008 | 12:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
American Composers Forum: Philadelphia Chapter
The Kimmel Center and the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Composers Forum have teamed up to present some of the most cutting-edge composers in the region. This concert will feature the music of James Primosch, Jennifer Barker, Clive Muncaster, and Kevin Clark. Join us for this free concert in the Plaza prior to the ticketed Christoph Eschenbach & Friends performance in Verizon Hall.
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