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| News | Orchestra History | |
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| Press Room |
Philadelphia Orchestra Late Great Works Festival celebrates the artistic genius of masters
Orchestra partners with Philadelphia Museum of Art and Free Library of Philadelphia to present free related community events
(Philadelphia, December 3, 2004)
The Philadelphia Orchestra presents a Late Great Works Festival
January 6-28, 2005. Conducted by Music Director Christoph Eschenbach,
the Festival examines the late works of seven great composers - Mozart,
Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Mahler, Strauss, and Berio. This four-week
Festival gives insight into moving stories of human life and creativity
that inspired some of the most prominent compositions in the orchestral
repertoire, works that are explored through the Festival's concerts and
related events. The Philadelphia Orchestra is proud to partner with global
financial services firm UBS as sponsor of the Late Great Works Festival
and the 2004-05 season.
The Late Great Works Festival also provides an opportunity for the Orchestra
to collaborate with other Philadelphia cultural institutions to explore
the universality of ideas and emotions expressed by great artists. Christoph
Eschenbach will participate in a public discussion with Philadelphia Museum
of Art Director and CEO Anne d'Harnoncourt at the Museum, and with Martin
Luther King III, son of the great civil rights leader, at the Free Library
of Philadelphia. These conversations will be accompanied by musical examples,
including participation by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The
focus on Dr. King's accomplishments as a great writer/orator will complement
the Orchestra's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert, which is
part of the Late Great Works Festival.
Symphonic Masterpieces of Reflection
Many composers, nearing the end of their careers, looked back reflectively
on their own lives, whether deliberately or intuitively, and contemplated
their mortality. In each piece we find reflections of the composer's life,
his final years, or his period in history. The Late Great Works Festival
opens with Mahler's Ninth Symphony, his last completed symphony.
The work is perhaps his most intense and personal and has a valedictory,
defeated quality about it. Mahler himself never heard the Symphony in
performance; it received its premiere in June 1912, more than a year after
his death.
Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, is a transcendent spiritual
masterpiece, which raises artistic creativity to the level of religious
iconography and seems to resolve the conflicting philosophical and religious
ideas that concerned Wagner throughout his life. The Philadelphia Orchestra
performance is a concert presentation of Act III. Luciano Berio
died in May 2003, two weeks before Stanze, his last completed work,
was performed in concert. Five poems inspire the emotional settings for
the "rooms" of this musical journey through death, in a search
for God. This work was commissioned by Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestre
de Paris, who premiered it in January 2004. The Philadelphia Orchestra
has performed Berio's works twice before; in 1993 the Orchestra gave the
United States premiere of Epiphanies, with the composer conducting,
and in 2002 performed his Concerto for Two Pianos.
Mozart's late works, although not written consciously as last statements,
have a serene aura about them that seems to foreshadow his impending illness.
This is most beautifully embodied in his Clarinet Concerto, composed two
months before his death, and in The Magic Flute, his last and most
enigmatic opera. Richard Strauss pushed away the dramas and excesses
of his earlier works, looking back towards Beethoven and Mozart to write
neo-classical works of autumnal beauty. His Metamorphosen was composed
in mid-1945 as a response to the Allied bombing of Germany's major cities.
His Oboe Concerto was written immediately after the war, at the suggestion
of John de Lancie, who would later go on to become principal oboe of The
Philadelphia Orchestra.
The Festival concludes with Tchaikovsky's Sixth, and final, Symphony
(he died only days after its premiere), full of turmoil and anger, railing
against a life of shattered dreams. This Symphony, the "Pathétique,"
is a work that both evokes and has come to be associated with a sense
of mortality.
Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert and Chamber
Concert
The Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Concert on Monday, January 10,
celebrates the life, message, work, and dreams of the great orator and
writer Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a special focus on Dr. King's later
writings and speeches. Conducted by Raymond Harvey, the Orchestra is joined
by a choir of voices from the community and by award-winning storyteller
Charlotte Blake Alston for a program including Beethoven, Ellington, and
William Dawson, among others. Music Director Christoph Eschenbach makes
a special appearance at the piano to accompany Lucia Bradford, a talented
young singer from the Philadelphia area. The Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute
Concert is sponsored by CIGNA.
The Late Great Works Festival also includes a Chamber Concert on
Sunday, January 16. Guarneri Quartet cellist David Soyer is guest artist
with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra for Mozart's Clarinet Quintet
and Schubert's String Quintet in C major. Among the greatest and most
popular works in the chamber music repertoire, these two quintets display
the profound refinement and intimacy that Mozart and Schubert achieved
in their late chamber music.
Related Community Events
The Philadelphia Orchestra will collaborate with the Free Library of Philadelphia
in "Late Great Words," which will take place at the Montgomery
Auditorium of the Free Library on Friday, January 7, at 7:00 pm
Christoph Eschenbach is joined by Martin Luther King III for a discussion
of how Dr. King's life experience and beliefs were crystallized in his
later writings and speeches, a look at what inspired Dr. King, and how
he made words resonate so strongly in us. WHYY 91 FM's Executive Producer
of National Programming Elisabeth Perez-Luna will moderate this discussion.
This free "Late Great Words" event will include live music with
participation by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. A specially prepared
list of "Late Great Reads" will be available from the Library
throughout January and online at www.philorch.org/lateworks,
beginning in January. For information call 215.567.4341.
On Saturday, January 15, at 2:30 pm, the Orchestra will partner
with the Philadelphia Museum of Art for "Late Great Works of Art."
Christoph Eschenbach and Philadelphia Museum of Art Director and CEO Anne
d'Harnoncourt discuss late works by various artists in the Museum and
explore how they reflect aspects of the artists' lives. The discussion
will be moderated by WHYY 91 FM's Elisabeth Perez-Luna. "Late Great
Works of Art" will include live music with participation by members
of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Visitors are invited to arrive early and
take a specially prepared self-guided "Late Great Works of Art"
tour of the galleries. For tickets call the Museum Ticket Center at 215.235.7469.
As part of this collaboration, Philadelphia Orchestra subscribers, and
Philadelphia Museum of Art and Free Library of Philadelphia members receive
10% off Museum admission or Orchestra concert ticket price during the
month of January if they show subscriber or membership cards at the Kimmel
Center or Art Museum box office. (This discount does not apply to previously
purchased tickets, The Philadelphia Orchestra's Sound All Around or The
Philadelphia Orchestra's Academy Ball.)
A series of interactive PreConcert Conversations will be held during the
Late Great Works Festival with musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra
and Orchestra Music Animateur Thomas Cabaniss. Each PreConcert Conversation
explores a work from the concert program through musical activities that
are designed to help audiences deepen their engagement in the concert
experience. PreConcert Conversations take place in Verizon Hall, are free,
and begin 1 hour and 15 minutes before the scheduled performance and last
30 minutes.
Post-Concert Events will be held after select performances of the subscription
concerts in the Late Great Works Festival (see listings calendar for dates).
Christoph Eschenbach developed Postlude Recitals at the Ravinia Festival
to complement the evening's orchestral program. Building on that concept,
the Late Great Works Festival's Post-Concert Events include recitals and
discussions. Each Post-Concert Event takes place in Verizon Hall and begins
20 minutes after the conclusion of the performance.
Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished
itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century
of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling
recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies
and outreach. With only six music directors piloting The Philadelphia
Orchestra through its first century, the ensemble has maintained an unparalleled
cohesiveness and unity in artistic leadership.
This rich tradition is carried on by Christoph Eschenbach, who began his
tenure as the Orchestra's seventh music director in September 2003. Concluding
an acclaimed first season together that saw the launch of the Orchestra's
first-ever multi-year cycle of Mahler's complete symphonies, Mr. Eschenbach
and the Orchestra toured the music capitals of Europe in the spring of
2004.
The Philadelphia Orchestra annually touches the lives of more than 1 million
music lovers worldwide through its performances (more than 300 concerts
and other presentations each year), publications, recordings, and broadcasts.
A major winter subscription season is presented in Philadelphia each year
from September to May, in addition to education and community partnership
programs. Its summer schedule includes a month-long outdoor season in
Philadelphia at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, free concerts
in local neighborhoods, and a three-week residency each August at the
Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York.
LATE GREAT WORKS FESTIVAL, WEEK 1
January 6 at 8:00 pm
January 7 at 2:00 pm
January 8 at 8:00 pm
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Mahler Symphony No. 9
Free PreConcert Conversations: Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestra Music Animateur Thomas Cabaniss. PreConcert Conversations are held in Verizon Hall 1 hour and 15 minutes before each concert.
Free Post-Concert Event: January 6 in Verizon Hall. Christoph Eschenbach reflects on Mahler's Ninth Symphony.
The Late Great Works Festival is presented by UBS, a global financial services leader.
Tickets: $10-$84.50 (call for box seat prices), 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
LATE GREAT WORDS
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with Martin Luther King III and Christoph
Eschenbach
Moderated by WHYY 91 FM's Elisabeth Perez-Luna
January 7 at 7:00 pm
Montgomery Auditorium at the Free Library of Philadelphia
Christoph Eschenbach is joined by Martin Luther King III for a discussion of how Dr. King's life experience and beliefs were crystallized in his later writings and speeches. What inspired him, and how did he make words resonate so strongly in us? The evening will include live music with participation by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. A specially prepared list of "Late Great Reads" will be available from the Library throughout January.
This event is free and open to the public. For information call: 215.567.4341
January 11 at 8:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Encore presentation of January 6-8 concerts
For tickets, please call CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. TRIBUTE CONCERT
January 10 at 8:00 pm
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Raymond Harvey, conductor
Charlotte Blake Alston, host and speaker
Christoph Eschenbach, piano
Lucia Bradford, mezzo-soprano
Community Concert Choir (Jonathan Coopersmith, guest choir director)
| Beethoven | Overture to Fidelio |
| Arensky | Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky |
| Tippett | Excerpts from A Child of Our Time |
| Ellington/orch. Peress | "Come Sunday," from Black, Brown, & Beige |
| Johnson/arr. Carter | "Lift Every Voice and Sing" |
| Dawson | Third movement from Negro Folk Symphony |
| Steffe/arr. Wilhousky | "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" |
Sponsored by CIGNA
Tickets: $10-$37 (call for box seat prices), 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
LATE GREAT WORKS FESTIVAL, WEEK 2
January 14 at 8:00 pm
January 15 at 8:00 pm
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
John Keyes, tenor (Parsifal) - PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA DEBUT
Matthias Hoelle, bass (Gurnemanz) - PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA DEBUT
Andreas Schmidt, bass-baritone (Amfortas) - PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA DEBUT
The Philadelphia Singers Chorale (David Hayes, music director)
| Berio | Stanze - FIRST PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA PERFORMANCE |
| Wagner | Act III from Parsifal |
Free PreConcert Conversations: Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestra Music Animateur Thomas Cabaniss. PreConcert Conversations are held in Verizon Hall 1 hour and 15 minutes before each concert.
Free Post-Concert Event: January 14 in Verizon Hall. A mini recital by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
The Late Great Works Festival is presented by UBS, a global financial services leader.
Tickets: $10-$84.50 (call for box seat prices), 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
LATE GREAT WORKS OF ART
with Anne d'Harnoncourt and Christoph Eschenbach
Moderated by WHYY 91 FM's Elisabeth Perez-Luna
January 15 at 2:30 pm
Van Pelt Auditorium at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Music Director Christoph Eschenbach and Philadelphia Museum of Art Director and CEO Anne d'Harnoncourt discuss late works by artists in the Museum's collections, and explore how they reflect aspects of the artists' lives. Musical examples will be performed by musicians from The Philadelphia Orchestra. Visitors are invited to arrive early and take a specially prepared self-guided "Late Great Works of Art" tour of the galleries.
Admission to the event is free with Museum admission ticket. To reserve tickets call the Museum Ticket Center: 215.235.7469.
CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT - LATE GREAT WORKS FESTIVAL
January 16 at 3:00 pm
Perelman Theater at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra
David Soyer, cello
| Mozart | Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 |
| Schubert | String Quintet in C major, D. 956 |
Tickets: $15-$28, 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
January 18 at 8:00 pm
Carnegie Hall
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
John Keyes, tenor (Parsifal)
Matthias Hoelle, bass (Gurnemanz)
Andreas Schmidt, bass-baritone (Amfortas)
The Philadelphia Singers Chorale (David Hayes, music director)
Encore presentation of January 14-15 concerts
For tickets, please call CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or visit www.carnegiehall.org.
LATE GREAT WORKS FESTIVAL, WEEK 3
January 20 at 8:00 pm
January 21 at 2:00 pm
January 22 at 8:00 pm
January 24 at 8:00 pm
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Richard Woodhams, oboe
Emanuel Ax, piano
| Mozart | Overture to The Magic Flute |
| Strauss | Oboe Concerto |
| Strauss | Metamorphosen |
| Mozart | Piano Concerto No. 27, K. 595 |
Free PreConcert Conversations: Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestra Music Animateur Thomas Cabaniss. PreConcert Conversations are held in Verizon Hall 1 hour and 15 minutes before each concert.
Free Post-Concert Event: January 20 in Verizon Hall. Join pianist
Emanuel Ax in a post-concert discussion.
The Late Great Works Festival is presented by UBS, a global financial
services leader.
Tickets: $10-$84.50 (call for box seat prices), 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
LATE GREAT WORKS FESTIVAL, WEEK 4
January 26 at 8:00 pm
January 27 at 8:00 pm
January 28 at 2:00 pm
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Ricardo Morales, clarinet
| Mozart | Clarinet Concerto |
| Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique") |
Free PreConcert Conversations: Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestra Music Animateur Thomas Cabaniss. PreConcert Conversations are held in Verizon Hall 1 hour and 15 minutes before each concert.
Free Post-Concert Event: January 27 in Verizon Hall. Christoph Eschenbach and Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales lead a dialogue and perform duets.
The Late Great Works Festival is presented by UBS, a global financial services leader.
Tickets: $10-$84.50 (call for box seat prices), 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org
web@philorch.org
The Philadelphia Orchestra Association manages both The Philadelphia Orchestra and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.