Riccardo Muti returns to conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra

Special benefit concert on February 13 also features renowned soprano Barbara Frittoli singing Italian operatic arias

(Philadelphia, December 3, 2004)

Former Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Riccardo Muti returns to Philadelphia to conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra in a special benefit concert on Sunday, February 13, 2005. Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 1980 to 1992 and music director of Italy's Teatro alla Scala since 1986, Maestro Muti returns to conduct the Philadelphians for the first time since 1998 in a specially-selected program that includes beloved arias from Italian operas sung by soprano Barbara Frittoli, and Brahms's Second Symphony. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. To add to the evening's festivities and to raise additional funds, a post-concert reception will be held for concert benefactors. Proceeds from the concert will support The Philadelphia Orchestra's deficit reduction effort. Maestro Muti, Ms. Frittoli, and the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra all are generously donating their services.

For this special performance Maestro Muti has selected works that reflect his history with The Philadelphia Orchestra, which includes the world of opera. During his tenure he returned the Orchestra to the practice of performing opera in concert form. The first half of the program will include Rossini's William Tell Overture and feature soprano Barbara Frittoli performing arias from Il trovatore, Tosca, and La traviata. The second half of the program will be Brahms's Second Symphony, which Maestro Muti often conducted with The Philadelphia Orchestra and recorded once with the Orchestra on the Philips label.

Riccardo Muti has been associated with The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1972 when, as principal conductor and music director of the Maggio Musicale in Florence, he made his debut. He was appointed principal guest conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1977 and in 1980 he succeeded Eugene Ormandy to become the Orchestra's fifth music director. Maestro Muti held the post for the next 12 years, bidding farewell in a historic concert in April 1992. Since then he has returned to Philadelphia for subscription concerts and recording sessions in 1993 and for an Orchestra benefit concert in 1998. Maestro Muti has been music director of Teatro all Scala Milan since 1986, he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 1971, and he regularly guest conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and other major orchestras around the world.

Barbara Frittoli is one of the leading sopranos of her generation and has achieved worldwide acclaim for her stunning performances in the major opera houses throughout the world. She is the winner of several prizes and competitions, including most recently the prestigious Echo Klassik Award as "best female singer." Her recordings include Le Triptyque and Rossini's Stabat Mater for Decca, Rossini's The Barber of Seville for Teldec, Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims for Sony, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater for EMI, and Puccini's Turandot for RCA/BMG. Her first two solo recordings, a recital of Mozart arias conducted by Charles Mackerras, and a collection of Verdi arias with Colin Davis have been issued by Erato records.

The post-concert benefactor reception will be held in the Perelman Theater. The Riccardo Muti Benefit Concert Committee is chaired by Lorraine and Ben Alexander and Elizabeth and Charles Bowden. The Musicians' Planning Committee is chaired by Larry Grika, violin.

Tickets for the concert and benefactor reception are $500. For an invitation call the Orchestra's Volunteer Office at 215.893.1956. Concert only tickets, which are $50, $60, $100, $130, and $150, go on sale Tuesday, December 7, and can be purchased by calling Ticket Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 or online at www.philorch.org.

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. As Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra inaugurate a new era in the ensemble's esteemed history, the Orchestra has announced the launch of the public phase of a five-year, $125 million endowment campaign, entitled A Sound, A City, A Civilization. Commitments to the campaign include a lead gift of $50 million from the Annenberg Foundation, along with other major leadership gifts that have allowed the Orchestra to raise the original campaign goal from $75 million to $125 million.

In addition to Mr. Eschenbach's appointment as music director, the Orchestra has observed several important milestones in recent years. The Orchestra's 2002-03 season celebrated Wolfgang Sawallisch's ten highly acclaimed years at the Orchestra's helm and paid tribute to his artistic achievements with the release of a Grammy-nominated three-disc set of Schumann recordings, the first recordings made in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The Orchestra moved to its new home at the Kimmel Center in December 2001, after celebrating its 100th Anniversary through a series of activities surrounding the year 2000, including the internationally televised gala Birthday Concert on November 16, 2000, a tour of Europe in 2000, and tours of Asia and the United States in 2001. A tour in the spring of 2003 took the Orchestra to nine cities in the United States, Mexico, and South America. Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestra capped their first full season together with a tour of 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. The Orchestra presents a series of concerts each year at New York's Carnegie Hall, performing encores of some of its acclaimed concerts from Philadelphia. 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.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts hosts the Orchestra's home subscription concerts. The Center includes two performance spaces, the 2500-seat Verizon Hall, designed and built especially for the Orchestra, and the 650-seat Perelman Theater for chamber music concerts. Designed by architect Rafael Viñoly along with acoustician Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants Inc., the Kimmel Center provides the Orchestra with a state-of-the-art facility for concerts, recordings, and education activities. The landmark building is named in honor of Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist Sidney Kimmel, who gave the largest individual gift toward its construction. Kimmel has served on the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1995.

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA) and the historic Academy of Music (where the Orchestra performed for 101 seasons) are operated together as a single cultural facility by Kimmel Center, Inc. (KCI). A variety of Philadelphia's other performing arts groups serve as resident companies for the two buildings. KCI owns, manages, supports, and maintains the KCPA. Kimmel Center, Inc., also manages the Academy of Music, owned by The Philadelphia Orchestra Association since 1957, and where the Orchestra continues to present the highly anticipated annual Academy Anniversary Concert and Ball.

PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA BENEFIT CONCERT
Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

February 13, 7:00 pm - Sunday

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Barbara Frittoli, soprano

Riccardo Muti, Barbara Frittoli, and the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra are graciously donating their services for this evening's concert.

Concert tickets: $50-$150.00, 215.893.1999 or www.philorch.org.
Concert and benefactor reception tickets: $500. Call 215.893.1956 for an invitation.

Riccardo Muti Benefit Concert Gala Committee
CHAIRS
Lorraine and Ben Alexander
Elizabeth and Charles Bowden

COMMITTEE
Clara and Luis Biava
Lois and Julian Brodsky
Elia and Jim Buck
Norman and Elinor Carol
Sandy and David Eastburn
Carole and Emilio Gravagno
Anne and Joe Jacovini
Steven E. Madva
Joan and Set Momjian
Edward and Susan Montgomery
Penelope Proserpi
Susanne and Norman Robinson
Ann and Hal Sorgenti
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson H. Taylor
Judith and Ed Viner

MUSICIANS' PLANNING COMMITTEE
Larry Grika, CHAIR
Jonathan Beiler
Christopher Deviney
Albert Filosa
Barbara Govatos
Elizabeth Hainen dePeters
Don Liuzzi
Richard Woodhams