Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts - Concert Hall
Dates: May 30-31, 2017
Duration: Approximate 120 mins
ProgrammeMay 30th
Overture and Finale from The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43 Beethoven
Petrushka Stravinsky
——Intermission——
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 Brahms
May 31st
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral") Beethoven
ConductorYannick Nézet-Séguin
Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguinis now confirmed to lead The Philadelphia Orchestra for a decade into the future, through the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he will become the third music director in the history of the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the 2021-22 season, and from 2017-18 will be music director designate.
Nézet-Séguin, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Widely recognised for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, Nézet-Séguin has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. His intensely 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, from the Orchestra's home in Verizon Hall to the Carnegie Hall stage. 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."
Nézet-Séguinhas has taken The Philadelphia Orchestra to new musical heights in performances at home in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, at the Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, in Philadelphia neighborhoods, and around the world. His concerts of diverse repertoire have attracted sold-out houses, and he continues to make connections within Philadelphia's rich arts community, showing his commitment to engaging music lovers of all ages across the region. In his fifth season as music director, he launches exciting artistic initiatives, including a year-long exploration of American Sounds, with works by Leonard Bernstein, Christopher Rouse, Mason Bates, and Christopher Theofanidis; music inspired by Paris interwoven throughout the season, including a three-week Music of Paris Festival; and the continuation of a focus on opera and sacred vocal works, including Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle and Mozart's Mass in C minor. Yannick is embraced by the musicians of the Orchestra and by audiences wherever they perform. He made his inaugural tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra with the 2014 Tour of Asia, and the following year he took the Orchestra on their first European tour together, during which the Guardian of London exclaimed, "… it's proving a remarkable partnership." In September 2015 Yannick led the Orchestra in two performances for Pope Francis as part of the World Meeting of Families, at the Festival of Families and the Papal Mass. And in May-June 2016 Yannick and the Orchestra returned to Asia.
Under Nézet-Séguin's leadership the Orchestra returned to recording with a CD on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions of works by Bach. Their second disc for the label, Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Daniil Trifonov, was released in August 2015. In Nézet-Séguin's inaugural season the Orchestra returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008 and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal's Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000. He was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014, and last season he completed a three-year term as artist-in-residence at the Konzerthaus Dortmund. Nézet-Séguin has made wildly successful appearances with the world's most revered ensembles - the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and all the major Canadian orchestras, among many others. Throughout Europe and North America, his appearances have left indelible marks on the international classical music scene, making him one of the most sought-after conductors in the world.
Nézet-Séguin's talents extend beyond symphonic music into the world of opera and choral music. His critically acclaimed performances at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala, London's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Netherlands Opera, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and the historic Salzburg Festival demonstrate that he is an artist of remarkable versatility and depth.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) embarked on a major long-term collaboration in July 2012. He continues fruitful recording relationships with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records; the London Philharmonic for the LPO label; and the Orchestre Métropolitain for ATMA Classique.
A native of Montreal, Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal's Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012, one of the country's highest civilian honours, and an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2015. His other honours include Musical America's 2016 Artist of the Year; a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada's National Arts Centre Award; the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts awarded by the Quebec government; and honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ.
Source:National Centre for the Performing Arts
