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August 2008

		Monday, May 21, 2001 Season Closes with Strong Ticket Sales Orchestra Departs on Three-Week Tour to Asia Orchestra and Performing Arts Center Join Forces Summer Season at Mann Opens on June 25 Strong Interest in Orchestra's New Home at Kimmel

		Season Closes with Strong Ticket Sales The Philadelphia Orchestra finished its history-making 101st Season this past weekend, with Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch leading performances of Elgar's Violin Concerto (with violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann) and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica"). Ticket sales for the season included a strong increase in the number of subscriptions sold, and nearly a third of the season's concerts reached "soldout" status. Commenting on the performances this past weekend, David Patrick Stearns wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer: "In the midst of preparation for its forthcoming Asian tour, The Philadelphia Orchestra concluded its season with. . . a new, unexpected Sawallisch specialty, Edward Elgar. . . . . The interpretation of Elgar's Violin Concerto was nearly identical to the composer's own recording, but the details were Sawallisch's own."

		Orchestra Departs on Three-Week Tour of Asia The Orchestra and Mr. Sawallisch departed Philadelphia together today (Monday, May 21), embarking on a three-week Tour of Asia. The tour includes 11 concerts in 8 cities and 3 countries (Japan, China, and Malaysia, as well as in Hong Kong). Funding for the Orchestra's 25th overseas tour includes sponsorship funding from CIGNA International and the Delaware River Port Authority.

		Orchestra and Performing Arts Center Join Forces The Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia's Regional Performing Arts Center(RPAC) signed a special agreement last week creating a Joint Ticketing services Venture, to be known as "PhilaTix." RPAC is the non-profit corporation created to build and oversee day-to-day operations of the Orchestra's new home, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which opens in December 2001. The ticketing joint venture will handle all single and subscription ticket sales for the Orchestra and for RPAC presentations as well as selling individual tickets for all events at Kimmel and the Academy of Music. "Thanks to this Joint Venture," notes RPAC Chairman Willard Rouse III, "tickets and information for all events in all of our venues will be available through a united Ticket Office, Telephone Service, and website."

		Summer Season at Mann Opens June 25 The Orchestra opens its annual summer concerts at the Mann Center in Fairmount Park. The five-week PNC Concert Series runs from June 25 through July 26, with performances every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Opening night on June 25 features cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

		Strong Interest in Orchestra's New Home at Kimmel Ticket sales for the Orchestra's 2001-02 Season are running well ahead of recent years. The season features the Orchestra's final concerts in its home for the past century, the historic Academy of Music. In December, the Orchestra celebrates the opening of its brand-new $265 million home, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Highlights of the season include a complete cycle of Beethoven's Piano Concertos with Sawallisch and pianist Murray Perahia (January 2002), a three-week festival of Viennese Music (March 2002, with Sir Simon Rattle), and the premieres of six new works.

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