Eschenbach Conducts First Concerts as Music-Director-Designate
In his first concert appearances as Music Director-Designate, Christoph Eschenbach this week conducts four subscription concerts of The Philadelphia Orchestra, rehearses with students, and participates in a number of special introductory activities. Mr. Eschenbach will become the Orchestra's seventh music director in the fall of 2003, succeeding Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Mr. Eschenbach's concert program pairs two "American" symphonies: the Second Symphony from 1995 by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Christopher Rouse, and Czech composer Antonín Dvorák's "New World" Symphony, composed and premiered in 1893 during his brief tenure as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York.

On Saturday, February 9, Mr. Eschenbach leads a special "Side-by-Side" Rehearsal, in which members of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra pair up with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The occasion offers the high school students a rare opportunity to participate in a rehearsal environment with one of the world's great orchestras. Earlier in the week, Mr. Eschenbach conducts a rehearsal of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, made up of students of the Curtis Institute of Music. "I believe it is so important to nurture the next generation of musicians," he says. "This is my way to start to know the young people of Philadelphia."

Mr. Eschenbach will also be the guest of honor at a special concert by the Network for New Music on Thursday, February 7. An organization that commissions, produces, and performs new works by contemporary composers, the Network for New Music counts many Philadelphia Orchestra musicians among its regular performers.

New Season Announced with Tribute to Sawallisch
A special "Kick-off Announcement" for The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2002-03 season was held last week for journalists, subscribers, and friends gathered inside the Orchestra's new home at the Kimmel Center. The season will celebrate a decade of achievement with Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch. Orchestra Chairman Richard L. Smoot set the celebratory tone last Tuesday, saying "We are experiencing one of the most exciting and successful years in our recent history. Our magnificent new home has opened up thrilling possibilities, and our artistic leadership now enters a new phase as we celebrate Maestro Sawallisch's accomplishments and welcome Christoph Eschenbach's vision for the future." He continued, "We are committed to the greatness of our Orchestra, the strength of the institution, and a secure financial future."

The "Kickoff Announcement" included an overview of Sawallisch's final season of programming, as well as plans to celebrate his 10 years of artistic leadership with the world-renowned Philadelphia ensemble. The 2002-03 season will feature 12 weeks of programs under Sawallisch's baton, including a five-week festival devoted to the music of the 19th-century German Romantic composer Robert Schumann. The season - and Sawallisch's decade-long tenure as Music Director - will close in the late spring of 2003, featuring a special gala performance on May 7 of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("Choral").

Reflecting on the Orchestra's January concert at Carnegie Hall under Sawallisch's guidance, Bernard Holland of the New York Times wrote: "American commentators attracted by glamour and excitement have rarely given Wolfgang Sawallisch his due. This performance at Carnegie Hall featured civilized, meditative, and in the end deeply moving Beethoven - minus the flash. Philadelphia may not know how much it will miss him."

Tickets for the 2002-03 season will go on sale later this year, with a renewal period in March and April for the Orchestra's over 27,000 current subscribers, followed by new subscription sales as the spring turns to summer. Individual tickets traditionally go on sale just after Labor Day at the end of August. However, with high ticket demand, many concerts are expected to sell out on subscription. Further information about purchasing tickets is available through Ticket Philadelphia by calling 215.893.1999 or by visiting the Orchestra's website in the coming months at www.philorch.org.

Praise for Orchestra's New Home at Kimmel Center
Comments and reviews regarding The Philadelphia Orchestra's new home at the Kimmel Center continue with reports in papers nationally and internationally. The process of turning a brand-new complex into a comfortable and working home is fully underway. Finishing work in many areas of the building is continuing between a full schedule of concerts throughout this spring, with construction expected to reach completion over the summer. The expected break-in period of adjusting to and adjusting the acoustics of Verizon Hall is proceeding on schedule under the watchful eyes and ears of Russell Johnson and Artec Inc.

Among recent press commentary, Sedgwick Clark at MusicalAmerica.com stated, "I found the Verizon acoustics very impressive on first hearing - warm and enveloping, with a wide range of color and impact, fully representative of an orchestra whose sound I know well from concerts and recordings. . . . I have no doubt that the promised acoustical adjustments will make Verizon Hall one of our finest concert venues."

Benjamin Forgey in the Washington Post said, "Simply put, the 2,500-seat Verizon Hall is wonderful. Wonderful! . . . The place satisfies the senses of sight and touch, and, above all, it seems perfectly made for musicmaking."

Herbert Muschamp of the New York Times wrote, "Rafael Viñoly's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the new home of The Philadelphia Orchestra, is precise, luminous architecture for lovers of rich, cultivated sound. The building . . . puts Philadelphia on a new cultural footing for the 21st century."

Access Concert on February 18 Examines Schubert's "Unfinished"
The season's second Access Concert, on Monday, February 18, brings the return of guest conductor Robert Kapilow to discuss, dissect, and then lead The Philadelphia Orchestra in Franz Schubert's tuneful "Unfinished" Symphony. Tickets for the informal one-hour concert in Verizon Hall are just $15 each, available by calling Ticket Philadelphia at 215.893.1999 or by visiting www.philorch.org.