The Philadelphia Orchestra Performs St. Matthew Passion on Easter Weekend: Kicks Off 2013 PIFA Festival

First Philadelphia Orchestra Performance of J.S. Bach’s Iconic Masterpiece in Nearly 30 Years

(Philadelphia, March 19, 2013)—On Easter weekend, The Philadelphia Orchestra led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will perform one of J.S. Bach’s most iconic masterpieces, the St. Matthew Passion, March 28-30. This epic retelling of Christ’s life and death opens the 2013 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), which takes the audience on a journey through time—tracing the convergence of art, history, and culture, by exploring events that changed the course of history. This powerful interpretation of Jesus’s sentencing and crucifixion reflects on two extraordinary moments in time: the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD and the initial performance of this work in Leipzig on Good Friday afternoon in 1727. This is the first Philadelphia Orchestra performance of this piece in nearly 30 years, as well as the ensemble’s first performance of the complete work.

At the core of this deeply spiritual work resides a fundamentally human story—one that is both epic and personal in its scope. James Alexander—the creative force behind The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Stokowski Celebration concerts in the Academy of Music last June—brings this Passion story to life through the use of symbolic lighting, stylized acting gestures, innovative staging, and simple costuming. These new elements serve to heighten the drama of the events that led to Jesus’s betrayal and ultimately, crucifixion. 

Scored for solo voices, double choir, and double orchestra, the performance features soprano Malin Christensson, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, tenor Andrew Staples as the Evangelist, bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams, and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni in the role of Jesus. The choral sections, performed by the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the American Boychoir, at times represent officials and angry crowds, while at other points consist of a chorale. Soloists depict the words of the High Priest, Pontius Pilate, Peter (one of Jesus’s disciples), and other characters. Performances of the St. Matthew Passion are made possible in part by John H. McFadden and Lisa D. Kabnick in honor of the Woodmere Art Museum. For tickets call 215.893.1999 or visit www.philorch.org. For more information about PIFA visit www.pifa.org.

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Renowned for its distinctive sound, beloved for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of “firsts” in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the preeminent orchestras in the world.

The Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2012. With the 2012-13 season, Yannick Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music director designate in 2010, Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic music into the vivid world of opera and choral music. 

Philadelphia is home and the Orchestra nurtures an important relationship not only with patrons who support the main season at the Kimmel Center but also those who enjoy the Orchestra’s other area performances at the Mann Center, Penn’s Landing, and other venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association also continues to own the Academy of Music, a National Historic Landmark.

Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, the Orchestra is a global ambassador for Philadelphia and for the U.S. Having been the first American orchestra to perform in China, in 1973 at the request of President Nixon, today The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts a new partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. The Orchestra annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week residency in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and a strong partnership with the Bravo! Vail festival.

The ensemble recently joined with SpectiCast to deliver simulcasts of Orchestra concerts into theaters, schools, and performing arts centers. The Orchestra also recently announced a partnership with WRTI (90.1 FM) to broadcast pre-recorded versions of its subscription concerts from February through May 2013. The ensemble maintains an important Philadelphia tradition of presenting educational programs for students of all ages. Today the Orchestra executes a myriad of education and community partnership programs serving nearly 50,000 annually, including its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts, and eZseatU. In February 2013 the Orchestra announced a recording project with Deutsche Grammophon, in which Yannick and the ensemble will record Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

For more information on The Philadelphia Orchestra, please visit www.philorch.org.

Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013 (PIFA – March 28 to April 27) is a month-long city-wide arts festival produced by the Kimmel Center that celebrates innovation, collaboration and creativity with over 50 arts and cultural organizations presenting multi-disciplinary artistic interpretations of new works, classical performances and exhibits. The 2013 thematic focus, If You Had a Time Machine…. Takes audiences on a journey through time to experience the convergence of art, culture and history in artistic interpretations of great, defining moments that continue to influence society today.  The inaugural 2011 PIFA, which paid homage to the artistic energy of Paris 1910-1920, attracted over 404,600 visitors to the festival’s core 135 events, in addition to 196,000 visitors experiencing the culminating Street Fair event, and generated a total economic impact of $55.74 million and an additional $5 million in state and local taxes within the Philadelphia region.