The Philadelphia Orchestra and Ondine Records
announce details of three year recording partnership

First release of live recordings expected in autumn 2005

To receive more information about future recordings, visit www.philorch.org/ondine.

(Philadelphia, May 3, 2005)

The Philadelphia Orchestra announced today the details of a new partnership with Ondine Records. The three-year agreement - the Orchestra's first recording contract in 10 years - includes a yearly extension option and calls for a minimum of three recordings to be released per year. The resumption of a regular recording program was one of Christoph Eschenbach's stated priorities when he assumed the position of music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2003. The Orchestra will record, edit, and produce the recordings, which will be taken from live concerts, and Ondine will manufacture and distribute the final product to an international market. The first recording is scheduled to be released in fall 2005. Ondine, based in Finland, also records Christoph Eschenbach with the Orchestre de Paris.

In the coming years, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach will record many of its concerts, including works that reconnect the Orchestra with its rich recording history. Determining what recorded material will be best suited for distribution on the classical music record market will be a joint decision among The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Eschenbach, and Ondine, following a review of the recorded material. Recorded works will include Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, Bohuslav Martinu's Memorial to Lidice, and Gideon Klein's Partita for Strings, as well as some of the works in the Orchestra's multi-year Mahler cycle. It has been 25 years since The Philadelphia Orchestra recorded Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. It was previously recorded three times under Eugene Ormandy - in 1954, 1963, and 1979. The Orchestra has recorded Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony seven times over a 71-year span. Mr. Eschenbach will be the Orchestra's fourth music director to record the full work. (The Orchestra recorded the second movement only in 1923 under Leopold Stokowski.) In addition, Mr. Eschenbach will share his artistic versatility by recording six movements (January - June) from Tchaikovsky's piano work The Seasons, his first extensive solo piano recordings in nearly 30 years.

Kevin Kleinmann, formerly vice president of PolyGram/Universal Classics, was instrumental in developing the partnership concept with Ondine and bringing the contract to fruition, and will serve as executive producer of the recordings made under the agreement with Ondine. The recordings will be in the Super Audio CD (SACD) hybrid format, which can also be played on regular CD and DVD players. In preparation for the project, The Philadelphia Orchestra has made a major capital investment in state-of-the-art recording equipment for Verizon Hall and has employed engineers Martha de Francisco, based in Montreal, and Everett Porter, from Polyhymnia Studios in the Netherlands, to insure that the quality of the recordings matches the excellence of The Philadelphia Orchestra's sound.

This agreement is the result of nearly eight years of collaborative work by individuals on both sides of the Atlantic. The basis of the agreement with Ondine was conceived and constructed by Mr. Kleinmann, who brought it to Orchestra Music Director Christoph Eschenbach and President Joseph H. Kluger for consideration. The Philadelphia Orchestra Media Institute (POMI), a joint venture formed in 1998 among musicians and Board members, was instrumental in bringing the agreement to fruition, as an outgrowth of its mission to increase the electronic media activities of The Philadelphia Orchestra. The Orchestra was able to enter into the economic partnership with Ondine, as a result of a new compensation structure, which was negotiated this past fall between the Philadelphia Orchestra Association and the American Federation of Musicians Local 77. The Philadelphia Orchestra is breaking new ground in this innovative agreement, which allows the musicians to participate in revenue-sharing as well as joint ownership of the Orchestra's artistic product.

"We are delighted that our agreement with Ondine will allow Philadelphia Orchestra recordings to be available once again to music-lovers all over the world," said Philadelphia Orchestra President Joseph H. Kluger. "We believe the recordings we release should be taken from live performances, to capture the spontaneity and freshness of the concert experience, and to convey the excitement and magic of The Philadelphia Orchestra to future generations."

"Signing this unique partnership agreement with The Philadelphia Orchestra in our company's 20th anniversary year, is a double celebration for me, and the jewel in the crown of Ondine," said Ondine Records Managing Director Reijo Kiilunen. "I look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with the remarkable Philadelphia Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach and to working with the excellent international team that will produce these recordings."

"I am very excited to see one of my first and most important dreams for the Orchestra announced, a major multi-year recording project," said Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Christoph Eschenbach. "This agreement would not be possible without the hard work of the Media Institute Board, Joe Kluger, and most importantly, Kevin Kleinmann, who brought this opportunity to me and the Orchestra and who helped see it through to fruition."

"The Philadelphia Orchestra has always been, throughout its history, an orchestra of 'firsts,'" said Executive Producer Kevin Kleinmann. "It has given me immense satisfaction to see this groundbreaking, innovative agreement brought to fruition. It brings together the musicians of the phenomenal Philadelphia Orchestra, its management, Music Director Christoph Eschenbach, and Ondine in a partnership which should mark a new path in the way that classical recordings are made in the future."

"The labor negotiations in 2004 resulted in a contract that brings The Philadelphia Orchestra back into the CD market in a way that reflects our focus in Philadelphia and gives our loyal fans at home and around the world access to our artistry and current collaboration with Music Director Christoph Eschenbach," said John Koen, cellist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, chairman of the Orchestra's Members' Committee, and a member of the POMI Board of Directors. "The decisions around these recordings are made in a collaborative process with Ondine, musicians, and Board members, with valuable input from Orchestra management."

"After nearly a decade, new recordings of the glorious music of The Philadelphia Orchestra will once again be available on a regular basis," said Peter Ernster, chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra Media Institute. "This happy news is the result of several important factors: a highly constructive and groundbreaking recording agreement reached with the musicians of the Orchestra; the positive impetus of Maestro Eschenbach; the enthusiasm and flexibility of Ondine and Kevin Kleinmann; and finally, the will, determination, and tireless dedication of Joe Kluger and the members of the Board of the Philadelphia Orchestra Media Institute (POMI) - most particularly the musician members."

Ondine Records was founded by Reijo Kiilunen in 1985 and today ranks as one of the world's pre-eminent and most respected classical labels. The company, based in Helsinki, Finland, has over the years built up an impressive catalogue of both Finnish and international classical music, performed by major artists. Among the artists closely associated with the label are: Christoph Eschenbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Olli Mustonen, Karita Mattila, and Soile Isokoski, as well as the Orchestre de Paris and now The Philadelphia Orchestra. The label has also been closely associated with the renowned Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, who has entrusted them with the premiere recordings of many of his works.

Ondine has remained true to its founding principles of painstaking quality above all else. At a time when CDs appear on the shelves more quickly than the market can absorb them, it has become increasingly important that each recording is carefully weighed and found worthy of release. With this firmly in mind, the label has explored the rich musical terrain of its native Finland, and made frequent excursions around its borders and beyond, to gather a collection of more than 300 CD recordings, many of them of repertoire unavailable elsewhere. The catalogue embraces orchestral masterpieces, intimate chamber works, and the cutting-edge of the avant-garde, as well as eclectic crossover projects.

Ondine recordings have won many prizes, including numerous Cannes Classical awards. The prestigious Gramophone "Editor's Choice Award" was delivered in London in September 2002 for Soile Isokoski's recording of Richard Strauss's orchestral songs. Since 1985, Ondine has won the "'Record of the Year" prize given by the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation no less than nine times.

Now, in Ondine's 20th anniversary year, a double celebration is taking place, in the proud signing of an agreement with the great Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the most remarkable musical ensembles in the world.

Ondine has a vast world-wide distribution network in more than 30 countries, with emphasis on the U.S.A., Europe, and the Far East.

For further information, visit www.ondine.net.

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 2002-2003 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. Mr. 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. Additional information about The Philadelphia Orchestra can be found at www.philorch.org.

Support for The Philadelphia Orchestra's recording projects is provided, in part, by endowment grants from the Annenberg Foundation and the Neubauer Family Foundation.