Big—revolutionary—grand—powerful. An epic season awaits Philadelphia Orchestra audiences in 2007-08. From the number of artists on the stage to the sheer orchestral power of some of the largest works in the symphonic repertoire, grandeur, transcendence, immortality, and the force of nature define the coming season. Famous for their robust sound and rich tonal color, the Fabulous Philadelphians are especially suited to such monumental works.
2007-2008 Season Highlights
By the Numbers
One hundred twenty-five orchestra musicians, three choruses, eight vocal soloists: Mahler’s colossal Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”) brings the Orchestra’s five-year Mahler cycle to a grand conclusion. Epic in number but also in reputation, this work was first introduced to the United States by The Philadelphia Orchestra in a 1916 premiere, which brought international attention to the young orchestra. Orff’s Carmina burana is also among the season’s highlights. Scored for over 250 performers, it is one of the most popular pieces of the 20th century and a stirring celebration of the pleasures of love, drink, and springtime.
Revolution and Grandeur
Epic in history, Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet score The Rite of Spring, which also received its U.S. premiere by the Philadelphians under Leopold Stokowski, greets audiences in 2007-08. Richard Strauss’s tone poem An Alpine Symphony enlists 16 offstage brass players, organ, cowbells, and wind and thunder machines to depict the majesty of a hiking trip in the Bavarian Alps, while Janáček’s Sinfonietta opens with a blazing fanfare for over a dozen brass instruments and timpani.
Other Epic Masterpieces
Two great works will receive their first Philadelphia Orchestra performances in the 2007-08 season. Simon Rattle returns to conduct Schumann’s rarely heard secular oratorio Das Paradies und die Peri. Based on a Persian tale about a child who seeks entrance into heaven, it calls for six soloists and an eight-part choir. Another Philadelphia first is the concert suite of Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas’s film score Night of the Mayas. The work draws on Mayan folk music and other Mexican musical traditions and requires 11 percussionists.
Tributes and Celebrations
Several tributes add import to the 2007-08 season. A Leonard Bernstein Festival, led by Christoph Eschenbach, celebrates the 90th anniversary of the birth of the iconic American composer and conductor. As part of this Festival, The Philadelphia Orchestra Association has commissioned Jennifer Higdon, who embodies much of Bernstein’s panache, to write two new works: a piece for the string trio Time for Three and a concerto for violinist Jennifer Koh with the Philadelphia Singers Chorale. Other tributes include a concert conducted by Osmo Vänskä commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and a program led by Vladimir Jurowski celebrating the 40th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s science fiction classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film that memorably featured classical works.
The 2007-08 season of monumental works features some of the towering achievements of the symphonic repertoire performed by the great Philadelphia Orchestra and Christoph Eschenbach. It is a fitting tribute to Maestro Eschenbach’s tenure with the Orchestra.
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