Tours and Travels

Hello from China, where I am presenting a new harp concerto with Tan Dun for the Shanghai International Arts Festival. This is not a conventional work and has the potential to globally galvanize women. Tan Dun has preserved yet another musical tapestry of his culture by sharing an ancient women’s secret language through the voice of the harp. From a remote village in his Hunan home, Tan Dun bonded with the last remaining women who practice this secret code, nüshu—“women’s writing”—a simplified Chinese script used exclusively among women, developed during a time in China when women lacked the same access to education as men. Messages written in nüshu along the folds of a secret fan or embroidered in cloth were the only means for a woman to communicate to her sisters. Through the feminine form of the harp this women’s secret society will be revealed.

8/15/12, Saratoga Springs: Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and the Orchestra begin their SPAC rehearsal with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

8/8/12, Saratoga Springs: Yannick greets the Orchestra before they start their first rehearsal together at SPAC.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has performed each August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) since the Center's founding in 1966. This year marks the Philadelphians’ 47th consecutive residency at Saratoga.

7/26/12, Cheltenham: Assistant Conductor Cristian Macelaru leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture. The performance marked the Orchestra’s debut at Curtis Arboretum and also the first 2012 Free Neighborhood Concert of the weekend. Photo by Ryan Donnell

7/14/12, Vail: Soloist Joshua Bell rehearses Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with guest conductor Stéphane Denève and the Orchestra during the day.

7/11/12, Vail: Soloists Stephanie Block and Julia Murney convene at the start of rehearsal on July 11.

7/8/12, Vail: Assistant Conductor Cristian Macelaru leads the Orchestra in rehearsal on July 8 in Vail’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

7/7/12, Vail: Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin thanks the Orchestra just before the start of rehearsal for their patience and persistence during the July 6 Opening Night concert, when the performance was postponed due to rain.

7/6/12, Vail: John Giovando, president and executive director of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, welcomes Yannick and the Orchestra to Colorado before the start of their first rehearsal on July 6.