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NEWS RELEASE

Christoph Eschenbach leads Philadelphia Orchestra's 2004 European Tour - his first with Philadelphia

Three week tour encompasses 14 concerts in ten cities across eight countries

(Philadelphia, March 10, 2004)

Music Director Christoph Eschenbach leads The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2004 European Tour, his first with Philadelphia, May 10 - May 30, 2004. Concluding a critically acclaimed first season as music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Eschenbach leads the Philadelphians in 14 concerts in ten cities, visiting France, Germany, Austria, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain. Violinist Gil Shaham joins the Orchestra for six performances of Brahms's Violin Concerto.

Christoph Eschenbach's first tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra opens with a performance in Paris at the Théâtre Mogador, temporary home of the Orchestre de Paris, of which Mr. Eschenbach is also music director. The Orchestra travels to Braunschweig, Germany, for the first time for one performance at the Stadthalle Braunschweig, then continues to Frankfurt, Germany, for two performances at the Alte Oper. Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra perform two concerts at the famed Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, and travel to London for two performances at the Barbican Centre. Two performances follow in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Netherlands, and one in Brussels's Palais des Beaux-Arts, Belgium. The Orchestra then heads to the Iberian Peninsula for one performance each in Lisbon, Portugal, and Valencia and Madrid, Spain. This will be the Orchestra's first performance in Valencia.

"To be bringing The Philadelphia Orchestra to Europe for our first tour together gives me great pleasure," said Christoph Eschenbach. "My partnership with these world-renowned musicians is a joy and we look forward to sharing our musical experiences with new audiences around the world."

Said Joseph H. Kluger, president of The Philadelphia Orchestra Association, "As a cultural ambassador for the Philadelphia region, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United States, The Philadelphia Orchestra is proud to tour for the first time with our new music director, Christoph Eschenbach. We are grateful to the sponsors whose help is so critical to the financing of these tours. We are also delighted to partner once again with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau in demonstrating to European audiences what a wonderful place Philadelphia is to visit and do business."

Tour Itinerary (see end of news release for detailed schedule)

Christoph Eschenbach
Highlights of Christoph Eschenbach's 2003-2004 inaugural Philadelphia season have included the Opening Night gala with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the world premiere of an Orchestra commission by Gerald Levinson, and performances of Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony. In February 2004, Mr. Eschenbach began the Orchestra's five-season long, first-ever Mahler cycle with a four-week Mahler Festival, to critical and popular acclaim. The 2004 European Tour completes his first season with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

Held in high esteem by the world's foremost orchestras and opera houses for his commanding presence, versatility, and consummate musicianship, Christoph Eschenbach is also a sought-after figure on the guest conducting circuit, regularly leading major American and European orchestras. He continues as music director of the Orchestre de Paris and chief conductor of the Hamburg NDR Symphony. This season Mr. Eschenbach also leads the London Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival, and the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, where he concluded his tenure as music director in 2003.

Mr. Eschenbach has made numerous recordings on various labels as conductor, pianist, or both. His discography includes works of Brahms, Berlioz, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, Saint-Saëns, Schumann, Strauss, and Tchaikovsky, and such contemporary composers as Adams, Berg, Glass, Picker, Rouse, Schnittke, Schoenberg, and Webern.

Before turning to conducting, Mr. Eschenbach had earned a distinguished international reputation as a pianist. He began winning major competitions at age 11, and made his United States concert debut in 1969 with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. Eschenbach made his conducting debut in Hamburg in 1972. In 1981 he was named principal guest conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, becoming chief conductor in 1982. He made his Houston Symphony debut in 1983 and was music director of that ensemble from 1988-1999.

Among Mr. Eschenbach's most recent awards are the Légion d'Honneur of France and the Officer's Cross with Star of the German Order of Merit. He also received the Leonard Bernstein Award, presented by the Pacific Music Festival, where he served as co-artistic director from 1992-1998.

Tour Repertoire and Guest Soloist
On the 2004 European Tour, Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra present symphonic masterpieces associated with the Orchestra's 2004 Mahler Festival and five-year Mahler cycle: Mahler's Symphony No. 1, Schoenberg's Transfigured Night (1943 version), and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10. Mr. Eschenbach also continues the current season's focus on the music of Olivier Messiaen, presenting Les Offrandes oubliées paired with Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. Violinist Gil Shaham joins the Orchestra for Brahms's Violin Concerto.

Guest violinist Gil Shaham joins the Orchestra as soloist in Frankfurt, Vienna, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Valencia. Internationally recognized by audiences and critics as one of today's most virtuosic and engaging classical artists, Mr. Shaham is sought after throughout the world for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras as well as for recital and ensemble appearances on the great concert stages and at the most prestigious festivals.

During the 2003-2004 season, Mr. Shaham, in addition to touring Europe with The Philadelphia Orchestra, performs with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas and with the Philharmonia and Bavarian Radio orchestras, among other ensembles. His recital schedule features performances in Paris, Milan, Brussels, Madrid, and New York (Avery Fisher Hall), as well as performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Gil Shaham won a Grammy Award for his 1998 recital album American Scenes with André Previn at the piano. Other recent releases include a Bartók disc (the Violin Concerto No. 2 and the two Rhapsodies for Violin and Orchestra) with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony, which earned two Grammy nominations; and an Arvo Pärt recording, on which Mr. Shaham performed Tabula Rasa and Fratres III.

A native of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Mr. Shaham moved with his parents to Israel in 1973, where at the age of 7 he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein at the Rubin Academy of Music and was immediately granted annual scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, while studying with Haim Taub in Jerusalem, Mr. Shaham made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. That same year he began his studies with Dorothy DeLay and Jens Ellerman at Aspen. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel's Claremont Competition, he became a scholarship student at Juilliard, where he worked with Ms. DeLay and Hyo Kang. He has also studied at Columbia University.

Gil Shaham was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990. He plays the 1699 "Countess Polignac" Stradivarius and lives in New York City with his wife, the violinist Adele Anthony, and son, Elijah.

Joint Chamber Music Concert with Orchestre de Paris
In addition to orchestral performances, artists of The Philadelphia Orchestra join with those of the Orchestre de Paris to perform a chamber music recital at 8:00 p.m. on May 12, in an encore performance of a chamber concert performed in Philadelphia in November 2003. Mr. Eschenbach appears at the piano alongside artists of the Orchestre de Paris to play American composer Tobias Picker's The Blue Hula (for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and percussion), and conducts musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra in Tactus (for clarinet, bassoon, horn, string quintet, and piano), by French composer Marc-André Dalbavie. Artists from the two orchestras perform together, at the close of the program, in Schubert's Octet in F major, D. 803 (for clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass). Philadelphia Orchestra musicians performing on the chamber music concert are David Kim, violin; Kimberly Fisher, violin; Roberto Díaz, viola; William Stokking, cello; Harold Robinson, double bass; Ricardo Morales, clarinet; Daniel Matsukawa, bassoon; David Wetherill, horn; and Kiyoko Takeuti, piano.

Tour History
The Philadelphia Orchestra has a long and distinguished touring history throughout the world. Through its tour concerts, recordings, and broadcasts, the Orchestra has generated interest and enthusiasm for symphonic music among tens of millions of people, while also carrying the name of Philadelphia across the globe. The 2004 European Tour marks The Philadelphia Orchestra's 27th tour outside North America and 14th visit to Europe. The Orchestra makes first visits to Braunschweig and Valencia and its first visit to Lisbon since 1970. In 1949 Philadelphia was the first American orchestra to cross the Atlantic after World War II, with a special three-week concert tour of Great Britain, its first international tour. Since that time, the Orchestra has crisscrossed the globe on a regular basis, becoming one of the most-traveled American symphonic ensembles. The Philadelphia Orchestra's last tour of Europe was in 2000, under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Tour Sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship for the 2004 European Tour includes funding from Isover for concerts in Amsterdam, Lisbon, Valencia, and Madrid and funding from the Roizman Companies for sponsorship of Mr. Shaham's appearances with the Orchestra. For the second time the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau partners with the Orchestra to provide publicity and promotional support in Europe.

Philadelphia Orchestra History
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. The Philadelphia Orchestra's 2004 European Tour caps Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestra's first full season together.

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.

2004 European Tour

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