Nathalie Stutzmann debuts as Principal Guest Conductor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads world premiere of
Wynton Marsalis’s Tuba Concerto with Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch
Holiday favorites The Glorious Sound of Christmas®,
Holiday Organ and Brass Celebration, and Messiah
return to Verizon Hall
World premiere by Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank
and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to ring in the New Year
(Philadelphia, November 22, 2021)—This holiday season, The Philadelphia Orchestra brings holiday cheer back to Verizon Hall with a joyful array of festive performances. Nathalie Stutzmann will make her highly anticipated debut as principal guest conductor with a program featuring Missy Mazzoli’s Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 (“Great”) (December 2–4). Led by Conducting Fellow Lina Gonzalez-Granados, organist Alan Morrison and musicians of the Orchestra’s brass and percussion sections will fill Verizon Hall with well-known favorites for a Holiday Organ and Brass Celebration (December 5). Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch in the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s Tuba Concerto (December 9–12), a Philadelphia Orchestra commission. The festivities continue with one of the Orchestra’s time-honored traditions, The Glorious Sound of Christmas®. Beloved conductor Bramwell Tovey takes the reins in this family-friendly event (December 16–21). Handel’s masterful Messiah, another seasonal favorite, also returns, with excerpts from the oratorio led by Julian Wachner (December 22–23). The year will come to a close as conductor Xian Zhang leads Beethoven’s triumphant Ninth Symphony in a program that opens with the world premiere of Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s Pachamama Meets an Ode (December 31 and January 2). This work, commissioned by the Orchestra, draws inspiration from Beethoven as well as Frank’s Peruvian culture.
The Orchestra can also be found on the Digital Stage this holiday season. Available for on-demand viewing for one week, Nézet-Séguin will conduct Amanda Harberg’s Piccolo Concerto featuring Orchestra piccoloist Erica Peel and Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3 (December 8–15). Favorites from The Nutcracker will feature cherished sounds of the holidays for the whole family to enjoy (December 18–25).
Just in time for the holidays: Tickets and subscriptions make great holiday presents for music lovers! The Orchestra will hold a Cyber Monday sale on November 29, 2021, during which most tickets will be available for $49 with no additional fees. For more details, visit www.philorch.org.
2021 Philadelphia Orchestra Holiday Programming
Stutzmann Conducts Schubert’s Ninth Symphony
December 2 at 7:30 PM—Thursday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 3 at 2:00 PM—Friday afternoon—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 4 at 8:00 PM—Saturday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Nathalie Stutzmann Conductor
Mazzoli Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Schubert Symphony No. 9 (“Great”)
Schubert’s colossal Symphony No. 9, known as the “Great,” represents the pinnacle of the composer’s art, though it did not premiere until 10 years after his early death. Schubert felt that the Ninth was his only fully mature symphony, the only one intended for audiences, and the only one that could be compared to Beethoven, whom Schubert revered above all others. Listen for a striking resemblance to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” theme in the last movement. In sparkling contrast, Missy Mazzoli notes that her Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) is “a piece that churns and roils, that inches close to the listener only to leap away at breakneck speed.”
Holiday Organ and Brass Celebration
December 5 at 2:00 PM—Sunday afternoon—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Lina Gonzalez-Granados Conductor
Alan Morrison Organ
Chrysyn Harp Narrator
Musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Brass and Percussion Sections
Gabrieli Canzon in double echo
Traditional “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
Hailstork Toccata on “Veni Emmanuel”
Traditional “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”
DiLorenzo ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
Vogel “Silent Night, Holy Night” (Chorale fantasia)
Purvis Prelude on “Greensleeves”
Adam “O Holy Night”
Traditional “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella”
Vogel “O, How Joyfully”
Anderson A Christmas Festival
Hark! the herald organ sings! The iconic Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ fills Verizon Hall with the rich sound of the holiday season, joined by musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra for an afternoon of Christmas favorites.
Carnegie Hall Presents The Philadelphia Orchestra
December 7 at 8:00 PM—Tuesday evening—Carnegie Hall
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Beethoven Symphony No. 2
Hunt Climb
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica")
The Philadelphia Orchestra continues its cycle of Beethoven symphonies at Carnegie Hall, pairing his Second and Third with a piece composed by Jessica Hunt to celebrate Beethoven at 250.
Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3 (Digital Stage)
December 8 at 8:00 PM ET–December 15 at 11:00 PM ET
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Erica Peel Piccolo
Harberg Piccolo Concerto
Price Symphony No. 3
Commissioned by the Federal Music Project at the height of the Great Depression, Florence Price’s Third Symphony was composed in the midst of the Chicago Renaissance, a powerful backdrop for writers and artists including Langston Hughes, Richard Wright, and Margaret Bonds. Completing this Digital Stage performance that celebrates the tremendous contributions of women, Erica Peel’s talent is on full display in Amanda Harberg’s Piccolo Concerto.
Marsalis’s Tuba Concerto
December 9 at 7:30 PM—Thursday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 10 at 8:00 PM—Friday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 12 at 2:00 PM—Sunday afternoon—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Carol Jantsch Tuba
Marsalis Tuba Concerto—World Premiere—Philadelphia Orchestra Commission
Brahms Symphony No. 1
Wynton Marsalis’s newly minted Tuba Concerto is given its world premiere on the Philadelphia Orchestra stage. Principal Tuba Carol Jantsch will be the first to perform this brilliant pairing of classical and jazz in Marsalis’s inimitable style.
The Glorious Sound of Christmas
December 16 at 7:00 PM—Thursday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 17 at 7:00 PM—Friday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 18 at 7:00 PM—Saturday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 19 at 2:00 PM—Sunday afternoon—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 21 at 7:00 PM—Tuesday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Bramwell Tovey Conductor/Piano
Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia
Dominick DiOrio Artistic Director and Conductor
Tovey “Not Very Long Ago”
Mendelssohn “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”
Tchaikovsky March, from The Nutcracker
Niles “I Wonder as I Wander”
Tovey “The Rittenhouse Carol”
Hairston “Mary's Boy Child”
Tormé “The Christmas Song”
Moore “The Night Before Christmas,” a poem with music
Piazzolla “Libertango”
Gruber “Silent Night”
Pierpont Jingle Bells Overture
Anderson Sleigh Ride
Traditional “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”
Wade “O Come, All Ye Faithful”
The Glorious Sound of Christmas has been a Philadelphia Orchestra tradition since the Philadelphians and Eugene Ormandy released the now-iconic recording in 1962. Make these concerts part of your holiday tradition with these jubilant and family-friendly performances.
Favorites from The Nutcracker Family Concert (Digital Stage)
December 18 at 11:30 AM ET–December 25 at 11:00 PM ET
Erina Yashima Conductor
Charlotte Blake Alston Narrator
Patrice Hawthorne Vocalist
Dancers from the Rock School for Dance Education
Bojan and Stephanie Spassoff Directors
Humperdinck Steiner “Crackle Waltz,” from Hansel and Gretel
Tchaikovsky. Ceo Selections from The Nutcracker
Various Gray Selection from Medley of Christmas Favorites
Celebrate the season with Your Philadelphia Orchestra, in this performance featuring timeless holiday favorites.
Messiah
December 22 at 7:00 PM—Wednesday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
December 23 at 7:00 PM—Thursday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Julian Wachner Conductor
Sherezade Panthaki Soprano—Philadelphia Orchestra Debut
Reginald Mobley Countertenor—Philadelphia Orchestra Debut
Nicholas Phan Tenor
Douglas Williams Bass-baritone—Philadelphia Orchestra Debut
Philadelphia Symphonic Choir
Joe Miller Director
Handel Highlights from Messiah
In 24 days of feverish writing, Handel created his immortal Messiah. Conductor Julian Wachner leads the Orchestra in these holiday presentations of highlights from this masterwork in what is certain to be a revelatory performance.
New Year’s Celebration
December 31 at 7:00 PM—Friday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
January 2 at 2:00 PM—Sunday afternoon—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Xian Zhang Conductor
Golda Schultz Soprano
Emily D'Angelo Mezzo-soprano—Philadelphia Orchestra Debut
Rolando Villazón Tenor
Ryan Speedo Green Bass-baritone
Philadelphia Symphonic Choir
Joe Miller Director
Frank Pachamama Meets an Ode—World Premiere—Philadelphia Orchestra Commission
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”)
Join us for a “joyful” welcome to 2022 as the Orchestra rings in the New Year with Beethoven’s iconic Ninth Symphony. Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank draws inspiration from Beethoven and her Peruvian culture in Pachamama Meets an Ode, challenging us to look at gifts from the past with new and searching eyes.
About The Philadelphia Orchestra
About Yannick Nézet-Séguin
About the 2021–22 Season
About the Digital Stage
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