Verizon Hall
Nathalie Stutzmann Conductor
Mazzoli Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Schubert Symphony No. 9 (“Great”)
Program Notes
Traffic Alert: The Visit Philadelphia Holiday Parade is Saturday, December 4, starting at 5 PM. Please plan for extra travel time to get to the Kimmel Center as there will be road closures and delays throughout Center City.
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.”