European tour also includes performances at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg,
Berliner Philharmonie, Kulturpalast Dresden, and Philharmonie de Paris
August 25–September 9, 2022
Violinist Lisa Batiashvili and soprano Angel Blue to perform
Tour features works never and rarely heard in itinerary cities:
Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1
Valerie Coleman’s This Is Not a Small Voice
Selections from Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank’s
Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
(Philadelphia, April 28, 2022)—Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra will embark on a European Festivals Tour, August 25–September 9, 2022.The seven-city tour marks the Orchestra’s first international tour since the fall of 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes performances in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival; Hamburg, Germany as part of Konzertdirektion Dr. Rufolf Goette and Elbphilharmonie Summer; Berlin, Germany as part ofMusikfest Berlin; Dresden, Germany as part of theDresden Music Festival; Lucerne, Switzerland, as part of the Lucerne Festival; Paris, France; and London, England, as part of the BBC Proms. Violinist Lisa Batiashvili andsoprano Angel Blue will join as soloists.
In its ongoing commitment to creative equity and inclusion in the world of orchestral music, The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform works never and rarely heard in concert in the tour locations, including Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1 (premiering in Edinburgh, Hamburg, Berlin, and Lucerne), for which the Orchestra’s Deutsche Grammophon recording won the 2022 GRAMMY for Best Orchestral Performance; the European premiere of Valerie Coleman’s This Is Not a Small Voice, a Philadelphia Orchestra commission performed by Blue to the text of Sonia Sanchez’s poem of the same name; and selections from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout by Philadelphia Orchestra Composer-in-Residence Gabriela Lena Frank (only previously performed in Europe in Finland and Sweden). In addition, the Orchestra will present works by Beethoven, Dvořák, and Rachmaninoff. Batiashvili will perform Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Chausson’s Poème, and Saint-Saëns’sIntroduction and Rondo capriccioso. Blue will perform Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in addition to the Coleman work.
“It is fitting—and thrilling—for the Orchestra to return to international touring with performances at Europe’s most esteemed festivals and concert halls,” said Nézet-Séguin. “Together with our dear friends Lisa Batiashvili and Angel Blue, we look forward to reuniting with audiences overseas and sharing with them an authentic representation of who we are, through music that reflects our diverse world. It is particularly special for us to perform Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1 in cities where it has never before been heard. This symphony is near and dear to our hearts and we hope it will become a staple in the classical music canon worldwide.”
Tour Concert Schedule
Edinburgh: August 25, Edinburgh International Festival, Usher Hall, recorded for delayed broadcast on BBC Radio 3
Edinburgh: August 26, Edinburgh International Festival, Usher Hall
Edinburgh: August 27, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Playhouse, live broadcast to Princes Street Gardens
Hamburg: August 29, Elbphilharmonie Summer, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Hamburg: August 30, Elbphilharmonie Summer, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Berlin: September 1, Musikfest Berlin, Philharmonie Berlin, live broadcast on Digital Concert Hall; recorded for delayed broadcast on DLF
Dresden: September 2, Dresden Music Festival, Kulturpalast Dresden
Lucerne: September 4, Lucerne Festival, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern
Lucerne: September 5, Lucerne Festival, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern
Paris: September 6, Philharmonie de Paris
Paris: September 7, Philharmonie de Paris
London: September 8, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, recorded for delayed broadcast on BBC Radio 3
London: September 9, BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, recorded for delayed broadcast on BBC Radio 3
In addition to the full Orchestra concerts, Yannick will join a chamber concert with musicians of the Orchestra on August 25 at Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, to be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. The program will feature Yannick at the piano for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 (in its version for piano and string quartet) and a performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.
Click here for a complete listing of concert information.
“There’s nothing like that moment of connection and contemplation, when you’re standing in the Arena at the Proms in front of one of the truly great world orchestras, as I did as a teenager growing up in London hearing The Philadelphia Orchestra perform live for the first time,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “It is so special now to return to the Proms, as well as to each of these iconic European festivals and concert halls, with Yannick and the Orchestra performing masterworks alongside important premieres that together show the breadth of the repertoire. We look forward to creating lifelong memories for audience members like the ones I still carry with me to this day.”
Patron Tour
Beginning in Berlin, patrons of the Orchestra will join the tour to attend concerts and participate in a variety of tourism activities and opportunities to interact with Orchestra musicians and leadership. The patron tour is currently at capacity. Anyone interested in being added to the waiting list should contact Mitch Bassion at [email protected].
Supporters
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2022 European Festivals Tour is made possible through the generous support of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Philadelphia Convention & Visitor’s Bureau.
This engagement is supported in part by Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtists International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s History on Tour and in Europe
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s tour history is as long and legendary as the Orchestra itself. Just four days after their inaugural concert on November 16, 1900, the musicians were already on the road. Over the next decades, they performed regularly across the United States. The Orchestra first performed outside the United States when it traveled to Toronto, Canada, in 1918, led by Music Director Leopold Stokowski. In 1936, again led by Stokowski, the Orchestra embarked on its first transcontinental tour—which also included a concert in Toronto—the first of its kind by any American orchestra. In 1949 the Orchestra and Music Director Eugene Ormandy made their first overseas tour—the first for an American orchestra following World War II—traveling to Great Britain by boat, giving 28 concerts in 27 days. Six years later they crossed the Atlantic again, making their first visit to the European Continent. Since that time, the Orchestra has crossed the globe on a regular basis, becoming one of the most-traveled American symphonic ensembles. The Philadelphians last visited Europe with Nézet-Séguin in 2018.
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About The Philadelphia Orchestra
About Yannick Nézet-Séguin
About the 2021–22 Season
Our Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Strategies (IDEAS)
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CONTACT:
Ashley Berke
267.250.5148
[email protected]