50th Anniversary Season of The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA, April 03, 2014 (Press-News.org) Soloists include prizewinners from the prestigious Van Cliburn and Queen Elisabeth Competitions.

A Special 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert in the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, followed by a champagne toast in Commonwealth Plaza.

Single tickets as low as $24 for subscription series concerts.

Month-Long National Tour with Branford Marsalis.

Collaborations with The Joybells of Melmark, Josh Groban, and The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia.

A founding resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is thrilled to present its 50th Anniversary Concert Season. With classical masterpieces and an extraordinary roster of artists, the Chamber Orchestra showcases excellent musicianship and programming on an intimate scale - the characteristics that have most defined the ensemble over the past fifty years.

From September 2014 through May 2015, the Chamber Orchestra will perform seven concert programs as part of its subscription series. Six concert pairs will be performed in the Kimmel Center's intimate Perelman Theater, with a seventh program held in Verizon Hall, for a not-to-be-missed performance celebrating the culmination of the Chamber Orchestra's 50th Anniversary.

DI WU PLAYS MENDELSSOHN

September 14 & 15, 2014

Dirk Brosse, conductor
Di Wu, piano

Verdi: La Traviata: Prelude to Act III
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, Pastorale

Music Director Dirk Brosse opens the Chamber Orchestra's 50th Anniversary Season with Prelude to Act III from Verdi's La Traviata. A romantic tragedy opera where the heroine was a courtesan, the sorrowful prelude sets the mood for the final act, where Violetta, the protagonist, is dying of an illness and a broken heart.

Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2 follows the Prelude, featuring a rising talent in classical music, Di Wu. Hailed as a "musically mature and sensitive pianist," she has performed as a soloist and recitalist across the globe. Ms. Wu is a coveted prize winner at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, The Juilliard School's Petschek Award winner, and The Virtuosi Prize winner at Lisbon's prestigious Vendome Competition.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, also known as his Pastorale Symphony, concludes the inaugural concert of the season. One of the only two symphonies he intentionally named, the piece exhibits Beethoven's fondness for nature and love for walks through the country outside of Vienna.

BAROQUE CONCERTI WITH HAI-YE NI

October 19 & 20, 2014

Hai-Ye Ni, conductor and cello

Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in E-flat major, RV 408
Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in A minor, RV 418
Tartini: Cello Concerto in D major
Vivaldi: Cello Concerto in B minor, RV 424
Haydn: Cello Concerto in C major, Hob.VIIb:1

Hai-Ye Ni, Principal Cello of The Philadelphia Orchestra, returns to the Chamber Orchestra stage in a play/conduct program, highlighting five charming Cello Concertos from the Baroque era. Three of Vivaldi's twenty-seven cello concerti will be heard on the program - his E-flat major, A minor, and B minor Cello Concertos. They date from the early 1700's to the late 1730's, at a time when the cello was in its early days as a solo instrument. The explored relationship between the solo cello and the orchestra were evident over the years - the cello acted as more of a bass accompaniment in Vivaldi's earlier works, and slowly progressed to dialogue between the soloist and orchestra in his later pieces. The thought of solo cello as a furnishing to the bass line in the orchestra is also evident in Tartini's Cello Concerto, another work in the play/conduct program. It wasn't until the nineteenth century that the cello's soloistic possibilities as we know them today were unlocked.

Ms. Ni closes the program with Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major - a masterpiece that vanished, and was then rediscovered in 1961, almost two decades after it was written. Though deeply rooted in baroque concerto form, it is enriched with themes and a greater variety of material than the standard eighteenth-century concerto. It is thought to be one of Haydn's most successful concertos.

SPOTLIGHT ON KOZASA

November 9 & 10, 2014

Dirk Brosse, conductor
Ayane Kozasa, viola

Britten: Simple Symphony, Op. 4
Stamitz: Viola Concerto in D major, Op. 1
Haydn: Symphony No. 84 in E-flat major, Hob.I:84

In the third concert of the 50th Anniversary Season, Maestro Brosse leads the orchestra on a musical journey through Europe, beginning with Britten's Simple Symphony. Britten's talent was evident at an early age, and when he was twenty years old he gathered material from his carefully preserved manuscripts - written from age nine to twelve - to use as the themes for this charming work.

Spotlight on Kozasa continues with Stamitz's Viola Concerto, one of the first solo works written for viola, featuring the Chamber Orchestra's own Principal Viola Ayane Kozasa. A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music, she is also a winner of the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition, Astral Artists' National Auditions, the S&R Washington Award, and a prizewinner at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. Ms. Kozasa's interest in chamber music has also led her to a number of concert appearances and to top music festivals across the United States.

The program closes with Haydn's Symphony No. 84, the third of his six "Paris" symphonies. Symphony No. 84 was commissioned by a popular concert subscription in Paris, and was written for a large orchestra, with emphasis on the woodwinds.

MOZART WITH AUGUSTIN DUMAY

January 25 & 26, 2015

Augustin Dumay, conductor and violin

Mozart: Adagio in E major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 261
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216
Mozart: Divertimento in D major, K. 136
Mozart: Symphony No. 21 in A major, K. 134

The first pair of concerts in the New Year is another play/conduct program - this time, featuring conductor and violinist Augustin Dumay. One of the most prominent representatives of the great European classical tradition, Mr. Dumay leads an all Mozart program, beginning with Adagio in E major, which was possibly written as a replacement for the second movement of the fifth and last of Mozart's Violin Concertos.

Mozart's five violin concertos were considered to be the turning point in his career, and it seems as if he found his mature writing style with the final three works in this genre. His Violin Concerto No. 3 offers a perfect balance between showcasing the soloist's virtuosity and thematic musical content, which are evident in all of his violin concertos.

Maestro Dumay then leads Mozart's Divertimento in D major, a piece written by the composer at the young age of sixteen. Along with his two other divertimenti (another term for chamber music) the piece to be heard at this concert demonstrates Italian musical influences he heard during his trip to Italy.

Mozart with Augustin Dumay culminates with Mozart's Symphony No. 21. Written shortly before Divertimento, influences from his trip to Italy are also evident in his 21st symphony. The imagination, audible colors, and richness of this work is astounding for a teenager, and it is even thought that the main theme was inspired by an aria in one of Christoph Willibald Gluck's operas.

MAHLER'S 4TH

February 22 & 23, 2015

Dirk Brosse, conductor
Haeran Hong, soprano

Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht, Op. 4
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G major (Chamber Version)

Maestro Brosse returns to the podium to lead the Chamber Orchestra and 2011 International Queen Elizabeth Competition Grand Prize winner, soprano Haeran Hong, in Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht. Translated as "Transfigured Night," Schoenberg's work is based on a poem about the celebration of life by Richard Dehmel - a poet who greatly influenced Schoenberg's neo-romantic writing.

Concluding the program is Erwin Stein's chamber version of Mahler's Symphony No. 4. Known to be Mahler's lightest and most accessible symphony, the piece was originally written for 75-80 orchestral players, with Stein's arrangement (one of Schoenberg's best pupils) only calling for fifteen. This version allows for lines and melodies thought to be buried in the original orchestration to be more prominent. The chamber version was written for a performance for the Society for Private Musical Performances - a symposium founded by Arnold Schoenberg, where listeners could hear quality performances of modern music, including arrangements of orchestral works.

MASTERS OF ALL TIME

March 22 & 23, 2015

Nir Kabaretti, conductor
Sean Chen, piano

Haydn: Overture to Armida
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595
Mendelssohn: Sinfonia No. 10 in B minor, MWV N 10
Verdi: String Symphony

Nir Kabaretti, internationally acclaimed conductor and Music and Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, joins the Chamber Orchestra to lead a program of works by some of the greatest composers in the history of classical music. The program begins with Haydn's Armida Overture, the overture to what Haydn regarded to be his finest opera, and also the last opera he wrote for his employer Count Esterhazy. Armida is based on Torquato Tasso's poem of the first crusade, and the overture begins and ends with a martial-like theme, depicting the war.

Sean Chen, Crystal Award Winner of the fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, joins the Chamber Orchestra for Piano Concerto No. 27, Mozart's last piano concerto ever written. Graceful and at times thin in texture, the work returns to the more simple times in Mozart's life. The symphony is also written in the key of B-flat - a key associated with his joyful and uncomplicated past.

Mendelssohn's Sinfonia No. 10 follows on the program and was composed when Mendelssohn was only fourteen years of age. Influences of C.P.E. Bach, Haydn, and Carl Zelter (Mendelssohn's teacher at the time) are heard throughout the symphony. However, the thrilling dash following the slow introduction is an authentic Mendelssohn trait.

Maestro Kabaretti ends the concerts with Verdi's String Symphony - an orchestral expansion of his String Quartet in E minor. The first and only surviving piece of chamber music in Verdi's repertoire, it was not meant to be heard by the public. The work was written when the Naples premiere of Verdi's opera Aida was postponed for a few days, due to the lead soprano falling ill. Technically demanding and musically rewarding, the melodies are reminiscent of his operatic works.

50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Concert

May 10, 2015

Dirk Brosse, conductor
Alan Morrison, organ

Soovin Kim, violin
Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano
Marie Elisabeth Hecker, cello

Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Brosse: Organ Concerto (World Premiere)
Beethoven: Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 56

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia's 50th Anniversary Season culminates in a special commemorative performance in Verizon Hall, followed by a champagne toast for subscribers, guest artists and musicians in Commonwealth Plaza.

Maestro Dirk Brosse opens the 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert with Beethoven's revered Symphony No. 5. Quite possibly the world's most famous symphony, it was written during the middle period of Beethoven's life when he first admitted his encroaching deafness, but was yet unwilling to be destroyed by his fate. The notoriously recognized opening four notes of the work represent fate knocking at the door. The feeling of heroism embodied throughout the symphony was heard in the rest of Beethoven's works during the middle period of his life.

Following the symphony is a World Premiere Organ Concerto composed by Chamber Orchestra Music Director Dirk Brosse and commissioned by the Chamber Orchestra for its 50th Anniversary Season. The work will be performed by organist Alan Morrison, one of America's premier concert organists, on the expansive and incomparable Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ.

Violinist Soovin Kim, pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn and cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker take the stage for Beethoven's Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano. Beethoven's grand concerto style is eminent throughout, but the work is also reflective of the old sinfonia concertante and concerto grosso genres because of the use of multiple soloists accompanied by an orchestra. Described as "grand, tranquil, harmonious and lively" by Mozart's good friend and student Carl Czerny, the concerto offers a magnificent finale to the Chamber Orchestra's 50th Anniversary Concert and Season.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia at Lincoln University
The Chamber Orchestra continues its second residency at Lincoln University in the 2014-2015 concert season, and will perform two programs on campus.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia with Josh Groban at The Mann Center
On August 27, 2014, the Chamber Orchestra will join multi-platinum selling superstar, Josh Groban in his Mann Center debut. This performance is part of Josh Groban's tour in support of his sixth studio album All That Echoes.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia on Tour with Branford Marsalis
In October 2014, the Chamber Orchestra joins renowned Grammy Award-winning and Tony Award nominee saxophonist and composer Branford Marsalis in Marsalis' "Well-Tempered" tour, performing Baroque masterpieces by Albinoni, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and others, in venues across the country.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia with The Joybells of Melmark
In their first ever performance with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Joybells of Melmark will perform two free concerts in the Kimmel Center's Commonwealth Plaza. The joint ensemble will perform a variety of holiday music specially arranged by Music Director Dirk Brosse. This ongoing partnership between the Chamber Orchestra and Melmark also culminates in the release of a CD in December 2014, featuring the holiday music that will be performed live in the Kimmel Center. Members of The Joybells of Melmark are adults with intellectual disabilities who perform beautiful music through the use of a variety of handbells, chimes and percussion instruments. They've been performing since 1970 and have played at The White House, the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion, Citizens Bank Ballpark and a number of other venues. Their performances will surely change the way you look at people with special needs.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia with The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia
On Sunday, February 8, 2015, the Chamber Orchestra will join The Mendelssohn Club to perform Bach's St. Matthew Passion as revised by Felix Mendelssohn for his historic 1841 performance. This North American premiere highlights the drama of the Passion in Girard College's architectural jewel, the Girard College Chapel.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia Radio Broadcasts on WRTI
The Chamber Orchestra continues its collaboration with WRTI in the new concert season. Tune in to WRTI-FM at 5pm on the third Sunday of every month to hear concerts recorded live in the Kimmel Center's intimate Perelman Theater.

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia Live Concert Recordings
Continuing the initiative begun during the 2012-2013 season, the Chamber Orchestra will continue to release a digital album of each concert it performs, as well as a live high-definition (HD) video recording, through an agreement with Naxos. Live recorded MP3s of Chamber Orchestra concerts since the 2003-2004 concert season are available for download and streaming through outlets such as iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, ClassicsOnline.com, and Presto Classical. HD videos of orchestra performances from 2010 forward are available for rent and purchase through Amazon Instant Video.

Tickets and Subscriptions
Subscriptions to the concert series in the Perelman Theater are available starting at $115 for "All-Sunday" and "All-Monday" season passes, with subscribers saving up to 17% over purchasing single tickets. Chamber Orchestra subscribers receive many benefits, including free exchanges and ticket insurance, a 20% discount on additional ticket purchases, early notification of next season's repertoire, and exclusive restaurant offers for local restaurants. Subscription orders can be made over the phone at 215.545.1739, online at chamberorchestra.org, or via mail/fax using the subscription form that can be downloaded at chamberorchestra.org.

Individual tickets range from $24 - $81 in price, and become available for purchase in late August.

$25 Student All-Season Pass
Available to college students 30 and under, this pass gives access to every concert of the subscription season for only $25. Student All-Season Pass holders receive full subscriber benefits, as well as free attendance to one open rehearsal, free attendance to one pre-concert Beyond the Baton brunch with the Music Director, and eligibility to purchase up to 3 additional student tickets (per concert) at $10 each.

$75 Young Adult All-Season Pass
Available to adults 35 and under, this pass gives access to every concert of the subscription season for only $75. Young Adult All-Season Pass holders receive free attendance to one open rehearsal and one post-concert event, as well as receiving the full benefits offered to standard subscribers.

$35 Young Adult Single Tickets
For adults 35 and under, single tickets (best seat available at the time of purchase) are available at a flat rate of $35.

Contact: Dara N. Boyd, Director of Marketing and Interactive Media
215.545.5451 x31 | dboyd@chamberorchestra.org