Muhly and Turnage premieres in vitally refreshed Philly menu

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has breathed fresh life into Philadelphia’s programming in a bold, yet balanced, season. Details below.

(Philadelphia, February 19, 2014)—Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and President and CEO Allison Vulgamore today announce The Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2014-15 season, the third for Nézet-Séguin, whose leadership of the venerable and innovative ensemble has garnered acclaim from critics and audiences alike since he took the helm in 2012.

A hallmark of the 2014-15 season is the 40/40 Project, a broadening of the Orchestra’s repertoire by presenting 40 works not performed on a Philadelphia Orchestra subscription concert in the last 40 years, in honor of Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s 40th birthday and in recognition of requests from the Orchestra’s audiences. Other highlights include a month-long “Art of the Pipe Organ” celebration; the culmination of a multi-year requiem exploration with Bernstein’s epic MASS; Rachmaninoff’s complete symphonies; performances that push the boundaries of the concert experience, including a collaboration with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre; guest appearances from the world’s most revered and critically acclaimed conductors and soloists; and educational Family Concerts and special events. The season’s repertoire spans over 300 years, from Buxtehude to a world premiere commission from Nico Muhly and the North American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Piano Concerto. The 2014-15 season also includes the Philadelphians’ annual subscription series at Carnegie Hall, an appearance at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the presentation of China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra, and a 2015 Tour of Europe.

“My first two seasons as music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra were a time of learning, of getting to know the exceptional musicians of the Orchestra and the audience,” says Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “And both were eager to help this process of discovery and to share their expectations and desires for our collaboration. Now, in my third season, we are ready to embark on a journey of musical exploration into some new territory with a variety of repertoire. I am very proud of this third season of mine because it is the most diverse in terms of repertoire. As a whole it makes a journey through the great treasure of music that we want to bring you, week after week, an experience that is a special event.”

40/40 Project: Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s 40th birthday provides the context for the 40/40 Project, which will present 40 works not performed on a Philadelphia Orchestra subscription concert in the last 40 years. In response to audience feedback the 40/40 Project will introduce works new to the Orchestra’s repertoire, although often by composers familiar to Philadelphia subscription audiences, as well as works of composers of our time, including Jennifer Higdon and Michael Daugherty, among others. The Project also includes the world premiere of a work by Nico Muhly commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and the North American premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s jazzy and rhythmic Piano Concerto.