BEETHOVEN: SELECTIONS FROM THE CREATURES OF PROMETHEUS

Overture and Finale from The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43 (1801)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) 

The following description of the plot of Beethoven’s ballet appeared in the program for the premiere: “The foundation of this allegorical ballet is the fable of Prometheus. The philosophers of Greece allude to Prometheus as a lofty soul who drove the people of his time from ignorance, refined them by means of science and the arts, and gave them manners, customs and morals. As a result of that conception, two statues that have been brought to life are introduced in this ballet; and these, through the might of harmony, are made sensitive to all the passions of human life. Prometheus leads them to Parnassus, in order that Apollo, the god of the fine arts, may enlighten them.” Beethoven composed an overture, introduction and sixteen separate numbers for the two acts of his Prometheus.

PROKOFIEV: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 (1913)
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)

Prokofiev’s steely piano style was the perfect match for his athletic compositions and his strutting personality. The polite audience of gentry at the summertime premiere of the Second Piano Concerto in 1913 in the fashionable resort of Pavlosk, near St. Petersburg, was “puzzled” by the “mercilessly dissonant combinations,” according to one reviewer. The listeners, disdaining the decorum that they were convinced the young composer had already shattered, greeted the work with a sonorous round of hisses and catcalls. Prokofiev responded with his own characteristic rejoinder: he sat down and thundered through one of his noisiest solo works as an encore. It was not long, however, before his playing and his music gained a wide audience. The fascination and innate musicality of his style swept away all initial reservations. 

The soloist presents the principal theme of the Second Concerto’s opening movement; a saucy melody in quicker tempo provides contrast. The development and recapitulation of the principal theme are combined into an enormous solo cadenza before the orchestra is recalled to provide a coda. Prokofiev cited the brilliant Scherzo as an example of his “motoric” style. The slower third movement is in his best nose-thumbing, wrong-note idiom. The finale is a dazzling showcase for the soloist.

MASON BATES: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Alternative Energy for Orchestra and Electronica (2011)
MASON BATES (B. 1977)

Philadelphia-born Mason Bates brings not only his own fresh talent to the concert hall but also the musical sensibilities of a new generation—he is equally at home composing “for Lincoln Center,” according to his web site (www.masonbates.com), as being the “electronica artist Masonic® who moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from New York City, where he was a lounge DJ at such venues as The Frying Pan—the floating rave ship docked off the pier near West 22nd Street.” Bates’s many honors include a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Guggenheim Fellowship, ASCAP and BMI awards, Rome Prize and Berlin Prize. In 2017-2018, he is the first-ever Composer-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. 

Bates wrote that Alternative Energy is “an ‘energy symphony’ spanning four movements and hundreds of years. Beginning in a rustic midwestern junkyard in the late-19th century, the piece travels through ever greater and more powerful forces of energy—a present-day particle collider, a futuristic Chinese nuclear plant—until it reaches a future Icelandic rainforest, where humanity’s last survivors seek a return to a simpler way of life.  

“The idée fixe [a recurring motto] that links these disparate worlds appears early in Ford’s Farm, 1896. This melody is heard on the fiddle—conjuring a figure like Henry Ford—and is accompanied by junkyard percussion and a ‘phantom orchestra’ that trails the fiddler like ghosts. The accelerandocranking of a car motor becomes a special motif in the piece, a kind of rhythmic embodiment of ever-more-powerful energy. Indeed, this cranking motif explodes in the electronics in the second movement, Chicago, 2012, where we encounter my recordings from the Fermilab particle collider. 

“Zoom a hundred years into the dark future of the Xinjiang Province, 2112, where a great deal of the Chinese energy industry is based. On an eerie wasteland, a lone flute sings a tragically distorted version of the fiddle tune, dreaming of a forgotten natural world. But a powerful industrial energy bubbles to the surface and drives the music to a catastrophic meltdown. As the smoke clears, we find ourselves even further into the future:Reykjavik, 2222—an Icelandic rainforest on a hotter planet. The occasional songs of future birds whip around us, a naturalistic version of the cranking motif. Distant tribal voices call for the building of a fire—our first energy source.”

TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 OVERTURE

1812 Overture, Op. 49 (1880)
PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893) 

The Russian penchant for myth-making extends, of course, to her warfare. It is therefore not surprising that Napoleon’s strategic withdrawal from Moscow in 1812 came to be regarded in Russia as a great military victory achieved through cunning and resourcefulness, conveniently ignoring the French General Ney’s report that “general famine and general winter, rather than Russian bullets, conquered the Grand Army.” Nearly seventy years later, the Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer was erected in Moscow to commemorate the events of 1812. For the Cathedral’s consecration, Nikolai Rubinstein, head of the Moscow Conservatory and director of the Russian Musical Society, planned a celebratory festival of music, and in 1880 he asked Tchaikovsky to write a work for the occasion. That 1812 Overture represents the conflict, militarily and musically, of Russia and France, and the eventual Russian “victory” over the invaders.

Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Conductor

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead The Philadelphia Orchestra through at least the 2025-26 season, an extraordinary and significant long-term commitment. Additionally, he became the third music director in the history of the Metropolitan Opera, beginning with the 2018-19 season. This consolidates his professional activity around two of the world’s pre-eminent artistic organizations, concentrating and honing his musical future.   

Nézet-Séguin, who holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair, is an inspired leader of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Widely recognized for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, he has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most thrilling talents of his generation. His intensely collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, and boundless enthusiasm, paired with a fresh approach to orchestral programming, have been heralded by critics and audiences alike. The New York Times has called him “phenomenal,” adding that under his baton, “the ensemble, famous for its glowing strings and homogenous richness, has never sounded better.”   

Nézet-Séguin has taken The Philadelphia Orchestra to new musical heights in performances at home in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts; at the Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center; in Philadelphia neighborhoods; and around the world. His concerts of diverse repertoire attract sold-out houses, and he continues to make connections within Philadelphia’s rich arts community, showing his commitment to engaging music lovers of all ages across the region. In his seventh season as music director, he launches exciting artistic initiatives, including the culmination of a multi-year celebration of the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with a symphonically staged production of Candide; Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, featuring the athletic and inventive choreography of Philadelphia-based Brian Sanders; and the world premiere of Hannibal’s community commission Healing Tones.   

Nézet-Séguin is embraced by the musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra and by audiences wherever they perform. He made his inaugural tour with the Orchestra during the 2014 Tour of Asia and the following year led the ensemble on their first European tour together. In September 2015, he conducted the Orchestra in two performances for Pope Francis as part of the World Meeting of Families, at the Festival of Families and the Papal Mass. In 2016 and 2017, NézetSéguin and the Orchestra returned to Asia. In 2018, they toured Europe and Israel to much critical acclaim. “Music director and orchestra were once again able to display their astonishing symbiosis,” said Der Standard. And Ynet commented, “The connection between The Philadelphia Orchestra and its conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, is truly incredible in its unmediated closeness.”  

Under Nézet-Séguin’s leadership, the Orchestra returned to recording with a CD on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Leopold Stokowski transcriptions of works by Bach. Their second disc for the label, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Daniil Trifonov, was released in August 2015, and their third disc,  

Bernstein’s MASS, was released in March 2018. In Nézet-Séguin’s inaugural season, the Orchestra returned to the radio airwaves, with weekly Sunday afternoon broadcasts on WRTI-FM. In 2017, they also began a national series on SiriusXM.  

Nézet-Séguin has been artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain since 2000, and in summer 2017 he became an honorary member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He was music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2008 to 2018 (he is now the ensemble’s honorary conductor) and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony. He has also made wildly successful appearances with many of the world’s other most revered ensembles, including the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and all the major Canadian orchestras. Throughout Europe and North America, his appearances have left indelible marks on the international classical music scene, making him one of the most sought-after conductors in the world.   

Nézet-Séguin’s talents extend beyond symphonic music into the world of opera and choral music. His critically acclaimed performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera (where he has appeared annually since his debut in 2009, including the opening of the 2015 season), Milan’s La Scala, London’s Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Netherlands Opera, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and the historic Salzburg Festival demonstrate that he is an artist of remarkable versatility and depth.   

Nézet-Séguin and Deutsche Grammophon (DG) embarked on a major long-term collaboration in July 2012; he signed an exclusive contract with the label in May 2018. His upcoming recordings will include projects with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Orchestre Métropolitain, with which he will also continue to record for ATMA Classique. Additionally, he has recorded with the Rotterdam Philharmonic on DG, EMI Classics, and BIS Records, and the London Philharmonic for the LPO label.  

A native of Montreal, Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at Montreal’s Conservatory of Music and continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini; he also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College.   

Nézet-Séguin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012, one of the country’s highest civilian honors; Companion to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec in 2015; an Officer of the Order of Quebec in 2015; and an Officer of the Order of Montreal in 2017. His other honors include Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year, a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, and the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts awarded by the Quebec government. He has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Quebec in Montreal; the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, NJ; McGill University; the University of Montreal; and the University of Pennsylvania.  

Photo credit: Hans Van Der Woerd 

Yefim Bronfman, Piano

Internationally recognized as one of today's most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors and recital series. His commanding technique, power and exceptional lyrical gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike.

In celebration of the 80th birthday of Maestro Temirkanov, Mr. Bronfman’s 2018-19 season begins with a European tour with St. Petersburg Philharmonic. This is followed by a Scandinavian tour with The Royal Concertgebouw and Maestro Gatti with orchestral concerts in Europe during the season including Paris (Orchestre National de France), London (LPO), Cologne (WDR), Rome (Santa Cecilia), Berlin (Philharmonic), and Vienna Philharmonic on tour. In the US he will return to orchestras in Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Dallas, and in recital can be heard in New York (Carnegie Hall), Berkeley, Stanford, Aspen, Madrid, Geneva, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Berlin, Naples, Rome and on tour in the spring with mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena.

He has also given numerous solo recitals in the leading halls of North America, Europe and the Far East, including acclaimed debuts at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and Avery Fisher Hall in 1993. In 1991 he gave a series of joint recitals with Isaac Stern in Russia, marking Mr. Bronfman's first public performances there since his emigration to Israel at age 15. That same year he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given to American instrumentalists. In 2010 he was honored as the recipient of the Jean Gimbel Lane prize in piano performance from Northwestern University.

Born in Tashkent in the Soviet Union, Yefim Bronfman immigrated to Israel with his family in 1973, where he studied with pianist Arie Vardi, head of the Rubin Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University. In the United States, he studied at The Juilliard School, Marlboro School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music, under Rudolf Firkusny, Leon Fleisher, and Rudolf Serkin. He is a 2015 recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music.

Yefim Bronfman became an American citizen in July 1989.

Photo: Dario Acosta