In Thursday’s (2/21) Philadelphia Inquirer, David Patrick Stearns writes that during the Philadelphia Orchestra’s announcement of its 2013-14 season, Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin was “happy word is circulating that the Philadelphia Orchestra is back. ‘It’s so important that what’s happening in our city gets quickly spread around,’ the new music director said. … What he has planned for 2013-2014 begins with superstar violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter (Sept. 25) and ends with Richard Strauss’ opera Salome (May 9 and 10, 2014)—his long-awaited local opera-conducting debut. … His presence increases from nine to 11 weeks. Subscription concerts expand from 78 to 84, though ‘Beyond the Score’ lecture/concerts go on hiatus for lack of sponsorship. … The single biggest innovation is a composer-based ‘micro-festival’ Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Three of the orchestra’s principal players will premiere new pieces: Behzad Ranjbaran’s Flute Concerto for Jeffrey Khaner, Tan Dun’s Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women, Symphony for 12 Micro Films, Harp and Orchestra for harpist Elizabeth Hainen, and David Ludwig’s Bassoon Concerto for Daniel Matsukawa. … Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Sept. 26-28) will be paired with Bright Mass With Canons by the fashionable downtown-Manhattan composer Nico Muhly, in a newly commissioned orchestral version.”
Posted February 21, 2013
