The Philadelphia Orchestra returns to national broadcasts with a vibrant new, year-round series on SiriusXM. This series casts a focused lens on the unique Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin partnership, with the Philadelphia Orchestra music director offering insights into the unique sound of The Philadelphia Orchestra, his thoughts on artists and repertoire, and more.
Additionally, this combination of two major organizations, each a leader in its field, makes The Philadelphia Orchestra the only American orchestra providing exclusive content to SiriusXM on a regular basis.
“It is a thrill to be providing such unique programming to SiriusXM,” said Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Allison Vulgamore. “Working with such an innovative industry leader marks our historically founded, current, and ongoing commitment to make our art accessible via technology, and with the extraordinary Yannick/Philadelphia relationship, we have content of the highest quality to offer.”
“The Philadelphia Orchestra has one of the most storied American orchestra legacies, dating back to its iconic Music Directors Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy, who crafted what is known and celebrated as the ‘Philadelphia Sound.’ Under current Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Orchestra is reaching new and impressive musical heights, and SiriusXM is both pleased and honored to share these exclusive concerts with our subscribers,” said David Srebnik, classical music director, SiriusXM.
The new concert series begins May 15 at 7 PM and will air three times a week on SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall, SiriusXM channel 76. In addition to commentary by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the series will be enhanced by insider information from a range of members of the Orchestra. Lesser-known works such as music from Shostakovich’s The Gadfly balance great masterworks.
The first program was selected as a prime illustration of the “Philadelphia Sound,” a sound summed up by Yannick as “a spirit of generosity: generosity of sound, generosity of imagination and creativity. There is also a generosity that is the true key, the generosity of the spirit—the dedication and the passion to which everybody is 100% committed at all times.” The performance opens with Une Barque sur l’océan, Ravel’s cascade of shimmering sounds and dramatic moments. The concert continues with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4, a work originally premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1934, with the composer at the keyboard. Here the soloist is Daniil Trifonov, who has recorded Rachmaninoff (Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini) with The Philadelphia Orchestra, bringing that rich tradition into a new generation. The program concludes with Rimsky-Korsakov’s showpiece Sheherazade, a tour-de-force of orchestral splendor.
A list of the first eight programs follows. The programs on the SiriusXM series are from throughout Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s tenure in Philadelphia. Weekly broadcasts of The Philadelphia Orchestra will continue to be heard on terrestrial radio on WRTI each Sunday at 1 PM.
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s weekly broadcasts on SiriusXM are sponsored through a generous anonymous gift by a Board member of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director
on SiriusXM
Program 1—May 15
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Daniil Trifonov Piano
Ravel Une Barque sur l’océan
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4
Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade
Program 2—May 22
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Alexandre Tharaud Piano
Weill Symphony No. 2
Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
Gershwin An American in Paris
Program 3—May 29
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Hilary Hahn Violin
Bizet Suite No. 1 from Carmen
Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No. 4
Stravinsky The Firebird (complete ballet)
Program 4—June 5
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Emanuel Ax Piano
Haydn Symphony No. 92 (“Oxford”)
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3
Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 4
Program 5—June 12
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Jean-Guihen Queyras Cello
Brahms Symphony No. 3
Haydn Cello Concerto in C major
R. Strauss Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
Program 6—June 19
Gianandrea Noseda Conductor
Carol Jantsch Tuba
Daugherty Reflections on the Mississippi, for tuba and orchestra
Mahler Symphony No. 5
Program 7—June 26
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Kirill Gerstein Piano
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich Selections from the Suite from The Gadfly
Program 8—July 3
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Haydn Symphony No. 103 (“Drum Roll”)
Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (“Romantic”)
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