Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is a high-profile American orchestra, founded in 1900 and based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The orchestra also owns the American Academy of Music in Philadelphia, which was its main performance venue until 2001. It has a summer residency at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

The orchestra's concertmaster is David Kim, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin has been the orchestra's music director since 2012. Nathalie Stutzmann is principal guest conductor and Austin Chanu and Tristan Rais-Sherman are assistant conductors. Past music directors include founder Fritz Scheel, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Christoph Eschenbach and Charles Dutoit.

 

A selection of articles about Philadelphia Orchestra

Classical music news - Just Shut Up and Play? - High profile musicians cancel tours of the USA

Spotlight. An Original Voice - Geoff Pearce listens to Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache conducting Franck and Debussy. '... something very special indeed.'

Classical music news. A Competition, a Resignation and a New Opera - The Global Music Education League's competition returns to China after a four-year break, Martyn Brabbins resigns from English National Opera with immediate effect, and excerpts from Jaap Nico Hamburger's new opera 'Ariella' are to be performed across Canada

Spotlight. A Complete Triumph - Gerald Fenech is exhilarated by the Philadelphia Orchestra's recording of symphonies by Florence Price and William Dawson. '... a vibrant energy that makes the music sound as fresh and exciting as when it was first heard.'

CD Spotlight. Beyond Recommendation - Gerald Fenech welcomes Rachmaninov orchestral music from the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin on Deutsche Grammophon. 'Intensity, ebullience, vibrancy, passion and realism are the ingredients of these performances ...'

CD Spotlight. Stunning Performances - Gerald Fenech reviews two discs of music by American composer Florence Price. 'This is music overflowing with an abundance of melody, tinged with sadness and regret, which is crying out to be heard.'

Ensemble. An Elegy for Mother Earth - Adam J Sacks listens to John Luther Adams' 'Vespers of the Blessed Earth'

CD Spotlight. Meditative yet Impassioned - Music for solo cor anglais, heard by Geoff Pearce. 'The playing in this collection of small pieces is exemplary and inspiring ...'

Profile. Opera is a Whole New World - As rehearsals begin for her new opera, Gabriela Lena Frank talks to Ron Bierman

CD Spotlight. Secret Love Letters - Lisa Batiashvili plays Chausson, Debussy, Franck and Szymanowski, warmly recommended by Gerald Fenech. 'Batiashvili plays this programme with ultra-sensitive feeling and moving emotional ardour that penetrate right to the heart of this sublime music which reveals the inscrutable depths of the human soul.'

Ensemble. A Crash Between Worlds - Adam J Sacks describes something entirely new, combining Brahms and Radiohead

Ask Alice - Classical Music Agony Aunt Alice McVeigh has a serious message about America

Ensemble. 'Fantasia' Around The World - Giuseppe Pennisi visits the big screen in Rome

CD Spotlight. Enduring Legacy - Sibelius symphonies, recommended by Howard Smith. '... an important enterprise ...'

CD Spotlight. Original Soloists - Shostakovich concertos, enjoyed by Robert Anderson. '... high-powered music-making ...'

CD Spotlight. Quite Magical - Marin Alsop conducts Dvorák Symphonies, enjoyed by Howard Smith. 'The Baltimores' finale sings and blazes with equal compulsion ...'

Ensemble. Performance to Cherish - Lawrence Budmen submits a further report from the Tanglewood Festival 2010

CD Spotlight. Sterling Playing - Wendy Warner's interpretations of Popper and Piatigorsky, heard by Howard Smith. '... sovereign music-making deserving of the highest accolades.'

CD Spotlight. Consistently Solid - Kurt Masur and others conduct Mendelssohn, reviewed by Howard Smith. '... too often short on graciousness, charm or buoyancy.'

Ensemble. Intense Leadership - Sierra, Ginastera and Rachmaninov conducted by Alasdair Neale, reviewed by Lawrence Budmen

CD Spotlight. Flawlessly Performed - Shostakovich's Symphony No 10, chosen by Howard Smith. '... the results are very special.'