Guest Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, a familiar presence on the podium here in Philadelphia, returned for a visit to Verizon Hall in late October, 2014, for a concert we'll hear re-broadcast this Sunday at 1 pm on WRTI. The concert continued three programming themes heard throughout this past season:The 40/40 Project - the presentation of pieces that have not been performed on subscription concerts in at least the past 40 years, or ever; a month-long celebration of the “Art of the Pipe Organ,” featuring Verizon Hall’s majestic Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ; and a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Richard Strauss.
The program on Sunday, October 25th at 1 pm opens with a piece, and in fact a composer, new to The Philadelphia Orchestra. Julian Anderson’s The Stations of the Sun tackles a theme that has proven appealing to many composers: the seasons. Vivaldi’s famous Baroque masterpiece was the first great instrumental exploration, Haydn’s oratorio was one of his most popular works, and the Philadelphians earlier last season presented “Autumn” from Alexander Glazunov’s ballet The Seasons, broadcast here on WRTI.
Then it’s on to Mozart’s vivacious Violin Concerto No. 4, played by the young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, composed relatively early in Mozart’s career, as the piano preoccupied his full maturity.
And finally, The Philadelphia Orchestra’s celebration of Strauss continues with Also sprach Zarathustra, a work the composer himself conducted with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1921 on the second of his two visits to America. Friedrich Nietzsche’s brilliant, puzzling, and disturbing philosophical meditation provided the impetus for this bold tone poem with its famous opening, deploying the organ to unsettling effect.
During intermission, WRTI's Susan Lewis is backstage for a talk with Maestro Jurowski, and Jim Cotter speaks with Ms. Ibragimova. Join us Sunday afternoon, from 1 until 3 pm, for this exciting concert!
PROGRAM:
Julian Anderson: The Stations of the Sun
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4
INTERMISSION
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra
Alina Ibragimova, violin
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
