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Second Chance to Hear Philadelphia Orchestra's Season Finale Concert on WRTI! Monday, May 22 at 7 PM

Hello Radio Friends! If you were unable to get a ticket for any of the sold-out Philadelphia Orchestra performances this past weekend of Mahler's Third Symphony, or to hear our live broadcast of yesterday's final concert, I strongly encourage you to listen to the re-broadcast tonight at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2, on the fabulous WRTI Mobile App, or our classical web stream at wrti.org.

I've seen three live performances with major orchestras and conductors in my lifetime, but never a performance like this one. It was breathtaking, transformative, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Take a couple of hours tonight and be transported by Mahler, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in WRTI's rebroadcast of yesterday's 2016-17 season-ending concert. You'll be glad you did!

Gustav Mahler’s visionary Symphony No. 3 is the sole work on The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast and Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be on the podium to conduct this work, which, despite evolving layers of his thinking, is Mahler’s stated attempt at nothing less than the tracing of the evolution of creation in nature.

This is Mahler at his most ambitious—an enormous, six-movement composition that draws upon an array of musical, philosophical, literary, and cultural sources to achieve a magnificent sonic vision. “It begins,” Mahler said, “with lifeless Nature, and rises to God’s love! People will need time to crack the nuts I am shaking down from the tree for them.”

There are primordial rumblings, blossoming life, and joyous marches in the lengthy first movement. The remaining five movements continue to chart the evolutionary track, from flowers, to animals, to mankind (a mezzo-soprano setting of a poem by Friedrich Nietzsche), to angels (a brief choral movement), and finally to love in a deeply felt finale.

Joining the Philadelphia Orchestra for this performance are mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, the Women of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, and the American Boychoir.

Don’t miss this second chance to hear the symphony that marked Mahler’s first major success on WRTI HD-2, the WRTI Mobile App, and streaming on WRTI.org.

PROGRAM:

Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor 

Part I

I. Kräftig. Entschieden

Part II

II. Tempo di menuetto: Sehr mässig

III. Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast

IV. Sehr langsam. Misterioso

V. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck

VI. Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden

The Philadelphia Orchestra

     Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano

     The Women of the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir

     The American Boychoir

     Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

Gregg Whiteside is producer and host of the Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts on WRTI, every Sunday at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1 FM, online at WRTI.org, and on our new mobile app!NEW: rebroadcast of Sunday concerts on Mondays at 7 pm on WRTI HD-2, as part of our new "Symphony at 7" lineup!

Gregg was the host of WRTI's morning drive show from 2012 until his retirement from WRTI in January, 2021. He began producing and hosting The Philadelphia Orchestra In Concert broadcasts in 2013, joining the Orchestra in Hong Kong for the first-ever live international radio broadcasts from that island in 2016, and in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for two historic broadcasts in 2018. You can still hear Gregg as host of the Orchestra broadcasts every Sunday and Monday on WRTI.