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The Philadelphia Orchestra's Organ Extravaganza on WRTI: Sunday, August 9, 1 to 4 PM

The star of the show: The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at the Kimmel Center

This is a must-hear re-broadcast for all of our organ music enthusiasts! It's The Philadelphia Orchestra's All-Organ Weekend from last November - a mini-festival, of sorts, that represents the culmination of a month-long celebration of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at Verizon Hall. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts.

For lovers of the "King of Instruments," this special three-hour broadcast will be a feast of glorious sound.

Three different organists perform a total of five works, including Joseph Jongen's Symphonie Concertante, played by Peter Richard Conte; Alexandre Guilmant's Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra, played by Grammy-winner Paul Jacobs; and the late Stephen Paulus's Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, ?performed by Ken Cowan. 

All of the works on the program are scored for organ and very large orchestra, except the first work, Dietrich Buxtehude's Chaconne in E minor (originally a work for solo organ), which we'll hear in the spectacular orchestral transcription by Carlos Chavez.

There will be two intermissions, during which WRTI's Susan Lewis and Jim Cotter will speak with all three organists and Yannick?, who will conduct the concert that ends with Elgar's "Enigma" Variations.

Join us this Sunday, August 9, from 1 until 4 pm, for a special treat!

PROGRAM:

Dieterich Buxtehude: Chaconne in E minor (Orch: Carlos Chavez)

Joseph Jongen: Symphonie concertante (Peter Richard Conte, organ)

PhilOrch010415PeterRichardConteSL.mp3
Organist Peter Richard Conte speaks with WRTI's Susan Lewis.

FIRST INTERMISSION

Alexandre Guilmant: Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra (Paul Jacobs, organ)

Stephen Paulus: Grand Concerto for Organ and Orchestra (Ken Cowan, organ)

SECOND INTERMISSION

Elgar: "Enigma" Variations (Michael Stairs, organ)

Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor

Listen to The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts every Sunday at 1 pm on WRTI 90.1 FM and online at WRTI.org. Gregg Whiteside is producer and host.

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.