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The Philadelphians in Concert on WRTI: Timpani and Clarinet in the Spotlight! June 25th and 26th

Principal Clarinet Ricardo Morales

Join us for a re-broadcast of a Philadelphia Orchestra concert from 2016 that brings us two Philadelphia Orchestra commissions—Maurice Wright’s Resounding Drums, a timpani concerto composed for the Orchestra’s principal timpanist Don Liuzzi, and the Clarinet Concerto by Jonathan Leshnoff, composed for the principal clarinetist of the Philadelphians, Ricardo Morales.

The concert, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, begins in high spirits, with three dances from the ballet Fancy Free, which Leonard Bernstein composed at age 25 for choreographer and dancer Jerome Robbins, and it ends with Sergei Prokofiev’s last major work, his Symphony No. 7, a work that was given its U.S. premiere by Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphians in April of 1953, just a month after the composer’s death. It was a long, winding, and arduous road that led to the creation of this symphony, and the tone of wistfulness and melancholy simply cannot be missed.

POICSub24061216LiuzziWright.mp3
WRTI's Susan Lewis speaeks with Philadelphia Orchestra principal timpanist Don Liuzzi and composer Maurice Wright.

During intermission, WRTI's Susan Lewis speaks backstage with Don Liuzzi and Maurice Wright, and WRTI's Debra Lew Harder sits down with Ricardo Morales and Jonathan Leshnoff.

Tune in on Sunday, June 25th from 1 to 3 pm and June 26th from 7 to 9 pm on HD-2 for this exciting and varied concert!

Read detailed program notes from the concert here.

PROGRAM:

Bernstein: Three Dance Variations from Fancy Free

Wright: Resounding Drums

      Don Liuzzi, timpani

INTERMISSION

Leshnoff: Clarinet Concerto ("Nekudim")

     Ricardo Morales, clarinet

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7

     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.