The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert

Competitions have tested serious music students for decades. They also have prompted the composition of works that continue to enrich the repertoire. WRTI’s Susan Lewis has more on Claude Debussy’s Rhapsody No. 1 for Clarinet and Orchestra.

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Susan Lewis: Its ethereal quality belies its difficulty, but Debussy’s Rhapsody No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano was composed for clarinet graduation exams at the Paris Conservatory.

Join us on Sunday, January 25th at 1 pm for a Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert re-broadcast of a Verizon Hall performance first heard in December of 2013. You'll hear two delightful pieces by Tchaikovsky that feature Concertmaster David Kim as soloist: the Serenade Melancholique, and Valse-Scherzo - both personally meaningful works to Mr. Kim, who was the only American awarded a prize at the 1986 quadrennial Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

On Sunday, January 18th at 1 pm, the Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings us the music of Respighi, Stravinsky, and Brahms, conducted by the brilliant young Finnish Maestra, Susanna Malkki, who makes her Philadelphia Orchestra debut with this performance from last November, 2014 at Verizon Hall.

Twentieth-century composer Igor Stravinsky was at first reluctant to accept a commission for a violin concerto because he didn’t know the instrument well enough. But as WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, he changed his mind after consulting the intended violinist – who was game to try an unusual approach.  

On Sunday, January 18, 2015 on WRTI, Juliette Kang and The Philadelphia Orchestra play Stravinsky’s violin concerto in a program that also features music by Brahms and Respighi.

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This week's Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast on WRTI is led by the Finnish conductor Susanna Malkki. As WRTI's Jim Cotter reports, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from both sides of the podium.

In the mid '90s, Susanna Malkki was principal cello of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. She says that being on the other end of the baton taught her much about conducting - specifically how every gesture made by a conductor was of tantamount importance to the musicians.

Born in Germany in 1946, Andre Watts moved to Philadelphia with his Hungarian mother and American father when he was 8 years old. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, after decades of performing, the celebrated pianist still finds new inspiration and challenges in the music. 

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This Sunday, January 11th at 1 pm: The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on WRTI presents a concert first heard at Verizon Hall in mid-November, 2013. You'll hear the youthful and energetic Piano Concerto No. 1 of Beethoven performed by perennial favorite, pianist Andre Watts, who first played with The Philadelphia Orchestra at age 10.

While printed programs at classical music concerts are commonplace, The Philadelphia Orchestra continues to explore the use of mobile technology developed by Drexel University to inform the listening experience during the performance. As WRTI’s Susan Lewis reports, the LiveNote App will be used in three upcoming concerts.

One of the Czech Republic's most lauded young conductors leads the Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert on WRTI this Sunday, January 11th at 1 pm. As WRTI's Jim Cotter reports, the program includes at least one work that embodies the Czech spirit.

In his Philadelphia Orchestra debut, Prague Philharmonia Chief Conductor and Music Director Jakub Hruša brought to the podium a program bookended by composers from his homeland. One of Leoš Janáček's earliest works, Jealousy and the Symphony No. 8 of Antonín Dvorák. This was, in turn, an early work for Hruša.

This is a must-hear broadcast for all of our organ music enthusiasts! It's The Philadelphia Orchestra's All-Organ Weekend from this past 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.