Daniel Barenboim leads Staatskapelle Berlin on December 3, 2023
Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads Orchestre Métropolitain on March 5, 2024
Simon Rattle leads Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (BRSO) on May 1, 2024
(Philadelphia, September 18, 2023)—The Kimmel Cultural Campus announces three one-night-only performances by acclaimed international orchestras and conductors during the 2023–24 season: Staatskapelle Berlin led by Daniel Barenboim on December 3, 2023; Orchestre Métropolitain led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin on March 5, 2024; and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (BRSO) led by Simon Rattle on May 1, 2024. The series of performances marks the first time since the 2011–12 season that the Kimmel Cultural Campus has hosted a series of touring orchestras in Verizon Hall. Tickets for all three concerts will be available on September 21, 2023, at https://philorch.org/orchestras-of-the-world.
“We are delighted to welcome some of the world’s great orchestras, led by the finest conductors of our time, to Verizon Hall,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “Already home to the great Philadelphia Orchestra, it is an honor for us to host and present three major international orchestras and their conductors, at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.”
Staatskapelle Berlin will make its first Philadelphia appearance since 2006. The renowned orchestra will be led by former Music Director Daniel Barenboim, who recently concluded his tenure with the ensemble, having led it from 1991 to 2023. Barenboim will lead the orchestra in an all-Brahms program featuring the composer’s Third and Fourth symphonies.
Philadelphia Orchestra Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will showcase one of his other beloved ensembles, Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, of which he is artistic director and principal conductor, in Verizon Hall on March 5, 2024. Yannick and the orchestra will be joined by Canadian-born pianist Tony Siqi Yun for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and by Cris Derksen, Cree cellist/composer from Northern Alberta, Canada, who will perform her new work commissioned by Nézet-Séguin and the orchestra, Controlled Burn. The concert will also include a performance of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2. The concert marks Orchestre Métropolitain’s second appearance with Nézet-Séguin in Philadelphia, following a celebrated 2019 debut.
The BRSO will appear under the baton of Simon Rattle, the celebrated conductor and newly appointed chief conductor of the ensemble. In its first Philadelphia appearance since 2006, the orchestra will delight audiences with a performance of Mahler’s mighty Sixth Symphony.
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Staatskapelle Berlin
December 3 at 7:30 PM—Sunday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Daniel Barenboim Conductor
Brahms Symphony No. 3
Brahms Symphony No. 4
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Orchestre Métropolitain
March 5 at 7:30 PM—Tuesday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Cris Derksen Cello
Tony Siqi Yun Piano
Derksen Controlled Burn
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
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Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
May 1 at 8:00 PM—Wednesday evening—Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Simon Rattle Conductor
Mahler Symphony No. 6
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About Staatskapelle Berlin
With an illustrious history spanning over 450 years, the Staatskapelle Berlin stands as one of the world’s oldest orchestras. Its origins date back to 1570 when it was established as the court orchestra of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg. However, the ensemble truly found its artistic haven with the completion of the Royal Court Opera Unter den Linden in 1742, commissioned by Frederick II of Prussia. Since then, it has been intricately linked to the opera house at the heart of Berlin.
Throughout its rich legacy, the orchestra has been guided by eminent musical figures who have steered both its operatic endeavors and regular concert series. Visionaries like Mendelssohn, Strauss, Karajan, and Barenboim have molded the musicality and resonance of the Staatskapelle Berlin.
Under the stewardship of Daniel Barenboim from 1991 to January 2023, the orchestra’s global prominence soared. The ensemble’s exceptional stature was showcased through numerous performances across continents, featuring iconic compositions by Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and Wagner. The Staatskapelle Berlin’s accomplishments include presenting Wagner’s monumental Ring Cycle in Japan and undertaking a remarkable Mahler cycle in collaboration with Pierre Boulez.
The orchestra’s prowess is splendidly captured in an array of recordings, encompassing symphonies, concertos, and operas by a multitude of composers. Celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2020, the Staatskapelle Berlin commemorated this milestone with a special CD edition, a book release, and an exhibition.
About Orchestre Métropolitain
Over the last 20 years, the Orchestre Métropolitain (OM) has grown alongside its artistic director and principal conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In September 2019, the OM announced that Nézet-Séguin had signed on for an exceptional lifetime contract.
This special relationship resonates throughout the community, with 50 concerts performed annually at the Maison symphonique and across the city, thanks to the Conseil des arts de Montréal Touring Program. The OM also puts on webcast and open-air concerts. Driven by excellence, the ensemble is known for its bold presence, authenticity, and community engagement.
Proud to have expanded its educational initiatives, including the OM for Schools and the OM for Future Talent, the orchestra strives to cultivate a passion for music among young people. The OM also regularly collaborates with other high-caliber cultural organizations in Quebec, serving as the Opéra de Montréal’s orchestra.
Following the success of its 2017 European tour, the OM and Nézet-Séguin traveled to the US in November 2019 with soprano Joyce DiDonato, winning over audiences in Chicago, Ann Arbor, New York, and Philadelphia.
The winner of multiple national awards, the OM has recorded some 20 performances with the Canadian ATMA Classique label, including Bruckner’s symphonies, which were released in spring 2018. More recently, the orchestra performed all nine Beethoven symphonies for its Summer of Beethoven webcast series available exclusively on DG Stage. This initiative made the OM one of the first orchestras to come together again after the COVID-19 crisis forced ensembles across the globe to go on hiatus.
About Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
With the 2023–24 season, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) welcomes its new principal conductor, Simon Rattle, the sixth chief conductor in the line of important orchestra leaders after Eugen Jochum, Rafael Kubelík, Colin Davis, Lorin Maazel, and Mariss Jansons.
The BRSO developed into an internationally renowned orchestra soon after its founding in 1949. In addition to the interpretation of the Classical-Romantic repertoire, the orchestra's central concern from the beginning was to cultivate contemporary music within the framework of the musica viva series, founded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945.
Since its beginning, many renowned guest conductors such as Erich and Carlos Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Kurt Sanderling, and Wolfgang Sawallisch have left their mark on the ensemble. Today, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Riccardo Muti, Herbert Blomstedt, Franz Welser-Möst, Daniel Harding, and Iván Fischer are important partners.
The orchestra tours regularly throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Japanese music critics voted the BRSO's concerts under the direction of Zubin Mehta the No. 1 best concerts in 2018.
Its numerous recordings have repeatedly won national and international awards. Most recently Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony under the baton of Simon Rattle was awarded the Diapason d’or de l'Année in 2023.
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