Accessible on The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Digital Stage, March 12–18, 2021
BeethovenNOW: Symphonies 5 & 6
Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht—World Premiere Performance
Pre-Concert Conversation with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Matías Tarnopolsky
(Philadelphia, March 2, 2021)––One year after its now historic March 12, 2020, concert to an empty Verizon Hall, The Philadelphia Orchestra will present a free encore broadcast of BeethovenNOW: Symphonies 5 & 6, including the world premiere performance of Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht, conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The performance was the last concert featuring the full Philadelphia Orchestra prior to the cancellation of all public concerts due to COVID-19. Dedicated to those who have lost their lives in the COVID-19 pandemic, this special presentation will be available on the Orchestra’s Digital Stage beginning March 12, 2021, at 8:00 PM through March 19, 2021, at 11:00 PM. The broadcast is free with registration at www.philorch.org/encore. All registrants will have the opportunity to attend a Pre-Concert Conversation and live Q&A with Nézet-Séguin and Orchestra President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky on March 12 at 7:30 PM, available on the concert access page. The discussion will be a reflection on the historic concert as well as the impact COVID-19 has had on the Orchestra and the performing arts industry over the past year, and how the Orchestra has innovated during this time.
“On March 12, 2020, we never could have imagined the future when Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra stepped onto the stage of an empty Verizon Hall to give one final, extraordinary concert on the eve of the pandemic,” said President and CEO Matías Tarnopolsky. “One year later, in a transformed musical world, the Digital Stage has become a vital means of connection with audiences around the globe, enabling us to continue to make music accessible to more people than ever. We invite viewers everywhere to once again join us virtually to reflect on the moment when everything changed while now honoring all those we have tragically lost, and all who continue to suffer. With this concert broadcast, and with a little more hope each day, we begin to imagine better times ahead.”
As a result of the City of Philadelphia’s impending shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Philadelphia Orchestra convened on March 12 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for what would become its last live, full Orchestra performance of 2020. Featuring Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 and the world premiere of Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht, a Philadelphia Orchestra commission, the concert was presented to an empty Verizon Hall and livestreamed on the Orchestra’s Facebook page. The historic concert was a significant turning point in the Orchestra’s digital transformation and evolution to one of the industry’s leading presenters of performing arts media.
The Philadelphia Orchestra’s March 12, 2020, concert was presented in collaboration with WHYY and WRTI.
Encore: Beethoven’s Symphonies 5 & 6
The Moment Everything Changed
March 12 at 8:00 PM–March 19 at 11:00 PM
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Habibi Jeder Baum spricht
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”)
This digital concert is free; RSVP at www.philorch.org/encore.
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About The Philadelphia Orchestra
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CONTACTS:
Ashley Berke
267.250.5148
aberke@philorch.org
Natalie Lewis
215.893.3136
nlewis@philorch.org
Ashley Stahmer
215.893.3142
astahmer@philorch.org