Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Jennifer Rowley Soprano
Karen Cargill Mezzo-soprano
Rodrick Dixon Tenor
Eric Owens Bass-baritone
Philadelphia Symphonic Choir
Amanda Quist Director
Refik Anadol Visual Design
Beethoven Missa solemnis
Program Notes
"If a machine can learn, can it dream?"
Trailblazing artist Refik Anadol uses digital media, data, and machine intelligence to answer this question, creating stunning visual masterpieces across the globe. This April, as the Orchestra performs Beethoven’s monumental Missa solemnis in Verizon Hall, Anadol’s installation will use machine intelligence to create a new artistic, architectural wonder—a breathtaking virtual cathedral—unique to the performance, as the computer listens along with the audience. We invite you to dream with your eyes open during this once-in-a-lifetime performance experience.
While Beethoven speaks to the universality of spirituality, Anadol invites us to see how aspects of the world around us are not what they seem. By proposing the possibility of “post-digital architecture,” Anadol invites audiences to imagine alternative realities. The result is at once contemporary and timeless. Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a deeply moving presentation of this masterwork of spirituality and music.