As part of the Orchestra’s BeethovenNOW celebration, and in honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked a number of musicians to tell us why they love Beethoven. “Beethoven happened to be the very first classical album I heard as a kid. It was Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and Egmont Overture, and I still remember hearing it with such a pull and compelling fondness! My only complaint about Beethoven: I wish he wrote more songs and music for voice, as I love to listen to singers. At the same time, I love playing his chamber music, and, in turn, can hopefully sing instead through my instrument with the mu ..read more

Free Neighborhood Chamber Concert Series Brings The Philadelphia Orchestra to Communities across the City Last May, on the grounds of Philadelphia’s Historic Strawberry Mansion, four local students played djembe drums, their faces festively painted. Community members mingled, shared a meal, and met new friends from across the city. Longtime Strawberry Mansion resident Wayne Tomlin was honored for his commitment to the neighborhood’s children. And a string quartet and woodwind quintet from The Philadelphia Orchestra entertained the crowd with an hour-long performance. A string quartet plays a ..read more

Composer Zosha Di Castri gives us an inside look at the music that influences her with our latest Inspirations playlist. Stream Zosha’s Spotify playlist HERE. Inspirations: Zosha Di Castri Unsuk Chin: Double Concerto for Piano, Percussion, and Ensemble—“… for her fantastic textures and inventive use of percussion.” Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle, VII. Sixth Door: The Lake of Tears—“Bartók’s haunting ripples, which I slip into my works periodically, and his use of folk material.” Warblework: Swainson’s Thrush—“Fellow Canadian Cassandra Miller’s beautiful take on slowed down birdsong with the ..read more

This week, The Philadelphia Orchestra returns to the Academy of Music for its first subscription concerts since moving to Verizon Hall in 2001. To celebrate the Orchestra’s rich history with the Academy, its home for over a century, as well its exceptionally close creative relationship with pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose Third Symphony is featured on the program, there will be a display of relevant historical materials in the Academy lobby. Curated by the Orchestra’s consulting archivist, Jack McCarthy, the exhibit will feature items drawn from the extensive collections of the Ph ..read more

Composer Vivian Fung gives us some insight into her musical world. In her words: “I created this playlist and included both composers and performers that have inspired me. This is not an exhaustive list, just a cross section of tracks I found on Spotify! “Composers: Violet Archer was my first composition teacher in Edmonton, Canada; Ellen Taaffe Zwilich and Chen Yi were guests at Juilliard while I was a student and made an impression; I attended the Canadian Opera Company’s performance of Kaija Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin and was blown away by the sound world of that opera; Charles Ives’s Sym ..read more

The musical world this season celebrates the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth. During the last big party, for the 1970 bicentennial, Leonard Bernstein declared, “It’s almost like celebrating the birthday of music itself.” Ludwig van Beethoven, by Joseph Karl Stieler, from 1819–20 The Philadelphia Orchestra ambitiously leads the festivities with performances of the concertos and nine symphonies. The month-long BeethovenNOW symphony cycle, consisting of four consecutive programs beginning on March 12, honors the composer’s revolutionary originality by placing his symphonies in ..read more

A Monthly Profile of Orchestra Fans and Family If you’re enjoying this issue of Playbill, thank Darrin Britting. As director of publications and content development for The Philadelphia Orchestra, his various responsibilities include the venerable program booklet passed out at every concert. “I write some of the copy, but I coordinate the whole thing, the editorial pages (of which there are usually seven issues) and the concert-specific pages (which are changed weekly but can be more frequent depending on any special concerts we may have). I supply all the necessary information to Playbill ..read more

Each month in the Orchestra’s Playbill, we feature one musician in a question-and-answer segment. Below is that feature in its entirety. Where were you born? I was born in Glen Cove, NY, but was raised in the Hague, the Netherlands, from ages 2 to 18. What piece of music could you hear over and over again? J.S. Bach’s partitas, sonatas, and suites. What is your most treasured possession? It’s a toss-up between my custom Turner mountain bike and a recently acquired Sartory viola bow. What’s your favorite Philadelphia restaurant? Little Fish. Tell us about your instrument. It’s a Brothers Amat ..read more

During Leopold Stokowski’s tenure as music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra (1912-41), patrons would often line up around the block of the Academy of Music, even in poor weather, to hear the world-renowned ensemble. Stokowski began to dream of new formats to bring classical music to an even wider audience. In The Philadelphia Orchestra: A Century of Music, Joseph Horowitz explains: “Foremost in his thinking was Hollywood—its glamour, its mass impact and appeal. In the mid-1930s, Stokowski appeared in two Hollywood films: The Big Broadcast of 1937 and One Hundred Men and a Girl.” It was ..read more

My love for George Frideric Handel’s Messiah borders on obsession. I was brought up in Lancaster’s Amish Country, without television, movies, radio, or any music that was considered “worldly.” One year at Christmas, at the age of nine or 10, I was given a boxed record set of Messiah, which was popular in Amish-Mennonite circles. I spent my spare time over the next few weeks with my head against the cloth-and-wooden speakers of our old record player, imbibing the glorious symphonic and vocal layers of that epic oratorio. At the age of 12, a friend and I managed to save the necessary money for ..read more