The Philadelphia Orchestra
Renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and
imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of "firsts" in music making,
The Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the preeminent orchestras in the world.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in
its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski,
Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, as well as
the orchestra's current chief conductor, Charles Dutoit. In the 2012-2013 season, Yannick
Nézet-Séguin becomes the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Named music
director designate in 2010, Mr. Nézet-Séguin brings a vision that extends beyond symphonic
music and into the vivid world of opera and choral music.
Philadelphia is home, and the orchestra nurtures an important relationship with patrons
who support the main season at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The orchestra
also performs for Philadelphia audiences at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Penn's
Landing, and other regional venues. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association continues to own
the Academy of Music-a National Historic Landmark-as it has since 1957.
The ensemble maintains an important tradition of presenting educational programs for local
audiences as well. Today the orchestra executes myriad education and community partnership
programs, notably its Neighborhood Concert Series, Sound All Around and Family Concerts,
eZseatU, and more.
Through concerts, tours, residencies, presentations, and recordings, The Philadelphia
Orchestra touches the lives of countless music lovers around the world. The orchestra
annually performs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center while also enjoying a three-week
residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in New York and a strong partnership with
the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Please visit philorch.org for more information.
Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in
London. Following 15 years as a regular guest conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Mr.
Rattle became its chief conductor and artistic director in 2002. He is also artistic
director of the Salzburg Easter Festival, where he appears regularly with the Berliner
Philharmoniker. Between 1980 and 1998, he was principal conductor and artistic adviser of
the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, then music director. Mr. Rattle is a regular
guest conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and
The Philadelphia Orchestra. He is also a principal artist of the Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment and founding patron of the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
An exclusive EMI artist for many years, Mr. Rattle has made more than 70 recordings for
the label. Releases with the Berliner Philharmoniker include Holst's The Planets,
together with Colin Matthews's Pluto, and related works by Kaija Saariaho,
Matthias Pintscher, Mark-Anthony Turnage, and Brett Dean; Shostakovich's First and 14th
symphonies; Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben and Suite from Le bourgeois
gentilhomme; Debussy's La mer; Dvořák's tone poems; Schubert's "Great"
Symphony; Orff's Carmina Burana; Bruckner's Symphony No. 4; the Nielsen Clarinet
and Flute concertos; and Brahms's German Requiem, which won a Grammy Award for
Best Choral Recording. His recent releases include Stravinsky's Symphony of
Psalms (recipient of a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance), Berlioz's
Symphonie fantastique, Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, and
Brahms's symphonies.
Mr. Rattle was knighted in 1994 by the Queen of England. He has received many other
distinctions, including the Grosse Verdienstkreuz by the German government, the Shakespeare
Prize by the Toepfer Foundation in Hamburg, and in 1997, the Albert Medal of the Royal
Society of Arts. His educational program with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Zukunft@Bphil,
has also earned him the Comenius Prize, the Schiller Special Prize from the city of
Mannheim, the Golden Camera, and the Urania Medal. He and the Berliner Philharmoniker were
appointed International UNICEF Ambassadors, the first time this honor has been conferred on
an artistic ensemble.