The entire Philadelphia Orchestra family was saddened this past summer by the death of a great friend of the Orchestra, and a musician of exemplary standards. The eminent Spanish conductor Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, who passed away in June, 2013, is featured in a rebroadcast of a program performed in February of 2013, one of his last performances with the Philadelphians.
The program was also headlined by Philadelphia favorite, pianist André Watts, who returned to Philadelphia to perform Beethoven's grandest piano concerto, the "Emperor." You'll also hear a work after intermission that will show off the virtuosity, solidity, and strength of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s celebrated brass section - the pleasant and festive Concert Music for Strings and Brass, by Paul Hindemith.
Franz Liszt, a superstar pianist in his own right, also composed brilliant tone poems, none more popular than Les Préludes, which closes the program.
Not to be missed also is the famous Stokowski transcription of J.S. Bach's Wachet Auf, ?from the so-called "Sleepers Awake" Cantata, which opens the broadcast.
Don't miss this memorable archival rebroadcast on WRTI, Sunday, December 14, 1 to 3 pm.
PROGRAM:
BACH/STOKOWSKI: "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ?or "Sleeper's Awake"
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor"
Intermission
HINDEMITH: Concert Music for Strings and Brass
LISZT: Les Preludes
Andre Watts, piano
Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, conductor
