Join us on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. on WRTI HD-2 when The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert brings you a program pairing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Florence Price’s Piano Concerto. The Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and four superb soloists join the orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the Beethoven symphony, with Lara Downes as soloist for the Price concerto.
Both Downes and the Philadelphians are enthusiastic advocates for the music of Price, who, in part through their efforts, is now acknowledged as an American master. Her music is gaining in popularity, especially since a treasure trove of her scores, long thought lost, was recovered in 2009. A further discovery came in 2018, when the full manuscript for her Piano Concerto came to light. This work, which dates from 1934, unfolds in a single movement with three distinct sections in a fast-slow-fast sequence typical of a traditional piano concerto. What really sets it apart is Price’s ingenious synthesis of African-American folk influences with the European genres that were prevalent even among American composers of her day.
Lara Downes, who visited WRTI’s studios while in town to play with the Philadelphians, tells WRTI editorial director Nate Chinen that Price was embracing the “sound of her time,” meaning the 1930s. “All you can do as a composer is digest what the world around you is giving you,” adds Downes, “and whether it's intentional or not, that is the sound of your time, and it’s going to come through in your music unless you try not to let it. But I think that she certainly was.”
This program culminates with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Op. 125, known for its choral finale. Yannick and the orchestra welcome the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir, as well as soprano Leah Hawkins, mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, tenor Issachah Savage, and bass baritone Ryan McKinney.
There’s no question that Beethoven’s Ninth is one of the few works that have truly changed the course of Western musical history. Its resonance for listeners over centuries and across national borders has to do with Beethoven’s greatness, of course — but it also has to do with this work’s message of freedom, joy, and brotherhood. For its cathartic finale, the composer turned to human voices, choosing to set a poem on those themes by Friedrich Schiller, the famous “Ode to Joy.” Today, says Nézet-Séguin, “joy is what we need the most in the world.” So in rehearsing the work, he adds, he reminded the singers to “remember the sisterhood, brotherhood, remember, ‘Bruder,’ my brother” from Schiller’s text. “That is so important in this, in these times.”
As extraordinary as the Ninth sounds to modern ears, it was challenging and even baffling to Beethoven’s contemporaries, as it shattered multiple norms. Its first movement begins in an utterly unprecedented way, emerging from a mysterious void in a magical use of orchestral sonority that some have seen as the composer’s depiction of the world’s creation. From this transcendent opening, the movement rapidly erupts into a dramatic, almost apocalyptic assertion of music’s future. The scherzo that follows is both powerful and humorous, a respite of sorts. With the slow third movement, we are back in otherworldly realms, but this time in a profoundly personal, even spiritual space. Then comes the finale that will forever define this symphony, based on an inspiring poem by Friedrich Schiller that asserts, “All men become brothers wherever the gentle wings of Joy are spread.”
The broadcast features an illuminating conversation with music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
PROGRAM
Price: Piano Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 (“Choral”)
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Symphonic Choir
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Lara Downes, piano
Leah Hawkins, soprano
Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano
Issachah Savage, tenor
Ryan McKinney, bass baritone
WRTI PRODUCTION TEAM:
Melinda Whiting: Host
Alex Ariff: Senior Producer and Broadcast Engineer
Listen to The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts, every Sunday at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, streaming at WRTI.org, on the WRTI mobile app, and on your favorite smart speaker. Listen again on Mondays at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2. Listen for up to two weeks after broadcast on WRTI Replay or at The Philadelphia Orchestra On Demand.
