Paul Jacobs, the only organist ever to have won a Grammy Award, will perform in all three works on our Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast on Sunday, April 25th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1 and Monday, April 26th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2.
As part of the 10th Anniversary celebration of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ at Verizon Hall back in November, 2016, the Organ Concerto of Christopher Rouse was given its world premiere just before intermission of the concert.
The nearly 7,000 pipes of this magnificent organ are showcased not only in this new work, written especially for Paul Jacobs, but with two other compositions that demonstrate its marvels: Camille Saint-Saens’s ever-popular Symphony No 3, the “Organ” Symphony, and—to begin the program—Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva, composed in 1960 when Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist donated a new organ to the Academy of Music for Eugene Ormandy and The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
During intermission, WRTI’s Debra Lew Harder speaks with Paul Jacobs, and Susan Lewis talks to Christopher Rouse.
Detailed program notes from the concert
PROGRAM:
Barber: Toccata Festiva
Rouse: Organ Concerto
INTERMISSION
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3, “Organ”
Paul Jacobs, organ
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Gregg Whiteside is host of The Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcasts on WRTI, every Sunday at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, online at WRTI.org, and on the WRTI mobile app! Enjoy a rebroadcast of Sunday concerts on Mondays at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2.