Join us on Sunday, August 14th at 1 PM on WRTI 90.1, and Monday, August 15th at 7 PM on WRTI HD-2 when our Philadelphia Orchestra in Concert broadcast brings you a performance recorded live in November, 2021 from the Orchestra’s 2021/2022 season, and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
In this broadcast, the Orchestra continued its periodic focus on the symphonies of Beethoven, as its partially delayed celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday was interrupted when public performances ceased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program features two of them: No. 8 in F major, and No. 2 in D major. Written 10 years apart, they share a playful and witty character despite having been composed at times of great personal upheaval for Beethoven.
The two symphonies frame the concert’s central offering, as guest artist Davóne Tines, a bass-baritone who was named Musical America’s 2022 Vocalist of the Year, offers Sermon, a compilation of vocal selections and readings of works by important Black writers.
This remarkable journey through the experience of marginalized communities is also a call to action, interspersing the words of Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Jennifer Care Moore with music by Anthony Davis and John Adams.
We’ll also bring you some chamber music offered by Philadelphia Orchestra musicians in honor of Black History Month in 2021: the first-movement Allegro of George Walker’s String Quartet No. 1.
Listen for interviews interspersed throughout the broadcast. Producer Susan Lewis speaks with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Michael Bolton talks with Davóne Tines about the genesis of his fascinating Sermon.
Detailed program notes from the concert are here.
PROGRAM:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
Various: Sermon
I. “Shake the Heavens,” from El Niño (A Nativity Oratorio), by John Adams
II. “Vigil,” by Igee Dieudonné and Davóne Tines
III. “You Want the Truth, but You Don’t Want to Know,” from X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, by Anthony Davis
Walker: I. Allegro, from String Quartet No. 1`
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Davóne Tines, bass-baritone and speaker
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.
