The Orchestra's New Season Is Off To A Flying Start

Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra start their brand new 2018/19 season as they mean to go on with a grand opening night featuring a rousing, rafter-clearing program of Strauss, Rossini, Bernstein and a special surprise chamber music performance with Yannick himself at the keyboard! Scrub up and spend an evening in the company of benefactors, patrons, cultural leaders and friends of the world class ensemble at this exciting black-tie affair.

The evening begins with the bold brass and wistful romance of Richard Strauss' Don Juan, a sweeping tone-poem inspired by the fictional adventures of the Nikolaus Lenau's legendary libertine. This is followed by the surprise performance, which is then followed by Rossini's ever popular Overture to William Tell. The Italian composer's final operatic masterpiece evokes a lush pastoral scene in its opening, quickly gathering pace for a victorious and epic finale that has made it one of the most distinctive themes in classical music. The program reaches a close with Overture to Candide, a shimmering showcase of Bernstein's energetic rhythmic style and angular compositional genius.