Rach and Roll April 2017

Just Announced!

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The Philadelphia Orchestra
commissions
Didi Balle

Playwright & Director for

The Rachmaninoff Trilogy

by writer-director Didi Balle consists of three Symphonic Plays performed over three consecutive evenings:

April 27 - 28 - 29, 2017
6:30-7:15 Verizon Hall

The Rachmaninoff Trilogy
will feature Principal Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève and members of the Philadelphia Orchestra sharing the stage with a cast of professional actors portraying Rachmaninoff and seminal figures in his early life in Russia and members of the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1920s and 1930s.

The Rachmaninoff Trilogy brings to life through music and theater the compelling story of self-exiled Sergei Rachmaninoff who, despite genius and fame, wandered the globe haunted by the loss of beloved country and family estate (burned to the ground during the Russian Revolution of 1917) until finding an artistic home in Philadelphia with the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra musicians and their visionary Music Directors Leopold Stokowski, and later, Eugene Ormandy. It was the beginning of a marriage made in music.

Over the next two decades, the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered six Rachmaninoff compositions performed by the composer, and recorded many now historic recordings. It was, without doubt, the most significant and sustained artistic relationship Rachmaninoff was to have during his life in America.

With the guidance of Philadelphia Orchestra Association Archivist Jack McCarthy, Playwright Didi Balle will delve into the treasure trove of the Philadelphia Orchestra's Rachmaninoff Archives, including many unseen source materials to inspire The Rachmaninoff Trilogy.

Audio excerpts from rare recordings made by the POA featuring Rachmaninoff performing his own works will be woven into The Rachmaninoff Trilogy and offer a fascinating audio adventure juxtaposing archival recording excepts with live performance of identical excerpts.

Playwright and Stage Director Didi Balle is honored to work again with the inspiring Philadelphia Orchestra and Jeremy Rothman, VP of Artistic Planning. The Rachmaninoff Trilogy is the third commission Didi Balle has received by the POA to write and direct one of her symphonic plays. Shostakovich: Notes For Stalin premiered to great success with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin along with The Secret Life of Isaac Newton conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.

Each of the three symphonic plays comprising The Rachmaninoff Trilogy will be followed by Concert Performances featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra and celebrated Rachmaninoff artists, Nikolai Lugansky and Haochen Zhang.

The Rachmaninoff Festival under the leadership of Principal Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève honors the unique relationship between the Philadelphia Orchestra and Rachmaninoff, and will present all four Rachmaninoff piano concerti featuring renowned Russian Nikolai Lugansky (Concertos No. 2 and 3) and the Chinese phenom and Curtis-trained Haochen Zhang (Concertos No. 1 and 4). Also on the program is the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Symphonic Dances.

The Rachmaninoff Trilogy marks the Ninth Symphonic Play by playwright and stage director Didi Balle commissioned and premiered by a major symphony orchestra.