Philadelphia Orchestra will add recitals and reduce subscription concerts in 2023-24 season
Yo-Yo Ma, Audra McDonald, and John Williams are all slated to appear next season.
The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2023-24 will cut slightly its number of subscription concerts; host top guest conductors Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, David Robertson, and Fabio Luisi; present a series of solo recitals in Verizon Hall with artists like Yuja Wang and Yo-Yo Ma; and unveil new works as well as a concert version of Puccini’s La bohème and a live-to-screen presentation of The Nightmare Before Christmas.
If there’s an underlying theme to the new season, it’s about building on the orchestra’s recent practice of “getting that other perspective that is clear was lost to history into the orchestral programming,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc.
That perspective comes through composers like Florence Price, William Grant Still, Valerie Coleman, Anna Clyne, Jimmy López Bellido, Alma Mahler, and others — all represented by works in 2023-24.
“It’s about taking a step back and thinking: If the traditions of great classical music had been different from day one, what would the programming look like today? We’re trying to make sure that this is the last generation talking about a more inclusive approach to programming and actually instead living it,” Tarnopolsky said.
Still facing soft demand precipitated by the pandemic, the orchestra is lowering the average subscription price in 2023-24 a smidge to $68.39 per ticket — $4.72 lower than the current season. It is eliminating one of its three Thursday night concert series — resulting in an overall reduction in subscription concerts to 66 from 72.
“We are being very sensitive to the economic realities of this post-COVID moment,” he said, making the reduction “based on the economics of running the orchestra.”
At the same time, other non-subscription concerts are expected to be announced at a later date.
“They’re likely to be things like the annual Pride concerts, potentially other Christmas performances, a gala event, that type of thing. It’s a reduction in the number of subscription performances, but you probably won’t see a reduction in the number of performances,” Tarnopolsky said.
So far this season, the orchestra has filled Verizon Hall with ticket buyers to 64% of capacity (as of last week).
Orchestra music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead eight subscription weeks in 2023-24 (plus more weeks for tours and summer concerts), with guest appearances by conductors Andy Einhorn, Rafael Payare, William Eddins, Nicholas McGegan, Thomas Wilkins, Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, Long Yu, Xian Zhang, Tugan Sokhiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Nathalie Stutzmann, Paavo Järvi, Lahav Shani, and a two-week visit by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
John Williams is down to conduct a single-night performance of excerpts from his film scores (Feb. 20) along with Yo-Yo Ma in Williams’ Cello Concerto. András Schiiff is both conductor and pianist in a program of Haydn, Schubert, and Mozart (April 5-6). Gil Shaham is violinist and leader in an all-Mozart program (Jan. 5-7).
Among the likely high points of the season: an appearance by soprano Audra McDonald (Oct. 3); the orchestra’s first performance of William Grant Still’s Symphony No. 4, “Autochthonous” (Oct. 6-8); a Bruckner Symphony No. 6 led by Gražinytė-Tyla (Oct. 20-22); Brahms’ A German Requiem conducted by Nézet-Séguin (Jan. 26-28) and another program with him pairing Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 and songs by Alma Mahler (April 11-14); Salonen leading the complete Ravel Daphnis and Chloe (May 16-18); and pianist Mitsuko Uchida in Ravel’s Concerto in G Major (May 30-June 2).
The orchestra will also build on the solo-recital success this past May by pianist Evgeny Kissin. Next season, three Verizon Hall recitals have been booked: cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott (April 12); pianist Yuja Wang (April 30); and the return of Kissin (May 15).
Kissin’s solo recital last season sold about 1,500 tickets, encouraging the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. to do more recitals.
“That was a first step, this is a next step,” said Tarnopolsky. “If it goes well, we’ll keep growing it.”
Subscriptions: philorch.org, 215-893-1955. Single tickets go on sale this summer.