Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through over a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, best-selling recordings, and its unprecedented record of innovation in recording technologies and outreach. The Orchestra has maintained unity in artistic leadership with only seven music directors throughout its history: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), and Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08).
This rich tradition is carried on by Charles Dutoit, who was appointed chief conductor and artistic adviser of The Philadelphia Orchestra from the 2008-09 season through the 2011-12 season. Mr. Dutoit has a longstanding relationship with the Orchestra, having made his debut with the ensemble in 1980. As chief conductor and artistic adviser, he will lead the Orchestra in Philadelphia as well as at Carnegie Hall and on tour. He will continue his role as artistic director and principal conductor of the Orchestra’s annual three-week residency at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and will lead concerts when the Orchestra is in residence at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
Highlights of Mr. Dutoit’s first season as chief conductor and artistic adviser include the Opening Night Concert, featuring pianist Martha Argerich; performances of Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet and Requiem, part of Mr.Dutoit’s four-year focus on the works of that composer; the U.S. premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Concerto grosso No. 1 for three cellos, part of the Orchestra’s celebration of Mr. Penderecki’s 75th birthday; and Honegger’s Symphony No. 3 (“Liturgical”). During his tenure, Mr. Dutoit will also focus on the music of the Ballets Russes, beginning in the 2008-09 season with performances of Stravinsky’s complete music to The Firebird. Throughout its history, The Philadelphia Orchestra has introduced an unprecedented number of important
works as world or American premieres, including Barber’s Violin Concerto, Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand,” Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Its illustrious tour history includes a number of landmarks events. In 1936 the Orchestra became the first American orchestra to undertake a transcontinental tour, in 1949 it toured Great Britain as the first American orchestra to cross the Atlantic after World War II, in 1973 it became the first American orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China, and in 1999 it became the first American orchestra to visit Vietnam.
The Orchestra also boasts an extraordinary record of media firsts. It was the first symphonic orchestra to make electrical recordings (in 1925), the first to perform its own commercially sponsored radio broadcast (in 1929, on NBC), the first to perform on the soundtrack of a feature film (Paramount’s The Big Broadcast of 1937), the first to appear on a national television broadcast (in 1948, on CBS), and the first major orchestra to give a live cybercast of a concert on the internet (in 1997). Recent successes and innovations with electronic media carry on this legacy. The Orchestra became the first major orchestra to multi-cast a concert to large-screen venues through the Internet2 network. The Orchestra also became the first major American orchestra to offer consumers the opportunity to download recent and archival music directly through its own Online Music Store, www.thephiladelphiaorchestra.com. The Orchestra is broadcast regularly on National Public Radio’s SymphonyCast and Performance Today, as part of an annual agreement with NPR. In addition, Mr. Eschenbach and the Orchestra announced a recording partnership with Ondine Records. To date seven critically acclaimed recordings taken from live concerts have been released.
