Yannick And The Philadelphians Begin To Reshape (Not Break) The Mold

For his second season as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-SÉguin’s “presence increases from nine to 11 weeks. Subscription concerts expand from 78 to 84, though ‘Beyond the Score’ lecture/concerts go on hiatus for lack of sponsorship. The single biggest innovation is a composer-based ‘micro-festival’ Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Three of the orchestra’s principal players will premiere new pieces.”

Classical… What?

“The term “classical” (like the related “neoclassical”) has so wide a range of associations–aesthetic, political, and social–as to make it almost useless as an analytical term. If at moments it seems the ally of all things modern, it can in an instant be the archenemy.”