Curtis Symphony Orchestra Presents “Dvořák & Price with Yannick” on November 22 at Marian Anderson Hall and November 24 at David Geffen Hall

Grammy Award-winning conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in performances of groundbreaking works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, and Antonín Dvořák

Curtis Symphony Orchestra debuts at Lincoln Center

Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—November 5, 2024—The 2024–25 Curtis Symphony Orchestra series continues on Friday, November 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center, and Sunday, November 24, at 2:00 p.m. in the newly renovated, state-of-the-art Wu Tsai Theater at David Geffen Hall. This thrilling program features groundbreaking works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price, and Antonín Dvořák under the batons of four-time Grammy Award-winning conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin, music and artistic director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director of the Metropolitan Opera and Orchestre Métropolitain, and Curtis’ head of conducting; and Benoit Gauthier, second-year Rita E. Hauser conducting fellow. Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s highly anticipated concert in New York City marks the first appearance by the ensemble at Lincoln Center.

The program opens with British composer, conductor, and political activist Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade in A minor, Op. 33, conducted by Mr. Gauthier. Written a year after graduating from the Royal College of Music, this lively, rhapsodic, unabashedly Romantic work was a milestone for the 23-year-old composer. Opening with an explosive burst of strings, brass, timpani, and woodwinds, the Ballade’s taut, rhythmic allegro introduction, with its shifting chromaticism, driving ostinatos, and muscular, almost Verdi-esque dramaticism, transitions to a gentler, lyrical, romantic passage, and gathers intensity as it heads to a thunderous conclusion. An iconic figure in both the world of classical music and Black British history, Coleridge-Taylor’s talent burned brightly throughout his short lifetime. In recent years, his works are experiencing a revival, regaining their richly deserved place in today’s repertory.

The concert continues with Florence Price’s iconic Symphony No. 1 in E minor, the first symphonic work by a Black female composer to be played by a major American orchestra, featuring Western European classical idioms infused with the sounds of folk music, African American spirituals, church hymns, and the blues. Despite her towering talent, throughout her lifetime, Price struggled to overcome the challenges of racism and sexism, and this musical pioneer’s work was nearly erased following her death in 1953. The chance discovery of a trove of scores in 2009 has led to Price finally gaining the global recognition she so rightfully deserves. Her rhythmic Symphony No. 1 is a powerful testament to her immense gifts as a composer and displays her masterful talent for technical writing and melody. One of the many advocates of Price’s work today, Mr. Nézet-Séguin won a Grammy Award in 2021 for his recording of this symphony with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

The concert concludes with Antonín Dvořák’s lyrical Symphony No. 8 in G minor, Op. 88. Conducted by Mr. Nézet-Séguin, it is a sun-dappled work full of joyous optimism that evokes the rolling green hills of the Bohemian countryside, rustic peasant dances, and folk melodies of the Czech composer’s native homeland.

Single tickets for “Dvořák & Price with Yannick” at Marian Anderson Hall start at $24 and are available through curtis.edu. Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s special concert at Lincoln Center is part of Curtis on Tour’s 2024–25 series and tickets can be purchased directly through David Geffen Hall’s website. Curtis’ flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off single ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. To order a subscription, visit curtis.edu/subscribe, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu. To learn more about performances in Curtis’ 2024–25 season, including the Curtis Opera Theatre, Curtis New Music Ensemble concerts, Curtis Recital Series, and more, visit curtis.edu/calendar.

Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Dvořák & Price with Yannick        
Friday, November 22, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Marian Anderson Hall, Kimmel Center; Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Sunday, November 24, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Benoit Gauthier, conducting fellow
Curtis Symphony Orchestra

Philanthropic Support for Curtis’ 2024–25 Season
Curtis’ Centennial Season is made possible through the support of Derek and Sissela Bok, the Mary Louise Curtis Bok Foundation, Deborah M. Fretz, Charles C. Freyer and Judith Durkin Freyer, Mignon and Jim Groch, Rita E. Hauser, Lisa and Gie Liem, Bob and Guna Mundheim, Bob and Caro Rock, and Mark and Robin Rubenstein. 

Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s performance at David Geffen Hall is generously underwritten by the alumni of Curtis Institute of Music, including Teddy Abrams (’08), Benjamin Beilman (’12), Blair Bolinger (’86), J’Nai Bridges (’12), Michelle Cann (’13), Dukju Kim Chang (’67), Elissa Koljonen (’94) and Roberto Díaz (’84), Mary Lou Falcone (’66), Avery Gagliano (’24), Richard Goode (’64), Daniel Heifetz (’71) and Janne Heifetz, William A. Horn, M.D. (’70), Bella Hristova (’08) and David Serkin Ludwig (’01), Marsha Hunter (’77), Andrew Jacobs (’93), Erin Keefe (’03), Young Uck Kim (’70), Kyu Yeon Kim (’09), Kyung Sook Lee (’67), Michele Levin (’65), Daniel Matsukawa (’92), Robert McDonald (’76), Anthony McGill (’00), Demarre McGill (’96), Sandra Miller (’72), Alan Morrison (’93), Zina Schiff (’69), Jane Shaulis (’75) and Joseph Gasperec, David Shifrin (’71), Robert Spano (’85), Peter Wiley (’74), Lawrence Tarlow (’74), Yuja Wang (’08), and Amy Yang (’06).

Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s performance at David Geffen Hall is generously underwritten by Bob and Guna Mundheim.

Guest conductor appearances for each Curtis Symphony Orchestra performance are also made possible by the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies. Orchestral concerts are supported by the Jack Wolgin Curtis Orchestral Concerts Endowment Fund.

The concert at David Geffen Hall is part of Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of Curtis Institute of Music.

Mainstage productions were financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development. 

Curtis Institute of Music receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

About Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s great young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the most renowned artists and organizations in classical music, as well as innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at curtis.edu.

Photo Credits: Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra (David DeBalko). Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Getty). Florence Price (University of Arkansas Library Digital Collections). Antonin Dvořák (Bettmann Archive).