Philly Orchestra brings in the young guns for a stellar Week 1
A set of electrying young soloists join famed conductor Marin Alsop at SPAC for an exciting start to the orchestra’s summer residency.
After tonight’s annual “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” kick-off to the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2025 summer residency, two young gun soloists will join famed conductor Marin Alsop — returning to SPAC for the first time since 2017 — to round out the exciting first week.
And then if you don’t have tickets for Saturday night, you’re out of luck. Their peer — the viral Icelandic sensation Laufey, 26, who we’ll Dish more about on Saturday morning in Dish Saratoga— sold out the amphitheater in an hour. (Prevent FOMO by buying a lawn seat now.)
Tonight’s “Tchaikovsky Spectacular” premiere to the orchestra’s residency has become a popular tradition, down to the 1812 Overture and post-show fireworks hoopla. But tonight also brings — in addition to Variations on a Rococo Theme — the SPAC premiere of Hamlet Overture, originally conceived as incidental music to Shakespeare’s play.
With that premiere and tomorrow’s always-popular “The Planets,” Philly wasted no time getting to the good stuff. With Alsop conducting, tomorrow night’s solo is 29-year-old violinist Randall Goosby, who performed at SPAC in 2022 and 2023.
“With Randall, we got to the core of the really exciting young talent that’s out there,” SPAC President Christopher Shiley tells the Dispatch of Goosby’s highly-anticipated performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. “People are going to be blown away.”
On Friday, 26-year-old pianist phenom Clayton Stephenson enters the chat. He’ll bring the house down with Gershwin Piano Concerto during an evening of popular American music titled “Gershwin & Bernstein.”
“Clayton is this really young, exciting, dynamic performer,” Shiley says.
Not only was Stephenson the first Black finalist at the prestigious Van Cliburn competition, but he has a long history with Juilliard. And he is currently in Harvard’s Dual Degree program pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics from the university and a master’s in piano performance from the New England Conservatory.
“Not only is he an incredible performer, but he's a brilliant mind,” Shiley says. “He's one of these people that seems to do everything and do it at an unbelievable level. And you're like, ‘How on Earth can this be?’”
Visit spac.org for more information and to buy tickets.
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