Xian Zhang, conductor
Eric Lu, piano
July 21
TD Pavilion

Pack a picnic and join us for our favorite summer tradition as The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Xian Zhang, returns to TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann on July 21 for a Tchaikovsky Spectacular! We’ll begin the evening with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with Eric Lu, First Prize and Gold Medal winner of the 2025 International Chopin Competition. Following intermission, the Orchestra will perform selections from the Suite from The Sleeping Beauty. The original full-length ballet was given its United States premiere in Philadelphia in 1937. We’ll finish the evening with the rousing 1812 Overture, culminating in an epic display of fireworks against the gorgeous Philadelphia skyline!

Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso—Allegro con spirito
II. Andantino semplice—Prestissimo—Tempo I
III. Allegro con fuoco

Intermission

Tchaikovsky
from Suite from The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66a:
I. Introduction: The Lilac Fairy
II. Adagio: Pas d’action
IV. Panorama
V. Waltz

Tchaikovksy
Solemn Overture, 1812, Op. 49

This program runs approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes.

The Steinway Piano is the official piano of Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts and is provided by Steinway & Sons.

No audio/video tape recording devices or photographs allowed.

For more details on allowable equipment please click here.

Program notes © 2026. All rights reserved. Program notes may not be reprinted without written permission from The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

Tonight’s performance is in honor of the 150th anniversary of Pablo Casals’ birth in 1876.

The great performers of the past leave a lasting mark only when their musical and human legacy continues to inspire musicians and people, and Pablo Casals is certainly one of them.

The story of this little boy, born in a small village in Catalonia, Spain, who went on to become the greatest cellist of his time, is the stuff of dreams. He was the one who elevated the cello to the forefront of solo instruments, on par with the piano and the violin. His recordings—particularly of Bach’s Suites, which he rescued from obscurity—remain benchmarks to this day. On a personal level, he used his fame to champion the ideals of peace, justice, respect for human rights, and freedom.

The United States played a major and essential role in his life. He made his first tour there in 1901, performing at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. He would return there regularly until the late 1920s, giving numerous concerts at the Academy of Music, performing sonatas or under the baton of Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Leopold Stokowski.

While in exile in Prades, France, it was America that brought him out of his silence, notably Marcel Tabuteau, the legendary principal oboe of The Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1953, Casals recorded Schumann’s Concerto. Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Eugene Ormandy conducted the Prades Festival Orchestra as a tribute to Casals, without a fee and even his name appearing on the LP cover due to exclusivity agreements with Columbia Records.

Ormandy had great affection for Casals, whom he called “the greatest living musician.” He invited him on numerous occasions to The Philadelphia Orchestra, but did not succeed in bringing him as a conductor until 1963, when Casals came to conduct his oratorio El pessebre.

Casals was also close to Fredric Mann and shared with him an admiration for Israel and its leaders at the time. Casals participated in the 1st Israel Festival and conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Fredric Mann Auditorium.

The city and institutions of Philadelphia bestowed numerous honors upon Casals, including honorary doctorates from Temple University and the Curtis Institute, as well as the Medal of the City of Philadelphia. Casals was a true Philadelphian in the original sense of the word—brotherly love!

This evening’s Cello “Play-In” is in celebration of Casals and the music legacy he has left to inspire.