Opening Night

Beloved by audiences for centuries, Beethoven’s mighty Ninth Symphony brings more beauty than it seems possible for the heart to hold, leaving the listener exalted and uplifted. Yannick conducts a soaring performance that features some of today’s most virtuosic voices, stars of opera and the concert hall. The Symphony’s choral component, based on German poet Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” offers an intricately woven tapestry of sound and a supremely powerful finale—a call for freedom, equality, and unity.

Composer-in-Residence Joe Hisaishi thrilled audiences in his 2025 performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra. As part of the gala Opening Night Concert, the Orchestra performs the U.S. premiere of his elemental, all-encompassing choral work inspired by Beethoven’s Ninth. The New York Times, proclaiming Hisaishi's ability to sell out arenas with performances of his “chameleonic and enchanting” soundtracks for Studio Ghibli films, notes that “he has long maintained a parallel life as a classical music artist. … Few composers are capable of such confident freedom, and few have a cosmopolitan background so poised for it. Not just globally famous, Hisaishi is one of our most truly global composers.” Weaving tones and rhythms that engulf the listener in shimmering sound, Orbis mines the richness of choral composition while also employing the Kimmel Center’s mighty Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ.