Tchaikovsky and Higdon in Naples

As part of our 125th anniversary season, The Philadelphia Orchestra is delighted to share its music with audiences in Naples, continuing a tradition of artistic excellence that has connected us with listeners around the world since 1900.

Now in his 14th season as Music and Artistic Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin continues to build on that legacy, shaping the Orchestra’s renowned “Philadelphia Sound” with imagination, intensity, and expressive depth. Under his leadership, the ensemble’s hallmark warmth and richness have taken on new vitality — a transformation The New York Times has praised as “phenomenal,” noting that the Orchestra “has never sounded better.” 

This program opens with Concerto for Orchestra by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Jennifer Higdon, a dazzling showcase inspired in part by The Philadelphia Orchestra’s celebrated string section. The spotlight then turns to pianist Bruce Liu, whose meteoric rise has been driven by a rare combination of technical brilliance and expressive depth, as he takes on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, one of the most commanding works in the concerto repertoire. The evening concludes with Francesca da Rimini, Tchaikovsky’s sweeping, emotionally charged tone poem inspired by Dante’s tragic tale of forbidden love.