Instrumentation
3223 2230 Timp Strings (same as Beethoven’s 5th)
Premiered by
The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin
March 12th, 2020 – Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center
Selected Performance and Broadcast History
September 28th, 2019 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by John Adams – Verizon Hall, Philadelphia
March 12th, 2020 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin – Verizon Hall, Philadelphia
March 13th, 2020 – WRTI Radio Broadcast and Interview with Iman Habibi
March 14th, and 15th 2020 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin (canceled due to COVID-19 advisory)
March 15th, and 16th 2020 – WRTI Radio Broadcast and Interview with Iman Habibi
March 21st, 2020 (ongoing)- WHYY TV (PBS) Broadcast
March 23rd, 2020 – SiriusXM Symphony Hall Radio broadcast
April 16th, 2020 – Live with Carnegie Hall broadcast hosted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin
July 10th, 2020 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Bravo! Vail Festival in Vail, Colorado (canceled due to COVID-19 advisory)
July 26th, and 27th 2020 – WRTI Radio Broadcast and Interview with Iman Habibi
July 28th, 2020 – Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Awards Festival Broadcast
August 14th, 2020 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Saratoga Springs Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY (Live performance is replaced by livestream and lawn screening, due to COVID-19)
September 6th, and 7th 2020 – WRTI Radio Rebroadcast and Interview with Iman Habibi
December 4th, and 5th 2020 – Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Raiskin (canceled due to COVID-19)
December 16th, 2020 – WRTI Radio Rebroadcast and Interview with Iman Habibi
February 18th, 2021 – Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons – virtual concert
March 12th, 2021 – Philadelphia Orchestra led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin – anniversary rebroadcast
April 22, 2021 – Earth Day Boston 2021 – broadcast of BSO performance and interview with Iman
July 25th, 2021 – Tanglewood – Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons
September 6th, 2021 – Tanglewood BSO performance streaming on BSO Now virtual platform
October 3rd, 2021 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin – Verizon Hall, Philadelphia
October 6th, 2021 – The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin – Carnegie Hall, New York
November 6th, 2021 – Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Ellis – Saskatoon, SK
January 9th, and 10th 2022 – WRTI broadcasts Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s October performance
April 25th, 2022 – Vermont Public Radio re-broadcast of Carnegie Hall reopening with The Philadelphia Orchestra
May 14th, 2022 – New York Philharmonic led by Lina Gonzalez-Granados
May 17th, 2022 – WXXI broadcast of Carnegie Hall reopening with the Philadelphia Orchestra
June 21st, 2022 – WFMT broadcast of Carnegie Hall reopening with the Philadelphia Orchestra
August 10th, 2022 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra’s October performance
October 7th, 8th and 9th, 2022 – Kansas City Symphony led by Michael Stern
November 4th, 5th and 6th, 2022 – Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra led by Ken-David Masur
March 22nd, 23rd, 25th and 26th, 2023 – Toronto Symphony Orchestra led by Gustavo Gimeno
April 22, 2023 – Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra led by Toshiyuki Shimada
May 12th and 13th, 2023 – Hamilton Philharmonic conducted by James Sommerville
June 10th, 2023 – Sinfónica Juan José Landaeta led by Andrés González, Caracas, Venezuela
July 1st, 2023 – National Arts Centre Orchestra conducted by Alexander Shelley
September 6th, 2023 – Classical Kansas City broadcasts Kansas City Symphony’s performance
October 8th, 2023 – Blue Lake Public Radio broadcasts Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s performance
Feb 2nd, 7th, and 8th, 2024 – Calgary Philharmonic conducted by Andrés González
April 3rd and 4th, 2024 – Four performances (two per day) by Minnesota Orchestra
April 13th and 14th, 2024 – New World Symphony led by Lina González-Granados
May 31st and June 1st, 2024 – San Antonio Philharmonic led by Lina González-Granados
November 13th and 14th, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare, Montreal, QC
November 19th, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare (London, Barbican)
November 20, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare (Luxembourg, Philharmonie)
November 22, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare (Paris, Philharmonie)
November 27, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam)
November 30, 2024 – Orchestre symphonique de Montréal led by Rafael Payare (Konzerthaus, Vienna)
March 28th, 29th, and 30th, 2025 – Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra led by Manfred Honeck
May 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 2025 – Pacific Symphony Orchestra led by Alexander Shelley – Costa Mesa, CA
Reviews and Press
Kansas City Independent
Times Union
Bachtrack
Hudson-Housatonic Art
The Boston Intelligencer
BTW Berkshires
Berkshire Eagle
Programme Notes
Commissioned in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Jeder Baum spricht is an unsettling rhapsodic reflection on the climate catastrophe, and is written in dialogue with Beethoven’s 5th and 6th symphonies. The piece shifts focus rapidly, and attempts to achieve its goal time and time again through different means, only to be faced with similar obstacles. Like much of Beethoven’s music, this piece accompanies an unspecific narrative and imagery, and ends with a sense of resolve, one that I hope can drive our collective will towards immediate impactful change. Beethoven perceived nature as an image of the divine, if not divinity itself. Jeder Baum spricht durch dich (every tree speaks through you) is a phrase I encountered in his writings, leading me to wonder how Beethoven, clearly an activist himself, would have responded to today’s environmental crisis. Given that both the 5th and 6th symphonies were likely, at least in some capacity, inspired by nature, I am hoping that Jeder Baum spricht can allow us to listen to these monumental works with a renewed perspective: that is, in light of the climate crisis we live in, and the havoc we continue to wreak on the nature that inspired these classic masterpieces.
Related WRTI Radio Interview with Iman Habibi
https://www.wrti.org/post/concerts-canceled-philadelphians-perform-beethovens-5th-6th-all-hear-wrti
Related WRTI Article:
https://www.wrti.org/post/inspired-beethovens-thoughts-about-nature-composer-iman-habibis-every-tree-speaks
Related Boston Globe Article:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/23/arts/what-would-beethoven-think-climate-change-composer-iman-habibi-has-few-ideas/
WHYY TV Feature
https://video.whyy.org/video/whyy-presents-the-philadelphia-orchestra-rkf4td/
Related Blog Post Written for the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music
https://www.glfcam.com/blog/2020/04/10/shifting-grounds-iman-habibi?fbclid=IwAR0oZiXUfZFDzLn3llTnuQx0WREYKnHQct5TyU64wqqOH6rk-fatpcy8oMg
Recording