Orchestral innovations

Yannick Nézet-Séguin announced his second Philadelphia Orchestra season Wednesday in a climate of acclaim so intense that a less sturdy musician might be braced for the cyclical backlash that the likes of Lang Lang and Gustavo Dudamel have experienced before him. But he says he's just happy word is circulating that the Philadelphia Orchestra is back.

"It's so important that what's happening in our city gets quickly spread around," the new music director said.

As for backlash? "I can't control it. But I believe that we're on such solid ground and we're working at such a depth," he says. "It's not like I'm a kid. At 37, there's maturity."

What he has planned for 2013-2014 begins with superstar violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter (Sept. 25) and ends with Richard Strauss' opera Salome (May 9 and 10, 2014) - his long-awaited local opera-conducting debut. "I wish I could slip to the second [season]," he said Wednesday at the official announcement at the Kimmel Center. His presence increases from nine to 11 weeks. Subscription concerts expand from 78 to 84, though "Beyond the Score" lecture/concerts go on hiatus for lack of sponsorship.

The single biggest innovation is a composer-based "micro-festival" Oct. 31-Nov. 2. Three of the orchestra's principal players will premiere new pieces: Behzad Ranjbaran's Flute Concerto for Jeffrey Khaner, Tan Dun's Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women, Symphony for 12 Micro Films, Harp and Orchestra for harpist Elizabeth Hainen, and David Ludwig's Bassoon Concerto for Daniel Matsukawa.

"We have such great [principal] players. If it works, we might make it a recurring event every other year," said Nézet-Séguin. "We also want to attract national attention."

Will the composers meet their deadlines? The often-tardy Oliver Knussen and Osvaldo Golijov missed theirs this season. Nézet-Séguin is strangely confident: "I know for sure that these will all be ready."

Elsewhere, patterns emerge: A yearly Bruckner symphony (No. 9, May 1 and 3, 2014) and his fourth-annual requiem (Fauré's, March 13-15, 2014), this time with the Philadelphia Singers Chorale. That program also shows a trend toward unconventional bedfellows: Fauré will be heard with Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Beethoven will also be frequently paired with Shostakovich; he called the two "brothers in spirit."

Less conventionally, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Sept. 26-28) will be paired with Bright Mass With Canons by the fashionable downtown-Manhattan composer Nico Muhly, in a newly commissioned orchestral version.

"It always embarrassed me that with Beethoven Ninth we only use the chorus at the end," he said. "One day I communicated with Nico Muhly and asked if he'd be ready to add orchestration to one of his choral pieces. I'm very happy about that. There are no [stylistic] boundaries with that guy."

Though he won't be on hand for Poulenc's Aubade with local dance company Philadanco (Feb. 28-March 1, 2014), it's part of his strategy: "I'm the new guy. I want to make friends with everyone."

Another Nézet-Séguin innovation is a trio of all-Mozart programs April 24-28, 2014, two of which will take place on the same day. Each will have one of his last three symphonies, a different opera overture, and one of three concertos played by the emerging Polish-Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki.

A Deutsche Grammophon artist, as is the music director, 17-year-old Lisiecki is part of a pool of Nézet-Séguin-preferred artists cultivated from past engagements. Another is Swedish soprano Camilla Nylund, who sings the title role in the partially staged Salome.

Among other soloists, starry familiar names include Itzhak Perlman, both conductor and violin soloist in one of the few four-performance runs - Nov. 21-24 - since the 2010-2011 season.

In addition: Yefim Bronfman Oct. 10-12, Yuja Wang Nov. 7-9, Christian Tetzlaff Nov. 14-16, Daniel Hope Nov. 29-30, and Helene Grimaud Dec. 5. 7 and 8. In 2014: Stephen Hough Jan. 10-12, Radu Lupu Jan 30-Feb. 1, Emanuel Ax Feb. 6-8, Janine Jansen March 27-29, Truls Mork Feb. 20, 22 and 23, and James Ehnes April 11-13.

Up-and-coming soloists include pianist Lise de La Salle Oct. 17-19, violinists Augustin Hadelich Oct. 24-26, and Lisa Batiashvili May 1 and 3, 2014. Guest conductors: Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos Oct. 17-19 and Oct. 24-25. In 2014: Robin Ticciati Jan. 10-12, Vladimir Jurowski Feb. 13-15 and 20-12, Stephane Deneve Feb. 28, March 1 and March 6-8, Christoph von Dohnanyi April 3-5, and Gianandrea Noseda April 11-13. Conductor debuts: Manfred Honeck (Nov. 14-16) and Tugan Sokhiev Jan. 23-24, 2014.

Outside Philadelphia, Nézet-Séguin continues as chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and will record Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio for Deutsche Grammophon. His energy, plus a diminutive but muscular physique, prompted mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato to dub him "Mighty Mouse" in a New York Times profile.

Until then, the Montreal-born conductor knew nothing about the American cartoon character. "Joyce wrote me a message immediately and said 'Oh God! I'm so embarrassed!' I went online, saw what Mighty Mouse was, and thought, 'Why not?' I find this cute and funny."

He also didn't know that Mighty Mouse's catchphrase - "Here I come to save the day!" - was so appropriate to his Philadelphia Orchestra tenure. But he does now.