For an orchestra built on tradition, imagination may be its most enduring instrument—and for its 125th anniversary, the Philadelphia Orchestra is tuning it through a special concert series of ‘Fantasia.’
In the late 1930s, under the baton of Leopold Stokowski, the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded much of the original 1940 Disney film’s soundtrack—including staples like Bach’s ‘Toccata’ and ‘Fugue in D-minor’, Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’, Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’, Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral Symphony’, and Mussorgsky’s ‘Night on Bald Mountain.’
Many of those tunes the Orchestra has continued to play to this day, and it’s just some of what Philadelphians will hear at the organization’s series, set to run for three shows from Jan 2 to 4.
“That was one of these legendary moments of the Philadelphia Orchestra because that film, of course, is one of the most popular films of all time,” explains Jeffrey Lang, associate principal horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Lang, who’s been with the organization for two decades, spent a career playing music for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ on Broadway, as the principal horn of the Israel Philharmonic and studying at both Temple and Juilliard (just to name a few accolades). He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in the early 2000’s, and has been with the creative institution ever since.
“I used to come and hear the Philadelphia Orchestra when they were in the Academy of Music,” Lang, a New Jersey native, explains. “So I heard the Orchestra my first year of college quite a lot. We used to come down to the Academy and get rides home sometimes with some members of the Orchestra back to Temple.”
Lang cites moments like 2015’s ‘Bernstein: Mass (Live)’ with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No. 5’ with Christoph Eschenbach as some of his career highlights with the creative organization.
“I had a pretty good relationship with Leonard Bernstein himself in the Israel Philharmonic. When I went there, we used to play a lot with Bernstein and tour and record with [him.] So it was a big deal for me to play and record the 'Bernstein: Mass' with Yani,” Lang says. “And performing and recording Tchaikovsky’s ‘Symphony No. 5’, that was early on in my days with the Orchestra. It has a very famous big first horn solo, so that’s definitely a highlight.”
For the ‘Fantasia’ series in January, it’s all part of the Orchestra’s 125th anniversary. The group has been celebrating throughout the 2025-26 season with a mix of “reflection, innovation, and ambitious programming”, which will ultimately conclude with America’s 250th birthday. The resurgence of 'Fantasia' happens to be up next.
“The amazing thing about ‘Fantasia’ and the film score is that it's still relevant today. It's still very new, still very fresh, and it's so relevant to modern times. Many people, including myself, will say that the reason why they love classical music and the reason why they have knowledge of orchestras and that they know what the conductors do and all that is because of the ‘Fantasia’,” Lang says. “We have subscribers of all ages that will say, I come to the orchestra because I was introduced to this kind of music by the movie."
Those who head to the shows coming up will get a mix of both the 1940 and 2000 films, including orchestral staples like 'The Sorcerer’s Apprentice', all led by Aram Demirjian to sync with the feature.
“I think that's the genius about the movie — it was not a soundtrack written for ‘Fantasia.’ They were really smart in having a lot of different types of music. We do ‘The Waltz of the Flowers’, we play 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' all the time and we play ‘The Rite of Spring’ frequently, which was a major historical point in classical music,” says Lang. “The cool thing is there will be young kids in the audience maybe seeing the movie for the first time and everyone's experience, depending on their history and their age, will have a different takeaway from the movie.”
As the Orchestra says, these specific showcases are designed as a family-friendly and visually engaging introduction to orchestral music — especially fitting for winter audiences and those new to the concert hall.
The Fantasia concerts are more than just performances; they’re a bridge across generations. Children seeing Mickey’s magic for the first time, longtime subscribers hearing Stokowski-era scores performed live, and Lang’s horn echoing the artistry of Mason Jones (the principal horn when they recorded Fantasia)—all converge in a celebration of 125 years of orchestral imagination. In these shows, the Orchestra invites everyone into its storied past while reminding audiences why classical music still captivates today.
“In the Philadelphia Orchestra, we're playing a lot of very diverse repertoire. We're presenting pieces that were composed maybe a few months ago to pieces that were composed hundreds of years,” finishes Lang.
“Attending live concerts and supporting live music is something that is so, so important right now. And we hear all the time when people come to the orchestra for the first time, they say, wow, we didn't know it was this cool, we didn't know it was this much fun, we didn't know it was this great to see 100 people on stage playing live. So, I would encourage people to do just that... come and experience it.”
Tickets to the shows in January (starting at around $60) are currently available online. To find out more information about the ‘Fantasia’ series at the Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus (240 S .Broad St.) and everything going on with the Philadelphia Orchestra, visit philorch.ensembleartsphilly.org
