ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PA T R O N H R H T H E P R I N C E O F WA L E S LEADER STEPHANIE GONLEY
/ 19N 8 1 DO N 0 2 N O
L OE A S S
AT QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL AND CADOGAN HALL, LONDON
Artists to include Christian Zacharias/ M i c h a e l C o l l i n s /A n a d e l a Ve g a / B e n G o l d s c h e i d e r / B e n Jo h n s o n / Je s s i c a C o tt i s / B e h z o d A b d u ra i m o v
ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA LEADER STEPHANIE GONLEY
PA T R O N H R H T H E P R I N C E O F WA L E S
Welcome
Photographs: Marti Friedlander Allegro Studios Clive Barda Nigel Luckhurs
History in the making The English Chamber Orchestra is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, its discography containing nearly 900 recordings of over 1,500 works by more than 400 composers. Throughout its history, the ECO has performed in numerous countries and played with many of the world’s greatest musicians; the American radio network CPRN selecting it as one of the world’s greatest ‘living’ orchestras. Its illustrious past features many major musical figures, including Benjamin Britten who was the orchestra’s first Patron and a significant musical influence. The ECO has enjoyed long relationships with such great musicians as Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman and Daniel Barenboim, whose partnership with the orchestra led to an acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart piano concertos as live performances and recordings. This was followed by two further recordings of the complete cycle, with Murray Perahia and Mitsuko Uchida. Last Season, the ECO performed across the UK and enjoyed a successful London series with artists including Christian Zacharias, Tenebrae, Jennifer Pike, Tasmin Little and Howard Shelley. International highlights included a tour in Mexico with José Serebrier
and a sold-out European tour with Julian Rachlin culminating in a concert at the Musikverein in Vienna. The ECO has recorded many successful film soundtracks including Dario Marianelli’s prizewinning scores for Atonement and Pride and Prejudice and several James Bond soundtracks. It has taken part in a variety of television and film projects and features on the soundtrack of the recent Oscar-nominated film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, where it accompanied award-winning soprano Renée Fleming in Last Rose of Summer. This year, the ECO was honoured to participate in the ceremony for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and had a busy summer on tour at the Lucerne Festival and in Turkey, performing with pianists Guher and Suher Pekinel at the Izmir and Istanbul music festivals. Stay in touch with the ECO by subscribing to our monthly e-newsletter at www.englishchamberorchestra.co.uk Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @EnglishChamberOrchestra and Twitter: @ECOrchestra
This year, the ECO was honoured to participate in the ceremony for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
We are delighted to introduce you to our 2018/19 London Season, building on our strong tradition of innovative programming and performing with today’s great artistic thinkers and musicians, together with emerging young talent. The London Season opens at Southbank Centre’s newly-refurbished Queen Elizabeth Hall, a familiar venue for the ECO since it performed in the opening concert in 1967 under the baton of Benjamin Britten. We again look forward to working with the eminent German pianist Christian Zacharias, this time as soloist and conductor in an exciting programme of Beethoven and Schoenberg (29 October, 2018). Cadogan Hall is home to the orchestra for the rest of the season, and we will be getting you into the Christmas spirit with a programme of Vivaldi (2 December 2018), including his joyful Gloria (conducted by Michael Collins) and other favourites including the ‘Goldfinch’ concerto for flute.
Following the success of her new concerto album recorded with the ECO, flautist Ana de la Vega (19 February, 2019) performs two works from her album, including the recently discovered flute concerto by Mysliveček. BBC Young Musician finalist and horn player Ben Goldscheider is joined by well-known tenor Ben Johnson and dynamic conductor Jessica Cottis (16 March, 2019) for Britten’s much-loved Serenade, while Mendelssohn’s lesserknown D minor Violin Concerto is one of the highlights of ECO leader Stephanie Gonley’s concert (16 April, 2019). The season concludes with another Beethoven piano concerto, this time his first, performed by the captivating Behzod Abduraimov (22 May, 2019).
Do join us for what promises to be a thrilling musical journey!
To book tickets, visit www.englishchamberorchestra.co.uk/concerts
Ticket G roup Bookings
Group Bookings: To discuss group booking options for one or more of our concerts, please contact juliette.barber@englishchamberorchestra.co.uk Discounts for Schools: Thanks to the support of the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust, we are able to offer a number of subsidised concert tickets for schools. To register your interest, please contact juliette.barber@englishchamberorchestra.co.uk
Zacharias offers a masterclass of reason, temperament, imagination and integrity.”
Michael Collins plays (and conducts) them with an irresistible exuberance that I’ve not heard equalled.”
The Financial Times
Gramophone
Monday 29 October 2018, 7.30pm
Sunday 2 December 2018, 6.00pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Cadogan Hall
Known for his insightful interpretations, German master-pianist Christian Zacharias returns to work with the ECO as both soloist and conductor in works that perfectly showcase his artistry. He performs Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, a work that expresses the composer’s turbulent feelings towards his uncertain future through dramatic and melancholic melodies. Zacharias conducts a selection of movements from Beethoven’s enchanting ballet score The Creatures of Prometheus and Schoenberg’s innovative tone poem Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night), performed here in its orchestral version. This work is a favourite of the ECO, the orchestra having recorded it three times previously.
Beethoven Movements from The Creatures of Prometheus, Op.43 Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht, Op.4 (Orchestral version) Beethoven Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor, Op.37 Tickets: £15 - £45
Transaction fees apply: £3 online, £3.50 over the phone. No transaction fees for in-person bookings, Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles. The Orchestra is indebted to the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust for its invaluable support, without which this concert would not be possible.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk 020 3879 9555 Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX *See page 3 for group booking details
Christmas with Vivaldi - Michael Collins conductor Stephanie Gonley violin/director · Caroline Dale cello Harry Winstanley flute · Choir of the 21st Century with soloists Raphaela Papadakis and Lotte Betts-Dean
Photograph: Benjamin Ealovega
Photograph: Constanze Zacharias
Christian Zacharias piano/conductor
What better way to start your Christmas preparations than with an evening of Vivaldi? Be inspired by some of the most recognisable and uplifting melodies of Vivaldi’s Gloria as the ECO joins conductor Michael Collins and the Choir of the 21st Century; City Music Foundation artists Raphaela Papadakis and Lotte Betts-Dean are the soloists in this exciting work. Other highlights include 'The Goldfinch' flute concerto, with our principal flute Harry Winstanley as soloist, and Vivaldi's energetic violin concerto, 'La Tempesta di Mare' and 'Winter' from the Four Seasons, performed by Stephanie Gonley.
Vivaldi ‘Winter’ from the Four Seasons Vivaldi Concerto for Violin, Op.8 No.5, RV 253 ‘La Tempesta di Mare’ Vivaldi Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat major, RV 547 Vivaldi Concerto for Flute in D major, RV 428 ‘The Goldfinch’ Vivaldi Gloria in D major, RV 589 Tickets: £15 - £45
All bookings subject to a £3 transaction fee (no booking fees for ENCORE Members). The Orchestra is indebted to the English Chamber Orchestra and Music Society for its invaluable support, without which this concert would not be possible.
www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ *See page 3 for group booking details
She is energetic and charismatic alternatively stern and smiling with the players, frowning or mouthing out the expressions, flying her long hands like birds...”
Such an interesting new soloist in the world of flute has not existed for a very long time.”
The Scotsman
Saturday 16 March 2019, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall
Naxos
Tuesday 19 February, 7.30pm
Cadogan Hall
Ben Goldscheider horn Ben Johnson tenor Jessica Cottis conductor
After the international success of her recording of the Mozart and Mysliveček flute concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra, Ana de la Vega returns to the concert platform to perform two works from her album: Mozart’s D major Flute Concerto and the recently discovered flute concerto by Mysliveček, Mozart’s Bohemian contemporary. The concert opens with Grieg’s delightful Holberg Suite and closes with Tchaikovsky’s majestic Serenade for Strings, its first movement intended to imitate his beloved Mozart’s style.
Photograph: Kaupo Kikkas
Photograph: Andy Baker
Ana de la Vega flute Stephanie Gonley director
The ECO has a long tradition of promoting young artists and this concert features Ben Goldscheider, 2016 finalist of BBC Young Musician and BBC Music Magazine ‘Rising Star’. He is joined by the well-known tenor Ben Johnson, a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Both musicians feature in Britten’s much-loved Serenade, a work performed by the ECO at the 2013 Proms with none other than Ben Johnson as the soloist. Ravel’s exuberant Le Tombeau de Couperin, the Purcell/Britten Suite of Six Songs from Orpheus Britannicus and Stravinsky’s Baroque-inspired Pulcinella Suite complete the programme. Australian-born conductor Jessica Cottis brings her dynamism, intensity and clarity of vision to the performances.
Grieg Holberg Suite, Op.40 Mozart Flute Concerto in D major, K314 Mysliveček Flute Concerto in D major Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings in C major, Op.48
Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op.31 Purcell/Britten Suite of Six Songs from Orpheus Britannicus Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite
Tickets: £15 - £45
Tickets: £15 - £45
All bookings subject to a £3 transaction fee (no booking fees for ENCORE Members).
www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ *See page 3 for group booking details
All bookings subject to a £3 transaction fee (no booking fees for ENCORE Members). The Orchestra is indebted to the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust for its invaluable support, without which this concert would not be possible.
www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ *See page 3 for group booking details
This is a pianist who has it all: silky delicacy, mighty thunderpower, rare clarity and the ability to draw a remarkable variety of tonal colors from the instrument.”
The players’ silky ensemble, lithe articulation and feisty counterpointing of voices were due in no small part to the leadership of Stephanie Gonley”
Seattle Times
The Times
Tuesday 16 April 2019, 7.30pm
Wednesday 22 May 2019, 7.30pm
Stephanie Gonley violin/director
Behzod Abduraimov piano Stephanie Gonley director
Cadogan Hall
Violinist Stephanie Gonley has been the ECO’s much-loved leader since 1991 and the orchestra is delighted to welcome her as soloist and director in this varied programme. She performs Mendelssohn’s lesser-known D minor Violin Concerto, written when the composer was only 13 and reintroduced to the public by Yehudi Menuhin in the early 1950s, and Schubert’s virtuosic Rondo, a piece considered to be the composer’s concerted masterpiece. Bartók’s Divertimento, a work composed in just 15 days before the composer fled Europe for America, and Suk’s Serenade, the result of Dvorák telling him to write ‘something cheerful for a change’, complete the programme.
Bartók Divertimento for String Orchestra, Sz113 Mendelssohn Concerto for Violin in D minor Schubert Rondo in A major, D438 Suk Serenade for Strings in E flat major, Op.6 Tickets: £15 - £45
All bookings subject to a £3 transaction fee (no booking fees for ENCORE Members). The Orchestra is indebted to the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust for its invaluable support, without which this concert would not be possible.
www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ *See page 3 for group booking details
Photograph: Nissor Abdourazakov
Cadogan Hall
Uzbekistan-born Behzod Abduraimov continues his relationship with the ECO in this season finale. He brings his immense depth of musicality and phenomenal technique to Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, a work full of youthful energy that gives an unmistakable nod to Mozart. And it is Beethoven's hero, Mozart, who dominates the rest of the programme with his Rondo in D and the great 'Prague' Symphony No.38. Stephanie Gonley directs the orchestra in a concert that begins with Stravinsky's Concerto in D for string orchestra, one of his last tonal works and his first European commission after moving to America.
Stravinsky Concerto in D major for String Orchestra, 'Basle Concerto' Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, Op.15 Mozart Rondo for Piano and Orchestra in D major, K382 Mozart Symphony No.38 in D major, K504, ‘Prague’ Tickets: £15 - £45
All bookings subject to a £3 transaction fee (no booking fees for ENCORE Members). The Orchestra is indebted to the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust for its invaluable support, without which this concert would not be possible.
www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ *See page 3 for group booking details
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Photograph: ©ONURACIMAZ
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Thank you
The ECO is extremely grateful to all of its supporters, without whom this concert series would not be possible. We would like to thank in particular: English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust for its generous support of this concert series, which includes funding subsidised concert tickets for school pupils and students, English Chamber Orchestra and Music Society for its generous support of this concert series, our Orchestral Chair Patrons, including the Phair Family Foundation and those who have chosen to remain anonymous.
English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust, registered charity number 1071240.
ECO London Concert Series 2018/19
At Queen Elizabeth Hall and Cadogan Hall www.southbankcentre.co.uk 020 3879 9555 / www.cadoganhall.com 020 7730 4500
The orchestra is indebted to the generous support of its two charitable trusts, the English Chamber Orchestra Charitable Trust and the English Chamber Orchestra and Music Society. This information was correct at the time of printing. However, the English Chamber Orchestra reserves the right to substitute artists or change programme details if necessary.
Mon 29 Oct 2018, 7.30pm Christian Zacharias piano/conductor Beethoven / Schoenberg Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Sun 2 Dec 2018, 6.00pm Stephanie Gonley violin/director Michael Collins conductor Christmas with Vivaldi Cadogan Hall, London Tues 19 Feb 2019, 7.30pm Ana de la Vega flute Stephanie Gonley director Grieg / Mozart / Myslivecek / Tchaikovsky Cadogan Hall, London
Sat 16 Mar 2019, 7.30pm Ben Goldscheider horn Ben Johnson tenor Jessica Cottis conductor Ravel / Britten / Purcell / Stravinsky Cadogan Hall, London Tues 16 Apr 2019, 7.30pm Stephanie Gonley violin/director Bartรณk / Mendelssohn / Schubert / Suk Cadogan Hall, London Wed 22 May 2019, 7.30pm Behzod Abduraimov piano Stephanie Gonley director Stravinsky / Beethoven / Mozart Cadogan Hall, London