London Philharmonic Orchestra concert programme 14 March 2014 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

Concert programme 2013/14 season

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN Leader PIETER SCHOEMAN Composer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSON Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

JTI Friday Series Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Friday 14 March 2014 | 7.30pm

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor (27’) Interval Bruckner Symphony No. 3 in D minor (1889 version, ed. Nowak) (54’)

Stanisław Skrowaczewski conductor Benjamin Beilman violin Tonight’s concert is dedicated to the memory of Edmund Pirouet.

Free pre-concert performance 6.00–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Musicians from the LPO join students from London Music Masters’ innovative music education programme, the Bridge Project, for a musical celebration.

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Programme £3 Contents 2 Welcome LPO 2014/15 season 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader 6 Stanisław Skrowaczewski 7 Benjamin Beilman 8 Programme notes 11 Next concerts 12 Orchestra news 13 Edmund Pirouet 1933–2013 14 Catalyst: Double Your Donation 15 Supporters 16 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

Welcome

Welcome to Southbank Centre

LPO 2014/15 season now on sale

We hope you enjoy your visit. We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries please ask any member of staff for assistance.

Our 2014/15 season is now on sale: browse and book online at lpo.org.uk or call us on 020 7840 4242 to request a season brochure. Highlights of the new season include:

Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Concrete, Feng Sushi and Topolski, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery.

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A year-long festival, Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, exploring the composer’s major orchestral masterpieces including all the symphonies and piano concertos, alongside some of his lesser-known works.

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Appearances by today’s most sought-after artists including Maria João Pires, Christoph Eschenbach, Osmo Vänskä, Lars Vogt, Barbara Hannigan, Vasily Petrenko, Marin Alsop, Katia and Marielle Labèque and Robin Ticciati.

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Yannick Nézet-Séguin presents masterpieces by three great composers from the AustroGerman tradition: Brahms, Schubert and Richard Strauss.

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The UK premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s piano concerto Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless, performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance.

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RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended.

Soprano Barbara Hannigan joins Vladimir Jurowski and the Orchestra for a world premiere from our new Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg.

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Premieres too of a Violin Concerto by outgoing Composer in Residence Julian Anderson, a children’s work, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, by Colin Matthews, and a new piece for four horns by James Horner (a double-Oscar winner for his score to the film Titanic).

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Legendary pianist Menahem Pressler – a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio – joins Robin Ticciati to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.

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Choral highlights with the London Philharmonic Choir include Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles, Verdi’s Requiem, Rachmaninoff’s Spring and The Bells, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass.

If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 7960 4250, or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk We look forward to seeing you again soon. A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment: PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

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On stage tonight

First Violins Vesselin Gellev Leader Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine Craig Martin Höhmann Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Rebecca Shorrock Galina Tanney Caroline Sharp Robin Wilson Kokila Gillett Gavin Davies Francesca Smith Second Violins Annabelle Meare Guest Principal Jeongmin Kim Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Eugene Lee Imogen Williamson Helena Nicholls Ksenia Berezina Stephen Stewart

Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Robert Duncan Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter Laura Vallejo Daniel Cornford Isabel Pereira Sarah Malcolm Martin Fenn Helen Bevin Peter Norriss Stephen Gorringe

Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal

Cellos Josephine Knight Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Tom Roff Helen Rathbone Sibylle Hentschel Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Helen Rowlands Tom Walley Catherine Ricketts Laura Murphy

Chair supported by the Sharp Family

Stewart McIlwham*

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Ilid Jones

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Emily Meredith

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Bassoons Gareth Newman* Principal Simon Estell

* Holds a professorial appointment in London

Horns John Ryan* Principal David Pyatt* Principal

† Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair supported by Simon Robey

Martin Hobbs Duncan Fuller Gareth Mollison Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Andrew Davenport  Julian & Gill Simmonds

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The LPO are an orchestra on fire at the moment. Bachtrack.com, 2 October 2013, Royal Festival Hall: Vladimir Jurowski conducts Britten

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s finest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with its present-day position as one of the most dynamic and forward-looking orchestras in the UK. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own successful CD label, and enhances the lives of thousands of people every year through activities for schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the greatest names in the conducting world, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Principal Guest Conductor. Julian Anderson is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence. The Orchestra is based at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it has performed since 1951 and been Resident Orchestra since 1992. It gives around 40 concerts there each season with many of the world’s top conductors and soloists. 2013/14 highlights include a Britten centenary celebration with Vladimir Jurowski; world premieres of James MacMillan’s Viola 4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Concerto and Górecki’s Fourth Symphony; French repertoire with Yannick Nézet-Séguin including Poulenc, Dutilleux, Berlioz, and Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony; and two concerts of epic film scores. We welcome soloists including Evelyn Glennie, Mitsuko Uchida, Leif Ove Andsnes, Miloš Karadaglić, Renaud Capuçon, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Julia Fischer and Simon Trpčeski, and a distinguished line-up of conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Osmo Vänskä, Vasily Petrenko, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Stanisław Skrowaczewski. Throughout 2013 the Orchestra collaborated with Southbank Centre on the year-long festival The Rest Is Noise, exploring the influential works of the 20th century. Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring remains a large and vital part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights this season include visits to

Vesselin Gellev leader

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission and East is East to Hugo, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 75 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 with Vladimir Jurowski; Orff’s Carmina Burana with Hans Graf; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sarah Connolly and Toby Spence; and a disc of works by the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In summer 2012 the Orchestra was invited to take part in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, as well as being chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and audiences through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; fusion ensemble The Band; the Leverhulme Young Composers project; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Over recent years, digital advances and social media have enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people across the globe: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter. Find out more and get involved!

the USA, Moscow, Romania, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, France and Spain, and plans for 2014/15 include returns to many of the above plus visits to Turkey, Iceland, the USA (West and East Coast), Canada, China and Australia.

Vesselin Gellev was born in Bulgaria and has been a featured soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. As violinist of the Antares Quartet, he won First Prize at the 2002 Concert Artists Guild competition in New York. As Concertmaster of Kristjan Järvi’s Absolute Ensemble, a Grammy-nominated, genre-blending ‘classical band’, he has recorded several CDs; appeared in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Vienna Konzerthaus; and collaborated with many world-renowned artists as diverse as Paquito D’Rivera, Goran Bregovic, L. Subramaniam and the late Joe Zawinul. He has also performed as Guest Leader with orchestras including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 2012 he was invited to join the World Orchestra for Peace, founded by Sir Georg Solti. Vesselin received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School in New York and, prior to joining the LPO as Sub-Leader in 2007, held the position of Concertmaster with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy. He has led the LPO in numerous concerts and several recordings for the Orchestra’s own record label, most recently on the Official Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant CD in 2012. An avid chamber musician, Vesselin also performs regularly in the LPO’s Chamber Contrasts series at Wigmore Hall.

lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra

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Stanisław Skrowaczewski

conductor

Stanisław Skrowaczewski commands a rare position in the international musical scene, being both a renowned conductor and a highly regarded composer. He has conducted all the top orchestras during his long and distinguished career, and now in his 90th year, is the oldest working major conductor. Born in 1923 in Poland, Skrowaczewski began musical studies aged four; composed his first symphonic work at seven; gave his first public piano recital at 11; and two years later played and conducted Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. A hand injury during the war terminated his keyboard career, after which he concentrated on composing and conducting. In 1946 he became conductor of the Wrocław (Breslau) Philharmonic, and he later served as Music Director of the Katowice Philharmonic (1949–54), Kraków Philharmonic (1954–6) and Warsaw National Orchestra (1956–9). Skrowaczewski spent the immediate post-war years studying with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In 1948 he conducted the Paris premiere of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. After winning the 1956 International Competition for Conductors in Rome, he was invited by George Szell to make his American debut conducting the Cleveland Orchestra. This led to engagements with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony and Cincinnati Symphony orchestras and, in 1960, to his appointment as Music Director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (now the Minnesota Orchestra), a position he held for 19 years. During the 1960s he made his debuts with the London, Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras; the Los Angeles, Munich, Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; as well as with the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. From 1984 to 1991, Skrowaczewski was Principal Conductor of the Hallé, with whom he gave concerts

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throughout Europe and the USA and recorded extensively. In 2007 he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, for three highly successful seasons. Guest engagements continue to take Skrowaczewski across North America, Europe and Japan. Highlights of his 2013/14 season include opening the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra’s season at the Alte Oper, and returning to the Berlin Radio, Gothenburg and Galicia symphony orchestras. In July he makes a long-awaited return to The Cleveland Orchestra to conduct Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. He is currently Conductor Laureate of the Minnesota Orchestra, which he conducted in its much-anticipated ‘homecoming’ concerts in February 2014. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and Honorary Conductor Laureate of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, both of which he conducts each season. Still an active composer, Skrowaczewski’s works have recently been performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony, German Radio Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and Minnesota orchestras. His Concerto for Orchestra (1985) and Passacaglia Immaginaria (1995) were both nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The recipient of numerous accolades, Skrowaczewski is a Commander of Polonia Restituta with White Star, one of Poland’s highest decorations. He has six Honorary Doctorates, awarded most recently by the universities of Minnesota and Wrocław, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, Katowice. His interpretations of Bruckner have earned him the Bruckner Society of America’s Kilenyi Medal of Honor and the Gold Medal of the MahlerBruckner Society, and his programming of contemporary music at the Minnesota Orchestra was acknowledged with five ASCAP Awards. Of particular note within Skrowaczewski’s extensive discography are his complete recordings of Bruckner and Beethoven symphonies with the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra for Arte Nova Classics, which received enormous critical acclaim. A comprehensive account of Skrowaczewski’s life can be found in Seeking the Infinite: The Musical Life of Stanisław Skrowaczewski, by Frederick Harris Jr; it is available via seekingtheinfinite.com.

Benjamin Beilman

violin

Benjamin Beilman’s ‘handsome technique, burnished sound and quiet confidence showed why he has come so far so fast’ (The New York Times). The 24-year-old American violinist is the recipient of the prestigious 2014 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a 2012 Avery Fisher Career Grant and a 2012 London Music Masters Award. Tonight’s concert is Benjamin’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. This season he also makes his Carnegie Hall concerto debut playing the Barber concerto with the New York Youth Symphony in Stern Auditorium; other concerto debuts this season include appearances with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Philharmonic and the Greenville Symphony. He also makes his Carnegie Hall recital debut at Weill Hall in a programme that includes the premiere of a new work by David Ludwig, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Other recital highlights include appearances at the Louvre in Paris, the Zürich Tonhalle, the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, Washington, University of Florida Performing Arts, and Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series. Outside the USA Benjamin Beilman has appeared as soloist with the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra under Sir Neville Marriner; in Canada with L’Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal under Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra under Hans Graf, as well as in recital at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Festpiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany. In the USA he has appeared with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and performed Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto with the South Dakota and Glens Falls symphony orchestras. Past recital appearances include the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston; MusicFest Vancouver; and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois.

An avid chamber musician, Benjamin Beilman appears regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of CMS Two. He also appears as a guest artist at Music@Menlo, Bay Chamber Concerts, Music from Angel Fire and Chamber Music Northwest as well as at the Bridgehampton, Marlboro, Santa Fe, Seattle and Sedona Chamber Music festivals. He collaborates abroad at the Kronberg Academy in Frankfurt, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, and at the Young Concert Artists Festivals in Tokyo and Beijing. As First Prize winner at the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition and winner of the People’s Choice Award, Benjamin Beilman recorded Prokofiev’s complete sonatas for violin on the Analekta label in 2011. He won the Bronze Medal at the 2010 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis as well as prizes for the best Bach performance and Mozart sonata performance; First Prize in the 2009 Schmidbauer and Corpus Christi International competitions in Texas; and the Gold Medal at the Stulberg International String Competition. In 2010 he won First Prize in the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and YCA’s Helen Armstrong Violin Fellowship. In the USA he has been heard on National Public Radio’s ‘Performance Today’ and ‘From the Top’; on WQXR’s McGraw-Hill ‘Young Artists Showcase’; and Chicago WFMT’s ‘Impromptu’. Benjamin Beilman studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago; Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank at the Curtis Institute of Music; and Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy. He plays the Guarneri del Gesù, Cremona, 1735 ex-Mary Portman, on loan from Clement and Karen Arrison through the generous efforts of the Stradivari Society of Chicago. Benjamin’s appearance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra tonight is made possible through a London Music Masters Award. As an Award Holder, Benjamin receives high-profile performance opportunities as well as mentoring and career guidance from important members of the music industry including Gillian Moore, Head of Classical Music at Southbank Centre and Timothy Walker, Chief Executive & Artistic Director of the LPO. Benjamin also works with children participating in the Bridge Project, LMM’s long-term music education initiative delivered in inner-city primary schools, acting as an inspirational role model. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread Both Felix Mendelssohn and Anton Bruckner agonised for long years over the works in this concert, and both needed the advice and encouragement of friends to bring their scores to completion. Listening to Mendelssohn’s glorious Violin Concerto, one would never guess that it gave him such trouble. From the long, exquisite and supremely confident opening melody it sounds like the work of a composer who knows that he is giving the world a masterpiece. Generously tuneful, full of romantic poetry, it is also original and innovatory: the soloist scorns ‘classical’ tradition by holding sway right from the start,

Felix Mendelssohn

and the three movements, though quite distinct, are ingeniously linked, so that the Concerto flows ever onwards like a continuously unfolding story. Bruckner’s Third Symphony is a work of exploration. From its mysterious, atmospheric beginning we sense a composer standing on the threshold of new worlds. Here we encounter extreme, sometimes abrupt contrasts: tender lyricism and lively dance music alternate with granite-like full-orchestral fortissimos or sudden mysterious stillness. But in the end, the light Bruckner searches for blazes forth majestically.

Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 Benjamin Beilman violin

1809–47

1 Allegro molto appassionato – 2 Andante – 3 Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

When Mendelssohn first conceived the idea of writing this magnificent Violin Concerto he was approaching 30, with long experience of composing behind him. His first masterpieces, the Octet for strings and the overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream, date from his middle-tolate teens, and there had been many successes since then. So one would have thought that, once he had got the beginning in his mind, the rest would have been plain sailing.

the Violin Concerto took him another six years, during which he sent off letter after letter to David, seeking, sometimes imploring his advice. Soon Mendelssohn had drawn in another leading composer and conductor, the Dane Niels Gade: ‘Please show Gade this passage in the score’, runs one anguished communication, ‘and ask him for his opinion. Please don’t laugh at me too much! I’m truly ashamed of myself, but I can’t help it. I’m just groping around here.’

In fact it was a very different story. In 1838 Mendelssohn wrote to his friend the violinist Ferdinand David, ‘I should like to write a Violin Concerto for you for next winter. One in E minor is running round in my head, the beginning of which gives me no peace.’ Understandably David was encouraging – the prospect of being entrusted with the first performance of a concerto by one of Europe’s most famous composers would have been an appetising prospect. But despite this, Mendelssohn continued to struggle. Completing

David’s input went further than simply advising Mendelssohn. He may even have composed part of the first movement’s solo cadenza for him. In the end however, David’s help, plus his promise to play the new work ‘so that the angels in heaven will rejoice’, gave Mendelssohn the boost he needed to finish the score. David seems to have been as good as his word. The Concerto’s premiere in March 1845, in Leipzig’s famous Gewandhaus concert hall, was a triumph. Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto was accepted as one of

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the gems of the concerto repertoire, and its reputation has remained secure ever since.

at the very end of the movement does the orchestra seize the stage for the emphatic final chords.

From the music alone, you would never guess that Mendlessohn had suffered such agonies of selfdoubt. The Concerto’s famous opening is not only very beautiful and superbly conceived for the violin, it imperiously scorns concerto tradition. Before this work – and for some time afterwards – it was usual for a concerto to begin with a substantial introduction for orchestra alone, the soloist making his or her entry once the main themes had been established. Beethoven had startled and delighted audiences by bringing in the solo piano at the very beginning of his Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, but in each case the orchestra follows in its traditional role of presenting the leading ideas before the soloist eventually returns. In Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, however, the soloist sweeps straight in with a long, soaring melody. The orchestra leads in the dramatic first climax, but the violin quickly returns to lead seamlessly into the sweetly meditative second theme – woodwind first, but quickly taken up by the soloist. The violin is never silent for very long, and only

Or at least they sound final – for a moment. But a solo bassoon hangs on to one note, bends it upwards a semitone, then woodwind and strings lead straight into the slow movement, Andante. This begins with another glorious long melody, and despite stern challenges from trumpets and timpani, the sense of continuously unfolding instrumental song is sustained right through to the end. Once again, however, the effect of finality is illusory. No sooner has the last chord sounded than the violin starts again with a wistful new idea, in a slightly faster tempo, Allegretto non troppo. Is this the finale, or are we still in the slow movement? There’s a moment of teasing uncertainty, then the finale proper races into action, Allegro molto vivace, with brass fanfares answered eagerly by the violin. Again the soloist is rarely silent, leading the display of technical fireworks through to an exhilarating conclusion – the first real ending in the whole Concerto – with soloist and orchestra now in joyful accord.

Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.

Anton Bruckner 1824–96

Bruckner’s tendency to revise his major works – sometimes over and over again – is notorious. It creates a nightmare for scholars, conductors and listeners alike. Bruckner’s Third Symphony, however, has the dubious distinction of being his most-revised work – one current estimate is that there are as many as eight authentic versions. Obsessive perfectionism may be one reason why Bruckner was unable to leave his scores well alone. But the Third Symphony’s catastrophic

Symphony No. 3 in D minor (1889 version, ed. Nowak) 1 2 3 4

Sehr langsam, misterioso [Very slow, Mysterious] Adagio. Bewegt [with movement], quasi Andante Scherzo. Ziemlich schnell [Quite fast] – Trio – Scherzo Finale. Allegro

premiere, in December 1877, clearly shook this nervous, often under-confident man to the core. Despite strong resistance, the conductor Johann Herbeck had managed to persuade the Vienna Philharmonic to play the Symphony. But when Herbeck died suddenly, Bruckner had to step into the breach. The orchestra was uncooperative (to say the least), and the Symphony’s effusive dedication to Bruckner’s idol Wagner probably turned most of the conservative Viennese press

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Programme notes continued

against him in advance. During the performance the hall gradually emptied until, at the end, only a couple of dozen supporters were left. As Bruckner turned to acknowledge their determined applause, the orchestra got up and walked off the platform. As his friends tried to console him Bruckner is said to have shouted, ‘Oh, leave me alone, they don’t want anything of mine.’ Yet despite this humiliating public failure, Bruckner never fully lost faith in his artistic vocation. An intensely devout Roman Catholic, he believed his talent was God-given, and that it was his duty to use it in his own very individual way. As he once told a friend: ‘People say I should compose differently. I could, but I mustn’t.’ In fact Bruckner held to the architectural plan laid out in the Third Symphony in almost all his later symphonies. His symphonies are sometimes described as ‘cathedrals in sound’. All medieval cathedrals are based on the same cross-wise ground plan, with important features situated in more or less the same places. But no-one would seriously claim that Durham, York Minster and Chartres were effectively the same building in three different locations. Much the same could be said about Bruckner’s symphonies. Like most of Bruckner’s other symphonies, No. 3 begins with an expectant hush: in this case a cluster of misty string figurations. For a moment or two the interior of this cathedral remains shadowy, mysterious. A trumpet then sounds the main theme – the theme that made such a powerful impression on Wagner when Bruckner took him the first version of the score in 1873. A long crescendo builds from this, culminating in a massive unison theme for full orchestra. Bruckner clearly has the beginning of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the back of his mind; but the effect is quite different. In the Beethoven there is a growing sense of headlong, tragic momentum. With Bruckner, no matter how agitated the music may seem on the surface, the underlying pace is usually slow. Stay with Bruckner, however, and patience is always rewarded.

This first movement has three main themes: the ‘Wagner’ trumpet motif; a warmly harmonised tune for strings in Bruckner’s favourite ‘ONE–two–three ONE–two’ rhythm; and a massive unison figure for full orchestra with the three-plus-two rhythm reversed. The so-called ‘development’ examines these themes at length. Then all three themes return in full, before the ominous final crescendo (a return of the misty opening figures over a repeated falling bass figure) leads to a massive conclusion. The Adagio slow movement is also dominated by three themes: a hushed, noble tune for strings, a long melody introduced by violas (in three-time), and a quietly dignified, slow-dance-like figure for strings, apparently composed in memory of Bruckner’s mother – a strongminded, musical woman, prone (like her son) to deep depression. This slow movement eventually builds to a powerful climax, but at its height it breaks off and mystery returns. At one point, hushed shimmering strings recall the dissolving harmonies of Brünnhilde’s ‘Magic Sleep’ motif from Wagner’s Valkyrie, but the touching simplicity of the ending is pure Bruckner. Both the Scherzo and its central trio section are pervaded by the characteristic rhythms and melodic shapes of the dance music of Bruckner’s native Upper Austria – especially the Ländler, country cousin of the sophisticated Viennese waltz. As a young man Bruckner had often supplemented his meagre teacher’s salary by playing this kind of music in village bands. The Finale begins with a surging Allegro, a bit like a ferocious cavalry charge. But after two big crescendo waves the tempo drops and the second theme fuses a polka-like tune (strings) with a solemn wind chorale. ‘That’s life’, Bruckner told a friend. ‘That’s what I wanted to show in my Third Symphony. The polka represents the fun and joy in the world, the chorale its sadness and pain.’ At the end it is joy that triumphs: a blazing brass fanfare cuts through turbulent string figures, then the trumpet theme of the Symphony’s opening returns to flood this ‘cathedral in sound’ in daylight. Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

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Next LPO concerts at Royal Festival Hall

Wednesday 19 March 2014 | 7.30pm Mozart Symphony No. 38 (Prague) R Strauss Burleske J S Bach Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052 R Strauss Death and Transfiguration David Zinman conductor Emanuel Ax piano

Wednesday 26 March 2014 | 7.30pm Poulenc Organ Concerto Berlioz Les nuits d’été Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Sarah Connolly mezzo soprano* James O’Donnell organ This concert is supported by Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française. * Sarah Connolly has replaced Anna Caterina Antonacci for scheduling reasons.

Free pre-concert discussion 6.00–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall William McVicker and guests discuss the restoration of the Royal Festival Hall organ.

Friday 28 March 2014 | 7.30pm JTI Friday Series Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 Mahler Symphony No. 9 Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Nicholas Angelich piano

Wednesday 9 April 2014 | 7.30pm Schumann Violin Concerto Bruckner Symphony No. 8 (Haas edition) Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Renaud Capuçon violin

Saturday 12 April 2014 | 7.30pm Tansman Stèle in memoriam Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky Violin Concerto Górecki Symphony No. 4 (Tansman Episodes) (world premiere) Andrey Boreyko conductor Julian Rachlin violin Free pre-concert discussion 6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Renowned Górecki expert, Professor Adrian Thomas, discusses the world premiere of Symphony No. 4.

Booking details Tickets £9–£39 (premium seats £65) London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Monday–Friday 10.00am–5.00pm | lpo.org.uk Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone

Southbank Centre Ticket Office 0844 847 9920 Daily 9.00am–8.00pm | southbankcentre.co.uk Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone | No transaction fee for bookings made in person

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Orchestra news

Glyndebourne Festival 2014

New CD release: Carmina Burana

Tickets for Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s 80th anniversary season are now on sale. The season, which opens on 17 May 2014 and runs until 24 August, also marks the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 50th anniversary as Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne.

This month’s release on the LPO Label is Orff’s Carmina Burana conducted by Hans Graf (LPO-0076). It was recorded live in concert at Royal Festival Hall on 6 April 2013, as part of Southbank Centre’s yearlong The Rest Is Noise festival, and features the London Philharmonic Choir and soloists Sarah Tynan, Andrew Kennedy and Rodion Pogossov.

This summer the Orchestra will give performances of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier under the Festival’s new Music Director Robin Ticciati; Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin under Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber in his Glyndebourne debut; Mozart’s Don Giovanni under Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor from 2015, also making his Glyndebourne debut; and Verdi’s La traviata under Sir Mark Elder. Browse the full performance schedule and buy tickets online at glyndebourne.com or call the Box Office on 01273 813813.

The Rest Is Noise wins Sky Arts Award We are delighted at the recent news that The Rest Is Noise, Southbank Centre’s 2013 festival of 20thcentury music, was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Classical Award. As the major orchestral partner of The Rest Is Noise, the LPO dedicated our entire 2013 programme to chronologically charting some of the most influential works of the 20th century, whilst exploring the political and social contexts that gave rise to these great pieces. It was a truly exciting project to be a part of and we are thrilled with the news of the award.

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Priced £9.99, the CD is also available from lpo.org.uk/shop (where you can listen to soundclips before you buy), the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD retailers. Alternatively you can download it from iTunes, Amazon and others, or stream via Spotify.

Spring tours Last month the Orchestra, along with Glyndebourne Festival Opera soloists and chorus under Sir Mark Elder, took Britten’s Billy Budd to New York for four performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The production received rave reviews in the press, with the New York Times critic describing it as ‘one of the most memorable performances I have seen in opera’. Earlier this month Vladimir Jurowski and the Orchestra made a whistlestop visit to Paris to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, following the Royal Festival Hall performance on 1 March. Still to come this spring are visits to Dortmund in Germany with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and pianist Nicholas Angelich at the end of this month, and Moscow for a performance of Britten’s War Requiem on 4 April. This is part of the UK-Russia Year of Culture, an initiative showcasing the best of each country’s cultural heritage during 2014.

Edmund Pirouet 1933â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2013 The Orchestra was saddened to learn of the death in December of its former archivist, Edmund Pirouet. Edmund started his working life in the Post Office and, when British Telecommunications was established as a separate entity, he was asked to set up and manage its central Treasury operation. He served as head of the Treasury Division until his retirement.

continued undiminished and he was always happy to expand on any part of our history in articles for our programmes and magazines. No query on historical matters that the office or players had for him was too much trouble. In a day or two, back would come an eloquent, detailed reply. On retiring from his duties as archivist at the end of the 2010/11 season Edmund was appointed an Honorary Life Member of the Orchestra, one of a very select group of only five. He was also a Benefactor of the Orchestra and he and his wife, Gillian, continued to enjoy attending concerts and meeting players and staff. We will miss Edmund very much and offer our condolences to his wife and family. Tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concert is dedicated to his memory.

At the same time, Edmund harboured a deeply felt love of music. He first heard the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the early post-war years when it performed throughout the suburbs of London and around the country, retaining from those days a special regard for this orchestra. He continued to attend LPO concerts, and with him came grateful music lovers from his home town of Ashtead for whom he personally organised trips to Royal Festival Hall. Over the years, Edmund became involved with the Orchestra's Audience Committee, offering valuable feedback from himself and his Ashtead group. In the 1990s, Edmund approached the Orchestra with a view to writing a book on its history and, with the willing co-operation of its players and administrative staff, set about delving into the archives. The result of several years of diligent research produced a comprehensive, informative book, Heard Melodies Are Sweet, chronicling the history of the LPO from its inception in 1932 up to the date of publication in 1998. It also includes much interesting historical information on the somewhat chaotic orchestral music scene that existed in London and the UK in the early 1930s, a sort of pre-history of the LPO. In 1997, with the knowledge gained from his work on the book, Edmund became the Orchestra's Honorary Archivist. His work was invaluable and we will always be extremely grateful for the huge amount of time and effort he put into computerising details of our concerts, programmes, tours, personnel, etc. His enthusiasm London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

Catalyst: Double Your Donation

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is building its first ever endowment fund, which will support the most exciting artistic collaborations with its partner venues here in London and around the country. Thanks to a generous grant pledge from Arts Council England’s Catalyst programme, the Orchestra is able to double the value of all gifts from new donors up to a maximum value of £1 million. Any additional gifts from existing generous donors will also be matched. By the end of the campaign we aim to have created an endowment with a value of £2 million which will help us work with partners to provide a funding injection for activities across the many areas of the Orchestra’s work, including: • More visionary artistic projects like The Rest Is Noise at Southbank Centre • Educational and outreach activities for young Londoners like this year’s Noye’s Fludde performance project • Increased touring to venues around the UK that might not otherwise have access to great orchestral music To give, call Development Director Nick Jackman on 020 7840 4211, email support@lpo.org.uk or visit www.lpo.org.uk/support/double-your-donation.html

Catalyst Endowment Donors Masur Circle Arts Council England Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Sharp Family The Underwood Trust Welser-Möst Circle John Ireland Charitable Trust Tennstedt Circle Simon Robey The late Mr K Twyman Solti Patrons Anonymous Suzanne Goodman The Rothschild Foundation Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Haitink Patrons Lady Jane Berrill Moya Greene Tony and Susie Hayes Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Diana and Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Ruth Rattenbury

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Sir Bernard Rix TFS Loans Limited The Tsukanov Family Foundation Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Anonymous Linda Blackstone Michael Blackstone Yan Bonduelle Richard and Jo Brass Britten-Pears Foundation Desmond & Ruth Cecil Lady June Chichester Lindka Cierach Mr Alistair Corbett Mark Damazer David Dennis Bill & Lisa Dodd Mr David Edgecombe David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Ffion Hague Rebecca Halford Harrison Michael & Christine Henry Honeymead Arts Trust

John Hunter Ivan Hurry Tanya Kornilova Howard & Marilyn Levene Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Geoff & Meg Mann Ulrike Mansel Marsh Christian Trust John Montgomery Rosemary Morgan John Owen Edmund Pirouet Mr Michael Posen John Priestland Tim Slorick Howard Snell Stanley Stecker Lady Marina Vaizey Helen Walker Laurence Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Victoria Yanakova Mr Anthony Yolland

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group The Tsukanov Family Foundation Anonymous William and Alex de Winton Simon Robey The Sharp Family Julian & Gill Simmonds Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans

Mr Daniel Goldstein Don Kelly & Ann Wood Peter MacDonald Eggers Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr Maxwell Morrison Mr Michael Posen Mr & Mrs Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mrs A Beare David & Patricia Buck Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Edgecombe Mr Richard Fernyhough Ken Follett Tony & Susan Hayes Michael & Christine Henry Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha Per Jonsson

Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills John Montgomery Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Martin and Cheryl Southgate Professor John Studd Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Laurie Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Bill Yoe and others who wish to remain anonymous Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members

Trusts and Foundations

Silver: AREVA UK Berenberg Bank British American Business Carter-Ruck Thomas Eggar LLP

Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Ambache Charitable Trust Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust Britten-Pears Foundation The Candide Trust The Ernest Cook Trust The Coutts Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Embassy of Spain, Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs The Equitable Charitable Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Hinrichsen Foundation The Hobson Charity The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust Marsh Christian Trust

Bronze: Lisa Bolgar Smith and Felix Appelbe of Ambrose Appelbe Appleyard & Trew LLP Berkeley Law Charles Russell Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Sela / Tilley’s Sweets

The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française Polish Cultural Institute in London PRS for Music Foundation The R K Charitable Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Schroder Charity Trust Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust The Steel Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust Youth Music and others who wish to remain anonymous London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration

Board of Directors Victoria Sharp Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Vesselin Gellev* Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann* George Peniston* Sir Bernard Rix Kevin Rundell* Julian Simmonds Mark Templeton* Natasha Tsukanova Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich Dr Manon Williams

Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Sharp Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Chief Executive Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director Finance David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager Concert Management

* Player-Director

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Advisory Council

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Victoria Sharp Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Martin Southgate Sir Philip Thomas Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Elizabeth Winter American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. Jenny Ireland Co-Chairman William A. Kerr Co-Chairman Kyung-Wha Chung Alexandra Jupin Dr. Felisa B. Kaplan Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Dr. Joseph Mulvehill Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman

Orchestra Personnel

Public Relations

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share)