London Philharmonic Orchestra Brighton programme 22 Mar 2014

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Brighton Dome 2013/14 season Concert programme

Brighton cover 13-14.indd 1

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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

Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 22 March 2014 | 7.30pm

Wagner Siegfried Idyll (17’) Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor (23’) Interval Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor (47’)

Programme £2.50 Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12

Welcome 2014/15 season About the Orchestra / Leader On stage tonight Joseph Swensen Liza Ferschtman Programme notes Tchaikovsky on the LPO Label Supporters LPO administration

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

Joseph Swensen conductor Liza Ferschtman violin

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIGHTON DOME

Ticket Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org


Welcome

Welcome to Brighton Dome Chief Executive Andrew Comben We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit to Brighton Dome. For your comfort and safety, please note the following: LATECOMERS may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks. SMOKING Brighton Dome is a no-smoking venue. INTERVAL DRINKS may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues.

Now on sale: 2014/15 London Philharmonic Orchestra season Booking is now open for our 2014/15 season at Brighton Dome. Pick up a season brochure as you leave the concert tonight, call 020 7840 4242 to request a copy, or browse the season online at lpo.org.uk/brighton Saturday 27 September 2014 | 7.30pm Rachmaninoff The Isle of the Dead Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Elena Tanski violin

RECORDING is not allowed in the auditorium.

Saturday 29 November 2014 | 7.30pm

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium.

Beethoven Violin Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 1

Thank you for your co-operation.

Aziz Shokhakimov conductor Dmitri Berlinsky violin Saturday 17 January 2015 | 7.30pm

The concert at Brighton Dome on 22 March 2014 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with assistance from Brighton Dome.

Humperdinck Prelude, Hansel and Gretel Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 Dvořák Symphony No. 8 Rory Macdonald conductor Lambis Vassiliadis piano Saturday 28 March 2015 | 7.30pm

Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England. Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org brightonfestival.org

Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet (Fantasy Overture) Elgar Cello Concerto Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Jaime Martín conductor Andreas Brantelid cello Tickets £10–£27.50 (Premium seats £32.50) Box Office 01273 709709 Book online at brightondome.org Transaction fee: £2.25 for telephone bookings, £1.75 for web bookings, no fee for booking in person

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra


London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It also has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer it plays for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for 50 years. The Orchestra also regularly tours abroad: highlights this season include visits to 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. In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It has made many distinguished recordings over the last eight decades and in 2005 began releasing live, studio and archive recordings on its own label. There are now over 70 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Orff’s Carmina Burana with Hans Graf, Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 with Vladimir Jurowski, and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sarah Connolly and Toby Spence. Find out more and get involved! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra

leader

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. © Patrick Harrison

Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then, its Principal Conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and in 2008 Yannick Nézet-Séguin was appointed Principal Guest Conductor.

Pieter Schoeman

Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning numerous competitions including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in the US. In 1987 he was offered the Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman, who recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. In 1994 he became her teaching assistant at Indiana University, Bloomington. Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chamber musician he regularly performs at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. As a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pieter has performed Arvo Pärt’s Double Concerto with Boris Garlitsky, Brahms’s Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the Orchestra’s own record label to great critical acclaim. He has recorded numerous violin solos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos, Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American film and television, and led the Orchestra in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. Pieter is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3


On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Ilyoung Chae Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

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

Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Galina Tanney Maeve Jenkinson Catherine van de Geest Anna Croad John Dickinson Gavin Davies Second Violins Jeongmin Kim Principal Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Alison Strange Harry Kerr Sheila Law Elizabeth Baldey

Violas Gregory Aronovich Principal Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter Helen Bevin Miriam Eisele Karin Norlen Peter Norriss Stephen Gorringe Cellos Francis Bucknall Principal Elisabeth Wiklander Santiago Carvalho† Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Sibylle Hentschel David Bucknall Double Basses George Peniston Principal Catherine Ricketts Charlotte Kerbegian Billy Cole Jeremy Watt Christina Cooper

Flutes Harry Winstanley Guest Principal Hannah Grayson Katie Bicknell Piccolo Katie Bicknell Oboes Gareth Hulse Guest Principal Katie Bennington Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Paul Richards Bassoons Gareth Newman* Principal Simon Estell Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Simon Robey

Trumpets Nicholas Betts Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Daniel Newell Trombones David Whitehouse Principal Duncan Wilson Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal * Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

John Ryan* Principal Tim Ball Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison

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

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra


Joseph Swensen

© Jack Dine

conductor

Joseph Swensen currently holds the post of Conductor Emeritus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and is Co-Founder/Director of Habitat4Music. He was Principal Guest Conductor & Artistic Advisor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris from 2009–12. Previous positions include Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1996–2005), Malmö Opera (2008–11), Lahti Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He also enjoys long-established relationships with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (with whom he recently completed a Mahler cycle and has embarked upon a Bruckner cycle), the London Mozart Players, and the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, among others. As Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Joseph Swensen toured extensively with the Orchestra, performing at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals, the BBC Proms, London’s Barbican and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Under Swensen’s baton, the Malmö Opera became one of Sweden’s leading opera companies. There he conducted highly acclaimed productions of Salome, La bohème, La traviata, Macbeth, Vanessa, Dialogues of the Carmelites, La fanciulla del West and Madam Butterfly, among others. In addition to his conducting engagements, Joseph Swensen has recently returned to the concert platform as a violin soloist. Formerly an exclusive recording artist with BMG Classics, his recordings of the Beethoven and Sibelius concertos in particular (with André Previn and Jukka-Pekka Saraste respectively) were well-received. More recently his series of recordings with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for Linn Records, directing the Brahms, Mendelssohn, Sibelius and Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concertos from the violin, were internationally acclaimed. With a keen interest in the art of playerdirecting, Joseph Swensen created the ‘Paris Play-Direct Academy’: a week-long course for talented young soloists that took place in 2011 and again in 2013. Since

autumn 2013 he has been Visiting Professor of Music (violin) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Chamber music also plays an essential part in Joseph Swensen’s music-making. He is a member of the newly formed piano trio ‘KahaneSwensenBrey’ with American pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane and cellist Carter Brey, and also appears in a violin/piano duo with Jeffrey Kahane. As a composer, Joseph Swensen’s most important works include Mantram (1998) for string orchestra, Latif (1999) for solo cello with chamber ensemble, Shizue (2001) for solo shakuhachi (a type of Japanese flute) and orchestra, and the Sinfonia-Concertante for Horn and Orchestra (The Fire and the Rose) (2008). His orchestration of the rarely performed 1854 version of Brahms’s Trio Op. 8, a work Swensen has entitled Sinfonia in B, has been performed by orchestras in Europe and the USA since its premiere in 2007. In 2012 the world premiere recording of Sinfonia in B was released on Signum Records, along with orchestrations by Swensen of works originally for violin and piano by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Brahms. Joseph Swensen and his partner Victoria Eisen are the co-founders and co-directors of Habitat4Music, an organisation that connects highly qualified, passionate young American-trained classical musicians with children living in challenged areas across the world. Their goal is to use the power of long-term, committed, participatory music education and classical music programmes to inspire and bring together individuals and communities. Joseph Swensen was born in 1960 in Hoboken, New Jersey, to a Japanese-American mother and a Norwegian-American father, both of whom are professional musicians. He grew up in Harlem, New York City, and now makes his homes in Bloomington and Vermont (USA) and in Copenhagen.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5


Liza Ferschtman

© Marco Borggreve

violin

Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman is known for her passionate performances, interesting programmes and communicative qualities on stage. She is equally at home in concerto performances, chamber music and solo recitals. In 2006 she received the highest accolade awarded to a musician in the Netherlands, the Dutch Music Prize. Liza has worked with all the major Dutch orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Internationally, she has appeared as soloist with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the European Union Youth Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Prague Radio Symphony, Malmö Symphony, Malaysian Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic and Schleswig-Holstein Festival orchestras. Conductors with whom she has appeared include Stefan Blunier, Frans Brüggen, Christoph von Dohnányi, Claus Peter Flor, Neeme Järvi, Yakov Kreizberg, Zdeněk Mácal, Jun Märkl, Gianandrea Noseda, Marc Soustrot, Leonard Slatkin, Thomas Søndergård, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Mario Venzago and Jaap van Zweden An avid chamber musician, Liza Ferschtman has collaborated regularly with artists including Jonathan Biss, Alisa Weilerstein, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Nobuko Imai, Lars Anders Tomter and Christian Poltéra, and counts among her duo partners the pianists Enrico Pace and Inon Barnatan. In addition to appearances at numerous international chamber music festivals, she has performed at venues such as the Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, the Brahms Saal at the Vienna Musikverein and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Since 2007 Liza Ferschtman has been Artistic Director of the Delft Chamber Music Festival in the Netherlands. During her tenure, the Festival has become widely renowned for its adventurous programming and

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dynamic performances by artists from around the globe. Liza’s recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the Romances was received with great critical acclaim, as were her recordings of concertos by Dvořák and the German-Dutch composer Julius Röntgen; solo works by Bach and Ysaÿe (chosen as CD of the Month by The Strad magazine); and duo works by Beethoven and Schubert. Her next CD will be a disc of solo works by Bach, Biber, Bartók and Berio, released next month on the Challenge label. In the coming seasons Liza will make her debuts with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Bremen and Essen Philharmonic orchestras, Staatskapelle Weimar, Symphony Orchestra of Flanders, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. She will return to the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra (The Hague), National Orchestra of Belgium and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. A frequent guest at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, she will appear in both its halls several times in the coming seasons. 2013 was marked by a remarkable debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer in Bernstein’s Serenade, stepping in at short notice for a five-city tour that included New York, Montreal and Budapest. Other highlights of last season were the performance of Bach’s complete solo works at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, as well as playing and leading Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Born into a family of Russian musicians, Liza Ferschtman was constantly surrounded by music. One of her earliest major influences was the violinist Philippe Hirschhorn, a close family friend. She received her formal training from Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and David Takeno in London.


Programme notes

Speedread The luxurious serenity of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll seems worlds away from the turbulent, impassioned drama of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Yet the music of both is connected with the idea of ‘fate’. A theme representing fate, dark and funereal in tone, haunts Tchaikovsky’s Symphony, yet the music wins through to thrilling affirmation in the end: can we be reconciled with, even embrace our own dark shadows? Wagner’s great Ring Cycle is an epic depiction of fate in action, and the music for his orchestral Siegfried Idyll derives from themes

Richard Wagner

associated with the Ring’s hero, Siegfried. But from those themes Wagner wove a tender, intimate depiction of the domestic happiness he found with his wife Cosima and newborn son, Siegfried – for Wagner a long-desired escape from his own fatalistic preoccupations. Between these comes Max Bruch’s famous First Violin Concerto: stormy in its first movement, exquisitely songful in its second, and brilliant in its virtuoso finale. Alas, it was Bruch’s fate never to profit from its runaway success.

Siegfried Idyll

1813–83

Given the immense dimensions of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen – about 14 hours of music in total – it seems almost masochistic to suggest that there’s potential for more development. But as Richard Wagner was completing his opera Siegfried, the third instalment of his four-part Ring Cycle, he realised exactly that. And the result is one of his most touching musical creations, Siegfried Idyll, a work whose appeal reaches to many who find the Ring itself eminently resistible. Wagner took themes from the love duet in Act III of Siegfried, and from the magical forest section of Act II, and wove them into a beautiful, intimate chamber work. The first performance must have been one of the most delightful surprise birthday presents in music history. On Christmas Day 1870, Wagner’s wife Cosima awoke to hear an ensemble of 13 instruments playing Siegfried Idyll on the stairs of the Wagners’ villa, Tribschen, near Lucerne in Switzerland.

The work’s original full title was ‘Tribschen Idyll with Fidi’s birdsong and the orange sunrise, as a symphonic birthday greeting, presented to his Cosima by her Richard’ – hardly catchy, but then Wagner never meant Siegfried Idyll to catch on. Ideally he would have kept it private, and it was only when financial pressures mounted that he agreed to sell it to a publisher in 1878. Shrewdly he also expanded the orchestration to make it more marketable. ‘Fidi’ in that long original title was the couple’s recently born son Siegfried, the ‘birdsong’ and ‘orange sunrise’ being private references which Wagner only partly explained later on – the true significance can only be guessed at, though the birdcall-like trumpet figure at the climax is another reference to Siegfried’s forest music in the opera. Wagner also quotes a German lullaby, ‘Sleep, little child, sleep’ – it appears on the oboe, with a very simple, delicate string accompaniment. That hardly needs explaining, nor does the tender serenity of the closing pages.

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Programme notes continued

Max Bruch 1838–1920

It would be good to think that Max Bruch derived some solid financial gain from the huge popularity of his First Violin Concerto. Sadly, the opposite is true. Bruch wrote the Concerto in 1866, when he was 28. He clearly realised that it needed more work, so he took the inspired decision to consult the leading virtuoso Joseph Joachim, who was later to play such an important part in helping his friend Brahms refine and enrich the solo part in his own famous Violin Concerto. Joachim gave the premiere of the revised Bruch Concerto in 1868, where it brought the composer his first big and enduring success. Unwisely Bruch then sold it to the publisher Cranz for a one-off payment, which meant that for years he had to endure seeing the work appear on concert billings all over the world, eclipsing most of his later works, whilst the takings went elsewhere. At the end of the First World War, when he was pitifully short of money, Bruch tried to raise some cash by offering his copy of the manuscript for sale in America, but he died without receiving a penny. Just as saddening is the thought that Bruch was unable to take pride in the success of his G minor Violin Concerto, because it really is an outstandingly beautiful and original work. Bruch calls his first movement

Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor, Op. 26 Liza Ferschtman violin 1 Vorspiel [Prelude]: Allegro moderato 2 Adagio 3 Finale: Allegro energico

Vorspiel – ‘Prelude’ – and its role is, in many ways, preparatory. The opening is hushed, expectant, with the violin emerging with a series of improvisatory phrases, gradually growing in strength. A dark, turbulent Allegro movement emerges from this. There is a gentler, contrasting middle section, but the storm builds again. As this reaches its climax we might expect a full ‘recapitulation’, bringing back both main themes and leading to a virtuosic conclusion. Instead the violin sweeps upwards into a powerful, impassioned outburst for full orchestra, and we sense the scene changing. As the tempo slows to Adagio, the violin enters with a long-breathed, exquisite melody. This is the Concerto’s ‘Big Tune’, and we can now sense that the first movement has in fact been a preparation for this moment, and for the beautifully judged meditation on this melody that follows. The Finale moves on very effectively from the Adagio’s serene ending. Nervously excited at first, it quickly gains in strength until the violin sweeps in with a majestic virtuosic theme. If the slow movement was the great lyrical flowering we had been waiting for, the Finale brings the full explosion of technical display anticipated in that ‘Prelude’ first movement, building to a rousing conclusion.

Interval – 20 minutes A bell will be rung a few minutes before the end of the interval.

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93

Tchaikovsky’s last three symphonies (Nos. 4–6) are sometimes depicted as a set, or even as a kind of dramatic trilogy. Of course each work is entirely selfsufficient, and they don’t directly ‘refer’ to one another – as some of Mahler’s symphonies do. But it is possible to see similar preoccupations being worked out in all three symphonies: some of them purely musical, others more personal, possibly autobiographical. These last three symphonies are so familiar to many that their originality tends to be overlooked. In fact these are some of the most original symphonic works composed after Beethoven’s titanic nine. Although all of them are in the traditional four movements, the layout is radically different in each case. The Fourth (1877–8) balances a huge, complex and powerfully tragic first movement with three shorter ones, which can be seen as strikingly contrasted responses to the bleak predicament outlined in the first. The Sixth (the ‘Pathétique’, 1893), on the other hand, places the tragedy at the end in a shattering Adagio lamentoso – symphonies ending in slow movements were extremely rare in the 19th century. The Fifth (1888) follows yet another course. Like No. 4, it begins with what is clearly a ‘Fate’ motif, which here returns to haunt all three later movements. After Tchaikovsky’s disastrous attempt to conquer – or at least conceal – his homosexuality by marrying one of his students in 1877, he became increasingly convinced that his life was directed by some kind of dark, implacable force. The brazen fanfare theme that begins the Fourth Symphony was specifically labelled ‘Fate’ by its composer. The Fifth’s fateful motto theme, however, enters with a very different kind of tone and tread. Low clarinets (a colour Tchaikovsky often used to great effect) sing a mournful, funereal theme, while

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 1 2 3 4

Andante – Allegro con anima Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza Valse: Allegro moderato Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace

low string chords underscore the sense of heavy, weary movement. Eventually this comes to a halt, pianissimo; but then the string chords set out at a livelier pace, and a new theme – melancholic but with a new dancing momentum – emerges on clarinet and bassoon. The Symphony appears to be attempting to counter gloom with the classic remedy of physical movement. This Allegro con anima has its exhilarating highs and stark lows, but the end echoes the beginning: a bassoon subtly recalls the outline of the original Fate theme before descending to a cavernous low B, as timpani and double basses close the movement unambiguously in the minor. Sombre low string chords begin the slow movement, but now they climb towards the light, which dawns fully in a wonderful long horn melody. If the first movement’s motto theme represents Fate, then this is almost certainly a ‘Love’ theme. Eventually the music grows agitated, and the first movement’s Fate theme storms in on trumpets, bringing the music to a dead stop. Has the idyll been shattered? Tentatively at first, the Love melody returns (now on violins with oboe countermelody) and the mood grows more ardent – until again Fate intrudes, still more aggressively, on trombones. This time there is no return of the Love theme, but a tender, possibly resigned coda. The following Valse (Waltz) movement is in striking contrast. Its elegant, lilting dance tune could have come straight from a ballroom scene in one of Tchaikovsky’s operas or ballets. But just before the end, Fate returns again, this time quietly on low clarinets and bassoons – a dim but ghostly presence amid colourful merriment. Clearly its implications have to be faced, so Tchaikovsky begins his finale by transforming the Fate theme into a resolutely major-key march tune. This newContinued overleaf London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9


Programme notes continued

found determination is striking, but before long the resolve seems to falter and a turbulent Allegro vivace explodes onto the scene. At length this comes to a big expectant pause, then the resolute major-key version of the Fate theme marches back in on strings to launch Tchaikovsky’s most positive symphonic conclusion – could Tchaikovsky be telling us that we can be reconciled with, even embrace our fate? Eventually the coda races to the finishing post with memories of the first movement’s dancing Allegro theme shining out on trumpets and horns. Not every listener finds this final affirmation entirely convincing – but that may have been Tchaikovsky’s intention. After all, how often in life do we experience unequivocal triumph? Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

This is the final concert in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2013/14 season at Brighton Dome. We hope you will be able to join us again next season (starting Saturday 27 September 2014): turn to page 2 to find out what’s in store. Pick up a 2014/15 season brochure as you leave the concert tonight or call 020 7840 4242 to request a copy. You can also browse the season online at lpo.org.uk/brighton If you would like to find out more about London Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at Brighton Dome and about the Orchestra’s other news, including podcasts, CD releases and touring news, join our monthly e-bulletin. To join, send an email to libby.northcote-green@lpo.org.uk with ‘Brighton e-bulletin’ in the subject line.

Tchaikovsky on the LPO Label CDs on sale tonight in the Brighton Dome foyer Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6

Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Manfred Symphony

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

£10.99 (2CDs) | LPO-0039

£10.99 (2CDs) | LPO-0064

£9.99 (1CD) | LPO-0009

‘Exceptional performances, superbly recorded with a breathtaking range of dynamics ... the playing of the LPO is world class.' ***** Andrew Clements, The Guardian, September 2009 (Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 1 & 6)

Also available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets Available to download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and others.

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra


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 | 11


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)

Archives

Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Ellie Swithinbank Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Nick Jackman Development Director

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors

Katherine Hattersley Charitable Giving Manager

Dr Louise Miller Honorary Doctor

Helen Searl Corporate Relations Manager Molly Stewart Development and Events Manager

Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager

Rebecca Fogg Development Assistant

Education and Community Isabella Kernot Education Director Alexandra Clarke Education and Community Project Manager

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director

London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.

Mia Roberts Marketing Manager

Photographs of Wagner, Bruch and Tchaikovsky courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London.

Rachel Williams Publications Manager

Front cover photograph © Patrick Harrison.

Samantha Kendall Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Printed by Cantate.

Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Co-ordinator

Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager

Penny Miller Intern

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Digital Projects

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Professional Services Charles Russell Solicitors

Sarah Fletcher Development and Finance Officer

Jo Cotter PA to the Chief Executive / Tours Co-ordinator

Gillian Pole Recordings Archive

Development

Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager

Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Philip Stuart Discographer

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Manager Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant


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