London Philharmonic Orchestra 23 October 2015 Concert Programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra

Concert programme 2015/16 London Season lpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA Leader PIETER SCHOEMAN† Composer in Residence MAGNUS LINDBERG 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 23 October 2015 | 7.30pm

Bizet Symphony in C (28’) Ravel Piano Concerto in G major (21’) Interval Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 (Organ) (34’) Thierry Fischer conductor Benjamin Grosvenor piano James Sherlock organ

Contents 2 Welcome 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Vesselin Gellev 6 Thierry Fischer 7 Benjamin Grosvenor James Sherlock 8 Programme notes 12 LPO NOISE 13 Riots, Rebels and Revolutionaries LPO concerts 14 Sound Futures donors 15 Supporters 16 LPO administration

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

Free pre-concert event 6.00pm–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall Children from London Music Masters' immersive music education programme perform side by side with LPO musicians in the premiere of an innovative new work by composer Gavin Higgins.

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation † supported by Neil Westreich CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Welcome

Welcome to Southbank Centre 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. 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 are closed for essential refurbishment work until 2017. 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

London Philharmonic Orchestra 2015/16 season Welcome to Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Thierry Fischer. Tonight's concert is part of our series of concerts featuring a range of works that promise to 'take you to another time and place', and we are undoubtedly across the Channel in France today. Ravel considered Saint-Saëns a genius and tonight we hear the former's jazz-inspired Piano Concerto performed by the brilliant young pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, while James Sherlock takes the helm at the organ to shake the Royal Festival Hall rafters in Saint-Saëns's 'Organ' Symphony. The next two concerts in the series take us to Mexico (6 November) and France again (11 November). Follow the link below for more information: lpo.org.uk/events/music-to-transport.html You can find out more about French music in Patrick Bailey's short video here: lpo.uk/PBFrench

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. LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance. 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. MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

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'Implacable Doom' We are now well into our 2015/16 season and the Orchestra and its Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Vladimir Jurowski, have received some wonderful reviews for the first three concerts. 'Jurowski does implacable doom very well,' wrote Ivan Hewett in The Telegraph, referring to a performance on 26 September adding 'and I’ve rarely heard the storm that begins Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini seem so relentless and unstoppable'. David Truslove of Bachtrack also left the concert hall a happy critic: 'the London Philharmonic Orchestra seemed to be playing as if their lives depended on it'. The concert on 3 October (Knussen, Sibelius and Scriabin) moved Colin Anderson of Classical Source to write 'the performance was superb, played magnificently and conducted with sympathy and surety'. All reviews of concerts can be found on the website – be sure to see if you agree with the critics' verdict of tonight's performance! lpo.org.uk/explore/reviews/

On stage tonight

First Violins Vesselin Gellev Leader Ilyoung Chae Chair supported by an anonymous donor

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Martin Hรถhmann Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Yang Zhang Tina Gruenberg Grace Lee Rebecca Shorrock Galina Tanney Caroline Frenkel Caroline Sharp Amanda Smith Miranda Allen Minn Majoe Second Violins Dania Alzapiedi Guest Principal Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Tania Mazzetti Sioni Williams Harry Kerr Alison Strange Elizabeth Baldey

Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Richard Cookson Martin Wray Emma Sheppard Fay Sweet Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue David Lale Gregory Walmsley Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Philip Taylor Double Basses Tim Gibbs Principal George Peniston Laurence Lovelle Kenneth Knussen Sebastian Pennar Charlotte Kerbegian Jeremy Watt Ben Wolstenholme

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Neil Westreich; Eric Tomsett; The Viney Family; Jon Claydon

Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Hannah Grayson Stewart McIlwham Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Cor Anglais Sue Bรถhling* Principal

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Charys Green

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Bass Clarinet Paul Richards Principal

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

E-flat Clarinet Charys Green

Keith Millar James Bower

Bassoons Jarek Augustyniak Guest Principal Gareth Newman

Harp Rachel Masters* Principal

Contrabassoon Simon Estell Principal Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Simon Robey

John Ryan* Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Piano Janet Simpson Dawn Hardwick * Holds a professorial appointment in London Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

‘It was one of those unforgettable evenings where everything and everyone performed beautifully [with] an extraordinary performance by the London Philharmonic ... The ovation should have been standing.’ Andrew Collins, The News, March 2015 Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most forwardlooking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and community groups. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors 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. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. Magnus Lindberg is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence. The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives over 30 concerts each season. Throughout 2014/15 the Orchestra gave a series of concerts entitled Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, a festival exploring the composer’s major orchestral

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

masterpieces. 2015/16 is a strong year for singers, with performances by Toby Spence and Anne Sofie von Otter amongst others; Sibelius enjoys 150th anniversary celebrations; distinguished visiting conductors include Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko, with Robin Ticciati returning after his debut in 2015; and in 2016 the LPO joins many of London’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400 years since his death. The Orchestra continues its commitment to new music with premieres of commissions including Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto, and works by Alexander Raskatov and Marc-André Dalbavie. 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 over 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

Vesselin Gellev leader

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 80 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Vaughan Williams’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Messiaen’s Des Canyons Aux Étoiles. 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. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble.

Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2015/16 season include visits to Mexico City as part of the UK Mexico Year of Culture, Spain, Germany, Canary Islands, Belgium, a return to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and the Orchestra’s premiere at La Scala, Milan.

Bulgarian violinist Vesselin Gellev has been a featured soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Juilliard Orchestra, among others. He won First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York as a member of the Antares Quartet, and has recorded several albums and toured worldwide as Concertmaster of Kristjan Järvi’s Grammynominated Absolute Ensemble. Vesselin has performed as Guest Leader with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Vesselin studied at The Juilliard School, and joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Sub-Leader in 2007.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: 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! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

Thierry Fischer conductor

Precision and clarity comes naturally to Fischer ... With Fischer providing the fire, it all came together beautifully.

Seen and Heard International, July 2015

Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer recently renewed his contract as Music Director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, where he has revitalised the music-making and programming, and brought a new energy to the orchestra and organisation as a whole. Fischer was Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales from 2006–12 and returned as a guest at the 2014 BBC Proms. Recent engagements have included the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteumorchester, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, BBC Symphony and London Sinfonietta. Thierry Fischer has made numerous recordings, many of them for Hyperion Records, including a CD of Frank Martin’s opera Der Sturm with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus that was awarded the International Classical Music Award (opera category) in 2012. He recorded a Beethoven CD with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2014. He started out as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera. His conducting career began in his 30s when he replaced an ailing colleague, subsequently directing his first few concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe where he was Principal Flute under Claudio Abbado. He spent his apprentice years in Holland, and then became Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Ulster Orchestra 2001–6. He was

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Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra from 2008–11, making his Suntory Hall debut in Tokyo in May 2010, and is now their Honorary Guest Conductor. This evening's concert is Thierry Fischer's debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. When a call came from a friend to lead a rehearsal of an amateur choir in Geneva, Fischer declined. 'Find someone else,' he said. He had never conducted before [but] he finally agreed to do it 'as a joke,' he says now. The joke, as it turned out, was on him. 'After one minute conducting an amateur choir, I knew my life had completely changed ... It was almost a physical reaction ... I remember going back home and saying to my wife, "My life has changed."' From an interview with Thierry Fischer by Nicholas Beard

thierryfischer.com

Benjamin Grosvenor

James Sherlock

piano

organ

Benjamin Grosvenor first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition aged 11. Since then, he has become an internationally regarded pianist performing with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and Tokyo Symphony. Benjamin has worked with numerous esteemed conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jiří Bělohlávek, Semyon Bychkov, Andrey Boreyko, Sir Mark Elder, Vladimir Jurowski, Andrew Litton, Andrew Manze and Kent Nagano among others.

James Sherlock performs widely as a pianist, organist and conductor. He trained as organ scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, since when he has appeared regularly with leading orchestras and choirs throughout the UK and abroad. He features on future LPO record releases of Gorecki and Enescu, and on an award-winning recording of the Fauré Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra, of which Gramophone magazine wrote 'James Sherlock leads the way brilliantly with some breathtaking manipulation of the St Giles’ Cripplegate organ ... In short, this is a devastatingly beautiful performance'.

A BBC New Generation Artist from 2010–12, Benjamin has performed at the BBC Proms on a number of occasions and in 2015 starred at the Last Night, performing Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop.

As a chamber musician he appears regularly at major chamber venues throughout Europe. This season he appears at the Wigmore Hall alongside Angelika Kirchschlager, Benjamin Baker and Sarah-Jane Brandon, and makes appearances at the Schwarzenburg Schubertiade and Carnegie Hall. He will perform Bach's Das Wohltemperierte Klavier a second time at the Edinburgh Festival, and tour the work around the UK.

In 2011, Benjamin signed to Decca Classics, becoming the youngest British musician ever to sign to the label and the first British pianist to do so in almost 60 years. His most recent release, Dances, described as 'breathtaking' (The Guardian), won the BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Award 2015. During his career to date, he has also received Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year and Instrumental Award, a Classic Brits Critics’ Award, UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent and a Diapason d’Or Jeune Talent Award. The youngest of five brothers, Benjamin began playing the piano aged six. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton and Daniel-Ben Pienaar, graduating in 2012 with the ‘Queen’s Commendation for Excellence’. Benjamin has been supported since 2013 by EFG International, the widely respected global private banking group and has recently become Brand Ambassador for Casio New Celviano Grand Hybrid Piano Range.

After completing his studies in Cambridge, James studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Ronan O'Hora and Joan Havill. He is a winner of the Royal Overseas League Piano Competition and the ROSL award for accompanists, the pianist award at Das Lied International Song Competition, the BBC Performing Arts Trust, and Gold Medallist at the Marcello Galanti International Organ Competition. Increasingly active as a conductor, James has been selected by the London Symphony and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras to take part in their International Artists Academy, and has founded the period performance group Ensemble Passio. He is Director of Music at Hampstead Parish Church, a Samling Artist and a fellow of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He can be found most mornings practising mysore-style yoga.

benjamingrosvenor.co.uk jamessherlock.net London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread When Georges Bizet began work on his Symphony in C in 1855, he probably thought nobody would ever hear it. Bizet wrote the score as an exercise: part homage to his teacher Charles Gounod and part imitation of Gounod’s own Symphony in D that his pupil had studied keenly. Since Bizet’s score was found in a library 60 years after his death, it’s commonly agreed that his symphony is a case of the work of the pupil outshining that of the master. The other Symphony performed tonight might have surprised when it was unveiled in 1886. Camille Saint-Saëns had promised to ‘take full advantage of advances in modern orchestration’ in the piece, which must have seemed odd given its solo instrument

Georges Bizet 1838–75

French composers have not tended to be thought of as ‘natural’ symphonists – certainly in the 19th century this field was dominated by German, Austrian and later Russian composers. But the Symphony in C by the 17-year-old Georges Bizet (then still a student at the Paris Conservatoire) is a fine exception to the cultural stereotype. Astonishingly, it lay unknown and unheard for nearly 80 years. The composer Reynaldo Hahn was given the manuscript by Bizet’s son, Jacques, but apparently he didn’t think much of it. It was Bizet’s first biographer, D C Parker who persuaded the conductor Felix Weingartner to perform the Symphony in 1935. It was an instant hit, and has remained popular ever since.

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was a traditional pipe organ. In truth, Saint-Saëns used the organ modestly – even those famously thundering chords are effectively just harmonic fillers – but filled his score with numerous other wonderful effects, not least that of the piano, played by four hands, that ripples enchantingly through the music. A younger compatriot of both those composers, Maurice Ravel, saw (or heard) a completely different use for the piano when he walked the streets of Harlem and heard the wild syncopations and exotic blue notes spilling from the jazz bars. He returned to France with the ultimate souvenir: the inspiration for a sparkling, joyous and toe-tapping concerto that toys effortlessly with the language of jazz.

Symphony in C 1 Allegro vivo 2 Adagio 3 Scherzo: Allegro vivace 4 Allegro vivace

Perhaps one of the reasons the Symphony is so successful is that the teenage Bizet made no attempt to imitate the emotional profundity or formal daring of the archetypal romantic symphonist Ludwig van Beethoven. The elegance and wit of the great classical symphonists Haydn and Mozart – and perhaps also Mendelssohn’s ever-fresh Italian Symphony – seem to have been his guiding principles. The first movement, Allegro vivo, is firmly in classical ‘sonata form’ – two main themes are contrasted, developed in a more dramatic central section, then recapitulated in something close to their original form. But there is no sense that Bizet’s imagination is in any way fettered

by this use of formal convention (as does happen sometimes with the German, and particularly the Russian romantic symphonists): the spirit of cloudless exuberance continues right through to the final cadence. The second movement is a lyrical ‘romance’, with a lilting, Italianate, faintly melancholy oboe melody as its main theme. Cheerfulness breaks out again in the brisk Scherzo. This is dominated by one

theme, which also holds sway in the rustic central trio section, with low string chords suggesting a bagpipe drone. In contrast to the romantics of his time, Bizet makes his finale the lightest and least complicated of the four movements, but again the spirit of delight prevails to the very end.

Maurice Ravel

Piano Concerto in G major

1875–1937

Ravel composed two piano concertos, both at the same time. They make a fascinating pair, one the darkly Romantic D major Concerto for the Left Hand, and the other this glittering work in G major, described by the composer as ‘a concerto in the strict sense, written in the spirit of Mozart and Saint-Saëns’. The G major was begun in the summer of 1929 while Ravel was staying in the Basque country, but the commission for the D major from the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein supervened, and it was not until November 1931 that the ‘first’ Concerto was finished. Ravel had originally told his pupil Marguerite Long that it was for her, but somewhere along the line he changed his mind and decided that he wanted to perform it himself. He was not, however, a great pianist – despite the extreme difficulty of some of his piano music – and although he entered a rigorous practice regime, concerned friends eventually persuaded him to let Long give the premiere after all. Given at an all-Ravel concert in Paris in January 1932 (with the composer now conducting), it was hailed as a triumph of French art, and immediately taken on a four-month European tour.

Benjamin Grosvenor piano 1 Allegramente 2 Adagio assai 3 Presto

According to one of Ravel’s friends the outer movements were based on ideas from a projected concerto on Basque themes he had begun back in 1911. Ravel’s mother was a Basque, and Spanish music was always a prominent strain in his music, but such popular elements as exist in the G major Concerto are only part of an eclectic mix of readily apparent influences, among them jazz (Ravel had recently visited America, where he had met Gershwin), music-hall, Scarlatti, Mozart and Stravinskian neo-classicism. The end result is a work which is often detached in its cool sophistication and humour, but which at times reaches out to the listener with an emotion that is both powerful and direct. This expressiveness is at its most exquisite in the hauntingly beautiful central slow movement, described by Long as ‘one of the most touching melodies to have come from the human heart’. The movement is framed by two brilliant companions, the first a breezy creation based on a succession of themes from both the Spanish and American camps, and the finale a witty rondo whose playfulness and irreverent comedy bring the work to a close in fairground mood.

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

INTERNAT I O N A L

P I A NO S ER I ES 2015/16

Tue 3 Nov 2015

Wed 3 Feb 2016

Fri 11 Mar 2016

Tue 26 Apr 2016

Wed 25 May 2016

Nikolai Demidenko Brahms and Prokofiev

Steven Osborne Schubert, Debussy and Rachmaninov

Chopin Competition Winner 2015’s winner plays Chopin

Mitsuko Uchida Berg, Schubert, Mozart and Schumann

Richard Goode Schubert’s last three sonatas

Thu 28 Apr 2016

Wed 8 Jun 2016

Katia and Marielle Labèque Sisters – moments from a shared musical life

Imogen Cooper Schumann, Wagner and Liszt

Tue 12 Jan 2016 Lukas Geniušas Beethoven, Brahms, Bartók and Prokofiev

Tue 23 FeB 2016 Maurizio Pollini Schumann and Chopin

Tue 26 Jan 2016

FRI 26 Feb 2016

Jean-Effl am Bavouzet Beethoven’s last three sonatas

Tamara Stefanovich Copland, Carter and Ives

SERIES SAVINGS: Book 3 – 4 concerts and save 10% Book 5 or more concerts and save 20%

Wed 6 Apr 2016 Ingrid Fliter An all-Chopin programme including the 24 Preludes Tue 19 Apr 2016 Yundi The piano superstar returns

Wed 11 May 2016 Paul Lewis Brahms, Schubert and Liszt

The home of classical music

Concerts take place in Royal Festival Hall and at St John’s Smith Square.

southbankcentre.co.uk/piano 0844 847 9929

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Bizet: Symphony in C French National Radio Orchestra | Thomas Beecham [EMI] Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Philip Fowke | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Serge Baudo [Classics for Pleasure] Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 (Organ) James O'Donnell | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin [LPO-0081]

LPO release The latest release on the LPO label is a live BBC recording by the late great Klaus Tennstedt, the Orchestra's Principal Conductor from 1983 to 1987, in a performance of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture and powerful Symphony No. 5. 'Nobody listens to Beethoven quite like Klaus Tennstedt,' wrote Hilary Finch in The Times in 1992, 'and, because he listens so acutely, his orchestra must, and we in the audience do as well. The dark glass of familiarity is swept aside and we meet the composer face to face.’ The recording is available as a CD and download, priced £6.99, number LPO-0087. lpo.org.uk/recordings

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Programme notes continued

Camille Saint-Saëns 1835–1921

Camille Saint-Saëns was at the heart of his country’s venerable tradition of building, playing and writing music for organs. He spent two decades as organist of the church of La Madeleine in Paris, where he played an instrument built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the engineer who invented the circular saw and effectively established the tradition of ‘symphonic’ organ composing (and playing) in France by mechanical means. The organ, though, probably wasn’t the first thing on Saint-Saëns’s mind when he came to write his Third Symphony. The piece was written for the London Philharmonic Society and the first performance, under the composer’s direction, was at St James’s Hall in London on 19 May 1886. The organ there wasn’t French and it wasn’t particularly big either. Saint-Saëns actually advised that a harmonium be used if an organ wasn’t available, which says a thing or two about his concept. A concerto this isn’t; the organ is really only used to throw in some transitional chords and colour the orchestral conversation. The latter fact is particularly relevant. Saint-Saëns expressed his desire ‘to take advantage of advances in modern instrumentation’ in his Third Symphony and the use of the organ (not named in the Symphony’s original title) was but one element of that. Another, and an arguably more interesting one, was the composer’s use of a piano within the orchestra, played by two pianists.

Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 (Organ) James Sherlock organ I Adagio – Allegro moderato – Poco adagio II Allegro moderato – Presto – Maestoso – Allegro

instrumental music’. In a sense, though, the composer does ‘develop’ his themes, and in quite a remarkable way. Following the example of Liszt (to whom the Symphony was dedicated), Saint-Saëns took a single musical ‘motto’ and transformed it as his Symphony proceeded. That motto is first heard courtesy of the nervous string semiquavers that follow the Symphony’s slow introduction. It’s this very theme – transformed into the major – that forms the ‘big tune’ of the Symphony’s finale, famously thrust out on huge organ chords. The motto appears in numerous guises in between, often changing character chameleon-like according to its dramatic or musical surroundings. Similarly the organ itself: it’s exhilarating in those final pages, but appears to speak in confidence in the mystical dialogue with divided strings that comes earlier on. The motto theme is derived from the Dies Irae plainsong beloved of Liszt, and all Saint-Saëns’s themes, even the transitional and incidental, have a Lisztian cut and a propulsive, dramatic swagger. On top of what is effectively Saint-Saëns’s harmonic conservatism and reliance on the complex counterpoint between concurrent themes, it makes for a piece of mouthwatering clarity, purpose and narrative depth. Or, in the words of Marcel Proust, ‘the most beautiful of symphonies since Beethoven’s’. Programme notes © Andrew Mellor

‘Though this Symphony is divided into two parts, it does comprise in principle the four traditional movements’, wrote Saint-Saëns of the piece, adding that by avoiding the Germanic tradition of thematic development he ‘sought to avoid somewhat interminable repeats and repetitions that are tending to disappear from London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

Paul Lewis © Josep Molina / Harmonia Mundi | Beatrice Rana © Neda Navaee

More Piano Concertos with the LPO at Royal Festival Hall PAUL LEWIS

BEATRICE RANA

Wednesday 4 November 2015 | 7.30pm

Friday 27 November 2015 | 7.30pm JTI FRIDAY SERIES

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 Mahler Symphony No. 5 Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Paul Lewis piano

Liadov From the Apocalypse Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 Sibelius Symphony No. 1 Susanna Mälkki conductor Beatrice Rana piano

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.

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bring

‘ Art is the most beautiful deception of all. And although people try to incorporate the everyday events of life in it, we must hope that it will remain a deception lest it become a utilitarian thing, sad as a factory’ Claude Debussy

‘ The Peter Pan of music’

at Royal Festival Hall

From the mountains, to the cities, to the sea

The New York Times on Leonard Bernstein, 1960

Music to take you on a journey to another time and place Friday 6 November 2015

7.30pm

Wednesday 11 November 2015

7.30pm

Mexican Magic

French Impressions

Castro Intermezzo de Atzimba Gounod Cavatina ‘L’amour! L’amour! ... Ah! Lève-toi soleil!’ (Roméo et Juliette) Federico Ibarra Sinfonía No. 2 Various Mexican songs Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Revueltas Sensemayá Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 2

Fauré Suite, Pelléas et Mélisande Magnus Lindberg Violin Concerto No. 1 Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales Debussy La mer

Jaime Martín conductor Arturo Chacón-Cruz tenor JTI FRIDAY SERIES

Experience an uplifting and illuminating evening of classical music all the way from Mexico. An eclectic and sophisticated repertoire, spanning a broad spectrum of musical possibilities, Mexico’s classical music canon embodies the vibrant spirit of its homeland in all its richness and diversity. This concert is part of The Year of Mexico in the United Kingdom 2015.

Robin Ticciati conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Debussy’s orchestral depiction of the sea, unrivalled in its subtlety and evocation, swells with all the surging currents and surface spray of the ocean. Debussy’s stunningly sensory work is matched with the clarity and luminous restraint that imbues Fauré’s Pelléas and Mélisande Suite, Magnus Lindberg’s Violin Concerto, and Ravel’s teasing French waltzes.

lpo.org.uk/journeys 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.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

SOUND FUTURES DONORS We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures. Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey OBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Underwood Trust

The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Welser-Möst Circle Lady Jane Berrill William & Alex de Winton Mr Frederick Brittenden John Ireland Charitable Trust David & Yi Yao Buckley The Tsukanov Family Foundation Mr Clive Butler Neil Westreich Gill & Garf Collins Tennstedt Circle Mr John H Cook Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Mr Alistair Corbett Richard Buxton Bruno de Kegel The Candide Trust Georgy Djaparidze Michael & Elena Kroupeev David Ellen Kirby Laing Foundation Christopher Fraser OBE & Lisa Fraser Mr & Mrs Makharinsky David & Victoria Graham Fuller Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Goldman Sachs International Simon Robey Mr Gavin Graham Bianca & Stuart Roden Moya Greene Simon & Vero Turner Mrs Dorothy Hambleton The late Mr K Twyman Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Solti Patrons Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Ageas Mrs Philip Kan John & Manon Antoniazzi Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Gabor Beyer, through BTO Rose & Dudley Leigh Management Consulting AG Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Jon Claydon Miss Jeanette Martin Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Duncan Matthews QC Suzanne Goodman Diana & Allan Morgenthau Roddy & April Gow Charitable Trust The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Dr Karen Morton Charitable Trust Mr Roger Phillimore Mr James R.D. Korner Ruth Rattenbury Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia The Reed Foundation Ladanyi-Czernin Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Rind Foundation The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Lady Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Queree The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland And all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

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 Neil Westreich William and Alex de Winton Mrs Philip Kan* Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Bianca & Stuart Roden Laurence Watt Anonymous Jon Claydon Garf & Gill Collins* Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds* Eric Tomsett The Viney Family John & Manon Antoniazzi Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker * BrightSparks Patrons: instead of supporting a chair in the Orchestra, these donors have chosen to support our series of schools’ concerts.

Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams David & Yi Yao Buckley Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen Mr Daniel Goldstein Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter MacDonald Eggers Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Ms Molly Borthwick David & Patricia Buck Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr Bruno de Kegel Mr David Edgecombe Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Mr Richard Fernyhough Wim and Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Tony & Susan Hayes Michael & Christine Henry

Malcolm Herring J. Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Ms Ulrike Mansel Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Michael Posen Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Mr Konstantin Sorokin Martin and Cheryl Southgate Mr Peter Tausig Simon and Charlotte Warshaw Howard & Sheelagh Watson 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 Silver: Accenture Berenberg Carter-Ruck We are AD Bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLP BTO Management Consulting AG Charles Russell Speechlys Lazard Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc

Trusts and Foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leche Trust The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust

The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain in London The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust The Stanley Picker Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation The R K Charitable Trust RVW Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust UK Friends of the Felix-MendelssohnBartholdy-Foundation The Viney Family Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and all others who wish to remain anonymous

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Manon Antoniazzi Roger Barron Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson William de Winton Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds 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 Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Dr. Joseph Mulvehill Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Digital Projects

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director (maternity leave)

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Amy Sugarman PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

Clare Lovett Education Director (maternity cover)

Finance

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager

Philip Stuart Discographer

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Concert Management

Development

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Nick Jackman Development Director

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager

Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Kathryn Hageman Individual Giving Manager Laura Luckhurst Corporate Relations Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Rebecca Fogg Development Co-ordinator

Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator

Helen Yang Development Assistant

Orchestra Personnel

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share) Christopher Alderton Stage Manager

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Manager

Damian Davis Transport Manager

Rachel Williams Publications Manager (maternity leave)

Madeleine Ridout Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah Breeden Publications Manager (maternity cover)

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Samantha Cleverley Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Anna O’Connor Marketing Co-ordinator Natasha Berg Marketing Intern

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Public Relations