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 25 April 2014 | 7.30pm
Rimsky-Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture (15’) Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez (22’) Interval Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor (Pathétique) (45’)
Vladimir Jurowski conductor Miloš Karadaglić guitar
Vladimir Jurowski: Post-concert CD signing Level 2 Foyer, Royal Festival Hall LPO Label CDs on sale tonight from the Foyles merchandise stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer, where conductor Vladimir Jurowski will be signing CDs after the concert (see page 11).
* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor † supported by Neil Westreich CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Programme £3 Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 14 15 16
Welcome LPO 2014/15 season On stage tonight About the Orchestra Leader: Pieter Schoeman Vladimir Jurowski Miloš Karadaglić Programme notes Tchaikovsky on the LPO Label Next concerts Catalyst: Double Your Donation Supporters 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.
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: •
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 (see page 12).
•
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.
•
Yannick Nézet-Séguin presents masterpieces by three great composers from the AustroGerman tradition: Brahms, Schubert and Richard Strauss.
•
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.
•
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.
•
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).
•
Legendary pianist Menahem Pressler – a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio – joins Robin Ticciati to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
•
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.
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. 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.
2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
On stage tonight
First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Ilyoung Chae Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett
Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler
Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp
Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Grace Lee Rebecca Shorrock Galina Tanney Caroline Frenkel Alain Petitclerc Second Violins Dania Alzapiedi Guest Principal Jeongmin Kim Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller
Nancy Elan Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Dean Williamson Alison Strange Stephen Stewart Sheila Law Elizabeth Baldey Stephen Dinwoodie John Dickinson Nynke Hijlkema Harry Kerr
Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Gregory Aronovich Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Isabel Pereira Alistair Scahill Sarah Malcolm Martin Fenn Miriam Eisele Linda Kidwell Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Hetty Snell Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Helen Rathbone Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Tim Gibbs Co-Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Kenneth Knussen Helen Rowlands Tom Walley
Flutes Michael Cox Guest Principal Sue Thomas* Chair supported by the Sharp Family
Stewart McIlwham*
Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann
Nicholas Betts Co-Principal
Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal
Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal
Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Alice Munday
David Whitehouse
Cor Anglais Sue Böhling Principal Chair supported by Julian & Gill Simmonds
Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Emily Meredith Bass Clarinet Paul Richards Principal
Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport
Bassoons Ben Hudson Guest Principal Gareth Newman
Sacha Johnson Keith Millar Sarah Mason Richard Horne
Horns David Pyatt* Principal
Assistant Conductor Marius Stravinsky
Chair supported by Simon Robey
John Ryan* Principal Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison
* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco
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. The season features 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
Pieter Schoeman leader
Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002.
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! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra
© Patrick Harrison
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.
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. He is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Pieter’s chair in the London Philharmonic Orchestra is supported by Neil Westreich. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5
Vladimir Jurowski
© Chris Christodoulou
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor
One of today’s most sought-after and dynamic conductors, acclaimed worldwide for his incisive musicianship and adventurous artistic commitment, Vladimir Jurowski was born in Moscow, and completed the first part of his musical studies at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he relocated with his family to Germany, continuing his studies at the High Schools of Music in Dresden and Berlin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night, and the same year saw his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Nabucco. Vladimir Jurowski was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, becoming the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor in September 2007. He also holds the titles of Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Artistic Director of the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra. He has also held the positions of First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper, Berlin (1997– 2001); Principal Guest Conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (2000–03); Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra (2005–09); and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2001–13). Vladimir Jurowski has appeared on the podium with many leading orchestras in Europe and North America including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Highlights of the 2013/14 season and beyond include his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, NHK Symphony (Tokyo) and San Francisco Symphony orchestras; tours with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra; and return visits to the Chicago Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony, Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Jurowski made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1999 with Rigoletto, and has since returned for Jenůfa, The Queen of Spades and Hansel and Gretel. He has conducted Parsifal and Wozzeck at Welsh National Opera; War and Peace at the Opera National de Paris; Eugene Onegin at Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Ruslan and Ludmila at the Bolshoi Theatre; and Iolanta and Die Teufel von Loudon at the Dresden Semperoper, as well as The Magic Flute, La Cenerentola, Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Don Giovanni, The Rake’s Progress, The Cunning Little Vixen, Ariadne auf Naxos and Peter Eötvös’s Love and Other Demons at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. In autumn 2013 he returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Die Frau ohne Schatten, and future engagements include Moses und Aron at the Komische Oper Berlin and The Fiery Angel at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Jurowski’s discography includes the first ever recording of the cantata Exil by Giya Kancheli for ECM; Meyerbeer’s L’étoile du Nord for Marco Polo; Massenet’s Werther for BMG; and a series of records for PentaTone with the Russian National Orchestra. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has released a wide selection of his live recordings on its LPO Live label, including Brahms’s complete symphonies; Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2; Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances; Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies 1, 4, 5, 6 and Manfred; and works by Turnage, Holst, Britten, Shostakovich, Honegger and Haydn. His tenure as Music Director at Glyndebourne has been documented in CD releases of La Cenerentola, Tristan und Isolde and Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery, and DVD releases of his performances of La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, Die Fledermaus, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Don Giovanni and Rachmaninoff’s The Miserly Knight. Other DVD releases include Hansel and Gretel from the Metropolitan Opera; his first concert as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor featuring works by Wagner, Berg and Mahler; and DVDs with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7) and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Strauss and Ravel), all released by Medici Arts. Vladimir Jurowski’s position as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra is generously supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor.
Miloš Karadaglić
© Olaf Heine/DG
guitar
One of the hottest properties in classical music, Miloš Karadaglić came to international attention in 2011 with his debut album The Guitar (Mediterráneo) which, in the space of just a few months, topped classical charts around the world, became an internationally bestselling sensation, and earned Miloš Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year award. An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, in 2012 Miloš released his second album, Latino (Pasión), which went on to receive both Classic BRIT (UK) and ECHO Klassik (Germany) awards. Reviewing the album, Gramophone commented: ‘Karadaglić is a guitarist of superior musical and technical gifts who allows his personality to sing through the music with taste and intelligence.’ The Daily Telegraph added: ‘This new Latin American programme is outstanding in its finesse, warm sensuality and sheer beauty.’ Latino proved so successful that it was subsequently re-released as Latino GOLD, featuring 30 minutes of newly recorded tracks from a wealth of Latin American-inspired music. Meanwhile Miloš: Heartstrings, a documentary filmed throughout 2012 which charts the guitarist’s story to date, has been released on DVD and aired on numerous TV stations. Miloš’s much-anticipated third album, Aranjuez, was released on Deutsche Grammophon/Mercury Classics in February 2014. Recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, it includes Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasía para un Gentilhombre. 2012/13 was a breakthrough season on the concert stage for Miloš, with sold-out debut performances and tours around the world. ‘Part of the reason Karadaglić has such a large following’, commented the Western Australian, ‘is his ability to straddle both hardcore classical and pop classical camps.’ This was echoed by the London press following his celebrated Royal Albert Hall debut in September 2012, of which the Guardian commented: ‘More extraordinary by far, however, was the way a single guitarist, playing an intimate
and understated set, and equipped with a single microphone and some clever lighting, could shrink the Hall’s cavernous space into something so close.’ The Independent concluded: ‘Defying its many critics to offer a dramatic and rounded evening of classical music, the guitar itself was the breakout star here – a sleight of hand that makes Karadaglić not only a magician, but a serious and accomplished musician.’ Miloš’s passion for the guitar is matched by an intuitive sense of how to bring the instrument across to his public – whether it be for an audience of 3000 in the Royal Albert Hall or an intimate chamber music performance for 100 people. He enjoys performing in the major concert halls as much as in non-traditional venues such as New York’s Le Poisson Rouge, London’s Camden Roundhouse (iTunes Festival) and Deutsche Grammophon’s Yellow Lounge club nights in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid, New York and Seoul. This season sees Miloš reach new heights with extensive tours throughout Europe, America and the Middle East, both in recital and concerto performances. As well as concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Leicester and Stoke-on-Trent, he appears with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, The Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, as well as appearances at prestigious festivals such as Cheltenham, Gstaad, Rheingau and Nits di Clàssica (Spain). Born in Montenegro in 1983, Miloš Karadaglić started playing the guitar at the age of eight. When he was 17 he successfully applied for a scholarship to study at London’s Royal Academy of Music. He continues to live in London, while maintaining close ties with his family and homeland. Miloš is a passionate supporter of music education and acts as a Patron of the Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians and the charity Awards for Young Musicians. Miloš uses D’Addario J 46 strings and plays a 2007 Greg Smallman guitar, kindly lent to him by Paul and Jenny Gillham.
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7
Programme notes
Speedread National colour fills the first half of tonight’s concert. Rimsky-Korsakov, a member of the group of 19th-century Russian composers known as ‘The Mighty Handful’, contributes a sprawling panel that brings together the chants of the Orthodox church and sounds of the street celebration in a clamorous depiction of a Russian Easter morning, while Concierto de Aranjuez, Rodrigo’s popular guitar
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
concerto from the 1930s, offers the essence of Spanish 18th-century courtliness, elegance and poise. These masterly examples of outward description are balanced after the interval by the tragic inner searching of Tchaikovsky’s last work, his ‘Pathétique’ Symphony, whose passionate and momentous struggles with Fate end in one of the bleakest movements in the symphonic canon.
Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36
1844–1908
Rimsky-Korsakov’s long original title for this work, composed in 1888, does not translate smoothly into English, but can be expressed as ‘Easter Festival: Resurrection Overture on themes from the Obikhod’, where the Obikhod is the collection of chants used in the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church. That may make it sound a religious work – and indeed the carefully chosen chants are a major presence throughout the piece – but in fact Rimsky-Korsakov seems to have been drawn more to the element of ‘pagan merrymaking’ he detected in Russian Easter celebrations. Writing of the work in his autobiography, he posed the questions: ‘Is not Russian Orthodox bell-ringing the church’s instrumental dance music? Do not the flowing beards of the priests and sextons in their white surplices and vestments, singing in Allegro vivo tempo “beautiful Easter” etc, take one’s imagination back to pagan times? And what about all those Easter eggs, loaves and burning candles ... How far is all this from the philosophic and socialistic teaching of Christ!’ It is this transition from ‘gloomy and mysterious’ religious feeling as experienced on Holy Saturday, to the ‘unbridled rejoicing’ of Easter Sunday that the Overture explores.
8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
The work opens with a slow introduction in which the chant ‘Let God arise’ is contrasted with a more celestial presentation of ‘An angel cried’, signifying prophesy of the Resurrection. Rimsky-Korsakov described the next passage, initiated by dark brass and timpani interjections but quickly gaining in radiance, as showing the Holy Sepulchre and ‘the ineffable light in which it had been bathed at the moment of resurrection’. It leads to the main Allegro section of the work, based at first on the ‘Let God arise’ theme but, as the celebratory excitement rises, eventually introducing a second theme high on violins, ‘Christ is risen’. The atmosphere of Easter morning gets increasingly heady, with ‘the triumphant, trumpet-like cries of the archangels alternating with the joyful, almost dance-like peal of bells, and that again with now the fast reading of the deacon, now the ritual chant of the priests reading the good tidings of the Holy Gospel’. At the end, the ‘Christ is risen’ theme returns imposingly amid the whirl, on trombones. Rimsky-Korsakov claimed that to understand the work fully one must have attended Easter service at a large and teeming Orthodox cathedral, but that seems rather to underestimate his own depictive powers.
Writing of the music itself, he was typically clear in his self-assessment, saying that together with the two orchestral works that preceded it – Capriccio espagnol and Sheherazade – it brought to a close a period in which ‘my orchestration had achieved a considerable degree of virtuosity and bright sonority, without Wagnerian influence’.
Joaquín Rodrigo 1901–99
The factors that make Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra one of the most popular classical compositions of the 20th century are not hard to divine. While its conservatism and non-engagement with the Zeitgeist may have been held against it by some – Rodrigo composed it in Paris in 1939 while he was waiting to return to Spain at the conclusion of the Civil War, and just as the Second World War was about to burst over Europe – its authentic Spanish flavour, memorable and instantly attractive melodies, clear textures and skilfully constructed but simple formal frameworks make it hard to criticise in purely musical terms, still more to dislike. The idea of a Spanish composer producing a work such as this is natural enough of course, though it should not be separated entirely from the strong French tradition of Spanish-influenced works represented by the likes of Bizet, Chabrier, Debussy and Ravel, not least as Rodrigo had himself studied in Paris under Paul Dukas. But the popular success of the Concierto de Aranjuez following its premiere in Barcelona in November 1940 was certainly seen as significant at the time, and perhaps as an answer to the old saw that the best Spanish music was written by Frenchmen. And the Concierto owes much of its authenticity to the specific
Concierto de Aranjuez Miloš Karadaglić guitar 1 Allegro con spirito 2 Adagio 3 Allegro gentile
nature of its inspiration, which is not a generalised Spanish atmosphere but the ‘Aranjuez’ of the title, the graceful royal palace outside Madrid favoured by the Spanish royals of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Rodrigo’s aim, he said, was to conjure ‘memories of earlier times, of the lovely gardens of Aranjuez with their fountains, their trees, their birds’. Its Spanishness, then, is not the earthy, Andalucian canto profondo sought out by Falla or Lorca, but a politer and more courtly world of poise and gesture. The first movement opens almost cinematically, with the guitar strumming a long crescendo as if we were approaching the palace from a distance, and the rhythmic kick of this strumming provides much of the energy thereafter. The central slow movement is a long dialogue between the guitar and a succession of other instruments, rooted in a steady pulse and led off soulfully by a cor anglais. It is this exquisite, deeply atmospheric music above all which has made the Concerto famous. The finale is a courtly dance enlivened by alternations between duple and triple metre, and drawing from the guitar its most bravura moments yet. Rodrigo said he ‘could not play four notes in a row’ on the guitar, but those who can have cause to be grateful for the present of this gentle work.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9
Programme notes continued
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93
In August 1893, as his Sixth Symphony was nearing completion, Tchaikovsky wrote to his nephew, ‘Bob’ Davidov: ‘I can tell you in all sincerity that I consider this symphony the best thing I have ever done. In any case, it is the most deeply felt. And I love it as I have never loved any of my compositions.’ Few would disagree with Tchaikovsky’s assessment of his last work, a masterpiece of frank and disturbing emotion whose effect on the listener is made all the more powerful by the realisation that it reflects the composer’s depressive state of mind during his final year. At the time he began work on it in February 1893, he had told Bob that it was ‘a programme symphony, but to a programme that should remain an enigma for everyone but myself: let them try and guess it! ... The theme is full of subjective feeling, so much so that as I was mentally composing it ... I frequently shed tears.’ Death was certainly a subject that occupied Tchaikovsky’s mind at this time: although he presumably did not foresee his own death the following autumn – almost certainly by his own hand – he did lose a number of close friends that year, and an early version of the programme scribbled down in 1892 had borne prominently the words ‘life’ and ‘death’. But a more fundamental impetus for the Sixth Symphony was surely the spectre that had haunted the composer for many years: Fate. For Tchaikovsky, this was the implacable power that frustrated all his hopes of happiness, and his previous two symphonies had both attempted to respond to it in some way: the Fourth had confronted and then tried to brush it aside, while the Fifth had scored a somewhat hollow-sounding victory. The Sixth – subtitled by the composer ‘Pathétique’ – finally gives in to total defeat.
10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique) 1 2 3 4
Adagio – Allegro non troppo Allegro con grazia Allegro molto vivace Finale: Adagio lamentoso
The Sixth Symphony differs from its two predecessors in having no motto theme; instead, it makes use of a number of themes suggestive of upward struggle followed by downward collapse, an outline that mirrors the overall course of the Symphony. Its presence can be detected in the murky opening of the first movement, and the material of this introduction also forms the basis of the ensuing Allegro non troppo’s restless first theme. A broad and passionate melody follows, but any hope of consolation is violently shattered by the intervention of the central development section. This climaxes in a momentous and grinding downward sequence, and when the second theme re-emerges it is with a bitter irony that borders on pain. The passion subsides, however, and the movement closes in a mood of resignation. The second movement promises brighter things, but its waltz-like geniality is undermined by a five-in-a-bar metre and a poignant trio and coda. It is followed by a brilliant movement in which scurrying preparations and fragments of melody lead to a seemingly joyful and triumphant march, but the descending accompaniment reminds us (as do similar figures throughout the work) that the gaiety is forced; happiness is still an illusion. In the Finale it disappears forever in a bleak Adagio in which there is only hopelessness and dejection. It is a testament of despair in which optimism can find no place, and as the music sinks back into the depths from which it has struggled to rise, the final bars of Tchaikovsky’s most personal and sincere symphonic statement are soft but devastating. Programme notes © Lindsay Kemp
CDs on sale tonight: Jurowski conducts Tchaikovsky On sale tonight from the Foyles merchandise stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer, where Vladimir Jurowski will be signing copies after the concert.
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
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.
Last LPO concerts this season at Royal Festival Hall Saturday 26 April 2014 | 7.30pm
2014/15 season starts 24 September 2014
Marko Nikodijevic La lugubre gondola (UK premiere) Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)
The Orchestra’s 2014/15 season is now on sale: see page 2 for highlights, call 020 7840 4242 to request a season brochure, or browse online at lpo.org.uk.
Vladimir Jurowski conductor Leif Ove Andsnes 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
Sunday 11 May 2014 | 12.00pm
Southbank Centre Ticket Office 0844 847 9920 Daily 9.00am–8.00pm southbankcentre.co.uk
Generously supported by Dunard Fund
FUNharmonics Family Concert: Noses With Roald Dahl’s The Ant-Eater, a musical feast by Benjamin Wallfisch.
Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone No transaction fee for bookings made in person
Stuart Stratford conductor Tickets £10–£18 adults; £5–£9 children London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11
I N S I D E
O U T
A year-long exploration of the composer’s life and music, at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall throughout 2014/15 Friday 3 October 2014 | 7.30pm JTI Friday Series
Rachmaninoff The Isle of the Dead | Symphonic Dances | Piano Concerto No. 1 (original version)
Saturday 7 February 2015 | 7.30pm Rachmaninoff Three Russian Songs | Spring Enescu Symphony No. 3
Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Alexander Ghindin piano
Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Andrei Bondarenko baritone London Philharmonic Choir
Wednesday 29 October 2014 | 7.30pm
Wednesday 11 February 2015 | 7.30pm
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 | Symphony No. 2
Stravinsky Symphony in Three Movements Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 | The Bells
Vassily Sinaisky conductor | Pavel Kolesnikov piano
Friday 7 November 2014 | 7.30pm JTI Friday Series
Vasily Petrenko conductor | Jorge Luis Prats piano Anna Samuil soprano | Daniil Shtoda tenor Alexander Vinogradov bass | London Philharmonic Choir
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 (final version) Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 (Winter Daydreams)
Friday 13 February 2015 | 7.30pm
Osmo Vänskä conductor | Nikolai Lugansky piano
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 (original version) Shostakovich Symphony No. 4
Friday 28 November 2014 | 7.30pm
Vasily Petrenko conductor | Alexander Ghindin piano
JTI Friday Series
Wagner Overture, Tannhäuser Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
JTI Friday Series
Wednesday 25 March 2015 | 7.30pm Mozart Symphony No. 36 (Linz) | Dvořák Symphony No. 8 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 (final version)
David Zinman conductor | Behzod Abduraimov piano
Ilyich Rivas conductor | Dmitry Mayboroda piano
Wednesday 3 December 2014 | 7.30pm
Wednesday 29 April 2015 | 7.30pm
Szymanowski Concert Overture Scriabin Piano Concerto | Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1
Rachmaninoff Four Pieces | Ten Songs | Symphony No. 3
Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Igor Levit piano
Wednesday 21 January 2015 | 7.30pm Wagner Das Rheingold (orchestral excerpts) Rachmaninoff The Miserly Knight (semi-staged) Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Vsevolod Grivnov Albert Maxim Mikhailov Servant | Viacheslav Voynarovskiy Moneylender | Albert Shagidullin The Duke Sergei Leiferkus The Baron | Annabel Arden director
lpo.org.uk/rachmaninoff 12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Vsevolod Grivnov tenor Rachmaninoff: Inside Out is presented in co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation. Tickets: £9–£39 (Premium seats £65) London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Monday to 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
Making music accessible Supporting the arts is important to JTI. Our long-term partnership with the London Philharmonic Orchestra is helping to make music more accessible to all.
JTI is driven by the creativity of 25,000 diverse, enquiring minds made up of 90 nationalities. Imagine the potential. jti.com/UK
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 Dunard Fund Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Sharp Family The Underwood Trust
Sir Bernard Rix Kasia Robinski Mr & Mrs G Stein TFS Loans Limited The Tsukanov Family Foundation Guy & Utti Whittaker
Welser-Möst Circle John Ireland Charitable Trust Neil Westreich
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
Tennstedt Circle Simon Robey The late Mr K Twyman Solti Patrons Anonymous Mrs Mina Goodman and Miss Suzanne Goodman The Rothschild Foundation Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Lady Jane Berrill Moya Greene Tony and Susie Hayes Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Diana and Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Ruth Rattenbury
14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Hunter Ivan Hurry Tanya Kornilova Howard & Marilyn Levene Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Peter Mace 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 Timothy Walker AM 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 Neil Westreich 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 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 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 Silver: AREVA UK Berenberg Bank British American Business Carter-Ruck Thomas Eggar LLP 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
Trusts and Foundations 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 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 Rivers 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 UK Friends of the Felix-MendelssohnBartholdy-Foundation Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust Youth Music & 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 * Player-Director Advisory Council 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
Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Sharp Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP
Education and Community
Public Relations
Isabella Kernot Education Director
Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930) Archives
Chief Executive
Alexandra Clarke Education and Community Project Manager
Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director
Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager
Finance
Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer
David Burke General Manager and Finance Director
Development
David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager
Nick Jackman Development Director
Concert Management
Noelia Moreno Charitable Giving Manager
Roanna Gibson Concerts Director
Helen Searl Corporate Relations Manager
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager
Molly Stewart Development and Events Manager
Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager
Sarah Fletcher Development and Finance Officer
Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator Jo Cotter PA to the Chief Executive / Tours Co-ordinator Orchestra Personnel Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share) Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Ellie Swithinbank Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager
16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Rebecca Fogg Development Assistant Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Mia Roberts Marketing Manager Rachel Williams Publications Manager Samantha Kendall Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Co-ordinator Penny Miller Intern Digital Projects Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Manager Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant
Philip Stuart Discographer Gillian Pole Recordings Archive Professional Services Charles Russell Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Louise Miller Honorary Doctor 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. Photograph of Rodrigo © Peter Andersen/Schott. Photographs of RimskyKorsakov and Tchaikovsky courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London. Front cover photograph © Patrick Harrison. Printed by Cantate.