LPO Programme notes 1 October 2010 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 1

Principal Conductor 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

PROGRAMME £3 CONTENTS

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Friday 1 October 2010 | 7.30pm

2 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 15 16

YAN PASCAL TORTELIER conductor BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV piano

FAURÉ Suite: Pelléas et Mélisande

INTERVAL STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

†

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

(19’)

SAINT-SAËNS Concerto No. 2 in G minor for piano and orchestra

(32’)

supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

List of Players Orchestra History Southbank Centre Yan Pascal Tortelier Behzod Abduraimov Programme Notes Recordings Family Concert Supporters Philharmonic News Administration Future Concerts

(23’)

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 2

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS Natalia Lomeiko Guest Leader Julia Rumley Chair supported by Mrs Steven Ward

Catherine Craig Tina Gruenberg Martin Höhmann

Emmanuella Reiter-Bootiman Laura Vallejo Michelle Bruil Alistair Scahill Daniel Cornford Isabel Pereira Naomi Holt Anthony Byrne

Chair supported by Richard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey Lynn Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Peter Nall Galina Tanney Toby Tramaseur Joanne Chen Kay Chappell Alina Petrenko Lisa Obert SECOND VIOLINS Clare Duckworth Principal Chair supported by Richard and Victoria Sharp

Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David and Victoria Graham Fuller

Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Imogen Williamson Sioni Williams Peter Graham Mila Mustakova Stephen Stewart Sheila Law Elizabeth Baldey VIOLAS Alexander Zemtsov* Principal Robert Duncan Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani

Chair supported by John and Angela Kessler

CELLOS Josephine Knight Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Sabino Carvalho + Jonathan Ayling Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie and Zander Sharp

Gregory Walmsley Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Sibylle Hentschel Tom Roff DOUBLE BASSES Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Kenneth Knussen Joe Melvin Helen Rowlands Tom Walley Damian Rubido Gonzalez FLUTES Jaime Martin* Principal Anna Naranjo Francis Nolan PICCOLO Stewart McIlwham* Principal ALTO FLUTE Susan Thomas* Principal

OBOES Ian Hardwick Principal Angela Tennick Rachel Ingleton Owen Dennis CORS ANGLAIS Max Spiers Guest Principal Owen Dennis CLARINETS Robert Hill* Principal Emily Meredith Andrew Mason E FLAT CLARINET Nicholas Carpenter Principal BASS CLARINETS Paul Richards Principal Andrew Mason

TRUMPETS Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff and Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal Tom Rainer Tony Cross BASS TRUMPET Brian Raby TROMBONES David Whitehouse Principal Andrew Connington BASS TROMBONE Lyndon Meredith Principal TUBAS Lee Tsarmaklis Principal David Kendall

BASSOONS John Price Principal Gareth Newman* Laurence O’Donnell Gordon Laing

TIMPANI Simon Carrington* Principal Antoine Bedewi

CONTRA BASSOONS Simon Estell Principal Gordon Laing

PERCUSSION Rachel Gledhill Principal Keith Millar Sam Walton Ignacio Molins

HORNS John Ryan Principal Estefania Beceiro Guest Principal Martin Hobbs Gareth Mollison Mark Vines Nicolas Wolmark Jonathan Bareham Jeffrey Bryant Katherine Saunders WAGNER TUBAS Jeffrey Bryant Martin Hobbs

HARP Rachel Masters* Principal

* Holds a professorial appointment in London +

Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Andrew Davenport Julian and Gill Simmonds Simon Yates and Kevin Roon

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 3

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Patrick Harrison

Seventy-eight years after Sir Thomas Beecham founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra, it is recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage. Following Beecham’s influential founding tenure the Orchestra’s Principal Conductorship has been passed from one illustrious musician to another, amongst them Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. This impressive tradition continued in September 2007 when Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and, in a further exciting move, the Orchestra appointed Yannick Nézet-Séguin its new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2008. 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 plays there around 40 times each season with many of the world’s most sought after conductors and soloists. Concert highlights in 2010/11 include an exploration of Mahler’s symphonies and complete song cycles during the composer’s anniversary season; the premières of works by Matteo D’Amico, Magnus Lindberg and Brett Dean; a rare opportunity to hear Rossini’s opera Aureliano in Palmira in collaboration with long term partner Opera Rara; and works by the Orchestra’s new Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In addition to its London season and a series of concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Orchestra has flourishing

residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. It is unique in combining these concert activities with esteemed opera performances each summer at Glyndebourne Festival Opera where it has been the Resident Symphony Orchestra since 1964. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs to enthusiastic audiences all round the world. 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 continues to form a significant part of the Orchestra’s schedule and is supported by Aviva, the International Touring Partner of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Tours in 2010/11 include visits to Finland, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Having long been embraced by the recording, broadcasting and film industries, the London Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts regularly on domestic and international television and radio. It also works with the Hollywood and UK film industries, recording soundtracks for blockbuster motion pictures including the Oscar-winning score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and scores for Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission, Philadelphia and East is East. The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its first recordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after its first public performance. It has recorded and broadcast

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 4

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

regularly ever since, and in 2005 established its own record label. The recordings on its own label are taken mainly from live concerts given by distinguished conductors over the years including the Orchestra’s Principal Conductors from Beecham and Boult, through Haitink, Solti and Tennstedt, to Masur and Jurowski.

WELCOME TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Recent additions to the catalogue have included acclaimed releases of Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and Sea Pictures with Vernon Handley and Janet Baker; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt; Brahms’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 2 conducted by Vladimir Jurowski; and Dvořák’s Requiem under the baton of Neeme Järvi. The Orchestra’s own-label CDs are also widely available to download. Visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop for the latest releases.

‘The LPO do glowering colours very well, and they needed the full palette as Jurowski drove them, menacing and tight, through Mussorgsky’s phantasmagoria …’ GEOFF BROWN, THE TIMES, 17 AUGUST 2010

The Orchestra reaches thousands of Londoners through its rich programme of community and school-based activity in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, which includes the offshoot ensembles Renga and The Band, its Foyle Future Firsts apprenticeship scheme for outstanding young instrumentalists, and regular family and schools concerts. To help maintain its high standards and diverse workload, the Orchestra is committed to the welfare of its musicians and in December 2007 received the Association of British Orchestras/Musicians Benevolent Fund Healthy Orchestra Bronze Charter Mark. There are many ways to experience and stay in touch with the Orchestra’s activities: visit www.lpo.org.uk, subscribe to our podcast series, download our iPhone application and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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 and Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery. If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact Kenelm Roberts, our Head of Customer Relations, at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk or phone 020 7960 4250. 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

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 5

YAN PASCAL TORTELIER CONDUCTOR

Orchestras. Further afield he has collaborated with the Melbourne Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestras.

Yan Pascal Tortelier is Principal Conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra and enjoys a distinguished career as a guest conductor with the world’s most prestigious orchestras. He began his musical life as a violinist and at fourteen won first prize for violin at the Paris Conservatoire and also made his debut as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Following general musical studies with Nadia Boulanger, he studied conducting with Franco Ferrara at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and from 1974 to 1983 he was Associate Conductor of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Other positions have included Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Ulster Orchestra (1989-92) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (2005-08). Following his outstanding work as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic between 1992 and 2003, including annual appearances at the BBC Proms and a very successful tour of the US to celebrate the orchestra’s 60th anniversary season, he has been given the title of Conductor Emeritus and continues to work with the orchestra regularly. He also holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Forthcoming highlights include return visits to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. This month he also undertakes a major European tour with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, visiting a number of prestigious venues including the Vienna Musikverein, Salzburg Festspielhaus, Frankfurt Alte Oper and Cologne Philharmonie. Yan Pascal Tortelier has enjoyed a long association with Chandos Records resulting in an extensive catalogue of recordings, notably with the BBC Philharmonic and Ulster Orchestras, and including award-winning cycles of the orchestral music of Debussy, Ravel (featuring his own orchestration of Ravel’s Piano Trio), Franck, Roussel and Dutilleux. He has also conducted critically acclaimed discs of repertoire ranging from Hindemith and Kodaly to Lutoslawski and Karlowicz. Forthcoming releases for Chandos include Ravel’s Piano Concertos with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in November 2010 and a disc of works by Florent Schmitt with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2011.

Yan Pascal Tortelier has collaborated with major orchestras including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala Milan, and in North America, the Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony and Montreal Symphony

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 6

BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV PIANO

Other achievements have included First Prize at the Republican Competition in Uzbekistan in 1999, Grand Prix in the Competition ‘Le Muse’ in Agropoli, Italy, in 2003, and First Prize in the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition in 2008. That same year he won both the Lennox Young Artist Competition and the Corpus Christi International Competition in the USA and performed with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra in Dallas and the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra in Texas in 2009.

At the age of 18, Behzod Abduraimov achieved a sensational victory in the 2009 London International Piano Competition, winning first prize following an electrifying performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. This resulted in invitations to work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under Grzegorz Nowak) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra this evening. Last season Behzod toured to China and Kuala Lumpur with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy to great critical acclaim. Following their successful collaboration, they appeared again as part of the 2010 Musikfest Bremen. During the 2010/11 season, Behzod will return to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, having made a triumphant Wigmore Hall debut, he will give his debut recital at the Bozar in Brussels in addition to performances in Germany and North America. Since his first performance as a soloist at the age of eight with the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan, Behzod has given many concerts in the USA, Italy, Russia and Uzbekistan. He is invited annually to perform at the Spivakov International Charity Foundation in Moscow, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York City, and the International Summer Piano Academy in Como, Italy.

6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Behzod Abduraimov was born in Tashkent in 1990 and began to play the piano at the age of five. He was a pupil of Tamara Popovich at the Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree at the International Center for Music at Park University, Kansas City, studying with Stanislav Ioudenitch.

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 7

PROGRAMME NOTES

SPEEDREAD Debussy made a famously introspective opera out of Maurice Maeterlinck’s shadowy play, Pelléas et Mélisande, but while he was still at work on it another French composer, Fauré, was commissioned to write incidental music for a London production of the play in 1898. He adapted three numbers for the concert hall and subsequently inserted the earlier Sicilienne to complete the suite that opens tonight’s concert. The play presents an eternal triangle of mostly hidden but fatal passion. Fauré had only six weeks to fulfil that commission. His teacher, Saint-Saëns, had had even less time to compose his Second Piano Concerto. He completed it in 17 days, borrowing – with permission – one of Fauré’s expressive

Gabriel FAURÉ

melodies for the first theme. The second movement is a light and graceful scherzo, and the concerto ends with a whirling finale in the style of a tarantella. Forty-five years on the elderly Saint-Saëns was a stunned but stoical member of the Paris audience that rioted at the first performance of Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring. Those who were outraged by the music came to blows with those who hailed the dawn of a new era. It took only a year for Stravinsky’s score to win acceptance as a towering early landmark of 20th-century music. Set in ancient Russia, the ballet describes how tribal elders choose a girl who dances herself to death as a sacrifice to the god of spring. © Eric Mason

SUITE: PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE, OP. 80 Prélude | Fileuse | Sicilienne | La mort de Mélisande

1845-1924

Maurice Maeterlinck’s shadowy symbolist play, Pelléas et Mélisande, was first produced in 1893 in Paris and attracted a number of composers around the turn of the century. The play has been called ‘an opera libretto in search of a composer’, and of course it found that composer in Debussy, whose opera reached the stage in 1902. Soon afterwards Schoenberg composed a symphonic poem on the subject, Cyril Scott an overture and Sibelius his well-known incidental music to the play. But first in the field was Fauré. In June 1898 nine performances of the play were given in English at the Prince of Wales Theatre, London, the title roles being played by Martin Harvey and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. That celebrated actress invited Fauré to write incidental music for them. She read to him in French the passages she felt most called for music. ‘Dear M. Fauré’, she recalled in her memoirs, ‘how

sympathetically he listened, and how humbly he said he would do his best! His music came – he had grasped with most tender inspiration the poetic purity that pervades and envelops M. Maeterlinck’s lovely play.’ Except for the Sicilienne written five years earlier, Fauré composed all the music in the six weeks at his disposal. Being pressed for time, he entrusted the orchestration to his pupil Charles Koechlin. Later that year, to make a concert suite for a larger orchestra, he extracted three numbers and expanded Koechlin’s scoring. The Sicilienne was added to the suite in 1909. The play is set long ago in imaginary Allemonde. Golaud, the king’s grandson, marries the ethereal Mélisande, who falls in love with his half-brother Pelléas. The jealous husband kills his rival; Mélisande, forgiving him, dies in childbirth. Summarised thus, the

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 8

PROGRAMME NOTES

action sounds melodramatic, but the play deals with changing states of spiritual awareness; the drama is one of half-lights, omens and mostly hidden passions. The Prélude begins with a string theme that stands for Mélisande. After a sombre second theme the first returns with impassioned intensity, followed by the horn call of the approaching Golaud, lost like Mélisande in the forest. Fileuse (The Spinner) is the prelude to Act Three depicting Mélisande at the spinning wheel. Spinning semiquavers on muted violins support its oboe

Camille SAINT-SAËNS

melody. The Sicilienne, an entr’acte before the Act Two fountain scene, has a solo flute tune with harp accompaniment. A short E flat episode provides contrast. Before the last act Fauré laments the coming death of Mélisande with an intense Molto adagio in D minor. A thudding offbeat bass and restless melodic line evoke funereal grief. After the climax a rising theme suggests the release of the girl’s spirit to a less tormented world. © Eric Mason

CONCERTO NO. 2 IN G MINOR FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 22 BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV piano Andante sostenuto | Allegro scherzando | Presto

1835-1921

The great Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein (1830-1894) was also a composer and conductor. Saint-Saëns, no mean pianist himself, was in his early twenties when he first earned Rubinstein’s admiration by playing the Russian’s huge Ocean Symphony on the piano at sight. A warm friendship developed between the two musicians, and Rubinstein eventually gave a series of concerts in Paris in which he played the piano and Saint-Saëns conducted. Then the Russian intimated that he would like to conduct a Paris concert. Saint-Saëns booked the Salle Pleyel for 13 May 1868 – a date just three weeks away – and promised to compose a piano concerto for himself to play under Rubinstein’s baton. He completed the Concerto in G minor in 17 days, but had little time left to practise the solo part and admitted that the performance was not satisfactory. Although the scherzo was an instant success, the rest did not please. Since then this concerto has become one of the composer’s most popular works, admired for the felicity of its formal structure, its airy textures and fine craftsmanship. The Polish pianist Sigismond Stojowski was less than fair to the concerto’s originality when he

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

quipped that it ‘begins with Bach and ends with Offenbach’. Liszt was ‘singularly pleased’ by it, pointing out that Saint-Saëns ‘takes into account the effects of the pianist without sacrificing anything of the ideas of the composer’. Effect and idea are happily married at the outset in the piano’s unaccompanied introduction, a long passage of florid sequences and arpeggios clearly inspired by Bach but novel in a 19th-century French concerto. After a brief orchestral passage the soloist announces the expressive first theme. This was actually written by the composer’s pupil, Fauré, as a Tantum Ergo for voice and organ, but the teacher persuaded Fauré to make him a gift of the melody, which is nicely suited to its context here. Dramatic exchanges between piano and orchestra lead to the lyrical second subject in B flat. A more animated section reaches its climax with the return of the first theme fortissimo on unison strings against crashing double octaves on the piano. After a piano cadenza based on figures from the first theme and following passage the movement ends with references back to the introduction.

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 9

PROGRAMME NOTES

Mendelssohn would not have been ashamed to have written the light and graceful scherzo. The main subject is played by piano and orchestra in turn and then elaborated, and the cellos introduce a broader second theme. The discreet but effective part for the timpani is typical of the composer’s masterly orchestration.

piano introduces two themes, the second a rhythmical flourish in octaves with a four-note reply from the orchestra. Another piano theme, an angular melody with trills, completes the basic material of the movement, which proceeds with unflagging energy to a merry conclusion.

The Presto finale is in the style of a tarantella. Piano and orchestra start the whirling dance rhythm, and the

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

Igor STRAVINSKY

THE RITE OF SPRING

1882-1971

The Rite of Spring is the third of the three ballet scores for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes that made Stravinsky’s name internationally, and it stands as a towering early landmark of 20th-century music. By its new principles of construction and new relationship between melody, harmony and rhythm it gave expression to a fresh concept in music in much the same way as Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon had done a few years earlier in painting. The most obvious feature of Stravinsky’s ballet, besides its powerful impact, is the pre-eminence of rhythm. This score is a kaleidoscope of continually changing rhythmic patterns. The fundamental pulse that is felt to be carrying the music forward is regularly and irregularly multiplied, producing rhythms that seize attention and exhilarate the listener. Melody is reduced mostly to short, memorable phrases and harmony to dissonant bitonality. Stravinsky was finishing The Firebird in St Petersburg in 1910 when the first idea of The Rite of Spring occurred

to him as a fleeting vision of a pagan rite. In his mind’s eye he saw ‘sage elders, seated in a circle, watching a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring’. He described the vision to the painter Nicolas Roerich and later to Diaghilev, and both agreed that there was the basis of a ballet in it, rather than the symphony that the composer first contemplated writing. Stravinsky put the idea aside for a year while he composed Petrushka, then took it up again and worked out a scenario with Roerich. He composed most of the music during the winter of 1911-12 in Clarens, Switzerland, working at an upright piano in a room only eight feet square. The first musical idea, embodied in the Auguries of Spring section composed the previous summer, was two clashing adjacent chords (E major and E flat major plus a minor seventh), which formed simultaneously under the composer’s hands at the keyboard. From that he developed the whole score, working through to the end and adding the introduction last.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 10

PROGRAMME NOTES

Notating the music gave him much trouble; he could play his ideas on the piano but it took a long time to devise ways of writing them down. As for orchestration, the two previous ballets had shown his mastery, but here he surpassed himself, drawing novel sonorities from a very large orchestra containing a score of woodwind, nearly as many brass instruments and a big percussion section. The ballet reached the stage at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, on 29 May 1913 and provoked one of the most notorious scandals in theatrical history. Fights broke out between those in the audience who were shocked by the music and those who hailed the dawn of a new era. The consequent noise drowned the performance. Nijinsky’s experimental choreography, which attempted to synchronise movement metrically with the music and had the dancers turn their feet inwards, exacerbated the situation. Half a century later Stravinsky remembered the scene as showing ‘knockkneed and long-braided Lolitas jumping up and down’. But the music was vindicated by a triumphant concert performance in Paris a year later and soon established itself as a unique masterpiece. Sub-titled Pictures of Pagan Russia, the score is in two parts with a short pause between them. Part One: The Adoration of the Earth Introduction: a solo bassoon in its highest register plays a Lithuanian folk tune that frames a picture of nature awakening. Auguries of Spring (Dances of the Young Girls): multiple repetitions of the above-mentioned E and E flat chords, with irregular explosive

accentuation that distorts the 2/4 metre, yield to reiterated fragments of folk-like melody. Mock Abduction: a fierce game with chains of angular triplets on trumpet and woodwind. Springtime Round Dance: a dragging, earthbound measure framed by a bald, chantlike melody for E flat and bass clarinets. Games of the Rival Clans: two vigorous themes vie in rapid alternation, leading into Procession of the Sage, which has a loud, repeated up-and-down motive for tubas. The music quietens briefly for The Adoration of the Earth, the wise elder’s ritual kissing of the newly flowering soil, then with rapid drumbeats bursts into the wild Dance of the Earth. Part Two: The Sacrifice Introduction: a hushed evocation of the pagan night. Mysterious Circles of the Young Girls: six violas begin this section. To a quicker version of the Introduction’s undulating motive and suggestions of a Russian folk song the young virgins dance on the sacred hill and choose which of them will be honoured as sacrificial victim. Glorification of the Chosen Girl: a fast, fierce eruption in irregular rhythmic patterns anticipates the final dance. The Summoning of the Ancients by loud fanfares follows, and in Ritual of the Ancients, begun by complementary motives for cor anglais and bass flute, the elders tread to a steady but inexorable beat, approaching and receding. The final Sacrificial Dance, a complex rhythmic treatment of simple themes, is the ballet’s orgiastic climax as the chosen girl dances to exhaustion and death. © Eric Mason

Hear every note

Hard of hearing? Visit the cloakroom for equipment to improve your concert experience.

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 11

RECORDINGS ON THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA’S OWN RECORD LABEL

LPO-0025 Sir Georg Solti conducts Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) and Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite as part of Volume 2 of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Box Sets. ‘Solti leads a characteristically charged reading of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, the strings softening the conductor’s thrust to the music’s benefit.’ ANDREW CLARK, FINANCIAL TIMES, 27 OCTOBER 2007

This disc is only available as part of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Box Set, Volume 2, which also features Britten conducted by Sir John Pritchard, Elgar and Britten conducted by Bernard Haitink, and John McCabe and Malcolm Arnold conducted by Sir Georg Solti and Bernard Haitink.

LPO-0043 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Brahms’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 2 ‘This pair of budget-priced CDs on the LPO’s own label demonstrate how, in the right hands, the first two symphonies can thrill and delight … exquisite wind playing …genuinely exciting …’ GRAHAM RICKSON, THE ARTS DESK, 22 FEBRUARY 2010

LPO-0044 Klaus Tennstedt conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ‘This live version of the Resurrection is frequently startling – extremely expansive but exciting, dramatic and highly charismatic …The playing and singing are excellent, and the recording, made by the Music Performance Research Centre, is near-faultless.’ GRAHAM RICKSON, THE ARTS DESK, 22 MARCH 2010

The recordings may be downloaded in high quality MP3 format from www.lpo.org.uk/shop. CDs may also be purchased from all good retail outlets or through the London Philharmonic Orchestra: telephone 020 7840 4242 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm) or visit the website www.lpo.org.uk

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 12

FUNharmonics Family Concert

Heroes and Heroines Sunday 17 October 2010 | 11.30am Royal Festival Hall Wagner Prelude to Act 3 of ‘Lohengrin’ Bizet Prelude and Aragonaise from ‘Carmen’ Vangelis (arr. Raine) Chariots of Fire Nott (arr. Raine) Wallace and Gromit Mancini (arr. Gascoigne) The Pink Panther Patterson Little Red Riding Hood Bizet March of the Toreadors from ‘Carmen’ Glinka Overture, Russlan and Ludmila John Rigby conductor Chris Jarvis presenter Foyer Events from 10am You can try your hand at playing an orchestral instrument in one of our Have-a-Go sessions, get your face painted or join our human orchestra – all in the foyers before and after the performance. Generously supported by The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust.

TICKETS Child £4-£8; Adult £8-£16 For booking details see page 16.

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 13

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group Mr & Mrs Richard & Victoria Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds Mrs Steven Ward Simon Yates & Kevin Roon Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport David & Victoria Graham Fuller Richard Karl Goeltz John & Angela Kessler Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett

Mr Daniel Goldstein Mrs Barbara Green Oliver Heaton Peter MacDonald Eggers Mr & Mrs David Malpas Andrew T Mills Mr Maxwell Morrison Mr Michael Posen Mr & Mrs Thierry Sciard Mr John Soderquist & Mr Costas Michaelides Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Laurie Watt Mr Anthony Yolland

Guy & Utti Whittaker Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Jane Attias Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Mrs Sonja Drexler Mr Charles Dumas David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans

Benefactors Mrs A Beare Dr & Mrs Alan Carrington CBE FRS Marika Cobbold & Michael Patchett-Joyce Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Edgecombe Mr Richard Fernyhough Ken Follett

Michael & Christine Henry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha Mr & Mrs Maurice Lambert Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Mr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Brian Marsh John Montgomery Mr & Mrs Egil Oldeide Edmund Pirouet Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Lady Marina Vaizey Mr D Whitelock Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged. Corporate Members Appleyard & Trew llp AREVA UK British American Business Brown Brothers Harriman Charles Russell Destination Québec – UK Diagonal Consulting Lazard Leventis Overseas Man Group plc Québec Government Office in London Corporate Donor Lombard Street Research In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Heineken The Langham London Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sela / Tilley’s Sweets Villa Maria

Trusts and Foundations Allianz Cultural Foundation The Andor Charitable Trust Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Candide Charitable Trust The John S Cohen Foundation The Coutts Charitable Trust The Dorset Foundation The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Eranda Foundation The Ernest Cook Trust The Fenton Arts Trust The Foyle Foundation The Jonathan & Jeniffer Harris Trust The Idlewild Trust The Emmanuel Kaye Foundation Maurice Marks Charitable Trust The Michael Marks Charitable Trust Marsh Christian Trust UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation

The Mercers’ Company Adam Mickiewicz Institute Paul Morgan Charitable Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust Musicians Benevolent Fund The R K Charitable Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Rubin Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Sound Connections The Steel Charitable Trust The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation John Thaw Foundation The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust The Underwood Trust Garfield Weston Foundation Youth Music and others who wish to remain anonymous.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 14

PHILHARMONIC NEWS

LPO Contemporaries First Birthday Party This evening’s concert marks the first anniversary of the launch of LPO Contemporaries, one of London’s most exciting and dynamic arts membership schemes. Aimed at young professionals in their 20s and 30s, LPO Contemporaries offers the opportunity to socialise, enjoy special events, see behind the scenes, and, above all, enjoy world class music. Alongside some fantastic concerts, over the last year our members have enjoyed a Christmas Party, exclusive evenings with our generous partners Skylon and Thomas Pink and a Champagne Saturday Open Rehearsal – music and bubbly at the Royal Festival Hall. Those joining at Executive Level have had the opportunity to see a production in rehearsal at Glyndebourne and to secure tickets to the Orchestra’s glittering Gala Dinner at Goldsmiths’ Hall last June. Tonight’s First Birthday Party will see the membership celebrate with pre and post-concert receptions including Villa Maria wines, delicious cocktails mixed by Skylon’s expert staff, and the obligatory birthday cupcakes! Tonight is also the first in the LPO Contemporaries three-concert subscription series. This strand, which runs across the year, pulls together three of our most compelling concerts offering members a 10% discount on some of the greatest music in the repertoire. In addition to tonight’s performance, the series includes Fauré’s Requiem, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, on Saturday 22 January and a tour de force of romanticism on Wednesday 4 May, when

LPO Contemporaries enjoying an Orchestra reception

Vladimir Jurowski will conduct favourites by Wagner, Strauss and Tchaikovsky. Young professionals who belong to the scheme not only benefit from an exciting window on the world of the London Philharmonic Orchestra but know that their annual subscription helps to support the Orchestra’s work both on and off the concert platform. We are proud to welcome so many of our founder members to celebrate a year of LPO Contemporaries and we look forward to an exciting future ahead. Come and join us! You can sign up online or by calling Elisenda Ayats on 020 7840 4225. For more information visit www.lpo.org.uk. Conductors We are delighted to announce that Vladimir Jurowski has extended his contract with the Orchestra until the end of the 2014/15 season. ‘My first three seasons as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra have been a very happy and mutually enhancing relationship’, he reports. ‘I therefore look forward, more than ever, to the seasons ahead in which the Orchestra and I can continue to develop our artistic collaboration further.’ Congratulations to our Principal Guest Conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, on his new appointment with the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was announced in June that he will be Music Director Designate of the Philadelphia Orchestra for the next two seasons before formally taking over as its Music Director in 2012 when his contract will run for a further five years. He will still remain as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and we are delighted that he has extended his contract as Principal Guest Conductor with us until the end of the 2013/14 season. Ralf Sochaczewsky’s last concert as our Assistant Conductor was our Prom at the Royal Albert Hall on 15 August. Our Assistant Conductor from September to December 2010 will be Eduardo Portal who held the same position with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. From January 2011 onwards the Assistant Conductor will be Thomas Blunt who was Chorus Master at Glyndebourne from 2006 to 2009.

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

55761 LPO 1 October 10_55761 LPO 1 October 10 24/09/2010 09:02 Page 15

ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL