LPo Programme notes 25 September 2010 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

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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†

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Saturday 25 September 2010 | 7.30 pm VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor OMAR EBRAHIM narrator THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE LONDON PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

PROGRAMME £3 CONTENTS 2 3 4 5 6

HAYDN Symphony No. 63 (La Roxelane)

(20’)

MATTEO D’AMICO Flight from Byzantium (world première)*

(23’)

INTERVAL

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

DUFAY Moribus et genere**; Vergene bella**; Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae** (15’) BARTÓK The Miraculous Mandarin (complete)

(30’)

* Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the assistance of Sonja Drexler and the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana. ** The Hilliard Ensemble only

†

7 13 14 15 16

List of Players Vladimir Jurowski The Hilliard Ensemble Omar Ebrahim / Southbank Centre London Philharmonic Choir Programme Notes Orchestra History Administration Supporters Future Concerts

supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Barlines – FREE Post-Concert Event: Level 2 Foyer at Royal Festival Hall An informal discussion with Vladimir Jurowski following the evening’s performance.

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LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS Tomo Keller Guest Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Julia Rumley Chair supported by Mrs Steven Ward

Katalin Varnagy Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Tina Gruenberg Martin Hรถhmann Chair supported by Richard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey Lynn Robert Pool Florence Schoeman Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Alain Petitclerc Peter Nall Galina Tanney SECOND VIOLINS Clare Duckworth Principal Chair supported by Richard and Victoria Sharp

Joseph Maher Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Heather Badke Peter Graham Stephen Stewart Mila Mustakova Sheila Law Lisa Obert Steve Dinwoodie VIOLAS Rachel Roberts Guest Principal Robert Duncan Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter-Bootiman Laura Vallejo

Isabel Pereira Daniel Cornford Alistair Scahill Sarah Malcolm Miranda Davis Karin Norlen CELLOS Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Simon Yates and Kevin Roon

Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Sabino Carvalho + Jonathan Ayling Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie and Zander Sharp

Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Sibylle Hentschel Tom Roff Rosie Banks DOUBLE BASSES Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Kenneth Knussen Joe Melvin Helen Rowlands Louis Garson FLUTES Susan Thomas* Principal Joanna Marsh Stewart McIlwham*

COR ANGLAIS Sue Bohling Principal Chair supported by Julian and Gill Simmonds

CLARINETS Nicholas Carpenter Principal Katie Lockhart Paul Richards E FLAT CLARINET Katie Lockhart Guest Principal BASS CLARINET Paul Richards Principal

OBOES Ian Hardwick Principal Angela Tennick Sue Bohling

TIMPANI Simon Carrington* Principal PERCUSSION Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Keith Millar Jeremy Cornes Sam Walton Ignacio Molins HARP Rachel Masters* Principal

BASSOONS Gareth Newman* Principal Clare Webster Simon Estell

PIANO Catherine Edwards

CONTRA BASSOON Simon Estell Principal

CELESTA Bernard Robertson

HORNS John Ryan Principal Alec Frank-Gemmill Guest Principal Martin Hobbs Gareth Mollison Mark Vines

ORGAN Henry Parkes DUDUK Martin Robertson OUD James Ellis

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

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal PICCOLOS Stewart McIlwham* Principal Joanna Marsh

TUBA Lee Tsarmaklis Principal

TROMBONES Mark Templeton* Principal David Whitehouse

* Holds a professorial appointment in London +

Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

BASS TROMBONE Lyndon Meredith Principal ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Eduardo Portal

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: David and Victoria Graham Fuller John and Angela Kessler

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VLADIMIR JUROWSKI

Karen Robinson

CONDUCTOR

Born in Moscow, the son of conductor Mikhail Jurowski, Vladimir Jurowski 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 where he continued his studies in Dresden and Berlin, studying conducting with Rolf Reuter and vocal coaching with Semion Skigin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival, where he conducted Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night. The same year saw his brilliant debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Nabucco. In 1996 he joined the ensemble of Komische Oper Berlin, becoming First Kapellmeister in 1997 and continuing to work at the Komische Oper on a permanent basis until 2001. Since 1997 Vladimir Jurowski has been a guest at some of the world’s leading musical institutions including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Opéra Bastille de Paris, Théâtre de la Monnaie Bruxelles, Maggio Musicale Festival Florence, Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro, Edinburgh Festival, Semperoper Dresden and Teatro Comunale di Bologna (where he served as Principal Guest Conductor between 2000 and 2003). In 1999 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with Rigoletto. In January 2001 Vladimir Jurowski took up the position of Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in 2003 was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor in September 2007. He also holds the title of Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and from 2005 to 2009 served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra with whom he will continue to work in the years ahead.

Vladimir Jurowski is a regular guest with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras as well as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Highlights of the 2010/11 season and beyond include his debuts with the Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony and Mahler Chamber Orchestras, and return visits to the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras. His operatic engagements have included Jenůfa, The Queen of Spades and Hänsel und Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera, Parsifal and Wozzeck at Welsh National Opera, War and Peace at the Opéra National de Paris, Eugene Onegin at La Scala Milan, as well as Die Zauberflöte, La Cenerentola, Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, The Rake’s Progress and Peter Eötvös’ Love and Other Demons at Glyndebourne Opera. Future engagements include new productions of Die Meistersinger and The Cunning Little Vixen at Glyndebourne, Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera, Ruslan and Ludmila at the Bolshoi Theatre, and Iolanta at the Dresden Semperoper. Jurowski’s discography includes the first ever recording of Giya Kancheli’s cantata Exile for ECM (1994), L’Étoile du Nord by Meyerbeer for Naxos-Marco Polo (1996) and Werther for BMG (1999) as well as live recordings of works by Rachmaninov, Turnage, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Brahms and Shostakovich on the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s own label, and Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery on Glyndebourne Opera’s own label. He also records for PentaTone with the Russian National Orchestra, with releases to date including Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 and Stravinsky’s Divertimento from Le Baiser de la fée, Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 6, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky’s Hamlet Incidental Music. Glyndebourne have released DVD recordings of his performances of La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, Die Fledermaus and Rachmaninov’s The Miserly Knight. Other recent DVD releases include Hänsel und Gretel from the Metropolitan Opera New York, and his first concert as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor featuring works by Wagner, Berg and Mahler (released by Medici Arts).

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THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE DAVID JAMES countertenor

ROGERS COVEY-CRUMP tenor

STEVEN HARROLD tenor

GORDON JONES baritone

Friedrun Reinhold

on the research of Professor Helga Thoene, this is a unique interweaving of Bach’s Partita in D minor for solo violin with a selection of Chorale verses crowned by the epic Ciaconna, in which instrumentalist and vocalists are united.

Unrivalled for its formidable reputation in the fields of both early and new music, The Hilliard Ensemble is one of the world’s finest vocal chamber groups. Its distinctive style and highly developed musicianship engage the listener as much in medieval and Renaissance repertoire as in works specially written by living composers. The group’s standing as an early music ensemble dates from the 1980s with its series of successful recordings for EMI (many of which have been re-released on Virgin) and its own mail-order record label hilliard LIVE, now available on the Coro label; but from the start it has paid equal attention to new music. The 1988 recording of Arvo Pärt’s Passio began a fruitful relationship with both Pärt and the Munich-based record company ECM, and was followed by their recording of Pärt’s Litany. The group has recently commissioned other composers from the Baltic States, including Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tüür, adding to a rich repertoire of new music from Gavin Bryars, Heinz Holliger, John Casken, James MacMillan, Elena Firsova and many others. In addition to many a cappella discs, collaborations for ECM include most notably Officium and Mnemosyne with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, a partnership which continues to develop and renew itself, and Morimur with the German Baroque violinist Christoph Poppen and soprano Monika Mauch. Based

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The group continues in its quest to forge relationships with living composers, often in an orchestral context. In 1999, they premièred Miroirs des Temps by Unsuk Chin with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kent Nagano. In the same year, James MacMillan’s Quickening, commissioned jointly by the BBC and the Philadelphia Orchestra, was premièred at the BBC Proms. With Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, they performed the world première of Stephen Hartke’s 3rd Symphony and they recently collaborated with the Munich Chamber Orchestra on a new work by Erkki-Sven Tüür. In 2007 they joined forces with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra to première Nunc Dimittis by the Russian composer Alexander Raskatov, also recording this for ECM. A new development for the group began in August 2008 with the première at the Edinburgh International Festival of a music theatre project written by Heiner Goebbels in a production by the Théâtre Vidy, Lausanne – I went to the house but did not enter. This has subsequently been presented throughout Europe and the US. Highlights of their diary last season included premières in Cologne, Paris and New York of Et Lux, a substantial new work by Wolfgang Rihm for which they were joined by the Arditti Quartet; a weekend mini-festival at London’s Wigmore Hall; a visit to Australia’s Perth International Arts Festival; the European première of Stephen Hartke’s 3rd Symphony with Christoph Poppen and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern; and concerts with Jan Garbarek.

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OMAR EBRAHIM NARRATOR

SOUTHBANK CENTRE 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.

Omar Ebrahim was a chorister at Coventry Cathedral and subsequently studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He served his performing apprenticeship at the Royal Shakespeare Company and at Glyndebourne. He has been involved with many contemporary operas by Osborne, Tippett and Birtwistle for Glyndebourne Festival, Berio and Birtwistle for Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bose and Lieberson for Munich Biennale and Tanglewood, as well as working regularly for City of Birmingham Touring Opera, Almeida Opera, Basel Opera and Opera Factory where his roles ranged from Punch in Birtwistle’s Punch & Judy through to Don Giovanni. More recently he has sung opera premières by Kris Defoort for La Monnaie Brussels, Liza Lim for Elision Ensemble and Eötvös at the Châtelet Theatre Paris. He has also sung with New Israeli Opera, Scottish Opera and Opera Theatre Company Dublin. He is particularly associated with the work Aventures, nouvelles aventures by Ligeti performing the piece to critical acclaim with ensembles worldwide and making several recordings. He regularly appears with leading contemporary groups including Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Schoenberg Ensemble and Ensemble Intercontemporain and has also appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Netherlands Radio Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Northern Sinfonia, MusikFabrik Cologne, Ensemble Recherche, Bochum Symphoniker and Ensemble Umze. He has sung at major festivals and concert halls worldwide including the BBC Proms, Lincoln Center New York and Salzburg Festival. Future plans include Philip Glass’s In the Penal Colony with Music Theatre Wales, the première of Luc Brewaey’s L’intruse for Flanders Opera and further performances of Liza Lim’s The Navigator. Concerts include Enno Poppe’s Interzone with Ensemble Mosaik at the Huddersfield Festival and in s’Hertogenbosch, and new works by Liza Lim with Musikfabrik and Naomi Pinnock with London Sinfonietta.

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

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LONDON PHILHARMONIC CHOIR PATRON: HRH Princess Alexandra PRESIDENT: Sir Roger Norrington ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Neville Creed

ACCOMPANIST: Iain Farrington CHAIRMAN: Mary Moore CHOIR MANAGER: Kevin Darnell

Sopranos Tess Bartley, Rebecca Brei, Sarah Brown, Olivia Carter, Paula Chessell, Juyi Chou, Katja Cleasby, Sarah Deane-Cutler, Alison Flood, Hannah Grace, Claudie Gheno, Rachel Gibbon, Simone Gregoire, Jane Hanson, Sally Harrison, Carolyn Hayman, Elizabeth Hicks, Alexa Hills, Erin Hutchinson, Jenni Kilvert, Olivia Knibbs, Ilona Kratochvilova, Frances Lake, Charlotte Lawrence, Joanna Loxton, Olivia McDaid, Sophie Mearing-Smith, Linda Park, Teresa Pells, Christine Rush, Sarah Skinner, Victoria Smith, Claire Spencer, Tania Stanier, Caroline Taunt, Rosanna Thomas, Susan Thomas, Jenny Torniainen, Nicola Ward, Fran Welch, Laura Westcott, Fran Wheare, Hannah Widmann

Morrison, Rachel Murray, Elisabeth Nicol, Angela Pascoe, Helene Richards, Muriel Swijghuisen Reigersburg, Jenny Ryall, Harriet Shawcross, Vivienne Stockley, Tamara Swire, Curzon Tussaud, Susi Undewood, Margaret de Valois Rowney, Mariken Van Dolen, Erika Weingarth

Altos Joanna Arnold, Phye Bell, Susannah Bellingham, Sam Castell Finegold, Noel Chow, Yvonne Cohen, Liz Cole, Janik Dale, Lauren Dibbs, Margaret Driver, Moira Duckworth, Andrea Easey, Carmel Edmonds, Regina Frank, Clare Galton, Sophy Holland, Erica Howard, Kasia Hunt, Kate Jackson, Edith Judd, Andrea Lane, Marjana

Founded in 1947, the London Philharmonic Choir is widely regarded as one of Britain’s finest choirs, consistently meeting with great critical acclaim. It has performed under leading international conductors throughout its history and made numerous recordings for CD, radio and television. Its Artistic Director is Neville Creed. Enjoying a close relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Choir joins it regularly for concerts in the UK and abroad. Last season’s highlights included performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Seven Last Words, Honegger’s Une Cantate de Noël, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Janáček’s The Eternal Gospel, Myaskovsky’s Symphony No. 6 and Liszt’s A Faust Symphony. Most recently, the Choir performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and in October will perform Dvořák’s Te Deum and Stabat Mater. Future engagements in early 2011 include Faure’s Requiem, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied, Holst’s The Planets and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Recently released CDs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra include Dvořák’s Requiem conducted by Neeme Järvi and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

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Tenors Geir Andreassen, Simon Best, Chris Beynon, John Boyne, Brian Coulstock, James Crawford, Kevin Darnell, Dwayne Engh, Iain Handyside, Stephen Hodges, Paul Thirer, Alex Thomas, Tony Wren Basses Ken Atkinson, Jonathon Bird, Stephen Bonney, Gordon Buky-Webster, Adam Bunzl, Geoff Clare, David Clark, Rob Collis, Phillip Dangerfield, Marcus Daniels, Ian Frost, Paul Gittens, Nigel Grieve, Christopher Harvey, Mark Hillier, Stephen Hines, Rylan Holey, Hugh Hudson, Martin Hudson, Aidan Jones, Steve Kirby, Ashley Morrison, John Murton, William Parsons, Johan Pieters, Tony Piper, David Regan, Stephen Rosser, Daniel Snowman, Peter Sollich, Edwin Tomlins, James Torniainen, James Wilson, Hin-Yan Wong

The Choir appears regularly at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, its performances having included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Rachmaninov’s The Bells and the UK premières of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s A Relic of Memory and Goldie’s Sine Tempore in the Evolution! Prom. The Choir shared the stage with Daleks and other creatures at the Doctor Who Prom in 2008 and for a second time in 2010. The London Philharmonic Choir also works with other leading orchestras. It has visited many countries in Europe and travelled as far afield as Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and Perth, Australia. In 2007, the Choir celebrated its 60th anniversary and published a book – Hallelujah: An Informal History of the London Philharmonic Choir. The book is available from retail outlets here at Southbank Centre and can be ordered through the Choir’s website. The London Philharmonic Choir prides itself on achieving first-class performances from its members, who are volunteers from all walks of life. For more information, including details about how to join, please visit www.lpc.org.uk.

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PROGRAMME NOTES

EAST AND WEST In May 1453, Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the spiritual centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church, was captured by the besieging forces of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The event marked a seismic shift of power in the region, the repercussions of which have lasted to the present day. It provoked a shocked reaction throughout Europe, reflected in the Lament which ends The Hilliard Ensemble’s group of devotional pieces by the greatest composer of the age, Guillaume Dufay. The city of Constantinople, once Byzantium and now Istanbul, was the starting-point for a provocative essay by the Russian-American writer Joseph Brodsky, Flight from Byzantium. This is also the title of tonight’s specially commissioned cantata by the Italian composer Matteo

Joseph HAYDN

D’Amico, in which readings from the essay alternate with settings for vocal quartet of some of Brodsky’s lyrical Nativity Poems, in Russian, against a vivid orchestral backdrop. These extremes of ancient and modern are flanked by two orchestral works loosely picking up the subject of encounters between East and West, but each focussing on an individual outsider. ‘La Roxelane’ is a character in a play by Charles-Simon Favart, a French girl in a harem who ensnares the Sultan not only into marriage but also into a power-sharing agreement: Joseph Haydn turned his incidental music for the play into his Symphony No. 63. ‘The Miraculous Mandarin’ is the central figure in Béla Bartók’s luridly thrilling ballet score, a mysterious Oriental visitor to a Western city who is enticed by a girl into a shabby room and attacked by thugs, but who cannot die until his longing for the girl is finally assuaged.

SYMPHONY NO. 63 IN C (LA ROXELANE) (first version) Allegro | Allegretto (o più tosto allegro) | Menuet and Trio: Allegretto | Finale: Prestissimo

1732-1809

As music director to the Esterházy family, Haydn was required to provide not only symphonies and other works for the concert room, but also operas and incidental music for the theatres at the grand palace of Eszterháza. And, especially at busy periods, there was sometimes a crossover between these two strands of his output. In its original form, as reconstructed by the late H.C. Robbins Landon, the Symphony No. 63 seems to consist of music also used in early 1777 for a production by a visiting company of Soliman II, oder Die drei Sultanninen, a translation of Charles-Simon Favart’s comedy Les trois sultanes, ‘The sultan’s three wives’. The heroine of the play is Roxelane, a French girl in the harem of the Sultan Soliman, who charms the Sultan not only into marrying her but also into sharing his authority with her. And ‘La Roxelane’ is the title found in

several sources over the second movement of the Symphony, strongly suggesting that it was specially written for the play. It is one of Haydn’s distinctive sets of double variations: a simple folk-like melody in C minor and a fanfare-like theme in C major are presented and varied in turn, with the last major-key variation extended into a noisy coda. In the Symphony, this movement is preceded by a lively triple-time Allegro which is also known as the Overture to Haydn’s comic opera Il mondo della luna, first performed at Eszterháza in August 1777: it seems plausible that it might previously have served as the overture to Soliman II. And the work ends as usual with a minuet and trio and a quick finale. At some time in the late 1770s, probably in preparing the Symphony for

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PROGRAMME NOTES

publication, Haydn wrote two new, lightly scored, closing movements, and reduced the orchestration of the first movement to match them. But Robbins Landon established that the original finale had been borrowed – presumably for the play and then the Symphony – from a torso of a C major symphony or overture which has survived in a manuscript of around 1773; and he concluded that the original minuet, no longer extant in

Matteo D’AMICO Born 1955

Surtitles for this performance by Andrew Huth. Matteo D’Amico studied at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in his native Rome, and later with the distinguished composer and teacher Franco Donatoni. He has been artistic director of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, and holds the chair of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. His works have been widely performed in Italy and throughout mainland Europe; they include operas and other theatrical pieces, reflecting his long-standing interest in the relationship between music, poetry, theatre and dance, and several concert pieces involving the use of a speaking voice. D’Amico wrote Flight from Byzantium in 2009/10 in response to a joint commission from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with support from Sonja Drexler, and the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, the Italian Youth Orchestra. The work takes its title from a 1985 New Yorker essay by Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996), the Leningrad-born writer who was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in the United States, winning a Nobel Prize for literature in 1987. Written after a visit to Istanbul, the former Constantinople, Brodsky’s essay argues that the Emperor Constantine’s creation of a

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any version of the Symphony, must have come from the same source. Both movements make a feature of abrupt dynamic contrasts: the finale especially, in recurring exchanges between a strong octave scale figure and fragile passages for the violins alone. Haydn must surely have seized on this movement for use in the play, to represent the stern Sultan exerting his authority – before the wily Roxelane gains the upper hand.

new capital on the Bosphorus opened up his Empire to Eastern autocratic, absolutist attitudes which were at odds with the more open, democratic Roman tradition, and which were to persist through the thousand years of the Byzantine Empire and right up to the Soviet empire of the twentieth century. Excerpts from the essay are read at intervals throughout the work. But they alternate, and occasionally overlap, with settings for the four voices of The Hilliard Ensemble of some of Brodsky’s Nativity Poems, reflections on the birth of Christ written, in Russian, throughout the author’s career. The vivid, often tense, backdrop to the speaking and singing voices is provided by a large orchestra, which includes two traditional instruments of the Middle East, the double-reed duduk and the oud, or lute. In his preface to the score, the composer writes of Brodsky’s essay: ‘Historical rigour and lucid, prophetic vision are the means by which he approached the great question of relations between East and West – relations which in a few years were to turn into a dramatic clash. … The recurring image of Byzantium as a point of balance between the East, always marching towards the West, and the West, always resisting its violence, brings us to a gloomy, disenchanted ending, with the author

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PROGRAMME NOTES

imagining himself drinking tea after a symbolic crossing of the Bosphorus.’ D’Amico adds that the madrigalian settings of four of Brodsky’s Nativity Poems provide ‘more intense, lyrical moments within this clear analysis

of the East as “a metaphysical centre of humankind”. Deeply imbued with spirituality, they trace a distinctive emotional path which has many points of contact with the more rational content of the spoken sections.’

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

Guillaume DUFAY ?1397-1474

Guillaume Dufay was the leading composer of the fifteenth century. He was a native of Cambrai in northern France, where he trained as a choirboy at the Cathedral, lived for substantial periods of his life, and died in his seventies. But, like many other French and Flemish composers of the time, he spent much of his career in southern Europe, working at various times in Rimini and in Bologna, at the Papal chapel in Rome, and at the court of the Dukes of Savoy. His large output covers a wide variety of genres, both sacred (in Latin) and secular (in French and Italian); and it is equally

MORIBUS ET GENERE VERGENE BELLA LAMENTATIO SANCTAE MATRIS ECCLESIAE CONSTANTINOPOLITANAE THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE

wide-ranging in style, belonging essentially to the late medieval period but often anticipating the innovations of the Renaissance. Dufay’s four-voice Moribus et genere was probably written in Cambrai in 1442 or ’43, either for the installation of a new Bishop or for a visit to the city by the Duke of Burgundy. It is a late example of the ceremonial isorhythmic motet, a medieval genre of formidable complexity which nevertheless inspired some of the composer’s finest invention. The piece is

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built around a ‘tenor’ part (the second tenor in this ensemble) which fits a passage of plainchant into a repeating rhythmic pattern in long held notes, then repeats this at successively faster speeds, in the proportions 3:2:1. This tenor part is matched by a ‘second tenor’ (baritone) part, which goes through the same speeding-up process. Above this, the more active ‘triplum’ and ‘motetus’ parts (countertenor and first tenor) have a setting of a specially written Latin poem – but with the ‘triplum’ starting at the beginning and the ‘motetus’ at the third stanza, so that their texts converge only at the end. Vergene bella is a three-voice devotional song in Italian, a setting of a famous prayer to the Virgin Mary by the fourteenth-century poet Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). It was probably written during one of Dufay’s first sojourns in Italy in the 1420s. But, although an early work, it sounds to our ears like a much more modern piece than the motet – conceived not in horizontal layers but in terms of vertical harmony, and with passages (such as the opening) of Renaissance-style imitation between the parts.

Dufay’s four-voice ‘Lament of the holy mother of the church of Constantinople’ is a reaction to the fall of the Byzantine capital Constantinople to the forces of the Ottoman Empire in May 1453, an event which sent shock-waves through the whole of Europe. It is usually said to have been performed in Lille in February 1454 at the Feast of the Pheasant, a banquet held by Philip the Good of Burgundy to raise funds for a crusade against the occupier. But it is now believed to be one of four such laments (the others are lost) which Dufay mentioned in a letter of (probably) 1456 as having been composed the previous year, on texts sent from Naples. They may have been written for Pope Calixtus III, another advocate of a crusade to reclaim Constantinople for Christianity. The piece is written in motet style, with a slow-moving ‘tenor’ part stating a verse of Latin plainchant from the Book of Lamentations about the plight of the holy city of Jerusalem, then restating it in a different rhythm. Around this, the three other voices sing a French poetic text, a prayer on behalf of the equally dishonoured holy city of Constantinople.

Moribus et genere Moribus et genere Christo coniuncte Iohannes, Huc ades affluereque iube dictaminis amnes. Exercet plebs ista choros tibi, carmina pangit, Angelicos tangit cetus cantando decoros.

John, linked by birth and character to Christ, be present here, and bid the streams of eloquence abound. This congregation sings in chorus to thee, composes songs, and with its singing reaches the beauteous choirs of angels.

Carne viror, sed mente cruor, sunt hec tibi dotes, Corde nitor, sermone decor, celi scala pontes. Virginitate fruens, niveo candore notate, Te laudant olei profuse corpore gutte.

In flesh vigour, but in mind gore, these are thy gifts; in intellect elegance, in speech polish, heaven’s ladder, bridges. 0 thou that art blessed with virginity, marked with snowy whiteness, drops of oil poured forth on thy body praise thee.

Virgo, virga virens, vires virtutibus affer Arteriisque pluens cantorum guttura profer, Ut bene coniuncti concordi voce canentes Astra sonent celique boent hoc nectare fontes.

Virgin, flowering rod, bring strength with thy virtues, and, dropping like rain into their windpipes, prosper the singers’ throats, that as, joined well together, they sing with concordant voice, the stars may resound and the fountains of heaven shout with this nectar.

Pectora, Christe, tua nimio veneranda decore Discipuli pectus tetigit pietatis honore; Pectore discipulus domini cenando Iohannes Incubat et lenes dulcis sopor occupat artus.

Thy breast, O Christ, to be revered for its exceeding beauty, the disciple’s breast touched in honourable piety; the disciple John reclines in dining on the Lord’s breast, and sweet sleep overcomes his sluggish limbs.

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PROGRAMME NOTES

Circumfulsit eum rerum cognito clara Ut Patris hic filium cognovit origine mira. Extasis hec felix, hec visio certe beata, Qua nexus cuiusque patet cognitio tanta.

Clear knowledge of all things shone round about him, when he recognised the Father’s son of wondrous origin. This is a happy ecstasy, this is indeed a blessed vision, whereby so much knowledge is revealed of every connection.

Gaudeat ecclesia, letetur chorus et omnes Letentur populi per climata cuncta beandi; Divio, diviciis nunc afflue, Divio dives, Huius et obsequiiis plus donativaque vives. Amen

Let the church rejoice, let the chorus be cheerful, and merry be all the peoples, to be blest over all the earth. Dijon, abound now with riches, rich Dijon, and thou shalt live in his obedience and more generous. Amen.

Tenor Virgo electus est a domino.

The virginal man hath been chosen by the Lord.

Vergene bella Vergene bella, che di sol vestita, Choronata di stelle al sommo sole Piacesti, si, che’n te sua luce ascose; Amor mi spigne a dir di te parole: Ma non so incominzar senza tua aita, E di colui ch’amando in te si pose. Invoco lei che ben sempre rispose Chi la chiamò con fede. Vergene, s’a mercede Miseria estrema dell’humana chose Gia mai ti volse al mio prego t’inchina. Soccori a la mia guerra Bench’i sia terra, e tu del ciel reina.

Beautiful virgin, clothed by the sun, Crowned with stars at the sun’s apogee, Blessed that He hid His light in you, Love urges me to address you But I do not know how to begin without your help And that of him whom you bore. I pray to the one who always answers those who call upon her with faith. Virgin, be bountiful You never turn away from the misery of our human state, hear my prayer. Help me in my struggle Even though I am earth and you the Queen of Heaven.

Lamentatio sanctae matris ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae O très piteux de tout espoir, fontaine, Père du fils dont suis mère éplorée, Plaindre me viens à ta cour souveraine De ta puissance et de nature humaine Qui ont souffert, telle dure vilaine, Faire à mon fils qui tant m’a honorée, Dont suis de bien et de joie séparée, Sans qui vivant veuille entendre mes plaintes. À toi, seul dieu, du forfait me complains Du gref tourment et douloureux outrage Que voit souffrir plus bel des humains Sans nul confort de tout humain lignage. Tenor Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam Non est qui consoletur eam Ex omnibus caris ejus.

Most merciful source of all hope, Father of the son whose weeping mother I am, I come to complain at your sovereign court Of your authority and of human nature, Which have allowed such harsh cruelty To be inflicted on my son, who has so honoured me; Whereby I have been parted from happiness and joy, Without any living being who will hear my complaints. To you, only God, I appeal from the sentence, From the grievous torment and painful injury That I watch the fairest of men suffer, With no consolation from your human speech.

All her friends have betrayed her: Among all her lovers There is none to comfort her.

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PROGRAMME NOTES

Béla BARTÓK

THE MIRACULOUS MANDARIN, OP. 19 LONDON PHILHARMONIC CHOIR

1881-1945

The Miraculous Mandarin was the last of Bartók’s three stage works. It is a narrative ballet, or ‘pantomime’, in one act, based on a scenario by the Hungarian writer Menyhért Lengyel. Bartók composed it in draft form in 1918 and ’19, scored it in 1923 for a large and colourful orchestra together with a wordless chorus, and revised it the following year. The work had an uneasy start to its life, chiefly because of what was seen as the indecency of its story. It was scheduled by the Budapest Opera but then dropped; it achieved one performance in Cologne in November 1926 before it was banned; then, after a successful production in Prague, it was banned again in Budapest in 1931 by the Hungarian government. Even today it is rarely seen in the theatre. But the violent inventiveness of the score has made it a familiar item in the concert hall, both in Bartók’s rather abruptly truncated Suite and in the full-length version that will be heard tonight. The ballet begins with a raucous prelude representing the crowded streets of a modern city. When this dies down, the curtain rises on a shabby room in a slum district. Three thugs are turning out their pockets without finding any money. They force the girl with them to stand at the window, to lure men into the room. The first of her three ‘games of enticement’ – represented by increasingly elaborate cadenza-like episodes for the clarinets – attracts a down-at-heel old rake, who has no money and is quickly thrown out. The second victim is a shy young man, whose graceful dance with the girl is rudely interrupted when the thugs realise he too has no money. The third is the eerie Oriental figure of the Mandarin, represented on his first

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appearance by strident brass chords and trombone slides, accompanied by shudders in the woodwind and strings. The girl is terrified by him, but at her companions’ insistence she attempts to draw him into conversation. Eventually she overcomes her fear enough to begin a dance, mostly in waltz time, which gradually becomes more and more erotic. The Mandarin watches impassively, but at the end when the girl embraces him he begins to tremble with excitement. The girl recoils and tries to escape. This gives rise to an extended, hectic chase, in which the Mandarin attempts to embrace the girl and she fights him off. At the climax of the chase, the thugs emerge from their hiding-place, tear the Mandarin away from the girl, and strip him of his money and jewellery. They decide to kill him, and suffocate him under the pillows of the bed. But, to uncanny flickering figures in woodwind, piano, celesta and solo strings, the Mandarin’s head emerges, still looking longingly at the girl. An attempt to stab him with an old sword is equally unsuccessful. Finally, the thugs hang the Mandarin from the lamp bracket in the ceiling. At the point where the wordless chorus joins the orchestra, his body begins to glow with an unearthly light, while his eyes remain fixed on the girl. At last she realises what has to be done. She tells the thugs to take down the body, and when the Mandarin lunges at her again, she offers no resistance, but returns his embrace. This act of compassion releases the Mandarin from his torments, and he dies. Programme notes by Anthony Burton © 2010

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LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

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 première performances 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.

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

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 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.

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, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

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.

Having long been embraced by the recording, broadcasting and film industries, the London

www.lpo.org.uk

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.

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