London Philharmonic Orchestra concert programme 28 Nov 2014 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

I N S I D E

Concert programme

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lpo.org.uk/rachmaninoff

Winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Leader pieter schoeman† Composer in Residence magnus lindberg Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

JTI Friday Series Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Friday 28 November 2014 | 7.30pm

Wagner Overture, Tannhäuser (14’) Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (23’) Interval

Contents 2 Welcome LPO 2014/15 season 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 David Zinman 7 Behzod Abduraimov 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings Tchaikovsky on the LPO Label Rachmaninoff: Inside Out 12 Next concerts New on the LPO Label 14 Supporters 15 Sound Futures donors 16 LPO administration

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor (44’) The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

David Zinman conductor Behzod Abduraimov piano

In co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation

Free pre-concert talk 6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Acclaimed film director Tony Palmer discusses the enduring popularity of Rachmaninoff’s music.

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

Tonight’s concert is being recorded by Classic FM for broadcast on Friday 5 December at 8.00pm.

Welcome

London Philharmonic Orchestra 2014/15 season

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.

Welcome to tonight’s London Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, part of our season-long festival Rachmaninoff: Inside Out. Whether you’re a regular concert-goer, new to the Orchestra or just visiting London, we hope you enjoy your evening with us. Browse the full season online at lpo.org.uk/performances or call 020 7840 4242 to request a copy of our 2014/15 brochure.

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.

Other highlights of the season include:

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

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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.

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Premieres of works by Magnus Lindberg, Harrison Birtwistle, Julian Anderson, a children’s work, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, by Colin Matthews, and a new piece for four horns by Titanic composer James Horner.

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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.

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. C

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched M off before the performance begins. Y

CMY

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10008-CLASS LPO Concert Programme 73x69mm.pdf

14/11

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Rebecca Shorrock Alina Petrenko Galina Tanney Ishani Bhoola Nilufar Alimaksumova Elizabeth Pigram Second Violins Nicole Wilson Guest Principal Jeongmin Kim Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Floortje Gerritsen Dean Williamson Sioni Williams Alison Strange

Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Naomi Holt Isabel Pereira Daniel Cornford Martin Fenn Rebecca Carrington Richard Cookson Cellos Pei-Jee Ng Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Susanna Riddell Helen Rathbone Tom Roff Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Tom Walley Lowri Morgan Laura Murphy Helen Rowlands

Flutes Katherine Bryan Guest Principal Sue Thomas*

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Oboes John Anderson Guest Principal Katie Bennington

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Cor Anglais Sue Böhling* Principal

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Thomas Watmough Bassoons Gareth Newman Principal Laura Vincent Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Simon Robey

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison Duncan Fuller Trumpets Nicholas Betts Principal Anne McAneney*

Keith Millar Jeremy Cornes Sarah Mason Harp Rachel Masters* Principal

* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Daniel Newell

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: An anonymous donor • Sonja Drexler

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Full marks to the London Philharmonic for continuing to offer the most adventurous concerts in London. The Financial Times, 14 April 2014 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 ensembles in the UK. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and community groups. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007. From September 2015 Andrés Orozco-Estrada will take up the position of Principal Guest Conductor. Magnus Lindberg 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 the Hall’s opening in 1951 and been Resident Orchestra since 1992. It gives around 30 concerts there each season with many of the world’s top conductors and

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soloists. Throughout 2013 the Orchestra collaborated with Southbank Centre on the year-long The Rest Is Noise festival, charting the influential works of the 20th century. 2014/15 highlights include a seasonlong festival, Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, exploring the composer’s major orchestral masterpieces; premieres of works by Harrison Birtwistle, Julian Anderson, Colin Matthews, James Horner and the Orchestra’s new Composer in Residence, Magnus Lindberg; and appearances by many of today’s most soughtafter artists including Maria João Pires, Christoph Eschenbach, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Osmo Vänskä, Lars Vogt, Barbara Hannigan, Vasily Petrenko, Marin Alsop, Katia and Marielle Labèque and Robin Ticciati. Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer it takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra.

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 The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 80 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include organ works by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Strauss’s Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben with Bernard Haitink; Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 6 & 14 and Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy with Vladimir Jurowski; and Orff’s Carmina Burana with Hans Graf. In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2014/15 season include appearances across Europe (including Iceland) and tours to the USA (West and East Coasts), Canada and China.

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.

Find out more and get involved! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

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

David Zinman conductor

Beautifully paced by Zinman … The way that he switched from Classical reserve for Brahms to full-on Romanticism for Mahler was masterly.

The Times

New York-born David Zinman’s career has been distinguished by a wide-ranging repertoire, a commitment to contemporary music and the introduction of historically informed performance practice. He has held positions as Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony orchestras; Principal Conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra; and Music Director of the Aspen Music Festival, School and American Academy of Conducting. He recently completed a 19-year tenure as Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, with his final performance at the 2014 BBC Proms. A regular guest with the world’s leading orchestras, in recent seasons he has worked with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. He regularly conducts the New York Philharmonic, and in summer 2014 appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood and with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Projects this season include performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra. David Zinman’s extensive discography of more than 100 recordings has earned him numerous international honours including five Grammy awards, two Grand Prix du Disque, two Edison Prizes, a German Record Critics’ Award and a Gramophone Award. Recent releases include a 50-CD box set,

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David Zinman: Great Symphonies – The Zurich Years, which commemorates his recording legacy with the Tonhalle-Orchester. In 2000 the French Ministry of Culture awarded David Zinman the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2002 the City of Zürich Art Prize was awarded to him for his outstanding artistic efforts, making him the first conductor and the first non-Swiss recipient of this award. More recently, Zinman received the prestigious Thomas Theodore Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and extraordinary service to his colleagues in advancing the art and science of conducting. In 2008 he won the MIDEM Classical Artist of the Year award for his work with the TonhalleOrchester Zürich. He was also the 1997 recipient of the prestigious Ditson Award from Columbia University in recognition of his exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers. davidzinman.com twitter.com/DavidZinman

Behzod Abduraimov

piano

He played with impressive poise and immediacy, navigating the quiet passagework of Rachmaninoff’s much-loved Rhapsody with a certain feline grace but also displaying an unforced strength sufficient to project boldly above the orchestra when necessary. He is a talent to watch. The Boston Globe

Behzod Abduraimov’s captivating performances have won him high critical praise, most recently from the LA Times: ‘He played Tchaikovsky’s fast and furious passages not like a challenge but an almost serene joy.’ A Washington Post critic also recently noted: ‘I’m not sure I could give higher praise – keep your ear on this one.’ An exclusive Decca Classics recording artist, Behzod Abduraimov has this autumn released his first recording on the label, featuring Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai (Turin) under Juraj Valčuha. In response to this disc The Times described him as ‘the master of all he surveys’ and The Telegraph wrote: ‘He possesses a maturity way beyond his 24 years.’ His debut recital CD on Decca Classics was released in 2012, and won both the Choc de Classica and the Diapason Découverte. Abduraimov has worked with orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He has collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Jurowski, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Krzysztof Urbański, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan and Charles Dutoit. Highlights of the 2014/15 season include a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Jiří Bělohlávek. He takes part in the Mariinsky Orchestra’s Prokofiev Piano Concerto cycle at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Konzerthaus Dortmund under Valery Gergiev, and at the end of

this year he will again collaborate with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on a tour to China with Vassily Sinaisky. He makes debuts with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä and with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Andrey Boreyko. His debut at Carnegie Hall will be with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev while on tour through the USA. He returns to Carnegie Hall later in the season to make his debut recital appearance as part of its ‘Distinctive Debuts’ series. At the age of 18, Abduraimov achieved a sensational victory in the 2009 London International Piano Competition, winning First Prize with his thrilling performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. It was on this occasion that he played with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time. Behzod Abduraimov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan 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 studied with Stanislav Iudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Kansas City, where he is now Artist in Residence. behzodabduraimov.com facebook.com/AbduraimovMusic

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Programme notes

Speedread Fatalistic tones dominate tonight’s programme. Wagner’s eponymous troubadour Tannhäuser has to resist the profane call of Venus, goddess of love. Instead, he must choose the path of righteousness, heralded by the pilgrims’ chorus prefaced in the stirring Overture to Wagner’s opera. In Rachmaninoff’s dazzlingly virtuosic Rhapsody

Richard Wagner 1813–83

Tannhäuser is Wagner’s fifth opera and in many ways his most complex. Telling the story of a troubadour who is torn between sacred and profane love, the work had a convoluted gestation. Begun with the creation of a prose scenario in 1842, the opera’s premiere took place in Dresden on 19 October 1845, though the score remained fluid throughout that initial run. A distinct second version was created for Paris in 1861, with further revisions being made for the first performances in Vienna in 1875. But even after 30 years of tinkering, Wagner remained unhappy, with his wife Cosima noting in her diary shortly before his death that ‘he says he still owes the world Tannhäuser’. While disagreements about which version should be performed remain, Tannhäuser has always enjoyed honoured adherents, both historically, including figures such as Baudelaire, Swinburne and Queen Victoria, and in fiction, with Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray ‘seeing in the prelude to that great work of art a presentation of the tragedy of his own soul’. The Overture was the last part of the composition completed before the initial production in Dresden, and it has become a cherished concert work in its own right. Previewing the events of

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on a Theme of Paganini, pious prophecy takes on a more ominous note, with references to the Dies irae reminding us that in the midst of life we are in death. Finally, fate casts an even darker shadow over Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, which, for all its energetic swagger, cannot shrug off the apocalyptic blasts with which it begins.

Piano Overture, Concerto Tannhäuser No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Simon Trpčeski piano 1 Allegro ma non tanto 2 Intermezzo: Adagio – 3 Finale: Alla breve

the drama that is to unfold, it presents a summarised account of the opera’s musical material, including a Bachian pilgrims’ chorus, the seductive music of Venus and Tannhäuser’s hymn to the goddess of love, before the chorale returns, hinting at the hero’s ultimate redemption.

Serge Rachmaninoff

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Behzod Abduraimov piano

1873–1943

By the 1930s, Rachmaninoff was a major celebrity. His music was regularly performed, widely published and frequently recorded. Yet he had an uneasy relationship with his fame, often accepting and then rejecting offers to tour Europe and America. Finding himself exiled from post-Revolutionary Russia and his possessions, forced to support his family, Rachmaninoff was more or less obliged to perform when he could, leading to an increasingly peripatetic life, which moved him between Stockholm and Copenhagen, on to New York and finally to a house on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. It was there, in the summer of 1934, that Rachmaninoff wrote his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (effectively forming his fifth piano concerto). The work is based on the last of virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices. Rachmaninoff was not the first to use its terse little theme. Liszt, Brahms and Szymanowski, alongside other less celebrated names, had already tapped its potential and Rachmaninoff was to be succeeded by Lutosławski and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others. Yet Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody arguably remains the most imaginative of these, not least because of its ingenious inversion of the original theme in the 18th variation and the highly expressive use of the orchestra throughout.

decoration. The opening ten variations form the outline of a first movement and during the seventh variation Rachmaninoff introduces a second theme, based on the plainchant Dies irae (Day of Wrath) from the Requiem Mass. This motivic kernel appears in many of Rachmaninoff’s works – not least The Isle of the Dead and The Bells – chillingly reminding us that in the midst of life we are in death. After the tenth variation comes what is, effectively, a slow movement, capped by the glorious 18th variation in a luscious D flat major, before the Rhapsody closes with a challengingly virtuosic finale.

Mini film guides to this season’s works For the 2014/15 season we’ve produced a series of short films introducing the pieces we’re performing. Watch Patrick Bailey introduce Rachmaninoff’s music for piano and orchestra: lpo.org.uk/explore/videos.html

Rather than opening with Paganini’s theme, Rachmaninoff begins his work with a sassy chromatic introduction, followed by the first variation on the theme we are yet to hear. The tune proper finally appears and is played by the strings, echoing its original violin form, with the piano picking out various constituent notes, before providing more dazzling

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

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Programme notes continued

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93

Tchaikovsky began work on his fourth of seven symphonies (including the Manfred) in May 1877, shortly before his disastrous marriage to Antonina Milyukova. He had written to his brother Modest, who was also gay, about his impulse to marry the previous year: I am now going through a very critical period of my life. I will go into more detail later, but for now I will simply tell you, I have decided to get married. It is unavoidable. I must do it, not just for myself but for you, Modest, and all those I love. I think that for both of us our dispositions are the greatest and most insuperable obstacle to happiness, and we must fight our natures to the best of our ability. So far as I am concerned, I will do my utmost to get married this year, and if I lack the necessary courage, I will at any rate abandon my habits forever. As Tchaikovsky’s fame grew, the balance between his public and private life became ever more precarious. But rather than accepting Antonina, Tchaikovsky treated her abominably and their marriage lasted but a couple of months. These events form the emotional backdrop to the Fourth Symphony, which was completed alongside Tchaikovsky’s equally tragic opera Eugene Onegin. The fanfare that opens the Symphony was, Tchaikovsky described to his friend and patron Nadezhda von Meck, representative of ‘the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness’. ‘There is nothing to be done’, Tchaikovsky added, ‘but submit to it and lament in vain’. Lamentation is the overriding mood of the first movement, offering a stuttering (if not broken) evocation of a waltz, one of Tchaikovsky’s favourite dance forms. The composer’s ballet Swan Lake, completed in 1876, is also induced by the tonality

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Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36 1 2 3 4

Andante sostenuto — Moderato con anima — Moderato assai, quasi Andante — Allegro vivo Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato — Allegro Finale: Allegro con fuoco

of F minor, which accompanies the dastardly villain Von Rothbart and his ‘black swan’ daughter Odile’s gloating triumph over Prince Siegfried. There are hints too of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, as Tchaikovsky revealed to fellow composer Sergei Taneyev, though none of that work’s rapidity or its promises of triumph endure here, as Tchaikovsky piles thundering attack on top of thundering attack. While the mood of the ensuing Andantino seems less aggressive, its descending oboe melody offers a clear echo of the first movement. The Scherzo’s jig shrugs off that spectre, though in the context of the Symphony as a whole, its pizzicato textures take on a ghostly edge. Revealingly, the very first gesture of this dance is another descending scale and, although firmly couched in F major, the Scherzo’s harmonic palette has a disturbing tendency towards minor colours, with the strained outline of the tritone appearing in the upper reaches of the melody. The woodwind introduces a new texture, melody and mood in the middle of the movement, dominated by shrill piccolo and then, in its wake, the brass section heralds the mania of the Finale. This Allegro con fuoco begins with a triumphant sally of F major, describing a helter-skeltering downward scale, which is answered by a strident march. At first, this has a proto-Shostakovich sneer, before threatening a return of the fanfare with which the Symphony began. But there is also an outwardly gentler theme within this final movement: the Russian folk tune ‘In the Field a Little Birch Tree Stood’. Far from evoking the song’s charming imagery of braided birch wreaths floating in a stream, however, Tchaikovsky veers erratically between dance rhythms and a more threatening symphonicism. The legend goes: if the wreath floats, there will be a happy marriage; if it spins in a circle, the marriage will not take place; and if it sinks, death

is on the cards. Given the repeated plunging gestures of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, underlined in this whirling Finale, musicologist Roland John Wiley has suggested that the composer is predicting a decidedly bleak future. Such a view is confirmed when the brass finally bursts through the texture with a reprise of the opening fanfare. Tchaikovsky adds a hysterical coda, but its rictus grin and repetitive cymbal blasts cannot allay the fundamental negativity of this brutal Symphony. Programme notes © Gavin Plumley

A season-long exploration of the composer’s life and music Wednesday 29 October 2014 Piano Concerto No. 3 | Symphony No. 2

Friday 7 November 2014 Piano Concerto No. 4 (final version)

Friday 28 November 2014

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Wednesday 3 December 2014 Symphony No. 1

Wagner: Overture, Tannhauser London Philharmonic Orchestra/Klaus Tennstedt [LPO Label LPO-0003: Tennstedt conducts Wagner opera excerpts]

Wednesday 21 January 2015 The Miserly Knight

Saturday 7 February 2015 Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Nikolai Lugansky/City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo [Warner Classics]

Three Russian Songs | Spring

Wednesday 11 February 2015 Piano Concerto No. 2 | The Bells

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor London Philharmonic Orchestra/Vladimir Jurowski [LPO Label LPO-0064: see below]

Friday 13 February 2015 Piano Concerto No. 4 (original version)

Wednesday 25 March 2015 Piano Concerto No. 1 (final version)

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Tchaikovsky on the LPO Label

Four Pieces | Ten Songs | Symphony No. 3

Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Rachmaninoff Inside Out is presented in co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

lpo.org.uk/rachmaninoff

LPO-0064 | £10.99 (2CDs)

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.

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Next LPO concerts at Royal Festival Hall

Wednesday 3 December 2014 | 7.30pm Rachmaninoff: Inside Out Szymanowski Concert Overture* Scriabin Piano Concerto Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 1 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Igor Levit piano Free pre-concert event 6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Professor Stephen Downes, a specialist in 20th-century music, looks at the influence of Scriabin. * Supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London. Rachmaninoff: Inside Out is presented in co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.

Saturday 6 December 2014 | 7.30pm Stravinsky Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920 version) Harrison Birtwistle Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless, for piano and orchestra (UK premiere)† Messiaen Oiseaux exotiques Stravinsky Orpheus Vladimir Jurowski conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Free pre-concert event 6.00–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall LPO Soundworks, a collaborative arts project for young people, presents a performance of new music and dance. † Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayerische Rundfunk Musica Viva, Casa da Música Porto, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The London Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and PRS for Music Foundation.

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. 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

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New on the LPO Label this month CD: Poulenc & Saint-Saëns organ works Released this month on the LPO Label is a disc of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto and Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony, recorded live at Royal Festival Hall (LPO0081). This sell-out concert in March 2014, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with organist James O’Donnell, launched the refurbished Royal Festival Hall organ, complete for the first time since 2005. The CD booklet includes full organ specification and an article on the history and refurbishment of the organ by its curator, Dr William McVicker. The CD is priced £9.99, including free postage.

LP box set: Vladimir Jurowski conducts the complete Brahms Symphonies Also released this month is a very special 4-LP box set: Brahms’s complete four symphonies conducted by Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Vladimir Jurowski. These recordings – of live LPO concerts at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall between 2008 and 2011 – have previously been released as two separate LPO Label CDs, but are brought together in one package for the first time in this exclusive box set, which will be a must-have for lovers of Brahms, Jurowski fans and vinyl enthusiasts alike. The box set is priced £85.00, including free postage.

Buy these and over 80 other titles from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets.

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We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group The Tsukanov Family Foundation Neil Westreich William and Alex de Winton Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Julian & Gill Simmonds* Anonymous Garf & Gill Collins* Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller Mrs Philip Kan* Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett John & Manon Antoniazzi Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker * BrightSparks patrons. Instead of supporting a chair in the Orchestra, these donors have chosen to support our series of schools’ concerts.

Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen Mr Daniel Goldstein Peter MacDonald Eggers Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr Michael Posen 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 Georgy Djaparidze Mr David Edgecombe Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Mr Richard Fernyhough Tony & Susan Hayes Michael & Christine Henry Malcolm Herring J. Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Per Jonsson

Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Ms Ulrike Mansel Robert Markwick Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills John Montgomery Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Tom & Phillis Sharpe Martin and Cheryl Southgate Professor John Studd Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Simon 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 British American Business Carter-Ruck Bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLP Charles Russell Speechlys Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Sela / Tilley’s Sweets

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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 Peter Carr Charitable Trust, in memory of Peter Carr The Ernest Cook Trust The Coutts Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Hinrichsen Foundation The Hobson Charity Kirby Laing Foundation The Leche Trust Marsh Christian Trust

The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet 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 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 Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust Youth Music and others who wish to remain anonymous

Sound Futures Donors We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to Sound Futures, which will establish our first ever endowment. Donations from those below, as well as many who have chosen to remain anonymous, have already been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. By May 2015 we aim to have raised £1 million which, when matched, will create a £2 million fund supporting our Education and Community Programme, our creative programming and major artistic projects at Southbank Centre. We thank those who are helping us to realise the vision.

Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey OBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Tsukanov Family Foundation The Underwood Trust

Kasia Robinski David Ross and Line Forestier (Canada) Tom and Phillis Sharpe 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 Business Events Sydney Desmond & Ruth Cecil Lady June Chichester John Childress & Christiane Wuillamie Lindka Cierach Paul Collins Mr Alistair Corbett Dolly Costopoulos Mark Damazer Olivier Demarthe David Dennis Bill & Lisa Dodd Mr David Edgecombe David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Christopher Fraser OBE Karima & David G Lyuba Galkina David Goldberg Mr Daniel Goldstein Ffion Hague Rebecca Halford Harrison Michael & Christine Henry Honeymead Arts Trust John Hunter

Tennstedt Circle Simon Robey Simon & Vero Turner The late Mr K Twyman Solti Patrons Ageas Anonymous John & Manon Antoniazzi Georgy Djaparidze Mrs Mina Goodman and Miss Suzanne Goodman Robert Markwick The Rothschild Foundation Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Lady Jane Berrill David & Yi Yao Buckley Bruno de Kegel Goldman Sachs International Moya Greene Tony and Susie Hayes Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Diana and Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Dr Karen Morton Ruth Rattenbury Sir Bernard Rix

Ivan Hurry Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Tanya Kornilova Peter Leaver Mr Mark Leishman LVO and Mrs Fiona Leishman Howard & Marilyn Levene Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Peter Mace Geoff & Meg Mann Ulrike Mansel Marsh Christian Trust John Montgomery Rosemary Morgan Paris Natar John Owen The late Edmund Pirouet Mr Michael Posen Sarah & John Priestland Victoria Provis William Shawcross Tim Slorick Howard Snell Lady Valerie Solti Stanley Stecker Lady Marina Vaizey Helen Walker Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Brian Whittle Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Victoria Yanakova Mr Anthony Yolland

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Administration

Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Manon Antoniazzi Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Vesselin Gellev* Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Julian Simmonds Mark Templeton* Natasha Tsukanova Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix 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 Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Digital Projects

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Alexandra Clarke Education and Community Project Manager

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant

Amy Sugarman PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant Finance David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager

Public Relations Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer