Concert programme 2013/14 season
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN Leader pieter schoeman Composer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSON Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Wednesday 9 April 2014 | 7.30pm
Schumann Violin Concerto in D minor (30’) Interval Bruckner Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Haas edition) (83’)
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Renaud Capuçon violin
* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Programme £3 Contents 2 3 4 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 16
Welcome LPO 2014/15 season On stage tonight About the Orchestra Jukka-Pekka Saraste Renaud Capuçon Programme notes Next concerts Tickets Please! LPO 2013/14 Annual Appeal Orchestra news Catalyst: Double Your Donation Supporters LPO administration
The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.
Welcome
Welcome to Southbank Centre
LPO 2014/15 season now on sale
We hope you enjoy your visit. We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries please ask any member of staff for assistance.
Browse and book online at lpo.org.uk or call us on 020 7840 4242 to request a season brochure. Highlights of the new season include: •
A year-long festival, Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, exploring the composer’s major orchestral masterpieces including all the symphonies and piano concertos, alongside some of his lesser-known works (see page 5).
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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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Yannick Nézet-Séguin presents masterpieces by three great composers from the AustroGerman tradition: Brahms, Schubert and Richard Strauss.
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The UK premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s piano concerto Responses: Sweet disorder and the carefully careless, performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance.
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RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended.
Soprano Barbara Hannigan joins Vladimir Jurowski and the Orchestra for a world premiere from our new Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg.
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Premieres too of a Violin Concerto by outgoing Composer in Residence Julian Anderson, a children’s work, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, by Colin Matthews, and a new piece for four horns by James Horner (a double-Oscar winner for his score to the film Titanic).
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Legendary pianist Menahem Pressler – a founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio – joins Robin Ticciati to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
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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.
Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Concrete, Feng Sushi and Topolski, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery. If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 7960 4250, or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk We look forward to seeing you again soon. A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment: PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.
MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.
2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
On stage tonight
First Violins Sergey Ostrovsky Guest Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Ilyoung Chae Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett
Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Rebecca Shorrock Alina Petrenko Galina Tanney Caroline Frenkel Amanda Smith Caroline Sharp Kokila Gillett-Khan Second Violins Jeongmin Kim Principal Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller
Fiona Higham Ashley Stevens Dean Williamson Sioni Williams Caroline Simon Harry Kerr Stephen Stewart Elizabeth Baldey Stephen Dinwoodie Kate Cole John Dickinson
Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter Laura Vallejo Martin Fenn Linda Kidwell Miriam Eisele Martin Wray Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Morwenna Del Mar Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Helen Rathbone Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Tim Gibbs Co-Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Kenneth Knussen Helen Rowlands Sebastian Pennar
Flutes Robert Winn Guest Principal Clare Robson Stewart McIlwham* Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Owen Dennis Sue Böhling Chair supported by Julian & Gill Simmonds
Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Emily Meredith Paul Richards Bassoons Gareth Newman Principal Stuart Russell Simon Estell Contrabassoon Simon Estell Principal Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Simon Robey
Meilyr Hughes Duncan Fuller Gareth Mollison Stephen Nicholls Wagner Tubas John Ryan* Mark Vines Martin Hobbs Anthony Chidell
Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann
Daniel Newell David Hilton Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
David Whitehouse Christopher Augustine Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport
Keith Millar Harps Sue Blair Guest Principal Lucy Haslar Stephanie Beck * 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: Sonja Drexler Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp The Sharp Family
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The LPO are an orchestra on fire at the moment. Bachtrack.com, 2 October 2013, Royal Festival Hall: Vladimir Jurowski conducts Britten
The London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s finest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with its present-day position as one of the most dynamic and forward-looking orchestras in the UK. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own successful CD label, and enhances the lives of thousands of people every year through activities for schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the greatest names in the conducting world, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Principal Guest Conductor. Julian Anderson is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence. The Orchestra is based at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it has performed since 1951 and been Resident Orchestra since 1992. It gives around 40 concerts there each season with many of the world’s top conductors and soloists. 2013/14 highlights include a Britten centenary celebration with Vladimir Jurowski; world premieres of James MacMillan’s Viola 4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Concerto and Górecki’s Fourth Symphony; French repertoire with Yannick Nézet-Séguin including Poulenc, Dutilleux, Berlioz, and Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony; and two concerts of epic film scores. The season features soloists including Evelyn Glennie, Mitsuko Uchida, Leif Ove Andsnes, Miloš Karadaglić, Renaud Capuçon, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, Julia Fischer and Simon Trpčeski, and a distinguished line-up of conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Osmo Vänskä, Vasily Petrenko, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Stanisław Skrowaczewski. Throughout 2013 the Orchestra collaborated with Southbank Centre on the year-long festival The Rest Is Noise, exploring the influential works of the 20th century. Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring remains a large and vital part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights this season include visits to
London Philharmonic Orchestra 2014/15 season
Rachmaninoff: Inside Out A year-long exploration of the composer’s life and music the USA, Moscow, Romania, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, France and Spain, and plans for 2014/15 include returns to many of the above plus visits to Turkey, Iceland, the USA (West and East Coast), Canada, China and Australia. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission and East is East to Hugo, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 75 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 with Vladimir Jurowski; Orff’s Carmina Burana with Hans Graf; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sarah Connolly and Toby Spence; and a disc of works by the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In summer 2012 the Orchestra was invited to take part in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, as well as being chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and audiences through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; fusion ensemble The Band; the Leverhulme Young Composers project; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Over recent years, digital advances and social media have enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people across the globe: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Friday 3 October 2014 The Isle of the Dead | Piano Concerto No. 1 (original version) | Symphonic Dances
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 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Wednesday 3 December 2014 Symphony No. 1
Wednesday 21 January 2015 The Miserly Knight
Saturday 7 February 2015 Three Russian Songs | Spring
Wednesday 11 February 2015 Piano Concerto No. 2 | The Bells
Friday 13 February 2015 Piano Concerto No. 4 (original version)
Wednesday 25 March 2015 Piano Concerto No. 1 (final version)
Wednesday 29 April 2015 Four Pieces | Ten Songs | Symphony No. 3 Rachmaninoff Inside Out is presented in co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.
Find out more and get involved! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra
lpo.org.uk
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor
© Bo Mathisen
Jukka-Pekka Saraste has established himself as one of the outstanding conductors of his generation, demonstrating remarkable musical depth and integrity. Born in Lahti, Finland, in 1956, he began his career as a violinist before training as a conductor with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. An artist of exceptional versatility and breadth, Saraste maintains a special affinity with late Romantic music. He also has a deep interest in contemporary work, and has enjoyed particularly strong alliances with composers Henri Dutilleux, Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho. He recently conducted the world premieres of Pascal Dusapin’s Violin Concerto (written for Renaud Capuçon) and Kimmo Hakola’s Violin Concerto, both at the Cologne Philharmonie, as well as the world premieres of Philippe Schœller’s Songs from Esstal I, II, et III and Carmine Emanuele Cella’s Reflets de l’ombre. Saraste has held the position of Chief Conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne, since 2010. He was Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006–13, and at the end of his tenure there was made Conductor Laureate. His previous positions include the Principal Conductorships of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1987–91), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1987–2001, after which he became Conductor Laureate) and Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1994–2001); and he served as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 2002–05. He previously held the position of Artistic Advisor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and founded the Finnish Chamber Orchestra, of which he remains Artistic Advisor.
Philharmonique de Radio France; and the major Scandinavian and North American orchestras, among others. In the opera field, Saraste recently conducted Puccini’s Turandot at the Royal Danish Theatre and next season will lead a fully staged production of Sibelius’s Kullervo at the Finnish National Opera as part of the Sibelius 150th anniversary year in 2015. This season he will take the WDR Symphony Orchestra to Paris, Vienna and Stuttgart, to the Rheingau Music Festival, and on a tour to the Baltic region. He will also return to Salzburg, where the Orchestra has an annual residency. Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s extensive discography includes a recording of Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 and Pohjola’s Daughter, and Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra with the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the LPO Label (LPO-0057), as well as the complete symphonies of Sibelius and Nielsen with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has made a number of acclaimed recordings of works by Bartók, Dutilleux, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Warner Finlandia. His recordings of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Ninth Symphony with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne received widespread acknowledgement, and the latter was named Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine. Other recordings with the WDR Symphony Orchestra for Hänssler have also earned him high critical praise, and include Schoenberg’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Stravinsky’s The Firebird, and Brahms’s First and Third Symphonies.
Saraste conducts Sibelius on the LPO Label Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Pohjola’s Daughter Lutosławski Concerto for Orchestra LPO–0057 | £9.99
His guest engagements have included the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony orchestras; the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala; the Orchestre 6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
CD available from www.lpo.org.uk/recordings, the London Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop.
Renaud Capuçon
© Mat Hennek
violin
Born in Chambéry, France, in 1976, Renaud Capuçon began his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris at the age of 14, winning numerous awards during his five years there. He subsequently moved to Berlin to study with Thomas Brandis and Isaac Stern, and was awarded the Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts. In 1997 Capuçon was invited by Claudio Abbado to become Leader of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, a position he held for three summers, during which he worked with conductors including Pierre Boulez, Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst and Abbado himself.
released Le violon roi, a three-CD recording with each disc representing a different side of his playing, from orchestral, to chamber music, to a selection of his favourite ‘petite pieces’ performed with his long-time musical partners. Since 2007 Renaud Capuçon has been an Ambassador for the Zegna & Music project, which was founded in 1997 by the Ermenegildo Zegna Group as a philanthropic activity to promote music and its values. In June 2011 he was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite by the French Government. Renaud Capuçon plays the Guarneri del Gesù ‘Panette’ (1737) that belonged to Isaac Stern, bought for him by the Banca Svizzera Italiana.
Since then, Capuçon has established himself as a soloist at the very highest level. He has played concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic under Bernard Haitink and David Robertson, the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnányi, the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach, and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel. He also gives regular solo recitals, most recently performing the complete Beethoven violin sonatas worldwide. Renaud Capuçon also has a deep commitment to performing chamber music and has worked with Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Hélène Grimaud, Stephen Kovacevich, Maria João Pires, Mikhail Pletnev, Vadim Repin, Yuri Bashmet and Truls Mørk, as well as with his brother, cellist Gautier Capuçon. These collaborations have taken him to the festivals of Edinburgh, Salzburg, Berlin, Lucerne, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Roque d’Anthéron, San Sebastián, Stresa, Tanglewood and many others. Renaud Capuçon records exclusively for EMI/Virgin Classics. His latest CD, released earlier this month, juxtaposes Bach’s Violin Concertos BWV 1042 and 1041 with contemporary Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’s concerto Distant Light, accompanied by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This recording also marks Capuçon’s conducting debut. In 2013 he London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7
Programme notes
Speedread Schumann’s Violin Concerto and Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony have much in common, as late minor-key works by Austro-German Romantic masters; but they have fared very differently in what scholars call their ‘reception history’. The Schumann was written in 1853, not long before the composer experienced the catastrophic breakdown that preceded his death. The work’s intended soloist, Joseph Joachim, found it disappointing, and persuaded Schumann’s widow Clara not to allow it to be published. Even after it had been rediscovered and published in the 1930s, it suffered from a widespread prejudice against Schumann’s later works. Yet there are many touches of its creator’s distinctive musical personality in its three movements: the first by turns sturdy and lyrical, the second an expressive interlude, the last (following without a break) a lively polonaise.
Robert Schumann 1810–56
Schumann composed his only full-length Violin Concerto in two weeks in late September and early October 1853 – a period that coincided with the visit to his Düsseldorf home of the young Brahms. He intended the Concerto for another young friend, the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim; but his plans to collaborate with Joachim on revisions of the solo part were confounded early in 1854 by the mental breakdown that clouded Schumann’s last years. Following a run-through of the work shortly after the composer’s death, Joachim decided (as he later wrote to his biographer) that it was ‘not equal in rank with so many of his glorious creations’, and advised Schumann’s widow Clara that it should remain unpublished – a decision to which she adhered, with the support of
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The Bruckner also initially suffered rejection: its first version, written between 1884 and 1887, was turned down by a previously supportive conductor, Hermann Levi. But the revised version that Bruckner subsequently made (performed tonight in an edition that restores a couple of his cuts) brought the composer one of the greatest successes of his life when it was first heard in Vienna in 1892; and the work continues to be recognised as a pinnacle of Bruckner’s art and indeed of the art of the symphony. It moves from the dark, unstable C minor of its opening movement, by way of a muscular Scherzo and a profoundly meditative Adagio, to a finale culminating in a triumphant blaze of C major.
Violin Concerto in D minor Renaud Capuçon violin 1 In kräftigem, nicht zu schnellem Tempo 2 Langsam – 3 Lebhaft, doch nicht schnell
Joachim and Brahms, when assembling the complete edition of Robert’s works. It was only in the 1930s that the violinist Jelly d’Arányi, a great-niece of Joachim, rediscovered the manuscript score in a Berlin library (allegedly guided by spirit messages from Schumann), and arranged for the publication of the work. Since then, like many of Schumann’s other late works, it has occupied a place on the fringe of the concert repertoire. But, as the critic Joan Chissell wrote in 1988, the Concerto ‘presents so revealing a portrait of the composer in his last few heart-rending months that no Schumann-lover today would wish to be without it’. The first movement (marked, in Schumann’s preferred German, ‘in vigorous, not too quick tempo’) begins in
the Classical manner with an orchestral introduction; this presents the movement’s two main themes, the first darkly powerful and the second, in the major, full of expressively curving lyricism. The soloist repeats both themes and gives them new continuations, adding an element of virtuosity. At the start of the development section, the orchestra transforms the first theme into the major mode, and later the soloist transforms the second into the minor. The recapitulation begins almost unobtrusively, without the usual decisive shift of harmony to a chord of the home key; there is a firmer restatement of the first theme later on, launching the coda, which ends in a bright D major. The B flat major slow movement has an introduction including a characteristically Schumannesque off-
the-beat cello line, which is to recur several times throughout the movement. It makes its unsettling presence felt beneath the principal melody sung sweetly by the solo violin, and again when that melody is repeated a third lower, in G minor, to touching effect – and yet again when the tempo quickens to lead into the D major finale. Marked ‘lively, yet not quick’, this is in the springing triple-time rhythm of the polonaise. A sequence of melodies, shared between soloist and orchestra, is presented, twice repeated in varied forms, and recapitulated, with a coda. The off-the-beat cello figure from the slow movement recurs early in the central section as a unifying touch. But here it provides only a momentary hiatus as the movement is swept along on a tide of dancing melodies and violin virtuosity.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
Anton Bruckner 1824–96
The Eighth is the longest, most ambitious and most dramatic of Bruckner’s completed symphonies (though the Ninth would have surpassed it in scale had he lived to finish its last movement). Bruckner began composing the work in 1884, the year of his 60th birthday, at a time when the tide seemed to be turning at last in his lifelong struggle for recognition in his native Austria and abroad. On completing the score in 1887, he sent it to Hermann Levi, a conductor who had previously been a champion of his music. Levi’s rejection of it gave rise to a bout of deep depression, and then to action. Between 1887 and 1890, Bruckner completely revised the Symphony, enlarging its orchestration – to make it the most fully scored of any of his symphonies – and making many cuts and changes. The final version
Symphony No. 8 in C minor (Haas edition) 1 2 3 4
Allegro moderato Scherzo: Allegro moderato and Trio: Langsam Adagio: Feierlich langsam; doch nicht schleppend Finale: Feierlich, nicht schnell
was published in 1892, the year of the Symphony’s triumphant first performance under Hans Richter in Vienna. Unlike Bruckner’s revised versions of some of his earlier symphonies, that of the Eighth is generally thought to be an improvement on the original. But in an edition published in 1939, Robert Haas restored two passages, one in the slow movement and the other in the finale, which had been cut in the revision. This version, which is being performed tonight, has been criticised as an unscholarly ‘hybrid’, but has been adopted by many conductors and praised by writers on Bruckner: Derek Watson, for example, considers that compared to the 1890 revision it ‘makes far more musical sense and has a better formal balance’. Continued overleaf London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9
Programme notes continued
Bruckner’s symphonies are based in outline on the Classical forms that he inherited from Beethoven and Schubert: but, thanks in part to the influence of Wagner’s music-dramas, the traditional schemes are not only expanded, but also overlaid by a process of continuous development, and by a progression from tonal instability (that is, the feeling of not being securely in a key) towards stability. So the first movement of the Eighth begins with a mysterious bass theme beneath string tremolos, at first quiet and then fierce, circling round the home key of C minor without ever clearly establishing it. The main subsidiary themes, a lyrical violin melody in Bruckner’s favourite mixture of equal and triplet crotchets and a series of wind phrases over pizzicato triplets, are hardly more stable, though trumpet fanfares do herald a temporary point of repose, with echoes of the first theme beneath high violin tremolos. The development section, which treats the first two themes the right way up and upside down, is overlapped with the recapitulation in a series of strident statements of the first theme and its insistent rhythm. The recapitulation itself is a freely recast version of the opening section, and lacks its crowning fanfares. Instead, there is a massive climax with the brass sounding the rhythm of the first theme, leading to a numb C minor coda of insistently repeated short phrases and timpani rolls. Bruckner likened this ending to an annunciation of death, followed by the regular ticking of a clock in a dying man’s bedroom. The C minor Scherzo, which is placed second, is a movement of huge energy, generated by repetitions of a one-bar idea which Bruckner associated with ‘der Deutsche Michel’, a simple, obstinate Everyman figure in German folklore. The A flat major Trio provides a complete contrast, with its ‘slow’ 2/4 time, its principal melody of easy-going Austrian charm, and its idyllic episodes introducing harps (a single part, but marked for three players if possible) for the first time in this or any Bruckner symphony. The main Scherzo is repeated exactly. The profound D flat major Adagio (‘Slow and solemn, but not dragging’) also uses the harps at moments of exaltation, and adds triangle and cymbals at its visionary climax. The opening section of the movement falls into two large paragraphs: the first alternating between expressive lyricism and imposing declamation; the second an extended cello melody, briefly giving 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
way to a chorale for Wagner tubas and tuba; and both prominently featuring a descending scale figure. There is a contrasting episode, in 3/4 time as opposed to the surrounding 4/4, for horn, woodwind and then strings – apparently a middle section before a reprise. But when the opening section returns, it is vastly expanded, with a great deal of development, not least of the descending scale, and an additional rondo-like return of the first theme in richly decorated textures. A phrase from this first theme provides the resplendent climax; this is followed by a calm, static coda, ending with a final downward scale. The massive Finale (‘Solemn, not fast’) begins with urgent repeated notes and rising brass figures, again over tonally unstable harmonies. A long sequence of themes includes a passage of singing counterpoint for strings and horn, a chorale for the Wagner tubas over pizzicato strings, a marching string figure reinforced by woodwind, and a solemn variant of the third movement’s descending scale figure. After a battering tutti and some variants of earlier ideas, this opening section eventually comes to rest on a quiet timpani roll. The development section makes great play with the descending scale and the marching figure, reaches a blazing climax followed by an episode over gently pulsing wind triplets, and ends by anticipating the return of the rising brass figures of the first subject. The recapitulation extends this first theme with some passages of sustained tutti writing, restates the second in a re-scored but hardly varied form and the third with a new flute descant, and brings back the marching figure in a little fugato; it also recalls the opening theme of the first movement. Repeated timpani strokes and a moment of silence precede the coda, which begins calmly in C minor, but works towards C major, withheld from the Symphony until now but its ultimate tonal goal. Finally, repeated motifs from all four movements are combined over a sustained timpani roll – at which point Bruckner wrote in his manuscript the word ‘Halleluja!’ Programme notes © Anthony Burton
Last LPO concerts this season at Royal Festival Hall
Saturday 12 April 2014 | 7.30pm
Saturday 26 April 2014 | 7.30pm
Tansman Stèle in memoriam Igor Stravinsky Stravinsky Violin Concerto Górecki Symphony No. 4 (Tansman Episodes) (world premiere)
Marko Nikodijevic La lugubre gondola Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)
Andrey Boreyko conductor Julian Rachlin violin Free pre-concert discussion 6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Renowned Górecki expert, Professor Adrian Thomas, discusses the world premiere of Symphony No. 4. Górecki’s Symphony No. 4 is commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Southbank Centre, London, with generous support from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute in London; The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association: Gustavo Dudamel, Music Director; and the ZaterdagMatinee, Dutch radio’s classical music concert series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
Wednesday 16 April 2014 | 7.30pm
Vladimir Jurowski conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Generously supported by Dunard Fund
Sunday 11 May 2014 | 12.00pm FUNharmonics Family Concert: Noses With Roald Dahl’s The Ant-Eater, a musical feast by Benjamin Wallfisch. Stuart Stratford conductor Tickets £10–£18 adults; £5–£9 children*
The Thomas Beecham Group Concert
2014/15 season at Royal Festival Hall
Zimmermann Photoptosis Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 Brahms Symphony No. 4
Our next season of concerts at Royal Festival Hall (opening 24 September 2014) is now on sale – turn to page 2 to see the highlights of the new season. Pick up a brochure in the Royal Festival Hall foyer tonight, call us on 020 7840 4242 to request a season brochure, or browse and book online at lpo.org.uk
Vladimir Jurowski conductor Mitsuko Uchida piano Free pre-concert performance 6.00–6.45pm | The Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall Animate Orchestra is a ‘young person’s orchestra for the 21st century’. Tonight’s performance of music written by the group is the culmination of their recent course.
Booking details
Generously supported by Dunard Fund
Unless otherwise stated, tickets £9–£39 (premium seats £65)
Friday 25 April 2014 | 7.30pm
London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Monday–Friday 10.00am–5.00pm lpo.org.uk
JTI Friday Series Rimsky-Korsakov Russian Easter Festival Overture Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Miloš Karadaglić guitar
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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
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11
London Philharmonic Orchestra Annual Appeal 2013/14
Tickets Please! Do you remember the first time you saw a symphony orchestra live on stage? Every year the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s schools’ concerts allow over 16,000 young people to see and hear the Orchestra live. The LPO is the only orchestra in the UK to offer specific and tailored orchestral concerts for all ages – from primary school children aged five, through to 18-year-old A-level students. Six out of ten children attending the concerts will be experiencing an orchestra for the very first time. We want to offer free tickets to 2,500 children from the most disadvantaged schools and we need your help to make this happen. A donation of just £9 will allow a child from one of south London’s most disadvantaged schools to attend our schools’ concerts for free. If you would like to donate more, you could secure tickets for three children (£27), a row of seats in the stalls (£108), or a whole class to attend (£270). Every donation of any size from our supportive audience will help us to fill our concert hall with new young audience members.
Please visit lpo.org.uk/ticketsplease, where you can select the seats you wish to secure, or call Katherine Hattersley on 020 7840 4212 to donate over the phone. Thank you for supporting Tickets Please!
Tickets Please! has now raised over £13,500. This amount means that over 1,000 children will be able to attend our schools’ concerts for free. We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has already donated, and in particular to the following donors: Dr Christopher Aldren, Adrian Clark, Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington, Garf & Gill Collins, Roger Greenwood, Lord & Lady Hall, Rose & Dudley Leigh, Rivers Foundation, Dr Peter Stephenson, Mr & Mrs J C Tucker, and those who wish to remain anonymous.
12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra news
Glyndebourne Festival 2014
JTI Live and Local with guitarist Miloš
Tickets for Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s 80th anniversary season are now on sale. The season, which opens on 17 May 2014 and runs until 24 August, also marks the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 50th anniversary as Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne.
We are delighted to announce a pair of concerts later this month in Leicester (24 April) and Stoke-on-Trent (29 April) as the next leg of our ‘Live and Local’ tour, which was launched in 2013. We’ll be joined by classical guitarist Miloš Karadaglić to perform Rodrigo’s evocative Concierto de Aranjuez. The concerts will also include Mozart’s Symphony No. 32 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique), all conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
This summer the Orchestra will give performances of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier under the Festival’s new Music Director Robin Ticciati; Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin under Israeli conductor Omer Meir Wellber in his Glyndebourne debut; Mozart’s Don Giovanni under Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor from 2015, also making his Glyndebourne debut; and Verdi’s La traviata under Sir Mark Elder.
Thanks to the generous support of our long-term corporate partner JTI, all tickets to each concert are just £15 (excluding venue booking fees). 24 April 2014 | 7.30pm: De Montfort Hall, Leicester demontforthall.co.uk | 0116 233 3111 Booking fee £3 per transaction
Browse the full performance schedule and buy tickets online at glyndebourne.com or call the Box Office on 01273 813813.
29 April 2014 | 7.30pm: Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent musicmaniauk.com | 01782 206000 (Music Mania store)
New CD release: Carmina Burana
Animate Orchestra at Southbank Centre
Recently released on the LPO Label is Orff’s Carmina Burana conducted by Hans Graf (LPO-0076). It was recorded live in concert at Royal Festival Hall on 6 April 2013, as part of Southbank Centre’s yearlong The Rest Is Noise festival, and also features the London Philharmonic Choir and soloists Sarah Tynan, Andrew Kennedy and Rodion Pogossov.
Later this month, for four days during the school Easter holidays, the Animate Orchestra performing groups will be busy with intensive workshops and rehearsals, culminating in a pre-concert performance of new music written by the members themselves on Wednesday 16 April (6.00–6.45pm on The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall).
Priced £9.99, the CD is also available from lpo.org.uk/shop (where you can listen to soundclips before you buy), the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD retailers. Alternatively you can download it from iTunes, Amazon and others, or stream via Spotify.
Booking fee £2.50 per ticket
Animate Orchestra draws members aged 9–15 from the London boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham, Lambeth and Southwark. The music they perform will be based on Zimmermann’s Photoptosis, which features in the main LPO concert the same evening. Presented by the South Riverside Music Partnership, this pre-concert event will also feature a performance by musicians from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. Animate Orchestra is a partnership between Trinity Laban, the LPO and participating local music hubs. animateorchestra.org.uk
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13
Catalyst: Double Your Donation
The London Philharmonic Orchestra is building its first ever endowment fund, which will support the most exciting artistic collaborations with its partner venues here in London and around the country. Thanks to a generous grant pledge from Arts Council England’s Catalyst programme, the Orchestra is able to double the value of all gifts from new donors up to a maximum value of £1 million. Any additional gifts from existing generous donors will also be matched. By the end of the campaign we aim to have created an endowment with a value of £2 million which will help us work with partners to provide a funding injection for activities across the many areas of the Orchestra’s work, including: • More visionary artistic projects like The Rest Is Noise at Southbank Centre • Educational and outreach activities for young Londoners like this year’s Noye’s Fludde performance project • Increased touring to venues around the UK that might not otherwise have access to great orchestral music To give, call Development Director Nick Jackman on 020 7840 4211, email support@lpo.org.uk or visit www.lpo.org.uk/support/double-your-donation.html
Catalyst Endowment Donors Masur Circle Arts Council England Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Sharp Family The Underwood Trust Welser-Möst Circle John Ireland Charitable Trust Tennstedt Circle Simon Robey The late Mr K Twyman Solti Patrons Anonymous Suzanne Goodman The Rothschild Foundation Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Haitink Patrons Lady Jane Berrill Moya Greene Tony and Susie Hayes Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Diana and Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Ruth Rattenbury Sir Bernard Rix
14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
TFS Loans Limited The Tsukanov Family Foundation Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Anonymous Linda Blackstone Michael Blackstone Yan Bonduelle Richard and Jo Brass Britten-Pears Foundation Desmond & Ruth Cecil Lady June Chichester Lindka Cierach Mr Alistair Corbett Mark Damazer David Dennis Bill & Lisa Dodd Mr David Edgecombe David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Mrs Mina Goodman and Miss Suzanne Goodman Ffion Hague Rebecca Halford Harrison Michael & Christine Henry
Honeymead Arts Trust John Hunter Ivan Hurry Tanya Kornilova Howard & Marilyn Levene Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Geoff & Meg Mann Ulrike Mansel Marsh Christian Trust John Montgomery Rosemary Morgan John Owen Edmund Pirouet Mr Michael Posen John Priestland Tim Slorick Howard Snell Stanley Stecker Lady Marina Vaizey Helen Walker Laurence Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Victoria Yanakova Mr Anthony Yolland
We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group The Tsukanov Family Foundation Anonymous William and Alex de Winton Simon Robey The Sharp Family Julian & Gill Simmonds Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen
Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Don Kelly & Ann Wood Peter MacDonald Eggers Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr Maxwell Morrison Mr Michael Posen Mr & Mrs Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mrs A Beare David & Patricia Buck Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Edgecombe Mr Richard Fernyhough Tony & Susan Hayes Michael & Christine Henry Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha
Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Dr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills John Montgomery Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Martin and Cheryl Southgate Professor John Studd Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Laurie Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Bill Yoe and others who wish to remain anonymous Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE
The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members Silver: AREVA UK Berenberg Bank British American Business Carter-Ruck Thomas Eggar LLP Bronze: Lisa Bolgar Smith and Felix Appelbe of Ambrose Appelbe Appleyard & Trew LLP Berkeley Law Charles Russell Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Sela / Tilley’s Sweets
Trusts and Foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Ambache Charitable Trust Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust Britten-Pears Foundation The Candide Trust The Ernest Cook Trust The Coutts Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Embassy of Spain, Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs The Equitable Charitable Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Hinrichsen Foundation The Hobson Charity The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust Marsh Christian Trust The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians
Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française Polish Cultural Institute in London PRS for Music Foundation Rivers Foundation The R K Charitable Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Schroder Charity Trust Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust The Steel Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust UK Friends of the Felix-MendelssohnBartholdy-Foundation Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust Youth Music & others who wish to remain anonymous
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15
Administration
Board of Directors Victoria Sharp Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Vesselin Gellev* Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann* George Peniston* Sir Bernard Rix Kevin Rundell* Julian Simmonds Mark Templeton* Natasha Tsukanova Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich Dr Manon Williams
Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Sharp Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Chief Executive Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director Finance David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager Concert Management
* Player-Director
Roanna Gibson Concerts Director
Advisory Council
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager
Victoria Sharp Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Martin Southgate Sir Philip Thomas Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Elizabeth Winter American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. Jenny Ireland Co-Chairman William A. Kerr Co-Chairman Kyung-Wha Chung Alexandra Jupin Dr. Felisa B. Kaplan Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Dr. Joseph Mulvehill Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman
Orchestra Personnel
Public Relations
Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager
Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)
Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share)
Archives
Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Ellie Swithinbank Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager
Nick Jackman Development Director
Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors
Katherine Hattersley Charitable Giving Manager
Dr Louise Miller Honorary Doctor
Helen Searl Corporate Relations Manager Molly Stewart Development and Events Manager
Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager
Rebecca Fogg Development Assistant
Education and Community Isabella Kernot Education Director Alexandra Clarke Education and Community Project Manager
Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director
London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.
Mia Roberts Marketing Manager
Photographs of Schumann and Bruckner courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London.
Rachel Williams Publications Manager
Front cover photograph © Patrick Harrison.
Samantha Kendall Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242)
Printed by Cantate.
Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Co-ordinator
Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager
Penny Miller Intern
Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer
Digital Projects
16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Professional Services Charles Russell Solicitors
Sarah Fletcher Development and Finance Officer
Jo Cotter PA to the Chief Executive / Tours Co-ordinator
Gillian Pole Recordings Archive
Development
Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager
Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator
Philip Stuart Discographer
Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Manager Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant