BEETHOVEN UNBOUND Five new compositions inspired by Beethoven Wednesday 18 November 2020
World premieres from LPO Young Composers 2019/20: Daniel Davis Stone Skipping Joshua Brown Morphogenesis Aileen Sweeney Above the Stars Sylvia Lim suspended in the air Maciej Bałenkowski Space-time
Sir James MacMillan conductor LPO Foyle Future Firsts Members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
CONTENTS
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Debut Sounds Foyle Future Firsts On stage tonight Sir James MacMillan London Philharmonic Orchestra Programme notes: Daniel Davis Stone Skipping Joshua Brown Morphogenesis Aileen Sweeney Above the Stars Sylvia Lim suspended in the air Maciej Bałenkowski Space-time
Whose music can be heard in Black Mirror, Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, The Shining and the Exorcist? Get to know Polish composers at mapofcomposers.pl
This concert is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and LOT Polish Airlines.
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28/10/20 11:51
DEBUT SOUNDS Debut Sounds is an annual celebration of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s new talent programmes: LPO Young Composers and Foyle Future Firsts. Our five Young Composers were each invited to compose a short chamber work inspired by Beethoven on the occasion of his 250th anniversary year. Expertly guided by Sir James MacMillan, in his third and final year as the programme’s Composer Mentor, the composers have used Beethoven’s ideas as a springboard to create imaginative new pieces. These works are performed by an ensemble comprising members of the LPO and participants on the 2019/20 Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme. The performance was originally scheduled to take its usual form of a live concert at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in July 2020; we are very grateful to the composers, musicians and production team for their hard work and flexibility in adapting the format to facilitate a socially-distanced recording session in September and the subsequent online broadcast. The performances were recorded on 12 September 2020 at Blackheath Halls, London. lpo.org.uk/youngcomposers
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© Benjamin Ealovega
The 2019/20 Young Composers Programme is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the Polska Music Programme, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and the RVW Trust.
FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS The 17 members of the Foyle Future Firsts programme are talented graduate instrumentalists who aspire to be professional orchestral musicians. We support their transition between college and the professional platform, developing talented players to take up future orchestral appointments with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestras and ensembles around the world. Now in its 16th year, our unique programme has gone from strength to strength. Members are supported and nurtured to the highest standards and we are proud to see current and past Foyle Future Firsts undertaking professional engagements and building the necessary skillsets for successful orchestral careers. Members of the Foyle Future Firsts programme benefit from individual lessons and mentoring from London Philharmonic Orchestra Principals, mock auditions, and the opportunity to play in full orchestral rehearsals throughout the year. They also take part in chamber performances and work alongside London Philharmonic Orchestra musicians on Education & Community projects. lpo.org.uk/futurefirsts
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Š Benjamin Ealovega
The 2019/20 Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme is funded by the Foyle Foundation with additional support from the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, the Fidelio Charitable Trust, the Idlewild Trust and the Thriplow Charitable Trust.
ON STAGE TONIGHT FIRST VIOLINS Lasma Taimina Leader Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave
Naori Takahashi* Minn Majoe SECOND VIOLINS Helena Smart Ashley Stevens VIOLAS David Quiggle Abby Bowen†
COR ANGLAIS Amy Roberts CLARINETS Thomas Watmough Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Paul Richards BASS CLARINET Paul Richards BASSOONS Jonathan Davies Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey
CELLOS Tamaki Sugimoto* Helen Rathbone DOUBLE BASSES Elen Roberts* Sebastian Pennar FLUTES Harry Winstanley Stewart McIlwham PICCOLO/ ALTO FLUTE Stewart McIlwham OBOES Alice Munday Amy Roberts
Angharad Thomas CONTRABASSOON Angharad Thomas TRUMPETS Erika Curbelo* Paul Beniston HORNS Joel Roberts* Gareth Mollison TROMBONES William Foster* David Whitehouse TUBA Grady Hassan*
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PERCUSSION Emmanuel Joste* Samuel Howes* HARP Zita Silva* PIANO/CELESTE Catherine Edwards * 2019/20 Foyle Future First † 2020/21 Foyle Future First
PRODUCTION TEAM Greg Felton Georgie Gulliver Adrian Cleverley Sarah Rainbow Andrew Mellor Emily Moss Lindsay Wilson
SIR JAMES MACMILLAN CONDUCTOR & COMPOSER MENTOR
James MacMillan is the pre-eminent Scottish composer of his generation. He first attracted attention with the acclaimed BBC Proms premiere of The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (1990). His percussion concerto Veni, Veni Emmanuel (1992) has received over 500 performances worldwide, including by Evelyn Glennie with the LPO at Royal Festival Hall in 2013. In 2014 the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski gave the world premiere of MacMillan’s Viola Concerto with soloist Lawrence Power. Other major works include the cantata Seven Last Words from the Cross (1993); Quickening (1998) for soloists, children’s choir, mixed choir and orchestra; the operas Inès de Castro (2001) and The Sacrifice (2005–06); St John Passion (2007); and St Luke Passion (2013). In 2008 the LPO released on its own label The Confession of Isobel Gowdie under Marin Alsop live in concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall (LPO-0035). On 30 December 2020 the Orchestra will perform his Sinfonietta at the Royal Festival Hall under Vladimir Jurowski, in a concert streamed free of charge on Marquee TV.
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© Hans van der Woerd
As the LPO’s Young Composer Mentor 2019/20 – his third and final season in the role – James MacMillan has led seminars with the composers across the year and provided guidance in workshops and rehearsals with the ensemble.
LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham. Since then, its Principal Conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s current Principal Conductor, and he will be succeeded by Edward Gardner in September 2021. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It also has residencies at Glyndebourne and in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and performs regularly around the UK. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to audiences worldwide. The Orchestra broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and has recorded soundtracks for numerous films including The Lord of the Rings. In 2005 it began releasing live, studio and archive recordings on its own CD label, which now numbers over 100 releases. The Orchestra recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Education and Community department, whose work over three decades has introduced countless people of all ages to orchestral music: Our dynamic and wide-ranging programme provides first musical experiences for children and families; offers creative projects and professional development opportunities for schools and teachers; inspires talented teenage instrumentalists to progress their skills; and develops the next generation of professional musicians. Over the pandemic period the LPO has sustained its relationship with UK and international audiences through ‘LPOnline’, reaching many thousands of people. From initial individual performances recorded at home, the Orchestra progressed over time to larger-scale performances, before finally being able to play together in small chamber groups for the LPO Summer Sessions from Henry Wood Hall, as well as outdoor performances at Glyndebourne. This autumn the Orchestra returns to its Royal Festival Hall home to perform 13 full-length concerts filmed live and streamed for audiences to enjoy at home via Marquee TV.
© Benjamin Ealovega
lpo.org.uk
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Daniel Davis Stone Skipping
PROGRAMME NOTES
In the year that the world celebrates Beethoven’s birthday, I wanted to celebrate his music. This work is inspired by the tonalities of a set of chamber music works composed by Beethoven, and also by the strong attacks that characterise his Third Symphony. Stone Skipping tries to recreate an image of an action that we have all done at some point in our life: step in front of water, for example, a lake, pond, river or ocean; grab a stone; and throw it to see how many times it jumps on the water before it finally drowns. The combination of the strong attacks in Beethoven’s Third Symphony and the image of a stone skipping on the water made me think about this idea of having three elements together; not only in life, like the stone, the air and the water; but also in music, like an attack, resonance and decay. This work is a journey in the perspective of the stone. It hits the water, it flies, and at the end of the journey it goes to an unknown place.
© Pedro Freitas
Daniel Davis born 1990
Daniel initially studied composition with Sérgio Azevedo, António Pinho Vargas and Luís Tinoco. In 2014, his work ...from the last breath was premiered by the Gulbenkian Orchestra. In 2016 he was offered a place to embark on a PhD at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Julian Philips, Richard Baker and Julian Anderson. In 2019 he worked with composer Michel van der Aa as part of the Aix-enProvence Festival. During 2020 Daniel is also a composer in the World New Music Days in New Zealand. danieldaviscomposer.com
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PROGRAMME NOTES CONTINUED Joshua Brown Morphogenesis The inspiration for this piece comes from research into Alan Turing’s work on the mathematical patterns in chemical and biological processes (this research is from an Artist Residency at the John Rylands Research Institute). The music takes its pitch content from the entire first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, and, by removing repetitions of notes, creates new harmonic and melodic material that is treated as a genetic code. This musical DNA is then used in contrasting ways as if in an evolving biochemical process, interacting as reactions to each other, transforming, and generating each other so that more new ideas emerge. The other main influence for this piece is traditional Scottish congregational psalm singing, as the transformation of sound from soloist to a group en masse in this tradition serves as a perfect analogy for musical morphogenesis. The overall picture that emerges through this piece is of lonely contemplation, with distant mirages coming in and out of view, understated but imposing, blurred objects struggling to be seen through a haze.
Joshua Brown born 1989
Joshua Brown is an award-winning composer from the North West of England. He completed his PhD in Composition with Professor Philip Grange at the University of Manchester in 2018, and currently teaches Composition at the Junior RNCM. His music often explores the combination of mathematical concepts and freedom for the musicians. This dichotomy of precision processes while composing, alongside elements of chance in performances, embraces the unique qualities individual musicians bring to a piece of music, so that each composition feels like a premiere every time it is played.
Joshua’s music is performed widely in the UK and internationally by leading ensembles and soloists. Collaborations have included with the London Sinfonietta, Red Note Ensemble, Psappha, Charlotte Trepess, Pellingman’s Sarabande with John Potter, Martynas Levickis, Etherow Reeds, Vytautas Oškinis, Cuarteto Cromano, Pietro Roffi, Manchester Chamber Choir and the Acceso Quartet. joshuabrowncomposer.com
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PROGRAMME NOTES CONTINUED Aileen Sweeney Above the Stars 2020 sees the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, but it is also the year that the UK leaves the European Union. ‘Ode to Joy’ from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has been used as a European anthem since 1972. It expresses the ideals of a united Europe: freedom, peace and solidarity, but more recently it has been used in protest against the UK leaving the EU. Despite Scotland voting with a 62% majority to remain in the EU, Scotland will leave the EU along with the rest of the UK. This piece explores Scotland’s unique relationship with the EU from within the UK, which is why I drew upon strong influences from Scottish folk music. Scottish modes and rhythmic features are used prominently throughout the piece, especially in the string section where slides, scotch snaps, grace notes and a fiddle solo are used to capture this idea of Scotland’s political voice. The ‘Ode to Joy’ theme is used solely in the final section of the piece. The theme remains perfectly intact but is played at various speeds and registers layered on top of one another meaning it is heavily disguised. The theme is first heard in the harp and then subsequently in the vibraphone, cello and bassoon. “Above the Stars” is a snippet of text taken from the English translation of ‘Ode to Joy’. The title nods towards the 12 stars of the European flag, the number 12 being the symbol of perfection and entirety.
© Lemonjelly Photography
Aileen Sweeney Aileen is a Scottish composer and accordionist based in Glasgow. born 1994
She is currently studying for her MMus degree in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She is grateful to have received scholarships from The Dewar Arts Fund, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, The Cross Trust and The North Lanarkshire Arts Award. In 2017 Aileen graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with a First Class BMus (Hons) in Performance. During her undergraduate degree, she was awarded the Geddes-Peterson Prize for composition.
Aileen’s music is cross-genre, infused with the ornamentation, energy and colours of the Scottish folk music she grew up playing. Her inspiration comes from stories, as well as current social and political topics she is passionate about such as climate change, equality and politics. She has worked with ensembles such as Red Note Ensemble, Hebrides Ensemble, Psappha, the Edinburgh Quartet and the Brodick Quartet. As an accordionist she has performed with some of Scotland’s leading contemporary music ensembles such as Ensemble Thing and NOISE Opera. In 2016 she founded the folk-fusion band Eriska, who launched their debut album At the Wrong Gig in 2018 and are releasing their latest EP this year. aileensweeney.com 10
PROGRAMME NOTES CONTINUED Sylvia Lim suspended in the air I was influenced by two short passages from Beethoven’s piano music – from the third movement of his ‘Moonlight’ Sonata (bb. 33–40) and the opening of his ‘Appassionata’ (bb. 25–31). In both passages, time feels suspended or stretched, and yet things pulsate – there are rhythmic drones and little repetitive fragments. In my own work, quiet, unstable sounds pulsate and hover. It’s a very static and intimate work which explores the more delicate sounds of the chamber orchestra. Listeners are invited to hear how these sounds shift against each other, and to notice what happens when sounds emerge and disappear.
© Nina Close
Sylvia Lim born 1992
Sylvia Lim is a composer based in the UK. Her works are intimate, exploring a small amount of material in depth – often a single sound, texture, or entity. She is interested in the materiality of sound, notions of close listening, perception, rawness and instability. Her music is influenced by natural phenomena in our world and the visual arts. She works very closely with musicians, visual artists and dancers.
Sylvia’s music has been performed and/or workshopped by PlusMinus Ensemble, EXAUDI, CoMA Singers, Liam Byrne, Natasha Zielazinski, Musarc, BBC Singers, Fournier Trio, Kaleidoscope Saxophone Quartet, tick tock, members of the Aurora Orchestra and members of the London Symphony Orchestra. Her music has been published in the CoMA Partsong Book, and performed at the Cambridge Female Composers Festival, CoMA Festival, London Contemporary Music Festival and Barbican OpenFest’s Unfinished. As well as the LPO Young Composers Programme, in 2019/20 she was also a participant on Psappha’s Composing for Piano scheme. She is a Rosie Johnson RPS/Wigmore Hall Apprentice Composer for 2020/21 as part of the RPS Composers Programme. She is currently working on a piece for Ars Nova and The Riot Ensemble, a piece for members of the Aurora Orchestra, and a solo work for pianist Ben Smith. Sylvia completed her PhD at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she also gained a First Class Bachelor of Music (Honours) and a Master of Music with distinction, winning the Ian Horsbrugh Memorial Prize for Composition in 2015. She now teaches workshop skills and composition there. In the past she also taught at the University of Bristol. sylvialim.co 11
PROGRAMME NOTES CONTINUED Maciej Bałenkowski Space-time For some time I had been looking for an element in Beethoven’s output that would inspire me in a special way to make my own creative attempts. Beethoven was the first composer to use dynamic contrasts on such a large scale, and I decided to use this feature of his music and combine it with another inspiration present in my music almost from the very beginning: space-time. This piece became a kind of experiment, because I used the orchestral texture in a very unusual way. During the first minutes of the piece, each instrumental line carries out individual dynamic cycles at a separate time from the others. Unusual manipulation of dynamics in the wind instruments results in the appearance and hiding of subsequent threads, their overlapping at different moments causing a sense of movement inside the orchestra. Another very important element of this composition are its timbres and methods of producing sound. I used timbres such as molto sul ponticello, a ‘pendulum’ effect, and the noise of the air extracted from wind instruments. All these effects are aimed at gaining space in music. In the fast second movement, the interlocking threads continue. A parallel narrative takes place here, introducing an apparent but controlled chaos in music, which is intended to reflect certain features of space-time.
Maciej Bałenkowski born 1993 From 2017–20 Maciej Bałenkowski studied at the Academy of Music in Kraków, becoming the last student of the late Krzysztof Penderecki. From 2012–17 he studied composition under Robert Kurdybacha at the Academy of Music in Wrocław, graduating in 2017 with distinction. He also honed his skills during exchange studies at the Hochschule der Künste Bern and the Conservatorio superior de música ‘Joaquín Rodrigo’ in Valencia. Maciej’s works have been performed worldwide, and he is the winner and finalist of over 25 international composition prizes including the 2018 Respighi Prize. His compositions have been perfomed by the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio, Glasparlenspiel Sinfonietta, Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra (New York City), Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra (Budapest), Sinfonietta Cracovia, Sound Factory Orchestra and many others, in such significant concert halls as Carnegie Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Musikverein, Moscow Conservatory Concert Hall, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Utrecht Philharmonie, and many others. 12
