London Philharmonic Orchestra 14 Nov 2018 concert programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra

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2018/19 Concert Season

AT Southbank Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royal Festival Hall

concert programme

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA Leader pieter schoeman supported by Neil Westreich Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Wednesday 14 November 2018 | 7.30pm

Messiaen Hymne (12’) Gounod Concerto for Pedal Piano in E flat major* (20’) Interval (20’) Berlioz Symphonie fantastique (49’)

Oleg Caetani conductor Roberto Prosseda pedal piano * Supported by Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française.

The Steinway concert pianos chosen and hired by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for this performance are supplied and maintained by Steinway & Sons, London.

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Contents 2 Welcome Orchestra news 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Oleg Caetani 7 Roberto Prosseda 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings Die Walküre: January 2019 12 Next concerts 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration

Welcome

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 a member of staff for assistance. Eating, drinking and shopping? Enjoy fresh seasonal food for breakfast and lunch, coffee, teas and evening drinks with riverside views at Concrete Cafe, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Riverside Terrace Cafe, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Visit our shops for products inspired by our artistic and cultural programme, iconic buildings and central London location. Explore across the site with Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, wagamama, YO! Sushi, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Honest Burger, Côte Brasserie, Skylon and Topolski. 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 us on 020 3879 9555, 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. LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance. RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended. MOBILES AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

Christmas gifts from the LPO Searching for the perfect Christmas present for the music lover in your life? Look no further. With more than 100 CD releases on the LPO label, tickets for concerts in London, Eastbourne or Brighton, gift vouchers and memberships, there’s something for everyone. Share the joy of music and make it a Christmas to remember. Visit lpo.org.uk/gifts to explore the full collection, or call the LPO Ticket Office on 020 7840 4242. The Snowman: Sunday 2 December On 2 December we’ll be getting into the Christmas spirit at Canary Wharf’s East Wintergarden, providing a live orchestral soundtrack to three screenings of the film The Snowman with music by Howard Blake. Soloists from Trinity Boys Choir will join the Orchestra for festive favourite, ‘Walking in the Air’. The performances begin at 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 4.30pm. Tickets are £4 for adults, £2 for children and free for under-2s, with all proceeds going to the baby charity Tommy’s. For more information and booking visit canarywharf.com The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall The London Philharmonic Orchestra has long been renowned for its prowess in the opera pit at Glyndebourne, but this Christmas we’ll be branching out into ballet. The Orchestra has been invited to accompany Tchaikovsky’s festive favourite The Nutcracker with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall from 28–31 December. For more information and booking visit royalalberthall.com or call the Royal Albert Hall Box Office on 020 7589 8212.

Out now The Autumn 2018 edition of Tune In, our free LPO magazine. Copies are available at the Welcome Desk in the Royal Festival Hall foyer, or phone the LPO office on 020 7840 4200 to receive one in the post. Also available digitally: issuu.com/londonphilharmonic

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On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Thomas Eisner Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Yang Zhang Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Rebecca Shorrock Evin Blomberg Georgina Leo Lasma Taimina Nilufar Alimaksumova Essi Kiiski Rasa Zukauskaite Jeff Moore Katherine Waller Cassandra Hamilton Second Violins Tania Mazzetti Principal Chair supported by Countess Dominique Loredan

Helena Smart Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Joseph Maher Helena Nicholls Kalliopi Mitropoulou Judith Choi-Castro Sioni Williams Robin Wilson Alison Strange Emma Purslow Rebecca Dinning Anna Croad

Violas David Quiggle Principal Michael Casimir Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Stanislav Popov Luca Casciato Martin Wray Richard Cookson Martin Fenn Charles Cross Julia Kornig Cellos Josephine Knight Guest Principal David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Helen Rathbone Sibylle Hentschel David Bucknall Philip Taylor Double Basses Hugh Kluger Principal George Peniston Tom Walley Laurence Lovelle Lowri Morgan Charlotte Kerbegian Jakub Cywinski Samuel Rice

Oboes John Anderson Guest Principal Jenny Brittlebank

Cornets Paul Beniston* Tony Cross Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal

Offstage Oboe Alice Munday

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

David Whitehouse

Cor Anglais Sue BĂśhling* Principal

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Tubas Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Michael Levis

Clarinets Marie Lloyd Guest Principal Thomas Watmough Paul Richards*

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Marney Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan

Bass Clarinet Paul Richards* Principal

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal

E flat Clarinet Thomas Watmough Principal

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Henry Baldwin Co-Principal Keith Millar James Bower Feargus Brennan

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Bassoons Gareth Newman Principal Simon Estell* Laura Vincent Angharad Thomas

Harps Rachel Masters Principal Lucy Haslar Emma Ramsdale Valeria Kurbatova

Horns David Pyatt* Principal

* Holds a professorial appointment in London

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Flutes Sue Thomas* Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Clare Childs Stewart McIlwham* Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

John Ryan* Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin Hobbs Nicholas Mooney Gareth Mollison Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Jason Lewis Guest Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporter whose player is not present at this concert: Bianca & Stuart Roden

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London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic’s closing concert took excellence and courageous programme planning to levels of expectation and emotional intensity more than once defying belief. Here was an orchestra in terrific form, rising to every challenge. Classicalsource.com (LPO at Royal Festival Hall, 2 May 2018: Panufnik, Penderecki & Prokofiev)

One of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with its reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and local communities. 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 the Orchestra’s current Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, and in 2017 we celebrated the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary partnership. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in 2015. The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Throughout the remainder of

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2018 we continue our series Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey, charting the life and music of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers. In 2019 we celebrate the music of Britain in our festival Isle of Noises, exploring a range of British and British-inspired music from Purcell to the present day. 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 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. Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2018/19 season include a major tour of Asia including South Korea, Taiwan and China, as well as performances in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Switzerland and the USA.

Pieter Schoeman leader

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. In 2017/18 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Education and Community department, whose work over three decades has introduced so many people of all ages to orchestral music and created opportunities for people of all backgrounds to fulfil their creative potential. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the LPO Young Composers programme; the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme; and the LPO Junior Artists scheme for talented young musicians from communities and backgrounds currently underrepresented in professional UK orchestras. The Orchestra’s work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled it to reach even more people worldwide: as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on social media. lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. © Benjamin Ealovega

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 100 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include a Poulenc disc conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 under Vladimir Jurowski, and a film music disc under Dirk Brossé.

Born in South Africa, Pieter made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. Five years later he won the World Youth Concerto Competition in Michigan. Aged 17, he moved to the US to further his studies in Los Angeles and Dallas. In 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman who, after several consultations, recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. 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 appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. At the invitation of Yannick Nézet-Séguin he has been part of the ‘Yannick and Friends’ chamber group, performing at festivals in Dortmund and Rheingau. Pieter has performed several times as a soloist with the LPO, and his live recording of Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov was released on the Orchestra’s own label to great critical acclaim. He has also recorded numerous violin solos for film and television, and led the LPO in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. 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. In April 2016 he was Guest Leader with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for Kurt Masur’s memorial concert. 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.

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Oleg Caetani conductor

... he suddenly enters the heart of the symphony with a performance of rare expressive intensity: emotions become almost piercing, and the final polish of the last movement of chilling beauty will remain etched in our memory for a long time. Fabio Bardelli, OperaClick, January 2018 (Shostakovich Symphony No. 15/Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra)

One of the greatest conductors of his generation, Italian conductor Oleg Caetani moves freely between symphonic and operatic repertoire. He has conducted all over the world including at La Scala in Milan, the Mariinsky in St Petersburg, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Opera House in San Francisco, the Musikverein in Vienna, Lincoln Center in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Sydney Opera House, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Munich Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchester in Salzburg, the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Yomiuri Orchestra in Tokyo, the Sydney Symphony and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with renowned soloists including Martha Argerich, Sviatoslav Richter, Daniil Trifonov, Vadim Repin, Mischa Maisky, Gautier Capuçon, Viktoria Mullova and Emmanuel Pahud. After studying all the Shostakovich symphonies with Kiril Kondrashin at the Moscow Conservatory, Oleg Caetani graduated with Ilya Mussin from the St Petersburg Conservatory. Winner of the RAI Turin Competition and the Karajan Competition in Berlin, he started his career at Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Caetani’s vast experience of almost 40 years in the operatic works of Verdi, Puccini, Mussorgsky and Wagner (including several Ring productions) has influenced his approach to the great operatic and symphonic works of the 20th century.

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Oleg was Chief Designate at English National Opera in 2005, Chief Designate at the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2002–05, and Music Conductor and Artistic Director for the same orchestra from 2005–09. Before that, he was the Principal Conductor of the Staatskapelle Weimar, First Kapellmeister of the Frankfurt Opera, and General Music Director in Wiesbaden and of the Robert Schumann Philharmonic Orchestra. Forthcoming engagements include Woolf Works by Max Richter at the Teatro alla Scala, Carmen at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, and concerts with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony, the Metropolitan Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the LaVerdi Orchestra Milan (with which, in 2019, Caetani will celebrate an uninterrupted 20-year artistic relationship), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice and others.

Roberto Prosseda pedal piano

Prosseda’s articulation is a miracle of clarity. Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine, January 2007 (Mendelssohn Discoveries CD: Decca)

Roberto Prosseda was born in Latina, Italy, in 1975 and is a leading Decca artist. His Decca albums dedicated to the music of Mendelssohn, including the Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and Riccardo Chailly, have won much acclaim in the press, including the Choc du Monde de la Musique, the Diapason d’Or and Chamber Music CD of the Month in Classic FM magazine. In 2010 Deutsche Grammophon selected 12 recordings by Prosseda for inclusion in the box-set Classic Gold. In 2014 Prosseda completed his ten-year project to record all of Mendelssohn’s piano works for Decca on nine CDs. Roberto Prosseda has appeared regularly with many of the world’s most important orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Moscow State Philharmonic, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Filarmonica della Scala, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Residentie Orkest, the Netherlands Symphony, the Berlin Symphony, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. He has performed under the batons of David Afkham, Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Harry Bicket, Oleg Caetani, Riccardo Chailly, Pietari Inkinen, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, George Pehlivanian, Dennis Russell Davies, Tugan Sokhiev, Jan Willem de Vriend and Juraj Valčuha.

piano tuned with unequal temperament. An active proponent of Italian music, Roberto Prosseda has also recorded the complete piano works of Petrassi and Dallapiccola. In September 2011 Prosseda made his debut on the pedal piano, giving the world premiere of Gounod’s Concerto for Pedal Piano in its version for the modern instrument. Concerts are planned in the coming seasons on this instrument, rediscovering original compositions by Schumann, Liszt and Alkan. Several composers, including Ennio Morricone, have written new pieces for pedal piano for Roberto Prosseda, and a recording of Gounod’s Four Pieces for Pedal Piano and Orchestra with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Howard Shelley was released on the Hyperion label in 2013. Roberto Prosseda is also active in musical publishing and broadcasting. He wrote the book Il Pianoforte for Curci Editori (2013), and has made three documentaries for EuroArts dedicated to Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt. He is currently Artistic Advisor at Cremona Musica International Exhibitions and President of the Associazione Mendelssohn.

Other than Mendelssohn, of whose piano music Roberto is considered one of today’s leading interpreters, his interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Chopin have been particularly praised, and these composers have also featured in his recent Decca recordings. In 2015 he began a complete recording of Mozart’s Piano Sonatas with a modern

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Programme notes

Speedread Tonight’s programme features three French masters: two from the 19th century; and one who would dominate the 20th. But nothing conquered the Paris of the 1800s more than Hector Berlioz’s maverick masterpiece, his Symphonie fantastique. Written in 1830, just three years after Beethoven’s death, it entirely reimagined what a symphony could contain and impart. Equally famed for his dramatic music, Charles Gounod, the composer of Faust, is represented here by one of a series of works he wrote for the esoteric pedal piano. Inspired by the talented instrumentalist Lucie Palicot, Gounod’s 1889 Concerto spans a theatrical range of moods, from

Olivier Messiaen

solitary funeral marches to soldierly blasts. But before this organ-like piano takes centre stage, the concert begins with the music of an organist proper: Olivier Messiaen. Just as the theatre dominated the lives of Berlioz and Gounod, so the church characterised much of Messiaen’s output, including his Hymne of 1947, a reconstruction of the earlier Hymne au Saint-Sacrement that had been lost during World War II. Like many of Messiaen’s orchestral and organ meditations, it ponders themes of sin and redemption, which likewise run through the life of the artist at the heart of Berlioz’s most stirring symphonic work.

Hymne

1908–1992

At the beginning of the 1930s, Olivier Messiaen left the Paris Conservatoire and took up a role he would retain until his death in 1992. His post as organist of La Trinité in Paris, a church positioned halfway between the Opéra and Montmartre, was to dominate his life. That daily contact with Catholic liturgy imbued much of his music with a deep Christian faith, as well as a dazzling command of harmony, gleaned from hours of improvising at La Trinité’s imposing Cavaillé-Coll organ. The iridescence of Messiaen’s palette and the fervency of his beliefs were made manifest not only in the cycles of pieces he wrote for the organ, but also in a series of symphonic meditations. The first of these, Les Offrandes oubliées, dates from the year he left the Conservatoire. It was followed by Le Tombeau resplendissant in 1931 and the Hymne au Saint-Sacrement in 1932. The score of the last of these was sadly lost during World War II,

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when Messiaen was called into military service and, as a result, captured in May 1940. He was then taken to a prisoner-of-war camp in Silesia, where he was to write his famous Quatuor pour la fin du temps. It was after the War, however, in the midst of writing what would become his most outrageously colourful score, the Turangalîla-symphonie of 1946–8, that Messiaen decided to return to his Hymne au SaintSacrement, which he reconstructed from memory and renamed. ‘The work’, Messiaen wrote, ‘is, above all, characterised by colour effects’. There are two main themes, the first of which symbolises a forceful wind, violently juxtaposing harmonies in an organlike chorale. Often, these constitute specific hues – Messiaen saw colours internally when hearing certain sounds. Describing the second theme, with its woodpecker song, Messiaen cited combinations of

gold and brown, orange striped with red, orange and milky white, green and gold and, finally, purple and greeny blues, which lead to the red and gold of the final fanfares.

Charles Gounod 1818–93

The development of the pedal piano resulted from the impracticalities of practising the organ. And so piano manufacturers, such as Érard in Paris, conceived a domestic alternative, effectively a piano with a manual and pedal board, the latter triggering the same action as the keyboard above it. As well as providing a necessary practice instrument for organists, the pedal piano acquired a repertoire of its own, thanks to figures such as Schumann and Liszt. But it was Alkan, performing music by Saint-Saëns, whom Gounod first witnessed at the pedal piano in 1875. Alkan may have provided the initial impetus, but it was the talents of another practitioner, Lucie Palicot, who truly inspired Gounod into writing four works for the pedal piano: the Fantaisie sur l’hymne national russe of 1885; the Suite concertante of 1886; the Danse roumaine of 1888–9; and, finally, the Concerto for Pedal Piano in E flat major, completed in the late summer of 1889. Gounod sought no publisher for the work and instead gave exclusive rights to Palicot. Sadly, her advocacy was not to last; two years after Gounod’s death, in 1883, Lucie married for a second time and gave up making her famous appearances in Paris’s concert halls altogether.

Concerto for Pedal Piano in E flat major Roberto Prosseda pedal piano 1 Allegro moderato 2 Scherzo 3 Adagio ma non troppo 4 Allegretto marziale (pomposo)

The Concerto is conceived in four movements and begins in stirring, heroic terms. After the orchestra has set the mood, the solo instrument makes its mark with a virtuoso cadenza, played by the pedals. This launches a discursive sonata-form movement, in which the soloist and orchestra relish a fight for supremacy. In the bouncing second movement, however, the orchestra provides a more accompanimental role, with a new dialogue emerging between the pianist’s hands and feet. The sustained tones of the Trio return in the ensuing Adagio, albeit taking on a much darker hue. For if the first movement and its E flat major tonality recall Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, then this funeral march certainly has roots in that earlier masterpiece. There is, however, an intensely lyrical vein too, given rhapsodic voice in the movement’s contrasting middle section. And then the heroism of the initial Allegro returns for a finale of unbridled joy. At times, this shows itself in martial terms, before elation comes to cap this rare glimpse into the world of the pedal piano.

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

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Programme notes continued

Hector Berlioz 1803–69

The symphony, or so many high-minded commentators during the 19th century would have us believe, was a wholly abstract genre. ‘When music is discussed as an independent art’, the German writer, composer and polyglot E.T.A. Hoffmann asked, ‘should it not be solely instrumental music that is intended, music that scorns every aid from and mixing with any other art (poetry), music that only expresses the distinctive and unique essence of this art?’. Hoffmann’s appraisal formed the basis of an enduring debate in both criticism and philosophy about the veracity and, more importantly, the taste of any work that dared to dabble in what has become known as ‘programmatic’ music. The supreme example of its revered alternative was, of course, the ‘absolute’ music of Beethoven, especially his symphonies. And yet Beethoven himself had broken such a strict mould when he chose to evoke rural scenes in his Sixth and introduced vocal forces into his Ninth. But these poetic and dramatic effects were arguably nothing when compared with the yet bolder foray into the theatrical witnessed in Paris three years after Beethoven’s death, with the premiere of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. This was the true programmatic symphony, with each of its movements charting an episode in the life of an artist. Today, with our visually saturated imaginations, the composer’s own programme note for his 1830 work, first heard at the Paris Conservatoire, may seem extraneous. Yet over half a century before motion pictures emerged, Berlioz was able to render in sound a narrative of extraordinary power, thanks to his remoulding of established symphonic forms and his dazzling approach to orchestration. Even today, the work remains a startling achievement.

Symphonie fantastique 1 Rêveries – Passions [Reveries – Passions] 2 Un bal [A Ball] 3 Scène aux champs [Scene in the Country] 4 Marche au supplice [March to the Scaffold] 5 Songe d’une nuit du sabbat [Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath] The work opens with an unusual approach to the Classical sonata-form movement, here representing the hero’s vision of ‘a young musician, afflicted by the sickness of spirit which a famous writer has called the vagueness of passions’. The musician ‘sees for the first time a woman who unites all the charms of the ideal person his imagination was dreaming of’. The vision prompts the work’s overriding musical idea, an idée fixe, which will return at various points in the drama. The second movement, a whirling waltz, finds the artist ‘in the tumult of a festive party’ and ‘in the peaceful contemplation of the beautiful sights of nature’. But wherever he wanders in this waltzing cyclorama, decorated by the purling of two harps, he is constantly haunted by the image of his beloved. She likewise reappears in the pastoral third movement, with its ‘ranz des vaches’ horn-call of two Swiss shepherds, represented by the cor anglais and, at least at first, an offstage oboe. But after the idée fixe sounds again, the first shepherd’s call goes unanswered. It is followed instead by the rumble of four timpani, recalling the brief tempest in Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony and preparing for the trauma that is to follow. The fourth movement, by far the most famous, finds the artist, addled by a significant but not deadly dose of opium, imagining that ‘he has killed his beloved, that he is condemned, led to the scaffold and is witnessing his own execution’. While the voice of his ideal lover, sounding shortly before the guillotine falls, seems to indicate an eventual path to redemption, it is denied by the finale’s nightmare sequence of a witches’ sabbath. The idée fixe returns here too, but it is constantly overwhelmed by another overriding motif, that of the plainchant of the Dies irae, as the witches’ round dance reaches a terrifying conclusion. Programme notes © Gavin Plumley

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PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE Save the date...

Wagner: Die Walküre Sunday 27 January 2019 | 4.00pm Royal Festival Hall Following the success of Das Rheingold in January 2018, Vladimir Jurowski presents the second instalment of our Wagner Ring Cycle. ‘Berlioz is often a formidable challenge for us harpists, and although the harps are only used in the second movement of his Symphonie fantastique, it’s quite impressive to hear all four of us going for it. During the performance we are blessed(?) with being ‘tacet’ (silent) during the first movement, giving us no chance to warm up for a rather scary entry in the second, going crazy for five minutes, then three more tacet movements to reflect on how it all went! Rachel Masters, Principal Harp

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Many of our recommended recordings, where available, are on sale this evening at the Foyles stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer. Gounod: Concerto for Pedal Piano Roberto Prosseda | Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana Howard Shelley (Hyperion) Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française Sir Thomas Beecham (Warner) or Anima Eterna Brugge | Jos van Immerseel (Zigzag)

Tickets £25–60 (premium seats £80) Book via lpo.org.uk or or call 020 7840 4242 Transaction fee £1.75 online/£2.75 phone

VIP reception packages also available: visit lpo.org.uk/walkure Vladimir Jurowski conductor Stuart Skelton Siegmund Evgeny Nikitin Wotan* Ruxandra Donose Sieglinde* Stephen Milling Hunding Claudia Mahnke Fricka Svetlana Sozdateleva Brünnhilde Ursula Hesse von den Steinen Waltraute Sinéad Campbell-Wallace Helmwige Alwyn Mellor Gerhilde Gabriela Iştoc Ortlinde Hanna Hipp Rossweisse Angela Simkin Siegrune Rachael Lloyd Grimgerde Susan Platts Schwertleite London Philharmonic Orchestra * Please note a change of artist from previously advertised. Generously supported by members of the Orchestra’s Ring Cycle Syndicate

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

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next lpo concerts

AT Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

wednesday 21 november 2018 7.30pm

wednesday 28 november 2018 7.30pm

Mark Elder conductor Ermonela Jaho soprano Brian Mulligan baritone* Arsen Soghomonyan tenor* Opera Rara Chorus

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Bizet L’Arlésienne Suite No. 1 Verdi Ballet music from Macbeth Puccini Le Villi

In association with Opera Rara * Please note a change of artist from previously advertised.

Enescu Romanian Rhapsody No. 1* Pascal Dusapin At Swim-Two-Birds (UK premiere)** Martinů Symphony No. 4 Ravel La valse

*Generously supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute

friday 30 november 2018 7.30pm

Blacher Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 Liadov The Enchanted Lake Liadov Baba Yaga Liadov Kikimora Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Ray Chen violin

** Commissioned by BBC Radio 4’s zaterdagmatinee series in The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London Philharmonic Orchestra (with generous support from Diaphonique, a Franco-British contemporary music fund supported by the Institut Français, the Bureau export de la musique, the British Council and Ministère de la Culture et de la communication), Gewandhausorchester and Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Book now at lpo.org.uk or call 020 7840 4242 Season discounts of up to 30% available

Sound Futures donors

We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures. Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey OBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Underwood Trust

The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Welser-Möst Circle Lady Jane Berrill William & Alex de Winton Mr Frederick Brittenden John Ireland Charitable Trust David & Yi Yao Buckley The Tsukanov Family Foundation Mr Clive Butler Neil Westreich Gill & Garf Collins Tennstedt Circle Mr John H Cook Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Mr Alistair Corbett Richard Buxton Bruno De Kegel The Candide Trust Georgy Djaparidze Michael & Elena Kroupeev David Ellen Kirby Laing Foundation Christopher Fraser OBE & Lisa Fraser Mr & Mrs Makharinsky David & Victoria Graham Fuller Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Goldman Sachs International Sir Simon Robey Mr Gavin Graham Bianca & Stuart Roden Moya Greene Simon & Vero Turner Mrs Dorothy Hambleton The late Mr K Twyman Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Solti Patrons Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Ageas Mrs Philip Kan John & Manon Antoniazzi Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Gabor Beyer, through BTO Rose & Dudley Leigh Management Consulting AG Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Jon Claydon Miss Jeanette Martin Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Duncan Matthews QC Suzanne Goodman Diana & Allan Morgenthau Roddy & April Gow Charitable Trust The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Dr Karen Morton Charitable Trust Mr Roger Phillimore Mr James R.D. Korner Ruth Rattenbury Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia The Reed Foundation Ladanyi-Czernin The Rind Foundation Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Querée The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

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Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all donors who have given generously to the LPO over the past year. Your generosity helps maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.

Artistic Director’s Circle An anonymous donor Sir Simon & Lady Robey OBE Orchestra Circle The Candide Trust Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich The Tsukanov Family Dr James Huang Zheng (of Kingdom Music Education Group) Principal Associates Gabor Beyer, through BTO Management Consulting AG In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Associates Steven M. Berzin Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley John Burgess Richard Buxton In memory of Allner Mavis Channing Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Beuill Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas Mr Roger Greenwood The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Countess Dominique Loredan Geoff & Meg Mann

Sally Groves & Dennis Marks Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski Melanie Ryan Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Laurence Watt Silver Patrons Dr Christopher Aldren Peter Blanc Georgy Djaparidze Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Will & Kate Hobhouse Matt Isaacs & Penny Jerram John & Angela Kessler The Metherell Family Simon Millward Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Susan Wallendahl Guy & Utti Whittaker

Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Peter & Lucy Noble Noel Otley JP & Mrs Rachel Davies Jacopo Pessina Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Tatiana Pyatigorskaya Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr Christopher Stewart Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Christopher Williams Ed & Catherine Williams Mr Anthony Yolland

Bronze Patrons Anonymous donors Michael Allen Andrew Barclay Mr Geoffrey Bateman Peter & Adrienne Breen Mr Jeremy Bull Mr Alan C Butler Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Bruno De Kegel Mr John L G Deacon David Ellen Ignor & Lyuba Galkin Mrs Irina Gofman David Goldberg Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Catherine Hogel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Mr James R. D. Korner Rose & Dudley Leigh

Principal Supporters Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Margot Astrachan Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Mr Edwin Bisset Dr Anthony Buckland Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Sir Alan Collins KCVO David & Liz Conway Mr Alistair Corbett Mrs Alina Davey Guy Davies Henry Davis MBE Mr Richard Fernyhough Patrice & Federica Feron Ms Kerry Gardner Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Per Jonsson Mr Ralph Kanza Ms Katerina Kashenceva Vadim & Natalia Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Mr Christopher Little

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Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Mr John Meloy Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Dr Wiebke Pekrull Mr James Pickford Andrew & Sarah Poppleton Natalie Pray Mr Christopher Querée Martin & Cheryl Southgate Ms Nadia Stasyuk Matthew Stephenson & Roman Aristarkhov Louise Walton Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Liz Winter Bill Yoe Supporters Mr John D Barnard Mr Bernard Bradbury Mr Richard Brooman Mrs Alan Carrington Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Joshua Coger Mr Geoffrey A Collens Miss Tessa Cowie Lady Jane Cuckney OBE Mr David Devons Samuel Edge Manuel Fajardo & Clémence Humeau Mrs Janet Flynn Christopher Fraser OBE Will Gold Mr Peter Gray Mrs Maureen HooftGraafland The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Mr Frederic Marguerre Mr Mark Mishon Mr Stephen Olton Mr David Peters Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr David Russell Mr Kenneth Shaw

Ms Elizabeth Shaw Ms Natalie Spraggon & Mr David Thomson Mr John Weekes Joanna Williams Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Alfonso Aijón Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Laurence Watt LPO International Board of Governors Natasha Tsukanova Chair Steven M. Berzin (USA) Gabor Beyer (Hungary) Kay Bryan (Australia) Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil (France) Joyce Kan (China/Hong Kong) Olivia Ma (Greater China Area) Olga Makharinsky (Russia) George Ramishvili (Georgia) Victoria Robey OBE (USA) Dr James Huang Zheng (of Kingdom Music Education Group) (China/ Shenzhen)

We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America: Simon Freakley Chairman Xenia Hanusiak Alexandra Jupin William A. Kerr Kristina McPhee Natalie Pray Stephanie Yoshida Antony Phillipson Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Corporate Donors Arcadis Christian Dior Couture Faraday Fenchurch Advisory Partners IMG Pictet Bank Steppes Travel White & Case LLP

Corporate Members Gold freuds Sunshine Silver After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Bronze Ageas Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Walpole Preferred Partners Fever-Tree Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc Trusts and Foundations The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Sir William Boreman’s Foundation Borletti-Buitoni Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Candide Trust The Ernest Cook Trust Diaphonique, Franco-British Fund for contemporary music The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust Help Musicians UK

John Horniman’s Children’s Trust The Idlewild Trust Embassy of the State of Israel to the United Kingdom Kirby Laing Foundation The Lawson Trust The Leverhulme Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord & Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust The Mercers’ Company Adam Mickiewicz Institute Newcomen Collett Foundation The Stanley Picker Trust The Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust PRS For Music Foundation The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Romanian Cultural Institute The R K Charitable Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The Steel Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Thistle Trust UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation The Clarence Westbury Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust The William Alwyn Foundation and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

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Administration

Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Catherine C. Høgel Vice-Chairman Henry Baldwin* Roger Barron Richard Brass David Buckley Bruno De Kegel Martin Höhmann* Al MacCuish Susanne Martens* Pei-Jee Ng* Andrew Tusa Timothy Walker AM Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Martin Höhmann Chairman Rob Adediran Christopher Aldren Dr Manon Antoniazzi Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport William de Winton Cameron Doley Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Andrew Neill Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey OBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Andrew Swarbrick Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

General Administration Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Education and Community Isabella Kernot Education and Community Director

Public Relations Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Talia Lash Education and Community Manager