London Philharmonic Orchestra 16 January 2016 Brighton concert programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra

Brighton Dome Concert programme 2015/16 Season lpo.org.uk

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 Composer in Residence magnus lindberg Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 16 January 2016 | 7.30pm

Mozart Overture, Lucio Silla (9’) Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 (50’) Interval Beethoven Symphony No. 7 (36’)

Adrian Prabava conductor

Programme £2.50 Contents 2 Welcome & news 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Adrian Prabava 7 Stefan Ćirić 8 Programme notes 10 Recommended recordings 12 Next LPO concerts at Brighton Dome 13 NOISE: students and under-26s 14 Sound Futures donors 15 Supporters 16 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

Stefan Ćirić piano

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

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIGHTON DOME

Ticket Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org

Welcome

Orchestra news

Welcome to Brighton Dome

Happy New Year! The Orchestra is delighted to be back at Brighton Dome Concert Hall for 2016. Our remaining two concerts of the season feature Strauss’s Macbeth on 27 February and excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet on 16 April, both part of a series of works inspired by the Bard as part of the worldwide Shakespeare anniversary celebrations of 2016. 16 April also features the Classic BRIT Awardwinning guitarist Miloš Karadaglić performing Rodrigo's dance-inspired Fantasía para un gentilhombre. See full listings on page 12, pick up a brochure in the foyer, or find out more and book online here: lpo.org.uk/whats-on-and-tickets

Chief Executive Andrew Comben We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit to Brighton Dome. For your comfort and safety, please note the following: LATECOMERS may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks. SMOKING Brighton Dome is a no-smoking venue. INTERVAL DRINKS may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues. PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium. RECORDING is not allowed in the auditorium. MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium. Thank you for your co-operation.

The concert at Brighton Dome on 16 January 2016 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in association with Brighton Dome.

Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England. Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org brightonfestival.org

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Glyndebourne 2016 Each summer the Orchestra bids a fond farewell to the Royal Festival Hall and heads for the Sussex countryside for the Glyndebourne season, where it is Resident Symphony Orchestra. Glyndebourne’s contributions to the Shakespeare400 anniversary year are a production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – a revival of the 1981 production directed by Peter Hall – and a new production of Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict. Also featuring this summer is Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with conductor Robin Ticciati. The DVD of the previous production in 2011, with Vladimir Jurowski at the helm, won the BBC Music Magazine Award 2015 for Best Opera. We are looking forward to revisiting the opera with Robin. The other operas with the LPO are Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, . Public booking opens on 7 March. glyndebourne.com New LPO Label release For fans of Klaus Tennstedt, we’ve recently released a real treat on our LPO Label: a box set of Mahler symphonies with over seven glorious hours of music on nine CDs. This set documents the extraordinary relationship between Tennstedt and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the conductor’s particular affinity with Mahler – he felt that his works could only be approached with an acknowledgement and experience of life’s hardships, and this was always apparent in his performances. The set is priced £49.99. Visit lpo.org.uk/recordings or call 020 840 4242.

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Ilyoung Chae Chair supported by an anonymous donor

Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Martin Höhmann Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Rebecca Shorrock Galina Tanney Nilufar Alimaksumova Caroline Frenkel Maeve Jenkinson Georgina Leo Kate Cole

Second Violins Dania Alzapiedi Guest Principal Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Ashley Stevens Dean Williamson Sioni Williams Alison Strange Emma Wragg Alberto Vidal Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Gregory Aronovich Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter Naomi Holt Alistair Scahill Sarah Malcolm Martin Fenn Stanislav Popov

Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Lydia Griffiths

Chair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden

Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Thomas Watmough

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander

Bassoons Simon Estell Principal Emma Harding

Chair supported by The Viney Family

Horns John Ryan* Principal

Double Basses George Peniston Principal Laurence Lovelle Helen Rowlands Charlotte Kerbegian Ben Wolstenholme Elena Hull Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Stewart McIlwham* Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

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

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Jon Claydon • Andrew Davenport • William & Alex de Winton • Simon Robey

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London Philharmonic Orchestra

The LPO can stand alongside the top international orchestras with pride. Richard Fairman, Financial Times, September 2015

Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most forwardlooking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and community groups. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. Magnus Lindberg is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence. The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives over 30 concerts each season. Throughout 2014/15 the Orchestra gave a series of concerts entitled Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, a festival exploring the composer’s major

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orchestral masterpieces. 2015/16 is a strong season for singers, with performances by Toby Spence and Anne Sofie von Otter amongst others; Sibelius enjoys 150th anniversary celebrations; distinguished visiting conductors include Stanisław Skrowaczewski, JukkaPekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko, with Robin Ticciati returning after his debut in 2015; and in 2016 the LPO joins many of London’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400 years since his death. The Orchestra continues its commitment to new music with premieres of commissions including Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto and Alexander Raskatov’s Green Mass. 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

Pieter Schoeman leader

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 80 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Messiaen’s Des Canyons Aux Étoiles under Christoph Eschenbach, and archive recordings of Mahler Symphonies and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt. In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter. Find out more and get involved! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra

the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2015/16 season include visits to Mexico City as part of the UK Mexico Year of Culture, Spain, Germany, the Canary Islands, Belgium, a return to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and the Orchestra’s debut at La Scala, Milan.

Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning numerous competitions including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in the US. In 1987 he was offered the Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman, who recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. In 1994 he became her teaching assistant at Indiana University, Bloomington. Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chamber musician he regularly performs at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. As a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pieter has performed Arvo Pärt’s Double Concerto with Boris Garlitsky, Brahms’s Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the Orchestra’s own record label to great critical acclaim. He has recorded numerous violin solos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos, Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American film and television, and led the Orchestra in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. He is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Pieter’s chair in the London Philharmonic Orchestra is supported by Neil Westreich.

youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

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Adrian Prabava conductor

Adrian Prabava is a creative conductor, whose approach to the composer’s score enables every instrument to be heard and every musician to be given their proper value.

GB Opera

Tonight’s concert marks Adrian Prabava’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Other highlights of this season include debuts with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, Yaroslavl State Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan and Philharmonic Orchestra Erfurt. Return engagements include the Antalya Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille and Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto Casa da Música. Adrian Prabava is involved in two major opera productions this season: Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Konzert Theater Bern and a revival of Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. In recent seasons Adrian Prabava made conducting debuts with the Athens State Orchestra, Brandenburgische Staatsorchester Frankfurt/ Oder, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Festival Strings Lucerne, Het Gelders Orkest, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Johannesburg Philharmonic, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle Schwerin, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orquesta Sinfónica Principado de Asturias, Oslo Philharmonic, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Stavanger Symphony

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Orchestra, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. Born in Indonesia, Adrian studied violin at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and conducting with Eiji Oue at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. He also attended masterclasses with Jorma Panula, who became his mentor together with Kurt Masur and Bernard Haitink. Between 2006 and 2008 he was Resident Conductor and Associate Music Director at the Theater & Philharmonie Thüringen in Germany, where he received critical acclaim for a production of Shostakovich’s operetta Moskva, Cheremushki. He also appeared at the Komische Oper Berlin (Die Fledermaus; Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny), Theater Bonn (Hänsel und Gretel) and Theater Magdeburg (The Turn of the Screw). Adrian Prabava made his international breakthrough in 2005, when he won the second prize at the 49th International Competition for Young Conductors in Besançon. He then became assistant conductor to Kurt Masur at the Orchestre National de France in Paris from 2006 to 2008, and subsequently became the first beneficiary of the Bernard Haitink Fund for Young Talent in 2007. In this position he worked closely with Bernard Haitink as assistant conductor at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam until 2010. adrianprabava.com facebook.com/AdrianPrabava

Stefan Ćirić piano

His virtuosity is so assured that no one ever wonders if he can bring off the showpieces – one just enjoys them.

International Piano

Winner of the 60th Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli, Italy, Stefan Ćirić was born in 1986 in Belgrade, Serbia, but spent his formative years in the UK. He studied at The Purcell School in London, and continued working with Sulamita Aronovsky at the Royal Academy of Music, completing his Master of Arts course in 2010. Stefan’s previous achievements include prizes at several international piano competitions in Gorizia, Italy and Jaén, Spain.

Stefan’s future engagements include concerts in Spain, Croatia and the UK, as well as a planned tour of Latin America. Tonight’s concert is a return performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. stefanciric.com twitter.com/thestefanciric

He has enjoyed a busy performing career from the age of 16, and has built a remarkable reputation as one of the foremost young pianists to emerge onto the British musical scene. As described by International Piano magazine, his style of performance is of ‘burnished perfection … idiomatic and authoritative … finding warmth and colour’, so that he is able to ‘build unexpected programmes, and his virtuosity is so assured that no one ever wonders if he can bring off the showpieces – one just enjoys them.’ Highlights in recent seasons were performances of Mozart’s Concerto K488 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Mozart’s Concerto K595 at Cadogan Hall with the London Soloists Orchestra. They also embraced an impressive Canadian debut at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, which was received with a standing ovation, and a concert tour of China, which also attracted high praise. Further engagements with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and his 2011 debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, were received to great critical acclaim. In October 2015 a recital at Wigmore Hall prompted a passionate audience response.

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Programme notes

Speedread One of the last pieces Brahms conducted in public, in January 1896, was his own Second Piano Concerto. At the post-concert dinner, his friend Joachim proposed a toast to ‘the greatest composer’. Straight away, Brahms grabbed his glass, jumped to his feet, and shouted ‘Quite right – here’s to Mozart!’ Music teachers and critics like to talk about a ‘Viennese classical’ tradition, and this concert would be a perfect example of that. Brahms revered both Beethoven and Mozart, and after listening to a Mozart concerto, Beethoven supposedly said that ‘we shall never be able to do anything like that’. You can hear the ancestry of both Beethoven’s Symphony and

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Brahms’s symphony-sized Concerto in the teenage Mozart’s brilliant little three-part Overture – the same vitality, the same sense of proportion, the same headlong sense of direction. And yet could any three pieces be more personal? ‘I am the new Bacchus, pressing out glorious wine for the human spirit!’, declared Beethoven – Mozart and Brahms were more modest. But the miracle of tradition is its scope for renewal. From Mozart’s joyous little bit of teenage swagger to Beethoven’s Dionysiac vision and Brahms’s heartfelt poetry, it’s not the form that makes this music so enduringly moving, but the emotional content.

Overture, Lucio Silla

1756–91

The scene is Ancient Rome, and the dictator Lucius Sulla (in Italian, Lucio Silla) has banished his political rival Cecilio and now plans to marry Cecilio’s beloved, Giunia. Cecilio is captured and sentenced to death: but Giunia would rather die with him than marry Silla. Moved by the power of love, Silla does exactly what autocratic rulers in 18th-century operas were supposed to do: he relents, blesses the couple and relinquishes his tyrannical powers.

of the composer that she offered to compose her own arias. No fear: Mozart was working furiously, but clearly enjoying every minute of his stay in Milan. ‘I can’t write much now, because my thoughts are always with my opera’, he wrote to his sister Nannerl on 5 December 1772. ‘I’d end up forgetting to write down words and just compose an entire aria for you instead.’ Further down the page he scribbled a cartoon of a bird singing a scurrilous rhyme.

Mozart may only have been 16, but he knew the form; he’d written six operas since his 11th birthday. Lucio Silla was a commission for the 1772/73 Carnival season in Milan: a wonderful pretext for the young composer to work with some of the best singers of the day, including the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini and the soprano Anna de Amicis – who was so astonished when she saw the age

Lucio Silla opened on 26 December 1772 and ran for 20 performances. Milan’s ruler, Archduke Ferdinand, arrived late and the audience had been waiting for three hours before they heard the first notes of the Overture. Or, more properly, the Sinfonia: in accordance with Italian tradition, it’s a miniature symphony in three short movements. First comes a brilliant Allegro with a series

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of thrilling build-ups, then a poised and courtly Andante and finally a whirling Molto allegro – to ring up the long-delayed curtain in a blaze of trumpets and drums. Programme note and Speedread © Richard Bratby

Johannes Brahms 1833–97

Brahms had a very personal brand of humour – sometimes gruff, sometimes self-deprecating, usually ironic. ‘I have written a tiny, tiny piano concerto with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo’, he announced to his confidante, Elisabet von Herzogenberg, on 7 July 1881. Von Herzogenberg knew her friend well enough to take that kind of remark with a large dose of salt. It was the same with another friend, the surgeon Theodor Billroth, to whom Brahms wrote at around the same time: ‘I am sending you a few small piano pieces’. Billroth would only have had to glance at the enclosed score to realise that what Brahms had sent him was far from small: this was nothing less than a colossal fusion of concerto and symphony, laid out in four big movements instead of the conventional three. Not only was the writing hugely challenging for the soloist, the orchestra was clearly conceived as an equal, playing its own part in a continuously unfolding musical drama. The idea of creating a four-movement concerto, owing just as much to the example of Beethoven’s symphonies as to his grander concertos, had haunted Brahms at least since his early twenties. His First Piano Concerto (1854–8) actually began life as a symphony, with an extra slow Scherzo movement – its themes were later reworked in the movement ‘All flesh is as grass’ from the German Requiem. The Violin Concerto (1878) was

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 83 Stefan Ćirić piano 1 Allegro non troppo 2 Allegro appassionato 3 Andante 4 Allegretto grazioso

also originally intended to have a Scherzo; that idea was soon dropped, but the material was clearly too good to be thrown away, and before long it resurfaced in the Allegro appassionato second movement of the Second Piano Concerto. Interestingly this stormy movement is closer in style and spirit to Beethoven’s powerfully symphonic scherzos than anything in Brahms’s four symphonies. Brahms repeatedly grumbled at the difficulty of composing in Beethoven’s shadow: ‘You’ve no idea how hard it is with such a giant marching behind you!’ So it was crucial for Brahms to find a solution on his own terms – not by simply trying to march ahead of Beethoven, but by extending Beethoven’s triumphs into new territory. And yet for all its symphonic character, there are passages in Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto where the listener is just as likely to be reminded of the spirit of chamber music. Not least at the very beginning, where the soloist quietly replies to and echoes the theme presented by a solo horn. But then the piano begins a long forceful solo, building up tension before handing the baton over to the orchestra for an extended symphonic passage. From this grows a first movement that is not only rich in contrast and imagination but compellingly organic. Many composers would have been happy to go on from that to a meditative, lyrical

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Programme notes continued

slow movement. But Brahms intensifies the drama with his stirring Allegro appassionato Scherzo – the dark, impassioned minor-key outer sections framing a blazing major-key Trio. In complete contrast, the slow movement opens with a long, exquisite melody for solo cello, to which the soloist eventually adds his own reflective commentary. Stormier music follows, but the true heart of the movement comes in a still slower pianissimo passage just before the return of the cello theme, in which the piano seems to float dreamily through languid clarinet and string figures. It is about as far removed from the

turbulence of the Scherzo as could be imagined – a superb dramatic foil. It’s hard to imagine conventional concerto triumphalism after a movement like this, so instead Brahms crowns his symphony-concerto with an unusually light-footed, playful finale: even in the gypsy-ish melancholy of the second theme (woodwind alternating with strings) there are glimpses of an ironic smile. At last the tempo quickens and the Concerto ends with a display of relaxed, witty brilliance rare in Brahms. The intimidating shadow of the giant Beethoven has, it seems, been faced, and finally exorcised. Programme note © Stephen Johnson

Interval – 20 minutes A bell will be rung a few minutes before the end of the interval.

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Mozart: Overture, Lucio Silla Dresden Staatskapelle | Colin Davis [RCA] Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 Stephen Kovacevich | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Wolfgang Sawallisch [EMI – now Warner Classics] or François-Frédéric Guy | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Paavo Berglund: a live RFH performance from 2003 [Naïve] Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 Klaus Tennstedt | London Philharmonic Orchestra [BBC Legends]

Beethoven: new on the LPO Label Recently released on the LPO Label is a live BBC recording by the late great Klaus Tennstedt, the Orchestra's Principal Conductor from 1983 to 1987, in a performance of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture and powerful Symphony No. 5. 'Nobody listens to Beethoven quite like Klaus Tennstedt,' wrote Hilary Finch in The Times in 1992, 'and, because he listens so acutely, his orchestra must, and we in the audience do as well. The dark glass of familiarity is swept aside and we meet the composer face to face.’ The recording is available as a CD and download, priced £6.99, catalogue number LPO-0087. lpo.org.uk/recordings

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Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

Modern music has never been easy to grasp. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony was premiered in Vienna on 8 December 1813 at a benefit concert for Austrian soldiers wounded in the recent Battle of Hanau, and the impresario, Beethoven’s friend (and inventor of the metronome) Johann Mälzel had assembled an all-star orchestra. The virtuoso violinist Schuppanzigh was the leader; Dragonetti (the father of modern bass playing) led the basses; and the composers Spohr, Meyerbeer and Romberg sat in the strings. Hummel – composer of that irresistible trumpet concerto – was on drums, and just offstage, cueing the special effects in Beethoven’s other contribution to the evening, the so-called ‘Battle Symphony’, was living legend Antonio Salieri. But even this lot couldn’t cope with the Seventh Symphony. Music that could not be played, protested the violinists, should not be written. Unbelievably, Beethoven kept his cool. Anticipating the words of a thousand amateur orchestra conductors, he ‘begged the gentlemen to take their parts home with them’ to practise. They did – and the performance was one of the supreme triumphs of Beethoven’s career. The Allegretto was even encored, and a delighted Beethoven wrote to a Viennese newspaper to thank his ‘honoured colleagues’ for ‘their zeal in contributing to such a splendid result’. The Seventh Symphony has been a special favourite ever since. Nineteenthcentury conductors used to insert its Allegretto into less popular Beethoven symphonies (like the Fifth) to guarantee applause. And Richard Wagner apparently once performed a one-man dance routine to the entire work, in support of his theory that the Symphony was ‘the apotheosis of dance’. Which must have been an interesting half-hour.

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 1 Poco sostenuto – Vivace 2 Allegretto 3 Presto 4 Allegro con brio

Mind you, there were dissenters – the composer Carl Maria von Weber listened to the first movement and declared that Beethoven was ‘ripe for the madhouse’, while Schumann’s father-in-law Friedrich Wieck was convinced Beethoven must have written it while drunk. And it’s hard to blame them entirely. It’s not just the Symphony’s rough-cut humour (after the poised, massive build-up of energy in the first movement’s introduction, the Vivace launches not with a breaking storm, but a bright country-dance tune on the flute). And it’s not just the way every movement is driven by colossal build-ups of dance rhythms (even the haunting Allegretto has the rhythm of a pavane). It’s the sheer, elemental energy with which Beethoven brings it off. Exuberance is written into the Symphony’s very texture. By setting the Symphony in A major, Beethoven automatically made life difficult for the brass players – and the sound of the horns, whooping through the climaxes at the very top of their register, means that the Symphony even sounds exhilarating, unbridled and wild. Even the quieter, slower music is as compelling – that melancholy Allegretto is both one of the simplest and most sophisticated movements Beethoven ever wrote; and the echoing horn-calls in the third movement’s central interlude set the tone for a century of Romantic orchestral music. Perhaps Wieck had a point after all. Listen to the torrential gallop of the finale, and then think of Beethoven’s own words: ‘Music is the spirit that inspires us to new creation; and I am the Bacchus, who presses out this glorious wine to intoxicate all mankind.’ Programme note © Richard Bratby

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Still to come this season at Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 27 February 2016 | 7.30pm Mendelssohn Overture, A Midsummer Night’s Dream R Strauss Macbeth Khachaturian Violin Concerto Stravinsky Firebird Suite (1919 version) Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Kristóf Baráti violin

Saturday 16 April 2016 | 7.30pm De Falla The Three-cornered Hat (Suite No. 2) Rodrigo Fantasía para un gentilhombre* Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Jaime Martín conductor Miloš Karadaglić guitar *Please note a change to the work from originally advertised.

‘This is some of the best music you will hear in Brighton, full stop, and I cannot wait for their next outing to the seaside.’ Howard Young, Brighton.co.uk Tickets £10–£27.50 (Premium seats £32.50) Ticket Office 01273 709709 Book online at brightondome.org There is a £2 per order charge for online and telephone bookings. Additional postage of 50p also applies if required. There is no charge for booking in person.

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Student & Under-26 Scheme at Brighton Dome Concert Hall ‘@LPOrchestra

bring it on!’ ‘Listening to the @LPOrchestra is one of the best things to do in life’ ‘@LPOrchestra I don’t know much about classical music but I do know when I am listening to something

amazing’

Students receive best available seats for just £4 at selected concerts throughout the year.

www.lpo.org.uk/noise

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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 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 Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Rind Foundation The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Lady 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 Queree 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

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

Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams David & Yi Yao Buckley Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Mr Bruno de Kegel David Ellen Mr Daniel Goldstein Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter MacDonald Eggers Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Ms Molly Borthwick David & Patricia Buck Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Mr Richard Fernyhough Mr Gavin Graham Wim and Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Tony & Susan Hayes Mr Daniel Heaf and Ms Amanda Hill Michael & Christine Henry Malcolm Herring

J. Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Ms Ulrike Mansel Mr Robert Markwick and Ms Kasia Robinski Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Michael Posen Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Mr Konstantin Sorokin Martin and Cheryl Southgate Mr Peter Tausig Simon and Charlotte Warshaw Howard & Sheelagh Watson 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: Accenture Berenberg Carter-Ruck We are AD Bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLP BTO Management Consulting AG Charles Russell Speechlys Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

Trusts and Foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust

The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain in London The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust The Stanley Picker Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation The R K Charitable Trust RVW Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust UK Friends of the Felix-MendelssohnBartholdy-Foundation The Viney Family Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and all others who wish to remain anonymous

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Manon Antoniazzi Roger Barron Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson William de Winton Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds 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 Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Digital Projects

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director (maternity leave)

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Amy Sugarman PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

Clare Lovett Education Director (maternity cover)

Finance

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Lucy Sims Education and Community Project Manager

Philip Stuart Discographer

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Concert Management

Development

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Nick Jackman Development Director

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager

Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Kathryn Hageman Individual Giving Manager Laura Luckhurst Corporate Relations Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Rebecca Fogg Development Co-ordinator

Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator

Helen Yang Development Assistant

Orchestra Personnel

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share) Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Damian Davis Transport Manager Madeleine Ridout Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Manager Rachel Williams Publications Manager Samantha Cleverley Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Anna O’Connor Marketing Co-ordinator Natasha Berg Marketing Intern

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Public Relations