GET
closer
2018/19 Concert Season
AT brighton dome concert 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 Friday 19 October 2018 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 20 October 2018 | 7.30pm
Glinka Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla (5’) Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (32’)
Contents 2 Welcome 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Alondra de la Parra 7 Benjamin Grosvenor 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings 12 Next concerts 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration
Interval (20’) Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 (47’)
Free pre-concert event Friday 19 October | 6.15–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall
Alondra de la Parra conductor
Join Alondra de la Parra as she discusses her career to date and her approach to the music of Glinka, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.
Benjamin Grosvenor piano 19 October concert generously supported by Dior
The Steinway concert piano chosen and hired by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the 20 October performance is supplied and maintained by Steinway & Sons, London. The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. CONCERTS PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIGHTON DOME (20 OCTOBER)
Welcome
Friday 19 October
Saturday 20 October
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
Brighton Dome
We hope you enjoy your visit to Southbank Centre. We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries, please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Chief Executive Andrew Comben
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, CĂ´te 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:
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 20 October 2018 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.
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.
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Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org | brightonfestival.org
On stage tonight
First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Kevin Lin Co-Leader Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler
Catherine Craig† Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp
Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Tina Gruenberg Rebecca Shorrock Lasma Taimina Evin Blomberg Eleanor Bartlett Essi Kiiski† Second Violins Tania Mazzetti Principal Chair supported by Countess Dominique Loredan
Kate Birchall Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley
Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Kalliopi Mitropolou Jamie Hutchinson Nicole Stokes Cathy Fox Margaret Jackson John Dickinson† Rebecca Dinning†
Violas David Quiggle Principal Ting-Ru Lai Robert Duncan Katharine Leek Susanne Martens† Benedetto Pollani Daniel Cornford Stanislav Popov Alistair Scahill Martin Wray Martin Fenn Sarah Malcolm† Cellos Pei-Jee Ng Principal Francis Bucknall David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Helen Rathbone George Hoult Sibylle Hentschel Leo Melvin Iain Ward† Jane Lindsay† Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Laurence Lovelle† Lowri Morgan Charlotte Kerbegian Marianne Schofield†
Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal
Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Niall Keatley Guest Principal Anne McAneney*
Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE
Jane Spiers Stewart McIlwham*
Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann
Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal
Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal
Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday
David Whitehouse
Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
Bass Trombone Simon Minshall
Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra
Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal
Clarinets Sergio Castelló López Guest Principal Thomas Watmough Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Bassoons Simon Estell* Principal Laura Vincent Contrabassoon Angharad Thomas Horns John Ryan* Principal
Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport
Henry Baldwin Co-Principal
* Holds a professorial appointment in London † 19 October concert only
Chair supported by Laurence Watt
Martin Hobbs Nicholas Mooney Gareth Mollison Elise Campbell
Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players
The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at these concerts: Dr Barry Grimaldi • Sir Simon Robey • Bianca & Stuart Roden • Eric Tomsett
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3
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 2018 we explore
4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
the life and music of Stravinsky in 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 Britishinspired 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 Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 conducted by the late Kurt Masur, and a disc of orchestral works by Richard Strauss conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
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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Alondra de la Parra conductor
There’s no doubt that with Alondra de la Parra, classical music has arrived in the 21st century.
© Cicero Rodriguez
Le Monde
Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra has gained widespread attention for her spellbinding and vibrant performances and her commitment to the music of Latin American composers. She works with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Bamberg Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In 2017 Alondra de la Parra began her term as Music Director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, making her the first ever female Music Director of an Australian orchestra. She holds the distinction of being the first Mexican woman to conduct in New York City, and is an official Cultural Ambassador of Mexico. In March 2017 Alondra was named brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz Mexico. In July 2017 Deutsche Welle created ‘Musica Maestra’, a new classical format featuring Alondra de la Parra as both protagonist and reporter in a series of 26 web videos and six television shows. Alondra de la Parra first conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in Mexico in September 2015. This month she conducts four UK concerts with the Orchestra and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, in Cardiff, Basingtoke, Brighton and London. Earlier this month she opened the season with Camerata Salzburg, and later this season will return to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and conduct the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Konzerthaus, among other engagements. A highlight of 2019 will be the world premiere of the new production T.H.A.M.O.S
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at Mozartfest Salzburg, with Camerata Salzburg and the theatre collective La Fura dels Baus under director Carlus Padrissa. Highlights of previous seasons include Alondra’s subscription debut with the NHK Symphony (Tokyo), her debut at Beethovenfest Bonn, her celebrated return to Orchestre de Paris (which was broadcast live by German-French TV channel Arte), appearances with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and a live orchestral performance of the film West Side Story at Mexico’s Auditorio Nacional. alondradelaparra.com AlondradelaParraOfficial @alondradlp @alondradlp
Benjamin Grosvenor piano
© Patrick Allen/operaomnia.co.uk
He commands the stage with aristocratic ease … Mr Grosvenor makes you sigh with joy … A temperament rare in yesteryear, let alone now. The New York Times
British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor is internationally recognised for his electrifying performances and insightful interpretations. His virtuosic command over the most strenuous technical complexities underpins the remarkable depth and understanding of his musicianship. Benjamin is renowned for his distinctive sound, described as ‘poetic and gently ironic, brilliant yet clear-minded, intelligent but not without humour, all translated through a beautifully clear and singing touch’ (The Independent), making him one of the most sought-after young pianists in the world. Benjamin first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven. Since then he has become an internationally regarded pianist performing with orchestras across the world. He last appeared with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2015, when he performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major at Royal Festival Hall with conductor Thierry Fischer.
In 2011 Benjamin signed to Decca Classics, becoming the youngest British musician ever to sign to the label and the first British pianist to sign to the label in almost 60 years. During his sensational career to date, he has also received Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year and Instrumental Award, a Classic BRITs Critics’ Award, the UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent, a Diapason d’Or Jeune Talent Award and a Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music. In 2016 he was announced as the inaugural recipient of The Ronnie and Lawrence Ackman Classical Piano Prize with the New York Philharmonic.
benjamingrosvenor.co.uk GrosvenorPiano grosvenorpiano
Other orchestras with whom Benjamin has performed include the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Filarmonica della Scala, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, under the batons of such esteemed conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Mark Elder, Emmanuel Krivine, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nathalie Stutzmann and Michael Tilson Thomas. A BBC New Generation Artist from 2010–12, Benjamin has appeared at the BBC Proms on a number of occasions and in 2015 starred at the Last Night, performing Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop.
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Programme notes
Speedread If Russian music before 1800 is little-known, then this is more than compensated for by the veritable glut of music to have emerged from Russia during the 19th century. This was an era of nationalism and internationalism, a divide that fuelled creativity in Russian music like never before. On one side were composers dedicated to cultivating a distinct national style through the revival of its traditional folksong, while on the other were those more interested in incorporating ideas from abroad in order to integrate themselves within the dominant Western European tradition.
Mikhail Glinka
Of the two groups, Glinka belongs to the former, his style enriched by the sounds and stories of Russian folklore. With his first opera, A Life for the Tsar, he became the first Russian composer to earn international renown and although the reception to its successor, Ruslan and Ludmilla, was rather lukewarm, its blistering Overture remains one of the cornerstones of the repertoire. Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, on the other hand, although not immune to the influence of their native folk music, belong to a more cosmopolitan collective. Intricately wrought and deeply expressive, their rich, lyrical scores would come to define a new era in Russian romanticism.
Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla
1804–57
Pushed into a ‘sensible’ career in the civil service by his father, music was little more than a pastime for Glinka until the mid-1830s when, while on holiday in Italy, he fell in love with opera. Glinka had composed sporadically and informally since his late teenage years but his trip to Italy signalled the start of a lifelong love affair with composition. His first opera, A Life for the Tsar, was premiered in 1836 and catapulted Glinka to immediate fame. The Tsar himself rewarded Glinka with expensive jewellery and a new position as director of the Imperial Chapel Choir. Work on his second opera, based on Alexander Pushkin’s 1820 poem Ruslan and Ludmilla, began the following year but progress soon ground to a halt and it would be another five years before it was finally completed. In the tumultuous intervening years, Glinka resigned from his post at the Imperial Chapel, 8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
divorced his wife and came close to financial ruin. When his second opera eventually premiered – perhaps unsurprisingly – it was not the success for which he had hoped. The drama has all the right ingredients, its tale a heroic one of thwarted love and derring-do, sprinkled with a healthy dose of sorcery, that eventually finds a peaceful conclusion. But the libretto, which was cobbled together by at least four contemporary Russian writers, failed to live up to the vibrancy of Pushkin’s original. And where A Life for the Tsar had been pioneering in its use of folk music as the basis of a distinctive new Russian style, Ruslan and Ludmilla explores more elevated, ‘classical’ language, which was far from popular with the Russian public. The opera’s saving grace is its Overture, which has stood the test of time to become one of Glinka’s best-known works.
Just a few minutes long, this whistlestop curtain-raiser showcases Glinka’s skills as an orchestrator. From its burgeoning brass, through scurrying strings, to the soaring melody for the cellos, Glinka’s Overture packs a huge amount of detail into its compact score. The coup de théâtre, however, comes in its closing bars where, for the first time, Glinka inserts an ominous
descending whole-tone scale against the swathe of shimmering strings. Employed here as an emblem of the wicked dwarf Chernomor, Glinka’s pioneering harmonic device was decades ahead of its time, becoming one of the cornerstones of impressionist harmonies in the early 20th century.
Serge Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
1873–1943
On 28 March 1897, Rachmaninoff premiered his long-awaited First Symphony: it was a disaster. The orchestra was under-rehearsed and Glazunov, who was conducting, was horribly out of his depth. The critics panned the performance and Rachmaninoff spiralled into a deep depression, unable to compose at all for another two years. It took a course of hypnotherapy to persuade him to return to composing, a process that Rachmaninoff credited with changing the course of his life. ‘I heard the same hypnotic formula repeated day after day while I lay half asleep in the armchair in Dahl’s study’, he later recalled of his therapy sessions. “You will write a Concerto ... You will work with great facility ... It will be excellent.” Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. By the autumn I had finished two movements of the Concerto.’ His Piano Concerto No. 2 – which has the unusual accolade of being the only known work to be dedicated to a composer’s hypnotherapist – was premiered in November 1901 with a nervous Rachmaninoff as the soloist. Against all the odds, it was received with great critical acclaim and, buoyed by the response, Rachmaninoff returned to composing with renewed vigour, completing his sonata for cello and piano only a month later. His Third Piano Concerto followed in 1909 and although that, too, was well received, it could not supplant the popularity of the Second,
Benjamin Grosvenor piano 1 Moderato 2 Adagio sostenuto 3 Allegro scherzando
which remains one of his best-loved works, made famous as the soundtrack to the 1945 film Brief Encounter. The Second Piano Concerto’s popularity stems in no small part from its unbridled lyricism and emotional candour, which seem to speak of an assured composer brimming with confidence, rather than one crippled by self-doubt. It is also a work of tremendous virtuosity, requiring extraordinary agility and dexterity to master its huge chordal spans and nimble passagework. But while it is a virtuosic work, it is not a showy one. The opening movement eases itself into being with remarkable understatement, as though orchestra and soloist had crept onto the stage and begun playing unseen. When the rise and fall of the first theme begins, it is the strings – and not the soloist – who introduce it, while the piano takes a more modest accompanimental role, murmuring to itself in the midst of the rich string texture. The start of the second movement, too, sees the piano take a back seat to the woodwind, who introduce the serene principal theme before the delicate duet between orchestra and soloist unfolds into one of Rachmaninoff’s most unguarded, romantic moments. It is only in the finale that the piano really comes to the fore, announcing its entrance with a dazzling (if somewhat brief) cadenza that launches headlong into the scurrying first theme.
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Programme notes continued
If there is a hint of agitation here then it is soon spirited away by the lyrical second theme, becoming increasingly rhapsodic and defiant as the work builds to its dramatic finish.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93
Ten years passed between the premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony in 1878 and the composition of his Fifth, a decade during which his reputation swelled and he became financially secure enough to dedicate himself entirely to composition. Free and unhurried, Tchaikovsky might have looked forward eagerly to beginning work on a new symphony, but his mind was rarely at ease. He wrote in his diaries about how difficult he found the early stages to be: ‘I am dreadfully anxious to prove not only to others, but also to myself, that I am not yet played out as a composer… I have to squeeze it from my dulled brain’. But in little more than two months, his Fifth Symphony was complete and he regarded it with pride. ‘Now that the symphony is nearing its end,’ he wrote, ‘I regard it more objectively than at the height of my work on it, and I can say that it is, praise God, no worse than its predecessors. This knowledge is very sweet to me!’ The Symphony was premiered in November 1888 in St Petersburg, with Tchaikovsky himself conducting, but after only its second performance Tchaikovsky changed his mind about the work’s validity once more. ‘I have come to the conclusion,’ he wrote to his patron Mme von Meck, ‘that this symphony is a failure. There is something repellent about it, a patchiness, insincerity, and artificiality which the public instinctively recognises.
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Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 1 2 3 4
Andante – Allegro con anima Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza Valse: Allegro moderato Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace
Am I done for already? Can I merely repeat and ring the changes on my earlier style? Last night I looked through my Fourth Symphony. What a difference! How much finer it is! This is very, very sad.’ Tchaikovsky’s misgivings were nothing new – just another symptom of his ‘dreadful anxiety’ to prove himself to others which plagued him throughout his life. But these insecurities are manifested in the music too, with Tchaikovsky having written alongside his sketches for the first movement that it should outline ‘Complete resignation before Fate’, followed by ‘murmurs of doubt and complaints’. Unlike many of his other works, the Fifth does not bear a written programme, but these early sketchbook notes have long since persuaded listeners to hear the theme of the opening movement as the ‘Fate’ theme – a melody that returns in various guises across all four movements. Even the rhapsodic slow movement, with its lyrical horn solo, cannot escape Fate’s persistent presence, which breaks in without warning to shatter the peace. But in a Beethovenian twist, the final movement sees the Fate theme transformed at last from minor to major, in what amounts to a defiant moment of triumph and heroic overcoming. Programme notes © Jo Kirkbride
Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Many of our recommended recordings, where available, are on sale this evening in the foyer. Glinka: Overture: Ruslan and Ludmilla London Symphony Orchestra | Georg Solti (Decca) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 Aldo Ciccolini | London Philharmonic Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin (LPO Label LPO-0102: see below) or Serge Rachmaninoff | Philadelphia Orchestra Leopold Stokowski (Naxos) Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 London Philharmonic Orchestra | Vladimir Jurowski (LPO Label LPO-0064: see below)
The Nutracker at the Royal Albert Hall The 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 LPO 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.
Tonight’s works on the LPO Label
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, K466 Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Aldo Ciccolini piano Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO-0102 | £9.99
Tchaikovsky Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO-0064 | £10.99
CDs available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the Royal Festival Hall shop, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets. Download or stream online via Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify and others.
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next concerts AT Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall wednesday 24 october 2018 saturday 27 october 2018 7.30pm 7.30pm Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture Canteloube Selection from Songs of the Auvergne Bizet Symphony in C Gershwin An American in Paris
Enrique Mazzola conductor Anna Caterina Antonacci soprano
Rossini Petite messe solennelle Gustavo Gimeno conductor Elizabeth Watts soprano Sara Mingardo contralto Kenneth Tarver tenor Luca Pisaroni bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir
saturday 3 november 2018 7.o0pm please note start time Stravinsky The Rake’s Progress Vladimir Jurowski conductor Allan Clayton Tom Rakewell Sophia Burgos Anne Trulove* Matthew Rose Nick Shadow London Voices For full cast visit lpo.org.uk Concert generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE * Please note change of artist from previously advertised.
Concert generously supported by Dior
Book now at lpo.org.uk or call 020 7840 4242 Season discounts of up to 30% available
Wednesday 10 october 2018 7.30pm
saturday 13 october 2018 7.30pm
friday 19 october 2018 7.30pm
Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter Poulenc Stabat Mater Glinka Overture, Ruslan and 2018/19 seasonOrff ATCarmina brighton dome concert hall Dvořák Piano Concerto Burana Ludmilla Bartók Concerto for Orchestra Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Jérémie Rhorer conductor Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Karina Canellakis conductor Louise Alder soprano saturday 24 november 2018 saturday 12 january 2019 saturday 6 april 2019 Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Toby Spence tenor Alondra de la Parra conductor 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm Simon Keenlyside baritone Benjamin Grosvenor piano Concert generously supported by Dior London Philharmonic Choir Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Beethoven Coriolan Overture Bax Tintagel Concert generously supported by Dior Tiffin Boys’ Choir a Theme by Thomas Tallis Brahms Violin Concerto Grieg Piano Concerto Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Dvořák Symphony No. 9 Sibelius Suite, Belshazzar’s Feast Vaughan Williams The Lark (From the New World) Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Ascending Jamie Phillips conductor Osmo Vänskä conductor Beethoven Symphony No. 4 Alexander Sitkovetsky violin Jan Lisiecki piano Graham Ross conductor Book now at lpo.org.uk or call 020 7840 4242 Carolin Widmann violin
Season discounts of up to 30% available
Book ONLINE at BRIGHTONDOME.ORG or call 01273 709709 Season discounts of up to 20% available
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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 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
Archives
Tom Proctor PA to the Chief Executive/ Administrative Assistant
Emily Moss Education and Community Project Manager
Gillian Pole Recordings Archive
Hannah Tripp Education and Community Project Co-ordinator
Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors
Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer
Development Nick Jackman Development Director
Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors
Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts Director
Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager
Finance Frances Slack Finance and Operations Manager
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager Sophie Richardson Tours Manager Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne, Special Projects and Opera Production Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Damian Davis Transport Manager Hannah Verkerk Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator
Christina McNeill Corporate Relations Manager Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Ellie Franklin Development Assistant Georgie Gulliver Development Assistant Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Libby Papakyriacou Marketing Manager Megan Macarte Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Rachel Williams Publications Manager Harriet Dalton Website Manager (maternity leave) Rachel Smith Website Manager (maternity cover) Greg Felton Digital Creative Alexandra Lloyd Marketing Co-ordinator Oli Frost Marketing Assistant
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Philip Stuart Discographer
Dr Barry Grimaldi Honorary Doctor Mr Chris Aldren Honorary ENT Surgeon Mr Brian Cohen Mr Simon Owen-Johnstone Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeons London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045. Composer photographs courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London. Cover artwork Ross Shaw Printer Cantate