London Philharmonic Orchestra 29 Nov 2017 concert programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra

b e m ov e d 2017/18 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 29 November 2017 | 7.30pm

Respighi Autumn Poem for violin and orchestra, Op. 146 (13’) Chausson Poème for violin and orchestra, Op. 25 (16’) Interval (20’) Marx An Autumn Symphony (UK premiere) (75’)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Julia Fischer violin

Free pre-concert performance 6.00–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall In their first performance of the season, the Foyle Future Firsts, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, present a programme of 20th-century works by Takemitsu and Kancheli inspired by rituals and seasons.

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

Contents 2 Welcome 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Vladimir Jurowski 7 Julia Fischer 8 Programme notes 11 Das Rheingold: A Golden Gala Evening 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 any member of staff for assistance. Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Feng Sushi and Topolski, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall. If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 3879 9555, or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk We look forward to seeing you again soon. Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery are closed for essential refurbishment until 2018. During this period, our resident orchestras are performing in venues including St John's Smith Square. Find out more at southbankcentre.co.uk/sjss

Orchestra news

Carols at Waterloo: Friday 8 December Entertaining travellers with carols at Waterloo Station in the run-up to Christmas has become a popular annual fixture in the Orchestra’s calendar. On Friday 8 December LPO brass players and singers from the London Philharmonic Choir will bring some festive cheer to the station concourse from 5.15pm, collecting for Save the Children. Last year we managed to break our previous record, raising £3101 for the charity, and we’d love to beat that this year. If you are in the area please do come and support our players and singers!

Christmas gifts from the LPO Stuck for Christmas present ideas for the music lover in your life? The London Philharmonic Orchestra has a fantastic range of gifts on offer. How about ... • A year’s membership of our Friends or Contemporaries scheme • An annual CD subscription with a brand new release delivered directly to the recipient each month • LPO gift vouchers (available for any amount from £1) that are valid for a year and can be used to buy LPO concert tickets or CDs Browse the full selection at lpo.org.uk/gifts or call the LPO Ticket Office on 020 7840 4242.

A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment:

LPO Junior Artists: Overture

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

Last Saturday, 25 November, we ran our first LPO Junior Artists Overture Day in Brighton, ahead of the LPO’s concert at Brighton Dome that evening. These immersive events offer young people aged 11–14 the chance to become part of the LPO for a day and get involved in exciting behind-the-scenes action. LPO Junior Artists is our new annual programme for talented teenage musicians from backgrounds underrepresented in orchestral music, and our Junior Artists Overture days offer taster activities to younger players, with the opportunity to find out more about the main scheme. On Saturday our Junior Artists Overture players met and played alongside LPO musicians and Junior Artists alumni, observed part of the LPO’s rehearsal, explored creative improvisation and found out how to take their next steps in music. For more information about Junior Artists Overture, head to our website: lpo.org.uk/overture

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, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

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On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Kevin Lin Co-Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader JiJi Lee 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 Essi Kiiski Rebecca Shorrock Georgina Leo Evin Blomberg Helen Ayres Second Violins Joanna Wronko Guest Principal Tania Mazzetti Co-Principal Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Robin Wilson Harry Kerr Sheila Law Alison Strange John Dickinson Jamie Hutchinson Kalliopi Mitropoulou Violas David Quiggle Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich

Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Naomi Holt Stanislav Popov Daniel Cornford Alistair Scahill Martin Wray Martin Fenn Richard Cookson

Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday Jennifer Brittlebank Jane Marshall

David Whitehouse Huw Evans

Cor Anglais Jane Marshall

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal

Clarinets Victor de la Rosa Guest Principal Thomas Watmough Paul Richards James Maltby Charys Green

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Santiago Carvalho† Chair co-supported by Molly & David Borthwick

David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Helen Rathbone Sibylle Hentschel George Hoult David Bucknall Iain Ward Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal George Peniston Laurence Lovelle Lowri Morgan Charlotte Kerbegian Jakub Cywinski Nathan Knight Jess Ryan John Holt Flutes Juliette Bausor Principal Sue Thomas* Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Stewart McIlwham* Hannah Grayson

E flat Clarinet Thomas Watmough Principal Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Gareth Newman Contrabassoon Simon Estell* Principal Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Gareth Mollison Adam Howcroft Jason Koczur Elise Campbell

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Henry Baldwin Co-Principal Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Keith Millar James Bower Ignacio Molins Richard Horne Barnaby Archer Feargus Brennan Jude Carlton Harps Rachel Masters Principal Zuzanna Olbryś Piano Catherine Edwards Celeste John Alley Assistant Conductor Lukas Pohunek

* Holds a professorial Trumpets appointment in London Paul Beniston* Principal † Chevalier of the Brazilian James Fountain Guest Principal Order of Rio Branco Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Robin Totterdell Cameron Johnson

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: The Candide Trust • Dr Barry Grimaldi

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The LPO musicians really surpassed themselves in playing of élan, subtlety and virtuosity. Matthew Rye, Bachtrack, 24 September 2017 (Enescu’s Oedipe at Royal Festival Hall) 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 local communities. Celebrating its 85th anniversary this season, 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 this season we celebrate the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary partnership. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Our year-long Belief and Beyond Belief festival in partnership with Southbank Centre

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continues to the end of 2017, exploring what it means to be human in the 21st century. Then, in 2018, we explore the life and music of Stravinsky in our new series Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey, charting the life and music of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers. 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: the 2016/17 season included visits to New York, Germany, Hungary, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland, and tours in 2017/18 include Romania, Japan, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, Italy and France.

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 through an energetic programme of activities for young people. In 2017/18 we celebrate 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 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 regular concert streamings and a popular 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 Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4 conducted by Kurt Masur; Dvořák’s Symphonies 6 & 7 conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 and Fidelio Overture 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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Vladimir Jurowski conductor

As Jurowski prepares to mark 10 years with the LPO, the understanding between them seems in great shape.

Martin Kettle, The Guardian, 29 January 2017

Vladimir Jurowski was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, becoming Principal Conductor in 2007. In January 2018 we celebrate the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary partnership with a semi-staged gala performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold (see page 11). One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed worldwide for his incisive musicianship and adventurous artistic commitment, Vladimir Jurowski was born in Moscow and studied at the Music Academies of Dresden and Berlin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night, and the same year saw his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Nabucco. Earlier this year Vladimir took up the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition he holds the titles of Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Artistic Director of the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival, Bucharest. He has previously held the positions of First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin (1997–2001), Principal Guest Conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (2000–03), Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra (2005–09), and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2001–13). Vladimir is a regular guest with many leading orchestras in both Europe and North America, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome; the New York Philharmonic; The Philadelphia Orchestra;

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The Cleveland Orchestra; the Boston, San Francisco and Chicago symphony orchestras; and the TonhalleOrchester Zürich, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. His opera engagements have included Rigoletto, Jenůfa, The Queen of Spades, Hansel and Gretel and Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Parsifal and Wozzeck at Welsh National Opera; War and Peace at the Opéra National de Paris; Eugene Onegin at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Ruslan and Ludmila at the Bolshoi Theatre; Salome with the State Academic Symphony of Russia; Moses und Aron at the Komische Oper Berlin; Iolanta and Die Teufel von Loudun at Semperoper Dresden, and numerous operas at Glyndebourne including Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, The Cunning Little Vixen, Peter Eötvös’s Love and Other Demons, and Ariadne auf Naxos. In 2017 he made an acclaimed Salzburg Festival debut with Wozzeck and his first return to Glyndebourne as a guest conductor, in the world premiere production of Brett Dean’s Hamlet with the LPO. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has released a wide selection of Vladimir Jurowski’s live recordings with the Orchestra on its own label, including Brahms’s complete symphonies; Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2; and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 and Symphonic Dances. Autumn 2017 saw the release of a sevendisc set of Tchaikovsky’s complete symphonies under Jurowski (LPO-0101), and a special anniversary sevendisc set of his previously unreleased recordings with the LPO spanning the symphonic, choral and contemporary genres (LPO-1010). Visit lpo.org.uk/recordings to find out more.

Julia Fischer violin

Fischer’s Poème is lovely, with a finely spun solo line and impeccably judged double-stopping: it’s passionately projected without the sound ever being forced ... [She] is an engaging, sensitive soloist, possessing a fabulous technique.

International Record Review on Julia Fischer’s Decca disc of Chausson’s Poème and Respighi’s Autumn Poem

German violinist Julia Fischer is recognised worldwide for possessing a talent of uncommon ability. Her ‘pure and fine-spun tone, blessed with seemingly infinite shadings’ (The Chicago Tribune) combined with rare ‘technical brilliance’ (The Guardian) make her one of the most sought-after soloists before the public today. In the 2017/18 season Julia Fischer is Artist in Residence with the Vienna Symphony. As well as a chamber music programme with principals from the orchestra, she will give joint concerts with the orchestra and Chief Conductor Philippe Jordan at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Musikverein featuring the Mendelssohn and Schumann violin concertos respectively, as well as the Brahms concerto under the baton of Lahav Shani in Julia’s hometown of Munich. Further orchestral concerts this season will reunite her with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi, the St Petersburg Philharmonic in Paris (Brahms and Tchaikovsky violin concertos with Yuri Temirkanov), the SWR Symphonieorchester (Thomas Søndergård), the Philharmonia Orchestra (Esa-Pekka Salonen), the Orchestre national de France (Riccardo Muti), the Dresden Philharmonie (Michael Sanderling) and the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zürich (Herbert Blomstedt). In spring 2018, on tour with the Bayerische Staatsorchester and Kirill Petrenko, Julia will perform the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Daniel MüllerSchott in Munich, at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and at New York’s Carnegie Hall. In recital with pianist Yulianna Avdeeva she will tour Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and the Czech Republic. An avid chamber music performer, in 2011 Julia founded the Julia Fischer Quartet with long-time collaborators

Alexander Sitkovetsky, Nils Mönkemeyer und Benjamin Nyffenegger. The Quartet goes on tour in early 2018, with stops amongst others in Leipzig, London, Luxembourg, Munich and Zurich. Born in Munich, Julia Fischer began learning the violin aged three. She became a pupil of Ana Chumachenco at the Munich Academy of Music and took over Ms Chumachenco’s chair at the Academy in 2011. Teaching and passing on to her students what she feels privileged to have learned from her teachers has since been a pivotal focus of her professional life. As well as teaching at the Academy, Julia Fischer gives regular masterclasses at the Musikferien am Starnberger See in Germany. She has also always maintained her piano studies and on New Year’s Day 2008 made her professional piano debut at the Alte Oper Frankfurt performing the Grieg Piano Concerto. Recent performances at the piano have included Dvořák’s Piano Quintet at the Alte Oper Frankfurt and at Munich’s Prinzregententheater. Throughout her career Julia Fischer has released numerous CD and DVD recordings on the Pentatone and Decca labels. All her recordings have garnered the highest praise by the international press and have been awarded multiple prizes, amongst others Germany’s ECHO Award, the Diapason d’Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique and a BBC Music Magazine Award. Julia was named ECHO Instrumentalist of the Year 2007, Gramophone Artist of the Year 2007 and Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2009 MIDEM Classical Awards. She was awarded the German Culture Prize in 2011 and the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2016. She plays a Guadagnini from 1742, as well as a modern violin made by Philipp Augustin.

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Programme notes

Speedread Tonight we hear the first UK performance, 95 years after its premiere in Vienna, of An Autumn Symphony by the Austrian composer Joseph Marx. It’s a huge, magnificently ambitious work by an unashamedly romantic composer who had the misfortune to outlive his own fame: a figure from the world of Mahler, Freud and Klimt whose music was almost wholly forgotten until the 1990s. Audiences in the 1920s found this symphony shockingly modern; within a decade it was regarded as hopelessly

Ottorino Respighi

old-fashioned. Vladimir Jurowski considers it to be beautiful, moving and too important to be ignored. As a prelude, Julia Fischer performs two rarities for violin and orchestra, one (by Marx’s friend Respighi) also inspired by autumn, the other by a story by Turgenev. Neither is especially familiar in the modern concert hall, but each has something poetic and distinctive to say. We hope you’ll share with us one of music’s greatest pleasures: the joy of rediscovery.

Autumn Poem for violin and orchestra, Op. 146 Julia Fischer violin Calmo – Allegro moderato – Allegro con spirito – Tranquillo

1879–1936

‘The maestro’s most productive period of the year lay between April and October. I never remember him doing any creative work during the winter months’, recalled Ottorino Respighi’s wife Elsa. But that didn’t mean that he was immune to the beauties of autumn, and as a former violinist himself, the sound of the violin always uncorked a flow of inspiration. His friend Mario Corti had studied the violin alongside him in Bologna under the tuition of Federico Sarti, but Corti – whose publicity photos show him to have possessed brooding, matinéeidol good looks – went on to have an international performing career, and in 1922 had given the premiere of Respighi’s Concerto Gregoriano.

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Autumn Poem followed in 1925, after Corti requested another concerto, though it would eventually be premiered in Berlin in 1926 by the German violinist Georg Kulenkampff. Respighi appended his own poetic description at the head of the score. ‘A sweet melancholy pervades the poet’s feelings’ (the violin begins with a solitary cadenza, joined by an increasingly lush orchestra) ‘but a joyful vintner’s song and the rhythm of a Dionysian dance disturb his reverie’. (Allegro moderato, accelerating to a whirling Allegro con spirito). ‘Fauns and bacchantes disperse at the appearance of Pan, who walks alone through the fields under a gentle rain of golden leaves.’ (The orchestra collapses, and the soloist plays glinting harmonic glissandos before the shimmering apparition of Pan leads soloist and orchestra gradually back to solitary reflection).

Ernest Chausson

Poème for violin and orchestra, Op. 25 Julia Fischer violin

1855–99

When Muzzio began the last song […] it flowed out, exquisitely twisting and coiling like the snake that covered the violin-top; and such fire, such triumphant bliss glowed and burned in this melody that Fabio and Valeria felt wrung to the heart and tears came into their eyes … Ivan Turgenev’s story The Song of Triumphant Love is a tale of exotic wonders, of forbidden passion, and a strange love song more powerful than murder. Turgenev frequented the same Parisian salons as the young composer Ernest Chausson; and while Chausson may not have known Turgenev personally, he certainly knew of the Russian’s love-affair with the famous soprano Pauline Viardot, of the jealous emotions it aroused, and the strange, snake-headed African violin that hung in M. Viardot’s study.

But when in 1896, at the request of the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, Chausson wrote this ravishing Poème inspired by The Song of Triumphant Love, he was under the spell of an even sweeter and more enchanting poison. ‘The red spectre of Wagner’, he confessed, ‘will not let go of me … I leaf through his pages, trying to find hidden vices – and I find them.’ Wagner seeps through every page of the Poème; it’s like a yearning, doomed love scene from one of his operas with – instead of a soprano – the gleaming song of Ysaÿe’s violin. Yet its subtle perfumes and lush, surging climaxes are all unmistakably Gallic – and they’re all Chausson’s own. It’s hard to be objective about such exquisitely crafted decadence.

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

JS Bach

CHRISTMAS ORATORIO Celebrate Christmas with Bach’s joyful Christmas Oratorio, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski Saturday 16 December 2017 | 7.00pm PLEASE NOTE START TIME | Royal Festival Hall Vladimir Jurowski conductor | Maria Keohane soprano | Anke Vondung mezzo-soprano | Jeremy Ovenden tenor Stephan Loges bass-baritone | London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir

Book now at lpo.org.uk or call 020 7840 4242

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Programme notes continued

Joseph Marx 1882–1964

A thousand golden leaves fall, Autumn is here! Stars blink brightly in the distance, Dreams are close. Joseph Marx: Autumn (1914) For nearly half a century – from 1914, when he joined the staff of the Vienna Music Academy until his final retirement to his birthplace of Graz in 1964 – Joseph Marx was an unignorable presence in Austrian musical life. ‘He was a large and heavyset man with a huge head and a thick mane of greyish hair’ writes the biographer of Herbert Zipper, who studied with Marx in the 1920s: He spoke with a very slight lisp and expressed himself in well-rounded phrases. He dressed rather carelessly; his necktie was never in the centre of his chest, his trousers were baggy and his shoes always looked unshined. However, all this belied his larger-than-life personality. Whenever he entered a large gathering or concert hall, he was noticed immediately.

Eine Herbstsymphonie (An Autumn Symphony) (UK premiere) 1 2 3 4

Ein Herbstgesang [Autumn Song] – Tanz der Mittagsgeister [Dance of the Noon Spirits] Herbstgedanken [Autumn Thoughts] Ein Herbstpoem [An Autumn Poem]

have heard the influence of Scriabin in his music, the culture of classical antiquity was just as important to Marx (his second piano concerto, Castelli Romani of 1929–30, is a direct counterpart to Respighi’s trilogy of Roman tone-poems). His real passion, however, was new music of the French school: Ravel, whom he invited to teach in Vienna (though he found his piano playing disappointing) and above all, Debussy, whom he described as ‘the only really pagan composer in all of Western civilisation’. That ‘pagan’ impulse – natureworship as something sensuous, hedonistic and primal – seems to have been the source of Marx’s fascination with autumn, though the idea of autumn as a time of ripe fulfilment can’t have been lost on a composer who grew up in the winelands of Styria.

Marx made his reputation as a composer of Lieder. After writing a series of nature-inspired choral works in the years before 1914, he wrote little for orchestra until the massive Romantisches Klavierkonzert (Romantic Piano Concerto) of 1918–19, and then Eine Herbstsymphonie (An Autumn Symphony), which he completed at Grambach in the Alpine foothills near Graz in November 1921, and dedicated to his lifelong partner, the singer Anna Hansa.

But the premiere of An Autumn Symphony – by the Vienna Philharmonic under Felix Weingartner, on 5 February 1922 – was a vintage Viennese Skandalkonzert, complete with scuffles, yells and attempts to disrupt the performance with whistles. It didn’t take much to split a Viennese audience into factions: Marx felt that the Symphony was underrehearsed, and that the protestors were reacting against ‘the considerable modernity of its harmony and especially its orchestration’. That seems hard to credit. Although the symphony calls for quadruple woodwind, six horns, piano, celeste, two harps and a sizeable percussion section, a Viennese public familiar with Strauss, Mahler and Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder can hardly have been surprised by that.

Marx described himself as a ‘romantic realist’, and he was an outspoken opponent of what he saw as the damaging ultra-modernism of the Second Viennese School. Like many Austrians born under the Habsburg monarchy, he had Italian roots and although some

Perhaps the shock came (as Marx suspected), from the impressionistic harmonies; and the fact that, despite its outwardly conventional form, An Autumn Symphony doesn’t behave like an Austro-German symphony (Marx ‘prefers to express himself artistically in untrammelled

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rhapsodic forms’, wrote the Viennese critic Rudolf Felber in 1929). In any case, many listeners were enthusiastic. ‘The gigantic work leapt in one bold swoop to the forefront of modern orchestral music, exceeding all expectations and fears’, wrote the Wiener Extrablatt. ‘It drew violent protests from some but storms of applause from others […] Part of the audience incessantly cried out “Marx, Marx, Marx”.’ The Symphony was later championed by the conductor Clemens Krauss, but there appear to have been no complete performances anywhere in the world between February 1925 and October 2005, when it was performed for the first time in over 80 years – appropriately enough, in Graz. An Autumn Symphony is in four rhapsodic movements, each longer than the last. Ein Herbstgesang (‘Autumn Song’) serves as a sort of prelude. String melodies rise darkly from below and drift downwards from on high, over a restless, constantly shimmering orchestral backdrop (Marx’s colouring is worthy of Klimt). A rapturous climax leads, amidst jangling keyboards and harps, to the symphony’s scherzo: Tanz der Mittagsgeister (‘Dance of the Noon Spirits’). A sensuous, endlessly extended waltz melody strives to disentangle itself from dancing patterns of light and shade, rendered in rippling woodwinds and occasional glints of solo violin. (Marx offered the conductor a choice of a quiet or loud ending). Herbstgedanken (‘Autumn Thoughts’) is a slow movement in which pensive melancholy is tempered by a particularly Viennese sweetness. Solo clarinet and horn soar clear of long, shaded string paragraphs, and Marx leaves aside his glittering battery of keyboards and percussion, using only the timpani to add a sombre grandeur to the movement’s successively loftier climaxes. But the sun casts its full, autumnal glow over the finale, Ein Herbstpoem (‘An Autumn Poem’), which Marx originally entitled Ernte und Heimkehr (‘Harvest and Homecoming’). The meaning is allegorical as well as literal, though Marx initially throws everything (including the xylophone) at this Dionysian celebration of the wine harvest. But the afternoon light gradually fades, and the last rays of life and light glitter like stars in the twilight as Marx brings his masterpiece home: to B major, to dusk and deep rest.

Das Rheingold: A Golden Gala Evening Saturday 27 January 2018 6.00pm Royal Festival Hall

Wagner Das Rheingold Vladimir Jurowski conductor with soloists including Sofia Fomina, Anna Larsson, Matthias Goerne and Matthew Rose

Celebrate Vladimir Jurowski’s 10th year as LPO Principal Conductor by joining us for this Golden Gala Evening at Royal Festival Hall. As well as standard concert tickets, we are offering special packages including pre- and post-concert receptions and the chance to meet the musicians who will bring Wagner’s great music drama to the stage.

lpo.org.uk/vj10

Generously supported by members of the Orchestra’s Ring Cycle Syndicate and patrons of our Golden Gala Evening.

be mo v ed Next concerts at Southbank Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royal Festival Hall

MONDAY 4 DECEMBER 2017 7.30PM

Saturday 16 december 2017 7.00pm please note start time

Meow Meow: Orchestral Pandemonium with the Queen of Song

J S Bach Christmas Oratorio

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Maria Keohane soprano Anke Vondung mezzo-soprano International comedienne Jeremy Ovenden tenor* extraordinaire Meow Meow joins the Stephan Loges bass-baritone Orchestra once again. Meow returns London Philharmonic Choir with her unique brand of subversive and sublime cabaret, and a little * Please note a change to the artist from twist of untraditional festive cheer. previously advertised.

wednesday 17 january 2018 7.30pm Khachaturian Adagio from Spartacus Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3* Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 Mikhail Agrest conductor Andrey Gugnin piano * In co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.

Suitable for ages 14 and over. Please note series discounts do not apply to this performance.

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

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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 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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

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 Victoria Robey OBE Orchestra Circle The Tsukanov Family Principal Associates An anonymous donor The Candide Trust Alexander & Elena Djaparidze Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Sergey Sarkisov & Rusiko Makhashvili Julian & Gill Simmonds Neil Westreich Associates Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton Virginia Gabbertas Oleg & Natalya Pukhov Sir Simon Robey Stuart & Bianca Roden Gold Patrons Evzen & Lucia Balko David & Yi Buckley Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Sally Groves & Dennis Marks The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust John & Angela Kessler Vadim & Natalia Levin Countess Dominique Loredan Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family Laurence Watt Guy & Utti Whittaker

Silver Patrons Michael Allen Mrs Irina Gofman David Goldberg Mr Gavin Graham Pehr G Gyllenhammar Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Matt Isaacs & Penny Jerram Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva The Metherell Family Jacopo Pessina Brian & Elizabeth Taylor Bronze Patrons Anonymous donors Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Margot Astrachan Mrs A Beare Richard & Jo Brass Peter & Adrienne Breen Mr Jeremy Bull Richard Buxton John Childress & Christiane Wuillaimie Mr Geoffrey A Collens Mr John H Cook Bruno De Kegel Georgy Djaparidze David Ellen Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Ignor & Lyuba Galkin Mr Daniel Goldstein Mr Roger Greenwood Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Martin & Katherine Hattrell Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Michael & Christine Henry J Douglas Home Mr Glenn Hurstfield Rose & Dudley Leigh Elena Lileeva & Adrian Pabst Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter MacDonald Eggers Isabelle & Adrian Mee Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Peter & Lucy Noble

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Noel Otley JP & Mrs Rachel Davies Roderick & Maria Peacock Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Sir Bernard Rix Mr Robert Ross Anonymous Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Barry & Gillian Smith Anna Smorodskaya Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Mrs Anne Storm Sergei & Elena Sudakov Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Principal Supporters An anonymous donor Roger & Clare Barron Mr Geoffrey Bateman Gabor Beyer, through BTO Management Consulting AG David & Patricia Buck Dr Anthony Buckland Mr Alan C Butler Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr Peter Cullum CBE Mr Timonthy Fancourt QC Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Beuill Mr Richard Fernyhough Mr Derek B. Gray Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Per Jonsson Mr Ralph Kanza Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Mr Colm Kelleher Peter Kerkar

Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr John Long Mr Peter Mace Brendan & Karen McManus Kristina McPhee Andrew T Mills Randall & Maria Moore Dr Karen Morton Olga Pavlova Dr Wiebke Pekrull Mr James Pickford Andrew & Sarah Poppleton Tatiana Pyatigorskaya Martin & Cheryl Southgate Matthew Stephenson & Roman Aristarkhov Mr Christopher Stewart Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Anastasia Vvedenskaya Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Holly Wilkes Christopher Williams Mr C D Yates Bill Yoe Supporters Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Alan Carrington Miss Siobhan Cervin Gus Christie Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Joshua Coger Timothy Colyer Miss Tessa Cowie Lady Jane Cuckney OBE Mr David Devons Cameron & Kathryn Doley Stephen & Barbara Dorgan Mr Nigel Dyer Sabina Fatkullina Mrs Janet Flynn Christopher Fraser OBE The Jackman Family Mrs Irina Tsarenkov

Mr David MacFarlane Mr John Meloy Mr Stephen Olton Robin Partington Mr David Peters Mr Ivan Powell Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr Christopher Queree Mr David Russell Mr Kenneth Shaw Ms Natalie Spraggon Michael & Katie Urmston Damien & Tina Vanderwilt Timothy Walker AM Mr John Weekes 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 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: William A. Kerr Chairman Xenia Hanusiak Alexandra Jupin Kristina McPhee David Oxenstierna Natalie Pray Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida

Corporate Donors Arcadis Christian Dior Couture Fenchurch Advisory Partners Giberg Goldman Sachs Pictet Bank White & Case LLP Corporate Members Gold Sunshine Silver After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Bronze Accenture Ageas BTO Management Consulting AG Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Willis Towers Watson Preferred Partners Fevertree Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

Trusts and Foundations ABO Trust The Boltini Trust 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 Leverhulme Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation 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 Rivers Foundation Romanian Cultural Institute The R K Charitable Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The Steel Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation

UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation 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 Henry Baldwin* Roger Barron Richard Brass David Buckley Bruno De Kegel Al MacCuish Susanne Martens* George Peniston* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* 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 Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham 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

Education and Community

Public Relations

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education and Community Director

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager