London Philharmonic Orchestra Brighton programme 30 Nov 2013 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

Brighton Dome 2013/14 season Concert programme

Brighton cover 13-14.indd 1

7/26/2013 12:37:55 PM

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN Leader pieter schoeman Composer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSON Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Brighton Dome, Concert Hall Saturday 30 November 2013 | 7.30pm

Kodály Dances of Galánta (15’) Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major (34’) Interval Dvořák Symphony No. 7 in D minor (38’)

Programme £2.50 Contents 2 Welcome 3 About the Orchestra 4 On stage tonight 5 Andrés Orozco-Estrada 6 Michael Roll 7 Leader/Speedread 8 Programme notes 11 Supporters 12 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Michael Roll piano

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

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation and one anonymous donor CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WITH ASSISTANCE FROM BRIGHTON DOME

Ticket Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org

Welcome

Welcome to Brighton Dome Chief Executive Andrew Comben

Next London Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at Brighton Dome

We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit to Brighton Dome. For your comfort and safety, please note the following:

Saturday 22 February 2014 | 7.30pm

LATECOMERS may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks.

Berlioz Overture, Le Corsaire Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Brahms Symphony No. 2 Vasily Petrenko conductor Kirill Gerstein piano

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.

Vasily Petrenko & Kirill Gerstein

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium.

‘[Gerstein] is one of the hottest guns in the game, and here he was superb ... He extracted fire and thunder from Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto.’ The Independent, 19 July 2012

Thank you for your co-operation.

Saturday 22 March 2014 | 7.30pm The concert at Brighton Dome on 30 November 2013 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with assistance from Brighton Dome.

Wagner Siegfried Idyll Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Joseph Swensen conductor Liza Ferschtman violin Tickets £10–£27.50 (Premium seats £32.50) Box Office 01273 709709 Book online at brightondome.org

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. brightonfestival.org

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s finest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with its present-day position as one of the most dynamic and forward-looking orchestras in the UK. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own successful CD label, and enhances the lives of thousands of people every year through activities for schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and since then its Principal Conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is the current Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Principal Guest Conductor.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission and East is East to Hugo, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 70 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 with Vladimir Jurowski; Vaughan Williams’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 with Bernard Haitink; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sarah Connolly and Toby Spence; and a disc of new works by the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In summer 2012 the Orchestra was invited to take part in The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, as well as being chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to concerts each season. 2013/14 highlights include a inspiring the next generation through its BrightSparks Britten centenary celebration with Vladimir Jurowski schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; including the War Requiem and Peter Grimes; world the Leverhulme Young premieres of James Composers programme; MacMillan’s Viola Concerto and the Foyle Future and Górecki’s Fourth Firsts orchestral Symphony; French repertoire Bachtrack.com training programme with Yannick Nézet-Séguin; 2 October 2013, Royal Festival Hall: Britten centenary concert for outstanding young and a stellar array of soloists players. Over recent including Evelyn Glennie, years, digital advances and social media have enabled Mitsuko Uchida, Leif Ove Andsnes, Miloš Karadaglić, the Orchestra to reach even more people across the Renaud Capuçon, Leonidas Kavakos, Julia Fischer, Emanuel Ax and Simon Trpčeski. Throughout the second globe: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel, iPhone app half of 2013 the Orchestra continues its year-long and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively collaboration with Southbank Centre in The Rest is Noise presence on Facebook and Twitter. festival, exploring the influential works of the 20th century. Find out more and get involved! The London Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs lpo.org.uk regularly around the UK. Every summer, the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, twitter.com/LPOrchestra performing concerts to sell-out audiences worldwide. Highlights of the 2013/14 season include visits to the USA, Romania, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, France and Spain.

The LPO are an orchestra on fire at the moment.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Chair supported by John & Angela Kessler

Ilyoung Chae Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

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 Caroline Frenkel Alina Petrenko Rebecca Shorrock Second Violins Philippe Honoré Guest Principal Jeongmin Kim Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Fiona Higham Eugene Lee Ashley Stevens Elizabeth Baldey John Dickinson Harry Kerr Stephen Stewart Alison Strange

Violas Cyrille Mercier Principal Gregory Aronovich Katherine Leek Susanne Martens Helen Bevin Daniel Cornford Miriam Eisele Martin Fenn Sarah Malcolm Isabel Pereira Cellos Caroline Dale Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Helen Rowlands Tom Walley Flutes Sue Thomas Principal Chair supported by the Sharp Family

Joanna Marsh Stewart McIlwham*

Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Alice Munday Clarinets Thomas Watmough Guest Principal Paul Richards Bassoons Gareth Newman* Principal Simon Estell Laura Vincent Contrabassoon Simon Estell Principal Horns John Ryan* Principal David Pyatt* Principal

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Audun Breen Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Keith Millar

* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair supported by Simon Robey

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

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose player is not present at this concert: Julian & Gill Simmonds

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Andrés Orozco-Estrada

conductor

Born in Colombia and trained in Vienna, Andrés OrozcoEstrada is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. From the beginning of the 2014/15 season he will take up the positions of Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Andrés first came to international attention in 2004, when he took over a concert with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich at the Vienna Musikverein, and was subsequently celebrated by the Viennese press as a ‘wonder from Vienna’. Numerous engagements with international orchestras followed, and he has since developed a highly successful musical partnership with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, one of the most important institutions of traditional Austrian musical culture. Since the beginning of the 2009/10 season he has been its Music Director, an engagement that ends in summer 2015. This Orchestra holds a subscription series at the Vienna Musikverein and is Orchestra in Residence at the Grafenegg Festival. From 2009 until summer 2013, Andrés also held the role of Principal Conductor at the Basque National Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi).

to be a ‘stand-in worth his weight in gold’ (Kurier) and ‘an inspired master of communication’ (Der Standard). Tonight is Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s UK debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, following a tour of Germany and Slovenia earlier this month. Future engagements include debuts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; the Rotterdam, Royal Stockholm and Oslo Philharmonic orchestras; The Philadelphia Orchestra; The Cleveland Orchestra; and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He will also make his debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in summer 2014, conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Born in 1977 in Medellín, Colombia, Andrés OrozcoEstrada began his musical studies on the violin and had his first conducting lessons at the age of 15. In 1997 he moved to Vienna, where he joined the conducting class of Uroš Lajovic – pupil of the legendary Hans Swarowsky – at the renowned Vienna Music Academy, completing his degree with distinction by conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Vienna Musikverein. The emphasis of his artistic work lies in the Romantic repertoire and Viennese classics. At the same time, he shows a keen interest in contemporary music and regularly performs premieres of Austrian composers, as well as compositions of Spanish and South American origin. He currently lives in Vienna.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada has worked with some of the world’s leading orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Mahler Chamber, Houston Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras; the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome; the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Frankfurt (hr) and Hamburg (NDR); and the Orchestre National de France. Following his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in autumn 2010, he was hailed ‘a brilliant stand-in’ (Wiener Zeitung) for Esa-Pekka Salonen, and celebrated as an ‘eminent talent’ (Die Presse). In November 2012, Orozco-Estrada once again stepped in at short notice, this time for Riccardo Muti, to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein, and proved London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

Michael Roll piano

‘He is obviously musical from heart and mind to his fingertips’ – so remarked the distinguished critic Sir Neville Cardus at the outset of Michael Roll’s remarkable career, which now spans more than 50 years. On winning the inaugural Leeds International Piano Competition in 1963 at the age of 17, The Sunday Times declared: ‘No country can be expected to produce many talents of this order.’ Since this success, his artistry and deepening maturity have brought continued and glowing praise from public and critics alike all over the world. This season marks the 50th anniversary of his win at Leeds. Over the past few seasons, Michael Roll has appeared with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Budapest Philharmonic and Dallas Symphony orchestras, the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande; made tours of Australia; and appeared at major festivals such as the Klavier-Festival Ruhr and the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. He has given recital and concerto appearances throughout Europe, including such cities as Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and London. His recording of the Beethoven Piano Concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Howard Shelley received rave reviews and was ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone magazine. Born in the UK, the son of Viennese Jewish parents, Roll began his studies with Fanny Waterman at the age of six and was a prolific performer from an early age. He made his concerto debut aged 10 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 12 he performed Schumann’s Piano Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and Sir Malcom Sargent, and at 14 Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir John Barbirolli. His success at Leeds led to appearances worldwide, working with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Sir Adrian Boult, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, 6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Kurt Masur, André Previn, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Kurt Sanderling and, more recently, Valery Gergiev, Pinchas Steinberg and Alexander Shelley. He has appeared with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Boston Symphony orchestras, with whom he made his American debut in 1974 with Sir Colin Davis. International festivals have included Vienna, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Aldeburgh, where he performed with Benjamin Britten. He has also appeared at the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 16 occasions Michael Roll’s association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra goes back to the late 1960s, when he performed several times with Sir Adrian Boult. In 1973 he was one of the soloists to join the Orchestra on its first trip to Hong Kong and China, appearing at the first Hong Kong Festival under the batons of both Edo de Waart and Sir John Pritchard. Michael is married to the Bulgarian pianist Juliana Markova and they have one son, Max, a young actor.

Pieter Schoeman leader

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. 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. Pieter is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Speedread By the time Antonín Dvořák started writing music in the mid-1800s, composers all over the world had been using indigenous tunes and folksongs in their works for years. Dvořák famously tapped his Czech homeland’s tradition of folksong and fiddle-playing in his symphonies, and even more famously used spirituals from the New World in his final symphonic work.

Tonight we hear both: Dvořák’s best symphony, which aptly captures his refined, concert-hall view of the folk tradition with some of the most astute and highly-developed symphonic writing ever conceived; and Kodály’s unbridled celebration of folk tunes from his own village, which he hoped – combined with the pizzazz of a modern symphony orchestra – would bring those tunes to wider attention.

Nearly half a century later in Hungary, Zoltán Kodály and his colleague Béla Bartók wanted to reform the whole process, reconnecting ‘art music’ to the folk tradition by using real folk tunes (not ones bent into polite shapes by ‘establishment’ composers such as Dvořák), and letting their raw energy and colour control the music they created.

After Kodály’s furious dances Beethoven is on hand to calm things down, moving the argument away from musical detail and onto something rather more fundamental. His Fourth Piano Concerto is probably that most admired by pianists themselves – its breathing, searching temperament has an underlying humanity that is unusually profound and moving, even by Beethoven’s standards.

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Programme notes

Zoltán Kodály 1882–1967

Like his compatriot Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály spent much of his career discovering, researching and collating Hungarian folk music. In a sense, his compositional career took a back seat as a result: he wrote only nine orchestral scores and when asked why, protested that he’d been busy ‘educating a public’. But Kodály’s thirst for folk music actually enriched his music immeasurably – not only as the impetus behind its creation but also as the raw material on which he’d forge his own distinctive voice. It probably all began in 1885 when Kodály’s railwayworker father was posted to the town of Galánta to work as stationmaster there, on the line between Vienna and Budapest. The young Zoltán became entranced by the sound of the town’s band. It’s described in various sources as a ‘gypsy band’, but recent research indicates it probably counted versatile instrumentalists among its ranks, who would play Mozart for the bourgeoisie when they weren’t knocking out traditional Hungarian verbunko dances. In 1933, the Budapest Philharmonic Society commissioned a short orchestral work from Kodály, and the composer chose to immortalise his charmed fascination with the Galánta ensemble. The tunes he used for his Dances of Galánta actually came from the widely circulated publication Selected Hungarian National Dances after Several Gypsies of Galánta. Kodály discreetly arranged his selected themes rather than attempting to pit them in a raw dialogue with music of other traditions, as Bartók might have done. The result is music of celebration rather than depth and tension – a piece that combines the virtuoso possibilities of the modern symphony orchestra with the basic life-affirming and propulsive qualities of the folk music Kodály wanted to disseminate.

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Dances of Galánta 1 Lento 2 Allegretto moderato 3 Allegro con moto, grazioso 4 Allegro 5 Allegro vivace

A series of instrumental solos flow through the piece’s slow introduction, separated by busy string figures and, eventually, a free-feeling solo or ‘cadenza’ on the clarinet – a figure that will return to preface each of the dances. The first of them is stately but spiked by the jerky rhythms of the verbunko, the indigenous local dance that gained a foothold when it was used by military recruiters during the 18th-century Imperial Wars. The second dance is initiated by the flute and uses a theme that circulates haltingly around a single pitch (listen out for the moment when the flute and piccolo appear to play in the ‘wrong’ key); the oboe then introduces another, coloured by a glockenspiel and a violin playing on elusive harmonics. A syncopated rhythm tries to establish itself on the oboe in the next dance, but slower, low-pitched music wins through. Not for long, though, as the syncopations return and drive the music towards a final exhilarating flourish.

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

For a while, the piano concerto provided Beethoven with the ideal vehicle for the expression of his egalitarian worldview. As a composer, he forced the concerto into the extended dimensions of his all-embracing dramatic vision. He saw a new, sociological significance in the pitting of a single instrument against a large orchestral ensemble – presenting himself as the individual (the soloist) who could inspire and influence the masses (the orchestra). But as he came to write his Fourth Piano Concerto in 1805–6, Beethoven’s hearing was in terminal decline. He was wise enough to recognise his impending inability to play concertos with orchestras in public, and the Fourth Concerto would be the last in which Beethoven imagined himself on the piano stool while writing. The composer was seated thereupon for the first performance of the piece on 22 December 1808 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. If we do view this concerto as Beethoven’s final statement as a performing composer-pianist, then what a striking picture of his mindset it offers up. Never before had Beethoven or anyone else woven soloist and orchestra together to the extent achieved here. That, and Beethoven did so without whipping up a confrontational frenzy; presenting himself as the bringer of stillness and peace to a world of underlying, fermenting strife. This concerto is treasured not for its heroism or revolution, but for the poise and humanity of its musical ideas.

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 Michael Roll piano 1 Allegro moderato 2 Andante con moto 3 Finale

The Concerto’s quiet, solo piano opening is said by musicologists to have represented an act of unprecedented boldness in the year 1808. What follows is an advanced view of musical integration, despite the fact that those initial piano chords are followed by a pianissimo response from the orchestra in a completely unrelated key. Both these elements – the improvisatory feel of that opening exchange and the tonal tension of the keys of G and B major – cast a spell over the entire work. That contrast takes further root in the concerto’s central Andante con moto. This movement has long been associated with the legend of Orpheus: as he attempted to tame wild beasts with his lyre, so Beethoven’s piano responds to gruff, unharmonised gestures from unison strings with shapely, conciliatory (and now harmonised) melodies of its own. The movement is one sustained process of transformation in which the soloist gradually gains influence over the orchestra. In the finale, Beethoven introduces the trumpets and timpani as the Concerto hauls itself into another unrelated key, C major. This is a movement with a constantly shifting palette of relatively introspective moods, but its turning point comes at the huge ‘triple trill’, after which the music plunges into a headlong dash to the home-key finish – wholly countering the understatement that has gone before.

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

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Programme notes continued

Antonín Dvořák 1841–1904

The Seventh might not be Dvořák’s most popular symphony, but it’s arguably his best. In the composer’s own mind, he simply had to deliver something special for the London Philharmonic Society, who had commissioned the piece in 1884. His career was at a crossroads: success had finally come, offers were being made, and contacts were putting themselves forward. Brahms and others were urging Dvořák to consider a move from his hometown of Prague to Vienna or Berlin. All Dvořák had to do – in his own mind – was prove that he could write first-class symphonic music already; music that didn’t rely overtly on indigenous Czech folk themes and that demonstrated a firm grasp of symphonic thought. On that front, Dvořák more than succeeded with his Seventh Symphony. It was first performed on 22 April 1885 in St James’s Hall, London, and was immediately hailed as a masterpiece. As a symphony it’s near flawless, and certainly Dvořák’s most organic and wellargued. For that, the composer had Brahms to thank. Dvořák had recently heard Brahms’s Third Symphony, whose taut, concise and clear-cut structure is wholly evident here. There are also a good few points of direct comparison: both symphonies contain radiant horn solos (you’ll hear Dvořák’s in his second movement) and both are stalked by a sense of underlying darkness. That darkness – perhaps ‘severity’ is a better word – had been uncommon in Dvořák’s music up to this point. The Seventh was the composer’s first symphony written in a minor key and it only rarely finds the major. Even so, the joy and bustle associated with Dvořák’s music is somehow ever-present – either fighting to be heard or peering through the composer’s minor-key colourings. Perhaps it’s the composer’s profusion of rich melodies that keeps the Symphony so consistently radiant even when resolutely rooted in the minor (as in the demonic dance of the Scherzo, for example). 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 1 2 3 4

Allegro maestoso Poco adagio Scherzo: vivace Finale: Allegro

So organic and rich in cross-referencing is the Seventh’s music that an analysis of its themes and their origins is best left for academics. What’s worth listening out for in the first movement, however, is the restlessness of Dvořák’s lower strings, which help create a feeling of impending stormy weather; throughout, instruments enter in a fragmentary fashion, each seeming to stride into the conversation with a conflicting view. Dvořák’s second movement is a continuous, river-like flow of inspired melodies opening with what sounds like an ancient chorale in a serene F major, the key that also closes the movement. The aforementioned horn solo that comes later represents one of the Symphony’s only moments of warmth; a sudden appearance of the sun between clouds. Though the third movement features an idyllic Trio section, it’s surrounded by a demonic dance built from an insistent, syncopated figure which combines duple and triple time in reference to the furiant, a Czech folk dance. Dvořák didn’t want to over-egg his use of devices and themes from Czech folk music in the Symphony, and uses them similarly fleetingly and subtly in his finale. This movement is a fierce tussle, relieved only by its bright secondary idea cast in a major key and first heard on cellos, supported by lightly ornamenting violins. Dvořák seems to triumph over the movement’s nervous energy as he introduces a theme of distinctly Czech character on the flutes. In a dramatic coda, the Symphony’s final paragraph, the music finally finds victory as it discovers the warmth of D major. Programme notes by Andrew Mellor © 2013

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 Anonymous Simon Robey The Sharp Family Julian & Gill Simmonds Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller John & Angela Kessler Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Guy & Utti Whittaker Manon Williams & John Antoniazzi Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Jane Attias Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen

Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Don Kelly & Ann Wood Peter MacDonald Eggers Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr Maxwell Morrison Mr Michael Posen Mr & Mrs Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mrs A Beare Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett William and Alex de Winton Mr David Edgecombe Mr Richard Fernyhough Ken Follett Michael & Christine Henry Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha

Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Mr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills John Montgomery Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Edmund Pirouet Professor John Studd Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Mr Laurie Watt Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Bill Yoe Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Edmund Pirouet Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members

Trusts and Foundations

Silver: AREVA UK British American Business Carter Ruck Thomas Eggar LLP

Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Ambache Charitable Trust Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust Britten-Pears Foundation The Candide Trust The Ernest Cook Trust The Coutts Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Embassy of Spain, Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs The Equitable Charitable Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust The Hobson Charity The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust Marsh Christian Trust The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians

Bronze: Lisa Bolgar Smith and Felix Appelbe of Ambrose Appelbe Appleyard & Trew LLP Berenberg Bank Berkeley Law Charles Russell Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Sela / Tilley’s Sweets

Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust Musicians Benevolent Fund The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française Polish Cultural Institute in London PRS for Music Foundation The R K Charitable Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust Youth Music and others who wish to remain anonymous

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Administration

Board of Directors Victoria Sharp Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Vesselin Gellev* Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann* George Peniston* Sir Bernard Rix Kevin Rundell* Julian Simmonds Mark Templeton* Natasha Tsukanova Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Dr Manon Williams * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Sharp Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Lord David Currie Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Martin Southgate Sir Philip Thomas 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 Peter M. Felix CBE Alexandra Jupin Dr. Felisa B. Kaplan Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Dr. Joseph Mulvehill Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Sharp Hon. Director

Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP

Orchestra Personnel

Public Relations

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Chief Executive

Sarah Thomas Librarian (maternity leave)