London Philharmonic Orchestra 3 February 2016 concert programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra

A festival of concerts, talks and exploratory events celebrating the musical legacy of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest playwright

Concert programme 2015/16 London Season lpo.org.uk

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

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Wednesday 3 February 2016 | 7.30pm

Dvořák Overture, Othello (15’) Brahms Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra (31’) Interval Dvořák Symphony No. 6 (41’)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Lisa Batiashvili violin Maximilian Hornung cello

Free pre-concert event: 'Adapting Othello' 6.00–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall Join Professor Russ McDonald, Goldsmiths University, and Professor Clare McManus, University of Roehampton, as they reflect on Othello’s popularity with adaptors and composers.

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Contents 2 Welcome 3 Shakespeare400 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 On stage tonight 7 Yannick Nézet-Séguin 8 Lisa Batiashvili Maximilian Hornung 9 Programme notes 12 Recommended recordings 13 Next concerts 14 Sound Futures donors 15 Supporters 16 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

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 7960 4250, 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 A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment: PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium. LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance. RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended. MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

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Orchestra news

2016/17 season now announced Details of next season's LPO concerts are now available. Browse the new season brochure online at lpo.org.uk or look out for your copy in the post in the next few days. Booking opens on Thursday 11 February (online and via the LPO Box Office only). To take advantage of priority booking (available now), become a Friend of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for as little as £50 a year. Call Helen Yang on 020 7840 4225 or visit lpo.org.uk/support/memberships

Become one of our Shakespeare400 Tonight marks the first concert in our Shakespeare400 series, part of a UK-wide festival of concerts, talks and exploratory events celebrating the musical legacy of the world’s greatest playwright. In the 400th year since Shakespeare's death, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will build a community of 400 donors who will contribute to the Shakespeare Festival by either donating to the Shakespeare Appeal or by becoming a member of our Shakespeare Syndicate. For more details visit lpo.org.uk/supportshakespeare, or contact Kathryn Hageman on 020 7840 4212 or email kathryn.hageman@lpo.org.uk

Principal Second Violin A new face joins the Orchestra on stage tonight: we extend a very warm welcome to our new Principal Second Violin, Andrew Storey. Andrew joins us from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where he was Principal Second Violin. He has worked as a guest principal with the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Hallé, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, ENO and various chamber orchestras. His free time is consumed by his four children and two cats. Of his appointment he says: ‘I’m really excited about my move to the LPO. It’s a fantastic orchestra of brilliant musicians and lovely people. I’m particularly looking forward to the exciting repertoire ahead at Royal Festival Hall and getting to know lots of operas at Glyndebourne.’ Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

In collaboration with some of London’s leading cultural, creative and educational institutions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joins Shakespeare400 with a celebration of the Bard’s love of music, and his influence on it. Join the LPO at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall this year for a celebration of creativity and collaboration, and dive into a musical world born of the words of the legendary William Shakespeare.

lpo.org.uk/shakespeare

Wednesday 3 February 2016 | 7.30pm Dvořák | Othello Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 7.30pm Sibelius | The Tempest

Pre-concert talks

For four and a half centuries, the most admired playwright and poet in history has inspired music both intimate and grand, devastating and uplifting. Shakespeare’s body of plays and poems has exercised more influence over composers and musicians than anything else in literature bar the Bible, and continues to inspire across the generations of today.

Special performances

Welcome to the first concert in our Shakespeare400 series, part of a UK-wide festival of concerts, talks and exploratory events celebrating the musical legacy of the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.

Concerts at Royal Festival Hall

Welcome to

Friday 15 April 2016 | 7.30pm | JTI Friday Series Prokofiev | Romeo and Juliet Saturday 23 April 2016 | 7.30pm Anniversary Gala Concert featuring very special guests Sunday 5 June 2016 | 7.30pm FUNharmonics Family Concert | Bottom’s Dream Wednesday 3 February 2016 | 6.00pm Adapting Othello Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 6.00pm Late works of Shakespeare and others Friday 12 February 2016 | 6.00pm Shakespeare’s Windsor Friday 26 February 2016 | 6.00pm The Macbeths Friday 15 April 2016 | 6.00pm Think you know Romeo & Juliet? Wednesday 27 January 2016 | 6.00pm Hamlet in Russia: Shostakovich’s Hamlet Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 5.00pm New Horizons: Inspired by Shakespeare Saturday 5 March 2016 | 6.00pm Foyle Future Firsts: Ophelia Dances Saturday 9 April 2016 | 6.00pm LPO Soundworks & Quicksilver: Inspired by Shakespeare Saturday 30 April 2016 | post-concert RCM Big Band: Such Sweet Thunder

London Philharmonic Orchestra

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

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orchestral masterpieces. 2015/16 is a strong season for singers, with performances by Toby Spence and Anne Sofie von Otter amongst others; Sibelius enjoys 150th anniversary celebrations; distinguished visiting conductors include Stanisław Skrowaczewski, JukkaPekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko, with Robin Ticciati returning after his debut in 2015; and in 2016 the LPO joins many of London’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400 years since his death. The Orchestra continues its commitment to new music with premieres of commissions including Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto and Alexander Raskatov’s Green Mass. Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of

Pieter Schoeman leader

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

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 90 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3 and Ten Songs under Vladimir Jurowski, and archive recordings of Mahler Symphonies and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt. In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter. lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7 instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

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

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

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On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

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

Ji-Hyun Lee Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Grace Lee Rebecca Shorrock Caroline Sharp Second Violins Andrew Storey Principal Kate Birchall Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Dean Williamson Helena Nicholls Sioni Williams Elizabeth Baldey John Dickinson

Violas Benjamin Roskams Guest Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter Laura Vallejo Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Martin Fenn Richard Cookson Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Carvalho† David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Chair supported by The Viney Family

Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal George Peniston Laurence Lovelle Tom Walley Lowri Morgan Charlotte Kerbegian Helen Rowlands Laura Murphy

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Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Stewart McIlwham*

David Whitehouse

Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Bass Trombone Paul Lambert

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday Cor Anglais Sue Böhling* Principal

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Clarinets Robert Hill* Principal Thomas Watmough

Henry Baldwin Co-Principal

Bassoons Gareth Newman Principal Simon Estell

Harp Rachel Masters* Principal

Horns David Pyatt* Principal

* Holds a professorial appointment in London

Chair supported by Simon Robey

John Ryan* Principal

Chair supported by Jon Claydon

† Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair supported by Laurence Watt

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

Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor

Nézet-Séguin may just be the most compelling, most accomplished conductor of his generation.

The Financial Times

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He has conducted all the major ensembles in his native Canada and has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal) since 2000. He continues to enjoy a close collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2008–14.

Yannick began 2015/16 conducting the Metropolitan Opera’s season-opener of Otello, followed by Elektra at the Opéra de Montréal. In addition to his commitments with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, further highlights include projects with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic and Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich, and a return to the Salzburg Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has worked with many fine ensembles in Europe including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Following his 2009 BBC Proms debut (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), he returned the following year and more recently in 2013 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He has also appeared at festivals in Edinburgh, San Sebastián, Santander and Grafenegg, as well as in North America at the Lanaudiere Festival, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Saratoga Festival and the Mostly Mozart Festival.

Recent additions to Nézet-Séguin’s extensive discography include the complete Schumann symphonies and Così fan tutte with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; The Rite of Spring and Rachmaninoff Variations with Daniil Trifonov and The Philadelphia Orchestra; and a Tchaikovsky disc with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He also enjoys a fruitful recording relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for its own label (most recently organ works by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns, LPO-0081).

A notable opera conductor, Yannick’s regular engagements at The Metropolitan Opera in New York have seen him conduct Rusalka, La traviata, Faust and Don Carlo in recent seasons. He has also appeared at the Salzburg Festival, Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Netherlands Opera. Highlights of last season included a North American tour with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a European tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Yannick also continued as Artist in Residence at the Konzerthaus Dortmund.

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Montreal, and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, before going on to study with renowned conductors, most notably the Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. His honours include a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; and the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts awarded by the Quebec government. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012. yannicknezetseguin.com twitter.com/nezetseguin

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Maximilian Hornung

violin

cello

Lisa Batiashvili, Musical America’s 2015 Instrumentalist of the Year, is this season’s Artist in Residence with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. The Georgian violinist has developed long-term relationships with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, with whom she was Artist in Residence last season.

With his striking musicality, instinctive stylistic certainty and musical maturity, the young cellist Maximilian Hornung, whose career began when he won the German Music Council’s Competition in 2005, is taking the international music scene by storm. He received an ECHO Klassik prize as best newcomer of the year for his first Sony CD in 2011, followed by an ECHO Klassik prize for the best cello concerto recording of the year for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bamberg Symphony under Sebastian Tewinkel in 2012.

Highlights of this season include performances with the Berlin Philharmonic (also under Yannick Nézet-Séguin), Orchestre de Paris (Paavo Järvi), Vienna Philharmonic (Esa-Pekka Salonen), London Symphony Orchestra (Daniel Harding) and New York Philharmonic (Semyon Bychkov), as well as a European tour with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Sakari Oramo). She also performs in a series of recitals with Gautier Capuçon, Frank Braley, Valery Sokolov and Gérard Causse, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Henri Dutilleux's birth. These will take place at Wigmore Hall, London; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Musikverein, Vienna; Philharmonie 2, Paris; and Tonhalle Zürich. Recent and forthcoming invitations include concerts at home and on tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Last season Lisa performed with Filarmonica della Scala and Staatskapelle Berlin (both under Daniel Barenboim), and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Sir Antonio Pappano). Recording exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, Lisa’s most recent release is an album of works by J. S. and C. P. E. Bach, featuring, among others, François Leleux and Emmanuel Pahud. Earlier recordings include the Brahms Violin Concerto with Staatskapelle Dresden (Christian Thielemann) and Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Esa-Pekka Salonen). She has also recorded the Beethoven, Sibelius and Lindberg concertos for Sony.

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Lisa Batiashvili

In August 2014 he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen. The same year he produced a CD of Richard Strauss's most important works for cello, as well as a CD of the cello concertos of Joseph Haydn and Vaja Azarashvili with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under Antonello Manacorda on Sony Classical. Particular highlights in the 2015/16 season include his performances of Brahms's Double Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, as well as his US debut with The Florida Orchestra under Michael Francis, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. Born in Augsburg, Germany, in 1986, Maximilian Hornung began cello lessons at the age of eight. His teachers were Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher and David Geringas. As cellist of the Tecchler Trio, in which he played until 2011, he won the First Prize of the ARD Music Competition in 2007. Maximilian Hornung is supported and sponsored by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Circle of Friends Foundation and Borletti-Buitoni Trust London.

Programme notes

Speedread For Antonín Dvořák, Brahms was hero, mentor, encourager, and ultimately someone against whom to test himself. On one level Dvořák’s Sixth Symphony is touchingly indebted to Brahms’s Second, on another it’s pure Dvořák, melodically generous and captivating, and full of the flavour of the Czech folk music Dvořák had known since he was in his cradle. The powerfully original Othello Overture is another matter. Composed eleven years after the Sixth Symphony, it opens up territory Brahms hesitated even to contemplate. Othello is a highly charged and atmospheric psychological study in love and jealousy as forces of nature. It is

Antonín Dvořák

possible to make out elements of Shakespeare’s story, but better perhaps to surrender to the current of its ideas, and let the music carry one forward to its inevitable tragic conclusion. In between these two works sits Brahms’s Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra. In part this looks back longingly to the classical and baroque eras, when concertos for teams of soloists rather than one egoistic star soloist were common. Yet the recitative-like section at the heart of the slow movement, more love duet than virtuoso concerto, is one of the most tenderly revealing things Brahms ever wrote.

Overture, Othello, Op. 93

1841–1904

As Dvořák approached his 50th birthday in 1891, he began to conceive a grand new project. He must have had at the back of his mind the example of fellow Czech Bedrich Smetana’s Ma Vlast (‘My Country’) – six independent tone-poems which, played together, add up to a kind of super-tone-poem. What Dvořák wanted to express was in essence a philosophy of life. He had the idea of doing so in three connected tone-poems or ‘overtures’ – viable as separate statements but also playable together as a triptych. At first he wasn’t sure what exactly to call these three connected pieces, but eventually it clarified in his mind as ‘Nature, Life & Love’. The ‘philosophical’ element is the illustration of how those three crucial expressions of the life force are interconnected. Eventually though, possibly after pressure from his publisher, Dvořák chose three individual titles: In Nature’s Realm, Carnival and Othello. That’s how they were printed, and soon afterwards they

began to take on independent life, with Carnival the most popular, then In Nature’s Realm, then Othello. Othello’s relative neglect is strange, as it is the most powerful and strikingly original of the three overtures. Like Shakespeare’s play, Dvořák’s Othello is focussed on the dark side of human love – jealousy, ‘the green-eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on’ – and how destructive that can be to even the noblest natures. There may well have been an element of autobiography here. In his youth Dvořák had experienced powerful but unrequited love for one of his pupils, Josefina Čermákóva. No doubt there were strong feelings of jealousy when she accepted another suitor. Dvořák eventually married Josefina’s younger sister, Anna, but the memory of that pain seems to have lingered. The beautiful opening, hymn-like on muted strings, could be an image of ideal love, or perhaps

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Programme notes continued

it’s the sleeping Desdemona, the innocent target of Othello’s inflamed suspicions. But soon darker passions erupt, and one particularly eerie passage towards the climax (flickering flutes, quietly clashed cymbals, sinister muted horn) surely shows us Othello himself approaching Desdemona’s chamber with murder in mind. It all ends, as it only can, in rage and despair.

Johannes Brahms

Double Concerto in A minor for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102

1833–97

1 Allegro 2 Andante 3 Vivace non troppo

The concerto was one of the most popular of all musical forms in the 19th century. This was the era of the romantic virtuoso soloist: audiences loved the idea of the superhuman individual taking on the might of the full symphony orchestra and emerging victorious. What a perfect vehicle for an age intoxicated with dashing, sensational figures like the poet Byron, the violinist Niccolo Paganini and the pianist-composer Franz Liszt. Something of this romantic spirit – the suffering, striving, intensely charismatic soloist pitted against the elemental force of the orchestra – can be felt in Brahms’s First Piano Concerto, composed during 1854–8.

romantically expressive music: strikingly the almost operatic ‘love duet’ for violin and cello at the heart of the slow central movement. The first cello solo, only a few seconds into the first movement, is marked ‘in modo d’un recitativo’ – ‘ the style of a recitative’ – a direct acknowledgement of the music’s operatic character by a composer who never wrote an opera. And yet this is a concerto with two soloists. Concertos with more than one star in the spotlight were common enough in baroque times (think of Bach’s glorious Double Concerto in D minor for two violins). Brahms also knew and valued Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, with solo violin and viola, and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for piano trio and orchestra. But in the romantic era the solo concerto had apparently conquered all – there’s no room for more than one hero in the Byronic universe. In reverting to what would have been considered a strange, outmoded form at the time, Brahms showed that he was also not of his time.

But Brahms was a paradoxical figure – it’s one of the things that makes him so fascinating. Part of him was romantic to the core: a lonely misfit, sustained by an impossible love, laying bare his wounded heart in song after song (especially in the wonderful Alto Rhapsody). Yet there was another part of him that longed for something else: the contained formal strength and subtlety of great classical and baroque masters like Haydn and Mozart, Bach and Handel, and for the emotional ‘objectivity’ that they offered. The Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, composed in 1887, embodies this paradox magnificently. It contains some of Brahms’s most

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Lisa Batiashvili violin Maximilian Hornung cello

Structurally it is more compact than any of the solo concertos. In the first movement particularly, the solo violin and cello writing can be stirringly theatrical (visually as well as aurally), but Brahms is also careful to keep the solo contributions on an equal footing, as in chamber music. Soon after the cello’s opening ‘recitative’ solo the violin has its turn in the spotlight,

only now with comments from the cello, with the two instruments finally fusing in rich fortissimo chords. Later, in the lyrical second theme, the conversation between the two turns subtler, more confidential, and the orchestra tactfully restrains its power to allow the soloists to speak more clearly. This relationship issue is also crucial in the central slow movement. After a short horn and woodwind introduction, violin and cello launch out together in one of those wonderful long-breathed tunes that are such a signature of Brahms’s style. Yet in the middle section violin and cello now enact an almost operatic ‘love duet’, passing ideas to each other now tenderly, now with impassioned urgency. The folk-coloured finale offers a refreshing contrast, but the dialogue element remains important, until at last both players join in a

bravura display guaranteed to bring the house down. There may be a personal element in all this. In 1880 Brahms had a serious falling out with his close friend and collaborator, the virtuoso violinist and composer Joseph Joachim. The Double Concerto seems to have been conceived partly as a peace offering to Joachim. Yet it’s striking that Brahms did not offer his old friend another violin concerto, but a work in which the violin must come to an accommodation with the cello – an instrument Brahms loved and wrote for with great feeling. Hearing the Double Concerto for the first time, Brahms’s friend, confidante and ‘ideal’ love Clara Schumann wrote that ‘This Concerto is in a way a work of reconciliation’, adding that ‘Joachim and Brahms have spoken to one another again after years of silence’ – a comment that could be applied just as readily to the music itself.

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

Antonín Dvořák 1841–1904

It often needs only a simple stroke to transform a lame musical idea into a vibrant one. Dvořák’s first conception for the opening movement of his Sixth Symphony was a rather square tune in D minor, based on a Czech folksong, trotting along amiably enough in two beats to a bar. Then inspiration struck: the key changed from minor to major, and a fast three-time replaced the original two. The result was a theme with a wonderful swinging momentum, like an airborne waltz. The potential for development is now clear, and it’s no surprise that from this beginning Dvořák was able to create his first truly great symphonic first movement.

Symphony No. 6 in D, Op. 60 1 Allegro non tanto 2 Adagio 3 Scherzo (Furiant): Presto 4 Finale: Allegro con spirito

Something else that is new about the Sixth Symphony is the complete assurance of the orchestral writing. There are fine magical touches of instrumental colour in Dvořák’s earlier symphonies, but there are also passages where the textures can sound muddy or coarse-grained. The freshness and refinement of the Sixth’s sound-world is never compromised; and here for the first time in an orchestral work we sense how much of Dvořák’s thinking was influenced by nature – birdsong and the sounds of wind and water as well as the ‘uncultivated’ music of the rural communities. This new mastery may have been partly due to encouragement from the outstanding

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Programme notes continued

conductor Hans Richter – originally a Wagnerian but increasingly sympathetic to Dvořák’s champion Brahms. In 1879 Richter gave a fine performance of Dvořák’s Third Slavonic Rhapsody in Berlin in the presence of the composer. Not only was the audience enthusiastic, but Richter dragged Dvořák out of his seat and embraced him on the concert platform. Afterwards Richter took Dvořák to dinner and made the composer promise to write a symphony for Richter himself to conduct. The result was the Symphony No. 6, completed in the summer of 1880 – after a couple of false starts (like the one described above). Dvořák clearly realised that he had to turn out something extra-special for a conductor like Richter, which may explain why the first movement’s leading idea took time to shape itself. A song-like Adagio follows the sustained flight of the first movement. Then comes a more direct invocation of Czech folk music in the Scherzo. The subtitle is ‘Furiant’: a reference to a wild dance in a constantly shifting rhythm, reflected in the recurring ONE-two ONE-two ONE-two ONE-two-three ONE-two-three pattern of Dvořák’s main theme. A gentler pastoral Trio section follows, in which Dvořák makes unusual lyrical use of a solo piccolo. The Finale makes no secret of its debt to Brahms: the first theme of this movement and that of Brahms’s Second Symphony (also in D major) are clearly related. But this is

an act of homage, not of theft, and the movement as a whole is fully independent in spirit, building confidently to one of Dvořák’s most exhilarating endings. Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Many of our recommended recordings, where available, are on sale this evening at the Foyles stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer. Dvořák: Overture, Othello Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | Vladimir Ashkenazy [Ondine/New World] Brahms: Double Concerto for violin and cello Gil Shaham | Jian Wang | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | Claudio Abbado [DG] Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | Charles Mackerras [Supraphon]

funharmonics family concert Saturday 20 February 2016 Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Concert 12pm –1pm Activities 10am –12pm London Philharmonic Orchestra Tim Redmond conductor

Child £5 – £9 | Adult £10 – £18 lpo.org.uk/funharmonics | See booking details on page 13 FUNharmonics foyer activities are generously supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust, Jupiter Music, Wood, Wind & Reed and Stentor Music Co. Ltd. This concert is part of Southbank Centre’s Imagine Children’s Festival

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Next concerts at Royal Festival Hall Friday 5 February | 7.30pm

Friday 12 February | 7.30pm

JTI friday series

Gershwin Piano Concerto in F Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2

Nicolai Overture, The Merry Wives of Windsor Korngold Violin Concerto Elgar Symphony No. 1

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

Osmo Vänskä conductor Hyeyoon Park violin

Wednesday 10 February | 7.30pm Dvořák Piano Concerto Sibelius The Tempest: excerpts from the Incidental Music Osmo Vänskä conductor Stephen Hough piano Lilli Paasikivi mezzo soprano Simon Callow narrator

Wednesday 24 February | 7.30pm Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony Vasily Petrenko conductor Augustin Hadelich violin

playing the bard in 2016 In collaboration with some of London’s leading cultural, creative and educational institutions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joins Shakespeare400 with a series of concerts this year celebrating the Bard’s love of music. find out more: lpo and shakespeare400 lpo.org.uk/shakespeare

Tickets £9–£39 (premium seats £65) London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office: 020 7840 4242 Monday–Friday 10.00am–5.00pm lpo.org.uk Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

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

The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

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

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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

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

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

J. Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Ms Ulrike Mansel Mr Robert Markwick and Ms Kasia Robinski Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Michael Posen Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Mr Konstantin Sorokin Martin and Cheryl Southgate Mr Peter Tausig Simon and Charlotte Warshaw Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Bill Yoe and others who wish to remain anonymous Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members Silver: Accenture Berenberg Carter-Ruck We are AD Bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLP BTO Management Consulting AG Charles Russell Speechlys Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Willis Towers Watson Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

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

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Manon Antoniazzi Roger Barron Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson William de Winton Cameron Doley Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Martin Southgate Sir Philip Thomas Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Elizabeth Winter American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. Jenny Ireland Co-Chairman William A. Kerr Co-Chairman Kyung-Wha Chung Xenia Hanusiak Alexandra Jupin Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee David Oxenstierna Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Digital Projects

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director (maternity leave)

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Amy Sugarman PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

Clare Lovett Education Director (maternity cover)

Finance

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Lucy Sims Education and Community Project Manager

Philip Stuart Discographer

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

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Concert Management

Development

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Nick Jackman Development Director

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager

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

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

Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator

Helen Yang Development Assistant

Orchestra Personnel

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

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

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Public Relations