LPO Tune In newsletter – Summer 2020 by London Philharmonic Orchestra

– SUMMER 2020 –

We musically fell in love with each other ... I can’t wait to see the Orchestra again and to make thrilling music together. KARINA CANELLAKIS LPO PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR

KARINA CANELLAKIS

LPONLINE

BACKSTAGE

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Our new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2020

Connecting through music beyond the concert hall

Meet new LPO First Violin Lasma Taimina

LATEST ON THE LPO LABEL

PRINCIPAL PARTNER OrchLab Project Partner

MAHLER

Symphony No. 4

MAJOR PARTNER

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Sofia Fomina soprano £9.99 | LPO-0113 | Released July 2019

PRINCIPAL SUPPORTERS MOZART MOZART FLUTE CONCERTO NO. 2 SINFONIA CONCERTANTE FOR FOUR WINDS BASSOON CONCERTO VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor JULIETTE BAUSOR flute JONATHAN DAVIES bassoon IAN HARDWICK oboe JOHN RYAN horn THOMAS WATMOUGH clarinet LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Flute Concerto No. 2 Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds Bassoon Concerto Vladimir Jurowski conductor Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 | LPO-0114 | Released November 2019

RAVI SHANKAR Sukanya

David Murphy conductor £14.99 (2 CDs) | LPO-0115 Released January 2020

PENDERECKI Horn Concerto | Adagio for Strings Threnody | Violin Concerto No. 1 KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI

VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 THRENODY HORN CONCERTO ADAGIO FOR STRING ORCHESTRA KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI conductor MICHAŁ DWORZYŃSKI conductor BARNABÁS KELEMEN violin RADOVAN VLATKOVIĆ horn LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Krzysztof Penderecki | Michał Dworzyński conductors Radovan Vlatković horn Barnabás Kelemen violin LPO-0116 | Released February 2020 | See page 14

RICHARD STRAUSS Symphonia Domestica

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade Zubin Mehta conductor LPO-0117 | Released March 2020 See page 9

LPO CORPORATE CIRCLE freuds Sunshine Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce

Ageas Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Walpole

PREFERRED PARTNERS Our CDs are available from all good outlets, and all releases are available to download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music, Primephonic,Idagio and others.

After Digital Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Steinway Villa Maria

IN-KIND SPONSOR Google Inc

TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

WELCOME

elcome to this special edition of our LPO newsletter, Tune In. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to disrupt our daily lives, we have had plenty of time to reflect on how much we all depend on the emotional connection of attending live concerts. YouTube videos, CDs, streaming and the like are superb, but no substitute for the thrill of hearing and seeing the 100 or so players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra giving their all for our enjoyment. We are so grateful for all of the support that has been shown over recent weeks. Thank you to the hundreds of you who have chosen to donate the value of your tickets back to the Orchestra; to those who have given so generously to our Play On Appeal (see page 7); and to the Friends, Benefactors and Thomas Beecham Group members who continue to offer their ongoing and unwavering support. Thank you to those who have renewed their support early, donated a little extra this year, or simply written to extend their best wishes in these challenging times: we appreciate everything you are doing to help us. Tune In is just one of the ways we have sought to keep in touch with you during this extraordinary time. In March we launched our new ‘LPOnline’ series of online performances, concert playlists and individual video contributions from our musicians, and have been heartened by the enthusiastic response from audience members and supporters – turn to page 9 to read more. In some much-needed and very welcome good news, we are thilled to announce that the Orchestra will welcome American conductor Karina Canellakis to the LPO family as our new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2020, joining Vladimir Jurowski

Timothy Walker © Chris Blott

Editor Rachel Williams: rachel.williams@lpo.org.uk Publisher London Philharmonic Orchestra Printer Romax Cover image Karina Canellakis © Mathias Bothor While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, we cannot accept liability for any statement or error contained herein. © 2020 London Philharmonic Orchestra. The paper used for printing this magazine has been sourced from responsibly managed forests, certified in accordance with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). It is manufactured to the ISO 14001 international standard, minimising negative impacts on the environment and is manufactured from pulp that has been bleached without the use of chlorine compounds using oxygen (elemental chlorine free), which are considered harmful to the environment.

– TIMOTHY WALKER CBE AM – Outgoing Chief Executive and Artistic Director

and Edward Gardner to complete a stellar lineup of great talent and creativity. Karina first conducted the Orchestra in October 2018, and made an immediate impact on our musicians. There are very few conductors who instantly impress players by their command of a score, their insights and their intellectual rigour. Karina is one of those few, and everyone at the London Philharmonic Orchestra is thrilled that she will join us as our next Principal Guest Conductor. Turn to page 5 to read more. The cancellation of our remaining concerts this season is a particular disappointment for me, as I retire from a position that I have had the honour and privilege to occupy for more than 17 years. The concerts we have missed are gone for ever, and there is a gap in the performance narrative of 2020 Vision that will never be filled as the programming cycle

moves forward. However, I can assure you there is much to look forward to in the 2020/21 season and beyond, and I look forward to watching the Orchestra go from strength to strength once usual activities can resume. As I bid farewell to the LPO in June, I leave the company in the very capable hands of David Burke, who has been the Orchestra’s General Manager and Finance Director for the past decade (see page 4), and a new Artistic Director to be announced. I am deeply grateful for the support I have received over the last 17 years from the Chair of the LPO Board, Victoria Robey; the President of the Players’ Committee and Chair of the Advisory Council, Martin Höhmann; the Chair of the LPO International Board of Governors, Natasha Tsukanova; and the Chair of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon Freakley. I am also indebted to our funders, promoters, donors, staff and, above all, our audiences, for keeping the music alive. And finally, to the conductors and soloists who challenge and inspire the brilliant musicians of the LPO, without whom we would have nothing. I salute them all and wish them every success in the future.

STAY CONNECTED JOIN US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

ANSWERS FOR PAGE 12

CONTENTS DAVID BURKE 04 KARINA CANELLAKIS 05 NEW & NOTEWORTHY 06 SIR ADRIAN BOULT 10 FUN & GAMES 12 IN MEMORIAM 14 PLAYER PLAYLISTS 15 BACKSTAGE: LASMA TAIMINA 16 lpo.org.uk – 03 –

2020 VISION QUIZ 2 1812/1912/2012 5 1742/1842/1942 8 1776/1876/1976 3 1725/1825/1925 6 1813/1913/2013 9 1689/1789/1889 4 1732/1832/1932 7 1764/1864/1964

CROSSWORD ACROSS 3 LENINGRAD 4 NOISE 7 FERRARI 9 SUKANYA 10 HENRY WOOD HALL 13 STRAUSS 14 VAN BEINUM 15 HAMLET 16 PERCUSSION DOWN 1 SAFFRON HALL 2 VIOLIN 5 SOUTH AFRICA 6 LABRADOODLE 8 FUNHARMONICS 9 SHORE 11 EAST SUSSEX 12 MENUHIN

TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

LPO PEOPLE

NEW LPO CHIEF EXECUTIVE: DAVID BURKE We are delighted that David Burke will become the Orchestra’s new Chief Executive in June 2020, when Timothy Walker retires from the role after 17 years of outstanding leadership as the LPO’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director.

The Orchestra’s new Chief Executive, David Burke

Timothy Walker & David Burke in the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

Artists, recruitment initiatives and targeted marketing campaigns. He has also led on several partnerships including the coproduction of Ravi Shankar’s Sukanya with the Royal Opera House; chamber tours to Brazil, Botswana and Sicily with the travel group Belmond; and the Orchestra’s debut at London Fashion Week with British designer Richard Quinn. Prior to joining the LPO, David was Director of Administration and Finance at English Touring Opera, where he produced 14 tours including its first Baroque and Handel festivals, and established its distinctive Autumn tours. This was preceded by experience with his own company running festivals and tours in the UK and Europe. David was awarded a BA in Management and Music from the University of London by special consent – the first of its kind – and an MBA from the Open University. He is a Visiting Lecturer in Orchestral Management at Danube University in Krems, Austria, and has guest-lectured at Royal Holloway University of London and the University of East Anglia. He is also a Trustee of English Touring Opera, having previously sat on the boards of Clod Ensemble and the Opera &

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Music Theatre Forum. David said: ‘I’m honoured to become Chief Executive of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It has been my pleasure to get to know this amazingly talented group of musicians and staff over the last decade, and I care deeply about sharing their brilliance with as wide an audience as possible. I also want to pass on my personal thanks to Tim. The Orchestra is in such a great place due to the care and commitment he has shown throughout his time with us. With so much good work being created by the LPO in concert halls, in the community and digitally, I’m excited to build on this to further inspire both audiences and future musicians.’ David played clarinet, saxophone and piano in his younger days, although in reality only piano has survived in more recent years. This does, however, give him a particular appreciation of the LPO’s fantastic wind section. When David does have free time he spends it reading, listening to music, or simply enjoying downtime with his wife, Valerie, and their two energetic Labradoodles, Portia and Martha. LPO PEOPLE lpo.org.uk/about

David Burke and Timothy Walker © Benjamin Ealovega

he London Philharmonic Orchestra recently announced the forthcoming retirement of its Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Timothy Walker, and a restructuring of its leadership, with the roles of Chief Executive and Artistic Director split into two distinct positions. David Burke, currently the Orchestra’s General Manager and Finance Director, becomes Chief Executive from 3 June, with a search committee formed to appoint a new Artistic Director. As General Manager and Finance Director since 2009, David has been responsible for ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the Orchestra, leading on special projects and all financial, personnel and administrative issues. He has worked closely with Timothy Walker, the Board, musicians and staff to contribute to the Orchestra’s successes over these years. Deeply committed to issues of diversity and inclusion, David has played an active role in the Orchestra’s work in these areas, co-chairing the Orchestra’s Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee, which has influenced future programming as well as specific activities such as LPO Junior

TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

LPO PEOPLE

NEW PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR: KARINA CANELLAKIS

Karina Canellakis

Karina Canellakis © Mathias Bothor – BBC Proms © Chris Christodoulou/BBC

n April we announced the appointment of American conductor Karina Canellakis as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2020. One of the most dynamic and exciting conductors of our time, Karina made an immediate impact on the LPO’s players when she made her debut with them in October 2018 in a concert of Sibelius, Dvořák and Bartók at the Royal Festival Hall. Currently Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Principal Guest Conductor of the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, her international reputation has quickly grown since winning the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award in 2016, and she burst on to the British orchestral scene last summer when she

Karina Canellakis conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the 2019 Proms

conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the opening night of the Proms. Growing up in a musical family in New York, Karina began her career as a violinist, graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music, performing frequently as soloist and chamber musician, and playing for two years in the Berlin Philharmonic as a member of its Orchester-Akademie. She then spent a number of years playing regularly in the Chicago Symphony and appearing as Guest Leader of various orchestras including the Bergen Philharmonic. Having been inspired to focus more seriously on conducting, she decided to study at Juilliard, and began conducting professionally in 2013, initially with the International Contemporary Ensemble in New York. She made her European conducting debut in 2015 and over the last few seasons has made hugely successful debuts with leading orchestras around the world that have resulted in instant re-invitations and lasting relationships. Karina Canellakis will conduct four Royal Festival Hall concerts with the LPO in the 2020/21 season. Her first concert as Principal Guest Conductor is part of the LPO’s year-long 2020 Vision series, pairing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 with John Adams’s concerto for string quartet, Absolute Jest (3 October 2020). The following day she conducts the

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Orchestra in a FUNharmonics family concert. She returns to the Royal Festival Hall in April 2021 to conduct Komarov’s Fall by the LPO’s Composer-in-Residence, Brett Dean (14 April 2021: see page 6), and a programme of Brahms and Beethoven with Stephen Hough (16 April 2021): a programme that she will also take to Brighton Dome as part of the LPO’s residency (17 April 2021). On the day of the announcement, the Guardian published an exclusive interview with Karina, in which she recalled the mutual spark with the Orchestra that was immediate from their first rehearsal together: ‘We musically fell in love with each other. Our temperaments are perfectly matched,’ she said. ‘The LPO can literally play anything, and they can do it so quickly that the amount of rehearsal time they need to get to the absolute highest level is so small that I was amazed and impressed. If they were to be a car, they’re a Ferrari. You really feel that you’re driving something that can turn incredibly quickly with the tiniest indication or facial expression, and that’s what makes it so exciting for the audience – you play with fire and really push everything to the limit. ‘Together we are going to explore all kinds of different repertoire, looking through a fresh lens at the most beloved works of Beethoven and Brahms, plunging into the intense world of Shostakovich, as well as venturing into lesser-known territory with works such as Brett Dean’s Komarov’s Fall. I can’t wait to see the members of the Orchestra again, to hear their virtuosic and soulful playing, and to make thrilling music together.’ READ THE GUARDIAN INTERVIEW WITH KARINA bit.ly/LPOApr20

WATCH AN INTERVIEW WITH KARINA ON OUR WEBSITE lpo.org.uk/news

TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

LPO NEWS

LPO PEOPLE BRETT DEAN: OUR NEW COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE

NEW APPOINTMENTS

FAREWELL, KEVIN

L-R: Kate Oswin, Lasma Taimina, Minn Majoe

lpo.org.uk/about

MEET LASMA TAIMINA IN OUR BACKSTAGE FEATURE ON PAGE 16. LASMA’S CHAIR IN THE LPO IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY IRINA GOFMAN AND MR RODRIK V. G. CAVE. OUR FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS PROGRAMME lpo.org.uk/futurefirsts

At the end of August we say goodbye to LPO Co-Leader Kevin Lin, who moves back to his native USA to take up the position of Concertmaster at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Kevin is keen to continue his relationship with the LPO and we hope to welcome him back as a guest on occasion.

IN THE OFFICE In March we welcomed Timothy Wakerell as PA to the Chief Executive/Office Administrator. Tim is an organist who spent several years in the music department at St Paul’s Cathedral before becoming Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford. He is now Organist & Assistant Director of Liturgical Music at St Paul’s Knightsbridge, alongside his LPO role. Tim replaces Sarah Gee, who left us at the end of February to take up the role of Account Executive at the marketing agency Dewynters.

NEW ARRIVALS Congratulations to Co-Principal Percussionist Henry Baldwin and his wife Lucy on the birth of their daughter Flora Ruby Victoria, who arrived on 10 January. Congratulations too to our Box Office Manager Megan Macarte and her husband Tom, who welcomed their son Ciaran Lloyd Macarte on 1 April.

CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to our Finance & Operations Manager Frances Slack CPFA, who completed her studies in February to become a fullyqualified Chartered Public Finance Accountant. OUR STAFF

MEET OUR MEMBERS lpo.org.uk/about/members

lpo.org.uk/about – 06 –

lpo.org.uk/about/staff

Kate Oswin © Miha Smirnov Ostir – Minn Majoe © Aiga Photography

We are delighted that Australian composer Brett Dean will become the LPO’s new Composer-in-Residence for three years from September 2020. The Orchestra worked closely with Dean on his opera Hamlet, which was premiered at Glyndebourne to critical acclaim in 2017. Our 2020/21 season features three of Dean’s works, and he will also take on the role of Composer Mentor to the LPO Young Composers Programme, providing guidance and expertise to the five rising stars, and will conduct their annual Debut Sounds showcase. Vladimir Jurowski conducts the UK premiere of Dean’s The Players on 5 December 2020 at the Royal Festival Hall. Scored for accordion and orchestra, the work grew out of his opera Hamlet, specifically the scene with the travelling players who present the ‘play within the play’. James Crabb will be the solo accordionist. Edward Gardner, the LPO’s Principal Conductor Designate, conducts the UK premiere of Dean’s Cello Concerto on 27 February 2021 at the Royal Festival Hall. Alban Gerhardt is the soloist, following his first performances of the Concerto in 2018 in Sydney, Berlin and Amsterdam. The season also features Dean’s Komarov’s Fall in a concert conducted by Karina Canellakis on 14 April 2021 at the Royal Festival Hall. This short orchestral work was composed in 2006 as an ‘asteroid’ to accompany Holst’s suite The Planets. Brett Dean says: ‘Ever since my first encounter as composer with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, at the 2017 Glyndebourne Opera Festival, I’ve felt a special connection and empathy with these wonderful musicians. I am beyond delighted to be named as their new Composer-inResidence starting next season.’

In early 2020 the Orchestra appointed three new members to its First Violin section: Kate Oswin (No. 4), Lasma Taimina (No. 5) and Minn Majoe (No. 6). All three, who have undergone a rigorous audition and trial process, are alumni of the Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme, our flagship artist development programme committed to nurturing the musicians of the future. The programme offers an annual opportunity to 17 aspiring orchestral musicians to develop their talent and core professional skills. As part of the scheme, participants rehearse, study and perform with LPO members in addition to receiving individual advice and mentoring from their LPO Principal. Regular mock auditions support the development of audition skills, and participants take part in a wide range of professional development workshops and seminars, including developing creative leadership skills. The scheme, now in its 15th year, has flourished through significant and sustained funding from the Foyle Foundation. The Foundation’s ongoing support for the Orchestra and long-term commitment to Foyle Future Firsts has enabled the LPO to develop and expand programme activity of the highest quality over this period. During 2019/20, in addition to support from the Foyle Foundation, the scheme is also generously supported by the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, The Fidelio Charitable Trust, the Idlewild Trust and the Thriplow Charitable Trust.

HELP US PLAY ON The cancellation of concerts, events, and Education & Community projects has presented the LPO with a huge financial challenge. However, we are resolute in our drive to keep one of the world’s greatest orchestras alive. We will return to the concert platform and we will emerge from this; stronger, more creative and more resourceful than ever. We need your help to do this; we need your support to sustain us now and into the future. The LPO is a family; at the heart of which are our musicians and our talented young instrumentalists and composers. It is these individuals who collectively can move us to tears; fill us with joy, wonder and hope; or have us leaping from our seats with the thrill of their performances. With your help we will create more of these experiences. Your donation will sustain our family of musicians. Your donation will ensure we can continue to provide opportunities for talented young instrumentalists and composers. Your donation will help the LPO play on. Be part of our LPO family and the LPO future. Please give what you can.

HELP US PLAY ON

lpo.org.uk/donate

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TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

LPO NEWS

NEW & NOTEWORTHY LPO LABEL IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

THE LONDON EYE AT 20 NEW HAMBURG RESIDENCY The Orchestra has been resident at Brighton Dome and Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre for over 15 years, and last year we added Saffron Hall in Essex to our list of offical residencies. Next season, as part of a new residency at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Orchestra will visit for four performances under conductors Vladimir Jurowski, Edward Gardner and Christoph Eschenbach.

From 6–9 March, our South Bank neighbour, the London Eye, hosted a weekend of immersive pod takeovers to celebrate the landmark’s 20th birthday by showcasing the best that London has to offer. We were delighted to be invited to join the celebrations in a pod featuring a live LPO string quartet: others included West End performances, a sensory experience celebrating the city’s Royal Parks, an ode to the Royal family, and a quintessential British pub!

GLYNDEBOURNE OPERA CUP

As Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the LPO was invited to accompany the finals of the prestigious Glyndebourne Opera Cup on 7 March. Established in 2018, the competition is open to singers under the age of 21 and offers a top prize of £15,000 and a guaranteed role at a leading international opera house. Broadcast live on Sky Arts, the final saw American baritone Edward Nelson take the coveted First Prize, performing two arias from Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet before sealing his win with the ‘Largo al factotum’ from The Barber of Seville. The runner-up was British soprano Alexandra Lowe. They were presented with their prizes by Dame Janet Baker, the competition’s honorary President, who sat on the jury alongside fellow opera legends Sumi Jo, Sir Thomas Allen and Dame Felicity Lott, and top industry professionals. FIND OUT MORE glyndebourne.com/operacup

LPO string quartet David (viola), Tania & Vesselin (violins) and Pei-Jee (cello)

WE BEAT BEETHOVEN! On 13 March three of the LPO Marketing team – Georgie, Mairi and Greg (pictured L–R) – joined hundreds of others at Salford’s Media City for a BBC ‘Beat Beethoven’ event to raise money for Sport Relief. Their challenge was to run 5 kilometres in the time it took the BBC Philharmonic to perform Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, aiming to finish before the orchestra (around 35 minutes). Well done to all the runners who took part!

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Every year the USA Library of Congress adds 25 recordings to its National Recording Registry that are deemed culturally or historically important. In March we heard that our LPO Label recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto – taken from the European premiere performance given by the LPO, Colin Currie and Marin Alsop in December 2007 during the reopening season at the Royal Festival Hall – would be among the 25 recordings added to the Registry this year. It joins an illustrious company including Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech.

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE AWARD WIN The winners of the 15th annual BBC Music Magazine Awards were revealed on 11 May, and we were delighted that the DVD Award was won by Barber’s opera Vanessa, filmed at the 2018 Glyndebourne Festival with the LPO under Jakub Hrůša, directed by Keith Warner and released on the Opus Arte label. The jury declared: ‘An incredible line-up of soloists and the London Philharmonic Orchestra create magic from start to finish.’

BATTLE FOR MUSIC Battle for Music is a 1943 docudrama film about the survival of the LPO in the Second World War. Actual Orchestra members re-enact the true events, performing music by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Wagner and Rachmaninoff, closing (of course) with Land of Hope and Glory. Documenting a turbulent period in the Orchestra’s history, it’s a testament to the spirit and resilience of the LPO’s players, which particularly resonates as we face today’s current challenges. We were thrilled that the Sands Films Cinema Club in Rotherhithe recently screened Battle for Music online. Their screening of the full film is available to watch free of charge on YouTube: just visit www.youtube.com and search for ‘Battle for Music’.

TUNE IN – SUMMER 2020 –

LPO NEWS

ONLINE & RECORDINGS In mid-March, as offices and workplaces across the UK were ordered to close, the LPO administration team vacated the office on Vauxhall’s Albert Embankment, decamped to their kitchen tables and spare rooms, and within days LPOnline was launched: a programme of online offerings to connect with our audiences in the absence of our planned live concerts. As Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor Vladimir Jurowski said in a moving video introduction to the series: ‘Orchestral music is an essential part of our culture, and is providing spiritual food which helps people to overcome the difficult times.’ This spiritual food on offer has been plentiful and varied, with a regular stream of online concerts to watch or listen to at home including solo performances, chamber collaborations brought together digitally, and playlists introduced by the musicians, as well as educational and entertaining videos. The LPOnline programme kicked off on 26 March (left), when violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter was joined by LPO Leader Pieter Schoeman, Co-Principal Viola Richard Waters and Principal Cello Kristina Blaumane in an excerpt from Beethoven’s ‘Harp’ Quartet Op. 74. Recorded separately at their homes in Munich, Tonbridge, Pimlico and Barnes, their parts were combined by the wonders of technology (aka our Digital Creative wizard Greg Felton) to create a glorious tutti, offering our audiences a small part of the concert that was due to be performed that evening at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Since then we’ve been broadcasting Playlist Concerts on Wednesdays and Saturdays featuring the works that were programmed for our concert that evening, with video introductions by LPO players and conductors giving their personal insights into the music. Other treats from our talented and creative musicians have included living-room recitals, an all-viola arrangement of ‘Stand By Me’, and our Double Bass section with a new take on the finale from Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. We’ve also established a new Sunday evening series entitled #LeanInAndListen, in partnership with wellbeing advocate Hollie de Cruz and celebrity guests, encouraging listeners to set aside a few minutes at the end of the week to take a deep breath and enjoy music curated to help us relax and reflect. The statistics have been overwhelmingly positive: on Facebook during April our videos saw an increase in viewing time of 811%, our engagement increased by 574% to 124k, and our followers increased by 393%. On YouTube we gained 2.4k subscribers and received 145.8k views (almost ten times our usual number). If you’re online, check out what’s coming up and browse past events at lpo.org.uk/lponline, and if you’re on social media, do join in the conversation with the hashtag #LPOnline. Here’s just some of the recent feedback we’ve received from listeners:

I'M SAT ALONE, AS I LIVE ALONE AND I'M SHUT AWAY FROM THE WORLD AS MUCH AS IS POSSIBLE. THIS BROUGHT A MOMENT OF SERENITY AND WARMTH. THANK YOU SO MUCH. FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THIS BEGAN, I FELT TEARS PRICKING IN MY EYES. THANK YOU.

FIND US ONLINE lpo.org.uk/LPOnline

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE WITH YOU TONIGHT SO THANK YOU FOR LETTING US SHARE A FEW WONDERFUL MOMENTS AFTER ALL. WHAT A JOY!

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EDUCATION & COMMUNITY UPDATE As face-to-face music-making has no longer been possible under lockdown, we have moved quickly to find ways to deliver our core Education and Community programme digitally. Activities so far have included instrumental lessons via Zoom for our LPO Junior Artists and Foyle Future Firsts, auditions for both schemes via video assessment, and our first interactive online workshops for our Open Sound and OrchLab programmes. We hope to be able to make music with our participants in person soon, but in the meantime it has been a great boost to our community of participants, LPO musicians and artists to stay connected using technology. FIND OUT MORE lpo.org.uk/education

NEW ON OUR LABEL: STRAUSS & RIMSKY-KORSAKOV May marked the 15th anniversary of our LPO CD Label, which was launched in 2005 with the release of Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5 under Kurt Masur. Now numbering over 115 releases, the label’s latest offering is a pairing of Strauss’s Symphonia Domestica and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Both are conducted by Zubin Mehta and were recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in January 1988 and April 1992 respectively. The album has received great press reviews: Classical Source wrote: ‘The day in the domestic life of the Strauss family is superbly done, flexible, affectionate, pictorial and played wonderfully well.’ The double disc is priced £10.99 (catalogue no. LPO-0117). This and over 100 other recordings on our label are available to buy from all good CD outlets, as well as to download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music, Primephonic, Idagio and others. FIND OUT MORE lpo.org.uk/recordings

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LPO MEMORIES

SIR ADRIAN BOULT: 70 YEARS ON

n October 1919 the young conductor Adrian Boult took over the job of conducting Diaghilev’s ballet company, the Ballets Russes, which was performing in London. Over a few days Boult learnt no fewer than 14 ballets including Stravinsky’s Petrushka and The Firebird. On 5 November 1920 he travelled from London to the HMV studios at Hayes to make his first recording: excerpts from the ballet The Good-Humoured Ladies with the recently re-formed British Symphony Orchestra, of which he had just been appointed Principal Conductor. Eleven days later Boult went back to Hayes to make his first recording of George Butterworth’s ‘orchestral rhapsody’ A Shropshire Lad. He would go on to make recordings for nearly 60 years until his final sessions (with the LPO) in 1978, when he conducted the music of Gustav Holst and Hubert Parry. Few conductors have recorded over as long a period, and few have

A 1963 portrait of Sir Adrian Boult by Juliet Pannett

contributed so much to the music of their contemporaries. As Ralph Vaughan Williams noted in a letter of 7 February 1933 after the premiere of his Piano Concerto: ‘You have made impossible the composer’s timehonoured excuse that the work would have sounded all right if it had been properly played – I could not have imagined a better performance.’ Although Boult’s music-making was grounded in the German classics, it is his devotion to the music of British composers and willingness, whilst at the BBC, to learn ‘new’ music such as Berg’s opera Wozzeck, for which he is also remembered. Whilst at Oxford he sang in the second performance of Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony and heard the young tenor Steuart Wilson sing On Wenlock Edge. After a performance in London’s Queen’s Hall of his Second Symphony on 17 March 1920, Sir Edward Elgar wrote to the 30-year-old Boult. ‘My dear Adrian: With the sounds ringing in my ears I send a word of thanks for your splendid conducting of the Sym: - I am most grateful to you for your affectionate care of it & I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands. It was a wonderful series of sounds. Bless you!’. Adrian Cedric Boult was born on 8 April 1889 to a successful Cheshire businessman and his wife. In 1901 he was sent to Westminster School, where he developed into an intelligent and perceptive observer of London’s musical life. From school he attended countless concerts, hearing music conducted by many of the great conductors of the day. In 1908, at Oxford for his entrance interview to Christ Church, Boult announced his intention of becoming an orchestral conductor. In 1912 he travelled to Leipzig, where he studied for a year. His first professional engagement, on 27 February 1914, was at home in the Wirral. He conducted a programme that included George Butterworth’s The Banks of Green

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Willow. Boult and Butterworth had become friends when they met in Oxford, and Boult was determined to promote his music after Butterworth was killed during the 1916 Somme offensive. In January 1930 Boult was asked to take over the responsibility of directing the music of the BBC. He assumed the position on 15 May and became involved in the planning for the establishment of the Corporation’s Orchestra and conducting its first concert in London’s Queen’s Hall. Boult continued as Director of Music until 1942, when he was at last freed from administrative duties. He now grabbed the additional freedom to work more substantially with the Orchestra, conducting many wartime broadcasts including Beethoven’s Fidelio and Missa Solemnis, and rarities such as Wagner’s Das Liebesmahl der Apostel. On reaching the age of 60, Boult unexpectedly found himself asked to comply with the official retirement age of the BBC. This was handled insensitively, and from 1950 he found himself a ‘freelancer’ with an uncertain future. However, he was wellknown to the players of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Thomas Russell, the Orchestra’s Managing Director, who wasted little time in asking Boult to take over the Principal Conductor’s position from Eduard van Beinum. Boult quickly accepted Russell’s invitation and threw himself into supporting the Orchestra by accepting a substantial workload and by subsidising it financially, as well as undertaking an exhausting tour of Germany in early 1951. Boult’s choice of Elgar’s First Symphony for his first LPO recording confirmed a determination to ensure British music established itself at the heart of the Orchestra’s music-making and, in 1968, the BBC made a television film of The Dream of Gerontius with Boult conducting the LPO in Canterbury Cathedral with Janet Baker, Peter Pears and John Shirley-Quirk.

Portrait of Adrian Boult loaned by The Bowerman Charitable Trust

2020 marks 70 years since Sir Adrian Boult became the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s third Principal Conductor. Andrew Neill reflects on Sir Adrian’s life, his time with the LPO and his immeasurable contribution to British musical life.

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Vaughan Williams & Boult photograph courtesy of Stephen Connock/Ursula Vaughan Williams

Sir Adrian (right), with Ralph Vaughan Williams (left) on 31 July 1956, when both were awarded a Harvard Glee Club Medal of Honour. The Harvard academic, organist and conductor Professor Wallace Woodworth is in the centre.

During his time as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Boult accompanied the players on a number of gruelling overseas tours, culminating in a visit to the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1956. On his return Boult felt the time had come to hand over to Sir John Pritchard, but made it clear that he ‘was ready to work with them [the LPO] as much as possible’, and during 1957 he became closely involved in the Elgar centenary celebrations. As well as continuing to make recordings for EMI, Decca and a number of American labels, he made trips to Vienna to record the music of Liszt, Mahler, Mozart and Vaughan Williams. It is his recordings with the LPO that remain at the heart of his recorded legacy. Especially notable are his Wagner operatic excerpts and, in contrast, a recording from 1967, ‘The LPO on Parade’, allowed Boult to enjoy his favourite Dam Busters March as well as four Marches by John Philip Sousa. The latter’s The Stars and Stripes Forever has rarely sounded more thrilling, nor as much fun! Boult lived into the digital age and contributed to making the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the LPO into great ensembles. It is now over 40 years since Boult last conducted the LPO, but some of those who played under him remember the time vividly. Bassoonist Michael Boyle ‘first encountered Sir Adrian as a young player just out of music

college. I soon got used to his beat which, compared to some of his contemporaries as diverse as Georg Solti and Rudolph Schwarz, was relatively clear. To conserve energy in a four-in-a-bar passage he would leave out the third beat, but otherwise we did not find it a problem. A budding student conductor watching him at a rehearsal might find his approach puzzling. He would not say anything for a while, only stopping to make a point about balance, affecting mock surprise that the orchestra had not noticed it themselves. With a familiar work such as a Brahms or Elgar symphony he would leave out long passages: “this plays itself”; saving energy for the concert itself, often finishing a rehearsal early. He always showed great loyalty to the LPO, where he felt comfortable. He would trust the players’ professional experience’. Keith Millar, then Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and still a member today, confirms this: ‘He [Boult] was from the old school. Sir Adrian was the perfect gentleman. His conducting technique was wonderful, but he hardly did anything: he never moved his hands above his waist, he just did everything really with his wrist, but it was all there. He would just do as little as necessary, but he made everything work for you’. Invited to conduct at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937, Boult was knighted that year. He also lpo.org.uk – 11 –

conducted at the 1953 Coronation and was made a Companion of Honour in 1969. Whether he had sympathy for it or not, Boult conducted a great deal of contemporary music whilst at the BBC, including an exceptional number of first performances in Britain. Many a composer from Alban Berg, whom Boult had got to know at a meeting in Cambridge in 1931, to Béla Bartók and Elizabeth Lutyens, had reason to be grateful to him. Whether it was a symphony by Michael Tippett, Humphrey Searle or Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces, he could be trusted. After a visit for tea with the Elgars in February 1918, Lady Elgar noted: ‘He seemed really to understand’. His time at the BBC and with the LPO is a vital part of his legacy, as are the recordings he made with the LPO. Boult died in 1983, his legacy assured in performances such as the British premieres of Mahler’s Third Symphony (1947), Busoni’s Dr Faust (1937) and his substantial range of recordings. As long as recordings exist, these will be played: those from the Austro-German tradition, music by Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, and the exceptional number of recordings of the music of his country. In a January 1961 concert programme the LPO offered its own tribute to Boult in celebration of his ten years’ service. There could be no finer tribute to this most selfeffacing of men who contributed so much to British musical life for more than 60 years: ‘The London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Society take this opportunity of honouring a great man; for those of us who have had the privilege of working with Sir Adrian Boult know that he is one of the outstanding musicians of his day, selflessly devoted to the realisation of the scores he undertakes to conduct. With him duty and inclination are one. No task is too difficult, none too menial for him. In Sir Adrian we salute an ambassador, a public servant and a great artist, as well as a human being of warm sympathy and deep understanding’. ANDREW NEILL IS A MEMBER OF THE ORCHESTRA’S ADVISORY COUNCIL AND HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF MEETING SIR ADRIAN ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS BEFORE THE CONDUCTOR’S DEATH.

The Orchestra is releasing a special anniversary disc of Sir Adrian Boult’s recordings with the LPO, currently scheduled for October 2020. Sign up for email updates at lpo.org.uk/signup

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LPO FUN & GAMES

2020 VISION CHALLENGE Our ‘2020 Vision’ concert series began in February, programming selections of works separated by exactly 100 and 200 years. Can you guess these years from the clues? Each group of three answers are exactly 100 and 200 years apart, and range from the 16th to the 21st century (see the first example).

1803 Beethoven composes his ‘Eroica’ Symphony No. 3, originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte ..................... 1903 Premiere of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 in Vienna ..................... 2003 The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra officially announces its first female member, violist Ursula Plaichinger .....................

Beethoven completes his Symphony No. 7 Premiere of Ravel’s ballet Daphnis et Chloé at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames

Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons published British premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, presented by the Philharmonic Society of London Birth of French avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez

Birth of George Washington, first President of the United States Felix Mendelssohn’s concert overture ‘Hebrides’ premieres in London Sir Thomas Beecham conducts the newly-formed London Philharmonic Orchestra in its first public appearance, at Queen’s Hall

Handel’s Messiah receives its world premiere in Dublin Verdi’s opera Nabucco first performed, at La Scala in Milan The London Philharmonic Orchestra gives the UK premiere of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad)

German composer Richard Wagner born in Leipzig Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring premieres at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris Birth of Prince George, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and third in line to the British throne

Landscape gardener Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown is appointed Chief Gardener at the royal palace of Hampton Court Birth of German composer and conductor Richard Strauss The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs at Glyndebourne Festival Opera for the first time

American Declaration of Independence Richard Wagner’s Siegfried debuts in the new Bayreuth Festspielhaus Brotherhood of Man win the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK with ‘Save Your Kisses For Me’ – it goes on to be one of the biggest-selling Eurovision winners ever

Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas is thought to have had its first performance The French Revolution begins Gustav Mahler premieres his Symphony No. 1 at the Vigadó Concert Hall in Budapest

Answers on page 3 – 12 –

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LPO FUN & GAMES

LPO CROSSWORD Test your knowledge of music and the LPO! Many of the answers can be found in this issue ... Name: Complete the crossword puzzle below 1

5 6

8 9

13 14

Across 3 The city chosen by Shostakovich as the subtitle for his Seventh Symphony, given its UK premiere by the LPO in 1942 (9) 4 The Rest Is – : Title of Alex’s Ross’s book on 20th-century music which inspired a 2013 LPO concert series (5) 7 To what make of car did conductor Karina Canellakis compare the LPO in a recent interview? (7) 9 Title of Ravi Shankar’s opera premiered by the LPO in 2017 and revived in 2020 (7) 10 The LPO’s main London rehearsal venue, named after the British conductor who founded the Proms (5, 4 ,4) 13 Which German composer wrote Symphonia Domestica, released on the LPO Label in March 2020? (7) 14 Surname of the LPO’s second Principal Conductor, who was succeeded by Sir Adrian Boult in 1950 (3, 6) 15 The Shakespeare-inspired opera by new LPO Composer-in-Residence Brett Dean, which received its premiere with the LPO at Glyndebourne in 2017 (6) 16 Andrew Barclay, Simon Carrington, Henry Baldwin and Keith Millar make up which section of the LPO? (10)

Created using the Crossword Maker on TheTeachersCorner.net

Down

by Shostakovich as the subtitle for his 7th 1. At which venue in the East of England did the LPO begin a new s UK premiere by the LPO in 1942 Residency in 2019? Down e of Alex’s Ross’s book on 20th-century music 2. On which instrument did our new Principal Guest Conductor, Karina At which venue in the East of England did Canellakis, the LPO begin a new in 2019? PO series1 in 2013 begin her Residency professional career?(7, 4) car did conductor Karina Canellakis compare the 5. Which country in the Southern hemisphere didprofessional the LPO become 2 On which instrument did our new Principal Guest Conductor, Karina Canellakis, begin her careerthe before turning her hand erview? first British orchestra to visit in 1993? to conducting? (6) Shankar opera premiered by the LPO in 2017 and 6. Portia and Martha, beloved pets of new LPO Chief Executive David 5 Which country in the Southern hemisphere did the become first British orchestra to visit, in 1993? (5, 6) Burke, areLPO what breed the of dog? 8. Chief n London rehearsal namedbeloved after the British The name of ourDavid long-running series LPO Family 6 Portia venue, and Martha, pets of new LPO Executive Burke, are whatofbreed of dog?Concerts (11) nded the Proms 9. The LPO has recorded over 20 film soundtracks by this Academy8 The name of our long-running series of LPO Family Concerts (12) composer wrote Symphonia Domestica, released Award winning Canadian composer n March 2020? 11. Inby which English county is Glyndebourne, home composer, of the summer 9 The LPO has recorded over 20 film soundtracks which Academy-Award winning Canadian including The Lord of the Rings LPO’s second Principal Conductor, who was opera festival where the LPO has been Resident since 1964? trilogy? (5) drian Boult in 1950 12. Surname of the violinist who performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto ning opera11 by In ourwhich new Composer-in-Residence under of thethe baton of theopera composer during thethe LPO’s English county is Glyndebourne, home summer festival where LPOfirst hasseason been Resident in 1932 since 1964? (4, 6) eceived its premiere with the LPO at Glyndebourne

12 Surname of the violinist who performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto under the baton of the composer during the LPO’s first season in 1932 (7)

y, Simon Carrington, Henry Baldwin and Keith ch section of the LPO?

Answers on page 3 – 13 –

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LPO PEOPLE

IN MEMORIAM SUSANNE BEER 1967–2019

All of us at the LPO were heartbroken to hear of the death of Susanne Beer, former LPO Co-Principal Cellist, on 29 December 2019 following a long battle with melanoma. Our 11 March Royal Festival Hall concert was dedicated to Susi’s memory, and many of her family and friends were able to join us. Susi’s friend and LPO colleague Tom Eisner writes: Susi was born into a family of musicians in Bavaria. After studies in Salzburg, and with William Pleeth in London, she joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1995 as Co-Principal Cello. During her time with us, she served as the principal continuo cellist at Glyndebourne – to this day if I hear Mozart’s Figaro, not only do I immediately recall Susi’s characterful, stylish playing, but also I picture her, beautifully immersed in the music. Similarly, she could draw an intensity of expression out of her cello in the solo of Strauss’s opera Capriccio. Early on in her career Susi impressed the 84-year-old Sir Georg Solti so much with her playing of the solo in Don Giovanni that he subsequently invited her to guest in his World Orchestra for Peace. After 18 years with the LPO, Susi found her ultimate calling as a teacher, specialising in encouraging children to play the cello. She loved teaching them; they loved being taught by her. This led to her founding her own school, The Cello Corner. Susi coped valiantly with her tragic illness, surprising her many friends with her innate positivity and realism. I recall asking her how this attitude was possible. She replied that she was incredibly lucky to have found total fulfilment in her professional and personal life. Our hearts and thoughts go out to her husband Glen, her son Jan and the Beer family. Thomas Eisner, LPO First Violin

SIR JOHN TOOLEY 1924–2020

We were saddened to learn of the death of Sir John Tooley on 18 March. Sir John was a towering presence in the classical music world, from the opera pit to the symphonic platform. Having spent over 30 years at the helm of the Royal Opera House, he brought from Covent Garden to the LPO Board (1998–2010) his tremendous erudition and personal engagement with a massively wide range of the world’s greatest artists. During that time, the LPO saw many developments and innovations including, significantly, the inception of its wide-reaching and much respected Education and Community programme. Many of the greatest conductors, from Tennstedt to Masur, have taken on the mantle of Principal Conductor of the LPO, and it was during Sir John’s time as a Board member that the inspired choice was made to attract and appoint Maestro Vladimir Jurowski. During his later years, Sir John also sat on the Orchestra’s Advisory Council. His passionate commitment to classical music in all its various forms, his incredible breadth of knowledge and his generosity of spirit will be much missed by the LPO. Victoria Robey OBE, LPO Chairman

THE SUSANNE BEER CELLO CORNER FOUNDATION

KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI 1933–2020

On 29 March we joined the international classical community in mourning the loss of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who died at home in Kraków aged 86. The Orchestra had a long and close relationship with Penderecki as both a composer and a conductor, regularly performing his works at the Royal Festival Hall – most recently in February 2020 saw the Orchestra perform his Chaconne in memory of John Paul II. In February we also released our first collection of works by Krzysztof Penderecki on the LPO Label. Released just a month before his death, our February LPO Label release (LPO-0116) spans more than 50 years of Penderecki’s composing career, from the iconic Threnody, a great sonic wail dedicated to the victims of Hiroshima, to the tender and haunting Adagio for Strings, lovingly adapted from his Third Symphony. Soloist Radovan Vlatković brings to life the Horn Concerto which was composed for him, and Barnabás Kelemen revels in the ferocity of the Violin Concerto No. 1. Priced at £9.99, the CD is available from all good CD outlets, and is also available to download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music, Primephonic, Idagio and others. FIND OUT MORE

60minconcerts.com/foundation

lpo.org.uk/recordings

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LPO MEMBERS

PLAYER PLAYLISTS Four of our musicians share the music that’s been keeping them sane during these strange times... LAURA DONOGHUE CELLO

SIMON ESTELL PRINCIPAL CONTRABASSOON

As well as Wagner’s heavyweight Götterdamerung, I’ve recently been listening to the joyous Franck Cello Sonata and lots of Frank Sinatra, specifically You Make Me Feel So Young. The ‘Franck Sonata/Frank Sinatra’ play on names is an old joke among string players, but during lockdown both of these pieces of music have reminded me of happier times. Sinatra’s rendition of You Make Me Feel So Young is frequently to be heard in my kitchen while I’m cooking dinner. He’s a great companion and doesn’t mind me singing along with the gorgeous lyrics: ‘There are songs to be sung’, ‘A wonderful spring to be sprung’ and my favourite, ‘A wonderful fling to be flung’! I took up running three years ago – during my daily exercise I often listen to music, and yes, it’s still mostly classical. César Franck gave the Sonata to Eugene Ysaÿe as a wedding present, and he first played it on his wedding day to his guests! Running through the spring countryside listening to the Franck Sonata takes me to a happy place in these confusing and difficult times.

I recently listened to my copy of the LPO’s Shostakovich 5 recording with Kurt Masur, live from the Royal Festival Hall in 2004. Masur – at that time the LPO’s Principal Conductor – was a colourful character who could terrify anyone at any moment, yet his music-making was just incredible. I recall first arriving at that final heroic section of the Symphony and, along with many others, gasped at his rendition. It was probably a third slower than usual. The power and depth of emotion was – and still is, every time I hear it – breathtaking. I feel the pain of my brass friends in that finale! In the recording you can clearly hear foot-shuffles and stamping from the maestro: he never relaxed, and his physical contribution was all part of the drama. His stare was worthy of a horror movie! During this peculiar time I’ve found myself riding on my bike trainer virtually every day, and have been scrolling through YouTube to pass the time while pounding my legs. A lot of old cycling races, yes, but there are also some amazing LPO clips from years gone by to mesmerise and entertain – not to mention some incredible haircuts!

SUE BÖHLING PRINCIPAL COR ANGLAIS When the Orchestra is working at full speed and music is in our heads 24/7, I like to come home to the sound of silence, or I might listen to some jazz to take me off somewhere completely different. As wind players we strive to sing as freely as possible, as if there wasn’t an instrument in our hands, and I’ve found myself listening to singers across all musical genres, from jazz in all its forms to Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell – in particular her album Both Sides Now, recorded live here in London. Kathleen Battle’s performance of ‘Do You Know Him?’ from André Previn’s Honey and Rue is sublime – I played a concert performance of this with her, and often find myself returning to it. I’ve also been listening to Ian Bostridge (with whom the LPO made some great recordings of Vaughan Williams: In the Fen Country and On Wenlock Edge), and have also found myself listening to Russian Orthodox a cappella music – its beautiful and hypnotic harmonies make it some of my perfect music.

HUGH KLUGER DOUBLE BASS Before lockdown I returned to my family home in Sydney, where I’ve been binging on Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony and Soundgarden’s Burden In My Hand. I played Strauss’s epic masterpiece for the first time with the LPO and Vladimir Jurowski last season, and it was every bit as exciting and loud as I wanted it to be. The performance was amazing, full of energy, and something I’ll never forget. It also happened to be the piece I saw the LPO play on the day of my audition two years earlier, and I remember thinking that the Orchestra was so good that there’s no way they would ever ask me to play with them! Burden In My Hand stands out lyrically to me – it’s about a man who is learning to put one foot in front of the other, without resolution. Chris Cornell’s searching voice and haunting guitar effects help me mentally escape my physical confines and take me to another world.

SUE’S CHAIR IN THE LPO IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY DR BARRY GRIMALDI.

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LPO PEOPLE

BACKSTAGE Did you have a musical childhood? What were your first experiences of music? My mum is a philologist, and thanks to her I’ve always been a very keen reader. Hiding under a blanket reading Harry Potter – and later Les Misérables – by torchlight is one of the memories that best sum up my childhood. My grandparents were engineers, and my grandfather taught me to play chess and draughts before I even started school. I actually don’t remember music being a part of my life until I was seven years old, when I was taken to audition for a newly-opened music school in my town. I was so scared that I hid behind the curtains instead of singing a song or clapping a rhythm exercise! They accepted me anyway, as they desperately needed new pupils. So that’s how I started playing the piano, and later the violin. As a former participant on the Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts training scheme, how did the programme help you take the next step in your orchestral career? We all received individual lessons from our section leaders – in my case Pieter, the LPO Leader – which helped hugely with audition preparation. We also got lots of ‘sit-in’ opportunities, taking part in full rehearsals with the Orchestra, so that meant the chance to become familiar with lots of repertoire over the year – one of the most difficult aspects of being a musician is the never-ending flow of new repertoire to learn. Another unique opportunity was the chance to perform in smaller ensembles with the other Foyle Future Firsts and LPO members: we gave two pre-concert performances including a chamber arrangement of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, which I was lucky enough to lead. What have been your first impressions of the LPO since becoming a member? They are the most welcoming orchestra I’ve ever worked with! Right from when I started as a Foyle Future First, the other violinists would come and introduce themselves, ask about me, joke around ... We would never be bored if we found ourselves stuck together in lockdown – my colleagues are all such interesting people and can chat about practically anything: politics, books,

I also read a lot: recently I’ve been enjoying Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens, Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum, and The Religions Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Shulamit Ambalu. Other than that I’ve been rewatching favourite TV series like Sherlock, and I’ve finally seen the latest Star Wars movie! I’ve recently discovered that the park behind my flat has the most stunning sunset view, so that’s where you can find me most evenings.

– LASMA TAIMINA – Latvian violinist Lasma joined the Orchestra’s First Violin section in January 2020. Prior to her LPO appointment, she was a participant on the Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme. gardening, yoga ... ! And of course it goes without saying that they are such wonderful musicians: every time I play with the Orchestra I feel as if I’m part of an inventive, strong, chamber ensemble. How have you been keeping busy and entertained during isolation? At first it was very hard to accept such a huge life change, with no concerts and no work in sight for an unknown period – however, I’ve found a way to use this time to work on myself. I usually start my day with tai chi practice. Tai chi has been a part of my life for a couple of years now, but this is the first time I’ve had the time to fully understand it. I’m learning about the strength and beauty of a movement, breathing, focus, will ... And above all, qigong as a philosophy of life. I practise violin, of course – I’ve challenged myself to learn all the Ysaÿe sonatas!

Newsletter published by the London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Ticket Office: 020 7840 4242 lpo.org.uk

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Which musician or composer, living or dead, would you most like to meet? It would have to be Richard Wagner. I feel very lucky to have joined the Orchestra just at the right time to perform the whole Ring Cycle! Wagner was not only a genius composer but also a writer, a poet (he wrote his own libretti), and a philosopher. He knew and understood the meaning and significance of every single harmony, tonality and word in his operas. He was trying to discover – and then portray – the true meaning of life. I have read his letters and diaries and they reveal a fascinating personality. Another musician I would have loved to meet is Serge Rachmaninoff. His Second Symphony and the Vespers are always my first choice whenever I need a moment of peace and reflection. Some 10 years ago I read his collected letters, and since then I’ve always thought of him as a very kind, sensitive, hardworking and extremely talented person with a wonderful character. What would your advice be to a young musician hoping to follow in your footsteps? Music must be played with passion – if it is not sincere, if all you do is just move a lot and demonstrate well-studied gestures, then your audience will know it. You must have a story to tell when playing. So read, explore, educate yourself, gain new experiences. And of course always keep your goal clear in your mind and constantly work towards it, even if just a little bit each day. LASMA’S CHAIR IN THE LPO IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY IRINA GOFMAN AND MR RODRIK V. G. CAVE. THE 2019/20 FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IS GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY THE FOYLE FOUNDATION WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE BARBARA WHATMORE CHARITABLE TRUST, THE FIDELIO CHARITABLE TRUST, THE IDLEWILD TRUST AND THE THRIPLOW CHARITABLE TRUST.