LPO programme: 10 Feb 2023 - My Homeland (Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider/Kirill Gerstein)

2022/23 concert season at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

A place to call home Concert programme

Principal Conductor Edward Gardner supported by Aud Jebsen

Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis

Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG

Artistic Director Elena Dubinets Chief Executive David Burke

Leader Pieter Schoeman supported by Neil Westreich

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

Friday 10 February 2023 | 7.30pm

A place to call home

Glinka

Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla (5’)

Rachmaninoff

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (32’)

Interval (20’)

Smetana

Má vlast (movements 1–4) (50’)

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor

Kirill Gerstein

piano

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. Concert presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Welcome LPO news

LPO Fellow Conductors 2023/24

Welcome to the Southbank Centre

We’re the largest arts centre in the UK and one of the nation’s top visitor attractions, showcasing the world’s most exciting artists at our venues in the heart of London. We’re here to present great cultural experiences that bring people together, and open up the arts to everyone.

The Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery, National Poetry Library and Arts Council Collection. We’re one of London’s favourite meeting spots, with lots of free events and places to relax, eat and shop next to the Thames.

We hope you enjoy your visit. If you need any information or help, please ask a member of staff. You can also write to us at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, or email hello@southbankcentre.co.uk

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Drinks

You are welcome to bring drinks from the venue’s bars and cafés into the Royal Festival Hall to enjoy during tonight’s concert. Please be considerate to fellow audience members by keeping noise during the concert to a minimum, and please take your glasses with you for recycling afterwards. Thank you.

We’re thrilled to introduce our inaugural LPO Fellow Conductors, who will join us from September: Luis Castillo-Briceño and Charlotte Politi. Costa Rican-born Luis is currently mentored by Barbara Hannigan and has acted as her assistant with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, while Charlotte is currently the Constant Lambert Conducting Fellow with The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Assistant Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Each season, our LPO Conducting Fellowship will offer an intensive opportunity to two outstanding earlycareer conductors from backgrounds currently under-represented in the profession. From September, Luis and Charlotte will become fully immersed in the life of the Orchestra, developing their skills and knowledge, and broadening their professional networks. They will also be offered conducting opportunities with the LPO and its rising talent ensembles.

We believe that talent is indiscriminate, yet people from certain backgrounds continue to be under-represented in the orchestral sector. Through the LPO Conducting Fellowship we aim to promote diversity and inclusivity in classical music as a whole, to lead eventually to a sector that is more reflective of the wider population.

lpo.org.uk/conductingfellowship

The LPO Conducting Fellowship is generously supported by Patricia Haitink with additional support from Gini and Richard Gabbertas.

Tania León – Composer-in-Residence

We’re delighted to share the news that Cuban-American composer Tania León will be our next Composer-inResidence, succeeding Brett Dean in September 2023. León’s work Stride, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and will be given its UK premiere by the LPO on 31 March here at the Royal Festival Hall.

Tania León’s LPO appointment will span two seasons, and will feature a world premiere in 2023/24 and a UK premiere in 2024/25. As part of her residency she will also be involved in the Orchestra’s education and community work, including mentoring the LPO Young Composers.

First Violins

Pieter Schoeman* Leader

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Kate Oswin

Lasma Taimina

Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik

V. G. Cave

Minn Majoe

Yang Zhang

Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Catherine Craig

Katalin Varnagy

Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Thomas Eisner

Nilufar Alimaksumova

Cassandra Hamilton

Alfredo Reyes Logounova

Martin Höhmann

Alice Apreda Howell

Katherine Waller

Second Violins

Tania Mazzetti Principal

Emma Oldfield Co-Principal

Fiona Higham

Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Nynke Hijlkema

Kate Birchall

Ashley Stevens

Nancy Elan

Sioni Williams

Jessica Coleman

Emma Crossley

Lyrit Milgram

Jamie Hutchinson

Violas

Richard Waters Principal

Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander

Sharp

Benedetto Pollani

Katharine Leek

Laura Vallejo

Martin Wray

Kate De Campos

Jisu Song

Toby Warr

Raquel López Bolívar

Kim Becker

On stage tonight

Cellos

Kristina Blaumane Principal

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Morwenna Del Mar

David Lale

Sue Sutherley

Susanna Riddell

Tom Roff

Helen Thomas

George Hoult

Double Basses

Kevin Rundell* Principal

Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal

Hugh Kluger

George Peniston

Laura Murphy

Tom Walley

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Lowri Morgan

Flutes

Juliette Bausor Principal

Imogen Royce

Piccolo

Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Oboes

Ian Hardwick* Principal

Alice Munday

Clarinets

Benjamin Mellefont Principal

Thomas Watmough

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Bassoons

Jonathan Davies Principal

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Emma Harding

Contrabassoon

Simon Estell* Principal

Horns

Annemarie Federle Principal

John Ryan* Principal

Martin Hobbs

Alexander Willett

Gareth Mollison

Trumpets

Paul Beniston* Principal

Jack Wilson Guest Principal

Anne McAneney*

Trombones

Mark Templeton* Principal

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse

Bass Trombone

Lyndon Meredith Principal

Tuba

Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Timpani

Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Percussion

Emmanuel Joste Guest Principal

Keith Millar

Karen Hutt

Harps

Rachel Masters Principal

Tamara Young

* Holds a professorial appointment in London

The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert:

Gill & Garf Collins

Dr Barry Grimaldi

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Uniquely groundbreaking and exhilarating to watch and hear, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has been celebrated as one of the world’s great orchestras since Sir Thomas Beecham founded it in 1932. With every performance we aim to bring wonder to the modern world and cement our position as a leading orchestra for the 21st century.

Our home is here at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, where we’re at the beating heart of London’s cultural life. You’ll also find us at our resident venues in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and on tour throughout the UK and internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. Each summer we’re resident at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, combining the magic of opera with Glyndebourne’s glorious setting in the Sussex countryside.

Sharing the wonder

You’ll find us online, on streaming platforms, on social media and through our broadcast partnership with Marquee TV. During the pandemic period we launched ‘LPOnline’: over 100 videos of performances, insights and introductions to playlists, which led to us being named runner-up in the Digital Classical Music Awards 2020. During 2022/23 we’re once again working with Marquee TV to broadcast selected live concerts, so you can share or relive the wonder from your own living room.

Our conductors

Our Principal Conductors have included some of the greatest historic names like Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2021 Edward Gardner became our 13th Principal Conductor, taking the Orchestra into its tenth decade. Vladimir Jurowski became Conductor Emeritus in recognition of his impact as Principal Conductor from 2007–21. Karina Canellakis is our current Principal Guest Conductor and Brett Dean our Composer-in-Residence, to be succeeded by Tania León in September 2023.

Soundtrack to key moments

Everyone will have heard the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whether it’s playing the world’s National Anthems at every medal ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, our iconic recording with Pavarotti that made Nessun Dorma a global football anthem, or closing the flotilla at The Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. And you’ll almost certainly have heard us on the soundtracks for major films including The Lord of the Rings

We also release live, studio and archive recordings on our own label, and are the world’s most-streamed orchestra, with over 15 million plays of our content each month. Recent releases include the first volume of a Stravinsky series with Vladimir Jurowski; Tippett’s complete opera The Midsummer Marriage under

© Mark Allan

Edward Gardner, captured in his first concert as LPO Principal Conductor in September 2021; and James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio, recorded at the work’s UK premiere performance in December 2021.

Next generations

We’re committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and music-lovers: there’s nothing we love more than seeing the joy of children and families enjoying their first musical moments, and we’re passionate about equipping schools and teachers through schools’ concerts, resources and training. Reflecting our values of collaboration and inclusivity, our OrchLab and Open Sound Ensemble projects offer music-making opportunities for adults and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Today’s young instrumentalists are the orchestral members of the future, so we have a number of opportunities to support their progression. Our LPO Junior Artists programme is leading the way in creating pathways into the profession for young artists from under-represented communities, and our LPO Young Composers and Foyle Future Firsts schemes support the next generation of professional musicians, bridging the transition from education to professional careers. We have also recently launched the LPO Conducting Fellowship, supporting the development of two outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds currently under-represented in the profession.

2022/23 and beyond

We believe in the relevance of our music, and that our programmes must reflect the narratives of modern times. This season we’re exploring themes of belonging and displacement in our series ‘A place to call home’, delving into music by composers including Austrians Erich Korngold and Paul Hindemith, Hungarian Béla Bartók, Cuban Tania León, Ukrainian Victoria Vita Polevá and Syrian Kinan Azmeh. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary we perform works premiered by the Orchestra during its illustrious history. This season also marks Vaughan Williams’s 150th anniversary and we’ll be celebrating with four of his works, as well as both symphonies by Elgar and music by Tippett and Thomas Adès. Our commitment to everything new and creative includes premieres by Brett Dean and Heiner Goebbels, as well as new commissions from composers from around the world including Agata Zubel, Elena Langer and Vijay Iyer.

lpo.org.uk

Pieter Schoeman Leader

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. He is also a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

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 the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. As a chamber musician he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. His chamber music partners have included Anne-Sophie Mutter, Veronika Eberle, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Boris Garlitsky, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Martin Helmchen and Julia Fischer.

Pieter has performed numerous times as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights have included an appearance as both conductor and soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the Royal Festival Hall, the Brahms Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and the Britten Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the LPO Label to great critical acclaim.

Pieter has appeared as Guest Leader with the BBC, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon and Baltimore symphony orchestras; the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras; and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Pieter’s chair in the LPO is generously supported by Neil Westreich.

© Benjamin Ealovega

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor

with The Strad extolling his playing as ‘possibly among the most exquisite violin sound ever captured on disc’.

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider’s extensive discography also includes the Nielsen Violin Concerto with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic; the Elgar Concerto in B minor with Sir Colin Davis and the Dresden Staatskapelle; award-winning recordings of the Brahms and Korngold concertos with Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic; the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic; Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 and the Glazunov Concerto with Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra; and the Mendelssohn Concerto on DVD with Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has also recorded the complete works of Brahms for violin and piano with Yefim Bronfman.

After an acclaimed first year at the helm, this season Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider continues his Music Directorship of the Orchestre National de Lyon. He is a regular guest conductor of the world’s leading orchestras, with forthcoming returns to the Chicago Symphony, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Tonight’s concert is his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra as a conductor – he last appeared with the Orchestra as a violin soloist, performing Brahms’s Violin Concerto during a tour of Asia in 2008.

Following an outstandingly successful debut at the Dresden Semperoper conducting The Magic Flute in 2017, Nikolaj was immediately re-invited to conduct Der Rosenkavalier in autumn 2019. With a new production of The Magic Flute, he made his debut with the Royal Danish Opera in 2020, and continues to build upon his association with the work as he takes Mozart’s timeless classic to the Zurich Opera House later this spring.

Also a virtuoso violinist, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider maintains his reputation as one of the world’s leading exponents of the instrument, with a busy calendar of concerto and recital engagements. The 2022/23 season sees appearances with the NDR Elbphilharmonie and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, as well as the Israel, Dresden and Bern Philharmonics.

Nikolaj enjoys a strong relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra with whom he has worked extensively both as conductor and as soloist. Together they recorded the complete Mozart Violin Concertos, directed from the violin by Szeps-Znaider,

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider is passionate about supporting the next generation of musical talent, and is President of the Nielsen Competition, which takes place every three years in Odense, Denmark. He plays the ‘Kreisler’ Guarnerius ‘del Gesu’ 1741 on extended loan to him by the Royal Danish Theatre through the generosity of the VELUX Foundations, the Villum Fonden and the Knud Højgaard Foundation.

© Lars Gundersen

Kirill Gerstein

piano

Hand Piano Sonatas with his mentor of 17 years, Ferenc Rados; Strauss’s Enoch Arden with the late actor Bruno Ganz; Busoni’s monumental Piano Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo; and ‘The Gershwin Moment’ with the St Louis Symphony, David Robertson, Gerstein’s jazz mentor Gary Burton, and Storm Large.

Deutsche Grammophon’s 2020 release of the world premiere performance of Thomas Adès’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, written especially for Kirill Gerstein, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra won a 2020 Gramophone Award and was nominated for three GRAMMY Awards. In October 2019, under the baton of the composer, Kirill and the London Philharmonic Orchestra gave the UK premiere of the work here at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

Pianist Kirill Gerstein’s heritage combines the traditions of Russian, American and Central European musicmaking with an insatiable curiosity. These qualities, and the relationships that he has developed with orchestras, conductors, instrumentalists, singers and composers, have led him to explore a huge spectrum of repertoire both new and old. From Bach to Adès, Kirill’s playing is distinguished by a ferocious technique and discerning intelligence, matched by an energetic, imaginative musical presence that places him at the top of his profession.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Kirill Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. His career is similarly international, with worldwide performances ranging from concerts with the Chicago and Boston Symphony orchestras, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO), to recitals in London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris and New York.

During the 2022/23 season, Kirill’s flair for curation will be on display as he becomes Artist-in-Residence with the BRSO, and presents a three-part concert series at London’s Wigmore Hall entitled ‘Busoni and his World’. With the BRSO he gives concerts at home in Munich and on tour with conductors Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Antonello Manacorda and Erina Yashima.

Kirill Gerstein’s forthcoming release on Myrios Classics will be a double album of music by Debussy and Komitas. He first collaborated with the label in 2010, and through the partnership has been able to realise many thoughtfully curated projects including Mozart’s Four-

A long-time believer in the importance of teaching in the life of a musician, Kirill Gerstein is currently Professor of Piano at Berlin’s Hanns Eisler Hochschule, and is on the faculty of Kronberg Academy. Under the auspices of Kronberg Academy, his series of free online seminars entitled ‘Kirill Gerstein Invites’ is now into its fifth season, featuring conversations with leading musicians, artists, and thinkers, which to date have included Ai Weiwei, Iván Fischer, Deborah Borda, Antonio Pappano, Kaija Saariaho and Joshua Redman.

Born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia, Kirill Gerstein attended one of the country’s special music schools for gifted children, and taught himself to play jazz by listening to his parents’ record collection. Following a chance encounter with jazz legend Gary Burton in St Petersburg when he was 14, he was invited as the youngest student to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz piano in tandem with his classical piano studies. At the age of 16 he decided to focus on classical music, completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees with Solomon Mikowsky at New York’s Manhattan School of Music, followed by further studies with Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid and Ferenc Rados in Budapest.

Kirill Gerstein is the sixth recipient of the prestigious Gilmore Artist Award, First Prize winner at the 10th Arthur Rubinstein Competition and an Avery Fisher Career Grant holder. In 2021 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

© Marco Borggreve

Programme notes

Mikhail Glinka

1804–57

Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla 1842

Although it was mutedly received at its premiere in St Petersburg in 1842, Ruslan and Ludmilla became Glinka’s most popular work in Russia during his lifetime. It tells the tale of the Prince of Kiev’s daughter Ludmilla, who is abducted under mysterious circumstances during her wedding to the warrior Ruslan. Scenes of daring escapes, Ruslan’s undying faith in true love, and its cast of good magicians and bad dwarves certainly made an impression on initial audiences, though the drama itself has often been questioned, with musicologist David Brown calling it an ‘irreparable disaster’. Consequently, performances beyond the Russian border have been few and far between.

The score is, however, full of glories, including its dazzling Overture. Strident tutti fanfares launch the piece and alternate with virtuoso string scurries before the thematic material breaks down into witty woodwind counterpoint. This is followed by a generous theme from the violas, cellos and bassoons, indicative of the amorous relationship at the heart of the drama. Having been taken up by the whole orchestra, the music of the exposition hurtles into a brief, wispy development, as it charges over surprising tonal terrain, before the forces return to the festivities with renewed vigour. Listening to the Overture today, it is easy to hear why figures such as Berlioz and Liszt were so astounded by Glinka’s score.

Programme notes

Serge Rachmaninoff

1873–1943

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 1901

Kirill Gerstein piano

1 Moderato

2 Adagio sostenuto – Più animato – Tempo I

3 Allegro scherzando

Rachmaninoff first made his name as a pianist. A virtuoso in the grand tradition of Chopin and Liszt, his fame soon spread beyond Russia. He came to London in 1899 and made his debut at the Queen’s Hall. At the same concert, he conducted his orchestral work The Rock, as well as playing his imposing Prelude in C sharp minor and other piano pieces. Although happy with the success of the concert, the Philharmonic Society had expected Rachmaninoff to appear with his Second Piano Concerto (not a note of which had been written). Truth be told, Rachmaninoff was in no mood to compose. The premiere of his First Symphony in 1897 had been a disaster. Although the quality of the performance was partly to blame, there can be no doubt that his compatriot Cui’s description of a ‘programme symphony on the Seven Plagues of Egypt’ had significantly dented Rachmaninoff’s pride. For three years, he hardly wrote a note. Something – or someone – had to break the deadlock.

Although busying himself with his newfound career as a conductor (as well as regular appearances at the piano), Rachmaninoff’s composing ambitions seemed dead in the water. Friends arranged for him to meet Leo Tolstoy, in an attempt to rekindle the composer’s inspiration, but it was useless. Instead, it was a hypnosis-practising physician who finally achieved the necessary breakthrough and Rachmaninoff slowly returned to composition, first completing passages of his opera Francesca da Rimini and then beginning his much-vaunted Second Piano Concerto.

Programme notes

The work emerges from a period of self-doubt with an ever-emboldening sequence of chords. They trigger tearing arpeggios and a bruised string theme. A more yearning second section moves us into a major key via a flare of horns. Having been submerged within the thick textures of the orchestra, the piano now comes to the surface. Rising melodies are accompanied by tumbling left-hand arpeggios, giving a feeling of emotional freedom. Thick chromatic harmonies intensify these gestures, while various solos from the woodwind and horns weave amorous dialogues with the piano. A development follows, seemingly unaffected by the turmoil of what has gone before. But once we reach a restatement of the opening themes, the piano’s manic march figure underlines that the feelings professed are not to be taken lightly.

At the beginning of the second movement, as at the opening of the Concerto, the piano plays a series of arpeggios, though here they are much more reflective. A flute states a new theme which is passed to the clarinet, sounding against a halo of strings. Harmonic shifts deepen these sentiments in a series of variations, moving freely between orchestra and piano.

The finale begins with a whirlingly impudent dance, shifting us back to the overriding C minor tonality. Snappy rhythms and virtuoso blurs give way to a pounding rhapsody. There is evidently unfinished emotional business and the rapid tempo slumps into a brooding new theme. The piano responds, complete with aching suspensions, and it is this material that comes to dominate. Although the orchestra tries to whip up the tempo, the piano leads it in a huge restatement of the principal melody, triumphant in its amorous glory, before the assembled forces launch into a joyful coda.

Interval – 20 minutes

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

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on the LPO Label

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2

Aldo Ciccolini piano

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor

London Philharmonic Orchestra

LPO-0102

‘Romantically glowing and tender, and with plenty of thrilling impulse when needed; music-making that draws you in – and back – for this is not a brief encounter.’

Classical Source, 2018

Recorded live at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 27 May 2009 (Rachmaninoff) and 12 October 2011 (Mozart)

Programme notes

Bedřich Smetana

1824–84

Movements from ‘Má vlast’ (My Homeland)

1874–82

2

Like many great settlements, Bedřich Smetana’s adopted hometown of Prague was founded on a significant geographical site. The combination of a sweeping bend in the River Vltava and a cluster of hills led ancient tribes to settle in the area, thereby beginning the city’s long and august history. It was unsurprising, then, that the leading musical light of the 19th century’s Czech National Revival chose to open his orchestral celebration of nationhood, Má vlast, with those two features: ‘Vyšehrad’, the cycle’s first movement, describes the castle on the tallest of the hills, providing the seat for various kings and queens; and ‘Vltava’, also completed in 1874, offers a celebration of the river itself. Four further tableaux, representing the Bohemian landscape and other key mythological sites and figures, were added during the late 1870s, before a first performance of the whole work followed in 1882.

The cycle begins and ends with a four-note motif, introduced by the harp. This may have an unmistakably Wagnerian tinge, even recalling the music of Tannhäuser, but it is linked to the ancient bardic figure of Lumír. Of dubious authenticity, he nonetheless became a recurrent presence in Czech mythology. Even more prominent is Libuše, the youngest but wisest daughter of King Krok, who eventually became queen in turn – and the subject of the 1881 opera Smetana wrote to mark the opening of the Czech National Theatre. Standing on a rocky outcrop, high above the Vltava, she predicted a glorious future for the Czechs. It is to this site, now said to have been the Vyšehrad, that

1 Vyšehrad

Vltava

3 Šárka

4 Z českých luhů a hájů

Courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London

Programme notes

Lumír sings his final song before breaking his harp in two. In response, Smetana’s evocation of the hill and the castle constantly juxtaposes sweeping arpeggios with a more martial soundworld.

We then journey out of Prague to the source of the Vltava. Rising at Černá hora, a mountain near the border with Bavaria, and joining the Elbe in the Bohemian winemaking town of Mělník, it is both the longest and most historically significant waterway in the Czech lands. Smetana told how his illustrative second movement opens with two small springs, the Studená and Teplá Vltava. Initially portrayed in overlapping woodwind lines, they combine when the streams become a single current. ‘The course of the Vltava through woods and meadows’ provides the basis for the famously stirring theme, led by the strings, as the river surges and swells.

We pass a farmer’s wedding, as well as witnessing mermaids dancing in the light of the moon (as featured in Dvořák’s later opera Rusalka). But, finally, after a turbulent journey over the St John’s Rapids – a particularly dangerous passage that later disappeared under the Štěchovice Reservoir – the Vltava flows into Prague. Immediately, Smetana recalls motifs from ‘Vyšehrad’ in the grandest of terms, before the water ‘vanishes into the distance’, taking the spirit of Czech national pride with it.

Šárka, the inspiration for the third movement, was a warrior in the ancient Maidens’ War. Following the death of Libuše, when the kingdom passed to her husband, Přemysl, a band of women revolted against his forces. Thanks to Šárka’s cunning entrapment of various soldiers, tying herself to a tree and alerting her colleagues with a hunting horn, the maidens proved victorious – albeit briefly. As in Janáček’s first opera, concerning the same subject, Smetana’s ‘Šárka’ sounds an audacious note after the nobility of ‘Vyšehrad’ and the bucolic ‘Vltava’. But it is to the natural world that we return for the fourth part of Má vlast

Unlike the other movements in the cycle, Smetana’s evocation of ‘Bohemia’s Woods and Fields’ has no overriding narrative. But it points to a prevailing trend within the Czech psyche to go ‘do přírody’ – into nature. Following literary and academic figures such as Karel Jaromír Erben and František Palacký, as well as visual artists like Antonín Mánes and Julius Mařák, Smetana realised that the true Czech was not to be found in an urban environment, close to Habsburg control, but out in the fields and furrows. It was there that the mother

tongue had largely been preserved, despite all proscription, along with the myths and legends that inspired him to compose Má vlast.

Programme notes © Gavin Plumley

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

by Laurie Watt

Glinka: Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla London Symphony Orchestra | Georg Solti (Decca download)

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2

Aldo Ciccolini | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (LPO Label LPO-0102: see page 10) or Daniil Trifonov | Philadelphia Orchestra

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Deutsche Grammophon)

Smetana: Má vlast

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | Rafael Kubelík (Supraphon Live) or Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | Jiří Bělohlávek (Decca)

Enjoyed

Help us to share the wonder of the LPO by making a donation today. Use the QR code to donate via the LPO website, or visit lpo.org.uk/donate. Thank you.

Next LPO concerts at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

EHNES PLAYS BRAHMS

Friday 17 February 2023 | 7.30pm

Missy Mazzoli Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)

Brahms Violin Concerto

Dvořák Symphony No. 9 (From the New World)

Kevin John Edusei conductor

James Ehnes violin

Free pre-concert performance: LPO Junior Artists Royal Festival Hall | 6.00pm

The LPO Junior Artists perform works by Stravinsky, Elgar, Bartók and Conrad Asman alongside LPO musicians, Junior Artist alumni and Foyle Future Firsts, under conductor Gabriella Teychenné.

ADÈS CONDUCTS ADÈS

Wednesday 22 February 2023 | 7.30pm

Sibelius Prelude and Suite No. 1 from The Tempest

Thomas Adès The Tempest Symphony (UK premiere)

Thomas Adès Inferno Suite

Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini

Thomas Adès conductor

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE

Saturday 25 February 2023 | 7.30pm

Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte

Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer

Franck Symphony in D minor

Bertrand de Billy conductor

Danielle de Niese soprano

Generously supported by Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet

Written and directed by Bill Barclay

Tuesday 21 March 2023

7.30pm

St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Chevalier tells the fascinating life of Joseph Bologne –an 18th-century Black composer, virtuoso violinist and friend of Mozart and Marie Antoinette – more commonly known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

Generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Matthew Kofi Waldren conductor

Braimah Kanneh-Mason violin

Chukwudi Iwuji Joseph Bologne

Merritt Janson Marie Antoinette

David Joseph Mozart

Bill Barclay Choderlos de Laclos

London Philharmonic Orchestra and friends

Tickets: £10–£35 (Booking fee: £2.75)

St Martin in the Fields Box Office 020 7766 1100 (Mon–Sat 10.00am–5.00pm) smitf.org

Annual Appeal 2023

Celebrating 90 years & counting

We cherish our heritage and are committed to keeping the next 90 years exciting, dynamic and inclusive. Donate now, as we continue to make history in the present by offering life-enriching musical experiences for everyone, investing in the next generation of talent, commissioning masterworks of the future and reaching more communities around the UK, especially in Brighton and Eastbourne.

More pianists with the LPO this spring

GARDNER CONDUCTS RACHMANINOFF

Saturday 4 March 2023

Leif Ove Andsnes plays

Grieg’s Piano Concerto plus works by George Benjamin & Rachmaninoff

Generously supported by PRS Foundation’s Resonate programme

TCHAIKOVSKY’S FIFTH

Wednesday 15 March 2023

Daniil Trifonov plays

Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 plus works by Beethoven & Tchaikovsky

Generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE

HEROES AND HEROINES

Friday 31 March 2023

Beatrice Rana plays

Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 plus works by Tania León & Sibelius

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

Welser-Möst Circle

William & Alex de Winton

John Ireland Charitable Trust

The Tsukanov Family Foundation

Neil Westreich

Tennstedt Circle

Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov

Richard Buxton

The Candide Trust

Michael & Elena Kroupeev

Kirby Laing Foundation

Mr & Mrs Makharinsky

Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich

Sir Simon Robey

Bianca & Stuart Roden

Simon & Vero Turner

The late Mr K Twyman

Solti Patrons

Ageas

John & Manon Antoniazzi

Gabor Beyer, through BTO

Management Consulting AG

Jon Claydon

Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Suzanne

Goodman

Roddy & April Gow

The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris

Charitable Trust

Mr James R.D. Korner

Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia

Ladanyi-Czernin

Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski

The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust

Mr Paris Natar

The Rothschild Foundation

Tom & Phillis Sharpe

The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons

Mark & Elizabeth Adams

Dr Christopher Aldren

Mrs Pauline Baumgartner

Lady Jane Berrill

Mr Frederick Brittenden

David & Yi Yao Buckley

Mr Clive Butler

Gill & Garf Collins

Mr John H Cook

Mr Alistair Corbett

Bruno De Kegel

Georgy Djaparidze

David Ellen

Christopher Fraser OBE

David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Goldman Sachs International

Mr Gavin Graham

Moya Greene

Mrs Dorothy Hambleton

Tony & Susie Hayes

Malcolm Herring

Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle

Mrs Philip Kan

Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe

Rose & Dudley Leigh

Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons

Miss Jeanette Martin

Duncan Matthews KC

Diana & Allan Morgenthau

Charitable Trust

Dr Karen Morton

Mr Roger Phillimore

Ruth Rattenbury

The Reed Foundation

The Rind Foundation

Sir Bernard Rix

David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada)

Carolina & Martin Schwab

Dr Brian Smith

Lady Valerie Solti

Mr & Mrs G Stein

Dr Peter Stephenson

Miss Anne Stoddart

TFS Loans Limited

Marina Vaizey

Jenny Watson

Guy & Utti Whittaker

Pritchard Donors

Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle

Mrs Arlene Beare

Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner

Mr Conrad Blakey

Dr Anthony Buckland

Paul Collins

Alastair Crawford

Mr Derek B. Gray

Mr Roger Greenwood

The HA.SH Foundation

Darren & Jennifer Holmes

Honeymead Arts Trust

Mr Geoffrey Kirkham

Drs Frank & Gek Lim

Peter Mace

Mr & Mrs David Malpas

Dr David McGibney

Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner

Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill

Mr Christopher Querée

The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer

Charitable Trust

Timothy Walker CBE AM

Christopher Williams

Peter Wilson Smith

Mr Anthony Yolland

and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all donors who have given generously to the LPO over the past year. Your generosity helps maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.

Artistic Director’s Circle

Anonymous donors

Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet

Aud Jebsen

In memory of Mrs Rita Reay

Sir Simon & Lady Robey OBE

Orchestra Circle

William & Alex de Winton

Patricia Haitink

Mr & Mrs Philip Kan

Neil Westreich

The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Principal Associates

Richard Buxton

Gill & Garf Collins

In memory of Brenda Lyndoe

Casbon

In memory of Ann Marguerite

Collins

Sally Groves MBE

George Ramishvili

Associates

Mrs Irina Andreeva

In memory of Len & Edna Beech

Steven M. Berzin

Ms Veronika BorovikKhilchevskaya

The Candide Trust

Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G.

Cave

The Lambert Family Charitable

Trust

Stuart & Bianca Roden

In memory of Hazel Amy Smith

The Tsukanov Family

The Viney Family

Gold Patrons

An anonymous donor

Chris Aldren

David & Yi Buckley

In memory of Allner Mavis

Channing

Sonja Drexler

Jan & Leni Du Plessis

The Vernon Ellis Foundation

Peter & Fiona Espenhahn

Hamish & Sophie Forsyth

Mr Roger Greenwood

Malcolm Herring

John & Angela Kessler

Julian & Gill Simmonds

Eric Tomsett

Andrew & Rosemary Tusa

Guy & Utti Whittaker

Mr Florian Wunderlich

Silver Patrons

Dame Colette Bowe

David Burke & Valerie Graham

John & Sam Dawson

Bruno De Kegel

Ulrike & Benno Engelmann

Virginia Gabbertas MBE

Dmitry & Ekaterina Gursky

The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris

Charitable Trust

Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle

Sir George Iacobescu

Jamie & Julia Korner

Mr & Mrs Makharinsky

Mr Nikita Mishin

Andrew Neill

Tom & Phillis Sharpe

Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood

Laurence Watt

Bronze Patrons

Anonymous donors

Michael Allen

Mr Mark Astaire

Nicholas & Christine Beale

Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley

Mr Anthony Blaiklock

Lorna & Christopher Bown

Mr Bernard Bradbury

Simon Burke & Rupert King

Desmond & Ruth Cecil

Mr Evgeny Chichvarkin

Mr John H Cook

Georgy Djaparidze

Deborah Dolce

Cameron & Kathryn Doley

Mariana Eidelkind & Gene

Moldavsky

David Ellen

Ben Fairhall

Mr Richard & Helen Gillingwater

Mr Daniel Goldstein

David & Jane Gosman

Mr Gavin Graham

Lord & Lady Hall

Mrs Dorothy Hambleton

Martin & Katherine Hattrell

Michael & Christine Henry

Mr Steve Holliday

J Douglas Home

Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza

Mrs Elena & Mr Oleg Kolobov

Rose & Dudley Leigh

Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE

JP RAF

Drs Frank & Gek Lim

Mr Nicholas Little

Geoff & Meg Mann

Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva

Andrew T Mills

Peter & Lucy Noble

Mr Roger Phillimore

Mr Michael Posen

Mr Anthony Salz

Ms Nadia Stasyuk

Charlotte Stevenson

Joe Topley

Mr & Mrs John C Tucker

Timothy Walker CBE AM

Jenny Watson CBE

Grenville & Krysia Williams

Principal Supporters

Anonymous donors

Dr Manon Antoniazzi

Julian & Annette Armstrong

Mr John D Barnard

Mr Geoffrey Bateman

Mr Philip Bathard-Smith

Mrs A Beare

Dr Anthony Buckland

Dr Simona Cicero & Mr Mario

Altieri

Mr Peter Coe

Mrs Pearl Cohen

David & Liz Conway

Mr Alistair Corbett

Ms Mary Anne Cordeiro

Ms Elena Dubinets

Mr Richard Fernyhough

Jason George

Mr Christian Grobel

Prof Emeritus John Gruzelier

Mark & Sarah Holford

Mrs Maureen Hooft-Graafland

Per Jonsson

Mr Ian Kapur

Ms Kim J Koch

Ms Elena Lojevsky

Mrs Terry Neale

John Nickson & Simon Rew

Oliver & Josie Ogg

Ms Olga Ovenden

Mr James Pickford

Filippo Poli

Sir Bernard Rix

Mr Robert Ross

Priscylla Shaw

Martin & Cheryl Southgate

Mr & Mrs G Stein

Dr Peter Stephenson

Joanna Williams

Christopher Williams

Ms Elena Ziskind

Supporters

Anonymous donors

Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle

Mr & Mrs Robert Auerbach

Mrs Julia Beine

Harvey Bengen

Miss YolanDa Brown OBE

Miss Yousun Chae

Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk

Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington

Mr Joshua Coger

Miss Tessa Cowie

Mr David Devons

Patricia Dreyfus

Mr Martin Fodder

Christopher Fraser OBE

Will Gold

Ray Harsant

Mr Peter Imhof

The Jackman Family

Mr David MacFarlane

Dame Jane Newell DBE

Mr Stephen Olton

Mari Payne

Mr David Peters

Ms Edwina Pitman

Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh

Mr Giles Quarme

Mr Kenneth Shaw

Mr Brian Smith

Ms Rika Suzuki

Tony & Hilary Vines

Dr June Wakefield

Mr John Weekes

Mr C D Yates

Hon. Benefactor

Elliott Bernerd

Hon. Life Members

Alfonso Aijón

Kenneth Goode

Carol Colburn Grigor CBE

Pehr G Gyllenhammar

Robert Hill

Victoria Robey OBE

Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

Timothy Walker CBE AM

Laurence Watt

Thomas Beecham Group Members

David & Yi Buckley

Gill & Garf Collins

William & Alex de Winton

Sonja Drexler

The Friends of the LPO

Irina Gofman

Roger Greenwood

Dr Barry Grimaldi

Mr & Mrs Philip Kan

John & Angela Kessler

Sir Simon Robey

Victoria Robey OBE

Bianca & Stuart Roden

Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Julian & Gill Simmonds

Eric Tomsett

Neil Westreich

Guy & Utti Whittaker

Corporate Donor

Barclays

LPO Corporate Circle

Principal

Bloomberg Carter-Ruck

French Chamber of Commerce

Tutti

Lazard

Natixis Corporate Investment

Banking

Sciteb Ltd

Walpole

Preferred Partners

Gusbourne Estate

Jeroboams

Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd

OneWelbeck

Steinway

In-kind Sponsor

Google Inc

Thank you

Trusts and Foundations

ABO Trust

BlueSpark Foundation

The Boltini Trust

Borrows Charitable Trust

The Candide Trust

Cockayne – Grants for the Arts

The London Community Foundation

The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Dunard Fund

Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

Foyle Foundation

Garrick Charitable Trust

John Horniman’s Children’s Trust

John Thaw Foundation

Institute Adam Mickiewicz

Kirby Laing Foundation

Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust

The Marchus Trust

The Radcliffe Trust

Rivers Foundation

Rothschild Foundation

Scops Arts Trust

Sir William Boremans’ Foundation

The John S Cohen Foundation

The Stanley Picker Trust

The Thriplow Charitable Trust

TIOC Foundation

Vaughan Williams Foundation

The Victoria Wood Foundation

The Viney Family

The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust

and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

Board of the American Friends of the LPO

We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America:

Simon Freakley Chairman

Kara Boyle

Jon Carter

Jay Goffman

Alexandra Jupin

Natalie Pray

Damien Vanderwilt

Marc Wasserman

Elizabeth Winter

Catherine Høgel Hon. Director

Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP

LPO International Board of Governors

Natasha Tsukanova Co-Chair

Martin Höhmann Co-Chair

Mrs Irina Andreeva

Steven M. Berzin

Shashank Bhagat

Veronika Borovik-Khilchevskaya

Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil

Aline Foriel-Destezet

Irina Gofman

Countess Dominique Loredan

Olivia Ma

George Ramishvili

Sophie Schÿler-Thierry

Jay Stein

London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration

Board of Directors

Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair

Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Vice-Chair

Martin Höhmann* President

Mark Vines* Vice-President

Kate Birchall*

David Buckley

David Burke

Bruno De Kegel

Deborah Dolce

Elena Dubinets

Tanya Joseph

Hugh Kluger*

Katherine Leek*

Al MacCuish

Minn Majoe*

Tania Mazzetti*

Jamie Njoku-Goodwin

Andrew Tusa

Neil Westreich

Simon Freakley (Ex officio –Chairman of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra)

*Player-Director

Advisory Council

Martin Höhmann Chairman

Christopher Aldren

Dr Manon Antoniazzi

Roger Barron

Richard Brass

Helen Brocklebank

YolanDa Brown OBE

Simon Burke

Simon Callow CBE

Desmond Cecil CMG

Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG

Andrew Davenport

Guillaume Descottes

Cameron Doley

Christopher Fraser OBE

Jenny Goldie-Scot

Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS

Marianna Hay MBE

Nicholas Hely-Hutchinson DL

Amanda Hill

Rehmet Kassim-Lakha

Jamie Korner

Geoff Mann

Clive Marks OBE FCA

Stewart McIlwham

Andrew Neill

Nadya Powell

Sir Bernard Rix

Victoria Robey OBE

Baroness Shackleton

Thomas Sharpe KC

Julian Simmonds

Barry Smith

Nicholas Snowman OBE

Martin Southgate

Chris Viney

Laurence Watt

Elizabeth Winter

General Administration

Elena Dubinets

Artistic Director

David Burke Chief Executive

Chantelle Vircavs

PA to the Executive

Concert Management

Roanna Gibson

Concerts and Planning Director

Graham Wood

Concerts and Recordings Manager

Maddy Clarke

Tours Manager

Madeleine Ridout

Glyndebourne and Projects Manager

Alison Jones

Concerts and Recordings

Co-ordinator

Robert Winup

Concerts and Tours Assistant

Matthew Freeman

Recordings Consultant

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah Thomas

Martin Sargeson

Librarians

Laura Kitson

Stage and Operations Manager

Stephen O’Flaherty

Deputy Operations Manager

Felix Lo

Orchestra and Auditions Manager

Finance

Frances Slack

Finance Director

Dayse Guilherme

Finance Manager

Jean-Paul Ramotar

Finance and IT Officer

Education and Community

Talia Lash

Education and Community Director

Lowri Davies

Hannah Foakes

Education and Community Project Managers

Hannah Smith

Education and Community Co-ordinator

Development

Laura Willis

Development Director

Rosie Morden

Individual Giving Manager

Siân Jenkins

Corporate Relations Manager

Anna Quillin

Trusts and Foundations Manager

Katurah Morrish

Development Events Manager

Eleanor Conroy

Al Levin

Development Assistants

Nick Jackman

Campaigns and Projects Director

Kirstin Peltonen

Development Associate

Marketing

Kath Trout

Marketing and Communications Director

Sophie Harvey

Marketing Manager

Rachel Williams

Publications Manager

Harrie Mayhew

Website Manager

Gavin Miller

Sales and Ticketing Manager

Ruth Haines

Press and PR Manager

Greg Felton

Digital Creative

Hayley Kim

Marketing Co-ordinator

Alicia Hartley

Marketing Assistant Archives

Philip Stuart Discographer

Gillian Pole

Recordings Archive

Professional Services

Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP

Auditors

Dr Barry Grimaldi

Honorary Doctor

Mr Chris Aldren

Honorary ENT Surgeon

Mr Simon Owen-Johnstone

Hon. Orthopaedic Surgeon

London Philharmonic Orchestra

89 Albert Embankment

London SE1 7TP

Tel: 020 7840 4200

Box Office: 020 7840 4242

Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk

Cover illustration

Simon Pemberton/Heart

2022/23 season identity

JMG Studio

Printer John Good Ltd