2023/24 concert season at the Southbank Centre
Free 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 Queen Elizabeth Hall Friday 19 January 2024 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 20 January 2024 | 7.30pm
Family Ties – The Schumanns and The Mendelssohns
Contents 2 3 4
Welcome On stage tonight London Philharmonic Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Natalia Ponomarchuk 7 Alexander Melnikov 8 Programme notes 13 Recommended recordings 14 Next concerts 16 LPO at St John’s Waterloo 17 Sound Futures donors 18 Thank you 20 LPO administration
Fanny Mendelssohn Overture in C major (10’) Clara Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor (24’) Robert Schumann Introduction and Allegro for piano and orchestra (13’) Interval (20’) Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) (43’)
Natalia Ponomarchuk conductor Alexander Melnikov piano
The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. Concerts presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in association with Brighton Dome.
The Steinway concert piano chosen and hired by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the 20 January performance is supplied and maintained by Steinway & Sons, London.
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
Friday 19 January 2024
Saturday 20 January 2024
Welcome to the Southbank Centre
Welcome to Brighton Dome
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.
Chief Executive Andrew Comben Welcome to tonight’s concert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra here at Brighton Dome. We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit here. For your comfort and safety, please note the following: thank you for your co-operation.
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.
Latecomers may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks. Smoking Brighton Dome is a no-smoking venue. Interval drinks may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues.
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
Photography is not allowed in the auditorium. Recording is not allowed in the auditorium. Mobiles and watches should be switched off before entering the auditorium.
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The concert at Brighton Dome on 20 January 2024 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in association with Brighton Dome. Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England.
Drinks You are welcome to bring drinks from the venue’s bars and cafés into the Queen Elizabeth 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.
Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org | brightonfestival.org
Enjoyed tonight’s concert? 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.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
On stage tonight First Violins
Pieter Schoeman* Leader
Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Kate Oswin
Chair supported by Eric Tomsett
Minn Majoe Yang Zhang Katalin Varnagy
Chair supported by Sonja Drexler
Cassandra Hamilton Elizaveta Tyun Nilufar Alimaksumova Alice Hall Eleanor Bartlett Sophie Mather Alison Strange
Second Violins
Emma Oldfield Principal Helena Smart Joseph Maher Ashley Stevens Claudia Tarrant-Matthews
Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra
Nancy Elan Kate Birchall Fiona Higham
Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley
Violas
Rebecca Chambers Guest Principal Martin Wray Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Katharine Leek Jisu Song Julia Doukakis Daniel Cornford
Cellos
Waynne Kwon Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Tom Roff Helen Thomas Sibylle Hentschel Colin Alexander
Horns
John Ryan* Principal Annemarie Federle Principal Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison
Trumpets
Double Basses
Sebastian Pennar Principal Hugh Kluger Laura Murphy Lowri Estell
Paul Beniston* Principal Tom Nielsen Co-Principal Anne McAneney*
Bass Trombone
Lyndon Meredith Principal
Flutes
Fiona Kelly Guest Principal Stewart McIlwham*
Oboes
Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday
Timpani
Tom Lee Guest Principal *Professor at a London conservatoire
Clarinets
Benjamin Mellefont* Principal Thomas Watmough Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Bassoons
Jonathan Davies* Principal
Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey
Simon Estell*
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The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at these concerts: Gill & Garf Collins William & Alex de Winton Mr B C Fairhall Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave Dr Barry Grimaldi Victoria Robey CBE Bianca & Stuart Roden Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
© Mark Allan
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Our conductors
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 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 Tania León our Composer-in-Residence.
Our home is 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.
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.
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 2023/24 we’re once again be working with Marquee TV to broadcast selected live concerts, so you can share or relive the wonder from your own living room.
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.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
Pieter Schoeman Leader
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. 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 also recently launched the LPO Conducting Fellowship, supporting the development of outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds currently under-represented in the profession.
© Benjamin Ealovega
Next generations
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.
Looking forward
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.
The centrepiece of our 2023/24 season is our spring 2024 festival The Music in You. Reflecting our adventurous spirit, the festival embraces all kinds of expression – dance, music theatre, and audience participation. We’ll collaborate with artists from across the creative spectrum, and give premieres by composers including Tania León, Julian Joseph, Daniel Kidane, Victoria Vita Polevá, Luís Tinoco and John Williams. Rising stars making their debuts with us in 2023/24 include conductors Tianyi Lu, Oksana Lyniv, Jonathon Heyward and Natalia Ponomarchuk, accordionist João Barradas and organist Anna Lapwood. We also present the long-awaited conclusion of Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski’s Wagner Ring Cycle, Götterdämmerung, and, as well as our titled conductors Edward Gardner and Karina Canellakis, we welcome back classical stars including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Robin Ticciati, Christian Tetzlaff and Danielle de Niese.
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, Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2, 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.
lpo.org.uk
Pieter’s chair in the LPO is generously supported by Neil Westreich.
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Natalia Ponomarchuk conductor
She has performed at major concert halls and opera theatres including, in Spain, the Teatro Real, Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Zarzuela (all in Madrid); the Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona); the Teatro Colón (Coruña); the Queen Sophia Palace of the Arts (Valencia); the Conference Centre and Concert Hall (Bilbao); the Kursaal (San Sebastián); and the Auditorio de Galicia (Santiago). In Portugal she has performed at the Teatro Monumental (Lisbon) and Casa da Música (Porto). Other performance venues include the Sala Verdi Conservatorio (Milan); the Congress Hall (Warsaw); the Thessaloniki Concert Hall (Greece); and the Presidential Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall and Choir Buildings, and Bilkent Concert Hall (Turkey). Natalia has collaborated with internationally renowned artists including Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Sergei Nakariakov, Alexander Knyazev, Qian Zhou, Benjamin Schmid, Lukáš Vondráček, Eggner Florian, László Fenyö, Denis Severin, Otto Sauter, Simonide Braconi, Leticia Moreno, Dominique de Williencourt, Valery Sokolov, Alexey Semenenko, Dima Tkachenko and Alexei Grynyuk.
Sought after for her emotionally charged interpretations and dynamic presence, Natalia Ponomarchuk is one of Ukraine’s most prominent orchestral conductors. She has been Chief Conductor of the Kyiv Chamber Orchestra (part of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine) since 2018. Previously she has served as Resident Conductor at the Ukrainian National Radio Company (1996–98); Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Dnipro Philharmonic of Ukraine (2003–20); Principal Conductor of the Ukrainian Academic State Symphony Orchestra (2006–09); and Resident Conductor of the Kiev Camerata (2007–09) and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (2009–11).
Natalia Ponomarchuk received her Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the National Music Academy of Ukraine in 1997, studying under Professor Allin Vlasenko. In 2001 she was named an Honoured Artist of Ukraine. In March 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, she managed to escape from Kyiv and is now residing in London, regularly guest conducting and traveling back to Kyiv on a monthly basis to conduct her orchestra there.
In Ukraine, she has regularly appeared with the National Odesa Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lviv Academic Philharmonic Orchestra ‘INSO-Lviv’, as well as at the major Ukrainian international music festivals: ‘Kiev Music Fest’, ‘First Performances of the Year’, ‘Kiev Summer Music Evenings’, ‘Youth Music’, and ‘Contrasts’. These performances are Natalia’s concert debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra – she has previously assisted LPO Principal Conductor Edward Gardner on a number of programmes. She appears regularly with other top orchestras all over the world, including the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra (USA); the Orquestra Sinfônica do Espírito Santo (Brazil); the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra and Presidential Symphony Orchestra (Turkey); the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra (Greece); the Chongqing Philharmonic Orchestra (China); the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra; and Sinfonietta Riga (Latvia).
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Alexander Melnikov piano
Alexander Melnikov’s association with the Harmonia Mundi label arose through his regular recital partner, violinist Isabelle Faust, and in 2010 their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano won a Gramophone Award. This album, which has become a landmark recording for these works, was also nominated for a Grammy. Their most recent releases feature Brahms and Mozart sonatas for violin and piano.
© Julien Mignot
Alexander Melnikov’s recording of the Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich was awarded a BBC Music Magazine Award, a Choc de Classica, and a German Radio Critics’ Prize. In 2011 it was also named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the ‘50 Greatest Recordings of All Time’. Additionally, Alexander’s discography features works by Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Scriabin. Along with Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Pablo Heras-Casado and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, he recorded a trilogy of albums featuring the Schumann Concertos and Trios (published in 2015/16) and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (2021). Other releases include a complete recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas, ‘Four Pieces, Four Pianos’, released in 2018 and highly acclaimed by critics, and following this in 2023, his new album ‘Fantasie – Seven Composers, Seven Keyboards’.
Alexander Melnikov completed his studies at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Naumov. His formative musical moments in Moscow included an early encounter with the pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who thereafter regularly invited him to festivals in Russia and France. He was awarded important prizes at eminent competitions such as the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau (1989) and the Concours Musical Reine Elisabeth in Brussels (1991).
Highlights of the 2023/24 season include a concert tour to Australia with the Melbourne Symphony and Sydney Symphony orchestras; an ‘Artist Portrait’ residency at the Cologne Philharmonie; performances with FrançoisXavier Roth’s orchestra ‘Les Siècles’; concerts with the Bavarian State Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Belgian Baroque orchestra B’Rock; and collaborations with Maxim Emelyanychev, Anja Bihlmaier, Vladimir Jurowski, Nicholas Collon and Osmo Vänskä, among others.
Known for his often unusual musical and programming decisions, Alexander developed his career-long interest in historically informed performance practice early on. His major influences in this field include Andreas Staier and Alexei Lubimov. He performs regularly with distinguished period ensembles including the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Musica Aeterna and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. This is Alexander’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Munich Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic, under conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Dausgaard, Maxim Emelyanychev and Vladimir Jurowski.
Alexander Melnikov continues his chamber music work with partners such as Isabelle Faust, Antoine Tamestit and Jean-Guihen Queyras, performing at the Paris Philharmonie, the Philharmonie de Luxembourg, the Cologne Philharmonie, the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Musikfest Berlin, the Klavierfestival Ruhr and the Wigmore Hall in London. Solo concerts at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Toppan Hall in Tokyo, Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw and Munich’s Prinzregententheater will complete Alexander Melnikov’s season.
Together with pianist Andreas Staier, Alexander recorded a unique all-Schubert programme of four-hand pieces, which they have also performed in concert. An essential part of Alexander’s work is his chamber music collaborations, with partners including cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.
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Family Ties – The Schumanns and The Mendelssohns Musicians stick together, of course they do. Composers need performers to realise their work, performers need music to be written for them. Music is at heart a collaborative activity. So it is perhaps not so remarkable that the four composers in tonight’s concert should have known one another, or that their musical and personal lives intertwined. What is extraordinary is that this little knot of familial, romantic, friendly and professional ties drew together not just two of the 19th century’s greatest male composers, but two of its most distinguished female musicians as well. Although there is not known to have been an occasion when all four were in the same room, they were certainly aware of each other. Felix Mendelssohn moved in his twenties
to Leipzig, where he befriended and worked alongside the already-resident Clara and Robert Schumann. Fanny Mendelssohn remained in Berlin all her life but was visited there by the Schumanns in her last year; for a while Clara had thoughts of moving to the city to be near her. And the supreme intimacy of both the Mendelssohns’ sibling-relationship and the Schumann marriage extended deep into their music, their mutual emotional support, critical advice and exchanges of ideas (sometimes of actual musical themes) turning them into a mini-powerhouse of the Romantic era. Much can be written of this; this evening you can hear it with your own ears.
Fanny Mendelssohn 1805–47
Overture in C major 1832
Fanny Mendelssohn was perhaps no less a prodigy than Felix, her brilliant younger brother. Both had been brought up in the intellectually stimulating environment of their middle-class family home in Berlin, where visitors included scientists, philosophers, actors, writers and musicians. Both, too, received wide-ranging educations while showing their greatest skill in music (which they studied with the same teachers), and throughout their childhoods, and even after Felix had moved away to Leipzig, they maintained an intensely close and mutually supportive creative relationship. In 1829 Fanny married the painter Wilhelm Hensel, but although domestic life did not entirely prevent her from continuing to perform and compose, or from directing a distinguished Sunday concert series in the family home at which works by both siblings were often presented, her musical activities were undoubtedly restricted. She also fought shy of publishing; the quality of her compositions was never in question – six of her songs were issued under Felix’s name in the 1820s – but
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
Programme notes she feared social disapproval as a female composer, and it was not until 1846 that a trickle of works began to appear in print as her own. When she died from a stroke the following year at the age of 41, Felix was distraught; his powerful F minor String Quartet, Op. 80, was conceived as his ‘Requiem for Fanny’.
choral cantatas. Her only purely orchestral composition, however, was this unpublished Overture, written in the spring of 1832. Unlike Felix’s well-known Hebrides Overture, completed the same year, it appears to have no extra-musical background, and to be a concert piece in its own right. Cast in sonata form with a slow introduction, it is as eloquent a demonstration as there could be of the strong natural kinship of Fanny’s melodic inspiration, orchestral palette and deft formal control to those of her famous brother.
Fanny’s compositions consist mainly of songs and piano pieces, as well as an especially fine string quartet and piano trio, while larger-scale works include four
Clara Schumann 1819–96
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7 1835
Alexander Melnikov piano 1 Allegro maestoso – 2 Romanze: Andante non troppo con grazia – 3 Finale: Allegro non troppo – Allegro molto The musical career of Clara Schumann (née Wieck) was a far more public one than that of Fanny Mendelssohn, both during her lifetime and after, though like Fanny’s it began with conspicuous talent revealed at a tender age. The difference is that Clara was the daughter of the eminent piano teacher Friedrich Wieck, who right from the beginning intended her for a career as a leading professional soloist. The resultant hothousing brought a debut in her home city of Leipzig when she was nine, and a first concert tour at the age of eleven. By the mid-1830s she was already internationally admired, and for the rest of her life she would be recognised as one of Europe’s greatest pianists. Franz Liszt judged her to have ‘complete technical mastery, depth and sincerity of feeling’.
Her place in modern-day minds stems not, however, from her pianistic talent – for which we have no audio record – but from the fact that she was courted as a teenager by Robert Schumann, one of her father’s other pupils and nine years her senior, and that, in defiance of fierce parental opposition, she married him at the age of 21. Yet while Clara managed to continue a career as a performer and teacher despite the demands of ten pregnancies and ministering to Robert’s unstable mental health, she was unable to give composing the time she would have liked, and was worn down by the weight of public indifference to female composers. Even after her husband’s death in 1856 she prioritised performance over compositions. She gave her last public recital in 1891, five years before her own death. Continued overleaf
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Programme notes Though largely stifled from the 1850s onwards, Clara’s creative output consisted mainly of songs and piano pieces, but also some chamber music (including a piano trio coincidentally written the same year as that of Fanny Mendelssohn, whom she had recently befriended), and a single completed piano concerto. This last was a teenage work: in 1833–34 she had written a freestanding concerto movement (Konzertsatz) for herself to perform, which she subsequently made into a full concerto by composing two new movements and linking them to the original piece, now serving as a finale. She premiered the work in 1835 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, with Felix Mendelssohn conducting. The first movement shows remarkable self-assurance for such a young composer, perhaps as expected in the crystalline virtuoso piano-writing reminiscent of Chopin and Field, but also present in an artistic personality that effectively contrasts assertive dramatic statements with moments of poetic delicacy not all that different from those of her future husband. The central slow movement is a gentle, nocturne-like Romance shared between the piano and a solo cello, and the finale is an expansive rondo driven by a strong, dance-like main theme and glittering piano textures.
Robert & Clara Schumann in 1847
Robert Schumann 1810–56
Introduction and Allegro for piano and orchestra, Op. 134 1853
Alexander Melnikov piano
Robert Schumann’s method for composing a full-scale piano concerto was similar to his wife’s; after three unsuccessful attempts between 1828 and 1839, when he eventually created one in 1845 – the well-known A minor, Op. 54 – it was put together by adding an intermezzo and finale to a Fantasie he had composed four years earlier. Thereafter he made no further forays,
but produced instead two more single-movement works for piano and orchestra – both, like the concerto, written for Clara. The second of these was an Introduction and Allegro in D minor, composed in the space of seven days in 1853. Clara – for whom the work had been a birthday present
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Programme notes – premiered it with Robert conducting in Utrecht later that year during the Schumanns’ highly successful concert tour of Holland. A month earlier they had met the young Brahms for the first time, and when the Introduction and Allegro was published in 1855, Robert celebrated the new friendship – one that would be intense, lasting and sustaining for Clara and Brahms after Robert’s death – by dedicating it to him. As the title suggests, the piece is in two sections, the first of which is musing and improvisatory in mood. Thematic material from it forms the basis of the main subject of the ensuing Allegro, an energetic sonataform section that slides in with well-contrasted themes and a balance between soloists and orchestra maintained by typically sensitive scoring. Towards the end there is an impressive piano cadenza, out of which the work builds to an impressive close in the major.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
THE SOUL OF THE JOURNEY THE MENDELSSOHNS in SCOTLAND and ITALY by Diana Ambache Combining letters and sketches with an accompanying narrative describing their journeys, this book, published by Birlinn, is a wonderful celebration of the two Mendelssohns and a portrait of Scotland and Italy of the time as seen through the eyes of two of the Romantic movement’s most acclaimed composers. Paperback | £14.99 Available to purchase from diana@ambache.co.uk
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Programme notes Felix Mendelssohn 1809–47
Symphony No. 3 in A minor (Scottish) 1829–42
1 Andante con moto – Allegro un poco agitato – Assai animato – Andante come prima 2 Vivace non troppo – 3 Adagio – 4 Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso assai There is little disputing that Felix Mendelssohn was among the most Classically-minded composers of the Romantic period. Yet at the same time he was not immune to the kinds of extra-musical stimuli that affected his more overtly Romantic colleagues. From an early age he drew musical inspiration from Shakespeare and Goethe, and from landscape, legend and history. Perhaps few among his works accommodate the competing compositional interests of formal logic and evocative pictorialism more comfortably than the ‘Scottish’ Symphony.
Photo courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London
Its inspiration lies in one of the great obsessions of the early Romantic imagination: the grey mists and mountains of Scotland. Mendelssohn himself had read Walter Scott, and would also have known the fake bardic poems of ‘Ossian’, so it is not hard to guess the kind of scene he was looking for when he arrived in Scotland for a holiday in July 1829. He found it too. After visiting the ruined royal palace at Holyrood, just outside Edinburgh, he wrote to his family in Berlin: In the deepening twilight we went today to the palace where Queen Mary lived and loved … The nearby chapel is now roofless, overgrown with grass and ivy, and at the broken altar Mary was crowned Queen of Scotland. Everything is broken and decayed, and the bright sky shines in. I believe that today I have found the beginning of my ‘Scottish’ Symphony.
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Programme notes Few symphonies have had their moment of inspiration so precisely recorded, yet having sketched the opening bars Mendelssohn set this one aside, and it was left to the Hebrides Overture to stand as his most immediate response to the Scottish experience. By then he had fallen under another picturesque influence, brought on by a visit to Italy which, he said, made it ‘impossible to return to my misty Scottish mood’; another symphony, the ‘Italian’ (No. 4) now occupied him, and it was not until 1842 that he finally completed the ‘Scottish’.
Recommended recordings of tonight’s works by Laurie Watt Fanny Mendelssohn: Overture in C major The Women’s Philharmonic | JoAnn Falletta (Musical Concepts) Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto Isata Kanneh-Mason | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | Holly Mathieson (Decca)
The Symphony opens with a lengthy slow introduction in which the ‘Holyrood’ theme conjures gloomy and romantic tones, and it is largely on a restlessly lilting transformation of this that the subsequent main body of the movement is based – indeed, several of the themes that occur in later movements are related to this opening. Throughout the first movement stormy episodes (reminders of rough seas and bad weather, no doubt) mingle with calmer passages, but despite the opportunities presented by a robust central development section, it is in the long coda that the tempest really breaks. The movement ends, however, with an atmospheric return to the music of the introduction.
Robert Schumann: Introduction and Allegro Vladimir Ashkenazy | London Symphony Orchestra Uri Segal (Decca) Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra | Edward Gardner (Chandos) or London Symphony Orchestra | Peter Maag (Decca)
Mendelssohn indicated that the four movements of the ‘Scottish’ should be played without a break, and thus it is that the scherzo-like second creeps in almost before you can notice it. This is the most overtly ‘Scottish’ music of the whole Symphony, but its presence is brief, and soon we find ourselves in the Adagio, a yearningly beautiful movement in which a wistful song-melody is several times beset by passages of Schubertian menace before ultimately winning through, relatively unscathed.
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Mendelssohn gave the finale an additional performance indication of ‘Allegro guerriero’ – fast and warlike – and if it does not seem to be exactly battle music, we can suppose that it reflects memories of another sight that impressed him, that of Highlanders resplendent in costume. The movement is full of ingeniously contrasted and combined themes, but the composer chooses to end not with a grand swirling climax, but rather, having slowed the music down, with a final, warmly comforting transformation of the ‘Holyrood’ theme. Thus, for all the work’s conscious Scottish-isms, formal coherence is effortlessly maintained.
Friday 19 January 2024, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
Saturday 20 January 2024, Brighton Dome
Programme notes © Lindsay Kemp
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Next LPO concerts at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
BEETHOVEN’S SEVENTH
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
Wagner Overture, The Flying Dutchman Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, K466 Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Saturday 27 January 2024 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall
Wednesday 24 January 2024 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall
Ryan Bancroft conductor Inon Barnatan piano
Anja Bihlmaier conductor Martin James Bartlett piano
lpo.org.uk Final LPO concert this season at Brighton Dome PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION Saturday 10 February 2024 7.30pm
Brahms Violin Concerto Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Kahchun Wong conductor Francesca Dego violin Laura van der Heijden cello
brightondome.org Ticket Office: 01273 709709 14
FANNY FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR SHEILA HAYMAN
The Other Mendelssohn ★★★★ “A rewarding, civilised film” Ed Porter, The Times ★★★★ “A great story of a long overdue revival” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian “Incredible musical journey” The Female Lead
STREAMING ON NOW
@ ST JOHN’S CHURCH, WATERLOO
WEDNESDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2024 6.30PM
Jazz Roots, Soul Branches RE-IMAGINED CLASSICS AND UNIQUE CHAMBER ARRANGEMENTS, FROM GEORGE GERSHWIN TO DUKE ELLINGTON, STEVIE WONDER & CHAKA KHAN
TICKETS FROM £12 LPO.ORG.UK 16
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
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 CBE 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)
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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
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
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
The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Anonymous donors Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet Aud Jebsen In memory of Mrs Rita Reay Sir Simon & Lady Robey CBE
Orchestra Circle
William & Alex de Winton Edward Gardner & Sara Övinge Patricia Haitink Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich
Principal Associates
An anonymous donor Richard Buxton Gill & Garf Collins In memory of Brenda Lyndoe Casbon In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave George Ramishvili The Tsukanov Family Mr Florian Wunderlich
Associates
Mrs Irina Andreeva In memory of Len & Edna Beech Steven M. Berzin The Candide Trust John & Sam Dawson HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith
Gold Patrons
David & Yi Buckley In memory of Allner Mavis Channing Sonja Drexler Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Mr B C Fairhall Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas MBE Mr Roger Greenwood Malcolm Herring Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Guy & Utti Whittaker
Silver Patrons
Andrew T Mills Denis & Yulia Nagy Andrew Neill Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Peter & Lucy Noble Oliver & Josie Ogg Mr Stephen Olton Simon & Lucy Owen-Johnstone Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Saskia Roberts John Romeo Priscylla Shaw Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Karina Varivoda Grenville & Krysia Williams Joanna Williams
Dame Colette Bowe David Burke & Valerie Graham Clive & Helena Butler Cameron & Kathryn Doley Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Dmitry & Ekaterina Gursky The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust John & Angela Kessler Mrs Elena & Mr Oleg Kolobov Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr Joe Topley & Ms Tracey Countryman Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Jenny Watson CBE Laurence Watt
Principal Supporters
Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mr John D Barnard Roger & Clare Barron Dr Anthony Buckland Dr Simona Cicero & Mr Mario Altieri Mr Alistair Corbett Guy Davies David Devons Igor & Lyuba Galkin Prof. Erol & Mrs Deniz Gelenbe In memory of Enid Gofton Alexander Greaves Prof. Emeritus John Gruzelier Michael & Christine Henry Mrs Maureen Hooft-Graafland Per Jonsson Mr Ian Kapur Ms Elena Lojevsky Pippa Mistry-Norman Mrs Terry Neale John Nickson & Simon Rew Mr James Pickford Filippo Poli Mr Robert Ross Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr Rodney Whittaker Christopher Williams
Bronze Patrons
Anonymous donors Chris Aldren Michael Allen Mrs A Beare Mr Anthony Blaiklock Lorna & Christopher Bown Mr Bernard Bradbury Simon Burke & Rupert King Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Deborah Dolce Ms Elena Dubinets David Ellen Cristina & Malcolm Fallen Christopher Fraser OBE Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Iain & Alicia Hasnip Eugene & Allison Hayes J Douglas Home Molly Jackson Mrs Farrah Jamal Mr & Mrs Jan Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza Mr Peter King Jamie & Julia Korner Rose & Dudley Leigh Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Mr Gordon McNair
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Supporters
Anonymous donors Mr Francesco Andronio Julian & Annette Armstrong Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Emily Benn Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Peter Coe Mr Joshua Coger Miss Tessa Cowie Caroline Cox-Johnson Mr Simon Edelsten Will Gold Mr Stephen Goldring Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr Geordie Greig Mr Peter Imhof The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Paul & Suzanne McKeown Nick Merrifield Simon & Fiona Mortimore Dame Jane Newell DBE Mr David Peters Nicky Small Mr Brian Smith Mr Michael Timinis Mr & Mrs Anthony Trahar Tony & Hilary Vines Dr June Wakefield Mr John Weekes Mr Roger Woodhouse Mr C D Yates
Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd
Hon. Life Members Alfonso Aijón Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Keith Millar Victoria Robey CBE Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Timothy Walker CBE AM Laurence Watt
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
Thank you
Thomas Beecham Group Members
Trusts and Foundations
German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce Lazard Natixis Corporate Investment Banking Sciteb Ltd Walpole
ABO Trust The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust BlueSpark Foundation The Boltini Trust Borrows Charitable Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The London Community Foundation Dunard Fund Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Foyle Foundation Garrick Charitable Trust The Golsoncott Foundation Idlewild Trust Institute Adam Mickiewicz John Coates Charitable Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust John Thaw Foundation Kirby Laing Foundation The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Marchus Trust PRS Foundation The R K Charitable Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Rothschild Foundation Scops Arts Trust TIOC Foundation The Thriplow Charitable Trust Vaughan Williams Foundation The Victoria Wood Foundation The Viney Family
Preferred Partners
and all others who wish to remain anonymous.
David & Yi Buckley Gill & Garf Collins William & Alex de Winton Sonja Drexler Mr B C Fairhall The Friends of the LPO Roger Greenwood Dr Barry Grimaldi Mr & Mrs Philip Kan John & Angela Kessler Sir Simon Robey Victoria Robey CBE 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 Solicitors French Chamber of Commerce
Tutti
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 MBE Damien Vanderwilt Marc Wassermann 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 HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern Aline Foriel-Destezet Irina Gofman Olivia Ma George Ramishvili Sophie Schÿler-Thierry Florian Wunderlich
Jeroboams Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Neal’s Yard OneWelbeck Sipsmith Steinway
In-kind Sponsor Google Inc
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 19 & 20 January 2024 • Family Ties
London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration Board of Directors
General Administration
Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair Martin Höhmann* President Mark Vines* Vice-President Emily Benn Kate Birchall* David Burke Deborah Dolce Elena Dubinets Tanya Joseph Hugh Kluger* Katherine Leek* 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
Elena Dubinets Artistic Director
Advisory Council Roger Barron Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank YolanDa Brown OBE David Buckley 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 Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Andrew Neill Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey CBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe KC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Chris Viney Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter
Education and Community Talia Lash Education and Community Director
David Burke Chief Executive Chantelle Vircavs PA to the Executive and Employee Relations Manager
Lowri Davies Hannah Foakes Education and Community Project Managers
Concert Management
Hannah Smith Education and Community Co-ordinator
Roanna Gibson Concerts and Planning Director
Claudia Clarkson Regional Partnerships Manager
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager Maddy Clarke Tours Manager
Development Laura Willis Development Director
Madeleine Ridout Glyndebourne and Projects Manager
Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager
Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator
Siân Jenkins Corporate Relations Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager
Robert Winup Concerts and Tours Assistant Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant
Katurah Morrish Development Events Manager
Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager
Eleanor Conroy Al Levin Development Co-ordinators
Sarah Thomas Martin Sargeson Librarians Laura Kitson Stage and Operations Manager
Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director
Stephen O’Flaherty Deputy Operations Manager
Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate
Benjamin Wakley Assistant Stage Manager
Marketing
Felix Lo Orchestra and Auditions Manager
Kath Trout Marketing and Communications Director
Finance
Sophie Harvey Marketing Manager
Frances Slack Finance Director
Rachel Williams Publications Manager
Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager
Gavin Miller Sales and Ticketing Manager
Jean-Paul Ramotar Finance and IT Officer
Ruth Haines Press and PR Manager Hayley Kim Residencies and Projects Marketing Manager
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Greg Felton Digital Creative Alicia Hartley Digital and Marketing Co-ordinator Isobel Jones 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 Selman Hoşgör 2023/24 season identity JMG Studio Printer John Good Ltd