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 Royal Festival Hall Friday 3 November 2023 | 7.30pm
Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (10’) Ravel Piano Concerto in G (21’) Interval (20’)
Contents 2
Welcome LPO news 3 On stage tonight 4 London Philharmonic Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Edward Gardner 7 Hélène Grimaud 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings 12 Next concerts 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Thank you 16 LPO administration
Stravinsky Petrushka (34’) Edward Gardner conductor
Generously supported by Aud Jebsen
Hélène Grimaud piano * Hélène Grimaud’s performance is generously supported by HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern.
This concert is being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Friday 17 November at 7.30pm. It will remain available for 30 days after that on BBC Sounds.
The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. Concert presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Works from tonight’s concert are being filmed for future broadcast on Marquee TV. We would be grateful if audience noise during the performance could be kept to a minimum, and if audience members could kindly hold applause until the end of each full work. Thank you for your co-operation.
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Welcome
LPO news Tonight’s concert on Marquee TV
Welcome to the Southbank Centre
We are delighted that a selection of concerts from our LPO 2023/24 Royal Festival Hall season are being filmed for broadcast on Marquee TV. Works from this evening’s concert are being filmed for broadcast on Saturday 9 December 2023 at 7pm. The performance will remain available to watch free of charge for 48 hours without a Marquee TV subscription.
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.
If you would like to subscribe for unlimited access to Marquee TV’s extensive range of music, opera, theatre and dance productions, you can enjoy 50% off with code LPO2023. Visit welcome.marquee.tv/lpo-2023 to find out more, enjoy a free trial or subscribe.
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
Out today: The Damnation of Faust on Apple Music Classical We recently launched a new LPO partnership with Apple Music Classical, the new streaming app designed specifically for classical music.
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The first release of the partnership is Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust with Edward Gardner, recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall on 4 February 2023. It is available to stream exclusively on Apple Music Classical for three months from today (3 November) and will be released on all other streaming platforms and on physical disc on 3 February 2024.
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.
Find Apple Music Classical in the App Store or the Google Play Store, or scan the QR code to listen to The Damnation of Faust now.
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 • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
On stage tonight First Violins
Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Alice Ivy-Pemberton Co-Leader
Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader
Kate Oswin
Chair supported by Eric Tomsett
Lasma Taimina
Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave
Minn Majoe Thomas Eisner Cassandra Hamilton Yang Zhang Martin Höhmann Katalin Varnagy
Chair supported by Sonja Drexler
Elizaveta Tyun Nilufar Alimaksumova Sophie Phillips Rasa Zukauskaite Alison Strange
Second Violins
Tania Mazzetti Principal Emma Oldfield Co-Principal Molly Cockburn Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley
Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Sioni Williams Ricky Gore Lyrit Milgram Sheila Law Claudia Tarrant-Matthews Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra
Beatriz Carbonell
Violas
Sue Böhling* Principal
Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi
Clarinets
Benjamin Mellefont Principal
Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden
Waynne Kwon Francis Bucknall David Lale Sue Sutherley Helen Thomas George Hoult Sibylle Hentschel Hee Yeon Cho Iain Ward
Percussion
Andrew Barclay* Principal
Bassoons
Karen Hutt
Horns
John Ryan* Principal Annemarie Federle Principal
Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison
Trumpets
Juliette Bausor Principal Daniel Shao Stewart McIlwham*
Paul Beniston* Principal Tom Nielsen Co-Principal Anne McAneney*
Piccolo
Cornets
Stewart McIlwham* Principal
Tom Nielsen David Hilton
Oboes
Trombones
Rainer Gibbons
Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani
Alice Munday
Mark Templeton* Principal
Guest Principal
Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
David Whitehouse
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Principal
Paul Richards* Principal
Simon Estell* Principal
Flutes
Timpani
Bass Clarinet
Contrabassoon
George Peniston Laura Murphy Lowri Morgan Adam Wynter Elen Roberts Thea Sayer
Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal
Paul Richards*
Helen Simons Antonia Lazenby
Co-Principal
Tuba
Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE
Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey
Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar
Lyndon Meredith Principal
Simon Carrington*
Jonathan Davies Principal
Double Basses
Bass Trombone
Thomas Watmough
Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Cellos
Sam Burstin
Guest Principal
Cor Anglais
Lucia Ortiz Sauco Martin Wray Michelle Bruil Alistair Scahill James Heron Raquel López Bolívar Kate De Campos Laura Vallejo Julia Doukakis
Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins Chair supported by Mr B C Fairhall
James Bower Jeremy Cornes
Harp
Rachel Masters Principal
Piano
Catherine Edwards
Celeste
Fionnuala Ward
Assistant Conductor Luis Castillo-Briceño
*Holds a professorship at a London conservatoire
The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose player is not present at this concert: Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
© Benjamin Ealovega
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 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.
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 • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
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, 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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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Edward Gardner Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra
© Photographer London
In demand as a guest conductor, recent seasons have seen Edward make debuts with the Cleveland Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin, Bavarian Radio Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, San Francisco Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony and Vienna Symphony orchestras; while returns have included engagements with the Chicago Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Philharmonia orchestras, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano. He also continued his longstanding collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2010–16, and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, whom he has conducted at both the First and Last Nights of the BBC Proms. Music Director of English National Opera for eight years (2007–15), Edward has also built a strong relationship with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where he has conducted productions of The Damnation of Faust, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier and Werther. In London he made his Royal Opera House debut in 2019 in a new production of Káťa Kabanová, followed by Werther a season later. Elsewhere, he has conducted at the Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Opéra National de Paris, and this season he will conduct a double-bill of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Poulenc's La voix humaine at Teatro di San Carlo.
Edward Gardner has been Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2021. He is also Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic, a position he will relinquish at the end of the 2023/24 season. From August 2024 he will undertake the Music Directorship of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, having been their Artistic Advisor since February 2022. During the 2023/24 season Edward will conduct the LPO in ten concerts at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. Last month he toured with the Orchestra to South Korea and Taiwan, and this season will also take them to major European cities including Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Bruges. As part of the LPO's cross-arts festival ‘The Music in You’ in spring 2024, Edward will conduct concerts including Haydn’s The Creation; a reinvention of Szymanowski’s ballet Harnasie in collaboration with choreographer Wayne McGregor; Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins; and Mozart’s Mass in C minor. Other highlights with the Orchestra this season include Holst’s The Planets and Stravinsky’s Petrushka.
A passionate supporter of young talent, Edward founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra in 2002 and regularly conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He has a close relationship with The Juilliard School of Music and with the Royal Academy of Music, which appointed him its inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair in 2014. Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward was educated at Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to become Assistant Conductor of the Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include being named Royal Philharmonic Society Award Conductor of the Year (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009), and an OBE for Services to Music in The Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).
Edward opened the Bergen Philharmonic season in September with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. He completes his tenure as Chief Conductor at the closing of next summer's Bergen International Festival, conducting Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. The orchestra will be joined by several choirs, including the Edvard Grieg Kor, of which Edward is the Principal Conductor. As Artistic Advisor of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, this season Edward will conduct a triple-bill of Schumann’s Frauen-Liebe und Leben, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy. Future plans with the company include a Wagner Ring Cycle commencing in spring 2026.
Edward Gardner’s position at the LPO is generously supported by Aud Jebsen.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Hélène Grimaud piano
© Mat Hennek
Hélène Grimaud has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002. Her recordings have been awarded numerous accolades including the Cannes Classical Recording of the Year, Choc du Monde de la musique, Diapason d’or, Grand Prix du disque, Record Academy Prize (Tokyo), Midem Classic Award and Echo Klassik Award. The pianist’s latest project focuses on her long relationship with the German Romantics, and on the ties that bound both Robert Schumann and his protégé Brahms to pianist-composer Clara Schumann. She has revisited Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, and pairs it on her new album with Brahms’s Op. 117 Intermezzi and his Op. 32 set of songs, in which she is again joined by Konstantin Krimmel. For Clara was released in September 2023. Hélène Grimaud was born in 1969 in Aix-en-Provence. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire aged just 13 and won first prize in piano performance a mere three years later. She continued to study with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her debut recital in Tokyo. That same year, conductor Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris: this marked the launch of her musical career, characterised ever since by concerts with the world’s major orchestras and celebrated conductors.
Renaissance woman Hélène Grimaud is not just a deeply passionate and committed musical artist – her multiple talents extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. She has also established herself as a wildlife conservationist, a human rights activist and a writer, her deep dedication to her musical career reflected in and amplified by the scope and depth of her environmental, literary and artistic interests.
Between her debut in 1995 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and her first performance with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999 – just two of many notable musical milestones – Hélène made a wholly different kind of debut: in upper New York State she established the Wolf Conservation Center. Her love for the endangered species was sparked by a chance encounter with a wolf in northern Florida; this led to her determination to open an environmental education centre. ‘To be involved in direct conservation and being able to put animals back where they belong,’ she says, ‘there’s just nothing more fulfilling.’ But her engagement doesn’t end there: she is also a member of Musicians for Human Rights, a worldwide network of musicians and people working in the field of music to promote a culture of human rights and social change. For a number of years Hélène also found time to pursue a writing career, publishing three books that have appeared in various languages: Variations Sauvages in 2003, Leçons particulières in 2005 and Retour à Salem in 2013, the latter two both semi-autobiographical novels.
Following tonight’s concert, next week Hélène joins the LPO and Edward Gardner for a major tour of Germany and Paris, performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Last month she also performed the same work with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg as part of a season-long residency at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. Other highlights this season include performances of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin (December); recitals in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Toronto (January/February); and performances with Camerata Salzburg (with whom she embarks on a new artistic partnership in the 2023/24 season) of the Schumann Piano Concerto at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Dresden Music Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Évian Festival (May/June). Next June will also see performances with baritone Konstantin Krimmel of Valentin Silvestrov’s Silent Songs in Luxembourg and Dortmund (June). A recording of the song-cycle was released by Deutsche Grammophon in March 2023 to critical acclaim: ‘Konstantin Krimmel and Hélène Grimaud deserve the highest praise for their poised and unaffected account of this beautiful, dreamlike music.’ (BBC Music Magazine).
Hélène Grimaud’s performance with the LPO this evening is generously supported by HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Programme notes Paul Dukas 1882–1971
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 1897
may bring to mind Mickey Mouse. No matter. The music alone, sans Mouse, suffices to tell the tale propounded in a ballad by the great German author and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The picture comes into focus right from the start. Mysterious strings set the atmosphere of the sorcerer’s workshop. (No less than Stravinsky ‘borrowed’ this opening for his early Fireworks.) The apprentice, alone, discovers enough of his master’s magic (trumpets) to bring a broom to life (bassoon). The broom performs the apprentice’s chore – that of fetching water from the river. Enough water soon becomes too much (orchestral agitation), but the distraught lad cannot find the ‘stopping’ incantation. In desperation, he chops the broom in two, but now the work is done at twice the speed by the broom halves (bassoon and bass clarinet). Bedlam. Flood disaster is imminent. But the sorcerer returns, speaks the magic words (trumpets again), the brooms are stilled, and calm, as at the beginning, is restored. Four quick chords at the end suggest the sorcerer has delivered that number of disciplinary strokes to the mischievous apprentice.
Pity the poor one-piece composer. Not the composer who writes only one piece, but the musical creator who enjoys far-reaching success with one of his works but is destined never to repeat that achievement with any other. The Frenchman Paul Dukas belongs to that dreaded fraternity. His single claim to fame is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which he wrote in 1897. A very methodical (read ‘painstakingly slow’), highly self-critical musician who destroyed many of his compositions before his death, Dukas considered himself a ‘teacher who composed’. Even so, he managed to turn out several large-scale works in addition to his one big hit.
Programme note © Orrin Howard Reprinted by kind permission of the LA Philharmonic
As for The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it deserves the esteem in which it is held. A legitimate child of the 19th century’s much-celebrated wedding of music and literature, the descriptive tone-poem, the work operates on quite as high a level of distinction as the ranking compositions in the genre by Liszt and Strauss. The composition’s musical storytelling is remarkably graphic, although for those who have seen the Disney animation in the film Fantasia, a hearing of the piece
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Programme notes Maurice Ravel 1875–1937
Piano Concerto in G 1929–31
Hélène Grimaud piano
1 Allegramente 2 Adagio assai 3 Presto According to one of Ravel’s friends, the outer movements were based on ideas from a projected concerto on Basque themes he had begun back in 1911. Ravel’s mother was a Basque, and Spanish music was always a prominent strain in his music, but such popular elements as exist in the G major Concerto are only part of an eclectic mix of readily apparent influences, among them jazz (Ravel had recently visited America, where he had met Gershwin), music-hall, Scarlatti, Mozart and Stravinskian neoclassicism. The end result is a work that is often detached in its cool sophistication and humour, but that at times reaches out to the listener with an emotion that is both powerful and direct.
Ravel composed two piano concertos, both at the same time. They make a fascinating pair, one the darkly romantic Concerto for the Left Hand in D major, and the other this glittering work in G major, described by the composer as ‘a concerto in the strict sense, written in the spirit of Mozart and Saint-Saëns’. The G major was begun in the summer of 1929 while Ravel was staying in the Basque Country, but the commission for the Concerto for the Left Hand from the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein supervened, and it was not until November 1931 that the ‘first’ Concerto was finished. Ravel had originally told his pupil Marguerite Long that it was for her, but somewhere along the line he changed his mind and decided that he wanted to perform it himself. He was not, however, a great pianist – despite the extreme difficulty of some of his piano music – and although he entered a rigorous practice regime, concerned friends eventually persuaded him to let Long give the premiere after all. Given at an all-Ravel concert in Paris in January 1932 (with the composer now conducting), it was hailed as a triumph of French art, and immediately taken on a four-month European tour.
This expressiveness is at its most exquisite in the hauntingly beautiful central slow movement, described by Long as ‘one of the most touching melodies to have come from the human heart’. The movement is framed by two brilliant companions, the first a breezy creation based on a succession of themes from both the Spanish and American camps, and the finale a witty rondo whose playfulness and irreverent comedy bring the work to a close in fairground mood. Programme note © Andrew Mellor
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Programme notes Igor Stravinsky 1882–1971
Petrushka
1911 (This revised version 1947)
Scene I: The Shrovetide Fair Scene II: Petrushka’s Room Scene III: The Moor’s Room Scene IV: The Shrovetide Fair (towards evening) The show ends, and with a curt drum-roll the scene switches to the interior of the little theatre. Petrushka, it turns out, has feelings: and to the jangling sound of the piano, he curses his ugliness and the Showman who controls him. He loves the Ballerina, but when she visits him his awkward clowning drives her away: a doleful clarinet solo and stabbing brass express his despair.
In classical Russian ballet, the choreographer was king: music came further down the list of priorities. So it’s a sign of the creative radicalism of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes that Petrushka was conceived by its composer. Stravinsky recalled how in the summer of 1910, while recuperating after the premiere of The Firebird: ‘I wanted to refresh myself by composing an orchestral piece in which the piano would play the most important part. I had in mind a distinct picture of a puppet, suddenly endowed with life, exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggios.’
With another drum-roll we’re in the Moor’s room: he dances sensuously to clarinet, cor anglais and quiet cymbals. The Ballerina is impressed, and dances to a jaunty tune for drum and cornet, before he joins her in a lilting musical-box waltz. Petrushka jealously interrupts: there’s a scuffle and the Moor boots him out.
When Diaghilev visited Stravinsky in Switzerland shortly afterwards, he was captivated, and immediately persuaded Stravinsky to expand the idea into a fulllength ballet. ‘We settled the scene of the action: the fair, with its crowds, its booths, the little traditional theatre, the character of the magician with all his tricks; and the coming to life of the dolls’, recalled Stravinsky. The scene is the Shrovetide Fair in Admiralty Square, St Petersburg, some time in the 1830s: a colourful clutter of stalls, surrounded by milling crowds, with the Showman’s puppet theatre in the centre. A pair of competing barrel-organ grinders play popular songs (both authentic: Stravinsky later had to pay royalties to the composer of one of them), and a drum-roll silences the crowd as the Showman pulls back the curtains of his theatre to reveal three lifeless puppets: Petrushka (‘little Peter’, or Pierrot), a Moor and a Ballerina. The music takes on an eerie shimmer as, with a melody on his flute, he coaxes them into a vigorous, strangely lifelike Russian Dance.
A final drum-roll, and we’re back outside at the fair. It’s early evening, and masqueraders, coachmen, wet-nurses and a peasant with a dancing bear (his brassy roar temporarily shocks the crowd into silence) all dance across the scene. Suddenly, Petrushka’s strange fanfare is heard, and the puppets tumble out of the theatre. Petrushka and the Moor fight, briefly and fatally, and Petrushka’s life ebbs away to shuddering strings and gasping piccolos. A policeman plods up (on bassoon) to investigate, and the Showman assures the onlookers that it was nothing: just puppets. As the crowd disperses, Petrushka’s ghost suddenly appears on the theatre’s roof – jeering bitterly at everyone that the Showman has fooled. Programme note © Richard Bratby
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Programme notes Recommended recordings of tonight’s works
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by Laurie Watt Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Ulster Orchestra | Yan Pascal Tortelier (Chandos) Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Cédric Tiberghien | Les Siècles | François-Xavier Roth (Harmonia Mundi) Stravinsky: Petrushka London Philharmonic Orchestra | Vladimir Jurowski (LPO Label LPO-0091) or London Philharmonic Orchestra | Klaus Tennstedt (LPO Label LPO-0105)
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Next LPO concerts at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall JULIAN JOSEPH PLAYS GERSHWIN Wednesday 22 November 2023 | 7.30pm
Julian Joseph Spiritual Fiction or Fact? (No. 5 of Symphonic Stories: The Great Exception) Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Jader Bignamini conductor Julian Joseph piano Julian Joseph Trio Anna Lapwood organ
TICCIATI CONDUCTS MAHLER Saturday 25 November 2023 | 7.30pm Mahler Symphony No. 3 Robin Ticciati conductor Alice Coote mezzo-soprano London Philharmonic Choir Trinity Boys Choir
BEETHOVEN’S FIFTH
Wednesday 29 November 2023 | 7.30pm Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Florence Price Violin Concerto No. 2* Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Kristiina Poska conductor Pieter Schoeman violin† *A grant from the ABO Trust’s Sirens programme (supporting the promotion of music by historical women composers) has made this performance possible.
†LPO chair supported by Neil Westreich.
LPO.ORG.UK
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
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)
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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 • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
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 OBE
Orchestra Circle
William & Alex de Winton Edward Gardner & Sara Övinge Patricia Haitink Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich
Principal Associates
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
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 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
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
Dame Colette Bowe David Burke & Valerie Graham 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 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
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 Christopher Fraser OBE Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton
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Mr James Pickford Filippo Poli Mr Robert Ross Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Christopher Williams
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 Dame Jane Newell DBE Mr David Peters Nicky Small Mr Brian Smith Mr Michael Timinis Mr & Mrs Anthony Trahar Tony & Hilary Vines 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 OBE Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Timothy Walker CBE AM Laurence Watt
London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
Thank you
Thomas Beecham Group Members
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 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 Solicitors French Chamber of Commerce
Tutti
German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce Lazard Natixis Corporate Investment Banking Sciteb Ltd Walpole
Trusts and Foundations
Board of the American Friends of the LPO
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 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 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
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 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
and all others who wish to remain anonymous.
Preferred Partners Jeroboams Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Neal’s Yard OneWelbeck Sipsmith Steinway
In-kind Sponsor Google Inc
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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 3 November 2023 • Hélène Grimaud plays Ravel
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 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
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 OBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe KC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Chris Viney
Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter
Education and Community
General Administration
Talia Lash Education and Community Director
Elena Dubinets Artistic Director
Lowri Davies Hannah Foakes Education and Community Project Managers
David Burke Chief Executive Chantelle Vircavs PA to the Executive and Employee Relations Manager
Hannah Smith Education and Community Co-ordinator
Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts and Planning Director
Claudia Clarkson Regional Partnerships Manager
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager
Development Laura Willis Development Director
Maddy Clarke Tours Manager
Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager
Madeleine Ridout Glyndebourne and Projects Manager
Siân Jenkins Corporate Relations Manager
Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator
Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager
Robert Winup Concerts and Tours Assistant
Katurah Morrish Development Events Manager
Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant
Eleanor Conroy Al Levin Development Co-ordinators
Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Thomas Martin Sargeson Librarians
Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director
Laura Kitson Stage and Operations Manager
Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate
Marketing
Stephen O’Flaherty Deputy Operations Manager
Kath Trout Marketing and Communications Director
Benjamin Wakley Assistant Stage Manager Felix Lo Orchestra and Auditions Manager
Sophie Harvey Marketing Manager Rachel Williams Publications Manager
Finance
Gavin Miller Sales and Ticketing Manager
Frances Slack Finance Director
Ruth Haines Press and PR Manager
Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager
Hayley Kim Residencies and Projects Marketing Manager
Jean-Paul Ramotar Finance and IT Officer
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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