LPO programme 9 March 2025 Eastbourne - Beethoven & Brahms
2024/25 season at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre
CONCERT
PROGRAMME
Principal Conductor Edward Gardner supported by Aud Jebsen
Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis
Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski KBE Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG
Artistic Director Elena Dubinets Chief Executive David Burke
Leader Pieter Schoeman supported by Neil Westreich
Brighton Dome Concert Hall
Saturday 8 March 2025 | 7.30pm
Congress Theatre, Eastbourne
Sunday 9 March 2025 | 3.00pm
Beethoven & Brahms
R Schumann
Overture, Genoveva (9’)
Beethoven
Violin Concerto (42’)
Interval (20’)
Brahms
Symphony No. 4 (40’)
Adam Hickox
conductor
Hyeyoon Park violin
The
Saturday 8 March 2025
Welcome to Brighton Dome
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.
Latecomers may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks.
Interval drinks may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues.
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.
The concert at Brighton Dome on 8 March 2025 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.
Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival with Create Music
Situated in the Royal Pavilion Estate at the heart of the city, Brighton Dome is an arts charity, three historic contemporary live arts venues, a music education service across the region – Create Music – and the biggest curated cross-arts festival in England. brightondome.org | brightonfestival.org createmusic.org.uk
Sunday 9 March 2025
Welcome to the Congress Theatre
Theatre Director Chris Jordan General Manager Neil Jones
We extend a warm welcome to the members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and to the artists performing with the Orchestra today – and of course to every one of you, our valued audience members.
The historic theatre in which you are now seated is unique in that it is conceived to be a perfect cube and has fantastic acoustics to enhance your experience of live music. Whether this is your first concert or you are a season regular, we hope you enjoy your experience at our venue. Please speak to a member of our staff if you have any comments you’d like to make about your visit. We thank you for continuing to support the concert series. Please sit back in your seats and enjoy your afternoon with us.
As a courtesy to others, please ensure mobile phones are switched off during the performance. Please also note that photography and recording are not allowed in the auditorium unless announced from the stage. Thank you.
LPO 2025/26 season
Details of next season’s LPO Brighton and Eastbourne concerts will be announced in late April.
To make sure you receive updates, sign up to our mailing list at lpo.org.uk/eastsussex or scan the QR code.
The paper used for all LPO brochures and concert programmes has been sourced from responsibly managed forests, certified in accordance with the FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council). It is also Carbon Balanced, meaning the carbon impact of its production is offset by the World Land Trust through the purchase and preservation of ecologically important forestry under imminent threat of clearance.
First Violins
Pieter Schoeman* Leader
Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Lasma Taimina
Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave
Minn Majoe
Chair supported by Dr Alex & Maria Chan
Cassandra Hamilton
Martin Höhmann
Katalin Varnagy
Alison Strange
Maeve Jenkinson
Daniel Pukach
Camille Buitenhuis
Eleanor Bartlett
Eve Kennedy
Tayfun Bomboz
Kay Chappell
Second Violins
Tristan Gurney Guest Principal
Kate Birchall
Marie-Anne Mairesse
Nancy Elan
Ashley Stevens
Joseph Maher
Fiona Higham
Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley
Sioni Williams
Kate Cole
Caroline Heard
José Nuno Cabrita Matias
Gabriel Bilbao
Violas
Samuel Burstin Guest Principal
Benedetto Pollani
Martin Wray
Chair supported by David & Bettina Harden
Laura Vallejo
Jenny Poyser
Toby Warr
Charles Cross
On stage
Cellos
Sasho Somov Guest Principal
Leo Melvin
Helen Thomas
Sibylle Hentschel
Iain Ward
Pedro Silva
Tamaki Sugimoto
Double Basses
Hugh Kluger Principal
Adam Wynter
Lowri Estell
Tom Walley
Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
Charlotte Kerbegian
Flutes
Tom Hancox Guest Principal
Ruth Harrison
Piccolo
Ruth Harrison
Oboes
Alice Munday Principal
Jack Tostevin-Hall
Clarinets
Benjamin Mellefont* Principal
Chair supported by Sir Nigel Boardman & Prof. Lynda Gratton
Thomas Watmough
Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Bassoons
Paul Boyes Guest Principal
Helen Storey*
Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra
Contrabassoon
Simon Estell* Principal
Horns
John Ryan* Principal
Annemarie Federle Principal
Chair supported by Victoria Robey CBE
Martin Hobbs
Mark Vines Co-Principal
Oliver Johnson
Trumpets
Paul Beniston* Principal
Tom Nielsen Co-Principal
Anne McAneney*
Chair supported in memory of Peter Coe
Trombones
Mark Templeton* Principal
Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
David Whitehouse
Bass Trombone
Lyndon Meredith Principal
Timpani
Simon Carrington* Principal
Chair supported by Victoria Robey CBE
Percussion
Andrew Barclay* Principal
Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins
*Professor at a London conservatoire
The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert:
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. Our mission is to share wonder with the modern world through the power of orchestral music, which we accomplish through live performances, online, and an extensive education and community programme, cementing our position as a leading orchestra for the 21st century.
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 worldwide. In 2024 we celebrated 60 years as Resident Symphony Orchestra 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 Grammy-nominated London Philharmonic Orchestra, whether it’s playing the world’s National Anthems for 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 worldwide
We’re one of the world’s most-streamed orchestras, with over 15 million plays of our content each month. In 2023 we were the most successful orchestra worldwide on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, with over 1.1m followers across all platforms, and in spring 2024 we featured in a TV documentary series on Sky Arts: ‘Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra’, still available to watch via Now TV. During 2024/25 we’re once again working with Marquee TV to broadcast selected live concerts to enjoy from your own living room.
Our conductors
Our Principal Conductors have included some of the greatest historic names like Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2021 Edward Gardner became our 13th Principal Conductor, and 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.
Next generations
We’re committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and music-lovers: we love seeing the joy of children and families experiencing their first musical moments, and we’re passionate about inspiring schools and teachers through dedicated concerts, workshops,
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 disabilities and special educational needs.
Today’s young instrumentalists are the orchestra members of the future, and we have a number of opportunities to support their progression. Our LPO Junior Artists programme leads 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 two outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds under-represented in the profession.
2024/25 season
Principal Conductor Edward Gardner leads the Orchestra in an exciting 2024/25 season, with soloists including Joyce DiDonato, Leif Ove Andsnes, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Víkingur Ólafsson and Isabelle Faust, and works including Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony. Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis joins us for three concerts including Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, and Mozart with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. We’ll also welcome back Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski, as well as guest conductors including Mark Elder, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Robin Ticciati and Kevin John Edusei.
Throughout the season we’ll explore the relationship between music and memory in our ‘Moments Remembered’ series, featuring works like Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony, Strauss’s Metamorphosen and John Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls. During the season there’ll be the chance to hear brand new works by composers including Freya Waley-Cohen and David Sawer, as well as performances by renowned soloists violinist Gidon Kremer, sarod player Amjad Ali Khan, soprano Renée Fleming and many more. The season also features tours to Japan, the USA, China and across Europe, as well as a calendar bursting with performances and community events in our Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden residencies.
lpo.org.uk
Pieter Schoeman Leader
Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. He is also a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.
Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninoff Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. As a chamber musician he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. His chamber music partners have included Anne-Sophie Mutter, Veronika Eberle, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Boris Garlitsky, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Martin Helmchen and Julia Fischer.
Pieter has performed numerous times as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights have included an appearance as both conductor and soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the Royal Festival Hall, the Brahms Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, 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.
Pieter’s chair in the LPO is generously supported by Neil Westreich.
British conductor Adam Hickox is praised repeatedly for his expressive and masterful interpretations, and is in increasing demand across the world. Following a highly successful run of performances of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, he was appointed Principal Conductor of The Glyndebourne Sinfonia in December 2023, following a long line of distinguished predecessors. In November 2024, just a few months after making his debut with the orchestra, Adam was announced as the new Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, starting in 2025/26.
This pair of concerts in Brighton and Eastbourne mark Adam Hickox’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Equally at home in the opera and symphonic fields, he also makes debuts this season with the Hamburg State Opera (Hänsel und Gretel), Dresden Philharmonic, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Trondheim Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National and Bournemouth Symphony orchestras, and the Orchestre National de Lille. The season also sees a tour of Holland with the Dutch orchestra Phion; and Adam’s Asian debut with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. He will also return to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic. During the Glyndebourne autumn 2024 season, he conducted La traviata and concert performances of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time
In previous seasons, Adam has conducted orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, Philharmonia Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and acclaimed opera productions with Norwegian National Opera (Candide) and Opera North (Tosca).
Adam Hickox studied music and composition with Robin Holloway at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music. He was Assistant Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2019–22, working closely with Lahav Shani, and in 2021 was invited to Tanglewood as one of the Festival’s two Conducting Fellows.
Hyeyoon Park violin
Hyeyoon Park is an artist of outstanding focus and virtuosity, combining effortlessly rich sonority with musical integrity. The youngest ever winner of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2009, she is in demand as both a soloist and chamber musician.
Hyeyoon made her London Philharmonic Orchestra debut in 2016, when she performed Korngold’s Violin Concerto at London’s Royal Festival Hall under Osmo Vänskä. In October 2024 she stepped in at short notice to perform Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 at Brighton Dome. Today’s work, the Beethoven Concerto, is this season also the centrepiece of a specially curated touring project with Sinfonia Cymru. Other highlights this season include debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Florence Price’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and with the Cape Town Philharmonic in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, as well as returning to the Multi-Story Orchestra at London’s Southbank Centre for a performance of Verified –an original work written by Young Creatives and Kate Whitely about the search for authenticity and acceptance amidst the growing pressures of social media and living in a digital age.
A renowned chamber musician, Hyeyoon’s upcoming projects include European tours with her longstanding piano quartet colleagues Kian Soltani, Timothy Ridout and Benjamin Grosvenor, including at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Luxembourg Philharmonie, and the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. She gives recitals including Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 at the IMUKO Festival Koblenz, FIMUV24 in Portugal, and the Nymphenburger Sommer Festival in Munich.
Recent engagements include critically acclaimed performances with both the Hallé Orchestra and the Royal Northern Sinfonia alongside Sheku KannehMason and Benjamin Grosvenor in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Other concerto appearances include with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Orchester Mainz, Poznań Philharmonic, Hitzacker Festival, Cologne Philharmonic, Zuger Sinfonietta, and Iași Philharmonic at the Classix Festival in Romania with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
A passionate chamber musician, Hyeyoon regularly appears at major festivals and venues worldwide. She has collaborated with Gidon Kremer, Ben Goldscheider, Beatrice Rana, András Schiff, Christian Tetzlaff, Antje Weithaas, Yuri Bashmet, Daniel Hope, Alban Gerhardt, Jan Vogler and Florian Uhlig. In 2015 she gave the world premiere of Five Memos, written for her by Mark Bowden, at the Newbury Spring Festival, which she subsequently recorded for the NMC record label. She has also given recitals at the Tonhalle Zurich, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and the festivals of SchleswigHolstein, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Musical Olympus and Les Violons de la Paix.
A Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award holder in 2011, in 2023 as part of the Trust’s 20th anniversary celebrations Hyeyoon collaborated with fellow BBT alumna, composer Kate Whitely, on Verified, which received its world premiere with the Multi-Story Orchestra at Bold Tendencies in London. Hyeyoon received the London Music Masters Award in 2012 and is now a proud Ambassador of the same charity, which gives children from underprivileged areas of the UK a much-needed platform to experience classical music education.
Hyeyoon’s debut digital release on Decca Classics in 2022 to mark Vaughan Williams’s 150th anniversary featured the ever-popular The Lark Ascending in its original scoring for violin and piano, alongside pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and was praised for its ‘soaring beauty with an almost conversational intimacy’ (Record Review, BBC Radio 3).
Hyeyoon Park studied at the junior colleges of the Korean National University of Arts and the University of Cincinnati with Professor Piotr Milewski. She also studied with Professor Antje Weithaas at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin and with Christian Tetzlaff as a Young Soloist at the Kronberg Academy, where she completed her Master’s degree in 2016, which was kindly supported by the Nikolas Gruber Stipendium. She plays a violin made by the German violinmaker Stefan-Peter Greiner.
Like many German romantics, Robert Schumann was strongly drawn to the idea of national opera. The great pioneering example here was Weber’s Der Freischütz (‘The Free-Shooter’, 1817–21), which combined old German legend, magic and a triumphant redemptive love story with music steeped in ‘folkish’ elements: the hunting and dance songs of the people, and the mysterious, elemental qualities of the great German forests.
Many tried to follow Weber’s example, but until the advent of Wagner, few were successful. Schumann, alas, wasn’t one of them. But although his only opera, Genoveva (1847–49), is still generally counted as a failure dramatically, opinions of the music have risen in recent years. Still, the opera’s crowning glory remains its Overture – which, like Schumann’s magnificent Manfred Overture (also written in 1849), captures the essence of the leading character, as well as hinting at some of the main events in the drama. It can be heard as a concise, atmospheric tone-poem, complete in itself.
The story of Genoveva, wife of the warrior Siegfried, was first written down in the Middle Ages. While Siegfried is away from home, his rival Golo attempts to seduce Genoveva, and when she rejects him he denounces her as unfaithful. Genoveva is condemned to death, only to be saved at the last moment when Golo’s deception is uncovered. Schumann’s Overture begins with a stirring slow introduction, depicting both the anguish and the beauty of wronged Genoveva. The following Allegro provides plenty of romantic storm and stress, but also picturesque touches – notably some virile horn-calls (Siegfried himself?). Eventually the dark minor key turns to bright, increasingly hopeful major as Genoveva’s vindication grows ever more certain.
Photo courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London
Programme notes
Ludwig van Beethoven
1770–1827
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 1806
Hyeyoon Park violin
1
Allegro ma non troppo
2
Larghetto –
3 Rondo: Allegro
Today, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is one of the classics of the genre – for some it is simply the greatest of all violin concertos. But for years it was almost ignored. In fact it wasn’t until the great virtuoso Joseph Joachim took up the work under Mendlessohn’s baton in London in 1844 that its luck began to change. Why the initial neglect? Well, the premiere wasn’t exactly auspicious. The Concerto was played for the first time by its original dedicatee, Franz Clement, in December 1806. Apparently Clement more of less sight-read the violin part. What his performance must have been like hardly bears thinking about: not only is this Concerto very long by the standards of the Classical era, technically it’s hugely demanding, with an unprecedented amount of exposed high writing for the violin. Significantly, Beethoven changed the dedication soon afterwards. And whatever Beethoven thought of the solo performance, he is unlikely to have been impressed by Clement’s antics between the first and second movements – according to one source he improvised a jig holding the violin upside-down!
The first movement begins with a gentle chordal theme for woodwind, heralded by five quiet drum-taps. These turn out to be a highly significant motif in their own right – just a few bars later, the strings take them up. The orchestra presents all the main themes, with two arresting fortissimo (very loud) outbursts. As the second of these subsides the soloist enters, as though in mid-phrase, leading to an exquisite high-pitched version of the first theme – exquisite to listen to, that is;
Photo courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London
for the violinist to produce the ‘sweet’ tone Beethoven asks for in this register requires some skill. The rest of this movement maintains a fine balance between lyricism and dramatic display. Unusually for Beethoven, the central development section is mostly quiet and reflective. Then, as the recapitulation approaches, pianissimo (very quiet) trumpets and drum remind us of the drum-taps that opened the Concerto. This leads to a superb triumphant return of the first theme for soloist and full orchestra, followed by a solo cadenza (which Beethoven left for the soloist to improvise), itself leading to a magical quiet return of the second theme and a grand final crescendo.
The rapt, otherworldly quality of violin writing in the Larghetto is enhanced by muted strings and the
extreme transparency of much of the orchestral accompaniment. But at the very end, strings seize on the main theme’s opening dotted rhythm and transform it into a jagged fortissimo, wrenching the Concerto back to its original home key. A short solo cadenza leads straight into the Rondo finale, and one of Beethoven’s most catchy dancing tunes. For most of its length, the finale is buoyant and good-humoured; but after the climactic solo cadenza there is a moment of mystery as violinist and orchestra lead pianissimo through a wide range of distant keys before bringing us safely back to D major. The coda is mostly triumphant display, but with one little deft touch of humour left for the very end.
An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
Johannes Brahms
1833–97
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98
1884–85
Brahms was well into his forties by the time he completed a symphony; like many 19th-century composers he found the idea of following in the footsteps of Beethoven a daunting one. Yet having laboured on and off for 15 years to produce the First Symphony in 1876, he summoned the next three in only
nine years, the expressive and formal inhibitions which had previously dogged him now seemingly cast off. Indeed, by the time he came to compose the Fourth Symphony in 1884–5 he had acquired new freedom and daring, as his friend the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow noted during preparations for the premiere in
Programme notes
Meiningen in October 1885: ‘Just back from rehearsal. No. 4 stupendous, quite original, quite new, individual and rock-like. Breathes incomparable energy from start to finish.’
No-one could deny that, though there were others among Brahms’s friends – including three of his closest supporters in Clara Schumann, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg and the critic Eduard Hanslick – who were initially baffled and disappointed by the work’s unusual nature and form. Bülow, however, had had an insight into its most striking innovation a few years earlier when Brahms showed him a chorus from Bach’s church cantata Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV150), consisting of variations over a repeating, rising bass-line. ‘What would you think of a symphonic movement written on this theme one day?’ Brahms had asked. ‘But it is too heavy, too straightforward. It would have to be chromatically altered in some way.’ The result is there to hear – including that chromatic alteration in the form of a prominent sharpening of the fifth note –in the extraordinary passacaglia finale of this Symphony, a movement which, by turning to a formal model from Baroque times, finds a new solution to the problem of how to conclude a big and powerful symphonic work.
But it is not just this granitic statement that makes the Fourth one of the greatest of Romantic symphonies. There is the tightly motivic first movement, whose marking of Allegro non troppo (‘Fast, but not overly so’) is realised not just in the restless poetic beauty of the first theme, but in the way that the second theme, a surging, passionate cello melody heralded by brass fanfares, serves to increase the sense of forward motion rather than (as was more customary) relax it. Perhaps for the same reason, there is no repeat of the exposition, though the central development does start out as if it were one with a clear return to the opening theme. By contrast, the moment of recapitulation is disguised, the opening figure being heard slowed down on woodwind amid a cloud of string flourishes, before the first theme resumes its course as if nothing had happened. A substantial and impassioned coda then drives the movement to a stormy finish.
The elegiac and delicately scored Andante moderato gains depth by playing off the emotional distance of a modally inflected main theme against the warmth of a more conventionally major-key second. The reappearance of the latter on full strings in the second half of the movement forms a rich climax, before the music subsides to the sombre mood of the opening. The third movement, the only one among Brahms’s
symphonies to qualify as a scherzo, is taut and vigorous – powerful enough in its material, it has often been said, to form a finale in itself. Interestingly, it was the last of the Symphony’s movements to be composed, which suggests that its terse energy and ebullience (it was not often that Brahms called for a triangle) were precisely calculated to prepare the way for the stern majesty of the finale.
The form and genesis of that finale have already been described, but not its effect. Following the example of Bach’s D minor Chaconne for solo violin (a work Brahms admired greatly), the 30 variations over the eight-note bass-line are shepherded into contrasting sections which give the music a broad emotional contour that prevents it from succumbing to repetitiveness. Indeed, the effect is of implacable momentum and controlled strength, so that by the time the variations have been crowned by a vehement coda, we have witnessed a rare spectacle: a 19th-century symphony that ends not in triumph but convincingly in tragedy.
We hope you enjoy today’s concert. Could you spare a few moments afterwards to complete a short survey about your experience? Your feedback is invaluable to us and will help to shape our future plans.
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Final concert at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre this season
Jan Lisiecki plays Beethoven
Sunday 13 April 2025 | 3.00pm
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor)
Sibelius Symphony No. 2
Tarmo Peltokoski conductor
Jan Lisiecki piano
Tickets from £16 eastbournetheatres.co.uk
Ticket Office: 01323 412000
BrightSparks Schools’ Concert
Returning to Eastbourne this summer!
Thursday 12 June 2025, 1.00pm Congress Theatre, Eastbourne
We’re excited about bringing our popular BrightSparks schools’ concerts back to Eastbourne this June!
This daytime performance is an opportunity for Key Stage 2 children to experience the thrill of hearing a full orchestra.
Tickets £3 per pupil (accompanying teachers free of charge).
This includes a free INSET session and written resources for teachers.
Booking for schools is open now – for more information visit lpo.org.uk/brightsparks
A CHANCE TO DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT AND HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Mark your diary and donate between 18–25 March 2025
We are delighted to again be collaborating with local organisations on the South Coast of England to share the joy of music with more people. We’re committed to making a lasting social impact though music, bringing exciting and authentic experiences at grassroots level, reaching those who might not otherwise experience orchestral music.
Support us to:
Inspire young minds and future music lovers
We will perform the LPO’s second concert for schoolchildren at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre, giving over 1600 young people the chance to enjoy a world-class orchestra, often for the first time in their lives.
Invest in talent development
We will support 80 aspiring orchestral instrumentalists aged 11–14 through Junior Artist Overture Days. These offer dedicated, skills-based activity to identify and nurture under-served younger musicians in early secondary education.
Enhance accessibility
We will perform mini-concerts in non-traditional venues such as shopping and community centres to remove barriers and make our music more accessible to a wider community of people who might not have the opportunity to experience it otherwise.
Give in the week of 18–25 March to double your donation
For every £1 that you give between 18–25 March, the Orchestra will receive £2! Your donation will help deliver transformative music projects that connect communities, develop skills, nurture creativity and support wellbeing.
Together we will make music make a difference.
Scan the QR code to save the page, or visit shorturl.at/Ham2B
Please note that for donations to be matched, they must be given via The Big Give website between 18–25 March 2025. The LPO is grateful for this matched funding from Arts for Impact.
Thank you
As a registered charity, we are extremely grateful to all our supporters who have given generously to the LPO over the past year to help maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.
Artistic Director’s Circle
Anonymous donors
The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra
William & Alex de Winton
Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle
Aud Jebsen
In memory of Mrs Rita Reay
Sir Simon & Lady Robey CBE
Orchestra Circle
Mr & Mrs Philip Kan
Neil Westreich
Principal Associates
An anonymous donor
Mrs Irina Andreeva
Steven M. Berzin
Richard Buxton
Gill & Garf Collins
In memory of Brenda Lyndoe Casbon
In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins
Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave
Patricia Haitink
George Ramishvili
In memory of Kenneth Shaw
The Tsukanov Family
Mr Florian Wunderlich
Associates
In memory of Len & Edna Beech
Sir Nigel Boardman & Prof. Lynda Gratton
The Candide Trust
Stuart & Bianca Roden
In memory of Hazel Amy Smith
Gold Patrons
An anonymous donor
David & Yi Buckley
Dr Alex & Maria Chan
In memory of Allner Mavis Channing
In memory of Peter Coe
Michelle Crowe Hernandez
Gini Gabbertas
Jenny & Duncan Goldie-Scot
Mr Roger Greenwood
Malcolm Herring
Julian & Gill Simmonds
Mr Brian Smith
Mr Jay Stein
Eric Tomsett
The Viney Family
Guy & Utti Whittaker
Silver Patrons
David Burke & Valerie Graham
Clive & Helena Butler
John & Sam Dawson
Ulrike & Benno Engelmann
Fiona Espenhahn in memory of Peter
Luke Gardiner
Prof. Erol & Mrs Deniz Gelenbe
The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris
Charitable Trust
Iain & Alicia Hasnip
John & Angela Kessler
Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva
Dr Irene Rosner David
Tom & Phillis Sharpe
Jenny Watson CBE
Laurence Watt
Bronze Patrons
Anonymous donors
Chris Aldren
Michael Allen
Alexander & Rachel Antelme
Annie Berglof
Nicholas Berwin
Lorna & Christopher Bown
Mr Bernard Bradbury
Richard & Jo Brass
Desmond & Ruth Cecil
Mr John H Cook
Emmanuelle & Thierry d’Argent
Mrs Elizabeth Davies
Guy Davies
Cameron & Kathryn Doley
Ms Elena Dubinets
David Ellen
Cristina & Malcolm Fallen
Mr Daniel Goldstein
David & Jane Gosman
Mr Gavin Graham
Mrs Dorothy Hambleton
Eugene & Allison Hayes
J Douglas Home
Mr & Mrs Jan
Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza
Mrs Elena Kolobova & Mr Oleg
Kolobov
Rose & Dudley Leigh
Wg. Cdr. M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF
Drs Frank & Gek Lim
Andrew T Mills
Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill
John Nickson & Simon Rew
Peter Noble & Lucy Vella
Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley
Simon & Lucy Owen-Johnstone
Andrew & Cindy Peck
Mr Roger Phillimore
Nigel Phipps & Amanda McDowall
Mr Michael Posen
Marie Power
Sir Bernard Rix
Baroness Shackleton
Tim Slorick
Sir Jim Smith
Mrs Maria Toneva
Mr Joe Topley & Ms Tracey
Countryman
Mr & Mrs John C Tucker
Andrew & Rosemary Tusa
Galina Umanskaia
Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood
The Viney Family
Mr Rodney Whittaker
Grenville & Krysia Williams
Joanna Williams
Principal Supporters
Anonymous donors
Julian & Annette Armstrong
Chris Banks
Mr John D Barnard
Roger & Clare Barron
Mr Geoffrey Bateman
Mrs A Beare
Chris Benson
Peter & Adrienne Breen
Dr Anthony Buckland
Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk
David & Liz Conway
Mr Alistair Corbett
David Devons
Deborah Dolce
In memory of Enid Gofton
Prof Emeritus John Gruzelier
Mrs Farrah Jamal
Bruce & Joanna Jenkyn-Jones
Per Jonsson
Tanya Joseph
Mr Ian Kapur
Jozef & Helen Kotz
Dr Peter Mace
Peter Mainprice
Miss Rebecca Murray
Mrs Terry Neale
Mr Stephen Olton
Mr James Pickford
Neil & Karen Reynolds
Mr Robert Ross
Kseniia Rubina
Mr Andrea Santacroce & Olivia
Veillet-Lavallée
Penny Segal
Priscylla Shaw
Michael Smith
Erika Song
Mr & Mrs G Stein
Dr Peter Stephenson
Ben Valentin
KC
Sophie Walker
Christopher Williams
Liz Winter
Elena Y Zeng
Supporters
Anonymous donors
Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle
Robert & Sarah Auerbach
Dr Simona Cicero & Mr Mario Altieri
Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington
Sarah Connor
Miss Tessa Cowie
Andrew Davenport
Stephen Denby
Mr Simon Edelsten
Steve & Cristina Goldring
In memory of Derek Gray
Nick Hely-Hutchinson
The Jackman Family
Molly Jackson
Jan Leigh & Jan Rynkiewicz
Mr David MacFarlane
Simon Moore
Simon & Fiona Mortimore
Dana Mosevicz
Dame Jane Newell DBE
Diana G Oosterveld
Mr David Peters
Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh
Clarence Tan
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
Carol Colburn Grigor CBE
Pehr G Gyllenhammar
Robert Hill
Keith Millar
Victoria Robey CBE
Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE
Cornelia Schmid
Timothy Walker CBE AM
Laurence Watt
Thomas Beecham
Group Members
Sir Nigel Boardman & Prof. Lynda Gratton
David & Yi Buckley
In memory of Peter Coe
Dr Alex & Maria Chan
Garf & Gill Collins
William & Alex de Winton
The Friends of the LPO
Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G.
Cave
Mr Roger Greenwood
Barry Grimaldi
David & Bettina Harden
Mr & Mrs Philip Kan
Mr & Mrs John Kessler
Sir Simon Robey
Victoria Robey OBE
Stuart & Bianca Roden
Julian & Gill Simmonds
Eric Tomsett
Neil Westreich
Guy & Utti Whittaker
LPO Corporate Circle
Principal
Bloomberg
Carter-Ruck Solicitors
French Chamber of Commerce
Natixis Corporate & Investment
Banking
Ryze Power
Tutti
German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce
Lazard
Walpole
Preferred Partners
Jeroboams
Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd
Mayer Brown
Neal’s Yard Remedies
OneWelbeck
Sipsmith
Steinway & Sons
In-kind Sponsor
Google Inc
Thank you
Trusts and Foundations
ABO Trust
Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne
BlueSpark Foundation
The Boltini Trust
Candide Trust
Cockayne Grants for the Arts in London
Dunard Fund
Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
Foyle Foundation
Garfield Weston Foundation
Garrick Charitable Trust
The Golsoncott Foundation
Jerwood Foundation
John Coates Charitable Trust
John Horniman’s Children’s Trust
John Thaw Foundation
Idlewild Trust
Institute Adam Mickiewicz
Kirby Laing Foundation
The John S Cohen Foundation
The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust
Kurt Weill Foundation
Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust
Lucille Graham Trust
The Marchus Trust
Maria Bjӧrnson Memorial Fund
The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
PRS Foundation
The R K Charitable Trust
The Radcliffe Trust
Rivers Foundation
Rothschild Foundation
Scops Arts Trust
Sir William Boreman’s Foundation
TIOC Foundation
Vaughan Williams Foundation
The Victoria Wood Foundation
The Viney Family
The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust
and all others who wish to remain anonymous.
Board of the American Friends of the LPO
We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America:
Hannah Young Chair
Kara Boyle
Jon Carter
Jay Goffman
Alexandra Jupin
Natalie Pray MBE
Damien Vanderwilt
Marc Wassermann
Elizabeth Winter
Catherine Høgel Hon. Director
LPO International Board of Governors
Natasha Tsukanova Chair
Mrs Irina Andreeva
Steven M. Berzin
Shashank Bhagat
Irina Gofman
Olivia Ma
George Ramishvili Florian Wunderlich
London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration
Board of Directors
Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair
Nigel Boardman Vice-Chair
Mark Vines* President
Kate Birchall* Vice-President
Emily Benn
David Buckley
David Burke
Michelle Crowe Hernandez
Deborah Dolce
Elena Dubinets
Simon Estell*
Tanya Joseph
Katherine Leek*
Minn Majoe*
Tania Mazzetti*
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
Neil Westreich
David Whitehouse*
*Player-Director
Advisory Council
Roger Barron Chairman
Christopher Aldren
Kate Birchall
Richard Brass
Helen Brocklebank
YolanDa Brown OBE
David Burke
Simon Burke
Simon Callow CBE
Desmond Cecil CMG
Jane Coulson
Andrew Davenport
Guillaume Descottes
Cameron Doley
Elena Dubinets
Lena Fankhauser
Christopher Fraser OBE
Jenny Goldie-Scot
Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS
Nick Hely-Hutchinson DL
Dr Catherine C. Høgel
Martin Höhmann
Jamie Korner
Andrew Neill
Nadya Powell
Sir Bernard Rix
Victoria Robey CBE
Baroness Shackleton
Thomas Sharpe KC
Julian Simmonds
Daisuke Tsuchiya
Mark Vines
Chris Viney
Laurence Watt
Elizabeth Winter
New Generation Board
Ellie Ajao
Peter De Souza
Vivek Haria
Rianna Henriques
Pasha Orleans-Foli
Zerlina Vulliamy
General Administration
Elena Dubinets
Artistic Director
David Burke
Chief Executive
Ineza Grabowska
PA to the Executive & Office Manager
Concert Management
Roanna Gibson
Concerts & Planning Director
Graham Wood
Concerts & Recordings Manager
Maddy Clarke Tours Manager
Madeleine Ridout
Glyndebourne & Projects Manager
Alison Jones
Concerts & Artists Co-ordinator
Dora Kmezić
Concerts & Recordings
Co-ordinator
Tom Cameron
Concerts & Tours Assistant
Matthew Freeman
Recordings Consultant
Andrew Chenery
Orchestra Personnel Manager
Helen Phipps
Orchestra & Auditions Manager
Sarah Thomas
Martin Sargeson
Librarians
Laura Kitson
Stage & Operations Manager
Stephen O’Flaherty
Deputy Operations Manager
Benjamin Wakley
Deputy Stage Manager
Finance
Frances Slack
Finance Director
Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager
Jean-Paul Ramotar
IT Manager & Finance Officer
Education & Community
Talia Lash
Education & Community Director
Lowri Davies
Eleanor Jones
Education & Community Project Managers
Claudia Clarkson Regional Partnerships Manager
Development
Laura Willis Development Director (maternity leave)
Olivia Highland Development Director (maternity cover)
Rosie Morden
Senior Development Manager
Eleanor Conroy
Development Events Manager
Owen Mortimer Corporate Relations Manager
Anna Quillin
Trusts & Foundations Manager
Al Levin
Development Co-ordinator
Holly Eagles Development Assistant
Nick Jackman
Campaigns & Projects Director
Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate
Marketing & Communications
Kath Trout
Marketing & Communications Director
Sophie Lonergan
Senior Marketing Manager
Georgie Blyth
Press & PR Manager
Josh Clark Data, Insights & CRM Manager
Greg Felton
Digital Creative
Alicia Hartley
Digital & Marketing Manager
Gavin Miller Sales & Ticketing Manager
Rachel Williams Publications Manager
Isobel Jones
Marketing Co-ordinator
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 photograph Jason Bell
2024/25 season design
JMG Studio
Printer John Good Ltd
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