New & Noteworthy

rewarding excellence

2018 has seen a flurry of awards and honours for the LPO, its artistic team and management. Back in April we were delighted when Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Vladimir Jurowski won the Conductor category at the 2018 International Opera Awards. Brett Dean’s new opera Hamlet, which Vladimir conducted with the LPO at Glyndebourne in 2017, also triumphed in the World Premiere category. The following month Vladimir was also announced winner of the Conductor category at the 2018 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards.

In March LPO Board Chairman Victoria Robey OBE was honoured by Prince Charles, President of the Royal College of Music in London, for her work as Founder Director of London Music Masters, a charity that provides access and pathways to excellence in instrumental music education to those who may not otherwise have had the opportunity. In recognition of her work with LMM and the LPO, Victoria was also named one of the Evening Standard’s 23 Leading Women In the Arts 2018. Other women recognised from the orchestral sector included former Southbank Centre Artistic Director Jude Kelly, conductor Marin Alsop, and double bassist and Chineke! Orchestra founder Chi-chi Nwanoku.

In July the annual South Bank Sky Arts Awards saw Glyndebourne’s 2017 production of Brett Dean’s Hamlet with the LPO and Vladimir Jurowski awarded Best Opera. The LPO’s performance of Enescu’s Oedipe under Jurowski in September 2017 was also shortlisted in the Classical category.

pianist emanuel ax honoured by lpo american friends

Emanuel Ax (centre) with Antony Phillipson (left) and Simon Freakley, Chairman, American Friends of the LPO

The NUtcracker at the royal albert hall

The Orchestra has long been renowned for its prowess in the opera pit at Glyndebourne, but this Christmas we’ll be branching out into ballet. The Orchestra has been invited to accompany Tchaikovsky’s festive favourite The Nutcracker with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall from 28–31 December. For more information and booking details see page 15.

royalalberthall.com

funharmonics: the highway rat

Following last year’s screening of The Gruffalo’s Child with live orchestral soundtrack, on Sunday 14 October we present The Highway Rat, based on the picture book by Julia Donaldson. With the animated film projected on big screen and live music performed by the LPO, this will be a wonderful first concert experience for all the family, with free preconcert foyer activities from 10am–12 noon.

more details on page 13, or book online: lpo.org.uk/funharmonics

On 27 March 2018 pianist Emanuel Ax was awarded the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Lifetime Award for Musical Achievement in New York. Ax becomes the second recipient of the award following its inception last year, when baritone Thomas Hampson was the inaugural recipient. The award recognises the achievements of musicians who have won acclaim and affection on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ax was presented with his award at the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (AFLPO) 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner in Manhattan’s famous Morgan Library by Antony Phillipson, Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York. The dinner was attended by 150 people from the worlds of business, philanthropy and the arts, and raised funds in support of the Orchestra’s activities in the United States.

Emanuel Ax was honoured on the evening with performances by tenor soloist Kang Wang, two of the Orchestra’s American musicians – Co-Leader Kevin Lin and Principal Viola David Quiggle – and crossover artist Mario Frangoulis.

Lpo news lpo people

win wine with Villa Maria

We are delighted to announce that wine company Villa Maria has renewed its longstanding partnership with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, taking our 11-yearstrong relationship forward to 2020. To celebrate, Villa Maria is thrilled to offer five lucky Tune In readers the chance to win a pair of its delicious Cellar Selection wines, as served to guests at the LPO Summer Gala in June 2018.

The prize will contain:

• Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2017 An award-winning wine blended from selected superior parcels of fruit, which offer tropical notes of gooseberry, lime and passionfruit.

• Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir 2016 A barrel-aged wine with silky complexity. This wine is concentrated with juicy red berry fruit flavours, integrated acidity and fine grainy tannins.

All of Villa Maria’s Cellar Selection wines are released when they are drinking well and provide the perfect complement to all styles of cuisine.

For the fourth year in a row, Villa Maria has been named the no. 1 wine brand in New Zealand and is the highest ranking New Zealand winery in this year’s ‘World’s Most Admired Wine Brands’ list.

To enter the competition please email your name, address and telephone number to competitions@lpo.org.uk by 31 December 2018.

Terms and conditions: Five prizes to be won. The prize comprises one bottle of each of the wines listed above. Entrants must be aged 18 years or over. A full UK mainland address and telephone number must be provided for delivery purposes. Competition closes on 31 December 2018. Entries must be received by the closing date and no liability is accepted for lost, illegible or incomplete entries.

villamaria.co.nz

This September we welcome Tom Walley as a member of the Double Bass section – Tom is already a familiar face, having played with the Orchestra as an extra over many years.

We recently said farewell to First Violin Ilyoung Chae, who has accepted a position in the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Second Violin Jeongmin Kim, who has moved into a new role in arts management with artist agency Harrison Parrott. We wish them both well.

david James 1930–2018

David James at Glyndebourne

We were saddened to hear of the death of former LPO double bassist David James on 14 March 2018, aged 87.

David joined the Orchestra in 1963 and was a member for 33 years until his retirement in 1996. His daughter, Liz, remembers: ‘Dad enjoyed the wide variety of repertoire the LPO played, alongside so many talented musicians and soloists – he particularly enjoyed the summer seasons at Glyndebourne. Travel was a major part of being in the LPO and my father would come home and open his suitcase bringing souvenirs and gifts from far-flung places and endless stories about the places they had visited and the concerts they had played. When the LPO returned from their tour to China in the 1970s, the first Western orchestra to visit since the Iron Curtain, our family bought a colour TV especially to watch the documentary about the trip – we were so proud.’

David leaves his wife of 60 years Anne, daughter Liz and son Robert, along with six grandchildren, all of whom he loved dearly, as well as a treasured sister and brother.

musical chairs in the office

At the end of June Laura Willis (Corporate Relations Manager) moved on from the LPO, and our Development team welcomed her successor Christina McNeill. Georgie Gulliver also joined the team as Development Assistant, after Athene Broad left in May. Our Education & Community team recently recruited Hannah Tripp to the newly created role of Education & Community Project Co-ordinator.

In April we were delighted to welcome Concerts Director Roanna Gibson back from maternity leave, and are very grateful to Liz Forbes for covering Roanna’s role while she was away. The Concerts team also welcomed Hannah Verkerk as Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator, succeeding Maddie Ridout who left in June. The department recently said goodbye to Assistant Stage & Transport Manager Andy Pitt.

In May Rachel Smith joined our Marketing department as interim Website Manager, covering for Harriet Dalton who is on maternity leave. We are delighted that Megan Macarte, who has covered the role of Box Office Manager during Samantha Cleverley’s maternity leave, will be staying on with us permanently. We wish Sam all the best for this next exciting stage, after 12 loyal years with the LPO.

Find a staff member lpo.org.uk/about/staff

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to LPO cellist Elisabeth Wiklander and Transport Manager Damian Davis, who were married on 26 May 2018 in Ljungskile on the west coast of Sweden.

new arrivals

Congratulations to Box Office Manager Samantha Cleverley and her husband Adrian on the birth of their son Austin Peter Cleverley on 27 December 2017. On 25 March 2018 LPO Sub-Leader Vesselin Gellev and his wife Cristina welcomed to the world their son Gabriel Gellev-Inclan. Congratulations too to Website Manager Harriet Dalton and her husband Pete on the birth of their son Grayson Marnie Dalton, who arrived on 24 May 2018.