London Symphony Orchestra Living Music
‘The Doric String Quartet is one worth catching … the encore was fully deserved.’ The Financial Times
BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts and LSO Chamber Concerts Season 2013/14 Box Office 020 7638 8891 lso.co.uk
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BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS AT LSO ST LUKE’S On the local and international stage, we begin a second decade of lunchtime chamber music, writes Lindsay Kemp, series producer.
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
When, back in October 2003, the BBC and LSO planned our first programmes together at LSO St Luke’s – an eight-concert series of ‘Beethoven Quartets Plus’ – it was only months after the venue had opened, and we were not to know that they would become such a fixture both in our schedules and on the London chamber music scene. Yet since then our partnership has created a nourishing midweek oasis nearly 200 times, and several hundred musicians have discovered the delights of performing in its unique and enriching environment. The resulting broadcasts, simultaneously streamed on BBC iPlayer Radio and available to listen to again, have also secured the concerts a vast international audience. For the 2013/14 season we have planned four series featuring some of the greatest chamber music in the repertoire in the hands of some of the world’s finest interpreters. Autumn brings an eight-week exploration of the wonder that is Mozart, ranging from intimate music for solo piano right up to his masterful Serenade for 13
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Wind Instruments, taking in a cornucopia of exquisitely-wrought duos, trios and quartets along the way. Then after Christmas we are delighted to welcome back pianist Barry Douglas, who has appeared here many times already and is an old friend of the LSO (he appears as a soloist with the Orchestra in its Barbican season in September), and now has been busy inviting a host of colleagues to join him in another one of our four-week ‘and Friends’ residencies. February sees us turn our attention to Schubert and a concentrated burst showcasing some of the intense but achingly lyrical music that he wrote towards the end of his short life, performed by some of the most talented among the younger generation of chamber musicians. We end as the blossom blazes outside, with what should be a colourful, in places even dazzling, series of recitals: inspired by Valery Gergiev’s spring-time series of Scriabin symphonies with the LSO, four leading Russian pianists give us a taste of their own venerable national tradition in works ranging from Glinka to Scriabin and from Rachmaninov to Prokofiev and Shostakovich. The first ten years at LSO St Luke’s have been sheer pleasure – do join us as we start the next. Lindsay Kemp @lsostlukes
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LSO ST LUKE’S An oasis among the hustle and bustle of the Square Mile Just over ten years ago, in 2003, the London Symphony Orchestra, Resident Orchestra at the Barbican, together with one of its corporate partners UBS bank, decided to transform what was an ailing, deconsecrated church into a totally unique music venue for everyone to enjoy. Created principally as a space for the Orchestra’s education and community projects, as well as for the LSO itself to rehearse in, the venue also hosts hundreds of concerts each year at little
or no cost to the public, exploring genres as diverse as world music, folk, jazz and classical. As the home of live broadcast classical music, BBC Radio 3 has long supported the Orchestra, transmitting concerts from the Barbican and inviting the LSO to the BBC Proms nearly every summer. The partnership blossomed further with the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert series following the opening of LSO St Luke’s. The series has been ever more successful year-on-year.
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
JOIN US IN THE CAFÉ Why not make an afternoon of your visit to LSO St Luke’s and join us for lunch in the café? Our Bar and Café Manager, Stuart Connery, and his team look forward to welcoming you. Hot food is available before and after BBC Radio 3 Thursday Lunchtime Concerts, alongside a selection of hot and cold drinks including a well-stocked bar, sandwiches, snacks, cakes and pastries.
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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts 2013/14
MOZART CHAMBER MUSIC ‘London Winds are second to none in terms of technical accomplishment, expressive commitment and warmth of timbre.’ BBC Music Magazine on London Winds Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Joseph Haydn – undisputed master of the string quartet – Mozart considerably expanded the chamber music repertory to include works for many different small ensembles and combinations of instruments. This series just skims the surface of the composer’s chamber output, starting with a solo piano recital by Christian Blackshaw and extending to the 13-instrument ‘Gran Partita’ Serenade performed by London Winds.
ARONOWITZ ENSEMBLE
Among the more unusual works in the series lies the Adagio for Two Clarinets and Three Basset Horns, again performed by Michael Collins’ London Winds, and the more familiar-sounding, yet less familiar arrangement, of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues for String Trio performed by the Lendvai Trio. The Ebène Quartet rounds off the series with some of Mozart’s most exquisite music for chamber ensemble – the Divertimentos in D and F major.
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
Thu 26 Sep 2013 1pm Mozart Piano Sonata in B-flat major K281 Fantasy in C minor K475 Piano Sonata in F major K533/494 Christian Blackshaw piano Thu 3 Oct 2013 1pm Mozart Piano Quintet in E-flat major K452 Serenade in C minor K388 London Winds Michael Collins director Leon McCawley piano Thu 10 Oct 2013 1pm LONDON WINDS
Mozart Adagio in B minor for Piano K540 String Quartet in G major K80 Piano Quartet in E-flat major K493 Aronowitz Ensemble Thu 17 Oct 2013 1pm Mozart Adagio for Two Clarinets and Three Basset Horns K411 Serenade in B-flat major (‘Gran Partita’) K361 London Winds Michael Collins director
CHRISTIAN BLACKSHAW
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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts 2013/14
MOZART CHAMBER MUSIC ‘The suave, beguiling performances proved irresistible … what singularises the Ebène is its technical excellence, its sense of style, its dynamism.’ Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times on the Ebène String Quartet
EBÈNE STRING QUARTET
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Thu 24 Oct 2013 1pm
Thu 7 Nov 2013 1pm
Bach (arr Mozart) Selection of Preludes and Fugues from ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’ Mozart Divertimento in E-flat major K563
Mozart Violin Sonata in G major K379 Violin Sonata in A major K305 Violin Sonata in E-flat major K481
Lendvai String Trio
Vilde Frang violin Michail Lifits piano
Thu 31 Oct 2013 1pm
Thu 14 Nov 2013 1pm
Mozart String Quartet in F major K590 String Quartet in E-flat major K428
Mozart Divertimento in D major K136 Divertimento in F major K138 String Quartet in D minor K421
Chiaroscuro Quartet Ebène String Quartet
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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts 2013/14
Thu 23 Jan 2014 1pm Brahms Seven Fantasies Op 116 Schubert Piano Sonata in B-flat major D960 Barry Douglas piano Thu 6 Feb 2014 1pm Beethoven Trio in B-flat major Op 11 Brahms Trio in A minor Op 114 Michel Lethiec clarinet Arto Noras cello Barry Douglas piano
BARRY DOUGLAS
Thu 13 Feb 2014 1pm Brahms Violin Sonata No 2 in A major Op 100 Dukas Villanelle for Horn and Piano Brahms Trio in E-flat major Op 40 Chloë Hanslip violin Richard Watkins horn Barry Douglas piano Thu 20 Feb 2014 1pm Brahms Four Piano Pieces Op 119 Field Nocturne No 8 in E minor; Nocturne No 5 in B-flat major Brahms Piano Sonata No 2 in F-sharp minor Op 2 Barry Douglas piano CHLOË HANSLIP
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
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BARRY DOUGLAS AND FRIENDS ‘A storming performance … the highlight of the evening.’ Martin Kettle, The Guardian on Barry Douglas
ARTO NORAS
Brahms’ music for piano forms the backbone of this series of ‘and Friends’ concerts performed by Barry Douglas and his closest musical colleagues. Two solo concerts bookend the series – the last of which features John Field’s Nocturne, a form that Field is credited with creating. He composed 18 in total, but it was Chopin who later made the genre famous. Two sets of duo and trio performances make up the rest of the series. Brahms’ Clarinet and Horn Trios are among the few in this rather unusual instrumentation to enter the standard repertory. Look out for the demanding Villanelle by Paul Dukas – a work composed as an exam piece for the 1906 horn class at the Paris Conservatoire.
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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts 2013/14
CÉDRIC TIBERGHIEN
SCHUBERT CHAMBER WORKS ‘A fresh and dazzling account … rich, rounded tone and fleet, crisp articulation.’ New York Times on Cédric Tiberghien This collection of Franz Schubert’s works are from his later years and lead up to the last piece of chamber music he wrote – the String Quintet in C major, one of his most achingly beautiful and spiritual, and an appropriate way to finish off this series. Among the pieces here are some of the most passionate and evocative chamber works: works that broadcaster, actor and author Simon Callow described
in The Guardian as being ‘made by friends, for friends’, and including the B-flat Piano Trio with its central hymn to friendship. Schubert’s pianos duets are among the very best of their kind. Perhaps supreme among them is the sublime F minor Fantasy, like the Quintet a late work, and one of four to be played by a newly constituted duo of former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists.
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
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Thu 27 Feb 2014 1pm Schubert Duo in A minor (‘Lebensstürme’) D947 Grand Rondo in A major D951 Andantino varié in B minor D823 Fantasy in F minor D940 Cédric Tiberghien & Christian Ihle Hadland piano duet Thu 6 Mar 2014 1pm Schubert Notturno in E-flat major D897 Piano Trio in B-flat major D929 Nicola Benedetti violin Leonard Elschenbroich cello Alexei Grynyuk piano Thu 13 Mar 2014 1pm Schubert String Trio fragment in E-flat major D471 String Quartet in G major D887 Doric String Quartet Thu 20 Mar 2014 1pm Schubert String Quintet in C major D956 Signum String Quartet Nicolas Altstaedt cello
CHRISTIAN IHLE HADLAND
NICOLA BENEDETTI
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BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts 2013/14
RUSSIAN ROMANTIC PIANO WORKS ‘There was more to this performance than barnstorming bravura …’ Tom Service, The Guardian on Nikolai Demidenko An all-Russian piano series performed by all-Russian pianists, these four concerts take us from Mussorgsky’s most celebrated work for the piano, Pictures at an Exhibition, to lesser-known but equally delightful pieces by Taneyev and Blumenfeld. Running in tandem with Valery Gergiev’s series of Scriabin’s complete orchestral works with the LSO, here are just a selection of the composer’s sonatas – pieces that chart a journey throughout his career from lateRomantic to increasingly psychedelic. Rachmaninov himself was one of the all-time great pianists. With a handspan that could stretch over an octave and a half, he wrote chords that many a pianist since would be forced to split. Among Prokofiev’s best works are his piano sonatas and concertos. The Seventh Sonata is one of his most dissonant, perhaps not surprising considering his previous composition had been a forcedly cheerful celebration of Stalin’s 60th birthday.
lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
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Thu 27 Mar 2014 1pm Glinka Notturno in F minor (‘La séparation’) Blumenfeld Notturno-Fantastia in E major Op 20 Medtner Two Fairy Tales Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Nikolai Demidenko piano Thu 3 Apr 2014 1pm Shostakovich Three Preludes Op 34 Nos 6, 17 & 24 Rachmaninov Two Preludes Scriabin Sonatas Nos 5 & 9 Mozart (arr Sudbin) Lacrimosa Sudbin A la minute (paraphrase on Chopin’s Waltz in D-flat major Op 64 No 1) Yevgeny Sudbin piano Thu 10 Apr 2014 1pm Scriabin Sonata No 3 Rachmaninov Moments musicaux Op 16 Nos 1, 2 & 4 Prokofiev Sonata No 7 Boris Giltburg piano Thu 17 Apr 2014 1pm Taneyev Prelude and Fugue Rachmaninov Variations on a Theme of Corelli Prokofiev Sonata No 9 NIKOLAI DEMIDENKO
Denis Kozhukhin piano
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Chamber concerts with the LSO
Sun 27 Oct 2013 8pm, Barbican Tchaikovsky Serenade for String Orchestra Bartók Divertimento for String Orchestra Dvorˇák Serenade for String Orchestra Roman Simovic director LSO String Ensemble Tickets £10 £15 £20 Thu 23 Jan 2014 7.30pm, Barbican Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor Scarlatti Sonata for Keyboard arr for Brass Ewald Quintet No 1 Koetsier Kinderzirkus Music Crespo Suite Americana arr Dudley Bright Brass on Broadway LSO Brass Quintet Tickets £10 £15 £20 Sun 16 Feb 2014 7.30pm, Barbican UBS SOUNDSCAPES: LSO ARTIST PORTRAIT
YUJA WANG PIANO RECITAL Programme to be announced Yuja Wang piano Tickets £10 £15 £20 £28
YUJA WANG
lso.co.uk/whatson
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ROMAN SIMOVIC
CHAMBER CONCERTS WITH THE LSO ‘One of the most gifted pianists of her generation.’ New York Times on Yuja Wang A chance to see two of the London Symphony Orchestra’s sections perform outside the context of the symphony or concerto. The LSO String Ensemble directed by Leader Roman Simovic performs three late Romantic/early 20th century works – Tchaikovsky said of his Serenade that is was ‘a heartfelt piece and so, I dare to think, not lacking in real qualities’. It’s followed in the New Year
by the LSO Brass Quintet performing a whole array of works from arrangements of the Baroque masters Bach and Scarlatti to a folk and ragtime-inspired work by Uruguayan composer Enrique Crespo. Yuja Wang is the focus of the 2013/14 UBS Soundscapes: LSO Artist Portrait series, which sees her perform a solo recital as part of her residency with the Orchestra in February.
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UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ARVE HENRIKSEN, ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR, LSO COMMUNITY CHOIR, DANIEL REUSS, DHAFER YOUSSEF
lso.co.uk/eclectica
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UBS SOUNDSCAPES: ECLECTICA Exploring different traditions through song
Tue 26 Nov 2013 8pm, LSO St Luke’s
Tue 15 Apr 2014 8pm, LSO St Luke’s
UBS SOUNDSCAPES: ECLECTICA
UBS SOUNDSCAPES: ECLECTICA
NORWEGIAN REQUIEM
GAELIC CONNECTIONS
Christopher Finch conductor Arve Henriksen trumpet Ståle Storløkken organ LSO Community Choir Wells Cathedral Girls’ Choir
The Campbells of Greepe and friends Thu 24 Apr 2014 7.30pm, Barbican ECLECTICA AT THE BARBICAN
Wed 22 Jan 2014 8pm, LSO St Luke’s
MYSTIC AND SUFI
UBS SOUNDSCAPES: ECLECTICA
Arvo Pärt Fratres; Symphony No 3 Dhafer Youssef Mystic and Sufi Arvo Pärt Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten; Festina Lente; Silouans Song
AN EASTERN VIGIL Daniel Reuss conductor Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir In association with London A Cappella Festival
Kristjan Järvi conductor Dhafer Youssef and band
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ECHO Rising Stars at Milton Court
JÁNOS BALÁZS
QUATUOR VOCE
LETICIA MUÑOZ MORENO
VAN BAERLE TRIO
JULIETTE BAUSOR
DIONYSIS GRAMMENOS
LUNCHTIME CONCERTS AT MILTON COURT ECHO Rising Stars: outstanding young artists in the City’s newest venue ECHO Rising Stars – the series that helped shape the musical careers of many of today’s world class artists including Janine Jansen, Quirine Viersen and Jonathan Lemalu – comes to the Barbican this Autumn. Founded in 1995, the series presents recitals by young, exceptionally talented artists handpicked by the directors of Europe’s greatest concert halls, offering them the chance to perform programmes of their choosing at Europe’s most prestigious
concert venues. The series takes place in Milton Court, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s beautiful, new, state-of-the-art concert hall which is a great addition to the existing venues for classical music at the Barbican. Alongside the Barbican Hall, the church of St Giles’ Cripplegate and LSO St Luke’s, it will enable the Barbican to enhance its programme with concerts by smaller ensembles and young artists.
barbican.org.uk
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Fri 13 Dec 2013 1pm, Milton Court
Fri 7 Mar 2014 1pm, Milton Court
Programme includes: Beethoven God Save the King variations Schubert Impromptu in B-flat major Ravel Scarbo from ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ Liszt Mephisto Waltz No 1
Haydn Piano Trio in E-flat minor Hob XV/31 Brahms Piano Trio No 2 in C major Van Baerle Trio Nominated by Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam & Bozar Brussels
János Balázs piano Nominated by Palace of Arts Budpest
Fri 11 Apr 2014 1pm, Milton Court
Fri 24 Jan 2014 1pm, Milton Court
Dutilleux Sonatine Poulenc Sonata Messiaen Le merle noir Prokofiev Sonata in D major
Thomas Adès Arcadiana Beethoven String Quartet in E minor Quatuor Voce Nominated by Cité de la musique Paris
Juliette Bausor flute Alasdair Beatson piano Nominated by The Sage, Gateshead
Fri 28 Feb 2014 1pm, Milton Court Fri 16 May 2014 1pm, Milton Court Granados Sonata for violin and piano Franck Violin Sonata Falla Suite Populaire Espagnole Ravel Tzigane Leticia Muñoz Moreno violin Ana-Maria Vera piano Nominated by Palau de la Música Catalana & L’Auditori Barcelona
Programme includes: Fauré Après un rêve Schumann Three Romances Chopin Nocturne in C-sharp minor Poulenc Sonata for clarinet and piano Dionysis Grammenos clarinet Karina Sposobina piano Nominated by Megaron, Athens Concert Hall
ALSO IN THE SERIES … Wed 20 Nov 2013 7.30pm, Milton Court Promoted by Pablo Held Trio Nominated by Kölner Philharmonie
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LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts ~ Support Us
LSO DISCOVERY FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Rachel Leach series presenter Fri 27 Sep; 11 & 25 Oct; 8 Nov 2013 12.30pm, LSO St Luke’s Russia! Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky – just some of the Russian heavyweights in the LSO’s autumn season. Join LSO players at LSO St Luke’s in introductions to Russian chamber works. Fri 24 Jan; 21 Feb; 7 & 21 Mar 2014 12.30pm, LSO St Luke’s Music in colour Inspired by Valery Gergiev’s series at the Barbican featuring Scriabin and Messiaen, this series explores colour in music. Fri 9 & 23 May; 13 Jun; 11 Jul 2014 12.30pm, LSO St Luke’s Beethoven and Friends Summer concerts at the Barbican see some of Beethoven’s greatest works conducted by Leonidas Kavakos, Sir Simon Rattle, Fabio Luisi and Jonathan Nott. Here’s some chamber works devoted to the grand master. LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts are supported by LSO Patrons
lso.co.uk
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YOUR MONEY, OUR MISSION Did you know that when you attend an event at LSO St Luke’s your ticket helps support the education work of the London Symphony Orchestra, through LSO Discovery based at LSO St Luke’s? The LSO is passionately committed to making music available to everyone, and engages closely with the underprivileged in East London boroughs as part of an extensive and innovative programme at LSO St Luke’s. This includes work with the community, supporting music education for all ages and investing in young talent, as well as using multimedia technology to link people throughout the UK and internationally.
London Symphony Orchestra Ltd is a registered charity and for us to continue to thrive, we urgently seek support from companies and individuals each year. Through your support, help us to continue to invest in music education and ensure that LSO St Luke’s remains at the heart of the community in which it works. Support LSO St Luke’s today visit lso.co.uk/supportus or contact Jessica Blackstone on 020 7382 2514 LSO Charity Registration No 232391
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BOOKING INFORMATION How to book
Listen again
BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts Tickets £10 (£9 concessions, £5 under-16s) UBS Soundscapes: Eclectica and LSO Barbican Concerts Tickets from £10
Tune in to the home of live music 90–93 FM, DAB Digital Radio or listen online bbc.co.uk/radio3
Book online at lso.co.uk
How to find us
Box Office 020 7638 8891 (10am–8pm Mon–Sat, 11am–8pm Sun) LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts Free entry, no ticket required ECHO Rising Stars at Milton Court Tickets £10 (£8 concessions) Book at barbican.org.uk
Save with a BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert Pass Buy a Lunchtime Concert Pass to a series of four or more BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts and get 20% off. For example, book all four Schubert Chamber events for just £32, saving you £8 on your tickets.
LSO St Luke’s UBS and LSO Music Education Centre 161 Old Street London EC1V 9NG Barbican Centre Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS Milton Court (Guildhall School) Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DT lso.co.uk/yourvisit Information correct at time of going to print. The LSO reserves the right to change artists or programmes if necessary. Refunds will only be given in the event of a concert being cancelled. Calls may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance or training purposes. LSO charity registration number 232391.
LSO St Luke’s Principal Donors
For more details and to find out about additional benefits for Pass holders visit lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts