CONCERT PROGRAM
L’Enfance du Christ Recorded 15–18 June 2018 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall.
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Program BERLIOZ L’Enfance du Christ
Artists
Sir Andrew Davis
Sasha Cooke
Andrew Staples
Roderick Williams
Andrew Goodwin
Shane Lowrencev
Matthew Brook
Warren TrevelyanJones
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus
conductor BIO
baritone (Joseph) BIO
bass (Hérode, Père de famille) BIO
mezzo-soprano (Maria) BIO
tenor (Centurion) BIO
chorus master BIO
This performance was recorded by Foxtel Arts. L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 2
tenor (Le Récitant) BIO
bass (Polydore) BIO
BIO
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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is a leading cultural figure in the Australian arts landscape, bringing the best in orchestral music and passionate performance to a diverse audience across Victoria, the nation and around the world. Each year the MSO engages with more than 5 million people through live concerts, TV, radio and online broadcasts, international tours, recordings and education programs. The MSO is a vital presence, both onstage and in the community, in cultivating classical music in Australia. The nation’s first professional orchestra, the MSO has been the sound of the city of Melbourne since 1906. The MSO regularly attracts great artists from around the globe including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lang Lang, Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, while bringing Melbourne’s finest musicians to the world through tours to China, Europe and the United States. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we perform and would like to pay our respects to their Elders and Community both past and present.
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 4
Discovery Guide
“a monster!”
– Debussy (composer)
“[his music] is either divine or horrible.”
“His orchestration is so dirty, I have to wash my hands after turning over the pages of his scores.” – Mendelssohn (composer)
– Newman (music critic)
“France’s greatest composer.” – Ravel (composer)
“There is much in his music that is insufferable, but also a great deal that is intelligent, and even full of genius.” – Schumann (composer)
Both criticised and admired, Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was nothing if not a divider of opinion in his day. Composer, conductor, writer and an unashamed sporter of tremendously bouffant hair, these days he is considered a genius born before his time. From the comfort of retrospect, his works were not only great, late-romantic-era epics, but also contained a ghostly foreshadow of the immense artistic and social change which would sweep the world just half a century after his death. In true Romantic style, Berlioz bore his suffering for his art loudly and publicly. He conformed to stereotype by rebelling against his parents (who wanted him to follow in his father’s footsteps and be a doctor, though he was terribly sensitive to the sight of blood); longing but failing to be celebrated for the greatness of his music (being celebrated instead as a writer and conductor); suffering from a painful, mysterious disease (possibly the medical studies would have come in
LIKE A PRO : ROMANTIC ERA Musicologists – who make an academic study of music – divide the history of classical music into eras. The main ones are: Baroque 1600–1750 (e.g., Bach and Handel); Classical 1730–1820 (Haydn and Mozart); and Romantic, spanning the 19th century. Romantic music is art for art’s sake; great, sweeping lush sound, passionate and suffering ‘artistes’ and epic proportions.
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 5
handy here); falling dramatically in love with his idealised woman, and then falling out when they actually married (he unable to speak English and she unable to speak French); and finally, bemoaning his misunderstood genius and dying a lonely and dejected figure. Not long before his death, he wrote in his diary “my contempt for the folly and baseness of mankind, my hatred of its atrocious cruelty, have never been so intense.” Berlioz’s flair for the theatrical and monumental applied more often than not to his compositions. His final opera, Les Troyens (The Trojans) is in five acts and called for such an immense and expensive production that it was never staged in full in his lifetime. He might have been quite well-off (with international engagements DID YOU KNOW? as a celebrated conductor, and regular Berlioz’s fiery temperament very nearly got commissions as a critical writer) had him in serious trouble. While in Rome, on he not spent swathes of his money on hearing his lover had been unfaithful, he colossal performances of his favourite rushed home to Paris in a fury, intent on works. He once conducted a concert murder. Thankfully, the train journey from of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with 36 Rome to Paris was sufficiently long for his double basses (MSO usually use eight) blood to cool. and another performance of a different work called for 25 harps.
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST (THE CHILDHOOD OF CHRIST) Unlike his most famous composition, Symphonie Fantastique – a psychedelic story in music of the composer’s passionate love for actress Harriet Smithson – his oratorio (unstaged musical drama) L’Enfance du Christ is a work of balanced beauty, charming harmony and innocence. Surprised and delighted, audiences welcomed its Paris premiere with Berlioz taking 20 curtain calls at the end of the performance. He was, however, true to form, bitingly dismissive of the suggestion that the music was better because it was gentler than his habitual ground-breaking style: In that work many people imagined they could detect a radical change in my style and manner. This opinion is entirely without foundation. The subject naturally lent itself to a gentle and simple style of music, and for that reason alone was more in accordance with their taste and intelligence. The inspiration for the sacred trilogy, eventually presented in its complete form in 1854, struck at a Parisian party four years earlier. When the company turned to cards, a pastime Berlioz abhorred, his friend Joseph-Louis Duc asked him instead to inscribe his album and Berlioz jotted a short musical phrase. “I take a piece of paper and scribble a few staves on which a four-part andantino for organ appears.” From such humble roots, he developed a chorus of shepherds in Bethlehem bidding farewell to the child Jesus and the Holy Family as they leave for Egypt. Tired of biased criticism of his work, later that same year, he had the chorus (now the famous middle section of the oratorio, The Shepherds’ Farewell) performed under a fake name. The imaginary
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 6
composer ‘Ducré’s’ work was tremendously well-received with one audience member even commenting that “Berlioz would never be able to write a tune as simple and charming as this little piece by old Ducré!” SECTIONS: the work is divided into three sections, each of which contains a number of different scenes in which the story unfolds. 1. Le songe d’Hérode (Herod’s Dream) King Herod orders the massacre of all new-born children in Judaea. 2. La fuite en Égypte (The Flight to Egypt) The Holy Family (Mary, Joseph, Jesus) sets out for Egypt to avoid the slaughter having been warned by angels. 3. L’arrivée à Saïs (The Arrival at Sais) The Holy Family arrive in the Egyptian town of Sais where they are given refuge by a family of Ishmaelites.
H WATC IDS K WITH
This concert is a story told in music with soloists who play the characters in the story by singing. The choir represents the voices of the angels and the shepherds. The orchestra is made up of violins, violas, cellos, big double basses, flutes, oboes (can you spot the really big oboe or ‘cor anglais’?), clarinets, bassoons, and plenty of brass players including horns, trumpets, trombones, plus a whole collection of percussion right at the back. See if you can also spot the beautiful harp, and a visitor to the orchestra specially for this program, the organ! The musical adventure begins with the tiny baby Jesus, born in a stable in Bethlehem surrounded by the animals, his mother Mary and father Joseph, who watch over him as he sleeps. All is peaceful, but… Not far away, Herod, King of the Jews, is tormented by a terrible nightmare. He dreams over and over that a baby is born. What could the dream mean? He sends for a group of Soothsayers who can predict the future. They tell him that his dream means that a baby has been born who will overthrow him and take his throne! Furious and afraid, Herod gives a ghastly order – he sends his soldiers out to kill every new-born child in the land. The baby Jesus is in terrible danger, but a choir of angels appear to Mary and Joseph, warning them to take their baby and escape to Egypt. They prepare to leave and shepherds arrive to worship the baby and wish the Holy Family farewell. The shepherds’ song was the very first piece of the music which composer Berlioz wrote for this work. The song popped into his head while he was bored at a party. What kind of music pops into your head? Have you ever tried to sing it or play it out loud? L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 7
The Holy Family journeys for three days and three nights through the shifting sands of the desert. All the while, the angels look out for them. When they were weary and tired, an oasis of green grass and flowers appears with a spring of clear water for them to drink. Finally, they arrive at the Roman city of Sais. What a change from the peace of the journey! Suddenly, they find themselves among jostling crowds in a busy marketplace. Mary, exhausted and afraid, cries out “I can go no further … alas!” Joseph knocks on the nearest door and begs for shelter but the cruel people shout at him to go away. “Get away, vile Hebrews! The people of Egypt have no use for vagabonds and lepers!” Again and again, Joseph tries and cruel words are flung at him and doors slammed in his face. Just as they despair of ever finding shelter, Joseph knocks on one final door and it is opened by the Ishmaelites. With warmth and smiles, they welcome the weary travellers into their home, wash their bruised and broken feet, and give them water, bread and milk. And so, for the next ten years, baby Jesus is raised among the kind Ishmaelites who welcomed him when no one else would. LISTEN OUT FOR: Frolicking lambs In Scene 5, we join Mary and Joseph as they sing to their baby son. “…the lambs that come to you bleating … watch their joy and their gambols…”. In the calm of Mary and Joseph’s singing, hear the lambs as they leap and frolic in the flute and oboe and then in the violins. Jostling crowds At the beginning of the third section, the Holy Family arrive in the busy city of Sais. Listen as the music suddenly becomes busy and hectic as the crowd pushes, shoves, shouts and moves around them. Off-stage angels At the end of each of the three sections, listen carefully for the distant beauty of the angels singing out of sight, their voices reaching us on the wind.
Jen Lang © 2020
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 8
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Program Notes HECTOR BERLIOZ
(1803–1869)
L’Enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ) Le Songe d’Hérode (Herod’s Dream) La Fuite en Égypte (The Flight into Egypt) L’arrivée à Saïs (The Arrival at Saïs) Épilogue (Epilogue) Alone among Berlioz’s major works, L’Enfance du Christ came into being not in response to a clear plan but gradually, haphazardly, over a period of several years. One evening in 1850 at a party, while his fellow guests played cards, his friend the architect JosephLouis Duc asked him to write something for his album. Berlioz complied: I take a scrap of paper and draw a few staves, on which in a little while an Andantino in four parts for organ makes its appearance. I am struck by a certain character of naïve, rustic devoutness in the music and decide to add some words in the same vein. The organ piece disappears and turns into a chorus of Bethlehem shepherds saying goodbye to the child Jesus at the moment when the Holy Family set out on their journey to Egypt. The cardplayers were amused by its archaic flavour; and Berlioz included the piece at his next concert, passing it off as the work of a forgotten 17th century master of the Sainte Chapelle, whom he christened Ducré in homage to his friend Duc. In the meantime the Shepherds’ Farewell had been joined by two other movements, also conceived (in the composer’s words) ‘in the manner of the old illuminated missals’: an overture on a modal theme and a piece for solo tenor describing the Holy Family arriving at an oasis. The resulting work, The Flight into Egypt, later to form the central panel of L’Enfance du Christ, was put to one side and apparently forgotten. It was not until three years later, in Leipzig, that Berlioz performed it in full. Only then did the composer decide to take his ‘naïve, rustic’ composition seriously. A sequel, The Arrival at Saïs, was written early in 1854, and the ‘sacred trilogy’ was completed in July by the addition of an introductory section, Herod’s Dream. The whole work was performed in Paris the following December. It had taken four years to grow from its first seemingly chance seed. One reason was his reluctance to commit himself to large-scale composition during these years. He deliberately suppressed the urge to write a symphony, ideas for which kept coming to him. Once it was written he would feel impelled to have it performed and therefore to spend money (including a heavy copyist’s bill) which he didn’t have. The failure of The Damnation of Faust and the crippling debts Berlioz had incurred because of it had a profoundly discouraging effect on him; he had vowed never to risk putting on a big work in Paris again. L’Enfance du Christ could come into the world only by stealth. When he eventually yielded and the concert, enthusiastically received, actually made a profit, he was delighted. The work was hailed as a masterpiece. It seemed L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 10
Berlioz had finally become respectable. He found himself praised for the very qualities he had always been told he lacked: gentleness, charm, simplicity, economy of means, melodiousness. Those who, like Heine, had spoken of him as a freak, obsessed with the macabre and the gigantic, hastened to recant. All this, though gratifying, was somewhat two-edged. Berlioz could not help regarding the extraordinary success of his little oratorio as insulting to his other works. He understood the irritation the painter Salvator Rosa felt when people kept praising his small landscapes: ‘sempre piccoli paesi!’. L’Enfance du Christ was a ‘piccolo paese’ beside The Damnation of Faust, which Paris had shown no interest in, or beside the monumental Te Deum, still unperformed after five years. Even more galling was the suggestion that he had changed, that he of all people, for whom artistic integrity was part of the religion of his life, had altered his style, even adapted his approach to suit the taste of the public. ‘I should have written L’Enfance du Christ in the same manner 20 years ago. The subject naturally prompted a naïve and gentle style of music.’ And in the nearest he ever came to a statement of his artistic aims, he went on to emphasise his belief in ‘passionate expression’, that is, ‘expression bent on reproducing the essence of its subject’, even when the subject was, superficially, the opposite of passion, and the feelings to be expressed were tender and gentle. It was a truth which, in his view, applied just as much to sacred music as to secular. Faithful to these principles, the composer of L’Enfance du Christ remains a dramatist. Though it is not a work for the theatre, and the delineation of character is stylised ‘in the manner of the old illuminated missals’, the approach is the same. The work is structured as a series of tableaux in which we are shown the various human elements of the story: the uneasy might of Rome, the world-weariness of Herod, the blind fanaticism of the soothsayers, the joys and griefs of Jesus’ parents, the shepherds’ friendliness and the busy welcome of the Ishmaelite household. The tableaux are juxtaposed in a manner which anticipates the cinema. An example is the transition from Herod’s rage to the peace of the stable. We see, as though in angry close-up, the fear-distorted faces of Herod and the soothsayers, like faces in a Bosch or Brueghel crucifixion. Then the nightmare fades and the manger comes into focus. In the epilogue it is again as though the glowing family circle of the Ishmaelites were growing faint and blurring before our eyes. The moment has come to close the book and draw the timeless moral; and the composer, having shown us the loving-kindness of his good Samaritans, tracks away from the scene, causes the picture to fade by means of a series of quiet, still unison notes, surrounded by silence. Their purpose is to separate us from the scenes we have been witnessing, to make them recede across the centuries and return to the ancient past from which they have been called up. This distancing process, by removing us from the action, achieves the necessary transition to the final meditation on the meaning of the Christian drama. Everything is visualised. In Part 3, when the Holy Family, having trudged across the desert, reach Egypt thirsty and exhausted, and beg for shelter, the musical imagery brings the scene before us. The plaintive viola motif, the wailing oboe and cor anglais, the fragmentary violin phrases, the tremor of cellos and basses, Mary’s panting utterances, Joseph’s long, swaying melodic line returning, Gluck-like, on itself, the tap of drums as L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 11
he knocks, the shouts of ‘Get away, filthy Jews!’ which brusquely interrupt the prevailing 3/8 metre – all these combine to make a vivid and poignant ‘expression of the subject’. Nor is it only the refugees from intolerance and persecution who arouse the composer’s compassionate understanding. He illuminates the loneliness of the tormented Herod and the forlornness of the soothsayers, whose gloomy choruses and weird cabalistic dance in 7/4 time express the sense that superstition is at once sinister and ridiculous, to be pitied. Such music was not unfamiliar to the public that had followed Berlioz over the years. What surprised it was the Shepherds’ Farewell and the trio for flutes and harp, the purity of the scene of the Holy Family at the oasis, the hushed beauty of the final, unaccompanied chorus. Here he was, using only a handful of instruments as if to the manner born. In fact, it involved no essential change. The music’s simplicity and archaic flavour were in his blood, nourished by the noëls and other popular chants heard in his boyhood, and by the biblical oratorios of his teacher, Jean-François Le Sueur. The Overture to Part 2, with its modal theme, is certainly atypical of its time. But it is pure Berlioz, as are the long, chaste melodic lines and sweet serenity of the narrator’s account of the pilgrims at the oasis. How are we to account for the sharpness of vision and the unclouded truthfulness of feeling that made the music of this scene as fresh as the spring water gushing up in the desert? Beyond the possession of a style able to encompass such simple sublimities lay something else: the memory of childhood beliefs once central to Berlioz’s life and of music experienced as drama in the context of religious ceremony. The intensity of recollected emotion was such that in composing the work he could momentarily re-enter a world in which the events and personages of the Christmas story, as they stamped themselves on a hypersensitive child, were once again vibrantly alive. The pang of regret gives an added sharpness to the retelling. He remembers what it was like to have faith. And at the end, having re-enacted the age-old myth and stepped out of the magic circle, he can only pay tribute to the power of the Christian message and, agnostic that he is, bow before the mystery of Christ’s birth and death. Reprinted with permission © David Cairns
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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: 15–18 June 2018 Sir Andrew Davis Chief Conductor
Benjamin Northey Associate Conductor Anthony Pratt#
Tianyi Lu
Assistant Conductor The Cybec Foundation#
SECOND VIOLINS
CELLOS
Matthew Tomkins
David Berlin
Robert Macindoe
Rachael Tobin
Monica Curro
Nicholas Bochner
Principal The Gross Foundation# Associate Principal
Hiroyuki Iwaki
Assistant Principal Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind#
FIRST VIOLINS
Mary Allison Isin Cakmakcioglu Freya Franzen
Conductor Laureate (1974–2006)
Dale Barltrop Concertmaster
Anonymous#
Sophie Rowell
Concertmaster The Ullmer Family Foundation#
Peter Edwards
Assistant Principal John McKay and Lois McKay#
Kirsty Bremner Sarah Curro
Michael Aquilina#
Peter Fellin Deborah Goodall Lorraine Hook Anne-Marie Johnson Kirstin Kenny Ji Won Kim Eleanor Mancini Mark Mogilevski Michelle Ruffolo Kathryn Taylor Michael Aquilina
#
Amy Brookman* Michael Loftus-Hills*
Zoe Freisberg Cong Gu Andrew Hall
Andrew and Judy Rogers#
Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young Jacqueline Edwards* Nicholas Waters* VIOLAS Christopher Moore Principal Di Jameson#
Fiona Sargeant
Associate Principal
Lauren Brigden
Mr Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman#
Katharine Brockman Christopher Cartlidge Michael Aquilina#
Anthony Chataway
Dr Elizabeth E Lewis AM#
Gabrielle Halloran Maria Sola#
Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Elizabeth Woolnough Caleb Wright L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 13
Principal MS Newman Family#
Associate Principal Assistant Principal
Miranda Brockman
Geelong Friends of the MSO#
Rohan de Korte
Andrew Dudgeon#
Keith Johnson Sarah Morse Angela Sargeant Maria Sola#
Michelle Wood
Andrew and Theresa Dyer#
DOUBLE BASSES Steve Reeves Principal
Andrew Moon
Associate Principal
Sylvia Hosking
Assistant Principal
Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton
Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser#
Esther Toh* FLUTES Prudence Davis Principal Anonymous#
Wendy Clarke
Associate Principal
Sarah Beggs PICCOLO Andrew Macleod Principal
OBOES Jeffrey Crellin
HORNS
PERCUSSION
Principal
Principal Third
Saul Lewis
Robert Clarke
Thomas Hutchinson
Abbey Edlin
John Arcaro
Associate Principal
Ann Blackburn
Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM#
COR ANGLAIS
Trinette McClimont Rachel Shaw*‡ Ian Wildsmith*
Michael Pisani
TRUMPETS
The Rosemary Norman Foundation#
Principal
CLARINETS
Geoffrey Payne* Guest Principal
David Thomas
Shane Hooton
Philip Arkinstall
William Evans Rosie Turner
Principal
Associate Principal
TROMBONES
BASS CLARINET
Brett Kelly
Principal
BASSOONS Jack Schiller
Yinuo Mu Principal
HARMONIUM Jacob Abela*
Principal Bass Trombone
TUBA Timothy Buzbee
CONTRABASSOON
HARP
Richard Shirley Mike Szabo
Elise Millman
Natasha Thomas
Robert Cossom
Principal
Principal
Associate Principal
Tim and Lyn Edward#
Associate Principal
Craig Hill
Jon Craven
Principal
Principal
TIMPANI** Christopher Lane
Brock Imison Principal
# Position supported by * Guest Musician ‡ Courtesy of Orchestra Victoria ** Timpani Chair position supported by Lady Potter AC
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 14
MSO Chorus: 15–18 June 2018 CHORUS MASTER
ALTO
TENOR
Warren Trevelyan-Jones
Satu Aho Ruth Anderson Carolyn Baker Catherine Bickell Cecilia Björkegren Kate Bramley Jane Brodie Elize Brozgul Alexandra Cameron Serena Carmel Alexandra Chubaty Katharine Daley Nicola Eveleigh Jill Giese Debbie Griffiths Ros Harbison Sue Hawley Jennifer Henry Kristine Hensel Joy Lukman Helen MacLean Christina McCowan Rosemary McKelvie Nicole Paterson Sharmila Periakarpan Alison Ralph Mair Roberts Helen Rommelaar Kerry Roulston Annie Runnalls Lisa Savige Helen Staindl Libby Timcke Jenny Vallins Katarina Van Der Linden Emma Warburton
Alexandra Amerides Steve Burnett Peter Campbell John Cleghorn Keaton Cloherty Geoffrey Collins James Dipnall David Floyd Simon Gaites David Henley Lyndon Horsburgh Wayne Kinrade Jessop Maticevski Shumack Michael Mobach Jean-Francois Ravat Asher Reichman Tim Wright
REPETITEUR Tom Griffiths SOPRANO Aviva Barazani Eva Butcher Veryan Croggon Ella Dann-Limon Samantha Davies Rita Fitzgerald Catherine Folley Susan Fone Carolyn Francis Camilla Gorman Jillian Graham Emma Hamley Juliana Hassett Penny Huggett Naomi Hyndman Tania Jacobs Gwen Kennelly Anna Kidman Clancye Milne Catriona Nguyen-Robertson Caitlin Noble Susie Novella Karin Otto Tanja Redl Natalie Reid Mhairi Riddet Jo Robin Elizabeth Rusli Jillian Samuels Jemima Sim Shu Xian Freja Soininen Chiara Stebbing Emily Swanson Elizabeth Tindall Fabienne Vandenburie Tara Zamin
L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST – 15
BASS Maurice Amor Alexandras Bartaska Richard Bolitho Paul Alexander Chantler Roger Dargaville Ted Davies Andrew Ham Joseph Hie Jordan Janssen Evan Lawson Gary Levy Vern O’Hara Alexander Owens Stephen Pyk Nick Sharman Liam Straughan Matthew Toulmin Tom Turnbull Maurice Wan Foon Wong Simon Wright Maciek Zielinski
Supporters MSO PATRON The Honourable Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO Gandel Philanthropy The Gross Foundation Di Jameson Harold Mitchell Foundation David Li AM and Angela Li Harold Mitchell AC MS Newman Family Foundation Lady Potter AC CMRI The Cybec Foundation The Pratt Foundation The Ullmer Family Foundation Anonymous (1)
ARTIST CHAIR BENEFACTORS Cybec Assistant Conductor Chair Nicholas Bochner The Cybec Foundation Concertmaster Chair Sophie Rowell The Ullmer Family Foundation 2020 Soloist in Residence Nicola Benedetti CBE is supported by Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO Young Composer in Residence Jordan Moore The Cybec Foundation
PROGRAM BENEFACTORS Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program The Cybec Foundation East meets West Supported by the Li Family Trust Meet the Orchestra Made possible by The Ullmer Family Foundation MSO Audience Access Crown Resorts Foundation, Packer Family Foundation
MSO Building Capacity Gandel Philanthropy (Director of Philanthropy) Di Jameson (External Relations Manager) MSO Education Supported by Mrs Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross MSO International Touring Supported by Harold Mitchell AC, The Ullmer Family Foundation, The Pratt Foundation MSO Regional Touring Creative Victoria, Freemasons Foundation Victoria, Robert Salzer Foundation, Perpetual Foundation – Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment The Pizzicato Effect (Anonymous), The Marian and E.H. Flack Trust, Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust, Supported by the Hume City Council’s Community Grants Program Sidney Myer Free Concerts Supported by the Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund and the University of Melbourne Musical Acknowledgment of Countries Supported by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Commonwealth Government through the Australian National Commission for UNESCO
PLATINUM PATRONS $100,000+ Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel AC The Gross Foundation Di Jameson David Li AM and Angela Li MS Newman Family Foundation The Pratt Foundation Lady Potter AC CMRI Ullmer Family Foundation Anonymous (1)
VIRTUOSO PATRONS $50,000+ Harold Mitchell AC
Supporters – 16
IMPRESARIO PATRONS $20,000+ Michael Aquilina Mimie MacLaren John and Lois McKay Maria Solà Anonymous (1)
MAESTRO PATRONS $10,000+ Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson Mitchell Chipman Tim and Lyn Edward Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind Robert & Jan Green Hilary Hall, in memory of Wilma Collie Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM The Hogan Family Foundation Peter Hunt AM and Tania de Jong AM Suzanne Kirkham David Krasnostein AM and Pat Stragalinos Ian and Jeannie Paterson Elizabeth Proust AO Xijian Ren and Qian Li Glenn Sedgwick Gai and David Taylor Harry and Michelle Wong Anonymous (1)
PRINCIPAL PATRONS $5,000+ Christine and Mark Armour Barbara Bell, in memory of Elsa Bell Stephen and Caroline Brain Prof Ian Brighthope May and James Chen John and Lyn Coppock The Cuming Bequest Wendy Dimmick Andrew Dudgeon AM Jaan Enden Mr Bill Fleming John and Diana Frew Susan Fry and Don Fry AO Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser Geelong Friends of the MSO R Goldberg and Family
Leon Goldman Colin Golvan AM QC and Dr Deborah Golvan Jennifer Gorog HMA Foundation Louis Hamon OAM Hans and Petra Henkell Hartmut and Ruth Hofmann Doug Hooley Jenny and Peter Hordern Dr Alastair Jackson AM Rosemary and James Jacoby Dr Elizabeth A Lewis AM Norman Lewis, in memory of Dr Phyllis Lewis Peter Lovell Mr Douglas and Mrs Rosemary Meagher Marie Morton FRSA Anne Neil Dr Paul Nisselle AM The Rosemary Norman Foundation Ken Ong, in memory of Lin Ong Jim and Fran Pfeiffer Dr Rosemary Ayton and Dr Sam Ricketson Jeffrey Sher QC and Diana Sher OAM Helen Silver AO and Harrison Young Brian Snape AM and the late Diana Snape Tasco Petroleum The Hon. Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall Drs Rhyl Wade and Clem Gruen Lyn Williams AM Jason Yeap OAM – Mering Management Corporation Sophia Yong-Tang Anonymous (5)
ASSOCIATE PATRONS $2,500+ Marlyn and Peter Bancroft OAM Dandolo Partners Will and Dorothy Bailey Bequest Anne Bowden Bill Bowness Julia and Jim Breen Patricia Brockman Roger and Coll Buckle Jill and Christopher Buckley Supporters – 17
Lynne Burgess Oliver Carton Richard and Janet Chauvel Ann Darby, in memory of Leslie J. Darby Natasha Davies, for the Trikojus Education Fund Merrowyn Deacon Sandra Dent Peter and Leila Doyle Lisa Dwyer and Dr Ian Dickson AM Dr Helen M Ferguson Elizabeth Foster Barry Fradkin OAM and Dr Pam Fradkin Alex and Liz Furman Dina and Ron Goldschlager Louise Gourlay OAM Susan and Gary Hearst Margaret Jackson AC Jenkins Family Foundation John Jones Andrew Johnston Irene Kearsey and Michael Ridley The Ilma Kelson Music Foundation Bryan Lawrence John and Margaret Mason H E McKenzie Allan and Evelyn McLaren Patricia Nilsson Bruce Parncutt AO Alan and Dorothy Pattison Sue and Barry Peake Mrs W Peart Christine Peirson and the late Graham Peirson Julie and Ian Reid Ralph and Ruth Renard Peter and Carolyn Rendit S M Richards AM and M R Richards Joan P Robinson and Christopher Robinson Tom and Elizabeth Romanowski Mark and Jan Schapper Dr Norman and Dr Sue Sonenberg Dr Michael Soon Jennifer Steinicke Peter J Stirling Jenny Tatchell Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher
Nic and Ann Willcock Lorraine Woolley Peter and Susan Yates Richard Ye Anonymous (5)
PLAYER PATRONS $1,000+ David and Cindy Abbey Dr Sally Adams Mary Armour Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Robbie Barker Adrienne Basser Janice Bate and the late Prof Weston Bate Janet H Bell David Blackwell OAM John and Sally Bourne Michael F Boyt Dr John Brookes Nigel and Sheena Broughton Stuart Brown Suzie Brown OAM and Harvey Brown Shane Buggle Dr Lynda Campbell John Carroll Andrew Crockett AM and Pamela Crockett Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das Mary and Frederick Davidson AM Caroline Davies W and A Deane Rick and Sue Deering John and Anne Duncan Jane Edmanson OAM Doug Evans Grant Fisher and Helen Bird Applebay Pty Ltd David Frenkiel and Esther Frenkiel OAM David Gibbs and Susie O’Neill Janette Gill Mary and Don Glue Greta Goldblatt and the late Merwyn Goldblatt George Golvan QC and Naomi Golvan Dr Marged Goode
Supporters – 18
Prof Denise Grocke AO Jennifer Gross Max Gulbin Dr Sandra Hacker AO and Mr Ian Kennedy AM Jean Hadges Paula Hansky OAM Amir Harel and Dr Judy Carman Tilda and Brian Haughney Geoff Hayes Anna and John Holdsworth Penelope Hughes Geoff and Denise Illing Peter Jaffe and Judy Gold Basil and Rita Jenkins Dorothy Karpin Merv Keehn and Sue Harlow Dr Anne Kennedy Julie and Simon Kessel KCL Law Kerry Landman Diedrie Lazarus Dr Anne Lierse Dr Susan Linton Andrew Lockwood Elizabeth H Loftus Chris and Anna Long June and Simon Lubansky The Hon Ian Macphee AO and Mrs Julie Macphee Eleanor & Phillip Mancini Annette Maluish In memory of Leigh Masel Wayne McDonald and Kay Schroer Lesley McMullin Foundation Ruth Maxwell Don and Anne Meadows new U Mildura Wayne and Penny Morgan Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE and Lady Nossal Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James Kerryn Pratchett Peter Priest Treena Quarin Eli Raskin Raspin Family Trust
Tony and Elizabeth Rayward Cathy and Peter Rogers Andrew and Judy Rogers Peter Rose and Christopher Menz Marie Rowland Liliane Rusek and Alexander Ushakoff Elisabeth and Doug Scott Martin and Susan Shirley Penny Shore John E Smith Dr Sam Smorgon AO and Mrs Minnie Smorgon Lady Southey AC Starkey Foundation Geoff and Judy Steinicke Dr Peter Strickland Pamela Swansson Stephanie Tanuwidjaja Tara, Tessa, Melinda and Terence Ann and Larry Turner Mary Valentine AO The Hon. Rosemary Varty Leon and Sandra Velik Sue Walker AM Elaine Walters OAM and Gregory Walters The Rev Noel Whale Edward and Paddy White Marian and Terry Wills Cooke OAM Richard Withers Jeffrey and Shirley Zajac Anonymous (21)
MSO PATRON COMMISSIONS Snare Drum Award test piece 2019 Commissioned by Tim and Lyn Edward
CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE Current Conductor’s Circle Members Jenny Anderson David Angelovich G C Bawden and L de Kievit Lesley Bawden Joyce Bown Mrs Jenny Brukner and the late Mr John Brukner
Supporters – 19
Ken Bullen Peter A Caldwell Luci and Ron Chambers Beryl Dean Sandra Dent Lyn Edward Alan Egan JP Gunta Eglite Mr Derek Grantham Marguerite Garnon-Williams Drs Clem Gruen and Rhyl Wade Louis Hamon OAM Carol Hay Graham Hogarth Rod Home Tony Howe Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James Audrey M Jenkins John Jones George and Grace Kass Mrs Sylvia Lavelle Pauline and David Lawton Cameron Mowat David Orr Matthew O’Sullivan Rosia Pasteur Elizabeth Proust AO Penny Rawlins Joan P Robinson Neil Roussac Anne Roussac-Hoyne Suzette Sherazee Michael Ryan and Wendy Mead Anne Kieni-Serpell and Andrew Serpell Jennifer Shepherd Profs. Gabriela and George Stephenson Pamela Swansson Lillian Tarry Dr Cherilyn Tillman Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock Michael Ullmer AO The Hon. Rosemary Varty Mr Tam Vu Marian and Terry Wills Cooke OAM Mark Young Anonymous (29)
The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Estates: Norma Ruth Atwell Angela Beagley Neilma Gantner The Hon Dr Alan Goldberg AO QC Gwen Hunt Audrey Jenkins Joan Jones Pauline Marie Johnston C P Kemp Peter Forbes MacLaren Joan Winsome Maslen Lorraine Maxine Meldrum Prof Andrew McCredie Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE Marion A I H M Spence Molly Stephens Jennifer May Teague Albert Henry Ullin Jean Tweedie Herta and Fred B Vogel Dorothy Wood
EAST MEETS WEST PROGRAM PARTNERS Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China Li Family Trust Noah Holdings Australia Post WeXchange Hengyi Asian Executive Fitzroys Laurel International Future Kids Executive Wealth Circle Asia Society Chin Communications LRR Family Trust Mr Wanghua Chu and Dr Shirley Chu David and Dominique Yu Lake Cooper Estate
Supporters – 20
HONORARY APPOINTMENTS Life Members Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel AC Sir Elton John CBE Harold Mitchell AC Lady Potter AC CMRI Mrs Jeanne Pratt AC Artistic Ambassador Tan Dun Artistic Ambassador Geoffrey Rush AC The MSO honours the memory of John Brockman OAM Life Member The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC Life Member Roger Riordan AM Life Member Ila Vanrenen Life Member
MSO BOARD Chairman Michael Ullmer AO Deputy Chairman David Li AM Managing Director Sophie Galaise Board Directors Andrew Dudgeon AM Danny Gorog Lorraine Hook Margaret Jackson AC Di Jameson David Krasnostein AM Hyon-Ju Newman Glenn Sedgwick Helen Silver AO Company Secretary Oliver Carton
The MSO relies on your ongoing philanthropic support to sustain our artists, and support access, education, community engagement and more. We invite our suporters to get close to the MSO through a range of special events. The MSO welcomes your support at any level. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible, and supporters are recognised as follows: $1,000+ (Player) $2,500+ (Associate) $5,000+ (Principal) $10,000+ (Maestro)
$20,000+ (Impresario) $50,000+ (Virtuoso) $100,000+ (Platinum)
The MSO Conductor’s Circle is our bequest program for members who have notified of a planned gift in their Will. Enquiries P (03) 8646 1551 | E philanthropy@mso.com.au
Supporters – 21
Thank you to our Partners Principal Partner
Government Partners
Premier Partners
Premier Education and Research Partner
Major Partners
Venue Partner
Program Development Partner
Education Partners
Supporting Partners
Quest Southbank
The CEO Institute
Ernst & Young
Bows for Strings
The Observership Program
Trusts and Foundations
Gall Family Foundation, The Archie & Hilda Graham Foundation, The Gross Foundation, Ern Hartley Foundation, The A.L. Lane Foundation, Scobie & Clare McKinnon Foundation, Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund, MS Newman Family Foundation, The Thomas O’Toole Foundation, The Ray & Joyce Uebergang Foundation, The Ullmer Family Foundation
Media and Broadcast Partners
BEST SEAT in the house
As Principal Partner of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, we know the importance of delighting an audience. That’s why when you’re in Emirates First, you’ll enjoy the ultimate flying experience with fine dining at any time in your own private suite.
*Emirates First Class Private Suite pictured. For more information visit emirates.com/au, call 1300 303 777, or contact your local travel agent.