Classical Hits (and other bits) by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Melbourne exclusive

AND OTHER BITS!

1 APRIL 2017 | 8PM SOUVENIR CONCERT PROGRAM

Executive Producer Anthony Pratt, in support of the MSO

WELCOME I am so excited to welcome you to tonight’s special event, Classical Hits (and other bits). We at the MSO have had such fun in preparing for tonight’s concert, and I am certain that you will enjoy yourselves this evening. Classical Hits is intended as a launch pad for you, our guest, to dive into the world of orchestral music. Through the MSO’s diverse offering of contemporary, family-friendly concerts and educational workshops for all ages, we aim to perform classical music for all Melburnians. Tonight is another example of our commitment to accessible music. You are sure to recognise much of tonight’s repertoire, and hopefully it will tempt you to return to see the MSO again soon. Of course, tonight would not have been possible without the generosity and effort of Anthony Pratt. The consummate professional and a joy to work with, Anthony’s love of classical music—and of the MSO—is on show for you tonight, with a speciallycurated selection of works. I extend my utmost thanks to Anthony for his patronage of the MSO and for his commitment to Melbourne’s arts community. Enjoy the concert. Sophie Galaise Managing Director Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Photo courtesy Daniel Aulsebrook

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER And I’ve chosen familiar themes and tunes which most of us have heard, or recognise from popular culture. Except that we’re presenting the original versions, albeit in shortened form, because that’s what the great composers wanted us to enjoy.

There’s something grand and wonderful about a symphony orchestra that you can only fully appreciate “live” in a concert hall. It’s not just the feast of sound, which no recording can match, but the excitement of seeing— as well as hearing—100 musicians playing as one for the conductor. Add 100 choral singers, brilliant soloists, and a dramatic sound and light show, and the combination is just awesome. Which is why I’m so excited about tonight’s “different” program. Working with the MSO’s creative teams, I’ve selected some of the best-known favourites from the classical repertoire. They range from Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries to Ravel’s Bolero and from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.

The MSO is one of Melbourne’s cultural treasures, and the Pratt Foundation is proud of our longstanding support, especially for the orchestra’s programs for young people. So it’s a personal privilege to sponsor this concert, and I’m grateful to everybody who’s made it happen. I’m particularly indebted to Managing Director, Sophie Galaise, who enthusiastically agreed to my idea for Classical Hits, and to our conductor, the inimitable Ben Northey, who’s been my great guide and mentor. Finally, a special thank you to all of you in the audience who’ve joined us for this memorable night of musicmaking. I hope it will inspire many of you to return for more wonderful MSO concerts. Anthony Pratt Executive Producer

ARTISTS

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Northey Conductor Greta Bradman Soprano Rosario La Spina Tenor Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus Warren Trevelyan-Jones & Marilyn Phillips GUEST CHORUS MASTERS Australian Girls Choir

Running time 2 hours including interval

REPERTOIRE WAGNER Die Walküre: The Ride of the Valkyries BEETHOVEN Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67: first movement ORFF Carmina burana: O fortuna MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K.492: Overture MOZART The Magic Flute K.620: ‘Der Hölle rache’ BIZET Carmen Suite No.1: Les Toréadors VERDI Rigoletto: ‘La donna è mobile’ VERDI La traviata: Brindisi MOZART Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K.525: first movement ROTA Romeo and Juliet: Love Theme RAVEL Bolero (with cuts)

INTERVAL VERDI Aïda: Triumphal March DI CAPUA O Sole Mio GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite No.1: In the Hall of the Mountain King J. STRAUSS II On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op.314 PUCCINI Gianni Schicchi: ‘O mio babbino caro’ SOUSA The Liberty Bell March MARTINI Plaisir d’amour ANDERSON-LOPEZ Frozen: ‘Let It Go’ PUCCINI Turanodot: ‘Nessun dorma’ ROSSINI William Tell Overture: Galop TCHAIKOVSKY Overture 1812, Op.49: Finale

BENJAMIN NORTHEY Australian conductor Benjamin Northey is the Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Associate Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Northey also appears regularly as a guest conductor with all major Australian symphony orchestras, Opera Australia, New Zealand Opera and the State Opera South Australia. His international appearances include concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Malaysian Philharmonic and the New Zealand and Auckland Symphony Orchestras. Northey studied conducting with John Hopkins at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music from 2000-2002. In 2001 he was awarded first prize in the Symphony Australia Young Conductor of the Year Competition under the direction of Jorma Panula. In 2002 he was he was accepted as the highest placed

applicant to Finland’s prestigious Sibelius Academy where he studied with Leif Segerstam and Atso Almila until 2005. He completed his studies at the Stockholm Royal College of Music with Jorma Panula in 2006. In 2009/10 he was chosen as one of three conductors worldwide to participate in the Allianz International Conductor’s Academy with the LPO and the Philharmonia Orchestra. With a progressive and diverse approach to repertoire he has collaborated with a broad range of artists including Maxim Vengerov, Piers Lane, Alban Gerhardt, Slava Grigoryan and Marc-André Hamelin as well as popular artists Tim Minchin, KD Lang, Kate Miller-Heidke, Barry Humphries, Kurt Elling, James Morrison & Tori Amos. An Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, his awards include the prestigious 2010 Melbourne Prize Outstanding Musician’s Award and the 2002 Brian Stacey Memorial Scholarship.

GRETA BRADMAN

ROSARIO LA SPINA

Since commencing her professional career in 2010 primarily as a concert classical singer, Greta has presented more than 1000 performances with orchestras including state symphony orchestras (Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Western Australian, Sydney), the Australian Chamber Ensemble, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Wellington Symphony Orchestra, Australian World Orchestra, opera companies ensembles and choirs, demonstrating her extraordinary vocal stamina and skill and her capability to learn music extremely quickly.

Rosario La Spina trained at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music continuing his studies at RNCM, Manchester under the tutelage of Joseph Ward OBE.

The result is the relatively rapid amassing of experience in a vast array of repertoire from Baroque, classical, romantic, 20th and 21st century repertory. Australian composers who have written or arranged for Greta since 2010 include Peter Sculthorpe, Calvin Bowman and Natalie Williams amongst others.

In 2002, Rosario won first prize in the Mario Del Monaco International Opera Competition and made his principal role debut at La Scala as Riccardo (Oberto) reprising the role in Genoa. He made his Opera Australia debut as Cavaradossi (Tosca) in 2005 and has subsequently appeared for the national company as Radames (Aida) The Prince (Love for Three Oranges), Alfredo (Latraviata), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly),The Duke (Rigoletto) and the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann. Rosario has also been a regular soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras and appears on the CD/ DVD Classical Spectacular with the MSO (ABC Classics).

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS For more than half a century, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus has been the unstinting voice of the Orchestraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choral repertoire. In 2017 the Chorus joins forces with the Orchestra on more than 20 different occasions to perform some of the most moving and inspiring repertoire from the canon, as well as once again presenting its own a cappella performances. Recordings by the MSO Chorus for Chandos and ABC Classics have received critical acclaim.

It has performed across Brazil and at the Cultura Inglese Festival in Sao Paolo, in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the AFL Grand Final, and Anzac Day commemorative ceremonies. The MSO Chorus is always welcoming new members. If you would like to audition please visit mso.com.au/ chorus for more information.

AUSTRALIAN GIRLS CHOIR The Australian Girls Choir (AGC) was founded in 1984 by Judith Curphey OAM and was made up of 150 girls in Melbourne; today it is an organisation with 5,500 choristers in training in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Singing for Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama, and at major events including the ‘Broadway to Oz’ Arena Tour

with Hugh Jackman, Melbourne Cup and with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra just a few of their crowning achievements. A true recognition of the choir’s success is their selection to represent Qantas in the ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ advertising campaigns since 1998. www.ausgirlschoir.com.au

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Established in 1906, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an arts leader and Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest professional orchestra. With Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis at the helm of MSO since 2013, it engages more than 2.5 million people each year through live performances, recordings, TV and radio broadcasts and live streaming. The MSO performs a variety of concerts ranging from core classical performances at its home, Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, to its annual free concerts at Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest outdoor venue, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

A NOTE ON CLASSICAL HITS (AND OTHER BITS) Great music can occupy parallel universes. For example, the past and present, or a particular piece's context depending on its original composition or how it may be interpreted and perceived by its audience. Classical also means popular. Here are four examples from tonight’s program.

The Ride of the Valkyries To Wagnerites, this triumphant music, which begins Act III of Die Walküre, heralds the eight horsewomen of the apocalypse: the Valkyries who bear the bodies of dead heroes to Valhalla. To filmgoers, the music signifies a different apocalypse, the savagery of the Vietnam War depicted in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Think of the Ride, ear-splittingly broadcast through loudspeakers in the US helicopter raid led by Robert Duvall’s mad Colonel “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” Kilgore.

Carmina Burana Carl Orff’s cantata of 24 13th-century poems in Latin and High German, composed in 1937, was intended as a feast for the senses—pure spectacle, involving flashy lighting, opulent scenery, and dancing. Orff’s setting of O Fortuna has proved one of the most enduring and popular classical works ever: the stuff of many film scores and commercials.

O Sole Mio This 1898 Neapolitan song by Eduardo di Capua with lyrics by Giovanni Capurro has been sung by countless troubadours, including Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, the Three Tenors and Elvis Presley. Presley’s recording of 1960, rebranded as It’s Now or Never (“Come hold me tight / Kiss me my darling / Be mine tonight”), was one of his biggest hits—certainly more so than the B-side, A Mess of Blues.

Beethoven’s Fifth The eternal da-da-da-dum (fate-atthe-door) are the most famous four notes in the classical repertoire. English conductor John Eliot Gardiner, stressing the revolutionary aspects of the work, calls it “an alarm call, an incitement, a call to arms”. This is of course only the beginning of a halfhour symphony—one that changed the face of music. All of the works in Classical Hits (and other bits) have one thing in common: they are immediately recognisable, not only to regular concertgoers but to anyone who hears them. Such is the persuasive power of these works, that a fragment is enough to connect the notes and ignite familiarity. Any performance is of course nothing unless it completes the circuitry between what is being played and how it is being heard. Make no mistake, you, the members of the audience, are vital to overall appreciation. What makes these works (or extracts thereof) so universally popular? Reasons abound. For example, Nessun Dorma, from Puccini’s Turandot, made a spectacular leap from opera house to the soccer pitch as the BBC’s theme for its coverage of the 1990 World Cup —the three tenors helped, too. Or the galloping theme from Rossini’s William Tell Overture, which thundered into the hearts of millions of viewers of The Lone Ranger in the mid-20th century.

The criterion, though, whether it be Ravel’s Bolero or Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, is that the music must be great to begin with. It can be rescored or reduced by platoons of arrangers and advertising agencies, but it counts for nothing unless the heart and soul of the original is retained. Returning to Wagner for a moment. It’s worth remembering that the composer once forbade using The Ride of the Valkyries as a stand-alone piece, considering it an “utter indiscretion”. Much later, he changed his mind. The royalties probably won the day. On the podium tonight is the MSO’s Associate Conductor, Benjamin Northey, who is himself passionate about music education, and opening the repertoire to one and all. “The angle is about access,” Ben says. “It’s really an old-fashioned orchestra pops concert with visual spectacle and an entertainment angle.” The Executive Producer of Classical Hits (and other bits) is Anthony Pratt, the philanthropic Executive Chairman of Visy Industries and, says Ben, “a man of big ideas”. Between them they hope to create “an immersive experience, with visual as well as musical elements”. It also comes down to generating curiosity and, Ben hopes, creating an abiding love of music. “This concert starts that journey”. Four, three, two, one … Da-da-da-dum! – Michael Shmith 13

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sir Andrew Davis Chief Conductor FIRST VIOLINS

SECOND VIOLINS

VIOLAS

Dale Barltrop

Matthew Tomkins

Christopher Moore

Concertmaster

Eoin Andersen

Principal The Gross Foundation#

Sophie Rowell

Associate Principal

Peter Edwards

Assistant Principal Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind#

Robert Macindoe

Concertmaster

Associate Concertmaster The Ullmer Family Foundation# Assistant Principal

Kirsty Bremner Sarah Curro

Michael Aquilina#

Peter Fellin Deborah Goodall Lorraine Hook Kirstin Kenny Ji Won Kim Eleanor Mancini

David and Helen Moses#

Mark Mogilevski Michelle Ruffolo Kathryn Taylor #

Michael Aquilina

Jo Beaumont* Jacqueline Edwards* Robert John* Markiyan Melnychenko* Oksana Thompson*

Monica Curro

Mary Allison Isin Cakmakcioglu Freya Franzen Anonymous#

Cong Gu Andrew Hall

Andrew and Judy Rogers#

Francesca Hiew Tam Vu, Peter and Lyndsey Hawkins#

Rachel Homburg Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young Iona Allan* Amy Brookman* Madeleine Jevons* Lawrence Lee* Susannah Ng*

Principal Di Jameson#

Fiona Sargeant

Associate Principal

Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Christopher Cartlidge Anthony Chataway Gabrielle Halloran Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Elizabeth Woolnough Caleb Wright Gaëlle Bayet† Ceridwen Davies* Helen Ireland* Isabel Morse* CELLOS

David Berlin

Principal MS Newman Family#

Rachael Tobin

Associate Principal

Nicholas Bochner Assistant Principal

Miranda Brockman Geelong Friends of the MSO#

Rohan de Korte Keith Johnson Sarah Morse Angela Sargeant Michelle Wood

Andrew and Theresa Dyer#

Rachel Atkinson* Zoe Wallace*

DOUBLE BASSES

CLARINETS

TROMBONES

Steve Reeves

David Thomas

Brett Kelly

Principal

Andrew Moon

Philip Arkinstall

Don Immel*

Associate Principal

Guest Associate Principal

Sylvia Hosking

Craig Hill

Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton

Iain Faragher* Mike Szabo

BASS CLARINET

Principal Bass Trombone

Jon Craven

TUBA

Principal

Associate Principal Assistant Principal

Sophie Galaise and Clarence Frase#

Rohan Dasika* Emma Sullivan*

Principal

BASSOONS

Jack Schiller Principal

Lyndon Watts*

FLUTES

Guest Principal

Prudence Davis

Associate Principal

Principal Anonymous#

Wendy Clarke

Elise Millman

Natasha Thomas

Principal

TIMPANI

Brent Miller* PERCUSSION

Robert Clarke Principal

Principal

John Arcaro Robert Cossom Robert Allan* Lara Wilson*

Associate Principal

CONTRABASSOON

Sarah Beggs

Brock Imison

PICCOLO

Timothy Buzbee

HORNS

HARP

Principal

Deborah Hart*

Yinuo Mu

Guest Principal

Principal

OBOES

Saul Lewis

PIANO/CELESTE

Andrew Macleod

Jeffrey Crellin Principal

Thomas Hutchinson Associate Principal

Ann Blackburn Rachel Curkpatrick* COR ANGLAIS

Michael Pisani Principal

Principal Third

Jenna Breen Abbey Edlin

Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM#

Trinette McClimont Rebecca Luton*

Peter de Jager* Laurence Matheson* SAXOPHONE

Justin Kenealy*

TRUMPETS

Geoffrey Payne Principal

Shane Hooton

Associate Principal

# Position supported by * Guest Musician â&#x20AC; On exchange from West German Radio Symphony

William Evans Rosie Turner* 15

MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CHORUS SOPRANO

Philippa Allen Aviva Barazani Eva Butcher Veryan Croggon Emma Di Maggio Catherine Folley Camilla Gorman Juliana Hassett Penny Huggett Naomi Hyndman Tania Jacobs Ruth McIntosh Susie Novella Karin Otto Natalie Reid Jo Robin Elizabeth Rusli Natalia Salazar Jemima Sim Shu Xian Freja Soininen Elizabeth Tindall Eloise Verbeek Tara Zamin ALTO

Satu Aho Ruth Anderson Catherine Bickell Cecilia Björkegren Jill Giese Natasha Godfrey Ros Harbison Kristine Hensel Rebecca Kmit Jade Leigh

Helen MacLean Christina McCowan Alison Ralph Lisa Savige Libby Timcke Jenny Vallins TENOR

James Allen Tony Barnett Steve Burnett Peter Clay James Dipnall Lyndon Horsburgh Wayne Kinrade Michael Mobach Jean-Francois Ravat Tim Wright BASS

Maurice Amor Richard Bolitho Phil Elphinstone Gerard Evans Andrew Hibbard Vern O'Hara Edward Ounapuu Liam Straughan Maurice Wan Maciek Zielinski

AUSTRALIAN GIRLS CHOIR Mei Wah Chan Rebecca Collin Kathryn Desmier Natasha Dyson Emma Howlett Michaela Janssen Alessandra Ranno Meg Walker Olivia White

PRODUCTION CREDITS Ben Skene – Videography Alex Saad – Lighting Niki Sama – Floral displays

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