CONCERT PROGRAM
8 JUNE 2020
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A Message from the Managing Director Welcome to the MSO Music Marathon! We are proud to bring Melbourne’s orchestra to our community and global family with this online event. In these challenging times we are reminded just how essential music is to our lives, and how we can bring light, hope and joy when it is most needed. Inspired by both nature and the nature of humanity, the works on today’s program reflect the world we inhabit. From the genius Beethoven to Australia’s finest composers, this day celebrates the uniting power of music. Thank you for joining us as we make music together.
Sophie Galaise Managing Director Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Musical Acknowledgement of Country: Long Time Living Here In all the world, only Australia can lay claim to the longest continuing cultures and we celebrate this more today than in any other time since our shared history began. We live each day drawing energy from a land which has been nurtured by the traditional owners for more than 2000 generations. When we acknowledge country we pay respect to the land and to the people in equal measure. As a composer I have specialised in coupling the beauty and diversity of our Indigenous languages with the power and intensity of classical music. In order to compose the music for this Acknowledgement of Country Project I have had the great privilege of working with no fewer than eleven ancient languages from the state of Victoria, including the language of my late Grandmother, Yorta Yorta woman Frances McGee. I pay my deepest respects to the elders and ancestors who are represented in these songs of acknowledgement and to the language custodians who have shared their knowledge and expertise in providing each text. – Deborah Cheetham AO, composer Presented in association with Australian National Commission for UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Boon Wurrung language provided courtesy of Arweet Carolyn Briggs and the Boon Wurrung Foundation.
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Today’s music marathon is a rich mixture of live and pre-filmed performances alongside introductions and conversations with MSO musicians and special guests. The marathon will include the following:
Time
Piece
from 2.00pm
Cheetham Long Time Living Here (Acknowledgement of Country)
11
Beethoven Symphony No.6, first movement
11
Beethoven Symphony No.7
13
Vaughan-Williams The Lark Ascending
18
Cheetham Dutala, star-filled sky
22
Vivaldi Winter from The Four Seasons
24
Beethoven Septet
26
Brenton Broadstock And No Birds Sing
29
Sculthorpe String Quartet No.18
31
Beethoven Symphony No.6, fourth movement
33
Beethoven Quintet for piano and winds
36
Danish String Quartet Last Leaf
39
Beethoven Symphony No.9 with Circa Contemporary Circus
41
from 3.20pm
from 4.00pm
from 5.00pm
from 6.00pm
Page
please note, times are approximate.
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Keep the music going The MSO’s mission is to share great music, even if you cannot join us in the concert hall. With revenue impacted by the ban on live performances, we ask you to consider a donation to the MSO.
Donate online now at mso.com.au/support
Join us Online for digital broadcasts from the MSO archives. mso.com.au
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.
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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Xian Zhang
Principal Guest Conductor
Benjamin Northey Principal Conductor in Residence
Nicholas Bochner
Cybec Assistant Conductor
Sir Andrew Davis Conductor Laureate
Hiroyuki Iwaki
Conductor Laureate (1974–2006)
FIRST VIOLINS Dale Barltrop
Concertmaster
Sophie Rowell Concertmaster The Ullmer Family Foundation# Tair Khisambeev
Assistant Concertmaster
Peter Edwards
Assistant Principal
Kirsty Bremner Sarah Curro Peter Fellin Deborah Goodall Lorraine Hook Anne-Marie Johnson Barbara Bell in memory of Elsa Bell#
Kirstin Kenny Eleanor Mancini Mark Mogilevski Michelle Ruffolo Kathryn Taylor
SECOND VIOLINS
CELLOS
Matthew Tomkins
David Berlin
Robert Macindoe
Rachael Tobin
Monica Curro
Nicholas Bochner
Principal The Gross Foundation# Associate Principal
Assistant Principal Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind#
Mary Allison Isin Cakmakcioglu Tiffany Cheng Freya Franzen
Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind#
Cong Gu Andrew Hall Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young VIOLAS Christopher Moore Principal Di Jameson#
Christopher Cartlidge Associate Principal
Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Anthony Chataway
Dr Elizabeth E Lewis AM#
Gabrielle Halloran Trevor Jones Anne Neil#
Fiona Sargeant Cindy Watkin
Learn more about our musicians on the MSO website. MSO MUSIC MARATHON – 5
Principal MS Newman Family# Associate Principal Assistant Principal Anonymous#
Miranda Brockman
Geelong Friends of the MSO#
Rohan de Korte
Andrew Dudgeon#
Sarah Morse Angela Sargeant Michelle Wood DOUBLE BASSES Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Frank Mercurio and Di Jameson#
Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser#
FLUTES
BASSOONS
TROMBONES
Prudence Davis
Jack Schiller
Richard Shirley
Elise Millman
Mike Szabo
Natasha Thomas
TUBA
Principal Anonymous#
Principal
Wendy Clarke
Associate Principal
Associate Principal
Sarah Beggs
Sophia Yong-Tang
Dr Martin Tymms and Patricia Nilsson#
PICCOLO
CONTRABASSOON
Andrew Macleod
Brock Imison
#
Principal John McKay and Lois McKay#
OBOES
Principal
HORNS
Tim and Lyn Edward# Principal Bass Trombone
Timothy Buzbee Principal
TIMPANI** PERCUSSION John Arcaro
Nicolas Fleury
Tim and Lyn Edward#
Principal
Principal Margaret Jackson AC#
Thomas Hutchinson
Saul Lewis
Drs Rhyll Wade and Clem Gruen#
Jeffrey Crellin
Associate Principal
Ann Blackburn
The Rosemary Norman Foundation#
COR ANGLAIS
Principal Third The Hon Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall#
Abbey Edlin
Michael Pisani
Trinette McClimont Rachel Shaw
CLARINETS
TRUMPETS
David Thomas
Owen Morris
Philip Arkinstall
Associate Principal
Craig Hill BASS CLARINET Jon Craven Principal
HARP Yinuo Mu Principal
Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM#
Principal
Principal
Robert Cossom
Principal
Shane Hooton
Associate Principal Glenn Sedgwick and Dr Anita Willaton#
William Evans Rosie Turner
John and Diana Frew#
# Position supported by ** Timpani Chair position supported by Lady Potter AC CMRI
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MSO Staff EXECUTIVE Sophie Galaise Managing Director Judith Clark Executive Assistant to the Managing Director Guy Ross Chief Operating Officer ARTISTIC Melissa King Director of Artistic Planning Katharine BartholomeuszPlows Senior Manager, Artistic Planning Michael Williamson Artistic Administrator Bridget Davies Artistic Planning Coordinator Stephen McAllan Artist Liaison Mathilde Serraille Orchestra Librarian Luke Speedy-Hutton Assistant Orchestra Librarian Andrew Pogson Senior Manager, Special Projects Karl Knapp Special Projects Coordinator
LEARNING, ENGAGEMENT & INNOVATION John Nolan Director of Learning, Engagement & Innovation Jennifer Lang Senior Manager, Learning, Engagement & Innovation Sylvia Hosking Schools Program Manager Stephen Gould Learning, Engagement and Innovation Coordinator OPERATIONS Gabrielle Waters Director of Operations James Foster Senior Manager, Operations Helen Godfrey Orchestra Manager Nina Dubecki Assistant Orchestra Manager Steele Foster Production Assistant Geetanjali Mishra Production Coordinator Matthew Castle Chorus Coordinator PHILANTHROPY & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Suzanne Dembo Director of Philanthropy & External Affairs Katy Tyrell Acting Trusts and Foundations Manager Nickie Warton Philanthropy Coordinator Keith Clancy Donor Liaison Caroline Buckley Senior Manager, External Relations MSO MUSIC MARATHON – 7
MARKETING & SALES Dylan Stewart Director of Marketing & Sales Clare Douglas Senior Manager, Marketing & Communications Emiko Hunt Digital Marketing Manager Sam Leaman Digital Content Producer Phil Paschke Marketing Coordinator Jane Sutherland Marketing Coordinator Katya Dibb Graphic Designer Emily Plater Marketing Assistant Claire Hayes Senior Manager, Sales & CRM Paul Congdon Ticketing and Sales Manager Meg Donaldson Customer Services Coordinator Lachlan Hywood Data Analyst Ian Barnes Database Administrator Noah Lowry Customer Services Supervisor
PARTNERSHIPS & EVENTS
CORPORATE SERVICES
Jayde Walker Head of Partnerships Christopher Cassidy Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships Olivia Ouyang Corporate Partnerships Coordinator Brent Pitman Events Manager
Sharon Li Chief Financial Officer Emily Zhang Financial Controller Jyothi Kokirala Payroll Officer Elizabeth Chandra Accounts Officer Michael Stevens Human Resources Coordinator
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Artists
Benjamin Northey
Principal Conductor in Residence BIO
Nicholas Bochner
Cybec Assistant Conductor for Learning and Engagement
Deborah Cheetham AO 2020 Composer in Residence BIO
BIO
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus BIO
Warren TrevelyanJones Chorus Master BIO
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Virginia Trioli Presenter BIO
MELBOURNE IS A CREATIVE CITY The City of Melbourne proudly supports major and emerging arts organisations through our 2018–20 Triennial Arts Grants Program African Music and Cultural Festival Aphids Arts Access Victoria Australian Art Orchestra Australian Centre for Contemporary Art BLINDSIDE Chamber Made Circus Oz Craft Victoria Emerging Writers’ Festival Human Rights Arts & Film Festival ILBIJERRI Theatre Company
KINGS Artist-Run
Melbourne Queer Film Festival
Koorie Heritage Trust La Mama
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Liquid Architecture
Melbourne Writers Festival
Lucy Guerin Inc.
Multicultural Arts Victoria
Malthouse Theatre
Next Wave Festival
Melbourne Fringe
Polyglot Theatre
Melbourne International Arts Festival
Speak Percussion
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Melbourne International Film Festival Melbourne International Jazz Festival
melbourne.vic.gov.au/triennialarts
St Martins Youth Arts Centre Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra West Space The Wheeler Centre Wild@Heart Community Arts
from 2.00pm DEBORAH CHEETHAM L ong Time Living Here (Musical Acknowledgement of Country) Dale Barltrop violin Peter Edwards violin Christopher Cartlidge viola Rachael Tobin cello Deborah Cheetham AO soprano WELCOME Virginia Trioli presenter BEETHOVEN Symphony No.6, first movement (arr. Speedy-Hutton) Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Peter Edwards violin
Ann Blackburn oboe
Christopher Cartlidge viola
David Thomas clarinet
Rachael Tobin cello
Elise Millman bassoon
Prudence Davis flute
Rachel Shaw horn
Today’s performance is of an arrangement of this first movement made by composer and MSO Assistant Orchestra Librarian, Luke Speedy-Hutton.
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827) (arr. Speedy-Hutton)
Symphony No.6 in F, Op.68 Pastoral: Awakening of happy feelings on arrival in the country (Allegro ma non troppo) In the summer of 1802 Beethoven, as usual, retired to the country for a vacation. His preferred holiday spot was the village of Heiligenstadt just outside Vienna, but this particular summer saw a major crisis in the composer’s life. After his death, a document was found among his papers: now known as the Heiligenstadt Testament, it is a kind of will written in 1802 and addressed, but never sent to, Beethoven’s brothers. The document describes Beethoven’s anguish on realising that the deterioration of his hearing was incurable. It describes his humiliation at not hearing what others around him took for granted, such as the distant sound of a shepherd’s flute. It reveals how he considered suicide, but only his art held him back. As he famously expressed it in a letter to a friend, Beethoven’s response to this crisis was a resolve to ‘take Fate by the throat’. In the Pastoral Symphony of 1808 he returns in his music to the scene of his existential crisis. Beethoven once wrote in a notebook of his desire to remain in the country. ‘My unfortunate hearing does not plague me there. It is as if every tree spoke to me in the country: holy! holy! Ecstasy in the woods!’ This might give the impression of the work being a kind of Romantic or pantheist hymn, but that is far from being the case. There is no lone Caspar David Friedrich figure dwarfed by a forbidding forest. In fact, Beethoven’s Sixth is the fulfilment of certain Baroque and Classical conventions; perhaps Haydn’s Creation and Seasons are the immediate begetters of this work. The landscape which the symphony celebrates is peopled and worked. Beethoven was very precise in describing the symphony as about feeling rather than painting. The first movement expresses feelings of joy at arriving in the country through its seemingly simple, diatonic melody and moments where the harmony seems static but is enlivened by joyously repeated motifs. Abridged from Gordon Kerry © 2008
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BEETHOVEN Symphony No.7 Recorded 19 March 2020 at Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Northey conductor
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Symphony No.7 in A, Op.92 Poco sostenuto – Vivace Allegretto Presto Allegro con brio Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony received its first performances in December 1813 in an atmosphere of triumph and euphoria: Napoleon’s imperial ambitions had been squashed; the composer was at the height of his popularity. The symphony had been completed in the summer of 1812, and its joyous spirit had nothing to do with liberation or military victory. But the audiences heard the music in the same enthusiastic mood in which they heard the ‘battle symphony’ that Beethoven had composed for the occasion. One critic went so far as to describe the symphony as a ‘companion piece’ to the overwhelmingly popular Wellington’s Victory. Despite the competition, the Seventh Symphony made a genuine impression of its own. Louis Spohr, assistant concertmaster for the premiere, noted that the symphony was exceptionally well received and that the ‘wonderful second movement had to be repeated’. It remains one of Beethoven’s more popular symphonies, and it is almost certainly the second movement that we would call for an immediate encore if such a practice had survived in our concert halls. The key to the symphony’s direct appeal – then and now – lies in a single musical element: rhythm. Never before had rhythm been given such a fundamental role in Beethoven’s music. It generates the symphony’s structure, its melodic and harmonic gestures, and ultimately its powerful rhetoric. But unlike the Fifth Symphony, where the opening rhythmic motif is developed, fragmented and expanded, the Seventh Symphony adopts a treatment of rhythm and pulse that emphasises obsessive repetition of distinctive patterns. The effect of this technique is compelling, even visceral. Read any text on Beethoven’s Seventh and there will be a reference to its ‘extraordinary rhythmic energy’ (Barry Cooper), the ‘relentless drive’ and ‘obsessional use of rhythm’ (Antony Hopkins). Rhythm and the gesture of the repeated note define the Seventh Symphony almost from the outset. After an imposing slow introduction, almost a movement in itself, Beethoven spins his first main theme from a skipping rhythm on a single note, at once relentless and static. At least, most listeners today are likely to hear it as a ‘skipping rhythm’ (imagine repeating the word ‘Amsterdam’ over and over), and so doing are complicit in Wagner’s designation of the symphony as the ‘apotheosis of the dance’. For us, as for Wagner, the experience of Beethoven’s Seventh is a kinetic one. But Beethoven’s listeners, Romantics all and therefore attuned to the niceties of MSO MUSIC MARATHON – 14
classicism, would also have recognised the dactylic metre (long-short-short) of classical Greek poetry. Beethoven’s student Carl Czerny was among the first to detail the extensive use of poetic metres in the symphony. Czerny points out the ‘weighty spondees’ (longlong) of the introduction, the dactylic figures in the first movement, the combination of these two patterns in the Allegretto, and other poetic foundations for the musical content, concluding: ‘It isn’t improbable that Beethoven…was thinking about the forms of heroic poetry and must have deliberately turned toward the same in his musical epic.’ Other writers of Beethoven’s generation interpreted the conspicuous use of poetic metre as deliberate evocation of Greek music and poetry, and of the ancient world in general. Henri de Castil-Blaze, for example, heard in the much-loved Allegretto ‘an antique physiognomy’. A.B. Marx described the massive opening of the first movement as ‘the kind of invocation with which we are particularly familiar in epic poets’, and the finale as a ‘Bacchic ecstasy’ – this last interpretation given the seal of approval by Wagner, who also recognised an ‘orgiastic’ character in the music, and in the 20th century by Donald Tovey. Beethoven himself is silent on the Seventh Symphony: we cannot know whether he was trying to evoke the ancient world through the one device that would have been familiar to his listeners. But such an aim would have been in keeping with the spirit of Romanticism, which sought the fusion of the Modern and the Antique, the simultaneous stewardship and redefinition of classicism. Nowhere is this more strikingly conveyed than in the hypnotic second movement, ‘the menacing chorus of ancient tragedy’. Not a true slow movement but an Allegretto (at one point Beethoven had considered marking it Andante, a tempo more concerned with measuring than momentum), this movement first shows up in sketches from 1806, the first musical material conceived for the symphony. Its point of departure – and indeed its point of return – is uncertainty, with harmonically unstable chords that draw us forward from stasis to metamorphosis. The movement proper adopts the simplest of means: the throbbing tread of an austere ostinato and the piling on of instrumental weight and transforming woodwind colour for ever-increasing intensity. The dazzling scherzo shows Beethoven at play: setting his basic rhythms against each other, inverting and varying them, and cultivating ambiguity within a relentless pulse. The Presto’s vehemence comes from repeated notes that subdivide the melody into its most basic rhythmic unit; in the trio these repeated notes join to create a sustained figure, more expansive and lyrical but equally insistent. For his finale, Beethoven compresses the contrasts of the first movement into the opening bars: two explosive gestures unleash whirling figurations above unremitting syncopation in the bass. Once more he spins a web of interlocking rhythms, ensnaring us in what his contemporaries described as ‘absurd, untamed music’ and a ‘delirium’. As Beethoven himself claimed: ‘Music is the wine which inspires us to new acts of generation, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine to make mankind spiritually drunk.’
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On its surface, this symphony conforms to Classical structure, but underneath the Apollonian equilibrium of a four-movement symphony Beethoven creates a feeling of spontaneity, motion and Dionysian vitality. The introspective moments of the introduction, the central part of the scherzo, and the second movement only highlight the irrepressible brilliance of the symphony overall. Whether we attribute its magic to Terpsichore, the muse of the dance, or to Clio, the muse of epic poetry, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is an inspired invention. Yvonne Frindle © 2004
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from 3.20pm VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending (arr. Gerigk) Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Dale Barltrop director / violin First Violins Tair Khisambeev Michelle Ruffolo Kirsty Bremner Deborah Goodall Mark Mogilevski Second Violins Tiffany Cheng Isy Wasserman Madeleine Jevons Michael Loftus-Hills
Violas Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Cellos David Berlin Angela Sargeant Mee Na Lojewski Double Bass Benjamin Hanlon
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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS
(1872–1958) (arr. Gerigk)
The Lark Ascending He rises and begins to round, He drops the silver chain of sound, Of many links without a break, In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake. For singing till his heaven fills, ‘Tis love of earth that he instils, And ever winging up and up, Our valley is his golden cup, And he the wine which overflows To lift us with him when he goes. Till lost on his aerial rings In light, and then the fancy sings. The Lark Ascending by George Meredith (1828–1909) The Lark Ascending has undoubtedly become Vaughan Williams’ most popular work. It was fully drafted in 1914 as a work for violin and piano, but the composition had to be set aside due to the outbreak of the First World War. Vaughan Williams’ professional musical life ceased completely for the next four years, as he served as an ambulance driver during the war, shuttling wounded and dying soldiers from the battlefront to temporary field hospitals in France and Greece. It was only after the war ended that he was able to return home to England and to his compositional work. One of his first tasks was to revise The Lark Ascending. It was eventually premiered in its violin and piano form in December 1920 by the English violinist Marie Hall, to whom the work is dedicated. The orchestration of the score was completed in early 1921, and Hall gave the first performance of this version shortly afterwards in London’s Queen’s Hall with the British Symphony Orchestra under Adrian Boult. Despite the work’s lengthy gestation period and the harrowing, life-changing experiences endured by the composer at the time, none of the terror or anguish of war is evident in the music. It is, in fact, an ideal example of Vaughan Williams’ contemplative and nostalgic musical style. The solo violin spins unbroken arches of melody and swirling arabesques almost continually throughout, and there is no contrasting material or abrupt formal changes to disturb the organic unfolding and rapturous atmosphere.
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The Lark Ascending could be described as a musical reflection upon the poem of the same name written by the English novelist George Meredith in 1881. Only selected lines from the poem are printed in the musical score and the poetic content is used as a point of stimulus for the composer’s lyrical reverie. The solo violin clearly embodies the spirit of a bird singing and taking flight, whilst the sustained chords, played by the strings, could be understood as the aural depiction of a flat pastoral landscape. The form of the work is rhapsodic, with lengthy ornamental solo cadenzas beginning and concluding the piece. These are notated without bar lines and in no strict tempo, thus giving the interpreter considerable freedom and liberty in interpretation. The floating quality of the harmony is partly due to Vaughan Williams’ characteristic use of a pentatonic (five-tone) mode, which weakens the strong directional pull of conventional tonality. This modality continues in the central dance-like section. Throughout his life, Vaughan Williams collected and studied English folk-music, and although no specific folk tune is directly quoted here, its strong influence is apparent. James Cuddeford © 2017
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CHEETHAM* Dutala – Star Filled Sky World premiere of an MSO commission recorded 21–22 February 2020 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall. Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Northey conductor MSO Chorus Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus master
*2020 MSO Composer in Residence
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DEBORAH CHEETHAM AO
(born 1964)
Dutala – Star Filled Sky Do you sense the creator world?
Biami gabra ngata nhurrag wuta wungi?
Seek the Creator above the starry canopy
Biami yamutj Dutala bukut
Above the stars the creator must dwell
Biami banga dhona Dutala bukut
The composer writes: For a long time, I considered the addition of a subtitle for this work – the spaces between. For this is where Indigenous cultures focus their attention when interpreting the sky. The spaces between the stars. This commission was first described to me as a companion piece for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, for the opening gala of the MSO 2020 season, in the 250th anniversary year of the great composer’s birth! No pressure!! Of course, this stand-alone masterpiece requires no companion, but the framework for Dutala is drawn from the same orchestral and choral forces that changed the way we would think of the Symphonic form forever. There are so many reasons why this work bears such significance. Perhaps the most obvious reason is the addition of language. Schiller’s text (with Beethoven’s additions) rings out with timeless clarity. Give me my language and I will show you my identity. You will recognize at least two humble references to Beethoven’s rhythms and orchestral signature but like every composer since 1824 his legacy is intrinsic and it is celebrated here. To quote from the final stanza of Schiller’s text, with an acknowledgement of the Yorta Yorta* language from Dutala: Do you sense the creator world? Seek the Creator above the starry canopy Above the stars must Biami* dwell Deborah Cheetham © 2019
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from 4.00pm VIVALDI The Four Seasons: Winter Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Anne-Marie Johnson director / violin First Violins Sarah Curro
Violas
Lorraine Hook
Fiona Sargeant
Second Violins
Isabel Morse
Mary Allison
Cellos
Nicholas Waters
Rohan de Korte Mee Na Lojewski Double Bass Rohan Dasika
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ANTONIO VIVALDI
(1678–1741)
Concerto in F minor, RV 297, L’inverno (Winter) Allegro non molto Largo Allegro Despite the old jibe that Vivaldi ‘wrote the same thing 300 times’ he is now acknowledged as a key figure in the development of the concerto. Although ordained a priest, Vivaldi spent his adult life as a composer and violinist. He pioneered the solo concerto, rather than the more common concerto grosso which had, at the very least, a pair of solo instruments. This was in part a vehicle for his own virtuosity; Vivaldi also experimented with violin technique, developing methods like position shifts, the use of mutes and pizzicato to create new sounds and effects, often with specifically illustrative intent. Vivaldi knew not to publish certain works in order to have exclusive use of them; he also, however, in his capacity as director of music at Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà – a high-class orphanage for girls – composed the first known concertos for cello, bassoon, mandolin and flautino (sopranino recorder). On the available evidence, the students were very fine players indeed. The Four Seasons forms part of Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (‘The Contest of Harmony and Invention’), Opus 8, which was published in 1725 in Amsterdam. The Four Seasons is a frankly programmatic work. French composers had a tradition of music imitating nature, but Vivaldi was one of the first Italian composers to experiment in this vein. Vivaldi’s rhetoric exquisitely depicts the seasons’ progress, described also in sonnets (possibly written by him) which he affixed to the score. Snow, ice, chattering teeth and a cruel wind inform the first movement of Winter, but for the slow movement we go indoors and enjoy a crackling fire as the rain beats on the windows. The finale begins with ice-skating, weaving different voices in slow-moving elegant arcs. The ice cracks, the skater shivers, and the four winds are unleashed. Abridged from Gordon Kerry © 2010
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BEETHOVEN Septet Recorded in March 2020 at Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Melbourne Ensemble* Freya Franzen violin Christopher Cartlidge viola Rachael Tobin cello Stephen Newton double bass Philip Arkinstall clarinet Jack Schiller bassoon Saul Lewis horn
*2020 MSO Ensemble in Residence
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Septet in E flat major, Op.20 For clarinet, horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and double bass I. Adagio – Allegro con brio II. Adagio cantabile III. Tempo di minuetto – Trio – Tempo I IV. Tema (Andante) con [5] variazioni V. Scherzo (Allegro molto e vivace) – Trio - Scherzo VI. Andante con moto alla marcia – Presto Composed over the northern summer and autumn, mid-1799, the Septet was first heard at a private concert on 20 December that year at the Vienna palace of the von Schwarzenburg on the Mehlmarkt. There, two years earlier, Haydn’s oratorio The Creation also had its first performance, leading Beethoven to joke of the Septet: “This, then, is my Creation!” It was played again in public on 2 April 1800, on the same program as the first performance of Beethoven’s First Symphony, in the presence of the Kaiserin, Maria Theresia. Beethoven dedicated the Septet to her upon its publication two years later. The Septet became one of Beethoven’s most popular works. Initially, he himself was enthusiastic to promote it further. In December 1800, he wrote to the publishercomposer, Anton Hoffmeister, proposing a re-arrangement for an ensemble of strings alone, in the interests of “more frequent use”. A string-sextet version, though not made by Beethoven himself, duly appeared shortly after the original in 1802. Beethoven then made his own even further down-sized arrangement of the piece for trio—piano, violin (or clarinet), and cello—duly published as his Op.38, and gratefully dedicated to the physician and amateur violinist Adam Schmidt, then treating Beethoven for the on the onset of deafness, who wanted to perform it at home with his pianist daughter. As his young pupil Czerny remembered, however, Beethoven quickly came to resent the Septet’s popularity, for overshadowing later, more significant works like his string quartets. In 1805, a review of the new Eroica Symphony in the periodical Der Freimüthige (“The Frank One”) advised Beethoven instead to stick with the more accessible style of the first two symphonies and the “agreeable Septet”. And in 1815, when told the Septet was a great favourite in England, Beethoven swore and said he wished he could destroy it, explaining that he “did not know how to compose” back then, but was certainly “writing better now”! Beethoven’s model in the composing the Septet was Mozart’s great E-flat string-trio Divertimento (K 563). The lasting popularity of both of these chamber works derives in large part from their multi-movement format, in each case filled out with a variety of good, dance-inspired tunes, musical jokes, the occasional feat of instrumental acrobatics, and typically at least one theme-and-variations piece.
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A solemn Adagio introduces the first movement. Alternating stentorian chords, with softer melodic figures instigated by the first violin, it is soon followed by a bright Allegro. The main theme is shaped by notes from the chord of the home key in ascending order, decorated and extended into a full melody. Throughout, melodic interest is shared between the violin and clarinet, the two soprano-pitch instruments in the ensemble, usually with the violin proposing a melodic idea, and the clarinet echoing, developing or commenting upon it. Once or twice, the horn relinquishes its customary role of sustaining and underlining key chords in the texture, and also breaks into a brief burst of melody. The second movement has a magical, nocturne-like quality, with the clarinet (leading this time) and violin taking turns over the melody, with brief solos, too, for the bassoon and horn. In the third movement, Beethoven recycles just the opening 8 bars of the second movement of his G-major Piano Sonata, Op.49 No.2, as the catchy first phrase of a minuet, the remainder of which is newly composed. The Trio, in the same key, involves a playful exchange between violin, horn and clarinet. The fourth movement is based on an Andante theme (which Czerny recalled, sceptically, was “said to be a Rhenish folksong”). Variation 1 is scored for a string trio of violin, viola and cello. Adding the bass, Variation 2 is for all four strings with colouristic ‘pointing’ from clarinet and bassoon. Then the roles are reversed, and these two wind instruments take the lead for Variation 3. The horn introduces the obligatory minor-key variation, No.4. And Variation 5 is a grand tutti reprise of the theme in otherwise original guise, with a playful coda (“tail”) tacked on. From its opening call, the horn takes over (from the clarinet) as leading wind instrument for the fifth movement. It consists of a brisk, almost symphonic Scherzo; followed by a lighter waltz-like middle section (or Trio) featuring a unique cello solo; and a reprise of the Scherzo. The sixth movement, like the first, is preceded by a brief but unexpectedly funereal slow introduction in E flat minor. In the ensuing E flat major Presto, cross-rhythms, horn calls, swirling triplet figures, and a long brilliant cadenza for the violin before the final reprise, contribute to the sense of sheer fun that suffuses this finale to Beethoven’s deservedly most-popular lighter chamber work. Graeme Skinner © 2010
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from 5.00pm BRENTON BROADSTOCK And No Birds Sing Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Wendy Clarke flute Robin Henry clarinet Robert Cossom percussion Leigh Harrold piano Jenny Khafagi violin
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BRENTON BROADSTOCK
(born 1952)
And No Birds Sing The composer writes: And No Birds Sing is one of a series of works written in the late 1980s inspired by Broadstock’s concern for environmental pollution. The title comes from a Keats’ poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci (1819) that first came to Broadstock’s notice through two lines, The sedge has withered from the lake, and no birds sing, quoted in Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, encountered during his student days at Monash University. And No Birds Sing is written for Flute/Alto Flute/Piccolo, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Violin, Piano, Percussion and was commissioned by The Seymour Group in 1986 with the generous assistance of the Australia Council and is dedicated to Tony Fogg. Brenton Broadstock © 2014
La Belle Dame Sans Merci John Keats (1795–1821) And I awoke and found me here, On the cold hill’s side. And this is why I sojourn here Alone and palely loitering, Though the sedge is withered from the lake, And no birds sing. (Abbreviated version)
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PETER SCULTHORPE String Quartet No.18 Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Sophie Rowell violin Matthew Tomkins violin Gabrielle Halloran viola Michelle Wood cello
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PETER SCULTHORPE
(1929–2014)
String Quartet No.18 Prelude A Land Singing A Dying Land A Lost Land Postlude The composer writes: My String Quartet No.18 is a heart-felt expression of my concert about climate change, about the future of our fragile planet. Rather than attempt to write a work that addresses the plight of the planet itself, I chose to use Australia as a metaphor for it. The work is in five movements: Prelude; A Land Singing; A Dying Land; A Lost Land; and Postlude. Prelude introduces the alternation of the pitches ‘A flat’ and ‘G’, a recurring motif in the work. Insect sounds also appear in this movement. Cries of birds first appear in the next movement, A Land Singing, which is based upon an energetic Indigenous chant know as Windmill. This is juxtaposed with episodes derived from it that contain brief suggestions of didjeridu patterns. These patterns give rise to the somewhat impassioned thematic material of A Dying Land. A Lost Land is the emotional heart of the work. Its desolate outer parts embrace a section that follows the contours of a nostalgic Torres Strait Island song, Waiye. There are no references to the didjeridu or to birds in this movement. These return in Postlude, which presents two statements of O God, our help in ages past. Sung on national days of mourning and regularly in Aboriginal communities, this hymn provides the comfort of hope for the future. The alternation of the pitches ‘A flat’ and ‘G’ in every movement but the fourth is a reference to the motif that the astronomer Kepler believed to be the sound of Planet Earth. These movements are founded upon a low ‘C’. In my music a low ‘C’ always represents God, the God of all religious beliefs. Peter Sculthorpe © 2010
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BEETHOVEN Symphony No.6, fourth movement Virtual side-by-side performance by MSO and Melbourne Youth Orchestras Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Youth Orchestras Benjamin Northey conductor
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Symphony No.6 in F, Op.68 Pastoral: Thunderstorm (Allegro) In October 1808, Beethoven was offered 3,400 florins a year to leave Vienna and move to Kassel, in Germany, to become musical director to Napoleon’s brother, Jerome, newly created ‘King of Westphalia’. Though he had no intention of going, he let it be known that he was seriously considering the offer. Then he set out to demonstrate how indispensable he was to Vienna and its musical life by arranging a pre-Christmas concert, on 22 December, that included two yet unperformed symphonies, the Fifth and the recently completely Sixth. As a bargaining tool, the concert – his last at the financially troubled Theater an der Wien – perhaps fell short of making the perfect impression. It was very long, also including the Fourth Piano Concerto, bits of the Mass in C, and, to give the chorus something else to do, the purpose-composed Choral Fantasy as a last-minute addition. As usual, the orchestra was under-rehearsed, and Beethoven’s own piano playing was, by this time, often erratic, due to his failing hearing. Nevertheless, his ploy seems to have worked. Three of his most long-suffering supporters, Archduke Rudolph and Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz, clubbed together to pay him an annuity of 4,000 florins on condition he stay in Vienna. Perhaps, in a different way, the Sixth Symphony was another positive attempt on Beethoven’s part to come to terms with the dissatisfactions of his life in urban Vienna. What better panacea than an escape to the country? The idea of a symphony depicting country life had been forming in his mind since as early as 1803, while working on the Third Symphony, when he sketched a version of the quirky dance at the centre of the Peasants’ Merrymaking, and a short passage ultimately for the second movement that he marked ‘the murmuring of the brook’ (‘the larger the stream the deeper the note’). His only full-scale ‘program’ symphony, he subtitled it ‘Recollections of country life’, and also devised descriptive titles for each movement, though he warned that these were more indications of feeling than scene-painting. In the movement Thunderstorm, Beethoven makes use of a piccolo and a pair of trombones – more typically used for opera and other staged spectacles – to add a suitably portentous colouring. Beethoven himself also said: ‘Anyone who has an idea of life in the country can divine for himself the composer’s intentions without a lot of titles.’ But it was precisely because of the genial titles – and the simple story they plot – that this accessible symphony remained his most generally popular well into the recording era, and until as late as the Second World War, when it was finally overtaken by the Fifth. Abridged from Graeme Skinner © 2014
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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra & Melbourne Youth Orchestra Virtual Side-By-Side CONDUCTOR
VIOLA
FLUTE
TRUMPET
Benjamin Northey
Chris Cartlidge Louise Turnbull Katharine Brockman Sebastian Coyne Olivia Spyrou Daniela Edwards Nicholas Wong Charlotte Parker
Prudence Davis Minwu Hu Freddy Branson Vivian Jin
Owen Morris James Earl Sarah Camm Thien Pham
OBOE
TROMBONE
Jeffrey Crellin Ruby Khuu
Kenneth McClimont Joshua Dulfer Thomas Grayden Angus Pace
FIRST VIOLINS Sophie Rowell Noah Coyne Kathryn Taylor Nima Alizadeh Claire Huang Carmen Lui Olivia DiCocco Vincent Wong Jessica Irwin Lachlan Harris Caitlin La Euan Kant Lachlan Chen VIOLIN 2 Robert Macindoe Lalita Wright Isin Cakmakcioglu Maddisyn DixonWhitbourne Miriam Baes Cindy Liu Jerome Tan
CELLO David Berlin Noah Lawrence Angela Sargent Douglas Joshi Siena Zubcic DOUBLE BASS Benjamin Hanlon Maddison Furlan Timothy Farrell Daniel Anderson
CLARINET David Thomas Isabel Li Liam Samat Patrick Vaughan BASSOON Jack Schiller Mia Quist FRENCH HORN Nicolas Fleury Corey East-Bryans Julian GilliesLekakis Emma Rolfe
KEY
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Youth Orchestras
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TIMPANI John Arcaro Leah Columbine
from 6.00pm BEETHOVEN Quintet for piano and winds Live performance from Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Michael Pisani oboe Philip Arkinstall clarinet Jack Schiller bassoon Abby Edlin horn Laurence Matheson piano
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon in E flat major, Op.16 Grave – Allegro ma non troppo Andante cantabile Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo Beethoven’s earliest works of chamber music were often for unconventional ensembles: his very first essays in the genre were for the piano quintet, which was hardly known of at the time, and in both his last years in Bonn and early in his residence in Vienna, he wrote for groups that included winds. The 1790s, which saw the composition of the Quintet for piano and winds (1796–7), also saw the Trio for clarinet, cello and piano, Op.11, the Sonata for Horn and Piano (dashed off in one day, according to legend) and then, in 1799, the celebrated Septet. In the new century Beethoven would turn his attention to the string quartet. In a sense the Quintet was an anachronism even when it was composed. Charles Rosen has argued that it is a reproduction of Classical forms, and, in Maynard Solomon’s words, it ‘did not survive the century that adored such combinations’. In fact, sensing this, Beethoven himself arranged it for the now more common piano quintet with strings in 1810. But if it were a farewell to a certain kind of aristocratic entertainment, it was also a homage to Mozart, specifically his work for the same combination in the same key, K452, and as Nigel Fortune puts it, is ‘one of the very few of [Beethoven’s] works that can be called “Mozartian”’; and, as had Mozart, Beethoven also acknowledges the practice of Joseph Haydn in beginning with a slow introduction. Here the winds offer, in unison, a fanfare-like motif based on the major triad, which is answered by a ruminative, and progressively more ornate and emphatic, response from the piano. Any heroics are mock-heroics, however, as the ensuing Allegro offers a genial triple-time metre with florid piano writing that decorates the varying combinations of winds that Beethoven explores. Like many a late-18th century sonata, the piano is rather more than first among equals in this work, which in some respects looks toward Beethoven’s concerto writing. The piano, for instance, introduces the songlike theme of the slow movement (whose similarity to Zerlina’s ‘Batti, batti, o bel Masetto’ from Don Giovanni is pronounced in its descending five-note opening phrase). The movement offers various solo spots to the wind players, including a long and pathos-filled passage for the solo horn. But as ever, the piano never quite cedes its prominence, especially at the movement’s climax. This is even more obvious in the finale, and an account by Beethoven’s friend Ferdinand Ries of one the work’s first outings shows how the composer, as pianist, exacerbated the situation. The rollicking finale is a Mozartian 6/8 rondo where, as Ries observes:
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There is, in several places, a pause before the theme begins again. In one of these, Beethoven suddenly began to improvise, taking the Rondo as a theme, entertaining himself and the others for quite a while. This, however, did not at all entertain the accompanying musicians; they became quite indignant and Herr Ramm [the oboist] quite actually furious. It was truly comical to see these gentlemen waiting every moment for their entrance, put their instruments continuously to their mouths, and then quietly put them down again. Finally, Beethoven was satisfied and led into the Rondo once more. The whole company was delighted. It is hard not to feel that Beethoven’s sense of humour drives this movement in particular, and that his extemporising was at the back of his mind when he composed the work. At the conclusion, the piano seems to lead the others off into the distance before holding the music motionless in a long trill that is cut short by a curiously offhand cadence. The Quintet was dedicated to Prince Johann Joseph von Schwarzenberg (also a patron of Haydn’s later work), but its place as essentially domestic entertainment is underlined by a letter from Countess Josephine von Deym, who describes having lunch with several musicians, including Beethoven, after which ‘we made music all the afternoon: the Sonata by Beethoven with the horn. Then the new Quintet with piano and lots of other beautiful things.’ © Gordon Kerry 2013
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VARIOUS Last Leaf Recorded March 2020 at Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre Traditional works arranged by the Danish String Quartet and adapted for quintet by Michelle Wood. Freya Franzen violin Jenny Khafagi violin Christopher Cartlidge viola Michelle Wood cello Stephen Newton bass
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The Danish String Quartet is known for their incredible takes on contemporary composition and classical repertoire. Last Leaf is their second album of Nordic folk songs, arranged for string quartet by the ensemble. These works were further adapted for quintet by Michelle Wood. With thanks to the Danish String Quartet for their support in helping us bring this performance to you. To learn more about the Danish String Quartet, visit danishquartet.com. TRAD. Despair not, o heart (15 th century hymn, Wittenberg/Germany) SCHOYEN SJOLIN Shore TRAD. Polska from Dorotea Traditional from Lapland) TRAD. Tjønneblomen (Norwegian Traditional) TRAD. Minuet No.60 (Danish traditional) TRAD. Æ Rømeser (Danish traditional) SCHOYEN SJOLIN Intermezzo TONSGAARD SORENSEN Shine you no more TRAD. Stædelil (Traditional from Faroe Islands) TRAD. Drømte mig en drøm (Traditional from Faroe Islands) SCHOYEN SJOLIN Naja’s Waltz TRAD. Unst Boat Song (Traditional from the Shetland Islands) SAEHTER Fastän TRAD. Hur var du i aftes så sildig (Danish traditional) TRAD. The Dromer (Danish traditional) TRAD. Now Found is the Fairest of Roses (Danish traditional)
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BEETHOVEN Symphony No.9 Recorded 20–22 February 2020 at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Benjamin Northey conductor
Maija Kovaļevska soprano
Circa Contemporary Circus
Jacqueline Dark mezzo-soprano
Yaron Lifschitz director
Paul O’Neill tenor
Shaun Comerford executive director
Warwick Fyfe bass
Todd Kilby tour director
Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus master
Jessica Connell performer
MSO Chorus
Graig Gadd performer Keaton Hentoff-Killian performer Gerramy Marsden performer Alice Muntz performer Kathryn O’Keeffe performer Dylan Rodrigez performer Lachlan Sukroo performer Luke Thomas performer Billie Wilson-Coffey performer
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125 Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso Scherzo (Molto vivace – Presto) Adagio molto e cantabile – Andante moderato Presto – Allegro molto assai (Alla marcia) – Presto On 7 May 1824, Beethoven summoned Vienna’s leading musicians in the Kärnthnerthor Theatre to give the premiere of the Ninth Symphony. Profoundly deaf, Beethoven was long past being able to conduct, but stood beside the leaders, indicating the speeds. At the end, he was unaware of the applause, so that the contralto soloist had to turn him around, producing ‘a volcanic explosion of sympathy and admiration that seemed it would never end’. The applause was probably more for the composer than the performance. Two rehearsals were insufficient to prepare the most difficult orchestral piece the musicians had ever encountered. Nevertheless, one reviewer found the opening Allegro ‘bold and defiant, executed with truly athletic energy’. Punctuating its enormous 15-minute design, strategically placed returns of its colossal opening idea underpin the almost fissile energy generated by the sheer mass of scraping, blowing and drumming. Never before had sounds of such sustained violence been imagined, let alone produced by instruments. Wagner later pictured the second movement as a Bacchanalian spree of worldly pleasures. But while its motoric force is compulsive, Beethoven hardly thought of his big scherzo as mindless. Far from it; he keeps its overflowing energy meticulously controlled and channelled, not least when the predominant four-bar triple beat is dramatically jerked into three-bar phrases. Berlioz imagined the slow movement ‘might better be thought as two distinct pieces, the first melody in B flat, four-in-a-bar, followed by an absolutely different one, in triple-time in D’. Yet, in Beethoven’s interweaving of this unlikely pair, Berlioz heard ‘such melancholy tenderness, passionate sadness, and religious meditation’ as to be beyond words to describe. Everyone in the first Vienna audience in May 1824 must have known that something extraordinary was about to take place. Certainly, the London press intimated in advance of the British premiere a year later: ‘In the last movement is introduced a song! – Schiller’s famous Ode to Joy – which forms a most extraordinary contrast with the whole, and is calculated to excite surprise, certainly, and perhaps admiration.’ But why did Beethoven take the unprecedented step of fitting out an instrumental symphony with a vocal finale? He had toyed with two distinct plans for a symphony with added chorus. In 1818, he made very preliminary notes for a ‘symphony in ancient modes’ on ancient Greek religious themes, including a choral adagio. But by 1822, he was sketching a ‘German symphony’, with chorus singing Schiller’s To Joy, though to an entirely different tune. MSO MUSIC MARATHON – 42
To Adolph Bernhard Marx – the early 19th century music historian whose writings helped enshrine Beethoven as ‘supreme master’ and Germany as centre of the ‘cult of music’ – Beethoven’s earlier symphonies had suggested that instrumental music could be even more eloquent than words. Yet finally, Marx believed, Beethoven showed that this was not so: ‘Having devoted his life to instrumental sounds, he once again summons his forces for his boldest, most gigantic effort. But behold! – unreal instrumental voices no longer satisfy him, and he is drawn irresistibly back to the human voice.’ As the orchestra introduces brief flashbacks to each of the first three movements, the cellos and basses attempt an unlikely recitative: ‘but when the string basses painfully attempt their ungainly imitation of human speech; and when they begin to hum timidly the simple human tune, and hand it over to the rest of the orchestra, we see that, after all, the needs of humanity reach beyond the enchanted world of instruments, so that, in the end, Beethoven only finds satisfaction in the chorus of humanity itself.’ Despairing of instruments’ feeble efforts, the solo baritone announces (the introductory lines are Beethoven’s own, not Schiller’s): O friends! No more these sounds! Instead let us sing out more pleasingly, with joy abundant! Graeme Skinner © 2014
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Text and Translation Ode An die Freude (To Joy) after Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Oh friends, no more these sounds!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere
Instead let us sing out more
anstimmen, und freudenvollere.1
pleasingly, with joy abundant.
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Oh joy, pure spark of God,
Tochter aus Elysium,
daughter from Elysium,
wir betreten feuertrunken,
with hearts afire, divine one,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
we come to your sanctuary.
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Your heavenly powers reunite
was die Mode streng geteilt:
what custom sternly keeps apart:
alle Menschen werden Brüder
all mankind become brothers
wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
beneath your sheltering wing.
Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen
Whoever has known the blessing
eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
of being friend to a friend,
wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
whoever has won a fine woman,
mische seinen Jubel ein!
whoever, indeed, calls even
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
one soul on this earth his own,
sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
let their joy be joined with ours.
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
But let the one who knows none of this
weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
steal, weeping, from our midst.
Freude trinken alle Wesen
All beings drink in joy
an den Brüsten der Natur,
at Nature’s bosom,
alle Guten, alle Bösen,
the virtuous and the wicked alike
folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
follow her rosy path.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Kisses she gave to us, and wine,
einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
and a friend loyal to the death;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
bliss to the lowest worm she gave,
und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
and the cherub stands before God.
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Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Joyously, as His dazzling suns
durch des Himmels prächtgen Plan,
traverse the heavens,
laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
so, brothers, run your course,
freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen!
exultant, as a hero claims victory.
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Oh joy, pure spark of God,
Tochter aus Elysium,
daughter from Elysium,
wir betreten feuertrunken,
with hearts afire, divine one,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
we come to your sanctuary.
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Your heavenly powers reunite
was die Mode streng geteilt:
what custom sternly keeps apart:
alle Menschen werden Brüder
all mankind become brothers
wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
beneath your sheltering wing.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen,
Be enfolded, all ye millions,
diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
in this kiss of the whole world!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Brothers, above the canopy of stars
muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
must dwell a loving Father.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Do you fall down, ye millions?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
In awe of your Creator, world?
Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!
Go seek Him beyond the stars!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.
For there assuredly He dwells.
Freude, schöner Götterfunken…
O joy, pure spark of God, etc
Text by Friedrich von Schiller English translation Anthony Cane © 2000 1. The initial three lines were added by Beethoven in 1823.
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MSO Chorus REPETITEUR
ALTO
TENOR
Jacob Abela
Satu Aho Rachel Amos Ruth Anderson Emma Anvari Kate Bramley Jane Brodie Alexandra Chubaty Nicola Eveleigh Lisa Faulks Jill Giese Ros Harbison Juliana Hassett Kristine Hensel Helen Hill Leanne Hyndman Helen MacLean Christina McCowan Rosemary McKelvie Charlotte Midson Stephanie Mitchell Sandy Nagy Catriona Nguyen-Robertson Susie Novella Nicole Paterson Alison Ralph Kate Rice Mair Roberts Maya Tanja Rodingen Kerry Roulston Annie Runnalls Jodi Samartgis
James Allen Adam Birch Kent Borchard Steve Burnett Peter Campbell James Dipnall Simon Gaites Lyndon Horsburgh Wayne Kinrade Jess Maticevski Shumack Michael Mobach Colin Schultz Tim Wright
SOPRANO Julie Arblaster Carolyn Archibald Aviva Barazani Eva Butcher Jessica Chan Aliz Cole Samantha Davies Laura Fahey Rita Fitzgerald Catherine Folley Carolyn Francis Camilla Gorman Aurora Harmathy Penny Huggett Tania Jacobs Gwen Kennelly Anna Kidman Maya Kraj-Krajewski Dorcas Lim Judy Longbottom Tian Nie Caitlin Noble Karin Otto Jodie Paxton Tanja Redl Natalie Reid Janelle Richardson Mhairi Riddet Jo Robin Jillian Samuels Julienne Seal Lydia Sherren Elizabeth Tindall Katy Turbitt Fabienne Vandenburie Julia Wang Sara Zirak
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BASS Maurice Amor Richard Bolitho Ted Davies Andrew Ham Andrew Hibbard Stuart Izon Jordan Janssen Robert Latham Gary Levy Douglas McQueen-Thomson Steven Murie Hywel Stoakes Matthew Toulmin Tom Turnbull Maciek Zielinski
Supporters MSO PATRON
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
MSO Education Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross MSO International Touring Harold Mitchell AC, The Ullmer Family Foundation, The Pratt Foundation MSO Regional Touring Creative Victoria, Freemasons Foundation Victoria, Robert Salzer Foundation, Fairley Foundation, Gall Family Foundation, The Archie & Hilda Graham Foundation, Ern Hartley Foundation, Gwen & Edna Jones Foundation, The A.L. Lane Foundation, The Thomas O’Toole Foundation, The Ray & Joyce Uebergang Foundation The Pizzicato Effect (Anonymous), The Marian and E.H. Flack Trust, Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust, Australian Decorative And Fine Arts Society, Barbara Bell in memory of Elsa Bell, Janet H Bell, Richard and Janet Chauvel, Caroline Davies, Jean Hadges, Hilary Hall in memory of Wilma Collie, Rosemary and James Jacoby, Jenkins Family Foundation, Christopher and Anna Long, H E McKenzie, Lesley McMullin Foundation, Stefanie Tanuwidjaja, Jenny Tatchell 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
PROGRAM BENEFACTORS
PLATINUM PATRONS $100,000+
Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program The Cybec Foundation East meets West The Li Family Trust Meet the Orchestra The Ullmer Family Foundation MSO School Season, Ignite, MSO Live Online Crown Resorts Foundation, Packer Family Foundation MSO Building Capacity Gandel Philanthropy (Director of Philanthropy) Di Jameson (External Relations Manager)
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 The Ullmer Family Foundation Anonymous (1)
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
Supporters – 47
VIRTUOSO PATRONS $50,000+ Annette Maluish Harold Mitchell AC
IMPRESARIO PATRONS $20,000+ Harold Bentley Margaret Jackson AC Mimie MacLaren John and Lois McKay Lady Potter AC CMRI Glenn Sedgwick Anonymous (1)
MAESTRO PATRONS $10,000+ Margaret Billson and the late Ted Billson Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM Ann Darby, in memory of Leslie J. Darby Tim and Lyn Edward Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind Robert and 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 Dr Trong Pham and Graeme Campbell Elizabeth Proust AO and Brian Lawrence Xijian Ren and Qian Li 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 Dr Kaye Birks and the late David Birks Stephen and Caroline Brain Prof Ian Brighthope May and James Chen John and Lyn Coppock
Mary Davidson and Frederick Davidson AM Wendy Dimmick Andrew Dudgeon AM Jaan Enden 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 Dr Caroline Liow Peter Lovell Douglas and Rosemary Meagher Frank Mercurio Marie Morton FRSA Anne Neil Dr Paul Nisselle AM The Rosemary Norman Foundation Norwest 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 Dr Rhyl Wade and Dr Clem Gruen Liping Wang Lyn Williams AM
Supporters – 48
Jason Yeap OAM – Mering Management Corporation Sophia Yong-Tang Anonymous (5)
ASSOCIATE PATRONS $2,500+ Marlyn Bancroft and Peter Bancroft OAM Dandolo Partners Will and Dorothy Bailey Bequest Anne Bowden Bill Bowness AO Julia and Jim Breen Patricia Brockman Roger and Coll Buckle Jill and Christopher Buckley Lynne Burgess Oliver Carton Richard and Janet Chauvel David Chu 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 Jenkins Family Foundation John Jones Andrew Johnston Irene Kearsey and Michael Ridley Merv Keehn and Sue Harlow The Ilma Kelson Music Foundation Catherine Law Bryan Lawrence Tony Lee 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 Dug Pomeroy Julie and Ian Reid Ralph and Ruth Renard Peter and Carolyn Rendit S M Richards AM and M R Richards Joan P 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 Clayton and Christina Thomas Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher Nic and Ann Willcock Lorraine Woolley Richard Wong Anna Xi Lu Xing Peter and Susan Yates Richard Ye Chester Yeoh Anonymous (5)
PLAYER PATRONS $1,000+ David and Cindy Abbey Dr Sally Adams Applebay Pty Ltd 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
Supporters – 49
Michael F Boyt Elida Brereton Dr John Brookes Nigel Broughton and Dr Sheena Broughton Elizabeth Brown Stuart Brown Suzie Brown OAM and Harvey Brown Shane Buggle Dr Lynda Campbell John Carroll Breen Creighton Gregory L Crew Andrew Crockett AM and Pamela Crockett Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das Caroline Davies W and A Deane Rick and Sue Deering John and Anne Duncan Jane Edmanson OAM Doug Evans Grant Fisher and Helen Bird David Frenkiel and Esther Frenkiel OAM Simon Gaites 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 Catherine Gray 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 David H Hennell Cathy Henry Dora Hiller
Anna and John Holdsworth Anne Huffam Penelope Hughes Judi Humberstone Geoff and Denise Illing Peter Jaffe and Judy Gold Andrew Jamieson Basil and Rita Jenkins Dorothy Karpin KCL Law Dr Anne Kennedy Julie and Simon Kessel Anthony Klemm Daniel Kovacs Kerry Landman Diedrie Lazarus Jane Leitinger Dr Anne Lierse Dr Susan Linton Dr Emily Lo Andrew Lockwood Elizabeth H Loftus Chris and Anna Long Margaret Long June and Simon Lubansky Shane Mackinlay The Hon Ian Macphee AO and Julie Macphee Eleanor and Phillip Mancini Annette Maluish, in memory of Leigh Masel Ruth Maxwell Ian M Mcdonald Wayne McDonald and Kay Schroer Lesley McMullin Foundation Don and Anne Meadows Dr Eric Meadows Wayne and Penny Morgan Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE and Lady Nossal Timothy O’Connell Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James Roger Parker Susan Pascoe Wilma Plozza-Green
Supporters – 50
Barrie and Heather Pover Alan Poynter 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 Fred and Patricia Russell Elisabeth and Doug Scott Nora Scheinkestel Eugene Shafir Martin and Susan Shirley Penny Shore John E Smith Dr Sam Smorgon AO and Minnie Smorgon Lady Southey AC Dr Vaughan Speck Starkey Foundation Geoff and Judy Steinicke Dr Peter Strickland Pamela Swansson Stephanie Tanuwidjaja Tara, Tessa, Melinda and Terrence Teh Geoffrey Thomlinson Ann and Larry Turner Mary Valentine AO The Hon Rosemary Varty Leon and Sandra Velik Sue Walker AM Elaine Walters OAM and Gregory Walters Min Wang The Rev Noel Whale Edward and Paddy White Marian Wills Cooke and Terry Wills Cooke OAM Richard Withers Jeffrey and Shirley Zajac
Susan Zheng Anonymous (21)
MSO PATRON COMMISSIONS Snare Drum Award test piece 2019 Commissioned by Tim and Lyn Edward
CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE Jenny Anderson David Angelovich G C Bawden and L de Kievit Lesley Bawden Joyce Bown Jenny Brukner and the late Mr John Brukner 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 Dr Clem Gruen and Dr 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 Sylvia Lavelle Pauline and David Lawton Cameron Mowat David Orr Matthew O’Sullivan Rosia Pasteur Elizabeth Proust AO Penny Rawlins Joan P Robinson
Supporters – 51
Neil Roussac and Anne Roussac-Hoyne Suzette Sherazee Michael Ryan and Wendy Mead Anne Kieni-Serpell and Andrew Serpell Jennifer Shepherd Prof Gabriela Stephenson and Prof George Stephenson Pamela Swansson Lillian Tarry Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock Michael Ullmer AO The Hon Rosemary Varty Marian Wills Cooke and Terry Wills Cooke OAM Mark Young Anonymous (29) The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Estates: Norma Ruth Atwell Angela Beagley The Cuming Bequest Margaret Davies 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 Jean Moore Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE Marion A I H M Spence Molly Stephens Halinka Tarczynska-Fiddian 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 Hengyi Asian Executive Fitzroys Laurel International Future Kids Executive Wealth Circle Chin Communications LRR Family Trust Wanghua Chu and Dr Shirley Chu David and Dominique Yu Lake Cooper Estate
Supporters – 52
HONORARY APPOINTMENTS
MSO BOARD
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 Jeanne Pratt AC Artistic Ambassadors Tan Dun Lu Siqing MSO Ambassador Geoffrey Rush AC The MSO honours the memory of Life Members John Brockman OAM The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC Roger Riordan AM Ila Vanrenen
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)
$20,000+ (Impresario)
$2,500+ (Associate)
$50,000+ (Virtuoso)
$5,000+ (Principal)
$100,000+ (Platinum)
$10,000+ (Maestro) 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 – 53
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, Gwen & Edna Jones 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.