Mozart's Clarinet Concerto

11 May

Melbourne Town Hall

Artists

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Jessica Cottis conductor

David Thomas basset clarinet

Mairi Nicolson presenter

Program

MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides

MOZART Clarinet Concerto

– Interval –

SIBELIUS Symphony No.2

Running time: approximately 2 hours including interval

Our musical Acknowledgment of Country, Long Time Living Here by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, will be performed at this concert.

Pre-concert events

Free Organ Recital: 11 May at 6.30pm, Melbourne Town Hall.

Arrive early to enjoy a recital performed by Calvin Bowman on the mighty Grand Organ, free for ticket holders.

In consideration of your fellow patrons, the MSO thanks you for silencing and dimming the light on your phone.

This concert may be recorded for future broadcast on MSO.LIVE

Acknowledging Country

Australia, the MSO has developed a musical Acknowledgment of Country with music composed by Yorta Yorta composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, featuring Indigenous languages from across Victoria. Generously supported by Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and the Commonwealth Government through the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the MSO is working in partnership with Short Black Opera and Indigenous language custodians who are generously sharing their cultural knowledge.

The Acknowledgement of Country allows us to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which we perform in the language of that country and in the orchestral language of music.

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.

I am so proud of the MSO for initiating this landmark project and grateful that they afforded me the opportunity to make this contribution to the ongoing quest of understanding our belonging in this land.

— Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Established in 1906, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is Australia’s pre-eminent orchestra and a cornerstone of Victoria’s rich, cultural heritage.

Each year, the MSO engages with more than 5 million people, presenting in excess of 180 public events across live performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts, and via its online concert hall, MSO.LIVE, with audiences in 56 countries.

With a reputation for excellence, versatility and innovation, the MSO works with culturally diverse and First Nations leaders to build community and deliver music to people across Melbourne, the state of Victoria and around the world.

In 2023, the MSO’s Chief Conductor, Jaime Martín continues an exciting new phase in the Orchestra’s history. Maestro Martín joins an Artistic Family that includes Principal Guest Conductor Xian Zhang, Principal Conductor in Residence, Benjamin Northey, Conductor Laureate, Sir Andrew Davis CBE, Cybec Assistant Conductor Fellow, Carlo Antonioli, MSO Chorus Director, Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Soloist in Residence, Siobhan Stagg, Composer in Residence, Mary Finsterer, Ensemble in Residence, Gondwana Voices, Cybec Young Composer in Residence, Melissa Douglas and Young Artist in Association, Christian Li.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations, on whose un-ceded lands we honour the continuation of the oldest music practice in the world.

Musicians Performing in this Concert

FIRST VIOLINS

Sophie Rowell

Guest Concertmaster

Tair Khisambeev

Assistant Concertmaster

Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio#

Peter Fellin

Deborah Goodall

Karla Hanna

Lorraine Hook

Anne-Marie Johnson

Michelle Ruffolo

Kathryn Taylor

Cameron Jamieson*

Michael Loftus-Hills*

Susannah Ng*

Matthew Rigby*

SECOND VIOLINS

Robert Macindoe

Associate Principal

Mary Allison

Isin Cakmakçioglu

Freya Franzen

Cong Gu

Newton Family in memory of Rae Rothfield#

Andrew Hall

Isy Wasserman

Philippa West

Andrew Dudgeon AM#

Patrick Wong

Hyon Ju Newman#

Roger Young

Shane Buggle and Rosie Callanan#

Jenny Khafagi*

Jacqueline Edwards*

VIOLAS

William Clark

Gabrielle Halloran

Isabel Morse*

Merewyn Bramble*

Lucy Carrigy-Ryan*

Heidi von Bernewitz*

Molly Collier-O’Boyle*

Ceridwen Davies*

CELLOS

David Berlin

Principal

Rachael Tobin

Associate Principal

Rohan de Korte

Andrew Dudgeon AM#

Angela Sargeant

Rebecca Proietto

Jonathan Chim*

Joseph Kelly*

Erna Lai*

Noah Lawrence*

DOUBLE BASSES

Benjamin Hanlon

Frank Mercurio and Di Jameson#

Suzanne Lee

Stephen Newton

Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser#

Siyuan Vivian Qu*

Emma Sullivan*

Oakley Paul*

Caitlin Bass*

Correct as of 27 April 2023

Learn more about our musicians on the MSO website

FLUTES

Wendy Clarke

Associate Principal

Sarah Beggs

OBOES

Michael Pisani

Acting Principal

Ann Blackburn

The Rosemary Norman Foundation#

CLARINETS

Philip Arkinstall

Associate Principal

Craig Hill

BASSOONS

Jack Schiller

Principal

Brock Imison

HORNS

David Evans* Guest Prinicpal

Saul Lewis

Principal Third

The late Hon Michael Watt KC and Cecilie Hall#

Abbey Edlin

Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM#

Rebecca Luton*

TRUMPETS

Owen Morris Principal

William Evans

Rosie Turner

John and Diana Frew#

TROMBONES

James Kent Acting Principal

Richard Shirley

BASS TROMBONE

Mike Szabo Principal

TUBA

Timothy Buzbee Principal

TIMPANI

John Arcaro

Tim and Lyn Edward#

* Denotes Guest Musician # Position supported by

Cottis conductor

Award-winning conductor Jessica Cottis, named ‘2019 Classical “Face to Watch”’ (The Times, UK), is much in demand, working regularly with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Danish Opera, Oslo Philharmonic, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Dublin, Singapore Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic; and has enjoyed numerous re-invitations at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the BBC Proms. She has recorded for the BBC, ABC, and Decca Classics labels.

One of the most outstanding Australian conductors working today, Jessica Cottis has been announced Artistic Partner of Sweden’s Västerås Sinfonietta from the 23/24 Season. Since 2021, she is Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, with whom she has pioneered several initiatives, including significant commissions and the championing of Australian works. Recognised for her engaging, wide-ranging and thought-provoking programming, Cottis’ domain is music of the 19 th to 21 st centuries.

A gifted communicator, Cottis works widely as an advocate for classical music. Described as a “cool, contained, super-articulate and engaging” (The Scotsman), she is a frequent contributor on BBC radio and television, commenting on a wide range of arts-related topics, from opera to architecture, synaesthesia, the environment, and acoustics. Cottis resides in London, and outside of music pursues her passion for butterflies all over the world.

Jessica

David Thomas has been the Principal Clarinet for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2000. Growing up in the Dandenong Ranges, David studied at the University of Melbourne with Phillip Miechel and later at the Vienna Conservatorium with Roger Salander. David has played as a member of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and is an ongoing member of the Australian World Orchestra.

He has appeared as concerto soloist with the Melbourne, West Australian, Sydney, Tasmanian and Darwin Symphony orchestras, in works by Mozart, Copland, Debussy, Francaix and Brett Dean amongst others. Concertos have been written for David by Australian composers Ross Edwards, Phillip Czaplowski and Nicholas Routley, and his CD recording of the Edwards Concerto with the MSO conducted by Arvo Volmer has been released by ABC Classics.

David is actively involved in training the next generation of classical musicians at the Australian National Academy of Music, where he is the principal teacher of clarinet and head of the woodwind department.

Mairi’s love-affair with radio began after she graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, majoring in piano & singing. She spent the first decade of her ABC career reading radio news in Sydney, presenting Behind the News with John Hall, broadcasting the Sydney Symphony’s concerts, hosting In Tempo (now The Music Show on Radio National) and the Sydney International Piano Competitions. Mairi also hosted in-flight video and audio programs for major airlines.

From 1988 to 1997 Mairi was based in the UK working as a presenter of music and interview programs for BBC Radio. On Radio 4 she hosted the long-running Woman’s Hour and on Radio 3, the Drive program In Tune. She also hosted many BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall and toured with the BBC Philharmonic in Europe and the USA as the BBC broadcaster.

Since returning to Australia Mairi has hosted arts programs for Radio National and most programs on ABC Classic FM including Music Makers & the longrunning Opera Show.

David Thomas basset clarinet Mairi Nicolson presenter

Program Notes

FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)

The Hebrides – Overture, Op.26 (‘Fingal’s Cave’)

Mendelssohn was a prodigy, born into a distinguished family of Jewish bankers and philosophers. He and his sister Fanny – also a talented composer, conductor, and pianist – were raised in a warm, intellectual, highly supportive artistic family. They matured early, and a stream of musical compositions flowed from them both. Mendelssohn was clearly one of the most important German composers of his time, and infused the expressiveness of early romantic music with the clarity and intellectuality of Mozart and Haydn’s classicism. This exquisite balance found expression in a wide variety of musical genres; Mendelssohn was as at home writing Protestant oratorios such as Elijah and St. Paul as he was chamber music and symphonies. He composed a significant body of work in his relatively short life, including major works for orchestra that constitute an important part of today’s repertoire. Those works include five symphonies, six concert overtures, and six concertos.

Fingals Cave Overture, equally well known as the Hebrides Overture, is not an introduction to larger work, but simply a stand-alone concertpiece. Like so many musical compositions of the romantic period, it does have an extramusical inspiration – although it does not tell any stories. Rather, it was simply inspired by the composer’s feelings in the presence of specific experiences, in the way that Mendelssohn’s visit south in 1830 inspired his “Italian” Symphony. In 1829 Mendelssohn traveled to Scotland, touring extensively, and visited Sir Walter Scott, with whom

he made a trip to the western coast, looking out on the Hebrides. There, on August 7, he conceived the main theme of the overture. The next day he visited Fingal’s Cave, on the desolate island of Staffa, as well as the island of Iona. It wasn’t until late in 1830, during a visit to Rome that Mendelssohn finished the Scottish overture, and dedicated it to his father as a birthday present. Later, in May 1832 in London he heard its première, given by the Philharmonic Society.

The first theme of the work, heard right away, is a descending figure played in the low strings, and gives an admirable evocation of the loneliness of the image. The other main theme, and an arresting one, announced by a kind of fanfare in the brass, is soon heard in the cellos and bassoons. It suggests the inversion of the first and it remarkably calls to mind the action of wind and waves. The overture is in sonata form, and the development section depicts a maelstrom of nature. The recapitulation continues this stormy mood, which is broken with a quiet clarinet duet. The storm resumes, and finally soft woodwind figures restate the opening themes, softly ending this remarkable evocation of the rugged Scottish coast.

© 2015 William E. Runyan

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791)

Clarinet Concerto in A, K622

I. Allegro

II. Adagio

III. Rondo (Allegro)

David Thomas basset clarinet

The clarinet was an exotic instrument in Mozart’s day. Writing to his father from the German city of Mannheim, 22-year-old Mozart exclaimed: ‘If only we had clarinets! You cannot imagine

the glorious effect of a symphony with flutes, oboes and clarinets.’ The famed Mannheim orchestra had no less than two clarinets; the Salzburg orchestra –in which Mozart father and son played –had none. Years later, when Mozart was making a career for himself in Vienna, he became acquainted with the Stadler brothers, Anton and Johann, skilled clarinettists who performed in various ensembles in the imperial capital. It was for Anton, the elder of the two, that Mozart composed the Clarinet Concerto, in September-October 1791.

Among the features of the clarinet that must have appealed to Mozart are the strongly differentiated colours of the instrument’s various registers. The clarinet’s tonal variety is astonishing. The low register is dark and resonant, the middle is warm and melodious, and the top is clear and bright. No other woodwind instrument has such a broad range of sounds from top to bottom.

Curiously, no other woodwind instrument has such a powerful ‘break’ in the middle of its range. Like the break in the singing voice, the clarinet break is something that players have to work hard at controlling. Playing above or below the break poses no special challenges but travelling across it can be hazardous.

And this is probably another reason why Mozart so loved the clarinet: its strong affinity with the human voice. The clarinet has a chest voice, a head voice and a break in-between. It is powered by air passing from the lungs through the lips. It sings not with words but with pure open sounds. And the smooth carriage from one sound to another – as smooth as a singer gliding from one note to the next – is one of the instrument’s specialties. ‘Never should I have thought that a clarinet could be capable of imitating a human voice so deceptively as it was imitated by you,’ wrote a critic of Anton Stadler’s playing.

Judging from the opening movement of the Clarinet Concerto, Allegro, Mozart relished putting Stadler through his paces, while simultaneously exhibiting the instrument’s kaleidoscopic range. Of particular note is Mozart’s tendency to commence a phrase in one register (either high or low) and abruptly jump to another for its continuation. There’s something marvellous about the apparent ease with which the clarinet is able to carry this out. The second movement, Adagio, is a soulful aria for clarinet and orchestra. What is remarkable is the way in which Mozart creates such beautiful, song-like melodies from such plain and simple means: the rising notes of a chord and the falling notes of a scale. Here, the building blocks of music open a portal to the sublime. By contrast, the jaunty finale in 6/8 exhibits the clarinet’s playful side. As before, the music leaps between registers. Mozart also has the soloist perform dazzling acrobatics, proving just how agile this novel instrument is.

David Thomas will be performing on basset clarinet, a variation of the modern clarinet slightly lower in pitch. On his choice to perform on this instrument, David writes: “I purchased my basset clarinet 20 years ago and it’s still one of only a handful in the country. It is a modern French instrument built by Buffet and presents a unique challenge, which reminds you why the instrument never took off. Despite this, I would never perform the concerto on a regular clarinet; it makes a considerable difference to the piece and although the orchestra is not performing on period instruments, this show of respect for Mozart’s original conception is definitely worthwhile.”

Robert Gibson © 2019

JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957)

Symphony No.2 in D, Op.43

I. Allegretto

II. Tempo andante, ma rubato

III. Vivacissimo – Lento e suave –Tempo primo – Lento e suave

IV. Finale (Allegro moderato)

‘It is as if the Almighty had thrown down pieces of a mosaic from Heaven’s floor and asked me to put them together.’ Sibelius’ description of the process of symphonic composition might refer specifically to the first movement of his Second Symphony, which exemplifies the notion of a series of fragments being drawn together to create a coherent musical unit.

This was considered an unusual approach to the use of symphonic structure, but no longer seems so because the popularity of this symphony long ago tamed whatever strangeness it once possessed. This opening movement would have sounded unusual to audiences used to the symphonic writing of Brahms or Dvořák. In most of their symphonic first movements, they present a series of themes in the opening minutes (the exposition). In the following section, the themes are broken up and re-examined (the development), before their primacy is re-asserted at the movement’s conclusion (recapitulation).

In the opening Allegretto of his Second Symphony, Sibelius approaches this structure in a manner that was to be characteristic of his later work, but new for him at this point: he presents us with a series of fragmentary musical ideas at the outset then uses the development section to illustrate their capacity for unity. In the movement’s final minutes, he draws the ideas apart again until they are reduced to their essentials.

Much of the literature about this work is focused on Sibelius’ achievements in this movement, which have obscured the many other facets of the work that mark it out as transitional rather than radical. However, we see the future Sibelius in his telescoping of the third movement into the fourth. Here he re-shapes symphonic externals in a manner that would contribute to the distinctiveness of his later symphonies.

But there are many other ways in which the work is linked strongly to its predecessor. In his wildly successful First Symphony, Sibelius had taken the language of Tchaikovsky and the Romantic nationalists and put his own stamp on it. Much of the Second Symphony inhabits the same emotional territory: in terms of strong feeling, the opening movement is not as significant as the andante which follows it; in its powerful extremes of expression, this is the work’s centre of gravity. Likewise, a Romantic fervour dominates the mood of the finale.

At the conclusion of the work, it is possible to feel that the ‘darkness to light’ progression of the musical events must be ‘about’ something. Sibelius was already a national figure at this time, and an artist of some international standing: En Saga, the First Symphony, The Swan of Tuonela, Finlandia and the King Christian music were finding increasing success in Europe and the United States. With Finland in the middle of a political crisis caused by Russian claims on the country’s independence, a bold new symphony by a famous compatriot that concluded, so to speak, with the scent of victory in its nostrils, was bound to create the impression that it was a portrayal of Finland’s struggle to assert its identity.

Sibelius rejected all attempts by his well-meaning champions to project a nationalist agenda onto the music.

His methodology, particularly in the symphony’s first half, is subtle and intricate, and does not suggest itself as the work of someone out to write musical propaganda. His evident ability to strike out on a distinctive artistic path of his own is indication enough that he was not interested in becoming the popular musical face of Finnish nationalism. As Sibelius’ most authoritative biographer, Erik Tawaststjerna, put it: ‘His conviction that the time for national-romantic symphonies was drawing to an end was growing. One might say that Sibelius experienced the romantic crisis intuitively.’

It was a trip to Italy in February 1901 that got him going on the composition of the Second Symphony. His mentor and patron, Axel Carpelan, felt the composer had sat at home long enough and that Italy would inspire him as it had inspired Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss before him. The composer used his Italian sojourn, spent mostly in Rapallo, to begin sketches for a piece based on the exploits of Don Juan, and created other material for a fourmovement symphonic fantasy.

On returning home Sibelius realised that it was no symphonic fantasy he was creating but a fully-fledged symphony. It caused him some difficulty. ‘I have been in the throes of a bitter struggle with this symphony. Now the picture is clearer and I am now proceeding under full sail. Soon I hope to have something to dedicate to you,’ he wrote to Carpelan in November 1901. But he continued to revise the work so that its premiere in Helsinki had to be twice postponed. Sibelius himself conducted these first performances in March 1902, at which the work was an immediate success.

The symphony’s initial theme might be called unassuming – a simple rising and falling 11-note theme for the strings. It is

one of those rhythmic figures Sibelius contrives to behave like a tune, and soon blossoms into one, a pastoral theme given to the woodwinds. The horns then give out a slower, more lyrical version of the idea. Soon we encounter a more passionate, wide-ranging tune for the strings, punctuated by long pauses, and a theme for the woodwind emerging from a note held for nearly four bars. There is also a marvellous sequential theme for the strings, played pizzicato.

These individual thematic events are gradually dovetailed, superimposed and juxtaposed as Sibelius brings them closer together. And this is the meaning and purpose of this music: the creation of a logical musical argument out of the seemingly disparate fragments he at first presented to us. Where Sibelius’ tone poems are often descriptive, or at least based on external narratives, the drama here is all in the music.

The movement climaxes in the development section – remember, this was unusual for a symphony at this time – after which the musical texture is gradually filleted away until all that is left is the theme-like rhythm with which the movement began.

The striking opening of the second movement – a timpani roll followed by the pizzicato tread of lower strings – is followed by a haunting chant-like figure marked lugubre, played by the bassoons. This is the dark world Sibelius was to explore more fully in his Fourth Symphony. A feverish transformation of this bassoon theme leads to a passage of great intensity. The brass writing is notably dark and craggy, with particularly telling music for the tuba (this is the last time he would use this instrument in a symphony). The coda is magnificently bleak and abrupt.

The Vivacissimo movement contains two striking ideas: the scurrying string theme at the outset that suggests

Bruckner while being far more fleetfooted, and a wonderfully lyrical idea – commencing with nine repeated notes – first heard on the oboe and which soon bursts forth passionately on the strings.

The first two movements have ended quietly. Now Sibelius ends his Vivacissimo by linking it directly to the Finale. A rocking three-note figure forms a bridge to the final movement, and then turns out to be its main theme, played out over a grinding accompaniment, and followed by heroic trumpet fanfares. A wonderfully harmonised woodwind theme is then transformed into a lyrical passage for the upper strings. The atmosphere of pomp, ceremony and high-flown romance is interrupted only by a wistful woodwind theme given over a murmuring accompaniment by the lower strings. The sense of triumph renews itself, however, by way of exhaustive sequential development, and the symphony ends with grand rhetorical re-statements of the final three-note theme, now joyous and resplendent.

Phillip Sametz © 2002/2004

My first experience with the MSO was when I was very young....We were taken to a school concert, in the Melbourne Town Hall, conducted by Sir Bernard Heinze.… and I can honestly say that the MSO has never been out of my life since.”

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Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony

Umberto Clerici returns to lead the MSO in a program of orchestral favourites with an epic finale featuring organ soloist Calvin Bowman.

10 August / 7.30pm

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Katherine Horwood

Penelope Hughes

Shyama Jayaswal

Basil and Rita Jenkins

Sandy Jenkins

Sue Johnston

John Kaufman

Angela Kayser

Drs Bruce and Natalie Kellett

Dr Anne Kennedy

Tim Knaggs

Dr Jerry Koliha and Marlene Krelle

Jane Kunstler

Ann Lahore

Kerry Landman

Kathleen and Coran Lang

Janet and Ross Lapworth

Bryan Lawrence

Phil Lewis

Andrew Lockwood

Elizabeth H Loftus

Chris and Anna Long

Gabe Lopata

John MacLeod

Eleanor & Phillip Mancini

Aaron McConnell

Wayne McDonald and Kay Schroer

Ray McHenry

John and Rosemary McLeod

Don and Anne Meadows

Dr Eric Meadows

Professor Geoffrey Metz

Sylvia Miller

Ian Morrey and Geoffrey Minter

Dr Anthony and Dr Anna Morton

Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James

Roger Parker

Ian Penboss

Eli Raskin

Jan and Keith Richards

James Ring

Dr Peter Rogers and Cathy Rogers OAM

Dr Ronald and Elizabeth Rosanove

Marie Rowland

Jan Ryan

Martin and Susan Shirley

P Shore

John E Smith

Dr Peter Strickland

Dr Joel Symons and Liora Symons

Russell Taylor and Tara Obeyesekere

Geoffrey Thomlinson

Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher

Andrew and Penny Torok

Christina Turner

Ann and Larry Turner

Leon and Sandra Velik

The Reverend Noel Whale

Edward and Paddy White

Terry Wills Cooke OAM and t

he late Marian Wills Cooke

Robert and Diana Wilson

Richard Withers

Lorraine Woolley

Youth Music Foundation

Shirley and Jeffrey Zajac

Anonymous (12)

OVERTURE PATRONS $500+

Margaret Abbey PSM

Jane Allan and Mark Redmond

Mario M Anders

Jenny Anderson

Peter Batterham

Benevity Australia Online Giving Foundation

Peter Berry and Amanda Quirk

Dr William Birch AM

Allen and Kathryn Bloom

Linda Brennan

Dr Robert Brook

Elizabeth Brown

John Brownbill

Roger and Coll Buckle

Cititec Systems

Charmaine Collins

Dr Sheryl Coughlin and Paul Coughlin

Judith Cowden in memory of violinist

Margaret Cowden

Dr Oliver Daly and Matilda Daly

Merrowyn Deacon

Bruce Dudon

Melissa and Aran Fitzgerald

Brian Florence

Elizabeth Foster

Mary Gaidzkar

Simon Gaites

Dr Mary-Jane Gething

David and Geraldine Glenny

Hugo and Diane Goetze

Louise Gourlay OAM

Robert and Jan Green

George Hampel AM KC and

Felicity Hampel AM SC

Geoff Hayes

Jim Hickey

William Holder

Clive and Joyce Hollands

Rod Home

R A Hook

Gillian Horwood

Geoff and Denise Illing

Wendy Johnson

John and Christine Keys

Belinda and Malcom King

Professor David Knowles and Dr Anne McLachlan

Pauline and David Lawton

Paschalina Leach

Dr Jenny Lewis

Sharon Li

The Podcast Reader

Janice Mayfield

Shirley A McKenzie

Dr Alan Meads and Sandra Boon

Marie Misiurak

Joan Mullumby

Dr Judith S Nimmo

Estelle O’Callaghan

Brendan O’Donnell

David Oppenheim

Sarah Patterson

Adriana and Sienna Pesavento

Kerryn Pratchett

Professor Charles Qin OAM and Kate Ritchie

Alfonso Reina and Marjanne Rook

Professor John Rickard

Dr Anne Ryan

Viorica Samson

Carolyn Sanders

Dr Nora Scheinkestel

Julia Schlapp

Dr Alex Starr

Dylan Stewart

Ruth Stringer

Reverend Angela Thomas

Rosemary Warnock

Nickie Warton and Grant Steel

Amanda Watson

Deborah Whithear and Dr Kevin Whithear OAM

Dr Susan Yell

Anonymous (15)

CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE

Jenny Anderson

David Angelovich

G C Bawden and L de Kievit

Lesley Bawden

Joyce Bown

Mrs Jenny Bruckner and the late Mr John Bruckner

Ken Bullen

Peter A Caldwell

Luci and Ron Chambers

Beryl Dean

Sandra Dent

Alan Egan JP

Gunta Eglite

Marguerite Garnon-Williams

Drs L C Gruen and R W Wade

Louis J Hamon AOM

Charles Hardman

Carol Hay

Jennifer Henry

Graham Hogarth

Rod Home

Lyndon Horsburgh

Tony Howe

Lindsay and Michael Jacombs

Laurence O’Keefe and Christopher James

John Jones

Grace Kass and the late George Kass

Sylvia Lavelle

Pauline and David Lawton

Cameron Mowat

Ruth Muir

David Orr

Matthew O’Sullivan

Rosia Pasteur

Penny Rawlins

Joan P Robinson

Anne Roussac-Hoyne and Neil Roussac

Michael Ryan and Wendy Mead

Andrew Serpell and Anne Kieni Serpell

Jennifer Shepherd

Suzette Sherazee

Dr Gabriela and Dr George Stephenson

Pamela Swansson

Lillian Tarry

Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman

Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock

Peter and Elisabeth Turner

Michael Ulmer AO

The Hon. Rosemary Varty

Terry Wills Cooke OAM and the late Marian Wills Cooke

Mark Young

Anonymous (19)

The MSO gratefully acknowledges the support of the following Estates:

Norma Ruth Atwell

Angela Beagley

Christine Mary Bridgart

The Cuming Bequest

Margaret Davies

Neilma Gantner

The Hon Dr Alan Goldberg AO QC

Enid Florence Hookey

Gwen Hunt

Family and Friends of James Jacoby

Audrey Jenkins

Joan Jones

Pauline Marie Johnston

C P Kemp

Peter Forbes MacLaren

Joan Winsome Maslen

Lorraine Maxine Meldrum

Prof Andrew McCredie

Jean Moore

Joan P Robinson

Maxwell Schultz

Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE

Marion A I H M Spence

Molly Stephens

Gwennyth St John

Halinka Tarczynska-Fiddian

Jennifer May Teague

Albert Henry Ullin

Jean Tweedie

Herta and Fred B Vogel

Dorothy Wood

COMMISSIONING CIRCLE

Mary Armour

Cecilie Hall and the Late Hon Michael Watt KC

Tim and Lyn Edward

Kim Williams AM

Weis Family

FIRST NATIONS CIRCLE

John and Lorraine Bates

Colin Golvan AM KC and Dr Deborah Golvan

Sascha O. Becker

Maestro Jaime Martín

Elizabeth Proust AO and Brian Lawrence

The Kate and Stephen Shelmerdine Family Foundation

Michael Ullmer AO and Jenny Ullmer

Jason Yeap OAM – Mering Management Corporation

ADOPT A MUSICIAN

Mr Marc Besen AC and the late Mrs Eva Besen AO

Chief Conductor Jaime Martín

Shane Buggle and Rosie Callanan

Roger Young

Andrew Dudgeon AM

Rohan de Korte, Philippa West

Tim and Lyn Edward

John Arcaro

Dr John and Diana Frew

Rosie Turner

Sophie Galaise and Clarence Fraser

Stephen Newton

Dr Mary-Jane Gething AO

Monica Curro

The Gross Foundation

Matthew Tomkins

Dr Clem Gruen and Dr Rhyl Wade

Robert Cossom

Cecilie Hall and the late Hon Michael Watt KC

Saul Lewis

Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM

Abbey Edlin

Margaret Jackson AC

Nicolas Fleury

Di Jameson and Frank Mercurio

Elina Fashki, Benjamin Hanlon, Tair Khisambeev, Christopher Moore

Dr Elizabeth A Lewis AM

Anthony Chataway

David Li AM and Angela Li

Dale Barltrop

Gary McPherson

Rachel Shaw

Anne Neil

Eleanor Mancini

Hyon-Ju Newman

Patrick Wong

Newton Family in memory of Rae Rothfield Cong Gu

The Rosemary Norman Foundation

Ann Blackburn

Andrew and Judy Rogers

Michelle Wood

Glenn Sedgwick

Tiffany Cheng, Shane Hooton

Dr Martin Tymms and Patricia Nilsson

Natasha Thomas

Anonymous

Prudence Davis

HONORARY APPOINTMENTS

Life Members

Mr Marc Besen AC

John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel AC

Sir Elton John CBE

Harold Mitchell AC

Lady Potter AC CMRI

Jeanne Pratt AC

Michael Ullmer AO and Jenny Ullmer

Anonymous

MSO Ambassador

Geoffrey Rush AC

The MSO honours the memory of Life Members

Mrs Eva Besen AO

John Brockman OAM

The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC

Roger Riordan AM

Ila Vanrenen

MSO ARTISTIC FAMILY

Jaime Martín

Chief Conductor

Xian Zhang

Principal Guest Conductor

Benjamin Northey

Principal Conductor in Residence

Carlo Antonioli

Cybec Assistant Conductor Fellow

Sir Andrew Davis

Conductor Laureate

Hiroyuki Iwaki †

Conductor Laureate (1974–2006)

Warren Trevelyan-Jones

MSO Chorus Director

Siobhan Stagg

2023 Soloist in Residence

Gondwana Voices

2023 Ensemble in Residence

Christian Li

Young Artist in Association

Mary Finsterer

2023 Composer in Residence

Melissa Douglas

2023 Cybec Young Composer in Residence

Christopher Moore

Creative Producer, MSO Chamber

Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO

MSO First Nations Creative Chair

Dr Anita Collins

Creative Chair for Learning and Engagement

Artistic Ambassadors

Tan Dun

Lu Siqing

MSO BOARD

Chairman

David Li AM

Co-Deputy Chairs

Di Jameson

Helen Silver AO

Managing Director

Sophie Galaise

Board Directors

Shane Buggle

Andrew Dudgeon AM

Lorraine Hook

Margaret Jackson AC

David Krasnostein AM

Gary McPherson

Farrel Meltzer

Hyon-Ju Newman

Glenn Sedgwick

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 supporters 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:

$500+ (Overture)

$1,000+ (Player)

$2,500+ (Associate)

$5,000+ (Principal)

$10,000+ (Maestro)

$20,000+ (Impresario)

$50,000+ (Virtuoso)

$100,000+ (Platinum)

Principal

Education Partner

Major Partners

Orchestral Training Partner

Government Partners

Venue Partner

Supporting Partners

Quest

Media and Broadcast Partners

Trusts and Foundations

The Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation, Flora & Frank Leith Trust, Perpetual Foundation – Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment, Sidney Myer MSO Trust Fund