NOT ALL ORCHESTRAS ARE THE SAME
MÉHUL: THE FIRST ROMANTIC
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WELCOME INTRODUCING OUR SEASON
Double bass and 2016–17 season curator Cecelia Bruggemeyer gives her take on our current season.
F
oremost in my mind when curating are questions like ‘who are the excellent interesting artists we want to collaborate with? What are the fascinating stories we want to share? How do we show off our wonderful period instruments?’ I’m delighted we’ve managed to include so many fantastic artists this season. Some we’ve had long relationships with like Ádám Fischer, Steven Isserlis, Sarah Connolly and William Christie; some we’re delighted to welcome back after only one or two previous projects like Ottavio Dantone, Isabelle Faust and Jonathan Cohen. I use the word collaboration in its truest sense as every time we get together it really feels like a two way process that yields exciting performances. Another question was how do we follow our magnificent 30th Birthday Season with its boundary-breaking foray into Mahler 2 and Der Freischütz? But we’re not done with
MAJOR SPONSOR
asking questions about how we perform the most familiar of composers and this season sees a rich seam of Bach running through five of our concerts. With William Christie we’ll be telling the story of how the ‘suite’ format, so very familiar to us in Bach’s music, actually started out in Paris. And of course Bach gives us the opportunity to show off our charismatic baroque instruments, and equally brilliant players, in the Brandenburg concerti. An often employed device when putting programmes together is to focus on a composer. We decided to focus on a city instead: Paris in the classical period. What was it that drew so many composers from round Europe to this artistic honey pot? One of the key figures of this time turns out to be Méhul. It was he who was famous rather than the likes of Mozart or Beethoven; he who was considered the revolutionary composer of his time, and yet we hardly hear any of his music today. Our gala gives a picture of the world Mozart and Beethoven were trying to make their name in. How will it sound to our ears in 2017? With the virtuosic Michael Spyres, who sang so fabulously in Les Martyrs, and John Irvin this will be an evening like no other.
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BRU-ZANE.COM
CONTENTS
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Introducing our new season Support us Biographies Palazzetto Bru Zane The OAE team OAE Education News Supporters Coming soon
69 10 14 Tonight’s concert
Programme notes
The Orchestra
Texts and translations
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CONCERT SOLOISTS / REPERTOIRE
MÉHUL:
THE FIRST ROMANTIC This performance is generously supported by:
And:
Sir Anthony Cleaver, Ray & Liz Harsant, Peter & Sally Hilliar, Nigel Jones & Françoise Valat-Jones, Alan Sainer, Ivor Samuels & Gerry Wakelin, Sir Martin & Lady Smith OBE, and two anonymous donors.
Friday 10 February 7pm St John’s Smith Square
Jonathan Cohen conductor Michael Spyres tenor John Irvin tenor The concert will finish at approximately 8.45pm, including a 20 minute interval. Pre-concert talk at 5.45pm in the hall (free admission).
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MÉHUL
INTERVAL
MÉHUL
MOZART
Overture from Les Amazones Du mal affreux from Mélidore et Phrosine
Overture from Les Petits Riens
GLUCK
Traçons bien notre plan from Une Folie
Air de Furie from Orfée et Eurydice
MÉHUL
Quoi! Je la cherche en vain from Uthal
MÉHUL
MÉHUL
KREUTZER
Overture from Astianax
MÉHUL
Qu’ai-je fait malheureux? from Euphrosine, ou Le tyran corrigé
SALIERI
First movement from Symphony Overture from Les Danaïdes No. 5 (unfinished)
BEETHOVEN
Gott! Welch dunkel hier! from Fidelio
MÉHUL
O Dieux écoutez ma prière from Ariodant
ORCHESTRA
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Violins I
Bojan Čičić Julia Kuhn Alison Bury Iona Davies Jane Gordon Roy Mowatt James Toll Laure Chan*
Violins II
Rodolfo Richter Claire Holden Huw Daniel Anna Curzon Jayne Spencer Claudia Norz Dominika Feher Magdalena Cieslak*
Violas
John Crockatt Nicholas Logie Annette Isserlis Katie Heller Ian Rathbone Victoria Bernath*
Cellos
Andrew Skidmore Catherine Rimer Helen Verney Ruth Alford Alex Jellici*
Basses
Cecelia Bruggemeyer Carina Cosgrave Pippa Macmillan
Flutes
Lisa Beznosiuk Neil McLaren
Oboes
Daniel Bates Mark Baigent
Clarinets
Jane Booth Sarah Thurlow
Bassoons
Wouter Verschuren Rebecca Hammond
Horns
Roger Montgomery Martin Lawrence Gavin Edwards David Bentley
Trumpets
Paul Sharp Phillip Bainbridge
Trombones
Philip Dale Tom Lees Andrew Lester
Timpani
Adrian Bending
*part of the Anne and Peter OAE Experience for talented young players
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PROGRAMME NOTES
MÉHUL:
THE FIRST ROMANTIC M
éhul was France’s most celebrated opera composer during the early Romantic period and the man who single-handedly put the French symphony back on the musical map. There are trailblazing passages in his orchestral scores whose harmonic audacity and bracing intensity anticipate Beethoven’s Eroica and Fifth symphonies. Among Méhul’s other innovations was his delight in sub-dividing the orchestral strings, his special indulgence of the cello’s upper range, the enhanced use of stopped notes for the horns, and his delight in bold spatial effects, which had a huge impact on Berlioz. He drew widely upon Haydn’s creative energy and Mozart’s haunting ability to find an underlying sadness in even the most untroubled ideas, and exerted a profound (and still underappreciated) influence on both Mendelssohn and Weber.
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763–1817)
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714–1787)
Méhul’s exuberant orchestral imagination is immediately apparent from the overture that opens tonight’s programme. Experiencing this bracing score, with its arresting Adagio introduction leading directly into a hurtling Allegro agitato, bolstered by 4 horns, 2 trumpets and 3 trombones, one could scarcely imagine it coming from the pen of a man wracked by tuberculosis. Sadly, the opera itself, premiered on a gala occasion in front of the Emperor Napoleon and his new wife Marie-Louise, ended in tears of laughter when the singer playing Jupiter missed his cue to mount his flying chariot, and in a desperate attempt to recreate the intended effect attempted to hurl himself into the stalls!
Gluck was born the son of a forester who did everything in his power to prevent his son becoming a musician. That he failed is something for which we can be eternally grateful, for Gluck single-handedly transformed the prevailing Neapolitan form of exhibitionist opera into something infinitely more subtle and engaging. It was the 1762 premiere of Orfeo ed Euridice which first proclaimed Gluck the master of a radical new style of opera. When in 1774 he adapted it for French tastes, he highlighted the famous story of Orfeo’s rescue of his beloved Euridice from the underworld with a series of balletic interludes, including the mesmerising Dance of the Furies, which we hear tonight
Du mal affreux from Mélidore et Phrosine (1794)
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763–1817)
Overture from Les Amazones (1811)
Premiered on 6 May 1794 at the Théatre Favart in Paris, Mélidore et Phrosine represented a major breakthrough in Méhul’s burgeoning Romantic style. His use of thematic cross-referencing looks forward to Wagner, his dramatic portrayal of Nature at its most untameable to Weber, and his time-suspending tonal meanderings to Berlioz. In the opening act, Mélidore and Phrosine resolve to get married in the face of blistering opposition from Phrosine’s two brothers, one of whom is mortally wounded in a night-time skirmish. Wrongly accused of his murder, Mélidore flees the scene, and as the second act opens, pours out his feelings in the surpassingly lovely Du mal affreux.
Air de Furie from Orfée et Eurydice (1762/1774)
Quoi! Je la cherche en vain from Uthal (1806)
Méhul’s radical tendency is experienced at full force in this moody one-act adaptation of a poem by ‘Ossian’ (the popular pseudonym of James Macpherson). At times, Méhul employs high levels of dissonance to suspend any sense of central tonality, and his use of violas (as opposed to violins) to evoke the rugged landscapes of Scotland caused quite a stir at the time – Berlioz considered it a stroke of genius. The opera focuses on Malvina’s divided loyalties between her father Larmor, an ageing chieftain, and her husband Uthal, who covets Larmor’s position. In defeat, Uthal sings movingly of his deep regret for his actions to his beloved Malvina.
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PROGRAMME NOTES Symphony No. 5 in A major (unfinished, 1810) 1 Andante – Allegro
Méhul completed just four symphonies – a planned Fifth had progressed only as far as the opening movement at the time of his premature death from tuberculosis. By then he had become highly disillusioned with the French establishment’s obsession with opera and almost complete disregard for symphonic form. One can well imagine how the Andante introduction would have perplexed contemporary French audiences. Here is music that in terms of its chromatic restlessness, tugging suspensions and unexpected harmonic diversions clearly anticipates Schubert’s early symphonies, then just three years away. The music’s strong sense of victory achieved in the face of adversity also parallels Beethoven’s archetypal emotional blueprint. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Gott! Welch dunkel hier! from Fidelio (1814)
The plot of Beethoven’s sole opera revolves around Leonore, who disguises herself as a boy named Fidelio in order to save her husband Florestan from wrongful imprisonment and summary execution. Tonight, we hear Florestan’s aria Gott! Welch dunkel hier! (God! What darkness here!), which he sings alone in his prison cell, reflecting upon the punishment that has been meted out to him simply for speaking his mind, openly and honestly. Beethoven became so obsessed with this noble melody and its eloquent pleas for justice and freedom, that he sketched no fewer than 18 different versions before hitting upon its definitive form.
INTERVAL Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Overture from Les petits riens (1778)
Not everything composed in France during the revolutionary period was touched by the high-minded ideals of ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’, as is demonstrated by Mozart’s enchanting ballet music for Les petits riens (The Little Nothings). Composed in Paris during the early summer of 1778, life could hardly have been more challenging for the 22-year-old genius. His mother had recently passed away while on tour with him, and the ballet scenario turned out to be three inconsequential vignettes involving Cupid (occasionally in disguise). To make things worse, Mozart received not one sou nor any acknowledgement for this delightful score. Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763–1817)
Traçons bien notre plan from Une Folie (1802)
One of Méhul’s more light-hearted operatic ventures (it was premiered at Paris’s Opéra-Comique), Une Folie follows the adventures of hussar captain Florival as he attempts to ingratiate himself with the orphan Armantine, ward of the celebrated painter, Cerberti. Florival’s initial plan, as we discover from his Act 1 aria tonight, is to disguise himself as a Flemish art merchant. When this comes to nothing, in the second act he comes up with a convoluted strategy whereby he ends up posing as Cerberti’s model alongside Armantine. They fall in love and Cerberti has little choice but to give the union his blessing.
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Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831)
Antonio Salieri (1750–1825)
Rodolphe Kreutzer is principally remembered as one of the most distinguished violinists of his day. The composer of 19 violin concertos and a volume of 42 Studies (1796) that is still an essential playing manual for aspiring students, his legendary command of the bow was such that even the young Paganini sought out his advice. Beethoven famously dedicated his Op.47 Violin Sonata to Kreutzer, although he seems never to have played it. In his day, he was also renowned as the composer of some 40 operas, most notably Astyanax, a Trojan epic in three acts and the first in a series he composed for the Paris Opéra that helped usher in the Romantic age.
Salieri was one of the most celebrated musicians of his age, yet he continues to be remembered erroneously for what would now be passed off as ‘fake news’ – poisoning Mozart. He was, however, the revered teacher of Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Hummel, a prime mover in establishing the Vienna Conservatory and the inspired composer of more than 40 operas, of which Les danaïdes was his twenty-first. Originally intended for Gluck (who was too ill to cope on his own), Salieri took it on at the eleventh hour and under Gluck’s supervision scored one of his greatest successes with a stirring, five-act tale of a vengeful tyrant who orders his 50 daughters to murder their husbands on their wedding night!
Overture from Astyanax (1801)
Overture from Les danaïdes (1784)
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763–1817)
Étienne Nicolas Méhul (1763–1817)
Another of Méhul’s operatic progeny on the lighter side (at least initially), Euphrosine, ou le tyran corrigé (Euphrosine, or The Reformed Tyrant) started out as the first comic opera in five acts, before Méhul reduced its humourous content and produced a more overtly serious three-act version in 1795. Set in the time of the Crusades, the ruthless tyrant Conradin is the ward of three orphaned sisters, one of whom (Euphrosine) he falls in love with. A jealous rival turns him against her, but a kindly doctor intercedes when in a fit of pique Conradin unsuccessfully attempts to poison Euphrosine (his remorse can be felt in tonight’s aria) and all is forgiven.
magnificent aria from Méhul’s 1799 emotional roller-coaster, Ariodant, based essentially on the same plot as Handel’s Ariodante (1735), in which the dastardly Othon reacts savagely to his rejection by a Scottish princess (Ina) and swears vengeance. As part of his plan to have Ina executed by denouncing her as unchaste, Othon arranges for her handmaiden Dalinde’s murder. But he hasn’t reckoned on Ariodant, Ina’s beloved suitor, who rescues Dalinde in the nick of time and reveals the truth of Othon’s evil machinations to the King.
Qu’ai-je fait malheureux? from O Dieux écoutez ma prière Euphrosine, ou le tyran corrigé from Ariodant (1799) (1790, rev.1795) Tonight’s concert concludes with a
programme notes by Andrew Mellor
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Du mal affreux MUSIC Étienne Nicolas Méhul LIBRETTO Antoine-Vincent Arnault Du mal affreux qui me dévore Rien ne peut calmer la rigueur. L’espérance a fui de mon cœur Et mon amour y reste encore.
The awful pain that devours me Can never be calmed or soothed. Hope has fled from my heart And my love remains lodged there.
Ce n’est qu’à mon dernier soupir Qu’il faut espérer qu’il en sorte. Partout en vain je veux le fuir, Partout avec moi je l’emporte.
Only with my last breath Can I hope that love will leave me. Everywhere I try to flee, Everywhere I carry it with me.
Que l’aspect de ces lieux est pénible à mon cœur... C’est ici qu’avec moi Phrosine dut se rendre,
Qu’il ne m’est plus permis d’atteindre.
How it pains my heart to look upon this place... It is here that Phrosine should have come with me, It is here she should have crowned our happiness, A happiness I can never more expect.
Souvenir qui fait mon tourment ! Espoir longtemps si plein de charmes, Malheur ou crime d’un moment Que vous me coûterez de larmes.
Memory that is my torment! Hope for so long so full of charms, A moment’s unhappiness or crime, How much you cost me in tears.
C’est ici qu’elle dut couronner un bonheur
QUOI! JE LA CHERCHE EN VAIN... MUSIC Étienne Nicolas Méhul LIBRETTO Jacques Bins de Saint-Victor
Quoi! Je la cherche en vain. Dans ma course rapide J’ai parcouru les monts, les forêts, les déserts. Où la trouver? Malvina! La perfide... Et cependant je meurs si je la perds. Respirons un moment... La fatigue m’accable. Quels tourments j’ai souffert dans cette horrible nuit! Hélas, que j’ai joui d’un bonheur peu durable, Un seul instant a tout détruit!
What! I search for her in vain I’ve raced at speed over mountains, forests and deserts. Where can I find her? Malvina! The traitor...And yet I’ll die if I lose her.
Tel que l’on voit sur nos montagnes Croître un lys, l’amour du zéphir, Parmi ses timides compagnes Chaque jour semblait l’embellir !
As one sees on our mountains A growing lily, Zephyr’s love, Among her shy companions Seem more beautiful every day!
Let’s breathe for a moment...Tiredness is destroying me. What torments I’ve suffered on this horrible night! Alas...the happiness I enjoyed could not last long, One moment destroyed everything!
J’étais heureux par sa tendresse, Sa harpe chantait mes exploits, Et les guerriers avec ivresse Contemplaient la fille des rois.
Her tenderness made me happy, Her harp sung of my great deeds, And the warriers drunkenly Took in the king’s daughter’s charms.
Pour prix d’un bien si plein de charmes, J’ai de Larmor troublé les jours. Soudain le remords, les alarmes Ont pris la place des amours.
This charming goodness bore its price: I troubled Larmor’s days. Suddenly remorse and alarm Took the place of loves.
Hélas ! Elle a fui vers son père Que j’ai proscrit, que j’ai chassé Et dans mon palais solitaire Chants et bonheur tout a cessé.
Alas! She fled to her father Whom I outlawed and chased away, And in my lonely palace All singing and happiness have ceased.
Gott! welch Dunkel hier! MUSIC Ludwig van Beethoven LIBRETTO Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Treitschke Gott! welch Dunkel hier! O grauenvolle Stille. Öd ist es um mich her. Nichts lebet auβer mir. O schwere Prüfung! – Doch gerecht ist Gottes Wille! Ich murre nicht! Das Maβ der Leiden steht bei dir.
Oh God! How dark it is! How terrible this silence! Here in this void no living thing comes near.
In des Lebens Frühlingstagen ist das Glück von mir geflohn! Wahrheit wagt’ ich kühn zu sagen, und die Ketten sind mein Lohn.
In the springtime of my life all my joy has vanished! I boldly dared to speak the truth, and these chains are my reward.
Willig duld ich alle Schmerzen, ende schmählich meine Bahn; süβer Trost in meinem Herzen; meine Pflicht hab ich getan! Und spür ich nicht linde, sanft säuselnde Luft? Und ist nicht mein Grab mir erhellet? Ich seh, wie ein Engel im rosigen Duft sich tröstend zur Seite mir stellet, ein Engel, Leonoren, der Gattin, so gleich, der führt mich zur Freiheit ins himmlische Reich.
O cruel trial! – But God’s will is just! I’ll not complain! He has decreed the measure of my suffering.
All my pain I willingly suffer and end my life in degradation; in my heart is the sweet consolation – I have done my duty! But do I not detect the scent of balmy air? And has not light entered my tomb? I seem to see an angel in rosy fragrance standing by my side to comfort me, an angel like my wife, Leonora, to lead me to freedom in the kingdom of heaven.
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Traçons bien notre plan MUSIC Étienne Nicolas Méhul LIBRETTO Jean-Nicolas Bouilly Traçons bien notre plan, Je prétends parvenir à combattre À dompter cet Argus redoutable, Qu’il me tarde surtout de voir, d’entretenir Cette jeune beauté que son pouvoir accable.
Let us draw up a good plan I’m convinced that I can fight And tame this formidable Argus How long I have waited to see and get to know That youthful beauty which overpowers me.
Sans te connaître, objet charmant, Sous tes lois, je m’engage. Je m’abandonne au doux présage Qui seul me guide en ce moment.
Without knowing you, oh charming thing, I put myself under your laws. I abandon myself to the sweet omen Which at this time is my only guide.
Oui je t’aime, oui je t’adore, Et tout me dit qu’en te voyant Je t’aimerai bien plus encore.
Yes I love you, yes I adore you, And everything tells me that when I see you I will love you even more.
Si pourtant cet objet charmant n’était ni d’âge ô ciel ! ni de figure. Qu’importe ? Il faut à tout évènement mener à fin cette aventure.
And if this charming thing, oh God, had neither an age nor a face? What does it matter? In any case I must go through with this adventure.
On ne saurait trop embellir Le court espace de la vie. Pour moi je veux le parcourir Avec l’amour et la folie.
One couldn’t make too beautiful The short space of life. I want to go through it With love and folly
Du temps rapide qui s’enfuit, Rien n’échappe à la faux cruelle Souvent ; elle frappe et détruit Jusqu’à la fleur la plus nouvelle.
Of the rapidly fleeing time, Nothing escapes cruel falsehood. Often she strikes and destroys Even the newest flower.
Empressons-nous donc de jouir Du charme heureux de la jeunesse Et ménageons un souvenir Qui vient égayer la vieillesse.
Let’s hasten then to rejoice In the happy charm of youth And make ourselves a memory Which comes to brighten age
Qu’ai-je fait, malheureux ? MUSIC Étienne Nicolas Méhul LIBRETTO François-Benoît Hoffman Qu’ai-je fait, malheureux ? Pour moi plus d’espérance. Où m’a conduit une affreuse vengeance ? Chère et belle Euphrosine, ô regrets superflus, Peut-être en ce moment Euphrosine n’est plus.
Oh wretched me, what did I do? There is no hope left for me. Where did dreadful vengeance lead me? Dear, beautiful Euphrosine, my regrets are in vain. Perhaps as I speak Eurphrosine is no more.
e r s o n A L L F R E N C HT R A N L A T I O NbyNatPat
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BIOGRAPHIES
JONATHAN COHEN CONDUCTOR
photo: Marco Borggreve
Jonathan Cohen is one of Britain’s finest young musicians. He has forged a remarkable career with notable success as a conductor, cellist and keyboardist. He is well known for his passion and commitment to chamber music which he expands to diverse activities such as Baroque opera and the Classical symphonic repertoire. He is Artistic Director of Arcangelo, Artistic Director of Tetbury Festival, Associate Conductor of Les Arts Florissants, Artistic Partner of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Music Director Designate of Les Violons du Roy.
MICHAEL SPYRES TENOR
photo: Marco Borrelli
Michael Spyres quickly established himself as one of the most sought after tenors of his generation. His career has taken him from the genres of Baroque to Classical to 20th century while establishing himself as an expert within the bel canto repertoire and French grand opera. Opera houses and festivals he is starring at include the Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, La Scala, Lyric Opera Chicago, Bavarian State Opera, Zurich Opera, Liceu, Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Monnaie and the Salzburg Festival.
JOHN IRVIN TENOR
photo: Devon Cass
Originally a pianist, the young American tenor John Irvin studied singing at the Georgia State University and Boston University’s Opera Institute. As an alumnus of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago his many roles included Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, Percy in Anna Bolena and Alfred in Die Fledermaus. Among his future plans are his debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House in Adès’s The Exterminating Angel.
ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
T
hree decades ago, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. And as this distinctive ensemble playing on period-specific instruments began to get a foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed to keep questioning, adapting and inventing as long as it lived. Those original instruments became just one element of its quest for authenticity. Baroque and Classical music became just one strand of its repertoire. Every time the musical establishment thought it had a handle on what the OAE was all about, the ensemble pulled out another shocker: a Symphonie Fantastique here, some conductorless Bach there. All the while, the Orchestra’s players called the shots. At first it felt like a minor miracle. Ideas and talent were plentiful; money wasn’t. Somehow, the OAE survived to a year. Then to two. Then to five. It began to make benchmark recordings and attract the finest conductors. It became the toast of the European touring circuit. It bagged distinguished residencies at the Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. It began, before long, to thrive. And then came the real challenge. The ensemble’s musicians were branded eccentric idealists, and that they were determined to remain. In the face of the music industry’s big guns, the OAE kept its head. It got organised but remained experimentalist. It sustained its founding drive but welcomed new talent. It kept on exploring performance formats, rehearsal approaches and musical techniques.
It searched for the right repertoire, 21 instruments and approaches with even greater resolve. It kept true to its founding vow. In some small way, the OAE changed the classical music world too. It challenged those distinguished partner organisations and brought the very best from them, too. Symphony and opera orchestras began to ask it for advice. Existing period instrument groups started to vary their conductors and repertoire. New ones popped up all over Europe and America. And so the story continues, with ever more momentum and vision. The OAE’s series of nocturnal Night Shift performance have redefined concert parameters. Its new home at London’s Kings Place has fostered further diversity of planning and music-making. Great performances now become recordings on the Orchestra’s in-house CD label. The ensemble has formed the bedrock for some of Glyndebourne’s most ground-breaking recent productions. It travels as much abroad as to the UK regions: New York and Amsterdam court it, Birmingham and Bristol cherish it. Remarkable people are behind it. Simon Rattle, the young conductor in whom the OAE placed so much of its initial trust, still cleaves to the ensemble. Iván Fischer, the visionary who punted some of his most individual musical ideas on the young orchestra, continues to challenge it. Mark Elder still mines for luminosity, shade and line. Vladimir Jurowski, the podium technician with an insatiable appetite for creative renewal, has drawn from it some of the most revelatory noises of recent years. And, most recently, John Butt has conducted his experiments in Bach inside it. All five of them share the title Principal Artist. Of the instrumentalists, many remain from those brave first days; many have come since. All seem as eager and hungry as ever. They’re offered ever greater respect, but continue only to question themselves. Because still, they pride themselves on sitting ever so slightly outside the box. They wouldn’t want it any other way. ©Andrew Mellor
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OUR CONCERT SUPPORTER The Palazzetto Bru Zane develops many complementary actions as part of its mission:
— The production of concerts and staged
performances. These are presented in Venice, Paris (the Festival Palazzetto Bru Zane à Paris, held in June each year) and, in partnership, at many venues worldwide.
PALAZZETTO
BRU ZANE
The vocation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane Centre de musique romantique française is the rediscovery and international promotion of the French musical heritage of the long nineteenth century (1780-1920). Its interests range from chamber music to orchestral, sacred and operatic repertoires, not forgetting the lighter genres characteristic of the ‘esprit français’ of the nineteenth century (chanson, opéra-comique, operetta). The Centre was founded in 2009 and has its headquarters in a specially-restored Venetian palazzo dating from 1695. It is an emanation of the Fondation Bru. From little-known or unknown pieces to the most popular works, the Centre studies and presents a whole section of the musical output of France, shedding new light on this repertoire and moving beyond the aesthetic norms established in the early twentieth century.
— The production and release of recordings.
These include three series of book and CD sets and numerous partnerships with third-party labels.
— The coordination of research projects in
collaboration with musicologists, international institutions and descendants of nineteenthcentury composers.
— The cataloguing and digitisation of
documentary collections and public or private archives relating to French Romantic repertoire.
— The organisation each year of symposia in collaboration with various partners.
— The preparation of previously unpublished scores and the publication in collaboration with Actes Sud of a series of books.
— The provision of digital resources: bruzanemediabase.com
— A web radio station, Bru Zane Classical
Radio, that streams non-stop programmes of French Romantic music twentyfour hours a day.
— Training sessions for young professional musician.
— The award of the Palazzetto Bru Zane
Prize for the performance of rare works of the French Romantic repertoire (Lyon International Chamber Music Competition).
— Actions aimed at young audiences:
through the Romantici in erba programme, in collaboration with nursery, primary and secondary schools in Veneto, and a series of family concerts in Venice.
THE OAE TEAM Chief Executive Crispin Woodhead Director of Finance and Operations Ivan Rockey
23 Head of Individual Giving Alex Madgwick Development Manager Catherine Kinsler
Development Director Emily Stubbs
Trusts and Foundation Manager Andrew Mackenzie
Director of Marketing and Audience Development John Holmes
Development and Events Administrator Danielle Robson
Director of PR & Press Katy Bell Education Director Cherry Forbes Projects Manager Jo Perry Orchestra Manager Philippa Brownsword Projects Officer Sarah Irving Librarian Colin Kitching Education Officer Andrew Thomson Finance Officer Fabio Lodato Digital Content Officer Zen Grisdale Marketing and Press Officer Charles Lewis Regional Marketing Officer Holly Cassidy
Leaders Kati Debretzeni Margaret Faultless Matthew Truscott Players’ Artistic Committee Cecelia Bruggemeyer Lisa Beznosiuk Luise Buchberger Max Mandel Roger Montgomery
Development Trainee Alice Macrae Board of Directors Sir Martin Smith (Chairman) Cecelia Bruggemeyer (Vice-Chair) Lisa Beznosiuk Luise Buchberger Robert Cory Denys Firth Nigel Jones Max Mandel David Marks Roger Montgomery Olivia Roberts Susannah Simons Mark Williams Crispin Woodhead OAE Trust Sir Martin Smith (Chair) Edward Bonham Carter Robert Cory Paul Forman Julian Mash Imogen Overli Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Diane Segalen
Administration Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG Tel: 020 7239 9370 Email: info@oae.co.uk Website: oae.co.uk Registered Charity No. 295329 Registered Company No. 2040312
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OAE EDUCATION We often talk about the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment being like a family, and families have members of all ages and abilities. That’s why we run our OAE Education programme. Each year it reaches over 15,000 people across the country, often in areas where there is little or no access to live classical music. There are six main parts to our educational work: TOTS, Schools, Special Needs, Nurturing Talent, Opera and Flagship projects. We have partnerships in ten cities across the country, work with 12 music hubs and numerous venues and concert halls, and in every location we have created an extended OAE family, something we are very proud of.
Our 2016–2017 our education work will include:
21 SCHOOLS CONCERTS
5
Special needs events
2
BRAND NEW FLAGSHIP PROJECTS
6 nurturing talent events
6 Community concerts
3projects Opera
18 TOTS CONCERTS
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Musical Landscapes
Support our Education programmes
Building upon our highly successful Three Towns Tour (2015–2016), we will be going on a tour between January and July 2017 which will deepen our relationships in both King’s Lynn and Lowestoft and extend our programme into Mildenhall (Suffolk) and County Durham. Working with early years, primary and secondary schools, and community groups, our aim is to inspire, excite and animate thousands of people in exploring their musical landscape.
The work we do could not happen without the support of our generous donors. If you would like to support our Education work please contact Alex Madgwick, Head of Individual Giving alex.madgwick@oae.co.uk, 020 7239 9380
For our schools and community concerts we have commissioned new music to tell the story of the constantly changing landscape of the world we live in. Starting at the very beginnings of the earth, we will hear music which illustrates the earth’s journey from its creation, through the millennia of change which has led us to where we are now. How have human beings have adapted and how we have impacted our environment in positive and destructive ways? Finally, we ask ourselves ‘What world do we want to create for tomorrow?’ Each concert will feature a film of the local landscape with a soundtrack composed by young people and the Orchestra, looking at the world that they live in and what they see around them every day.
Below: OAE TOTS on the Royal Festival Hall stage
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NEWS THE NIGHT SHIFT
Our series of late-night, laid-back classical music gigs is back for 2017. Catch it every month at The George Tavern in Shadwell, The Old Queen’s Head in Islington, the CLF Art Cafe/Bussey Building in Peckham, and new venue the Assembly Rooms in Camden.
VISIONS, ILLUSION AND DELUSIONS
First gig at The George Tavern on 28 February 2017. Visit thenightshift.co.uk for more details.
Can I trust my senses? Is what you see really what you get? The philosophers of the Enlightenment started with these radical doubts, which still hit home in an age of digital identities and fake news. We’ve just launched our 2017–18 Southbank Centreseason, Visions, Illusions and Delusions, with these issues right at its heart. Get a sneak peek of highlights including Handel’s Semele and a controversial new passion at bit.ly/OAE1718
Follow us for more news orchestraoftheageofenlightenment
@theoae
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ISABELLE FAUST
We’re taking our Mozart programme with Isabelle Faust (catch it in London at the Royal Festival Hall on 18 April 2017) on tour to Italy and New York. throughout April. So if you happen to be there then do drop in and say hi. Check the dates at oae.co.uk
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SUPPORTERS The OAE continues to grow and thrive through the generosity of our supporters. We are very grateful to our sponsors and patrons and hope you will consider joining them. We offer a close involvement in the life of the Orchestra with many opportunities to meet players, attend rehearsals and even accompany us on tour.
OAE THIRTY CIRCLE The OAE is particularly grateful to the following members of the Thirty Circle who have so generously contributed to the re-financing of the Orchestra through the OAE Trust THIRTY CIRCLE PATRONS Bob & Laura Cory Sir Martin Smith & Lady Smith OBE THIRTY CIRCLE MEMBERS Victoria & Edward Bonham Carter Nigel Jones & Franรงoise Valat-Jones Selina & David Marks Julian & Camilla Mash Mark & Rosamund Williams
OUR SUPPORTERS ANN & PETER LAW OAE EXPERIENCE SCHEME Ann & Peter Law MAJOR SPONSOR
CORPORATE PARTNERS Apax Partners E.S.J.G. Limited Lindt Lubbock Fine Chartered Accountants Parabola Land Stephen Levinson at Keystone Law Swan Turton SEASON PATRONS Bob & Laura Cory Bruce Harris Nigel Jones & Franรงoise Valat-Jones Selina & David Marks Sir Martin Smith & Lady Smith OBE Philip & Rosalyn Wilkinson Mark & Rosamund Williams
PROJECT PATRONS Julian & Annette Armstrong JMS Advisory Limited Adrian Frost Julian & Camilla Mash ARIA PATRONS Denys & Vicki Firth Gary & Nina Moss Andrew Nurnberg Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Caroline Steane Eric Tomsett CHAIR PATRONS Mrs Nicola Armitage Education Director Hugh & Michelle Arthur Violin Victoria & Edward Bonham Carter Principal Trumpet Anthony & Celia Edwards Principal Oboe Sir Vernon & Lady Ellis Co-Principal Viola James Flynn QC Co-Principal Lute/Theorbo Paul Forman Co-Principal Cello and Co-Principal Bassoon Su Li and Stephen Gibbons violin The Mark Williams Foundation Co-Principal Bassoon Sandy Mitchell Jenny and Tim Morrison Second Violin Haakon & Imogen Overli Co-Principal Cello Jonathan Parker Charitable Trust Co-Principal Cello Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA Co-Principal Bassoon Olivia Roberts Violin John & Rosemary Shannon Principal Horn Roger & Pam Stubbs Sub-Principal Clarinet Crispin Woodhead & Christine Rice Principal Timpani
EDUCATION PATRONS John & Sue Edwards (Principal Education Patrons) Mrs Nicola Armitage Patricia & Stephen Crew The Nigel Gee Foundation Venetia Hoare Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA ASSOCIATE PATRONS Felix Appelbe & Lisa Bolgar Smith David & Marilyn Clark Christopher & Lesley Cooke David Emmerson Ian S. Ferguson & Dr. Susan Tranter Jonathan & Tessa Gaisman Marc-Olivier & Agnes Laurent Sir Timothy & Lady Lloyd Stanley Lowy Michael & Harriet Maunsell David Mildon in memory of Lesley Mildon Andrew & Cindy Peck Michael & Giustina Ryan Ivor Samuels & Gerry Wakelin Emily Stubbs & Stephen McCrum Shelley von Strunckel Rev.d John Wates OBE & Carol Wates Tim Wise YOUNG PATRONS Josh Bell & Adam Pile Marianne & William Cartwright-Hignett Sam Hucklebridge Joseph Cooke & Rowan Roberts
GOLD FRIENDS Noël & Caroline Annesley Mr & Mrs C Cochin de Billy Mrs A Boettcher Geoffrey Collens Hugh Courts Mr J Westwood SILVER FRIENDS Haylee & Michael Bowsher Michael Brecknell Christopher Campbell Mr & Mrs Michael Cooper Norman & Sarah Fiore Malcolm Herring Patricia Herrmann Peter & Sally Hilliar Rupert & Alice King William Norris Roger Mears & Joanie Speers Stephen & Roberta Rosefield Susannah Simons Her Honour Suzanne Stewart David Swanson BRONZE FRIENDS Keith Barton Dennis Baldry Michael Bowen Dan Burt Tony Burt Michael A. Conlon Anthony & Jo Diamond Mrs S M Edge Mrs Mary Fysh Ray & Liz Harsant Auriel Hill Nigel Mackintosh Angus Macpherson Julian Markson Hugh & Eleanor Paget Nigel Pantling Alan Sainer Ruth & David Samuels Gillian Threlfall Mr & Mrs Tony Timms David & Margaret Walker Mrs Joy Whitby
TRUSTS AND 29 FOUNDATIONS Apax Foundation Arts Council England Catalyst Fund Arts Council England Small Capital Grants Arts Council England Strategic Touring Fund Boltini Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement The Charles Peel Charitable Trust Chapman Charitable Trust John S. Cohen Foundation Derek Hill Foundation D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Ernest Cook Trust Fenton Arts Trust Garfield Weston Foundation The Golden Bottle Trust Goldsmiths’ Company Charity Jack Lane Charitable Trust JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation J Paul Getty Jnr General Charitable Trust John Lyon’s Charity The Mark Williams Foundation Michael Marks Charitable Trust National Foundation for Youth Music Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust Orchestras Live Palazzetto Bru Zane P F Charitable Trust Schroder Charity Trust The Shears Foundation Valentine Charitable Trust We are also very grateful to our anonymous supporters and OAE Friends for their ongoing generosity and enthusiasm. For more information on supporting the OAE please contact Emily Stubbs, Development Director emily.stubbs@oae.co.uk 020 7239 9381.
The OAE is a registered charity number 295329 accepting tax efficient gifts from UK taxpayers and businesses.
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COMING VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS Our new ‘Turning Points’ series begins with Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons. Tickets still available. 7.30pm, Saturday 11 February 2017 Kings Place, Hall One. Tickets: kingsplace.co.uk
SARAH CONNOLLY’S BERLIOZ Explore six stages of love with one of Britain’s favourite singers. 7pm, Monday 20 February 2017
Royal Festival Hall Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk /oae
SOON THE NIGHT SHIFT
Our late-night gig series returns. Expect pints and plenty of Baroque. 8.30pm, Tuesday 28 February 2017 The George Tavern, Shadwell Tickets: thenightshift.co.uk
STEVEN ISSERLIS PERFORMS HAYDN The British cello legend tackles Haydn’s once-lost concerto. 7pm, Monday 20 March 2017 Royal Festival Hall Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk /oae
FAUST AND THE MOZART CONCERTOS Star violinist enchants us with not one but two Mozart violin concertos. 7pm, Tuesday 18 April 2017 Royal Festival Hall Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk /oae
BACH GOES TO PARIS What if Bach, who never actually left Germany, had met his great French contemporary, Rameau? 7pm, Tuesday 4 July 2017 St John’s Smith Square Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk /oae
KIRKER MUSIC HOLIDAYS FOR DISCERNING TRAVELLERS Kirker Holidays offers an extensive range of holidays for music lovers. These include our own exclusive opera and chamber music festivals on land and at sea and tours to leading festivals in Europe.
THE DRESDEN MUSIC FESTIVAL A SEVEN NIGHT HOLIDAY | 17 MAY 2017
The Saxon capital is one of Europe’s most beautiful cities and a historic centre of musical excellence. Our holiday to the annual Dresden Music festival takes in performances by Diana Damrau, Steven Isserlis and Francesco Piemontesi and three major European orchestras. In addition to five concerts at venues including the famous Semper Opera and the Schloss Wackerbarth, we shall also explore the historic heart of Dresden itself. Highlights include the extraordinary collection amassed by the Electors of Saxony at the Green Vaults, the important exhibition of Old Masters housed in the elaborate rococo Zwinger Gallery, and the magnificently restored Frauenkirche. Price from £2,725 per person for seven nights including return flights, accommodation with breakfast, three lunches, two dinners, tickets for five concerts, all sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.
Speak to an expert or request a brochure:
020 7593 2284 quote code GCN www.kirkerholidays.com
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC london concert season 2016-17 Purcell the fairy queen Monday 10 October 2016, Barbican Hall
James Gilchrist Directs Thursday 20 October 2016, Milton Court Concert Hall
the Glory of Venice Wednesday 7 December 2016, Milton Court Concert Hall
bach anD the italian concerto Wednesday 15 February 2017, Milton Court Concert Hall
JorDi saVall Directs Saturday 11 March 2017, Barbican Hall
bach reconstructeD Friday 7 April 2017, Milton Court Concert Hall
richarD eGarr Directs Friday 5 May 2017, Milton Court Concert Hall
monteVerDi VeSPerS Friday 23 June 2017, Barbican Hall
tickets £10-50 plus booking fee* £5 for aamplify members | £70 premium seats available
Book at barbican.org.uk or call 020 7638 8891 aam.co.uk/london * £3 online, £4 by telephone, no fee when booked in person
2016-17 London Listings167x239.indd 1
10/08/2016 23:00
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