2015  /16 Esa-Pekka Salonen Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Concerts September 2015 – Spring 2016 Royal Festival Hall
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Myths and Rituals: Esa-Pekka Salonen presents the 70th Anniversary season headline festival, exploring the musical life and legacy of Igor Stravinsky 70th Anniversary Gala Concert: Christoph von Dohnányi leads a stellar cast for Beethoven’s great Choral Symphony Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lang Lang join forces for three concerts featuring piano concertos by Grieg, Bartók and Prokofiev Vladimir Ashkenazy performs Rachmaninov’s major orchestral works Andris Nelsons returns to London to conduct Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony Jakub Hrůša leads Mahler’s mighty Symphony No. 3 Paavo Järvi continues his Nielsen Symphony Series The Trumpet Shall Sound: Håkan Hardenberger leads a celebration of the trumpet, performing works by B.A. Zimmermann and Rolf Martinsson Philharmonia at the Movies: including James Bond, BBC Planet Earth in Concert and Charlie Chaplin A new series of early-evening chamber concerts featuring Philharmonia players and designed to complement the main evening programme
AT A GLANCE SEPTEMBER 2015
NOVEMBER 2015
Sun 27/7.30pm Dohnányi et al. SCHUMANN Piano Concerto/ BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9
Sun 1/3.00pm Salonen/Steinbacher DUBUGNON Caprice for Orchestra/ BRAHMS Violin Concerto/ SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5
OCTOBER 2015 Thu 1/7.30pm Dohnányi/Widmann IVES The Unanswered Question/ BERG Violin Concerto / SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 Sun 4/7.30pm Temirkanov/Matsuev TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1/BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 Thu 8/7.30pm Payare/Trifonov TCHAIKOVSKY Fantasy Overture, Romeo and Juliet / RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 4; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini/MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition Thu 15/7.30pm Hrůša/Trifonov SMETANA Overture, The Bartered Bride/ RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2/ DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7 Thu 22/7.30pm Collon et al. STRAVINSKY Fireworks/ CHIN Clarinet Concerto/ WAGNER 'Prelude' and 'Liebestod' (Tristan und Isolde)/ LIGETI Atmosphères/RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 Sun 25/7.30pm Davis JAMES BOND: THE ULTIMATE SOUNDTRACKS
Thu 5/7.30pm Ashkenazy/Chopin Prize-winner BERLIOZ Le carnaval romain/ CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1 or 2 RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 Thu 12/7.30pm Valcuha/Sokolov WEBER Overture, Der Freischütz/MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto/BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, Eroica Thu 19/7.30pm Järvi/Coles HAYDN Symphony No. 100, Military/NIELSEN Flute Concerto; Symphony No. 5 Thu 26/7.30pm Salonen/Lang Lang GRIEG Piano Concerto; Peer Gynt (incidental music)
DECEMBER 2015 Tue 1/7.30pm Salonen/Lang Lang BEETHOVEN Namensfeier/ BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2/ BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 Thu 3/7.30pm Salonen/Lang Lang PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet; Piano Concerto No. 3/ SCRIABIN The Poem of Ecstasy Sun 6/7.30pm Nelsons/Hardenberger ZIMMERMANN Trumpet
Concerto, Nobody knows de trouble I see/BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 Thu 10/7.30pm Rhorer/Ehnes BERLIOZ L'enfance du Christ/ LALO Violin Concerto/ DELIBES Coppélia/ TCHAIKOVSKY Swan Lake Sun 13/3.00pm Hill/The Bach Choir TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker/ RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Polonaise, Christmas Eve/ TRAD. Christmas Carols
JANUARY 2016 Sun 24/3.00pm Wilson et al. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Overture, The Wasps/FINZI Clarinet Concerto/VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A Sea Symphony Thu 28/7.30pm Rouvali/Hardenberger SIBELIUS Lemminkäinen's Return/MARTINSSON Bridge, Trumpet Concerto No. 1/ SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 Sun 31/7.30pm Fenton BBC Planet Earth in Concert
FEBRUARY 2016 Thu 4/7.30pm Shani MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20/ MAHLER Symphony No. 1 Thu 11/7.30pm Hrůša/Fink MAHLER Symphony No. 3
M N S SL
Sunday Matinee Series concert Nielsen Series Stravinsky: Myths and Rituals Salonen/Lang Lang
Sun 14/3.00pm Collins/Pogostkina St Valentine's Day Gala Thu 18/7.30pm Altinoglu/Fray RAVEL Ma mère l'oye/DEBUSSY La mer/MOZART Piano Concerto No.24/RAVEL La valse Sun 21/7.30pm Gatti/Volodos WEBER Overture, Oberon/ BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3/SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2 Sun 28/7.30pm Sokhiev/Suwanai SCHUBERT Rosamunde/ BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto/ DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9
MARCH 2016 Thu 3/7.30pm Ashkenazy/Yoo RACHMANINOV The Rock/ SIBELIUS Violin Concerto/ RACHMANINOV Symphony No.3
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The Trumpet Shall Sound Rachmaninov Project On sale from September 2015
BRAHMS Piano Conerto No.1/ ELGAR Enigma Variations Thu 7/7.30pm Yamada et al. ELGAR Cockaigne/HOLST Song of the Night/PANUFNIK new work/WAXMAN Carmen Fantasie/BRAHMS Violin Concerto Sun 10/3.00pm Davis DAVIS Kid Auto Races at Venice/CHAPLIN A Dog’s Life/ CHAPLIN Shoulder Arms Thu 14/7.30pm Ashkenazy/Berezovsky RACHMANINOV Isle of the Dead PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.2/RACHMANINOV Symphonic Dances Sun 17/7.30pm Matheuz et al. WALTON Crown Imperial/ BARTÓK Violin Concerto No.1/ TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini
Sun 6/7.30pm Serebrier et al. V WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending/ELGAR Cello Concerto/POWELL A Prussian Requiem
Sun 24/7.30pm Blomstedt. Programme to include: BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4, Romantic
Thu 17/7.30pm Hrůša /Biss MENDELSSOHN Overture, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage/ BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.1/BRAHMS Symphony No.1
MAY 2016
APRIL 2016 Sun 3/3.00pm Temirkanov/Lugansky BEETHOVEN Overture, Coriolan/
Thu 19/7.30pm Järvi/van de Wiel HAYDN Symphony No.83, The Hen/NIELSEN Clarinet Concerto; Symphony No. 3 Thu 26/7.30pm Salonen STRAVINSKY Renard; Mavra; Les noces
JUNE 2016 Thu 2/7.30pm (at St John's, Smith Square) Salonen STRAVINSKY In memoriam Dylan Thomas; Requiem Canticles; In memoriam T S Eliot; Mass; In memoriam Aldous Huxley; Cantata Thu 9/7.30pm Heras-Casado/Shaham SHOSTAKOVICH Festive Overture/TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto/PROKOFIEV Symphony No.5 Thu 23/7.30pm Dohnányi/Helmchen PÄRT Fratres/BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4/ BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6, Pastoral
SEPTEMBER 2016
Thu 5/7.30pm Gardner/Helmchen MOZART Die Zauberflöte/ BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2/ELGAR Symphony No. 2 Sun 15/7.30pm Salonen STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments; Agon; The Rite of Spring
Sun 25/7.30pm Salonen STRAVINSKY Orpheus; Apollon musagète; Perséphone Thu 29/7.30pm Salonen STRAVINSKY Oedipus rex; Symphony of Psalms Printed on Sappi Magno™ natural 250g/ m2 cover and Magno™ natural 250g/m2 text, a member of the Magno™ range.
Š Sonja Werner
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA 70TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT Sunday 27 September 2015, 7.30pm Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Martin Helmchen piano Charlotta Larsson soprano Ruxandra Donose mezzo-soprano Robert Dean Smith tenor James Rutherford bass Rodolfus Choir Philharmonia Voices SCHUMANN Piano Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, Choral
Our 70th Anniversary Season opens with a work that has been celebrated throughout the Philharmonia Orchestra’s esteemed performance history, led by one of its greatest conductors. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is a work of epic proportions, erupting in an ‘Ode to Joy’ choral finale. Before it, Schumann's Piano Concerto is performed by the superlative pianist, Martin Helmchen. See p. 24 for prices
Christoph von Dohnányi © Tristram Kenton/Lebrecht Music & Arts
6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. An introduction to this evening's programme. FREE admission.
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CHRISTOPH VON DOHNÁNYI
YURI TEMIRKANOV
Thursday 1 October 2015, 7.30pm
Yuri Temirkanov conductor Denis Matsuev piano
Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Carolin Widmann violin IVES The Unanswered Question BERG Violin Concerto SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9, Great So profound was the impact of Schubert’s Great Ninth Symphony that when Robert Schumann first encountered the manuscript he described it as ‘transporting us into a world where I cannot recall having ever been before’. The great Viennese tradition can also be savoured in Berg’s Violin Concerto, a heartbreaking lament composed to ‘the memory of an angel’.
Sunday 4 October 2015, 7.30pm
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 A combination of heroic bravura and Russian ‘big tunes’ have made Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto one of the most popular of them all. Its intensity is felt from its famous opening flourish of grandiose piano chords. Completing the programme is a performance of Brahms’s captivating symphonic swansong, a supreme distillation of a lifetime’s creative achievement.
© Benjamin Ealovega
6pm, Pre-concert Chamber Music recital, Royal Festival Hall. Recital by Philharmonia Chamber Players. FREE admission.
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RACHMANINOV PIANO CONCERTO CYCLE: TRIFONOV Thursday 8 October 2015, 7.30pm
Thursday 15 October 2015, 7.30pm
Rafael Payare conductor Daniil Trifonov piano
Jakub Hrůša conductor Daniil Trifonov piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Fantasy Overture, Romeo and Juliet RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 4 RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini MUSSORGSKY (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition
SMETANA Overture, The Bartered Bride RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
An all-Russian extravaganza focussing on Rachmaninov’s final works for piano and orchestra, performed by Daniil Trifonov as part of his Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Cycle. These pieces are framed by two of the most popular works in the repertoire, conducted by Rafael Payare, making his Royal Festival Hall début.
Supported by The Meyer Foundation 6pm, Music of Today, Royal Festival Hall. philharmonia.co.uk/mot FREE admission.
Daniil Trifonov © Dario Acosta
This concert is supported by an anonymous donor
Dynamic conductor Jakub Hrůša makes a welcome return to perform two Czech works of distinction: Smetana’s Overture to The Bartered Bride – a work that heralded the birth of Czech opera; and Dvořák’s mighty Seventh Symphony, a work often described as the composer’s greatest. Daniil Trifonov concludes his Rachmaninov Cycle with the Second Piano Concerto, one of the most popular works of all time.
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UNSUK CHIN PREMIÈRE
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN
Thursday 22 October 2015, 7.30pm
Sunday 1 November 2015, 3.00pm (please note start time)
Nicholas Collon conductor Kari Kriikku clarinet Alwyn Mellor soprano STRAVINSKY Fireworks CHIN Clarinet Concerto (UK première) WAGNER ‘Prelude’ and ‘Liebestod’ (Tristan und Isolde) LIGETI Atmosphères RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2 This beguiling programme offers an enticing opportunity to hear the first UK performance of a dazzling Clarinet Concerto by Unsuk Chin (Artistic Director of the Music of Today series), a Philharmonia Orchestra co-commission. The magical soundworlds of Stravinsky, Wagner, Ligeti and Ravel provide the perfect complement in this orchestral feast for the ears.
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Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Arabella Steinbacher violin DUBUGNON Caprice for Orchestra (UK première) BRAHMS Violin Concerto SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 Described by the New York Times as ‘driven by a playful modern sensibility’, the captivating inspiration of Richard Dubugnon raises the curtain on Brahms’s Violin Concerto, performed by sensational German violinist Arabella Steinbacher. The Fifth Symphony is one of Sibelius’s most original reworkings of symphonic form, much-adored for its triumphant finale featuring its famous ‘swan call’ motif. This concert is supported by Vincent Meyer and the Philharmonia Orchestra
This concert is supported by Vincent Meyer and the Philharmonia Orchestra
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Arabella Steinbacher © Peter Rigaud
6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. An introduction to this evening's programme. FREE admission.
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VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY R
Thursday 5 November 2015, 7.30pm
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Prize-winner of the Warsaw International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition 2015 piano BERLIOZ Le carnaval romain CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1 or 2 RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2
Tonight’s concert gives music-lovers a unique opportunity to hear the London début of the prize-winner of the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Competition. One of the supreme interpreters of Chopin’s music, Rachmaninov’s maxim that music should above all ‘exalt’ goes into overdrive in the ecstatic melodic euphoria of his Second Symphony. 6pm, Pre-concert Chamber Music recital, Royal Festival Hall. Recital by Philharmonia Chamber Players. FREE admission.
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© Benjamin Ealovega
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JURAJ VALCUHA Thursday 12 November 2015, 7.30pm Juraj Valcuha conductor Valeriy Sokolov violin WEBER Overture, Der Freischütz MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, Eroica Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, for many the greatest symphony ever written, is conducted by Juraj Valcuha, who makes a welcome return to the Royal Festival Hall. The composer famously tore the title page in half in a fit of rage on hearing that its original dedicatee, Napoleon, had crowned himself emperor. Mendelssohn employed a magician’s sleight-of-hand to create a violin concerto that ebbs and flows with supreme inevitability, performed this evening by the outstanding Valeriy Sokolov. Supported by The Meyer Foundation 6pm, Music of Today, Royal Festival Hall. philharmonia.co.uk/mot FREE admission.
PAAVO JÄRVI: NIELSEN SERIES N
Thursday 19 November 2015, 7.30pm
Paavo Järvi conductor Samuel Coles flute HAYDN Symphony No. 100, Military NIELSEN Flute Concerto NIELSEN Symphony No. 5 Both Haydn and Nielsen rejoiced in the unconventional, lulling audiences into a sense of false security before suddenly taking them out of their comfort zones. In his 100th Symphony, Haydn startles his listeners with a ‘military’ outburst during the slow movement, whereas Nielsen lets rip with a side-drum frenzy that threatens to obliterate the entire orchestra. This concert is supported by an anonymous donor 6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. An introduction to this evening's programme. FREE admission.
"A seismic shift in performance standards" Anna Picard, The Times, November 2014 on Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (Salonen/Philharmonia)
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SALONEN/LANG LANG SERIES Following the hugely successful Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle, which Esa-Pekka Salonen and Lang Lang gave in London in 2012, they continue their artistic collaboration with three programmes reflecting their shared musical enthusiasms. SL
Thursday 26 November 2015, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Lang Lang piano Cast to be announced Peer Perez Øian director GRIEG Piano Concerto GRIEG Peer Gynt (incidental music, semi-staged)
See page 24 for prices 6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. An introduction to this evening's concert. FREE admission.
Lang Lang © Xun Chi
The opening concert of three featuring Esa-Pekka Salonen joined by the star pianist, Lang Lang, has a performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, a work that
marked the start of a glittering career that put Norway on the musical map once and for all. The concert also features the incidental music for Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, famous for its ‘Morning’ and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’ scenes.
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SL
Tuesday 1 December 2015, 7.30pm
SL
Thursday 3 December 2015, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Lang Lang piano
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Lang Lang piano
BEETHOVEN Overture, Namensfeier BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2
PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 SCRIABIN The Poem of Ecstasy
Bartók’s Second Concerto, a work whose fearsome pianistic and orchestral challenges never fail to set the pulse racing, is the second concerto performed by Lang Lang in this mini-series. To finish, Beethoven’s farewell to conventional symphonic Classicism, a staggering testimony of musical willpower composed in the face of encroaching deafness. See page 24 for prices
The third and last of Lang Lang’s concerts with the Philharmonia in this series. Having cultivated a reputation as the ‘bad boy’ of Russian music, Prokofiev’s musical rehabilitation began with his radiantly melodic Third Concerto, a pianistic tour-de-force that appears almost restrained when set beside the apocalyptic eruptions of Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy, a superheated magnum opus generated by cataclysmic waves of sound.
Esa-Pekka Salonen © Clive Barda
See page 24 for prices
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ANDRIS NELSONS/ HÅKAN HARDENBERGER TS
Sunday 6 December 2015, 7.30pm
Andris Nelsons conductor Håkan Hardenberger trumpet
The Trumpet Shall Sound with a performance of Bern Alois Zimmermann’s jazz-inspired trumpet concerto.
Andris Nelsons © Marco Borggreve
ZIMMERMANN Trumpet Concerto, Nobody knows de trouble I see BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 Bruckner’s awe-inspiring Eighth Symphony, a veritable cathedral of sound, is conducted here by Andris Nelsons, the recently appointed Principal Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the first half of the concert, soloist Håkan Hardenberger opens his series
CHRISTMAS AT THE BALLET Thursday 10 December 2015, 7.30pm Jérémie Rhorer conductor James Ehnes violin BERLIOZ L'enfance du Christ (excerpts) LALO Violin Concerto DELIBES Coppélia (excerpts) TCHAIKOVSKY Swan Lake (excerpts)
thrill in the pyrotechnical wizardry of Lalo’s Violin Concerto. This concert is supported by the Friends of the Philharmonia Orchestra
The performance of Lalo's Violin Concerto is supported by Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de music romantique française
With Christmas only just around the corner, what better way to usher in the seasonal celebrations than with a selection from Berlioz’s most captivatingly lyrical score, L’enfance du Christ? Popular melodies abound in two ballet favourites Coppélia and Swan Lake, and there’s also a rare chance to 10
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CAROLS AT CHRISTMAS Sunday 13 December 2015, 3.00pm (please note start time) David Hill conductor The Bach Choir Programme to include: TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker (excerpts) STRAUSS Overture, Die Fledermaus RIMSKY KORSAKOV Polonaise, Christmas Eve SCHUBERT Ave Maria TRADITIONAL Christmas Carols sung by the choir and audience
'O Come all Ye Faithful', 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', and 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing', alongside favourite orchestral works guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit. Presented in partnership with Raymond Gubbay Ltd. Tickets: £47.50, £39.50, £32.50, £24.50, £19.50, £16.50 0800 652 6717 / 0844 847 9921 philharmonia.co.uk southbankcentre.co.uk Please note that subscription discounts do not apply to this concert
Join the acclaimed Bach Choir in raising the roof of the Royal Festival Hall singing festive carols including
GREAT BRITISH CLASSICS Sunday 24 January 2016, 3.00pm (please note start time) M
John Wilson conductor Mark van de Wiel clarinet Lucy Crowe soprano Roderick Williams baritone Bristol Choral Society Philharmonia Voices VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Overture, The Wasps FINZI Clarinet Concerto VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A Sea Symphony
Three classics of British music that find their respective composers at the very height of their powers. This ranges from Finzi’s golden flow of nostalgic lyricism to the Sea Symphony’s surging drama, culminating in a finale that drifts away gently towards uncharted waters via a meditative stream of poetics.
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SANTTU-MATIAS ROUVALI/ HÅKAN HARDENBERGER TS
Thursday 28 January 2016, 7.30pm
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor Håkan Hardenberger trumpet
Håkan Hardenberger © Marco Borggreve
SIBELIUS Lemminkäinen's Return MARTINSSON Bridge, Trumpet Concerto No. 1 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 The perfect foil for the haunting melodic inspiration of Sibelius’s Second Symphony, Rolf Martinsson’s Bridge forms one of the highlights in the Philharmonia’s The Trumpet Shall Sound series, played tonight by acclaimed Swedish virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger, whose name is ingeniously encoded into the virtuoso solo part. 6pm, Pre-concert Chamber Music recital, Royal Festival Hall, Philharmonia Brass with Håkan Hardenberger. FREE admission.
Post-concert recital, Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall, Håkan Hardenberger Both Sides Now. FREE admission.
LAHAV SHANI
International Conducting Competition, presents two highly volatile masterworks ranging from the searing intensity and brooding power of Mozart’s D minor Concerto to Mahler’s exhilarating symphonic début, whose melodic flair and scintillating élan climaxes in one of the most joyously uplifting codas in the orchestral repertoire.
Thursday 4 February 2016, 7.30pm Lahav Shani conductor/piano MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20, K466 MAHLER Symphony No. 1 Brilliant young Israeli conductorpianist Lahav Shani, recent winner of the prestigious Gustav Mahler 12
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MAHLER 3: JAKUB HRŮŠA Thursday 11 February 2016, 7.30pm Jakub Hrůša conductor Bernarda Fink mezzo soprano Philharmonia Voices MAHLER Symphony No. 3 A six-movement epic in which ‘nature acquires a voice and tells profound secrets’ (Mahler), the glorious Third Symphony takes us on a profound emotional journey. Inspired by the
beauty of the natural world, the symphony was an outcome of time spent on the shore of an Austrian mountain lake. It culminates with the composer’s vision of earth and heaven in a captivating slow movement that enshrines the universal ideals of human love and forgiveness. 6pm, Pre-concert Chamber Music recital, Royal Festival Hall. Recital by Philharmonia Chamber Players. FREE admission.
PLAY YOUR PART The Philharmonia Orchestra depends on generous philanthropic support from individuals, companies and grant-making organisations to realise our artistic ambitions and continue to perform with the world’s great artists throughout the UK and beyond.
© Benjamin Ealovega
There are many ways you can play your part with the Philharmonia: - Make a donation when you book your tickets online - Join the Friends of the Philharmonia from £35 - Endow a Philharmonia musician’s chair - Become a Corporate Partner - Remember the Philharmonia in your Will
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ST. VALENTINE’S DAY GALA Sunday 14 February 2016, 3.00pm (please note start time) Michael Collins conductor Alina Pogostkina violin
Alina Pogostkina © www.25stunden.com
SAINT-SAËNS ‘Bacchanale’ from Samson et Dalila MASCAGNI 'Intermezzo' from Cavalleria rusticana BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 MENDELSSOHN Overture, The Hebrides MAHLER Adagietto, Symphony No. 5 J STRAUSS II Waltz, Roses from the South BIZET Carmen, Suite No. 1 The perfect way to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, this afternoon’s concert overflows with unforgettable melodies, ranging from the dramatic seascapes of Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture to the pulsating rapture of Mahler’s Adagietto and earthy excitement of Saint-Saëns’s 'Bacchanale'.
© Benjamin Ealovega
Please see p.24 for prices. This concert is not available as part of a subscription.
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ALAIN ALTINOGLU Thursday 18 February 2016, 7.30pm Alain Altinoglu conductor David Fray piano RAVEL Suite, Ma mère l'oye DEBUSSY La mer MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24, K491 RAVEL La valse A programme of musical enchantment offsetting the classical poise and elegance of Mozart against the fastidious sensuality of La Belle Époque, an era in French cultural life whose love of the magical and evocative is epitomised in the surging
aquatic textures of La mer, and whose imminent collapse can be sensed in the dancing oblivion of La valse. French conductor Alain Altinoglu, a regular with the Metropolitan Opera, New York and Wiener Staatsoper, makes his Philharmonia début. This concert is supported by an anonymous donor Supported by The Meyer Foundation. 6pm, Music of Today, Royal Festival Hall. philharmonia.co.uk/mot FREE admission.
DANIELE GATTI Sunday 21 February 2016, 7.30pm Daniele Gatti conductor Arcadi Volodos piano
Against the backdrop of worsening mental health, Schumann plunged into the depths of his restless spirit to produce his Second Symphony. In the words of the composer, it is ‘full of struggle: capricious, refractory’. By the final movement, light conquers darkness with a tender salute to his ‘distant beloved’, the wife on whom the burden of his illness fell. philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
Daniele Gatti © Primo Gnani
WEBER Overture, Oberon BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2
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TUGAN SOKHIEV Sunday 28 February 2016, 7.30pm Tugan Sokhiev conductor Akiko Suwanai violin SCHUBERT Overture, Rosamunde BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, From the New World
A virtuosic feast for the ears, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is one of the central works of the repertoire, this evening performed by the sensational Japanese violinist, Akiko Suwanai. Tugan Sokhiev conducts Dvořák’s Ninth Symphony, inspired by the composer’s experiences of the ‘New World’ of America, yet hints of longing for his distant homeland.
© Benjamin Ealovega
This concert is supported by the Principal Friends the Philharmonia Orchestra
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MYTHS AND RITUALS
Stravinsky's Journeys
Esa-Pekka Salonen Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Storytelling lies at the heart of the music of Igor Stravinsky. Taking inspiration from all manner of ancient myths and rituals – from Russian folklore, via the stories of the Greeks, to primitive and religious ritual practices – Stravinsky remade these tales to speak forcefully of his own age. In Myths and Rituals, Esa-Pekka Salonen leads a journey of discovery across Stravinsky’s music, from the early Russian ballets to the late, great works of the American years. There we shall find a music of both ebullient celebration and melancholy lament, a music full of rhythmic energy and melodic subtlety, and, above all, a music of extraordinary imagination, power and beauty. Jonathan Cross: Series Consultant Myths and Rituals is supported by Vincent Meyer and the Philharmonia Orchestra
RITUALS S
Sunday 15 May 2016, 7.30pm
TALES S
Thursday 26 May 2016, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments STRAVINSKY Agon STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
STRAVINSKY Renard STRAVINSKY Mavra STRAVINSKY Les noces
Across his creative life Stravinsky was continually exploring new ways of presenting ritual through music in order to make it relevant to his own time. Most famously in The Rite of Spring, premièred on the eve of the First World War, the listener is confronted with a powerful and frightening spectacle of human sacrifice. The later, abstract ceremonies of the Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Agon – each written, respectively, after each of the two world wars – reflect poignantly on personal and collective loss
Though he left Russia for good in 1914, Russia never left Stravinsky. In these three tales, he looks back nostalgically to the country of his birth: in a pantomimelike burlesque about the Fox, the Cock, the Tomcat and the Ram; in a little opera buffa based on a comic poem by Pushkin, which playfully recalls the music of Glinka and Tchaikovsky; and in a glorious celebration, tinged with sadness, of a Russian peasant wedding. 6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. FREE admission.
6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. FREE admission. 18
Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
FAITH
Thursday 2 June 2016, 7.30pm St John's Smith Square, SW1P 3HA (please note venue) S
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor STRAVINSKY In memoriam Dylan Thomas STRAVINSKY Requiem Canticles STRAVINSKY In memoriam T S Eliot STRAVINSKY Mass STRAVINSKY In memoriam Aldous Huxley STRAVINSKY Cantata
Stravinsky reconverted to the Orthodox faith in 1926. The Church and its rites became for this émigré composer a powerful symbol of the Russian motherland he had lost. A gentle sense of lament colours all his great, late ecclesiastical works, especially the moving Requiem Canticles, his last major composition. Lament, too, is at the heart of his personal tributes to three great writers and friends, to whom he bids a touching farewell. See p. 24 for prices
MYTHS
TRAGEDY
S
S
Sunday 25 September 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 29 September 2016, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor
STRAVINSKY Orpheus STRAVINSKY Apollon musagète STRAVINSKY Perséphone
STRAVINSKY Oedipus rex STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
This concert offers the rare opportunity to hear Stravinsky’s alluring melodrama based on the Homeric hymn to the goddess Persephone, retold in collaboration with the French novelist and poet André Gide. Two further ancient Greek deities, Apollo and Orpheus, take to the stage as a result of the extraordinary and enduring creative partnership between Stravinsky and the choreographer George Balanchine, inspiring music of great subtlety and exquisite beauty.
Monumental. Formal. Stylised. To a text by Cocteau derived from Sophocles and translated back into Latin, Stravinsky's Oedipus rex is a chilling retelling of the tragic myth. A work that abandons sentiment, it confronts the spectator with the true horror of the 'infernal machine' of fate. The Latin Psalms, too, seemingly so ancient, so distant, speak here of the tragedy of exile through a music of electrifying austerity and intensity.
6pm, Pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. FREE admission. philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
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MENUHIN COMPETITION
Yehudi Menuhin
Celebrating the centenary of the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin – who performed with the Philharmonia throughout his life – the famous Menuhin Competition returns to London for the first time in 12 years, along with an 11-day festival of concerts and events.
OPENING CONCERT
GALA CONCERT
Thursday 7 April 2016, 7.30pm
Sunday 17 April 2016, 7.30pm
Kazuki Yamada conductor Tasmin Little violin Rennosuke Fukuda violin Ray Chen violin
Diego Mathuez conductor Julia Fischer* violin Prize-winners of the Menuhin Competition violin
ELGAR Overture, Cockaigne HOLST A Song of the Night PANUFNIK New work (solo violin) WAXMAN Carmen Fantasie BRAHMS Violin Concerto
WALTON Crown Imperial Performances by Competition prizewinners BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 1* TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini
Three internationally acclaimed violinists and former winners of the Competition take us on an absorbing musical journey of works intimately connected with Yehudi Menuhin. From the powerhouse romanticism of the Brahms Concerto and Franz Waxman’s pyrotechnical wizardry, to the soaring eloquence of Holst’s A Song of the Night and a world première from composing sensation Roxanna Panufnik.
To celebrate Yehudi Menuhin’s vibrant legacy the Philharmonia presents the winners of the Menuhin Competition 2016, alongside dazzling virtuoso and 1995 winner Julia Fischer playing Bartók’s haunting First Violin Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s symphonic fantasia paints a graphic musical picture of Francesca da Rimini, a beauty who was immortalised in Dante's Divine Comedy.
Please note, subscription discounts do not apply
Please note, subscription discounts do not apply
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Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
PHILHARMONIA AT THE MOVIES JAMES BOND: BBC PLANET THE ULTIMATE EARTH IN SOUNDTRACKS CONCERT Sunday 25 October 2015, 7.30pm
Sunday 31 January 2016, 7.30pm
Carl Davis conductor Singers to be announced
George Fenton conductor
Featuring music from all of the great Bond films, in time for the release of the anticipated new film Spectre.
An event for all the family that combines George Fenton’s sublime music with stunning HD imagery from the awardwinning BBC TV series, Planet Earth.
See p. 24 for prices. Please note, subscription discounts do not apply
See p. 24 for prices. Please note, subscription discounts do not apply
CHARLIE CHAPLIN ON SCREEN Sunday 10 April 2016, 3.00pm (please note start time) M
Carl Davis conductor DAVIS Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) CHAPLIN A Dog’s Life (1918) CHAPLIN Shoulder Arms (1918)
philharmonia.co.uk/movies
Chaplin's own music accompanies our two main feature films in which Charlie strikes up a friendship with a stray dog that leads him into farcical antics, whilst in Shoulder Arms, hapless Charlie is sent over the top whilst fighting in the First World War. Davis's score to Kid Auto Races at Venice accompanies the first ever film appearance of the little tramp character we've come to love. 21
SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS The Philharmonia Orchestra is grateful to its sponsors and supporters, who enable the Orchestra to produce such diverse and high-quality work. The Philharmonia Orchestra’s 2015/16 Royal Festival Hall season would not be possible without the particular support of Mr Vincent Meyer and The Meyer Foundation.
The Philharmonia Orchestra would also like to thank the following major donors, Trusts and Foundations and Corporate Partners: • Mr Baha and Mrs Gabriella Bassatne • Mrs Joscelyn Fox • Mercedes and Michael Hoffman • Sir Sydney & Lady Lipworth • The Zvi & Ofra Meitar Family Fund • Mr & Mrs G Modiano • Dr David Potter CBE • Mr Geoff Richards • The Revd John Wates OBE and Mrs Carol Wates • Andor Charitable Trust • The Assessment Network • The Boltini Trust • The Classic FM Foundation • The Ernest Cook Trust • Dunard Fund • Esmée Fairbairn Foundation • Fidelity Foundation • The Amaryllis Fleming Foundation
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• The Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity • Pierre Fournier Award • Edwin Fox Foundation • The Hugh Fraser Foundation • Friends of Art in Education • J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust • Hattori Foundation • The Meyer Foundation • The Monument Trust • Paul Morgan Charitable Trust • The Edith Murphy Foundation • NADFAS • Orchestras Live • Palazzetto Bru Zane • The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation • David and Elaine Potter Foundation • Royal Philharmonic Society • Rubin Foundation Charitable Trust • The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation • Garfield Weston Foundation
Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
GETTING TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Southbank Centre is located on the Thames riverside between Golden Jubilee and Waterloo bridges. Getting to Southbank Centre Southbank Centre. Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX By underground: To Waterloo or cross the river from Temple, Embankment or Charing Cross By rail: To Waterloo or Waterloo East or cross the river from Charing Cross By bus: To Waterloo: 1, RV1, 4, 26, 59, 68, X68, 76, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341, 521 stop on Waterloo Bridge; 77, 211, 381, 507 stop in York Rd and Stamford St. 24-hour bus information 020 7222 1234
Southbank Centre has 2 car parks, both open 24 hours: Southbank Centre Car Park – Hayward Gallery Southbank Centre Car Park – Hungerford Bridge Evening discounted rates apply after 5pm. southbankcentre.co.uk/visitor-info/parking Southbank Centre Car Parks Please note, from September 2015 the Hayward Gallery Car Park will be closed as a result of the Festival Wing: Essential Repair And Maintenance Project. There will also be periods where the Hungerford Bridge Car Park will not be in service as a car park due to on-site festival activity. During these times when no car parks are available on site, a drop-off area will be provided for our customers with special access requirements. Please phone 0844 847 9910 for further information. Access Southbank Centre is accessible to people with disabilities. Access line 0844 847 9910 www.southbankcentre.co.uk /access Shop & Eat at Southbank Centre With sweeping views across the River Thames from the London Eye to St Paul’s Cathedral, Festival Riverside and Festival Terrace are lined with shops and a range of restaurants, linking the constantly evolving creative spaces in Southbank Centre.
philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
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Balcony
BOOKING INFORMATION / TICKET PRICES
Rear Stalls
Philharmonia Orchestra Box office: 0800 652 6717 Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm (£2.75 transaction fee) philharmonia.co.uk (£1.75 transaction fee)
Front Stalls
Southbank Centre Box office: 0844 847 9921 9am-8pm daily (£2.75 transaction fee*) southbankcentre.co.uk (£1.75 transaction fee)
Stage
Standard & Premium
*No fee for Southbank Centre Members or Supporters’ Circles In person at Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office 10am-8pm daily (no transaction fee) Standard
Premium
Movies
Signature seats
£50
£65
-
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE:
P1
£42
£48
£55
Great discounts if you book for 3 or more concerts!
P2
£33
£40
£45
Book for 3 or more concerts and receive the following discounts on your tickets:
P3
£27
£32
£35
3-5 concerts
10% discount
P4
£22
£27
£29
6-8 concerts
15% discount
P5
£17
£22
£24
9-11 concerts
20% discount
P6
£14
£18
£15
12-14 concerts
25% discount
P7
£11
£11
-
15+ concerts
30% discount
St John’s, Smith Square Tickets: £25, £18, £10 (Restricted view) Subscription discounts do not apply on Signature Seats although these events do count towards subscription discounts on any non-Signature Seats in the order. Tickets may be exchanged for a credit voucher or another concert (up to 2 working days before concert.) You can spread the cost of your tickets over 3 months by sending a cheque and an additional 2 post-dated cheques.
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Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
Balcony
Balcony
Rear Stalls
Rear Stalls
Front Stalls
Front Stalls
Stage
Stage
Sunday Matinee
Movies
To post, fax or email your ticket requests, please see booking form for more details. GROUP BOOKINGS Book 10 or more tickets and receive a 25% discount. One free ticket for every 20 purchased. Flexible reservations SCHOOL PARTIES Book 10 or more tickets and receive a 50% discount. One free teacher’s ticket for every 10 purchased. Flexible reservations STUDENTS A limited number of £5 tickets is available for selected concerts, available through the FREE Student Pulse app (available from the App Store and Google Play).
CONCESSIONS A limited allocation of half-price tickets is available for recipients of Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, Under-16s and full-time students. Appropriate cards to be shown. Please note that discounts / concessions cannot be combined. PATRONS WITH DISABILITIES Southbank Centre is accessible to people with disabilities. Visitors with a disability should join Southbank Centre’s free Access List. You may be eligible for tickets at concessionary prices; a free ticket for a companion who can assist you during your visit; and receive information in alternative formats. To join please call 0844 847 9910, email
accesslist@southbankcentre. co.uk or visit southbankcentre. co.uk/access. The auditorium is fitted with Sennheiser infrared systems. Receivers can be collected from the cloakroom in Royal Festival Hall. There is level access throughout Royal Festival Hall from the internal lifts (some of the lifts have a limited weight capacity; please call 0844 847 9910 to confirm), and there are wheelchair spaces in the boxes, choir seats, and side and rear stalls of the auditorium. Tickets for wheelchair spaces can be booked online or by phone on 0800 652 6717 or 0844 847 9910.
BOOKING FORM Date
Map
Preferred Pricing & Area Code
No of subscription tickets
Example
E
FS / P1
2
Sun 27/09/2015 Dohnányi (Choir n/a)
E
Thu 01/10/2015 Dohnányi/Widmann
E
Sun 04/10/2015 Temirkanov/Matsuev
E
Thu 08/10/2015 Payare/Trifonov
E
Thu 15/10/2015 Hru ˚ša/Trifonov
E
Thu 22/10/2015 Collon/Krikku/Mellor Sun 01/11/2015 Salonen/Steinbacher
No of additional tickets (charged at full price)
Cut out and post this booking form to: Philharmonia Orchestra Box Office, FREEPOST RRGT-AHSUGXRE, London, SE1 7NX Or scan and email it to: boxoffice@philharmonia.co.uk, or fax it to: 020 7921 3950
E
SM
Thu 05/11/2015 Ashkenazy/Prize winner
E
Thu 12/11/2015 Valcˇuha/Sokolov
E
Thu 19/11/2015 Järvi /Coles
E
Thu 26/11/2015 Salonen (Choir n/a)
E
Tue 01/12/2015 Salonen/Lang Lang
E
Thu 03/12/2015 Salonen/Lang Lang
E
Sun 06/12/2015 Nelsons/Hardenberger
E
Thu 10/12/2015 Rhorer/Ehnes
1. Select the concerts you wish to attend 2. Select where you would like to sit in the concert hall from the plan overleaf (NB you do not have to sit in the same area for all of your concerts – please indicate your requirements on the booking form) Please note that choir seats are not available for the concerts marked ‘Choir n/a’ 3. If you require additional tickets for any concerts please indicate the number you require in the ‘additional tickets’ box
E
Sun 13/12/2015 Hill/Bach Choir (Choir n/a)
See listing for prices
Sun 24/01/2016 Wilson (Choir n/a)
SM
Thu 28/01/2016 Rouvali/Hardenberger
E
Thu 04/02/2016 Shani
E
Thu 11/02/2016 Hru ˚ša (Choir n/a)
E
Sun 14/02/2016 Collins/Pogostkina
SM
Thu 18/02/2016 Altinoglu/Fray
E
Sun 21/02/2016 Gatti/Volodos
SM
Sun 28/02/2016 Sokhiev/Suwanai
If you would like help completing your booking form, please call us on FREEPHONE 0800 652 6717 If you would prefer us to calculate the total costs of your tickets, please feel free to leave the payment totals blank: we will advise you of the costs when we send your tickets.
E
STRAVINSKY SERIES Sun 15/05/2016 Rituals (Choir n/a)
E
Thu 26/05/2016 Tales (Choir n/a)
E
Tue 02/06/2016 Faith (St John's, Smith Sq)
See p. 24 for prices
Sun 25/09/2016 Myths (Choir n/a)
E
Thu 29/09/2016 Tragedy (Choir n/a)
E
*Please indicate where in the Hall you would like to sit by using the following key: Front stalls (FS), Rear Stalls (RS) Balcony (BY), Side Stalls (SS), hoir (CH), Wheelchair (WH)* Please refer to maps for price breaks *Wheelchair seats available in Rear Stalls, Side Stalls and Balcony
PHILHARMONIA AT THE MOVIES Sun 25/10/2015 James Bond matinee
MV
Sun 31/01/2016 Planet Earth (Choir n/a)
MV
Sun 10/04/2016 Davis: Chaplin (Choir n/a)
MV
MENUHIN COMPETITION Thu 07/04/2016 Opening concert
E
Sun 17/04/2016 Gala concert
E
Standard
Sub-total: cost of subscription tickets Sub-total: cost of additional tickets + £2.75 (transaction fee) TOTAL
Premium Movies
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*For most credit / debit cards the CSC number is the last 3 digits of the number printed on the signature band on the REVERSE of your card. For AMEX cards the CSC number is 4 digits and is printed on the FRONT of the card after and above the main number. This is an additional security measure to help prevent credit card fraud and is required before your transaction can be completed. Please ensure you have written your postcode on the booking form, as this is also required. Send your booking form to: Philharmonia Orchestra Box Office, FREEPOST RRGT-AHSU-GXRE, London, SE1 7NX or Email boxoffice@philharmonia.co.uk | Fax 020 7921 3950 Your tickets will be posted to you within 28 days of receipt of your booking form.
Philharmonia Orchestra 6th Floor, The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX Tel 020 7921 3900, Fax 020 7921 3950 Freephone box office 0800 652 6717 Email boxoffice@philharmonia.co.uk www.philharmonia.co.uk @philharmonia Philharmonia Orchestra /philharmonialondon /philharmonia Philharmonia Orchestra and Southbank Centre are both registered charities. All the information in this brochure was correct at the time of going to press, but changes may be unavoidable. Design HarrimanSteel Print cantate.biz Official Paper Supplier Sappi Fine Paper Europe.