2016  /17 Concerts September 2016 to Spring 2017
Esa-Pekka Salonen Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor
Royal Festival Hall
2016 / 17
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2016/17 AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL We are delighted to present the Philharmonia Orchestra’s 21st season in residence at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall: over 30 concerts, alongside free performances and pre-concert events at our home in the heart of London. Two major events frame this series of concerts: the culmination of Stravinsky: Myths & Rituals, our 2016 survey of a 20th-century icon, and Salonen/Aimard: Inspirations, four concerts in February and May 2017, for which the Philharmonia’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen is joined by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard to delve into the music, from Beethoven to Boulez, that intrigues, touches and inspires them both. In between, the Orchestra picks up on previous threads and starts new journeys. Andris Nelsons returns to continue his critically acclaimed Bruckner Cycle with Symphonies Nos. 5 and 9, in January 2017. Paavo Järvi and Vladimir Ashkenazy both complete symphony cycles. Järvi’s Nielsen survey culminates with the Sixth Symphony, performed alongside Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Ashkenazy’s Rachmaninov Project concludes with the First Symphony. New this season: the German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens leads a German Romantics series, pairing Brahms symphonies with music by Mendelssohn and Schumann; Christoph von Dohnányi conducts Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Edward Gardner leads a performance of Verdi’s Requiem. And finally, Philharmonia at the Movies returns with George Fenton: The Lady in the Van and Napoleon: Live Cinema, Carl Davis’s epic score for the 1927 silent film, directed by Abel Gance. We hope you will join us for what will be an extraordinary musical journey.
1: Timothy Walden © Felix Broede 2: Yukiko Ogura © Felix Broede 3: Katy Woolley and Kira Doherty © Felix Broede
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At a Glance
2016 / 17
SEPTEMBER 2016
TEMIRKANOV CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY
STRAVINSKY: MYTHS
Thursday 20 Oct, 7.30pm 6pm, Philharmonia Chamber Players (Free entry)
Sunday 25 Sep, 7.30pm 6pm, pre-concert talk (Free entry)
Yuri Temirkanov conductor Sergey Khachatryan violin
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Andrew Staples tenor Carole Bouquet narrator Philharmonia Voices
GLAZUNOV Valse No. 2 SIBELIUS Violin Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5
STRAVINSKY Orpheus; Apollon musagète; Perséphone
Sunday 23 Oct, 3pm STRAVINSKY: TRAGEDY Thursday 29 Sep, 7.30pm Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Peter Sellars director Joseph Kaiser tenor, Oedipus To be announced mezzo-soprano, Jocasta Sir Willard White bass, Creon, Tiresias, Messenger Joshua Stewart tenor, Shepherd Orphei Drängar Ladies of the Gustaf Sjökvists Kammarkör and Sofia Vokalensemble STRAVINSKY Oedipus rex; Symphony of Psalms
Krzysztof Urbanski conductor Nikolai Lugansky piano GRIEG Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1; Piano Concerto MUSSORGSKY (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition
GERMAN ROMANTICS, PART 1 Thursday 27 Oct, 7.30pm Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor Arabella Steinbacher violin
OCTOBER 2016
BEETHOVEN Overture, Leonore No. 3 MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
MAHLER: DAS LIED VON DER ERDE
NOVEMBER 2016
All events at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall See page 20 for prices and how to book
Stravinsky: Myths & Rituals German Romantics Philharmonia at the Movies Sunday Matinees Nielsen Cycle Rachmaninov Project Andris Nelsons: Bruckner Salonen/Aimard: Inspirations On-sale from September 2016
MUSSORGSKY: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION
Sunday 16 Oct, 7.30pm Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Robert Dean Smith tenor Matthias Goerne baritone SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8, Unfinished MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde
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EDWARD GARDNER: VERDI REQUIEM Thursday 3 Nov, 7.30pm Edward Gardner conductor Lise Davidsen soprano Karen Cargill mezzo-soprano
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To be announced tenor Alexander Vinogradov bass Rodolfus Choir Philharmonia Voices
BARTÓK & SHOSTAKOVICH: FROM THE EAST
VERDI Requiem
Juraj Valcuha conductor Frank Peter Zimmermann violin
Thursday 24 Nov, 7.30pm
NAPOLEON: LIVE CINEMA Sunday 6 Nov, 2pm *Please note start time
BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 2 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
DECEMBER 2016
Carl Davis conductor/composer PRE-WAR SOUNDSCAPES
CARL DAVIS Napoleon Film with live orchestral score
Thursday 1 Dec, 7.30pm Nicholas Collon conductor Francesco Piemontesi piano
PAAVO JÄRVI: NIELSEN CYCLE Thursday 10 Nov, 7.30pm 6pm, Music of Today (Free entry)
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis RAVEL Piano Concerto in G WALTON Symphony No. 1
Paavo Järvi conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin HAYDN Symphony No. 102 BRAHMS Violin Concerto NIELSEN Symphony No. 2, The Four Temperaments
ASHKENAZY: RACHMANINOV PROJECT
TCHAIKOVSKY: WINTER TALES Sunday 4 Dec, 3pm Jac van Steen conductor Veronika Dzhioeva soprano Tommi Hakala baritone
TCHAIKOVSKY Polonaise; Letter Scene; Waltz; Thursday 17 Nov, 7.30pm 6pm, Philharmonia Chamber Players Final Scene, Eugene Onegin; Swan Lake (excerpts); (Free entry) The Nutcracker (excerpts) Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Alice Sara Ott piano BORODIN Overture, Prince Igor TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 1
GEORGE FENTON: THE LADY IN THE VAN Thursday 8 Dec, 7.30pm George Fenton conductor Clare Hammond piano Introduced by Alan Bennett
CHRISTMAS CLASSICS Sunday 11 Dec, 3pm David Hill conductor Ailish Tynan soprano The Bach Choir Programme to include: ANDERSON A Christmas Festival WILLCOCKS Tomorrow shall be my dancing day ADAM O Holy Night CULLEN Joy to the World HUMPERDINCK Overture, Hansel and Gretel BACH/GOUNOD Ave Maria TRADITIONAL Carols for all THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS Thursday 15 Dec, 7.30pm Andrew Lumsden conductor Keri Fuge soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano Winchester Cathedral Choir Waynflete Singers Programme to include: VIVALDI Gloria HANDEL Zadok the Priest BACH Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring BERLIOZ The Shepherds’ Farewell GRUBER Silent Night DARKE In the Bleak Midwinter TRADITIONAL Carols for all JANUARY 2017
NELSONS: BRUCKNER – SYMPHONY NO. 5 Thursday 19 Jan, 7.30pm 6pm, Music of Today (Free entry) Andris Nelsons conductor BRUCKNER Symphony No. 5
Programme to be announced
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2016 / 17
NELSONS: BRUCKNER – SYMPHONY NO. 9 Sunday 22 Jan, 7.30pm 6pm, pre-concert talk (Free entry) Andris Nelsons conductor Paul Lewis piano MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27 BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9
FEBRUARY 2017
NIELSEN CYCLE: PAAVO JÄRVI Thursday 2 Feb, 7.30pm 6pm, pre-concert talk (Free entry) Paavo Järvi conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Tanja Tetzlaff cello Lars Vogt piano HAYDN Symphony No. 101, The Clock BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano NIELSEN Symphony No. 6, Sinfonia semplice CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION Thursday 9 Feb, 7.30pm Long Yu conductor Soloists to be announced Programme to be announced
JOHN WILSON: IN LONDON TOWN Sunday 12 Feb, 3pm
ELGAR Cockaigne (In London Town) WALTON Viola Concerto VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony
MARCH 2017
GERMAN ROMANTICS, PART II
STRAVINSKY: THE FIREBIRD
Thursday 16 Feb, 7.30pm
Thursday 2 Mar, 7.30pm 6pm, Music of Today (Free entry)
Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor David Fray piano MENDELSSOHN Overture, Ruy Blas SCHUMANN Piano Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
INSPIRATIONS: RAVEL & LIGETI Sunday 19 Feb, 7.30pm 6pm, pre-concert talk (Free entry) Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Chorus to be announced LIGETI Clocks and Clouds; Piano Concerto RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé (complete)
INSPIRATIONS: STRAUSS & BEETHOVEN Thursday 23 Feb, 7.30pm Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano The Horn Section of the Philharmonia Orchestra BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor TANSY DAVIES Concerto for Four Horns and Orchestra (London première) STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
On-sale from September 2016
Pablo Heras-Casado conductor Javier Perianes piano RAVEL Alborada del gracioso FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain STRAVINSKY Suite, The Firebird (complete 1910 version)
TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY NO. 6 Sunday 5 Mar, 3pm Tugan Sokhiev conductor Edgar Moreau cello DVORÁK Cello Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Pathétique
PROKOFIEV & RACHMANINOV Thursday 9 Mar, 7.30pm Rafael Payare conductor Frank Peter Zimmermann violin PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1, Classical; Violin Concerto No. 1 RACHMANINOV Symphonic Dances
ASHKENAZY: ELGAR SYMPHONY NO. 1 Thursday 16 Mar, 7.30pm Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Veronika Eberle violin
John Wilson conductor Lawrence Power viola
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Antoine Tamestit viola
MAY 2017
SCHUBERT Overture, Rosamunde MOZART Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola ELGAR Symphony No. 1
INSPIRATIONS: DEBUSSY & BOULEZ
Gustavo Gimeno conductor Lawrence Power viola LIGETI Concert Românesc BARTÓK Viola Concerto MAHLER Symphony No. 1
Thursday 4 May, 7.30pm JAKUB HRUŠA CONDUCTS BRAHMS
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano
Thursday 23 Mar, 7.30pm 6pm, Philharmonia Chamber Players Programme to include: DEBUSSY Ibéria; Fantaisie for Piano (Free entry) and Orchestra; La mer BOULEZ Notations Jakub Hruša conductor Rudolf Buchbinder piano BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2; Symphony No. 4
INSPIRATIONS: MAHLER & BARTÓK Sunday 7 May, 7.30pm
APRIL 2017
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Tamara Stefanovich piano
JAKUB HRUŠA: DVORÁK & TCHAIKOVSKY Thursday 6 Apr, 7.30pm Jakub Hruša conductor Renaud Capuçon violin BRAHMS (orch. Dvorák) Hungarian Dances, Nos. 17-21 TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto DVORÁK Symphony No. 8
BARTÓK Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion MAHLER Symphony No. 6
BLOMSTEDT CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN
REQUIEMS: DURUFLÉ & FAURÉ Sunday 4 Jun, 7.30pm 6pm, Philharmonia Chamber Players (Free entry) Jérémie Rhorer conductor Marita Sølberg soprano To be announced mezzo-soprano Jean-Sébastien Bou baritone Rodolfus Choir Philharmonia Voices DURUFLÉ Requiem FAURÉ Requiem
DOHNÁNYI CONDUCTS SCHUMANN Thursday 8 Jun, 7.30pm 6pm, Music of Today (Free entry) Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Till Fellner piano
MENDELSSOHN Overture, The Thursday 25 May, 7.30pm Hebrides 6pm, Philharmonia Chamber Players MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 (Free entry) SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2 Herbert Blomstedt conductor Martin Helmchen piano
HOLST: THE PLANETS
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7
Sunday 23 Apr, 3pm Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor Alban Gerhardt cello Philharmonia Chorus SMETANA Vltava, from Má vlast ELGAR Cello Concerto HOLST The Planets
RUSSIAN MASTERWORKS Wednesday 21 Jun, 7.30pm 6pm, Music of Today (Free entry)
JUNE 2017
Yuri Temirkanov conductor Denis Kozhukhin piano
MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 1
LIADOV Kikimora RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Thursday 1 Jun, 7.30pm
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2016 / 17
STRAVINSKY: MYTHS & RITUALS The Philharmonia Orchestra’s 2016 survey of an icon of 20th-century music concludes with two programmes that explore Classical themes, including the rarely performed Perséphone, culminating in two masterpieces: Oedipus rex and Symphony of Psalms.
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Sunday 25 September 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 29 September 2016, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Andrew Staples tenor Carole Bouquet narrator Philharmonia Voices
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Peter Sellars director Joseph Kaiser tenor, Oedipus To be announced mezzo-soprano, Jocasta Sir Willard White bass, Creon, Tiresias, Messenger Joshua Stewart tenor, Shepherd Orphei Drängar Ladies of the Gustaf Sjökvists Kammarkör and Sofia Vokalensemble
STRAVINSKY Orpheus STRAVINSKY Apollon musagète STRAVINSKY Perséphone 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. 6pm, pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Series consultant Jonathan Cross in conversation with musicologist Tamara Levitz, exploring Perséphone.
STRAVINSKY Oedipus rex STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms 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. In co-production with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence Stravinsky: Myths & Rituals is supported by Vincent Meyer and the Philharmonia Orchestra. See page 21 for prices
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Sunday 16 October 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 20 October 2016, 7.30pm
MAHLER: DAS LIED VON DER ERDE
TEMIRKANOV CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY
Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Robert Dean Smith tenor Matthias Goerne baritone
Yuri Temirkanov conductor Sergey Khachatryan violin
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 8, Unfinished MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde ‘I believe this is the most personal thing I have done.’ So wrote Mahler, devastated by the sudden death of his daughter Anna Maria and the swift diagnosis of his own incurable heart disease. Das Lied hovers elegiacally between song and symphony, placing our own transience and mortality against the constant renewal and regeneration of the earth. Alongside, the most popular symphony from another Viennese composer: Schubert’s Unfinished.
GLAZUNOV Valse No. 2 SIBELIUS Violin Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 Soaring, lyrical, fantastical, Sibelius wrote his Violin Concerto for his ‘dearest wish’, the virtuoso he never became. In his own words, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony marked his ‘complete resignation before Fate’. Fate winds unrelenting through each movement, interrupting a love song, cutting in on a waltz and finally taking on the form of a march into the blazing finale. 6pm, pre-concert recital, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Philharmonia Chamber Players
Sunday 23 October 2016, 3pm
MUSSORGSKY: PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION Krzysztof Urbanski conductor Nikolai Lugansky piano GRIEG Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 GRIEG Piano Concerto MUSSORGSKY (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition Grieg’s towering Piano Concerto follows the story suite of Peer Gynt, in which the hero hurtles through the Nordic countryside to the eerie kingdoms of the Hall of the Mountain King. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition curates a musical walk-round a gallery past paintings of gnomes, witches, medieval castles and the final pealing bells of the Great Gate of Kiev.
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1: Esa-Pekka Salonen © Felix Broede 2: Sergey Khachatryan © Marco Borggreve 3: Krzysztof Urbanski © Lena Knutli
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2016 / 17
GERMAN ROMANTICS In one of our headline series, German maestro Karl-Heinz Steffens presents a snapshot of German Romanticism, conducting works that go to the very core of Western classical music.
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“Steffens…took us straight to the heart of the music” Classical Source
Thursday 27 October 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 16 February 2017, 7.30pm
Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor Arabella Steinbacher violin
Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor David Fray piano
BEETHOVEN Overture, Leonore No. 3 MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
MENDELSSOHN Overture, Ruy Blas SCHUMANN Piano Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
Mendelssohn wrote that the melody that opens his Violin Concerto ‘sticks in my head’ and ‘will not leave me in peace’; this lyrical masterpiece is here performed by the German virtuoso Arabella Steinbacher. While composing his idyllic Second Symphony, Brahms told a friend that ‘melodies flow so freely that one must be careful not to tread on them’.
Peformed by superlative pianist David Fray, Schumann’s evergreen Piano Concerto was premièred by the composer’s wife, Clara, on New Year’s Day 1846. A lifelong friend of Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms wrote his Third Symphony during a summer spent holidaying on the Rhine. Playing through her two-piano version, Clara wrote to Brahms: ‘All the movements seem to be of one piece, one beat of the heart.’
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Thursday 3 November 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 17 November 2016, 7.30pm
EDWARD GARDNER: VERDI REQUIEM
ASHKENAZY: RACHMANINOV PROJECT
Edward Gardner conductor Lise Davidsen soprano Karen Cargill mezzo-soprano To be announced tenor Alexander Vinogradov bass Rodolfus Choir Philharmonia Voices
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Alice Sara Ott piano BORODIN Overture, Prince Igor TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 1
VERDI Requiem British conductor Edward Gardner, formerly Music Director of English National Opera, channels the combined forces of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Rodolfus Choir and Philharmonia Voices for Verdi’s epic Requiem. Written for his dear friend, writer Alessandro Manzoni, Verdi’s Requiem is explosive, an otherworldly drama powered by emotional intensity, haunted by offstage trumpets and bass drum thunder.
Vladimir Ashkenazy’s exploration of Rachmaninov’s orchestral works culminates with the composer’s First Symphony, a piece overflowing with ideas, unified by an ever-evolving motif shaped by the Dies Irae of Gregorian chant, a stamp that would appear again and again in Rachmaninov’s works. Alongside, the sweeping lyricism of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, performed by rising-star pianist Alice Sara Ott. 6pm, pre-concert recital, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Philharmonia Chamber Players
Thursday 24 November 2016, 7.30pm
BARTÓK & SHOSTAKOVICH: FROM THE EAST Juraj Valcuha conductor Frank Peter Zimmermann violin BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 2 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
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Written in 1943, Shostakovich publicly described his Eighth Symphony as ‘an attempt to reflect the terrible tragedy of war’. In 1939, Bartók was equally fearful for the state of Europe. His rhapsodic Violin Concerto – performed here by master violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann – is laced with folk-like calls from a homeland he feared would soon be unrecognisable. 3
1: Karl-Heinz Steffens © Susanne Diesner 2: Alice Sara Ott © Marie Staggat 3: Frank Peter Zimmermann © Harald Hoffmann (Haenssler)
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2016 / 17
PAAVO JÄRVI: NIELSEN CYCLE The outstanding Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi concludes his three-season survey of the symphonies of Carl Nielsen with this pair of concerts that also features four stellar soloists.
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“Paavo Järvi’s impassioned performance of this craggy yet sweeping masterpiece [Nielsen Symphony No. 4] was the best possible retort to an earlier era that struggled to [understand] Nielsen’s individuality and metaphysical drive.” The Guardian
Thursday 10 November 2016, 7.30pm
Thursday 2 February 2017, 7.30pm
Paavo Järvi conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin
Paavo Järvi conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Tanja Tetzlaff cello Lars Vogt piano
HAYDN Symphony No. 102 BRAHMS Violin Concerto NIELSEN Symphony No. 2, The Four Temperaments The inspiration for Nielsen’s Second Symphony came from a day spent drinking beer in a village pub, where above the table hung a cartoon sketch of ‘The Four Temperaments’: Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic and Sanguine. Alongside, the Brahms Violin Concerto, performed by one of the greatest violinists in the world, Leonidas Kavakos: ‘fabulously poised with an exceptional dynamic range.’ (The Guardian) 6pm, Music of Today, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Early & New: featuring works by Harrison Birtwistle and Betsy Jolas, inspired by Renaissance music. Conducted by Anna-Maria Helsing. Supported by an anonymous donor.
HAYDN Symphony No. 101, The Clock BEETHOVEN Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano NIELSEN Symphony No. 6, Sinfonia semplice Curiously titled Sinfonia semplice, Nielsen’s Sixth Symphony is anything but simple; instead, the symphony winds itself into a series of melodic riddles and paradoxes. Paired with this characterful work is Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano which fizzes with unexpected twists and turns. 6pm, pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall. FREE entry An introduction to this evening’s concert.
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Thursday 1 December 2016, 7.30pm
Sunday 4 December 2016, 3pm
PRE-WAR SOUNDSCAPES
TCHAIKOVSKY: WINTER TALES
Nicholas Collon conductor Francesco Piemontesi piano
Jac van Steen conductor Veronika Dzhioeva soprano Tommi Hakala baritone
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis RAVEL Piano Concerto in G WALTON Symphony No. 1 Three inventive masterworks composed in peacetime that was not to last: infused with jazz, Basque and Spanish influences, Ravel’s dreamlike Piano Concerto (1931) is juxtaposed with the pastoral tranquillity of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia (1910). William Walton’s powerful, Sibelius-inspired Symphony No. 1 (1934) is full of driving rhythms and searing intensity.
TCHAIKOVSKY Polonaise, Letter Scene, Waltz, Final Scene, Eugene Onegin TCHAIKOVSKY Swan Lake (excerpts) TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker (excerpts) Scenes from Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt opera of love, loss and regret come together with music from his best-loved ballets. Swan Lake tells of a beautiful swan princess and her prince’s doomed attempts to save her, while in The Nutcracker, it is Christmas Eve and toy soldiers, sugar plum fairies and military mice come to life. This concert is supported by
1: Paavo Järvi © Kaupo Kikkas
Sunday 11 December 2016, 3pm
Thursday 15 December 2016, 7.30pm
CHRISTMAS CLASSICS
THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS
David Hill conductor Ailish Tynan soprano The Bach Choir
Andrew Lumsden conductor Keri Fuge soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo-soprano Winchester Cathedral Choir Waynflete Singers
Programme to include: ANDERSON A Christmas Festival WILLCOCKS Tomorrow shall be my dancing day ADAM O Holy Night CULLEN Joy to the World HUMPERDINCK Overture, Hansel and Gretel BACH/GOUNOD Ave Maria TRADITIONAL Carols for all
Programme to include: VIVALDI Gloria HANDEL Zadok the Priest BACH Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring BERLIOZ The Shepherds’ Farewell GRUBER Silent Night DARKE In the Bleak Midwinter TRADITIONAL Carols for all
Join us for two seasonal programmes, each with an acclaimed choir – The Bach Choir and Winchester Cathedral Choir – for a festival of seasonal music and carols for all, such as ‘Once in Royal David’s city’, ‘O come, all ye faithful’, ‘O little town of Bethlehem’, ‘Jingle Bells’, and ‘The first Nowell’. Please see page 20 for prices. Please note that subscription, groups and schools discounts do not apply to these concerts. Presented in partnership with Raymond Gubbay Ltd.
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2016 / 17
ANDRIS NELSONS: BRUCKNER Andris Nelsons has been conducting the Philharmonia in Bruckner symphonies over several seasons, bringing his universally-acclaimed ability to shape transcendent performances to the Royal Festival Hall stage.
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“Nelsons’s close attention to phrasing, balance and dynamics was characteristically compelling at multiple points in the score, and with the Philharmonia playing with great intensity, there were times when the symphony flowed in ways that it rarely does in other hands.” The Guardian (Bruckner Symphony No. 3)
Thursday 19 January 2017, 7.30pm
Sunday 22 January 2017, 7.30pm
Andris Nelsons conductor
Andris Nelsons conductor Paul Lewis piano
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 5 Nelsons conducts Bruckner’s majestic Fifth Symphony. Variously referred to as the ‘Tragic’, ‘Church of Faith’ or because of its opening string sound, the ‘Pizzicato’ Symphony, Bruckner drives each moment forward to a breath-taking final movement propelled by increasingly intricate fugal melodies and stunning chorale. 6pm, Music of Today, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Supported by an anonymous donor
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27, K595 BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 Mozart’s last piano concerto comes together with Bruckner’s final symphony. Ever-building, ever-reaching upwards, Bruckner’s music carries an elemental force. The third movement was the last the composer was to complete, a prophetically self-titled ‘Farewell to Life’ with Bruckner still at work on the symphony’s fourth movement the day he died. 6pm, pre-concert talk, Royal Festival Hall FREE entry An introduction to this evening’s concert
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Thursday 9 February 2017, 7.30pm
Sunday 12 February 2017, 3pm
CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
JOHN WILSON: IN LONDON TOWN
Long Yu conductor Soloists to be announced
John Wilson conductor Lawrence Power viola
Programme to be announced
ELGAR Cockaigne (In London Town) WALTON Viola Concerto VAUGHAN WILLIAMS A London Symphony
Join the Philharmonia Orchestra, Long Yu (Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival and Music Director of the China Philharmonic) and a roster of top-flight musicians from East and West for London’s inaugural Chinese New Year Gala Concert, celebrating the Year of the Rooster. In a vivid Spring Festival celebration the programme will be drawn from music from both Western and Chinese cultures. Please see page 20 for prices. Please note that subscription discounts do not apply to this concert.
Elgar’s ‘Cockaigne’, an old nickname for London, or the ‘land of the Cockneys’, is in Elgar’s own words ‘cheerful and Londony – stout and steaky’. Alongside, Walton’s fiery Viola Concerto and Vaughan Williams’s own portrait of London: a misty river Thames, Bloomsbury Square on a November afternoon, the busy, bright lights on the Strand and the echoing chimes of Westminster. This concert is supported by the Principal Friends of the Philharmonia.
1: Andris Nelsons © Marco Borggreve Below: Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay © Felix Broede
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2016 / 17
SALONEN/AIMARD: INSPIRATIONS ESA-PEKKA SALONEN & PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD Two musical giants, conductor and composer Fantaisie, the nearest the French composer ever Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Pierre-Laurent went to writing a concerto of any sort. ‘It is so far Aimard, explore the music – and an artistic away from the Romantic narrative of the individual partnership – that inspires against the mass,’ says Salonen and excites them both, across of the Fantaisie. ‘The piano and “Aimard, the Philharmonia and four programmes brimming orchestra parts are almost one.’ Salonen had the measure of with music of invention, beauty The phrase ‘almost one’ this remarkable creation [Ravel’s and transcendence. From the also captures the essence of Piano Concerto for Left Hand], programmatic impressionism Esa-Pekka Salonen and Pierrea real team effort.” of Debussy and Ravel to the Laurent Aimard’s partnership. Classical Source playful modernism of Ligeti, ‘The best human relationships via masterpieces by Mahler, are those where you don’t have Beethoven and Strauss, this series to explain what you are thinking all the time, in ranges right across the orchestral spectrum music as well as in life: both parties understand in colour, tone and emotion. each other through gestures, almost like telepathy,’ ‘I admire him very much,’ says Salonen says Salonen. ‘One of the most inspiring things of Aimard. ‘He is one of the most versatile, about working with Pierre-Laurent is that we intellectually curious and agile pianists in the really do have this type of communication.’ world. I like the way he thinks: music is music, and all music feeds off other music. Nothing exists in isolation. That philosophy is very close to my own heart.’ For his part, Pierre-Laurent Aimard is looking forward to working again with Salonen: ‘He is 100 per cent focused on the music and he knows exactly what he has to do. Nothing in what he does is artificial, and I find that extraordinary.’ Esa-Pekka Salonen describes the piano concertos here as ‘classic works from different eras’, and all are associated with his relationship with Pierre-Laurent Aimard. ‘I met Pierre-Laurent many years ago in Paris when we performed contemporary music – Boulez, Ligeti – together,’ he remembers. ‘We were the “new-music guys”. The first time we played together in a conventional classical setting was some years later. We performed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor, in LA, and it was a strange transition for us both: two new‑music guys were now playing the grandest and most brilliant of all Romantic piano concertos.’ Alongside a return to Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, conductor and pianist here present three 20th-century pieces for piano and orchestra that, says Salonen, break with the fundamental Romantic ideal of the concerto form: Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion (‘an unbelievable masterpiece’); Ligeti’s rhythmically-charged, 1 jazz‑inflected Piano Concerto; and Debussy’s
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Page 17
Sunday 19 February 2017, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Chorus to be announced LIGETI Clocks and Clouds LIGETI Piano Concerto RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé (complete) 6pm, pre-concert talk Royal Festival Hall FREE entry Thursday 23 February 2017, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano The Horn Section of the Philharmonia Orchestra 2
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor TANSY DAVIES Concerto for Four Horns and Orchestra (London première) STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra Thursday 4 May 2017, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Programme to include: DEBUSSY Ibéria BOULEZ Notations DEBUSSY Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra DEBUSSY La mer Sunday 7 May 2017, 7.30pm
Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard piano Tamara Stefanovich piano
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BARTÓK Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion MAHLER Symphony No. 6
1: Esa-Pekka Salonen © Felix Broede 2: Pierre-Laurent Aimard © Marco Borggreve, Deutsche Grammophon 3: Philharmonia Orchestra © Felix Broede
philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
2016 / 17
Our Movies series returns with something old and something new: the epic 1927 silent film Napoleon screened with Carl Davis’s accompanying score, and George Fenton’s The Lady In The Van, from the 2015 Alan Bennett-scripted film.
Sunday 6 November 2016, 2pm
Thursday 8 December 2016, 7.30pm
NAPOLEON: LIVE CINEMA
GEORGE FENTON: THE LADY IN THE VAN
Carl Davis conductor/composer CARL DAVIS Napoleon After a sold out success in autumn 2013, Abel Gance’s epic 1927 silent film Napoleon returns to the Royal Festival Hall stage, again presented with Carl Davis’s score performed live. With the new digital version of the BFI-Photoplay restoration on the screen, complete with its dazzling triptych finale, music and film lovers are given a rare opportunity to experience one of the greatest achievements in cinema history: a seamless blend of epic film and Davis’s own unique creative genius.
George Fenton conductor Clare Hammond piano Introduced by Alan Bennett Programme to be announced An evening of film music by the great British screen composer George Fenton, featuring his score to Nick Hytner’s recent hit The Lady in the Van, introduced by author, Alan Bennett.
Please note the start time. There will be three intervals, including a 100-minute interval at c. 5.30pm. End time c. 10pm. Today’s screening is dedicated to the memory of Bertrand Lipworth. Please note that subscription discounts do not apply to these concerts. Please see page 20 for prices.
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EXPLORE | WATCH | LISTEN
philharmonia.co.uk/digital
Š Benjamin Ealovega
2016 / 17
TICKET PRICES To see seat maps of the price bands referred to below, please refer to the relevant concert page on the Philharmonia website (under ‘Select Seats’). PRICE PER TICKET SIGNATURE SEATS
PRICE 1
PRICE 2
PRICE 3
PRICE 4
PRICE 5
£35.00
£27.00
£18.00
£11.00
£32.50
£24.50
£19.50
£16.50
£34.50
£24.50
£19.50
£16.50
£28.00
£22.00
£15.00
STANDARD CONCERTS £55.00
£42.00
CHRISTMAS CLASSICS £49.50
£39.50
THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS £49.50
£42.50
PHILHARMONIA AT THE MOVIES & CHINESE NEW YEAR £65.00*
£48.00
£39.00
*Please note! Signature Seats available for Napoleon: Live Cinema and Chinese New Year Celebration only. AVAILABLE SEATS IN EACH PRICE CATEGORY SIGNATURE SEATS
PRICE 1
PRICE 2
PRICE 3
PRICE 4
PRICE 5
Front Stalls
Front Stalls Rear Stalls Boxes
Front Stalls Rear Stalls Boxes Side Stalls Balcony
Front Stalls Rear Stalls Side Stalls Balcony Wheelchair
Rear Stalls Side Stalls Balcony Wheelchair
Rear Stalls Side Stalls Balcony Wheelchair Choir
HOW TO BOOK PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA BOX OFFICE Tickets can be purchased online at philharmonia.co.uk (£1.75 transaction fee) or by telephoning the Box Office on FREEPHONE 0800 652 6717 (£2.75 transaction fee.) The Box Office is open from 9.30am-5.30pm Monday-Friday. SOUTHBANK CENTRE TICKET OFFICE Tickets can also be purchased via the Southbank Centre website at southbankcentre.co.uk (£1.75 transaction fee), or by telephoning the Ticket Office between 9.00am-8.00pm daily on 0844 847 9921 (£2.75 transaction fee*). Tickets can also be purchased in person at Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office 10am-8pm daily (no transaction fee). *No fee for Southbank Centre Members or Supporters’ Circles
Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
Page 21
STRAVINSKY: MYTHS & RITUALS TICKET PRICES Please note that the two remaining concerts in the Stravinsky: Myths & Rituals series (25 and 29 September 2016) are priced at the 2015/16 season ticket prices. Subscription discounts will still apply. PRICE PER TICKET SIGNATURE SEATS
£50.00
PRICE 4
£22.00
PRICE 1
£42.00
PRICE 5
£17.00
PRICE 2
£33.00
PRICE 6
£14.00
PRICE 3
£27.00
PRICE 7
£11.00
SUBSCRIBE Book three or more standard concerts and receive a discount. Please note, there are no subscription discounts for Signature seats, but they can count towards a subscription. Napoleon: Live Cinema does count towards a subscription, but the tickets for this concert are not discounted. No. of Concerts
PRICE 1
PRICE 2
PRICE 3
PRICE 4
PRICE 5
3-5: 10% Off
£37.80
£31.50
£24.30
£16.20
£9.90
6-8: 15% Off
£35.70
£29.75
£22.95
£15.30
£9.35
9-11: 20% Off
£33.60
£28.00
£21.60
£14.40
£8.80
12-14: 25% Off
£31.50
£26.25
£20.25
£13.50
£8.25
15+: 30% Off
£29.40
£24.50
£18.90
£12.60
£7.70
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. Group booking, student, school party and concession discounts do not apply for Christmas concerts.
philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
2016 / 17
GETTING TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL SOUTHBANK CENTRE, BELVEDERE ROAD, LONDON SE1 8XX BY UNDERGROUND: To Waterloo or cross the river from Temple, Embankment or Charing Cross.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery are closed until 2018 for essential repair and refurbishment.
BY RAIL: To Waterloo, Waterloo East, or cross the river from Charing Cross.
The Hayward Gallery car park will remain open, with minimum loss to spaces, until at least March 2016.
BY BUS: 76, 77, 211, 341, 381, 507, N381, N76 and RV1 stop on York Road; 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 243, 521, N1, N68, N171 and N343 stop on Waterloo Bridge.
During this period, parking will also be available nearby at the National Theatre car park, the Doon Street car park on Belvedere Road and at the Cornwall Road multi-storey car park. These are a 5-10 minute walk from the Royal Festival Hall.
PARKING: Southbank Centre has 2 car parks, both open 24 hours: •Hayward Gallery Car Park •Hungerford Bridge Car Park
SHOP & EAT AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE Festival Riverside and Festival Terrace are lined with a range of shops, restaurants and bars. More information can be found at southbankcentre.co.uk/visitor-info
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 to receive information in alternative formats. To join please call 0207 960 4200, 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 0207 960 4200 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 0207 960 4200. A drop-off area is provided for customers with special access requirements. Please phone 0207 960 4200 for further information.
PHIL2016
TASTE THE UNEXPECTED
With views overlooking Piccadilly, a delicious selection of locally-sourced dishes await to be discovered at Terrace Bar & Grill. Explore a vibrant weekend brunch, expertly crafted coffee and cocktails paired with a unique afternoon tea. Experience a new perspective on London dining at Le Méridien Freephone Box Office 0800 652Piccadilly. 6717
Enjoy 15% off your dining experience when presenting this programme.* lemeridienpiccadilly.com/philharmonia-orchestra +44 (0)20 7734 8000 *Guests must sign up for free as a Starwood Preferred Guest to receive the discount.
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SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS The Philharmonia Orchestra depends on generous philanthropic support from individuals, companies and grant-making organisations to realise the orchestra’s artistic ambitions and continue to perform with the world's great artists throughout the UK and beyond. For further details on how you can support the Philharmonia Orchestra, please visit: philharmonia.co.uk/support or call 020 7921 3903.
The Philharmonia is very grateful to the following major donors, Trusts and Foundations, and Corporate partners, who make possible the quality and diversity of our work. • Mrs Joscelyn Fox • Mercedes and Michael Hoffman • Sir Sydney & Lady Lipworth • Mr & Mrs G Modiano • Dr David Potter CBE • Mr Geoff Richards • Andor Charitable Trust • The Assessment Network • The Boltini Trust • The Classic FM Foundation • The Dunard Fund • The Ernest Cook Trust
• The Amaryllis Fleming Foundation • The Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity • Pierre Fournier Award • Edwin Fox Foundation • The Hugh Fraser Foundation • Friends of Art in Education • Hattori Foundation • Paul Morgan Charitable Trust • The Edith Murphy Foundation • NADFAS • Orchestras Live • Palazzetto Bru Zane
Major Partners
Partners
philharmonia.co.uk – book tickets, watch films, listen to and buy recordings
2016 / 17
1
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1: Sarah Oates © Felix Broede 2: Adam Wynter © Felix Broede
Freephone Box Office 0800 652 6717
‘The ensemble was virtually immaculate, the sound carefully blended, every gesture meticulously calculated’ Financial Times, September 2015
Philharmonia Orchestra 6 Chancel Street London SE1 0UX Tel 020 7921 3900 Freephone box office 0800 652 6717 Email boxoffice@philharmonia.co.uk www.philharmonia.co.uk @philharmonia Philharmonia Orchestra @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. Art Direction HarrimanSteel Print Cantate Communications Official Paper Supplier Sappi Fine Paper Europe