Haitink Conducts Mahler 7

Bernard Haitink conducts Mahler 7 Tuesday 17 June 2014, 7.30pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Bernard Haitink conducts Mahler 7 Tuesday 17 June 2014, 7.30pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

Bernard Haitink conductor RCM Symphony Orchestra

Mahler

Symphony no 7 (77’)

This evening’s performance will be streamed live at www.rcm.ac.uk/live

In the interests of safety, sitting or standing on the steps, gangways or floors in any part of the auditorium is strictly prohibited Please turn off your mobile phone to avoid any disturbance to the performance All private sound and video recordings are prohibited Photography before and during performances is not permitted. You may take photographs only during applause Latecomers will not be allowed into the auditorium until there is a suitable break in the performance Smoking is not permitted in any part of the building. Your co-operation is appreciated

Symphony No 7 Langsam — Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo Nachtmusik: Allegro moderato Scherzo: Schattenhaft Nachtmusik: Andante amoroso Rondo-Finale: Allegro ordinario

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911)

During his 1904 summer vacation, Mahler did something he had never done before: he worked on two symphonies, the intense, dark, unyielding and ultimately tragic Sixth, and the more relaxed and colourful Seventh with its celebratory finale. He knew from the start that the Sixth would be a tough nut to crack, but for all its scale and intimidating seriousness, it clearly continues a symphonic tradition stretching back to Beethoven, where striking thematic ideas form the basis of elaborate musical processes and, across movements or even the whole work, there is a strong sense of purposeful direction that demands attention. The Seventh, with its colourfully translucent orchestration and variety of music styles is, on the surface, a much more approachable work, but in many ways it is more subversive than its predecessor – an elusive enigma. Nevertheless it had some success at its premiere, conducted by Mahler on 19 September 1908, and by the time of his death in May 1911 it had received a further eleven performances.

Having completed the monumental finale of the Sixth in the middle of August 1904, Mahler immediately began work on two movements that eventually formed the second and fourth movements of the new work. His wife, Alma, recalls him being ‘beset by Eichendorff-ish visions – murmuring springs and German romanticism’ and in his novel Ahnung und Gegenwart (Premonition and the Present) the poet imagines his hero half asleep in the forest: Countless wood-birds twittered to each other in merry confusion – in the midst of his slumber it sometimes seemed as if he heard horns from out of the distance. Often he heard the sound quite clearly and nearby, but he could not place it and went to sleep once again.

The opening of the first Nachtmusik creates its own world out of such elements: the echoing horn calls, near and far, followed by the chuckling woodwind birdcalls that gradually turn sinister before dispersing. What follows is a march that evokes a familiar scenario – a procession that is heard in the distance and comes into full view, before moving offstage. Beethoven (Seventh Symphony), Berlioz (Harold en Italie) and Raff (‘Lenore’ Symphony) make symphonic use of the device, but in Mahler’s vision, a not entirely benign Nature frames and intrudes upon the human parade.

The second Nachtmusik had its model and counterpole in Mahler’s own output: the Adagietto of the Fifth Symphony. Both precede a Rondo-Finale, and both are intimate movements that use a small chamber orchestra (in the Seventh, reduced woodwind, only two horns, and no trumpets, trombones or drums), that in very different ways allude to Wagner’s Tristan. In the Adagietto the erotic charge is overt, but in the Seventh it is mostly enclosed within the stylised evocation of imagined serenading (replete with guitar and mandolin), and when, towards the end, it seems that passion might get out of hand, it is quickly transformed, and the mandolin restores order. Yet within this intricately-fashioned jewel there is an intensity that captivated Anton Webern.

In 1934, just as he was about to conduct the movement in London, he wrote ‘the second [Nachtmusik] is of an indescribable glory. In it we hear nothing but love, love, love’.

When, after a busy season at the Vienna Court opera, Mahler returned to his lakeside retreat in June 1905 he ran into difficulty: he suffered acute writer’s block. In despair he took himself off for a walking tour of the Dolomites, but even that seemed fruitless until, returning to his villa, he rowed himself across the lake: ‘with the first stroke of the oars the first theme (or rather the rhythm and style) of the introduction to the first movement came to me – and within four weeks the first, third and fifth movements were ready!’.

In their different ways all three movements mark new departures in Mahler’s output. The ‘newness’ of the first is marked from the outset with an instrumental sound that Mahler uses nowhere else in his music: the opening theme of the introduction is given to a tenor horn (i.e. a saxhorn), an instrument that Mahler had become familiar with earlier in 1905 as he rehearsed the orchestra for the premiere of Pfitzner’s opera Die Rose vom Liebesgarten. The tenor horn’s dusky tone contributes to the ominous atmosphere at the start of the symphony, and much of the movement is indeed grim and purposeful, an echo of the mood of the Sixth, though here the style is even more abrasive, with daring counterpoints, and both melodies and harmonies built around fourths rather than thirds (in 1904 a radical feature, much admired by Schoenberg and his pupils). And yet at its core there is a calm centre, a visionary moment heralded by fanfares and harps, in which the second subject soars upwards in the violins, accompanied by the themes of the introduction played by the brass: a strikingly Manichean view of existence.

The Scherzo is the disturbing centrepiece of the symphony. Of course – this is a Mahler symphony – there are recognisable dances in three-four time, but their charm is either rather ambiguous or short-lived, whereas the scurrying main theme with its unexpected accents and orchestration is profoundly sinister and unsettling. Rarely has a tempo marking been so apt in capturing a mood: ‘shadowy’.

Remarkably, the finale is almost wholly devoid of conflict: there is no storm and stress, no seeking for redemption, but a kaleidoscopic exploration of how the various themes can alternate and combine with one another in an exciting and witty game. The playful allusion to the Vorspiel to Act I of Die Meistersinger was recognised at the time by audiences and critics, and even the conventional recall of the main theme of the first movement towards the end causes no serious disruption: it is simply incorporated into the brazenly optimistic peroration. Š 2014 Paul Banks

Bernard Haitink Bernard Haitink made his conducting debut 60 years ago, in August 1954, with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in his native Holland. This year he celebrated his 85th birthday with a series of concerts in New York, with the London Symphony, Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic orchestras, as well as concerts at the Barbican and the Lucerne Easter Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Mr Haitink was for 27 years Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He was also Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony orchestras. He is Conductor Laureate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Conductor Emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Patron of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of the Netherlands. He has made frequent guest appearances with most of the world’s leading orchestras, and celebrated another milestone in March 2014 when he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in concerts marking the 50th anniversary of his debut with that orchestra.

He is committed to the development of young musical talent, and gives an annual conducting masterclass at the Lucerne Easter Festival.

Bernard Haitink has recorded extensively with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, the London and Chicago Symphony orchestras and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. He has received many awards and honours in recognition of his services to music, including an honorary Knighthood and Companion of Honour.

Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra The Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra plays with conductors and musicians of the highest international stature, and is frequently invited to perform in prestigious venues across London and the south of England. The orchestra also performs regularly at its home in South Kensington, and its concerts are broadcast live to an international audience via the RCM website.

Equally at home in classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire, the RCM Symphony Orchestra enjoys close relationships with some of the world’s most celebrated conductors, including Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Jurowski, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Roger Norrington, John Wilson and David Hill. Their willingness to return is evidence of the consistently high standards of playing that the RCM orchestral musicians achieve.

The members of the RCM Symphony Orchestra are some of the world’s very best young instrumentalists. They have chosen to study at the RCM because of its unrivalled blend of superlative teaching, extensive performance opportunities, and close connections with the orchestral profession: in addition to the many professors who are active professional instrumentalists, the RCM participates in side-by-side and other experience schemes with, among others, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of English National Opera. This enables students to experience professional conditions and achieve professional standards before they graduate. The RCM’s long tradition of high-quality orchestral training has launched the careers of many distinguished orchestral players over several decades. Recent performances include Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Southbank Centre ‘The rest is noise’ series in summer 2013.

Founded in 1882, the RCM moved to its present site on Prince Consort Road in 1894. Illustrious alumni include Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Colin Davis, John Wilson, Alina Ibragimova and Alfie Boe. In addition to its 750 full -time students, the College engages dynamically with a wider and more diverse community of children and adults through a dedicated range of creative activities delivered by RCM Sparks’ education and participation projects, RCM Junior Department programme and the Woodhouse Professional Development Centre. A further development is the growing schedule of live -streamed concerts and masterclasses which can be viewed on www.rcm.ac.uk.

The RCM would like to thank the following orchestral coaches: Gaby Lester violin Bekki Chambers viola Amanda Truelove cello Mary Scully bass

Simon Channing woodwind Patrick Harrild tutti wind, brass & percussion Ben Palmer tutti

Violin I Agata Daraskaite* Soh-Yon Kim* Eunsley Park* Helena Buckie Joanna Klimaszewska* Merce Escanellas* Rachel Gorman* Marie Oka Magdalena Loth-Hill* Joana Valentinaviciute Henry Chandler Edivino Dos Santos Filho Essi Kiiski Lee Anne Blackmore Remy Walter Laia Braun* Violin II Molly Cockburn* Algirdas Galdikas* Naoka Aoki* Nigar Mirzayeva* Jian Ren* Olivia Scheepers Alix Lagasse Jean-Baptiste Sarrou Romana Szczepaniak* Guillermo Martinez* Emilie Bosc Marie Schreer* Ana Nedobora Ivanova* Julian Fish* Lazzat Abisheva Viola Christine Anderson* Jessica Tickle* Lisa Bucknell* Natasha Michael Ana Alves Joshua Hayward Elizabeth Boyce Elaine Chen Martin Wong James Douglas Olivia Buckland Marsailidh Groat Hardy

Cello Jane Lindsay* George Hoult* Anais Laugenie Karoline Brevik Matthew Strover Molly Parsons-Gurr* Melissa Ong Axelle Porret Idlir Shyti Sergio Serra* Bass Rodrigo Moro Martin* Jim Vanderspar Jon Mikel Martinez Valganon* Anne-Gabriele Douce Lewis Tingey Nina Harries Hannah Dacey* Alice Kent Flute Stephanie Vici* Ruth Knight* Catherine Hare* Luce Zurita (pic)* Gavin Zev (pic)

Trumpet Catherine Knight* Dominic Hammett Peter Mankarious Andrew McLean* Trombone Jonathan Hollick* Robert Moseley* James Maund* Tenor horn Rory Cartmell* Tuba Elliot Launn Timpani Richard Cartlidge* Percussion Elsa Bradley* Emma Arden Jonathan French Louise Goodwin Angela Hui* Alun McNeil-Watson* Joseph Richards*

Oboe Oliver Phillips* Elizabeth Bunday* Emma Gibbons* Katie Potts (cor)*

Mandolin Alison Comerford

Clarinet Christopher Mothersole Rachael Chesney James Noble* Lewis Anderson (bcl) William Knight*

Harp Cecilia Sultana de Maria* Anna Quiroga*

Bassoon Sophie Robertshaw* Benedict Holmes* Antonia Lazenby* Todd Gibson-Cornish (contra)* Horn Alexander Edmundson* Fabian van de Geest* Daniel Curzon* Silvia Festa* Mark Bennett* Christopher McKay*

Guitar Cassandra Mathews

Italics denote section principals Personnel correct at the time of going to print * Scholars/Award Holders generously supported by RCM donors

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Rossini La gazzetta or Il matrimonio per concorso Tuesday 24 June, Wednesday 25 June, Friday 27 June & Saturday 28 June 7.00pm, Britten Theatre

Donald Maxwell director Nigel Hook designer Michael Rosewell conductor Following on from last summer’s hit production of Offenbach’s La vie parisienne, the RCM International Opera School once again offers up an entertaining and tuneful comic rarity.

Rossini’s La gazzetta or Il matrimonio per concorso (“The Newspaper” or “The Marriage Contest”) centres on Don Pomponio’s desperate search for a suitable husband for his flirtatious daughter. Is a newspaper advertisement really the best way to do that? Surely it can only lead to confusion – and to some wonderful singing, of course…

To direct, we’re absolutely delighted to be working once again with Donald Maxwell, one of Britain’s best-loved comic singers, who created our hugely acclaimed production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris in 2012.

Tickets: £10, £20, £30, £40 RCM Box Office Tel: 020 7591 4314 | www.rcm.ac.uk/boxoffice