RCM Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October 2014, 7.30pm Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
RCM Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October 2014, 7.30pm Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall
RCM Symphony Orchestra | RCM Chorus Andrew Gourlay conductor Elizabeth Watts soprano Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano Neil Ferris chorus master W Lloyd Webber
Aurora (9’) INTERVAL
Mahler
Symphony no 2 'Resurrection' (80’)
There will be a short pause after the first movement, as instructed in the score
An introduction to this evening’s concert Tonight’s concert celebrates the 100 th anniversary of the birth of William Lloyd Webber, who was both a student and teacher here at the Royal College of Music. His sumptuous tone poem, Aurora, is in a rich Romantic vein, and displays Lloyd Webber’s gift of rich melody skilfully scored and managed. Its description of the day of Aurora, the Roman Goddess of the Dawn, stretches from night to subsequent night, ending, in Lloyd Webber’s words, with ‘the promise of a new day’. The promise of a new day through resurrection is the powerful message of Mahler’s Second Symphony. Mahler investigates the grand questions of life after death in this enormous canvas, with large orchestra, chorus and soloists each contributing. This concert is the first of two this year for our Royal College of Music Chorus, which includes many students new to the College and performing here for their first time. Stephen Johns RCM Artistic Director Elizabeth Watts will be singing with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for their performance of Mahler’s Symphony no 2 on Saturday 1 November 2014.
Aurora
William Lloyd Webber (1914-1982)
William Lloyd Webber’s love of music sprang from visits as a young boy to churches in London and the surrounding counties in the company of his father, a plumber, but more importantly an enthusiastic amateur organist. His exposure to this instrument at the various churches they attended eventually led to an organ scholarship at Mercer’s School. He went on to study composition with Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music, having gained a scholarship, and subsequently went on to acquire a Fellowship Diploma at the Royal College of Organists at the age of 19. Lloyd Webber later became a professor at the RCM, choir director at Central Hall, Westminster, and in 1964, accepted the directorship of the London College of Music until his death in 1982. Though known primarily for his sacred choral settings and music for organ, William Lloyd Webber’s oeuvre boasts plentiful accomplished concert works, such as Invocation and Serenade for Strings. Self-proclaimed as ‘out-of-step’ with the tumultuous musical developments of the mid-20th century, Lloyd Webber favoured a more traditionally Romantic sound-world, a preference which led him away from composition and towards the more academic side of music in his latter years. His refusal to compromise his own personal style and conform to the sound of his contemporaries is evident in Aurora, arguably his most monumental instrumental work. This is especially interesting as the work was written between 1948-1951; when one considers the brutality and gritty realism of other preceding post-war works such as Vaughan William’s Sixth Symphony or Schoenberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw, Aurora’s yearning for a more sensual, post-impressionistic style makes it a remarkable work in its own right. Aurora remained seemingly unperformed until it was recorded in 1986 by Lorin Maazel and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, paired on a CD with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations. The Guardian then hailed the work as ‘skillfully and sumptuously scored. Music as sensuous as any you will find by a British composer’. Stylistically Aurora brings to mind works by Rachmaninov, overlaid with the harmonic palette of Debussy. In places there is a dissonant edge reminiscent of Arnold Bax, and the orchestral colours of Respighi at his most tender and picturesque. In the words of Lloyd Webber’s son, Julian, it is ‘music that seethes with passion’.
When asked about the work, William Lloyd Webber remarked: Arriving from the East in a chariot of winged horses, dispelling night and dispersing the dews of the morning, Aurora was the Roman Goddess of the dawn. This short tone poem attempts to portray in reasonably respectable sonata first movement form, the inherent sensuality of her nature. Consecutive 6/4 chords introduce a bit of night music soon to be dispelled by the dawn theme, announced by the flute. Aurora’s theme forms the second subject and (it is hoped) is of a suitably lyrical nature, as befits such a beautiful goddess. Her amorous adventures can possibly be imagined in the development section, and in the recapitulation her theme occurs twice – the first time with a light textured orchestration, and then with all the instruments that were available at the time of writing the piece. At the moment of climax, the night music returns again, and Aurora has to leave us. However the final cadence has a hint of her theme, and there is always the promise of a new day. It is with great pleasure that the Royal College of Music revives this piece once more to celebrate the centenary of William Lloyd Webber’s birth. © Rowan Baker (Master of Music in Conducting Year 2) Symphony no 2 ‘Resurrection’
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
I Allegro maestoso (Totenfeier). Mit durchaus ernstem und feierlichem Ausdruck II Andante moderato. Sehr gemächlich. Nicht eilen III In ruhig fliessender Bewegung IV ‘Urlicht’ (aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn): Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht V Im Tempo des Scherzos - Langsam - Allegro energico - Langsam Mahler began sketching his Second Symphony during the same creative burst that produced the First, in 1888. At that time he drafted the first movement and the opening of the second, then laid the work aside until the summer of 1893. In the meantime, in 1892, he had begun work on a series of settings for voice and orchestra of poems from the collection of (more or less authentic!) German folk poetry, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and two of these settings were incorporated into the evolving symphony in 1893-4; the third movement is an
extraordinary reworking and expansion for orchestra alone of Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt (St Anthony of Padua's Sermon to the Fish) and the fourth movement is a slightly rescored, but otherwise unaltered version of Urlicht (Primeval Light). Completing the work caused the composer problems, and it was not until the funeral service for the great conductor and pianist Hans von Bulöw, in March 1894, that Mahler understood how he could complete the design. Hearing the ‘Resurrection’ chorale by Klopstock, he had the beginnings of the text for his finale. He completed the text himself, and the fair copy of the score of the symphony was completed on 18 December 1894. The programmatic theme of the fourth and fifth movements has led to this symphony’s common title of ‘Resurrection’, though Mahler did not give the work this name himself. One of Mahler’s pet aversions in later years was to programme notes. However, his early symphonies either explicitly or implicitly offer clues to possible programmatic readings. On a couple of occasions Mahler even set down on paper narrative accounts of his Second Symphony. In March 1896, Mahler wrote about the work to the critic and composer Max Marschalk: I called the first movement ‘funeral rites’. It may interest you to know that it is the hero of my D major Symphony who is being borne to his grave, his life being reflected, as in a clear mirror, from a point of vantage. Here too the question is asked: ‘What did you live for? Why did you suffer? Is it all only a vast, terrifying joke?’ We have to answer these questions somehow if we are to go on living – indeed, even if we are only to go on dying! The person in whose life this call has resounded, even if it was only once, must give an answer. And this is the answer I give in the last movement. The second and third movements are intended as an interlude, the second being a memory! A ray of sunlight, pure and cloudless, out of that hero’s life. You must have surely had the experience of burying someone dear to you and then, perhaps on the way back, some long-forgotten hour of shared happiness suddenly rose before your inner eye, sending as it were a sunbeam into your soul – not overcast by any shadow – and you almost forgot what had just taken place. There you have the second movement! When you then awaken from that melancholy dream and are forced to return to this tangled life of ours, it may easily happen that this surge of life, ceaselessly in motion, never resting, never comprehensible, suddenly seems eerie, like the billowing of dancing figures in a brightly-
lit ballroom that you gaze into from outside in the dark – and from a distance so great that you can no longer hear the music! Life then becomes meaningless, an eerie phantom state out of which you may start up with a cry of disgust – there you have the third movement. What follows need not be explained to you! Fortunately Mahler did outline the last two movements in a draft written in 1901: Fourth Movement: Urlicht (mezzo-soprano solo) The moving voice of naive faith sounds… Fifth Movement We again confront all the dreadful questions and the mood of the end of the first movement – the voice of the caller is heard: the end of all living things is at hand, the last judgement is announced, and the whole horror of that day of days has set in. The earth trembles, graves burst open, the dead arise and step forth in endless files. The great and small of this earth, kings and beggars, the just and the ungodly – all are making that pilgrimage; the cry for mercy and grace falls terrifyingly upon our ear. The crying becomes ever more dreadful – our senses forsake us and all consciousness fades at the approach of eternal judgement. The ‘great summons’ is heard; the trumpets from the Apocalypse call; in the midst of the awful silence we think we hear in the farthest distance a nightingale, like a last quivering echo of earthly life! Softly there rings out a chorus of the holy and heavenly: ‘Risen again, yea, thou shalt be resurrected!’ There appears the glory of God! A wonderful, gentle light permeates us to our very heart – all is quiet and blissful! And behold: there is no judgement. There is no sinner, no righteous man – no great and no small – there is no punishment and no reward! An almighty feeling of love illumines us with blessed knowledge and being! The first performance of this epic work, in Berlin on 13 December 1895, was the composer’s first great public success. The work’s overwhelming dramatic force and compelling construction encouraged at least 36 performances of the symphony up to 1911, and, in 1923, it was the first complete Mahler symphony to be recorded. © Paul Banks
IV Urlicht
Primeval Light
(mezzo-soprano) O Röschen rot, Der Mensch liegt in größter Noth! Der Menschen liegt in größter Pein! Je lieber möcht’ ich im Himmel sein!
O red rose, Man lies in direst need! Man lies in direst pain! I long to be in Heaven!
Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg; Da kam ein Engelein und wollt’ mich abweisen. Ach nein! Ich ließ mich nicht abweisen!
I came to a broad path, An angel came and tried to turn me away, Ah no! I would not be turned away!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott! I am from God and will return to God! The loving Lord will give me a small light, Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben, Will light me to eternal bliss. Wird leuchten mir bis in das ewig, selig Leben! Anon, from Des Knaben Wunderhorn V (chorus & soprano) Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, Mein Staub, nach kurzer Ruh! Unsterblich Leben Wird, der dich rief, dir geben.
Arise, yes, you will arise My dust, after a brief rest! Immortal life Will be given to you by Him who calls you.
Wider aufzublühn, wird du gesät! Der Herr der Ernte geht Und sammelt Garben Uns ein, die starben.
You were sown to bloom again, The Lord of the Harvest goes out And gathers in the sheaves, Which are us, the dead. Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
(mezzo-soprano) O glaube, mein Herz, es geht dir nichts verloren! Dein ist, ja dein, was du gesehnt! Was du geliebt, was du gestritten!
Oh believe, my heart, all is not lost! That which you have longed for is your, yes, yours! What you have loved, what you have fought for!
(soprano soloist) O glaube: du wardst nicht umsonst geboren! Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten.
O believe, you were not born for nothing, You have not lived and struggled in vain.
(chorus and mezzo-soprano soloist) Was entstanden ist, das muß vergehen! Was vergangen, auferstehen! Hör auf zu beben! Bereite dich zu Leben!
What grows must perish! What dies must rise again! Cease trembling! Prepare for Life!
(soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists) O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer! Dir bin ich entrungen! O Tod! Du Allbezwinger! Nun bist du bezwungen!
O pain, all pervasive, From you I have been wrenched away! O death, all conquering, Now you are conquered!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen In heißem Liebesstreben Werd’ich entschweben Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ eungen!
With wings, that I have achieved In love’s ardent aspiration I will soar aloft To the light, which no eye penetrates!
(chorus) Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen Werd ich entschweben! Sterben werd’ich, um zu Leben!
With wings, that I have achieved I will soar aloft! I will die, in order to live!
Aufersteh’n, ja, aufersteh’n wirst du! Mein Herz, in einem Nu! Was du geschlagen, Zu Gott, zu Gott wird es dich tragen!
Arise, yes, you will arise, My heart, in the twinkling of an eye! What you have suffered Will lead you to God! Gustav Mahler
Andrew Gourlay Andrew Gourlay studied conducting at the Royal College of Music, where he prepared Bruckner symphonies for Bernard Haitink and Mozart symphonies for Sir Roger Norrington. He was selected by Gramophone magazine as their 'One to Watch', and by BBC Music Magazine as their 'Rising Star: great artists of tomorrow'. Andrew has been appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y León from 2014/15. He won First Prize at the 2010 Cadaques International Conducting Competition, securing concerts with 29 orchestras around the world. For the next two years he was Assistant Conductor to Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra. He twice replaced Sir Colin Davis at the Barbican, and worked as cover conductor for Kurt Masur and Valery Gergiev. Recent and future guest engagements include conducting the Philharmonia, the BBC orchestras, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Opera North, RTÉ Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, orchestras throughout Spain and the London Sinfonietta at the BBC Proms. Operatic engagements have included the UK premiere of Luca Francesoni's Quartett for the Royal Opera House. He has conducted Rusalka and La Tragédie de Carmen for English Touring Opera, and The Marriage of Figaro at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. In 2015 he will conduct Tippett's The Ice Break in a new production by Graham Vick for Birmingham Opera Company and the CBSO. Andrew has conducted recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra and Irish Chamber Orchestra. A professional trombonist until his mid-twenties, he played with the Philharmonia, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, London Sinfonietta and Opera North, and toured South America and Europe as a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under Claudio Abbado.
Elizabeth Watts Elizabeth Watts won the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in 2007. In the same year she was awarded the Outstanding Young Artist Award at the Cannes MIDEM Classique Awards and the previous year the Kathleen Ferrier Award. She is currently an Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre, and a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Elizabeth was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in February 2011. Her critically acclaimed debut recording of Schubert Lieder for Sony was followed by an equally acclaimed disc of Bach Cantatas for Harmonia Mundi and a Hyperion recording of Richard Strauss Lieder with Roger Vignoles. Future recitals include returning to the Bath Mozartfest, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, a recital at The Sage, Gateshead and a number of appearances at Wigmore Hall, London with pianists Julius Drake and Roger Vignoles. Other plans this season and beyond include Pamina Die Zauberflöte for Welsh National Opera; Mahler Symphony no 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden; Handel Hercules on a European tour with Harry Bicket and the English Concert, including Vienna, Paris, London and Birmingham; Vaughan Williams Symphony no 3 with the Philharmonia Orchestra on a European tour including London and Bruges; Mahler Symphony no 4 on a German tour with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder; Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Olari Elts in Porto, Spain and Haydn Creation with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Recent concerts have included Strauss Taillefer with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo at the BBC Proms; Mozart Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra; Mass in C Minor with Akademie für Alte Musik and Daniel Reuss and with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Olari Elts; Brahms Requiem with the LPO and Yannick Nezét-Séguin; Bach St Matthew and St John Passions (concert and recording) with the Academy of Ancient Music and Richard Egarr; Beethoven Symphony No 9 and Haydn Scena di Berenice with the SCO; Mahler Symphonies 2 and 4 and Strauss Lieder with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; No 4 with the LSO and Michael Tilson Thomas and the Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy; Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC SSO and Kurtág Kafka Fragments for Soprano and Violin with the Hebrides Ensemble, as well as performances with Bachakademie Stuttgart and Hans-Christoph Rademan and with RIAS Kammerchor, Berlin and Ottavio Dantone and Handel L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Mark Morris Dance Group at Teatro Real, Madrid.
Operatic appearances have included Zerlina Don Giovanni and Marzelline Fidelio for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro for Santa Fe Opera and Welsh National Opera, for whom Elizabeth has also sung Pamina Die Zauberflöte and Fiordiligi Così fan tutte and for Glyndebourne on Tour, Almirena in Handel Rinaldo Elizabeth was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and studied archaeology at Sheffield University before studying singing at the Royal College of Music in London. From 2005-2007 she was a member of English National Opera’s Young Singers Programme. Sarah Connolly Born in County Durham, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly studied piano and singing at the Royal College of Music, of which she is now a Fellow. She was made CBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List. In 2011 she was honoured by the Incorporated Society of Musicians and presented with the Distinguished Musician Award. She is the recipient of the the Royal Philharmonic Society’s 2012 Singer Award. In the 2013/14 season she sang the title role in Agrippina (Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona); the title role in a new production of Ariodante (Festival d’Aixen-Provence) as well as Octavian Der Rosenkavalier in concert (LSO/Elder) and Irene in an international concert tour of Theodora (The English Concert/Bicket). Highlights on the concert platform include Mahler’s Symphony no 2 (Boston Symphony Orchestra/von Dohnanyi), Les nuits d'été (London Philharmonic Orchestra/Nézet-Séguin), The Dream of Gerontius (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis) and Elijah (Filarmonica della Scala/Harding). In opera, highlights have included Fricka Das Rheingold & Die Walküre (Covent Garden); Komponist Ariadne auf Naxos and Clairon Capriccio (Metropolitan Opera); the title role in Giulio Cesare and Brangäne Tristan und Isolde (Glyndebourne Festival); Sesto La clemenza di Tito (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence); Purcell’s Dido (La Scala & Covent Garden); Gluck’s Orfeo and the title role in The Rape of Lucretia (Bayerische Staatsoper); Phèdre Hippolyte et Aricie (Paris Opera) and Nerone L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona & Maggio Musicale in Florence). Sarah has also sung the title role in Maria Stuarda and Romeo I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Opera North); Komponist (Welsh National Opera) and Octavian (Scottish Opera). A favourite at the English National Opera, her many roles for the company have included Octavian; the title roles in Charpentier’s Medée and Handel's Agrippina, Xerxes, Ariodante and Ruggiero Alcina; the title role in The
Rape of Lucretia, Didon Les Troyens; Roméo, Susie The Silver Tassie and Sesto La clemenza di Tito – for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera. The future sees her return to Covent Garden and to the Glyndebourne Festival and make major debuts at the Netherlands Opera, the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden and at the Vienna State Opera. Sarah has appeared in recital in London, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Stuttgart and at the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham, Edinburgh and Schwarzenberg Festivals and her many concert engagements include appearances at the Lucerne, Salzburg, Tanglewood and Three Choirs Festivals and at the BBC Proms where, in 2009, she was a memorable guest soloist at The Last Night. Other recent engagements have included The Dream of Gerontius (Boston Symphony Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis); A Child of our Time (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Rattle); Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 (Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/ Chailly & Boston Symphony Orchestra/von Dohnanyi); Das Lied von der Erde (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Harding); Des Knaben Wunderhorn (L’Orchestre des Champs-Elysées/Herreweghe); La mort de Cléopâtre (Hallé/ Elder) and the Kindertotenlieder (LPO/Jurowski). Committed to promoting new music, her world premiere performances include Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Twice through the Heart (Schoenberg Ensemble/Knussen); Jonathan Harvey’s Songs of Li Po at the Aldeburgh Festival and Sir John Tavener’s Tribute to Cavafy at the Symphony Hall, Birmingham and his Gnosis at the BBC Proms (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Bělohlávek). A prolific recording artist, her many discs include Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (OAE); Des Knaben Wunderhorn (L’Orchestre des Champs-Élysées/Herreweghe – winner of an Edison Award); Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde (LPO/Jurowski), Elgar’s Sea Pictures and The Dream of Gerontius (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sir Andrew Davis); Britten's Phaedra (BBC Symphony Orchestra/Gardner) and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Haydn’s Scena di Berenice (Gabrieli Consort/McCreesh). Her roles on DVD include Giulio Cesare, Nerone, Clairon and Purcell’s Dido. Her recording of Handel arias with The Sixteen and Harry Christophers was described as ‘the definition of captivating’ and her three solo recital discs The Exquisite Hour, Songs of Love and Loss and My true love hath my heart have all won universal critical acclaim. Sarah has recorded the soundtrack, Fragments of a Prayer by Sir John Tavener, for the feature film Children of Men.
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 beyond. 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 and Sir Roger Norrington. 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, amongst others, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of English National Opera and the Philharmonia. 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. The RCM Symphony Orchestra will be performing with the RCM Chorus at the Royal Festival Hall in February 2014 as part of the Philharmonia’s Paris, City of Light Festival, conducted by Jac van Steen. The RCM would like to thank the following orchestral coaches: Martin Smith violin I Sarah Quinn violin II Robert Turner viola Jennie Brown cello Beverley Jones double bass Rachel Masters harp Simon Channing woodwind Nigel Black brass Alex Neal percussion Ben Palmer tutti wind, brass & percussion, tutti strings and tutti orchestra
Violin I Molly Cockburn* Magdalena Loth-Hill* Fiona Robertson Aischa Guendisch* Ingrid Clement Simona Burlingiene Francesco Ionascu Julia Liang Elin White Cecile Galy Emmanuel Bach* Luis Mota* Heather Stewart* Ioana Forna* Lee Anne Blackmore Ramina Mukusheva Calyssa Davidson Violin II Iain Gibbs Algirdas Galdikas* Suein Kang Tatiana Gachkova Olivia Francis* Essi Kiiski Joanna Klimaszewska* Ana Nedobora Ivanova Felix Backstrom* Lizzie Roberts Claudia-Sophie Giannotti Jean-Baptiste Sarrou Laure Massoni Paul Milhau Mikael Stoor Viola Anastasia Sofina* Morag Robertson Olivia Buckland Elaine Chen Nazli Erdogan* Naomi Giarraputo Katherine Clarke James Douglas Lorene Carron Zoe Matthews Rebecca Breen Cello Deni Teo Clara Berger Yaroslava Trofymchuk* Melissa Ong Jonathan Dodd
Indigo Hicks Joseph Davies* Matthew Strover Florian Sattler* Karoline Brevik Elia Benhamou En-Ming Lin Bass Lewis Tingey Christopher Xuereb Lucy Keller Ben Havinden-Williams Hannah Dacey Alexandre Klein Mark Lipski Alice Kent Flute Rocco Smith (pic) Amy-Jayne Milton* (pic) Stephanie Vici* (pic) Javier Leoncollado* (pic)
Trumpet Niall Mulvoy* Dominic Hammett* (Aurora only) Adam Stockbridge Louis Barclay Lynn Chao Laura Gilroy* Ben Edwards Jack Wilson Offstage Dominic Hammett* Kirsty Loosemore Emily Harding* Tamsin Cowell Trombone Jonathan Hollick David Pitts Zachary Haas James Maund* Tuba Stephen Calow
Oboe Charlotte Evans* Emma Gibbons* Myfanwy Price (cor) Elizabeth Bunday (cor)
Timpani Kizzy Brooks* Kimberley-Anne Foster Offstage Stephen Matthews
Clarinet Emma Burgess* Ewan Zuckert* Baldvin Tryggvason* (bcl) Liam Harman* (E flat) Gregory Hearle* (E flat)
Percussion Stefan Beckett* Fabian Edwards Louise Goodwin Thomas Hollister Angela Hui Offstage Benjamin Boo William Riby
Bassoon Catriona McDermid* Joeri Deckers Todd Gibson-Cornish* (contra) Horn Jonathan Maloney* Christopher McKay* Alan Kartik* Ranita Klimach Remi Faggiani Mackenzie Newell Fabian van de Geest* Offstage Daniel Curzon* Florence Rousseau* Samuel Walker* Helena Jacklin*
Harp Rosanna Rolton Isabel Harries Josephine Salvi* Jan Gorjanc Organ Georgina Sherriff Personnel correct at the time of going to print. Italics denote section principals. * Scholars/Award Holders generously supported by RCM donors
Royal College of Music Chorus The RCM Chorus has been a leading ensemble in the College for many years. Drawn from instrumentalists and musicians across the College, and as part of their musical training and experience, the RCM Chorus forms the largest ensemble at the RCM with around 200 musicians performing together. Following preparation with some of the leading choral trainers in the UK – including Terry Edwards, Nigel Short and Neil Ferris in recent years – the chorus perform with the RCM Symphony Orchestra to sell-out audiences. The size of the ensemble has enabled the choir to undertake a variety of large-scale repertoire, including Britten Spring Symphony, 2013 (David Hill), Beethoven Symphony No 9 ‘Choral’, 2010 and Walton Belshazzar’s Feast, 2012 (Martin André). The RCM Chorus will be performing with the RCM Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in February 2014 as part of the Philharmonia’s Paris, City of Light Festival under the baton of Jac Van Steen. 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 people: Norbert Meyn language coach Martyn Noble rehearsal pianist Josephine Goddard soprano rehearsal soloist Maria Ostroukhova mezzo-soprano rehearsal soloist
Neil Ferris Neil Ferris studied at Royal Holloway, University of London and the Royal College of Music. He combines his conducting engagements with his post as Head of Choral Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is also on the tutorial panel for the Association of British Choral Directors National Conducting Courses and has been a guest teacher for the Association of Irish Choirs and at Birmingham Conservatoire. Neil is Music Director of Cardiff Polyphonic Choir, which in recent years has broadcast for BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4. Since 2009 he has been the Music Director of Wimbledon Choral Society. Neil is Principal Guest Conductor of Birmingham Bach Choir and Convivium Singers. He is Associate Chorus Master of London Symphony Chorus and Chorus Master at the Endellion Summer Festival. He has also worked with the BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Royal College of Music Chorus, Manchester Chamber Choir and the New London Singers. As a chorus master Neil has prepared choirs for conductors including Valery Gergiev, Carlo Rizzi, Richard Hickox, Francois-Xavier Roth, Thierry Fischer, David Atherton, Ryan Wigglesworth, David Hill and Owain Arwel Hughes. Work with orchestras includes the New Queens Hall Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, Brandenburg Sinfonia, Midland Sinfonia, City of Southampton Orchestra, Haydn Chamber Orchestra, Salomon Orchestra, and the period instrument ensemble Florilegium. In 2011 he directed performances of Britten's Noye's Fludde in the Wimbledon International Music Festival alongside David Wilson-Johnson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Piers Adams and the Brodsky Quartet. In 2012 Naxos released Neil's recording of the choral music of Jonathan Dove with the Convivium Singers and he made his conducting debut at the Royal Opera House in a ROH2 production of Will Tuckett's ballet The Wind in the Willows. Soprano Izzy Atkinson Tamara Bakoc Laura Capano Jia Chan Pik Ying Cheung Jennifer Coleman Maria Costa Caroline Daggett Sophie Gallagher Melissa Gerber Fiona Haynes Lisa Kiriaty-Verchovsky
Kelly Mathieson Juliana Myslov* Sofia Navarro Escano Heather O'Donovan Elizabeth Parkes* Joanna Patrick Rowan Pierce Jingmei Quan Elizabeth Reeves Daria Rybak* Emily Scott Rebecca Silverman Holly Slater
Maria Stasiak Beshlie Thorp Anna Webster* Theresa Yu* Amanda Xiao Tong Zhu Alto Summer Alp Alice Bell Paula Belzunegui Moreno Alenka Bogataj* Louisa Briguglio Thea Butterworth*
Haim Choi* Nancy Cole Rosanna Cooper Felicity Cowell* Lydia Dobson Ana Feijao* Yume Fujise* Phoebe Goddard* Freya Goldmark* Zofia Goral Dominica Hallstead Elizabeth Haughan Laura Hocking Lily Hope Jennifer Key Sa Lang Kim Yan Lam Lai Jane Lau Nurry Lee Hyun-Gi Lee Ana Manastireanu Seda Margarjan Elspeth Marrow Jacqueline Martens Jessica Martin* Maeve McCarthy* Madeleine Millar* Timothy Morgan* Feargal Mostyn-Williams Sohyun Park Summer Perry Sophie-Louise Phillips Eleanor Pollock Xintong Qu Irena Radic Meera Raja Mafalda Ramos Katherine Raven Judith Richmond Thomas Scott-Cowell Vera Seco Afonso da Fonte* Inês Soares Delgado Isabel Stewart-Kasimba Xiyuan Sun* Naomi Tran Anna Tulchinskaya Elizaveta Tyun* Mikel Uskola Cobos Dorina Vancsik* Nadezhda Vasileva Amelia Widjaja
Bethany Yeaman Yeji Yoon Melissa Youngs* Ariane Zandi Tenor Eduardo Andrade-Azanza* Frederic Bager* Thomas Broadbent Kieran Carter Augustin Cornwall-Irving Thomas Erlank* Weihao Fu Elliot Gresty* Artur Haftman Alexander Hart Zara Hudson-Kozdoj* Jonna Järvitalo Martin Jeriga Liam Johnson Nicolas Kent Krystian Lamb Richard Lines-Davies Brenton McLennan* Ian Mercado Robert Miller Max Mills Maxime Morise Owen Nicolaou Felix Pong Roberto Ruisi* William Scott Ben Smith* Jack Stone Christopher Strange Tolga Un* Joel Williams* Bass Ivo Almond Cristian Anton James Atkinson Theo Bamber James Bartlett* Haydn Bateman Matthew Begg Jacob Bettinelli George Bevan* Declan Birchall Jonatan Bougt Oscar Castellino* Alec Coles-Aldridge
Nicholas Cowling Filip Cwizewicz* Dimitris Daskalakis Petar Dimov Dominic Doutney* Daniel D'Souza Samuel Duffield David Fearn Alexander Fishburn Matthew Gallagher Wilford Goh* Ryan Gray* Iain Hall Andrew Harsley Juan Hinojosa Farrera Matthew House Nicholas Hughes Grigoris Ioannou* Sergejs Istratijs Ross Johnson Edward Jowle* Yoo Seok Jung Laurence Long* Kheng Hoe Low* Nicholas Mannoukas Jack Martin José Cid Matias Victor Maslov* Daniel McBride Richard Miller Huw Montague-Rendall* Michael Oram Elliot Phelps Jack Pilcher May Jose Quintas Vilar Kristian Richardson Zachary Schwartz Mutong Shao Harry Thatcher* Kieran Timbrell James Wafer Nicholas Walker* * Scholars/Award Holders generously supported by RCM donors
Music has the power to transform lives. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, generations of gifted students from around the world have been guided and inspired at the RCM. We would like to thank in particular those who have made donations of £1,000 or more in the last 12 months. Gifts are listed in descending order. Supporters of named scholarships, bursaries and Junior Fellowships Estate of Fiona Searle ABRSM Soirée d’Or Scholarships Leverhulme Trust Anonymous Philip Loubser Foundation The John and Marjorie Coultate Scholarship Estate of Roselyn Ann Clifton Parker The Richard Carne Charitable Trust Laurie Barry and the John Barry Scholarship for Film Composition Estate of Dr John Birch FRCM The Wolfson Foundation H R Taylor Trust H F Music Awards Andrew and Karen Sunnucks John Lewis Partnership Scholarships The Tsukanov Family Foundation Richard and Rosemary Millar The Worshipful Company of Musicians Humphrey Searle Scholarship Hester Laverne Award Gylla Godwin Award Charles Napper Award Lydia Napper Award The Polonsky Foundation The Michael Bishop Foundation The Big Give Trust The Reed Foundation Croucher Hong Kong Charitable Trust The Hon Ros Kelly Opperby Stokowski Collection Trust The Lee Abbey Award Stephen Catto Memorial Scholarship The Worshipful Company of Drapers The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers The Estate of Mr Charles Knoll Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Ian Stoutzker CBE FRCM Ian and Meriel Tegner The Charles Stewart Richardson Scholarship for Composition The Ernest Hecht Charitable Foundation The Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation UK Henri Cowell Soirée d’Or Scholarship Gilbert and Eileen Edgar Junior Fellowship Phoebe Benham Junior Fellowship The Mills Williams Foundation The Derek Butler Trust The Boltini Trust Scholarship The Charles Peel Charitable Trust The Ackroyd Trust The Richard Toeman/Weinberger Opera Scholarship
The Wyseliot Charitable Trust The Wall Trust The Stanley Picker Scholarship Professor Lord Winston Lark Insurance Scholarship Steinway & Sons Mason Scholarship The Gary & Eleanor Brass Scholarship The Estate of Betty Brenner The JMC Award The Robin Ritzema Scholarship (Lady Harrison) Richard and Debbie Ward David Laing Foundation Scholarship The Greenbank Scholarship Independent Opera Artist Scholarship South Square Trust The Tait Trust Scholarship The Radcliffe Trust Sir Peter and Lady Walters Edward Brooks FRCM Sir Gordon Palmer Scholarship Douglas and Kyra Downie Mark Loveday Scholarship Knights of the Round Table Arthur Wilson Trombone Award Else and Leonard Cross Charitable Trust Yehudi Menuhin Award Midori Nishiura Scholarship Bell Percussion Kirby Laing Foundation Peter Granger Paul Booth The Donald Paterson Award The Nicholas Hunka Fund The Bliss Trust Norman Reintamm Supporters of RCM Sparks J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust John Lyon’s Charity Universal Music John Lewis Partnership The Stanley Foundation Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians Anonymous The Oldhurst Trust Members of the RCM Chairman’s Circle Philip Carne HonRCM and Christine Carne* Michael and Ruth West* Linda and Tony Hill Denis and Meredith Coleman*+ John and Catherine Armitage* Jane Barker*
Dasha Shenkman HonRCM* Sir Roger and Lady Carr HonRCM* Karina Choudhrie+* Guy Dawson and Sam Horscroft+ Gisela Gledhill* Terry Hitchcock* James and Clare Kirkman* Dr Mark Levesley and Christina Hoseason* John Nickson and Simon Rew* Emma Rose (deceased 12 November 2013) and Quentin Williams* Victoria Sharp* Alethea Siow and Jeremy Furniss* Members of the RCM Director’s Circle Daniel Chapchal Sir Peter and Lady Middleton FRCM Judy and Terence Mowschenson Vivien McLean Tania Chislett Charles and Kaaren Hale The Vernon Ellis Foundation Metherell Family Richard and Sue Price Peter and Dimity Spiller Joanna Kaye+ Sir Sydney and Lady Lipworth Sir Robert and Lady Wilson Members of the RCM Patrons’ Circle John Ward Russell Race* Jane Wilson Mrs Piffa Schroder Ellen Moloney Rhoddy Voremberg Dimity and Kerry Rubie Mrs Victoria Moore-Gillon David and Sue Lewis Mrs Isla Baring* Halina and John Bennett Lorna and Christopher Bown Mrs Lorraine Buckland Mr Kenneth and Mrs Lillemor Gardener Sir Anthony Cleaver FRCM and Lady Cleaver Anonymous Mary Godwin Carol J Hagh Ms Greta Hemus John and Sue Heywood Barbara Simmonds Betty Sutherland Louisa Treger Dr Yvonne Winkler Mr Victor and Mrs Lilian Hochhauser FRCM Sir Peter and Lady Gershon Mr James Lancaster and Mrs Margaret Lancaster Mrs Yannick Mango Sir David Lees Sir Richard and Lady Sykes Mr David Mildon
Corporate Partners Royal Garden Hotel Hatch Mansfield Little Greene Other generous donors Georg and Emily von Opel Foundation+ Mr Paul Brewer Bouygues UK Bob and Sarah Wigley The Henry Wood Trust The Robert Fleming Hannay Memorial Charity The Amaryllis Fleming Foundation Karen Cook The Hon Richard Lyttelton The Seary Charitable Trust St Marylebone Educational Foundation John Hosier Music Trust Roland Rudd RLM Finsbury The Sharp Foundation Centrica plc The Rothermere Foundation Geoffrey Richards HonRCM Dasha Shenkman HonRCM The Leche Trust Ann Driver Trust Fidelio Trust Sir David Cooksey Florian Leonhard Paul Baker Jonathan Davie Richard Everard Mr Douglas Flint Serena Fenwick Christopher Saul Jonathon Silver Anonymous Dr Franz Humer Mark Wood Webster and Davidson Mortification for the Blind The Derek Hill Foundation Professor Colin Lawson FRCM Janis Susskind HonRCM Blair Wilson Award Moira D Witty David D Sieff Edward Mandel/Jacques Samuel Pianos Bursary Michael Steen OBE HonRCM The Nicholas Branston Foundation Mrs Terry Collins-Tveter Helena Morrissey Nicola Jones Richard Davey Friends of the National Libraries Brian and Hana Smouha * also support a named award + also support RCM Sparks For more information about supporting the RCM, visit www.rcm.ac.uk/supportus Alternatively, contact Joanne Hodson on 020 7591 4861 or joanne.hodson@rcm.ac.uk
Brett Dean in Residence: RCM Symphony Orchestra 7.30pm | Thursday 20 November 2014 | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall RCM Symphony Orchestra Brett Dean conductor | Matthew Coorey conductor Anthony Pateras Fragile Absolute for winds, brass and pianos Georges Lentz "Caeli enarrant..." for 12 strings Brett Dean Pastoral Symphony James Ledger Two Memorials "...a voice of fertile imagination, originality and expressive subtlety" - Chicago Tribune on Brett Dean Conductor, composer, violist… This autumn we’re thrilled to welcome the multi-talented Brett Dean to the RCM for a very special series of events. Dean himself has curated three concerts, showcasing more than a century of Australian music and including some of Dean’s very own captivating compositions. This orchestral concert includes the composer's Pastoral Symphony – a dynamic juxtaposition of birdsong and urban evocations – as well as James Ledger’s 2011 heartfelt tribute to Anton Webern and John Lennon. There will be a question and answer session with Brett Dean and RCM Head of Composition William Mival, before this concert. Free but tickets required RCM Box Office Tel: 020 7591 4314 www.rcm.ac.uk/boxoffice 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