Cadogan Hall November 2013 - July 2014

RESIDENT ORCHESTRA AT CADOGAN HALL NOVEMBER 2013 – JULY 2014

10

years OF PERFORMANCE AT CADOGAN HALL

Pages 2–3

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the Resident Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, generously supported by Cadogan Estates.

Programme notes © Joanna Wyld, 2013

Booking Information Seating Plan

Booking

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is renowned not only for its exceptional performances of classical repertoire, but also for its exciting approach to a diverse range of musical styles. This season sees the Orchestra showcasing its lush interpretations of the music of Burt Bacharach. Epitomising good old-fashioned romance, the great songwriter has penned over fifty top-40 hits in the UK alone, with fans across the globe marvelling at his apparently effortless ability to write memorable and magical tunes. Whatever your musical taste – whether it’s Bach, Bacharach, or both – the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra looks forward to welcoming you to Cadogan Hall soon.

Alessandro Fabrizi Dimitri Maslennikov Pinchas Zukerman

June/July

Following the success of the recent Beethoven series, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is reunited with pianist and conductor Freddy Kempf for an all-Beethoven programme, which also features outstanding violinist Clio Gould and viola player Tim Gill. Cellist Dimitri Maslennikov performs Tchaikovsky’s charming Variations on a Rococo Theme, based on a theme by Mozart. Bach and Beethoven were two composers influencing Brahms as he wrote his monumental Symphony No.4, which is performed alongside Sibelius’ radiant Violin Concerto, conducted

by Grzegorz Nowak with soloist Ju-Young Baek.

There are many more symphonic delights, with Bizet’s Symphony in C and the gloriously inventive ‘Unfinished’ Symphony No.8 by Schubert.

Graham Bickley Mary Carewe Alison Jiear Sarah Lark Freddy Kempf Grzegorz Nowak

February/May

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to present its new season at Cadogan Hall, one of the most vibrant concert venues in London.

The Orchestra will be collaborating with a host of internationally renowned artists throughout the season. One of the many highlights is the Zukerman Festival, during which the great violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman will lead the Orchestra in a series of truly scintillating programmes, including a concert devoted to the last three symphonies by Mozart.

November/December

Welcome

Mario Galeani Barry Wordsworth Jamie Walton Debbie Wiseman Mary Carewe Michael Dore

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS Corporate Hospitality • Networking Marketing • Corporate Social Responsibility

To find out how you and your company can benefit, please contact Huw Davies on 020 7608 8825 or daviesh@rpo.co.uk

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the support and enthusiasm of its Corporate Partners:

Raymond Gubbay Limited

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a registered charity No. 244533

November

Thursday 7th November 2013, 7.30pm Humperdinck Beethoven Tchaikovsky

Hansel and Gretel Overture Piano Concerto No.3 Symphony No.6, ‘Pathétique’

Alan Buribayev Conductor Mario Galeani Piano A programme encompassing delicious refinement and great passion, opening with the Overture to German composer Humperdinck’s ‘fairy tale opera’ Hansel and Gretel. The work was first conducted by Richard Strauss, and Humperdinck’s Overture exudes a Straussian romance and wit, full of charming melodies and rich orchestration. Pianist Mario Galeani performs Beethoven’s majestic Third Piano Concerto, with its dramatic first movement, a deeply beautiful Largo, and the famous Rondo. While composing his extraordinary Sixth Symphony, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother, declaring: ‘It seems that the best of all my works is coming forth from me.’ Many would agree: the ‘Pathétique’ represents some of the most intensely personal and powerful of all Tchaikovsky’s music.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Tuesday 12th November 2013, 7.30pm Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky Tchaikovsky arr.

Barry Wordsworth

Serenade for Strings Violin Concerto Swan Lake (excerpts)

Barry Wordsworth Conductor Yoon-Hee Kim Violin

RPO friends’ discounts apply

An essential concert for all lovers of Tchaikovsky’s music, this programme celebrates the many facets of the composer’s style, from elegant poignancy, to unfettered emotion, to light-hearted humour. The Serenade for Strings was inspired

by Mozart, a composer much admired by Tchaikovsky, such that the younger composer said of the Serenade that it was written ‘from inner compulsion. This is a piece from the heart.’ The Violin Concerto was not much appreciated during Tchaikovsky’s lifetime, but its vibrant and heartfelt melodies have ensured that the work remains hugely popular with audiences today. The programme concludes with unique arrangements of Tchaikovsky’s glorious Swan Lake, produced by the concert’s acclaimed conductor Barry Wordsworth.

Pages 6–7

November/December

Thursday 28th November 2013, 7.30pm Ravel Elgar Tchaikovsky

Le tombeau de Couperin Cello Concerto Symphony No.5

Christoph Koenig Conductor Jamie Walton Cello A programme of contrasting musical styles unified by exquisite emotional power. Composed during World War I, Ravel dedicated each movement of his Le tombeau de Couperin to a fallen friend. Yet the influence of the Baroque composer Couperin results in music of bittersweet understatement. Also written in response to the First World War, Elgar’s Cello Concerto is one of his greatest works, the cello evoking the human voice as it unfolds aching, deeply moving melodies. The concerto is performed by Jamie Walton, hailed by The Washington Post as ‘a major cello talent’.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony offers a profound insight into the composer’s tumultuous emotional history, travelling a longed-for journey from unfulfilled desires to joyful acceptance.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Sunday 8th December 2013, 3.30pm THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS 2013 In aid of Breast Cancer Campaign Debbie Wiseman James Loynes Simon Bates Nigel Havers George Layton

Conductor/Composer Vocalist Presenter Narrator Narrator

As winter sets in, warm up with a magical concert full of festive cheer for all the family. Featuring the popular classics Sleigh Ride and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, orchestral favourites, such as Tchaikovsky’s Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, and a selection of music by composer and conductor Debbie Wiseman, including the world première of The Christmas Party and the orchestral suite from Father Brown.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Pages 8–9

CHRISTMAS CRACKER 2013 Nick Davies Mary Carewe Michael Dore

Conductor Vocalist Vocalist

Returning due to popular demand, this scrumptious Christmas favourite is perfect to whet your yuletide appetite. Featuring a sparkling mix of Christmas songs, sing-along carols and orchestral pieces conducted by Nick Davies, this enchanting and melodious concert is sure to lift your spirits and fill you with good cheer as you look forward to celebrating this wonderful time of year. Suitable for all the family, vocalists Mary Carewe and Michael Dore sing their hearts out in a programme to include: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Mary’s Boy Child, Sleigh Ride, The Little Road to Bethlehem, Santa Baby, Let it Snow… plus many more!

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Friday 14th February 2014, 7.30pm WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW… THE MUSIC OF BURT BACHARACH Richard Balcombe Mary Carewe Graham Bickley Alison Jiear Sarah Lark

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Conductor Vocalist Vocalist Vocalist Vocalist

A fantastic Valentine’s Day concert celebrating the music of Oscar-winning popular composer and performer Burt Bacharach: a towering figure in songwriting whose career is a roll call of the greatest popular artists of our time, including Tom Jones, the Carpenters, Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield. His unbelievable talent has provided the soundtrack to the twentieth-century music charts. Featuring melodic gems including: Alfie, Reach Out, Magic Moments, Close to You, Walk on By, Delilah, Do You Know the Way to San Jose, What’s New Pussycat?, Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head… and many more!

December/February

Saturday 21st December 2013, 3.00pm and 7.30pm

Pages 10–11

February/May

Tuesday 25th February 2014, 7.30pm Beethoven Beethoven Beethoven

Fidelio Overture Triple Concerto Symphony No.7

Freddy Kempf Conductor/Piano Clio Gould Violin Tim Gill Cello A must for Beethoven devotees, this programme is directed by the inimitable pianist and conductor Freddy Kempf, performing in the Triple Concerto alongside celebrated violinist Clio Gould and cellist Tim Gill. Beethoven’s exhilarating Fidelio Overture is a tour de force of orchestral virtuosity. Fidelio, his only opera, generated four overtures; after the three weighty ‘Leonore’ Overtures, Beethoven wanted to write something with a more adventurous spirit, and this joyous piece was the result. The programme culminates in the regal Seventh Symphony, famous for its mesmerising slow movement (used in the film The King’s Speech), which gradually builds from a soft opening into music of thrilling grandeur.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Wednesday 7th May 2014, 7.30pm Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture Sibelius Violin Concerto Brahms Symphony No.4 Grzegorz Nowak Conductor Ju-Young Baek Violin Brimming with lyrical, colourful music, this concert begins with Mendelssohn’s evocative overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While classical in form, the romantic atmosphere is unmistakable upon hearing the rich yet mysterious opening chords of the piece. The Violin Concerto by Sibelius is an outstanding contribution to the repertoire, with its combination of thrilling technique and soaring passion. The majestic Symphony No.4 by Brahms was influenced by two of the composer’s heroes: Bach and Beethoven. The work opens in a dramatic vein and ends with one of Brahms’ greatest achievements: a grand ‘chaconne’ on a theme by Bach.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

Pages 12–13

f

June

Tuesday 3rd June 2014, 7.30pm Schubert Symphony No.8 ‘Unfinished’ Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme Bizet Symphony in C Alessandro Fabrizi Conductor Dimitri Maslennikov Cello This programme boasts not one but two symphonies – and while Schubert’s Symphony No.8 is famously incomplete, its two movements are full of memorable melodies and nuanced orchestral writing. Bizet’s Symphony in C opens with great energy and panache, and features a wistful Adagio, rustic Scherzo and effervescent Finale. In Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, the cello and orchestra explore a theme inspired by one of the composer’s idols, Mozart. Tchaikovsky creates a charming dialogue between soloist and ensemble, with moments of romantic beauty and boisterous vigour. At the work’s première, even Liszt was impressed…

f

Concert presented in association with Instituto Paolo Sotgiu of Lugano.

RPO friends’ discounts apply

friends more music for less!

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the only London orchestra to offer a 50% discount on tickets for every own-promotion concert for a year.

Become a member from only £35 per year and enjoy benefits including: • 50% off all RPO own promotion concerts (two tickets per concert) • Exclusive RPO friends’ bar • Priority booking • FREE rehearsal passes to selected concerts • Discounted RPO CDs • Regular newsletters and updates on the Orchestra’s activities and forthcoming events To join the RPO friends, please telephone 020 7608 8855 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN S U M M E R M U S I C F E S T I VA L The illustrious violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman joins the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in what promises to be an exceptional series of concerts, with great works hand-picked for each programme. The festival culminates in a concert featuring the last three symphonies by Mozart: three masterworks displaying different facets of the composer at the height of his powers.

Thursday 26th June 2014, 7.30pm J.S. Bach Violin Concerto in A minor Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 Pinchas Zukerman Conductor/Violin

Sunday 29th June 2014, 3pm Beethoven Prometheus Overture Brahms Double Concerto Elgar ‘Enigma’ Variations Amanda Forsyth Cello Pinchas Zukerman Violin

Wednesday 2nd July 2014, 7.30pm Mozart Symphony No.39 Mozart Symphony No.40 Mozart Symphony No.41 Pinchas Zukerman Conductor

Additional concerts to be announced soon.

Booking

Booking Information Ticket prices £40 £32.50 £25 £15 (Christmas Cracker £45, £35,

£25,

£15)

Booking fees apply, RPO f riends’ and Encore discounts apply

Telephone bookings 020 7730 4500 Online bookings www.cadoganhall.com

STAGE

Subscription discounts Generous discounts are available for booking multiple concerts from the RPO’s Resident Season.

Please ask the Box Office when booking.

2 or 3 concerts – 15% discount 4 or 5 concerts – 25% discount 6 or more concerts – 30% discount Cadogan Hall 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ 2 minutes walk from Sloane Square Underground

Seating Plan

STAGE STAGE

Gallery

Stalls

www.rpo.co.uk

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Arts Council England

Design: www.graphicimpressions.co.uk

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 16 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0QT