June 2018 In this issue... • • • • • • • •
New on sale Alexander Shelley Esther Yoo RPO Resound RPO Blog Meet the Players RPO CDs News and moves
Welcome to the latest edition of Fortissimo, the exclusive newsletter for RPO Friends. The RPO has enjoyed an outstanding 2017–2018 London Season; it’s been such a pleasure to share it with you and see so many of you at the RPO desk before concerts. Although our current season is not quite over yet – we still have several exciting events coming up at the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, including Pinchas Zukerman’s popular Summer Music Festival – I am thrilled to take this opportunity to enclose a copy of our brand new 2018–2019 Season brochures and flyers – hot off the press! Do read on for further news and highlights from the Orchestra and we thank you, as ever, for all your support this Season. If we don’t get a chance to catch up before, we hope you have relaxing summer before we return in September – see you then! With best wishes, Jo Thomson (Friends’ & Groups’ Manager) and the rest of the RPO Marketing team: Alex, Chris, Doran, Joseph and Phoebe!
Brand new London Season – now on sale! Don’t miss out on the RPO’s new and exciting Season across the finest venues in London, for which all your exclusive Friends’ discounts and benefits apply. Opening in style at the Orchestra’s home, the intimate and elegant Cadogan Hall, is RPO Artist-in-Residence Esther Yoo (right), with Bruch’s remarkable Violin Concerto No.1. This superb new series at the Hall will also feature breathtaking choral masterpieces, much-loved classical favourites... and more, including Alexander Shelley’s thought-provoking new mini-series (brochure enclosed). The RPO is also thrilled to return to the magnificent Royal Albert Hall for more sensational showstoppers, including: The Music of Bond, Symphonic Pop, Let’s Face The Music and ABBAphonic, as well as Verdi’s monumental Requiem, which will feature massed choirs and star soloists (flyers enclosed). Last, but by no means least, is the Orchestra’s new series at the world renowned Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. With maestros, masterpieces and a whole lot more, this phenomenal series is simply unmissable.
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Supporting London’s most versatile orchestra!
Pinchas Zukerman’s Summer Music Festival This June, phenomenal violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman joins the RPO for what promises to be an exceptional summer festival of sumptuous orchestral and chamber concerts, within the luxurious surroundings of Cadogan Hall. ‘Particular Festival highlights of mine include performances with cellist Amanda Forsyth, pianist Angela Cheng and fellow violinist Viviane Hagner... I have carefully chosen the repertoire which I hope you agree is a magnificent selection of some of the most thrilling orchestral works, including music by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Haydn... I look forward to seeing you all soon’ – Pinchas Zukerman. Join us for the Festival’s opening concerts on Tuesday 26 June (brochure enclosed).
Brand new Royal Festival Hall series The RPO makes its much-anticipated return to the Hall’s highly revered stage, from October 2018 to June 2019, for a host of orchestral masterpieces, featuring a wealth of critically acclaimed artists, including Daniel Müller-Schott, Vasily Petrenko, Rafael Payare and Pinchas Zukerman. The full series’ brochure will be sent out on email to you later this summer (that’s if we have your email address; if not, we shall, of course, post your copy). If you would like your copy of the brochure posted as well as emailed to you, please do not hesitate to let us know. In the meantime, you can visit www.rpo.co.uk/royalfestivalhall to view the entire series online. Join us for the series’ opening concert – Lionel Bruguier conducts Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.1, with Valeriy Sokolov, and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2 – on Tuesday 30 October. Book now via RPO Friends.
Seeking New Horizons with Alexander Shelley ‘Studying a score is a lot like reading a novel; you feel the same kind of intimacy with composers and their world, as with writers and their narratives’ – Alexander Shelley. The Orchestra is delighted to welcome back its Principal Associate Conductor for his brand new mini-series of concerts at Cadogan Hall. This time, he will present – often in the literal sense, by directly addressing the audience with his trademark charm and knowledgeable, yet accessible, style – an exploration of the groundbreaking music of Bartók, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and more. In Seeking New Horizons, Shelley curates an insightful programme that seeks to reflect upon the social, political and historical landscapes within which such eminent composers were influenced to write their seminal works. Join us for the opening concert, ‘New Discoveries: War and Conflict’, on Tuesday 27 November.
Spotlight on... Esther Yoo This year, the RPO welcomed the outstanding violinist, Esther Yoo, as its first ever Artist-in-Residence. Yoo’s masterful flair came to international attention in 2010 when, aged sixteen, she was the youngest prize-winner of the tenth International Sibelius Violin Competition. Since then, she has gone from strength to strength, performing alongside acclaimed orchestras and conductors all over the world. ‘I lived my early years near New York City and, through the various concerts that my parents took me to as a very little girl, I was very fortunate to experience many great concerts at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall… I was so inspired by the fantastic orchestras, musicians and instruments I saw on stage, especially the violin… I felt an immense joy of being able to share music with people. It was a great outlet of expression for me, especially since I was seriously shy as a kid!’ – Esther Yoo. Don’t miss Esther Yoo at Cadogan Hall this autumn, performing sublime concertos by Bruch and Mendelssohn.
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RPO Resound This spring has been a hectic one for RPO Resound, the Orchestra’s Community and Education team, with the culmination of Sound Around – an ambitious and far-reaching touring programme, bringing orchestral music to nearly 17,000 young people and families in six disadvantaged areas across the UK. Over the two-year project, 113 ‘Young Producers’, aged 11-22 years, worked with RPO musicians to re-imagine orchestral concerts for school pupils. In each area, the Young Producers were given the chance to plan, develop, programme and present two interactive concerts, taking the lead on all aspects of the concert management; from sound and lighting, to repertoire, stage management and VIP receptions (pictured top; photo credit Charlie Hedley).
(Tutti First Violin) The best thing about being a member of the RPO is perhaps the opportunity to enjoy such a great variety of different types of work. Day-to-day life is never dull! Whether it’s playing a big symphonic programme at the Royal Festival Hall one evening, recording a CD in the studio for nine hours the next day, performing film music in a regional venue the next, or meeting at Heathrow at the crack of dawn to jet off somewhere far away for a tour... There is no ‘routine’ in this job and, therefore, life always remains interesting and exciting! My favourite conductors to work with include Thomas Dausgaard and Vasily Petrenko. Some of the most inspiring soloists who have performed with us recently include pianists Martha Argerich, Marc-André Hamelin and Boris Giltburg, as well as violinists Julia Fischer, Leonidas Kavakos and James Ehnes. Not to mention, of course, Pinchas Zukerman, who works with us a lot as both soloist and conductor. What I enjoy most about him is his violin playing – in my opinion, there is simply no one better!
These imaginative and ground-breaking concerts included a boxing ring in Carlisle, pitting musicians and repertoire against each other (pictured above), and an up-andcoming bumblebee conductor in Lowestoft (pictured right; photo credit Paul Coghlin), and reached more than 12,500 pupils and teachers!
My favourite halls tend to be the old European ones that are steeped in tradition and also have beautiful acoustics, such as the Musikverein in Vienna, Tonhalle in Zürich and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
In addition to the concerts, each area also received an RPO Octet tour of Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools, which included a specially designed ‘relaxed’ concert – tailored to meet the needs of people with SEN and/or disabilities. We couldn’t not mention that 2018 marks the twentyfifth anniversary of RPO Resound. This momentous achievement was celebrated at a gala dinner, hosted by the RPO’s patron, HRH The Duke of York, in March at Buckingham Palace. Watch the many milestones in a special anniversary film (pictured bottom) available online at www.rpo.co.uk/rpo-resound/in-action.
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Meet the Players: Shana Douglas
A good piece of advice I was given was from my former teacher, Arnold Steinhardt, who remarked that no one should pursue a career in music unless there was just no way they could ever imagine themselves doing something else – i.e. we musicians must really love both the music itself, as well as being a musician! He was right. It takes a lot of hard work and it can be a tough life; sometimes more gruelling and a lot less glamorous than it might seem, but I absolutely love it!
Shana Douglas’ London Season picks: • Jennifer Pike performs Korngold’s Violin Concerto – Thurs 28 Feb, Cadogan Hall • Pinchas Zukerman performs Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5 and conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 – Thurs 28 March, Royal Festival Hall
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The ‘weird and wonderful’ world of the RPO The RPO is proud to present its latest online endeavour – the RPO Blog. Offering their insight into their version of orchestra life, RPO Players will take it in turns to reflect upon the past month’s activities with their personally written post and their accompanying pictures. ‘Join us as we chart the highs (and occasional lows) of our weird and wonderful lifestyle in this orchestra we all love, the RPO!’
Catch up online now at www.rpo.co.uk/about/rpo-blog.
RPO on Tour 2018 has so far seen the Orchestra perform a coast-to-coast tour of the USA, alongside conductors Pinchas Zukerman and Thierry Fischer; a tour of Italy, again with Pinchas Zukerman, as well as a return to Italy with conductor Krzysztof Urbanski for the highly regarded Lugano Festival. This summer includes a tour across Europe, with Permanent Associate Conductor Grzegorz Nowak and the critically acclaimed conductor Marin Alsop (right).
New RPO CD: Katherine Lacy Plays Mozart RPO Principal Clarinet, Katherine Lacy, performs Mozart's ever-popular Clarinet Concerto in this glorious new CD, which also features Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, performed alongside Lacy’s fellow RPO Players. RRP £10 (Friends save up to 50%); available online at RPO Store or via the office.
Players’ News So far this year, the RPO has warmly welcomed: Clive Howard (No. 11 Viola), Richard Harwood (Principal Cello) and David O’Leary (No.3 Second Violin).
Office News Congratulations to Jane Aebi (Orchestra Manager) who gave birth to baby Felix earlier this year, and welcome to Ellie Swithinbank, who joins us from the Royal Opera House, to cover Jane’s maternity leave. A sad goodbye to Izzie Clarey (Regional Marketing Coordinator) who recently left to join Spitalfields Music. Many of you would have had the pleasure of talking to Izzie over the RPO Friends line when she began working here as our Marketing Intern. She will be sorely missed! A warm welcome back to Phoebe McFarlane (former Marketing Intern) who is helping, temporarily, to cover some of the regional marketing duties.
RPO Friends benefits: • • • • • •
Up to 50% off tickets and CDs FREE rehearsal passes Priority ticket allocation Dedicated booking line Exclusive special offers Complimentary tickets and concert programmes (Triple Forte Friends only) • Regular news and updates • ... and more! Please be sure to contact the RPO office (rather than the venue) to obtain your RPO Friends discounts.* *applicable to RPO ‘own-promotion’ concerts in London only.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 16 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0QT Visit: www.rpo.co.uk/friends • Tel: 020 7608 8855 (Mon–Fri, office hours) • Email: friends@rpo.co.uk