RPO Southbank Brochure_2018 19

2018 2019

www.rpo.co.uk

ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Ticket Office: 020 3879 9555 www.southbankcentre.co.uk

WELCOME

Welcome to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RPO) 2018–2019 series of seven concerts at the Southbank Centre, featuring a diverse range of symphonic repertoire from the intimate soundworld of Mozart to the all-encompassing grandeur of Mahler’s Symphony No.5 and Richard Strauss’ tone poem Ein Heldenleben.

As part of his seventieth birthday celebrations, the RPO’s Principal Guest Conductor Pinchas Zukerman joins the Orchestra as violinist and conductor in a programme to include Mozart’s exotic Violin Concerto No.5, 'Turkish' and Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 (28 March). Following his critically acclaimed London debut with the RPO in 2018, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare returns to conduct a programme of Mahler and Mozart, joined by French pianist Lise de la Salle (5 March).

And making his debut with the RPO, Lionel Bringuer conducts two concerts of Russian classics, which includes the alluring tales of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade (5 February) and the most Romantic of all symphonies, Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2 (30 October).

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recently announced the appointment of Vasily Petrenko as its new Music Director, starting in the 2021–2022 Season. Prior to this, Vasily will be working with the RPO in London and on tour, and this series concludes with him conducting Strauss’ epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben, a tour-de-force for a huge orchestra depicting a hero’s journey through life (11 June).

In addition to the symphonic repertoire, we’re pleased to present two special events. The Food of Love (16 April) puts Shakespeare centrestage with an entertaining evening of music and words inspired by the Bard and narrated by one of the UK’s most recognised actors, the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart. The RPO also welcomes back its great friend, composer and conductor Eric Whitacre, for a concert of his iconic music for choir and orchestra, performed alongside masterpieces by fellow US composers (15 May).

Whatever your taste in music, we hope you’ll find something to inspire you within the RPO’s Royal Festival Hall series. Please do follow us online to keep up to date with all the RPO’s news and we look forward to welcoming you to one of our concerts.

James Williams Managing Director Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

TUESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2018

IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY Conductor

LIONEL BRINGUIER Violin

VALERIY SOKOLOV SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No.1 RACHMANINOV Symphony No.2

7.30PM

Opening the series with a concerto described as a “pithy 'Shakespearian' role” by celebrated violinist David Oistrakh, Valeriy Sokolov performs one of the most gripping violin concertos in the repertoire. No Russian composer has experienced the oppressive hand of the Soviet state more than Dmitri Shostakovich, and whilst Stalin silenced many artists, it was only after Stalin’s death that Shostakovich dared to publish his Violin Concerto No.1.

The emotional intensity swells after the interval when Lionel Bringuier conducts one of the most abundantly lyrical and superbly crafted masterpieces, Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2. Beset by self-doubt and depression in the years following his First Symphony, Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony restored his self-belief as a symphonist. Journeying from darkness, through an exquisite slow movement and concluding with a joyous triumphant finale, his Second Symphony is sixty minutes of the most glorious music from the symphonic repertoire.

Ticket prices: £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 (RPO friends and group discounts apply, call 020 7608 8840 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends for more information)

TUESDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2019

LOVE, LEGENDS AND FAIRY TALES Conductor

LIONEL BRINGUIER Cello

DANIEL MÜLLER-SCHOTT NICOLAI Overture to the Merry Wives of Windsor DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto RIMSKY–KORSAKOV Scheherazade

7.30PM

Love, legends and fairy tales have long served as an inspiration to composers, in this concert Lionel Bringuier conducts three of the most beautiful examples of this. The concert opens with Nicolai’s Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor. Inspired by Shakespeare’s comedy, the Overture’s immediate success gained it a concert life of its own.

Acclaimed cellist Daniel Müller-Schott joins the Orchestra for Dvořák’s magical Cello Concerto. Filled with wonderful tunes and memorable motifs, this Concerto opened a world of new possibilities for the solo cello. Rounding off the concert with a musical flourish, Lionel Bringuier brings to life the alluring stories of the Arabian Nights in RimskyKorsakov’s well-known Scheherazade.

Ticket prices: £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 (RPO friends and group discounts apply, call 020 7608 8840 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends for more information)

TUESDAY 5 MARCH 2019

A TALE OF DARKNESS TO LIGHT Conductor

RAFAEL PAYARE Piano

LISE DE LA SALLE MOZART Overture to Don Giovanni MOZART Piano Concerto No.9, 'Jeunehomme' MAHLER Symphony No.5

7.30PM

Under the baton of charismatic Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni foreshadows the drama to come.

From its ominous opening to the exuberance and energy of Don Giovanni himself, Mozart’s Overture provides an energetic curtain raiser to the concert. Followed by beauty, clarity and timeless grace in arguably the first really great piano concerto by Mozart, the acclaimed young pianist, Lise de la Salle, takes to the stage to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.9. From darkness a lone trumpet call summons forth Mahler’s stormy Symphony No.5, journeying from the tragic despair of the first movement to the triumphant finale via a heart-wrenching Adagietto movement scored for strings and harp.

Ticket prices: £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 (RPO friends and group discounts apply, call 020 7608 8840 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends for more information)

THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2019

SYMPHONIC MASTERS Conductor/Violin

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis MOZART Violin Concerto No.5, 'Turkish' BEETHOVEN Symphony No.5

7.30PM

From one inescapable melody to another, legendary violinist Pinchas Zukerman is both conductor and soloist in a concert brimming with infectious melodies. Opening with a true English masterpiece, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is a visionary fusion of folksong and sacred music. Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto, the ‘Turkish’ is imbued with joie-de-vivre, the frenzied Allegro in the final movements emulating a Turkish style with melodic leaps, pounding rhythms and percussive strings. Closing the concert is one of the most instantly recognisable piece of symphonic music; Beethoven’s Symphony No.5.

Opening with four imposing notes, this Fate motif that dominates the Symphony arguably epitomises all that was brilliant about the Classical era and still dominates the concert halls today.

Ticket prices: £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 (RPO friends and group discounts apply, call 020 7608 8840 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends for more information)

TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019

AN HEROIC JOURNEY Conductor

VASILY PETRENKO Piano

DENIS KOZHUKHIN BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1 STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben

7.30PM

This concert marks the first London appearance of Vasily Petrenko with the RPO since the Orchestra’s announcement to appoint him as Music Director from 2021–2022. Described by the Chicago Classical Review as “one of the most technically equipped pianists of our time”, virtuosic pianist Denis Kozhukhin performs Brahms’ dramatic Piano Concerto No.1, a piece which encompasses music of brooding power and romantic tenderness. Renowned for his epic tone poems, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben is one of his signature masterpieces. Under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, this colossal orchestral work depicts the story of a hero grappling with life’s adversities and provides a thrilling finale which rounds off the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2018–2019 series on stage at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.

Ticket prices: £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 (RPO friends and group discounts apply, call 020 7608 8840 or visit www.rpo.co.uk/friends for more information)

THE FOOD OF LOVE

SPECIAL EVENTS

Conductor

TUESDAY 16 APRIL 2019, 7.30PM

NIGEL HESS Presenters to include

SIR PATRICK STEWART THE CANTUS ENSEMBLE Celebrate the extraordinary works of William Shakespeare in a unique theatrical evening.

Accompanied by choral and orchestral music interludes from stage and screen by such composers as Craig Armstrong (Romeo + Juliet), Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love), William Walton (Henry V Suite), Henry Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Nigel Hess’ beautiful scores from Royal Shakespeare Company productions, the Bard’s most famous speeches will be vividly brought to life, alongside scandalous backstage anecdotes to create an entertaining night to remember.

Directed by Guy Unsworth.

THE MUSIC OF ERIC WHITACRE Conductor

ERIC WHITACRE CITY OF LONDON CHOIR

Programme to include: WHITACRE October; Songs of Immortality (extracts); Equus; Lux Aurumque; Godzilla East Las Vegas!; Sleep ADAMS Short Ride in a Fast Machine BERNSTEIN Candide Overture COPLAND Quiet City

WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 2019, 7.30PM

Artists may be subject to change.

In recent years Grammy-winning composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, has become one of today’s most popular and frequently-performed composers. In this special concert, Eric Whitacre returns to London to conduct an all-American programme, exploring little-known gems and masterpieces

by Bernstein, John Adams and Copland, alongside several of Whitacre’s most popular works, including Lux Aurumque, which ignited his ground-breaking Virtual Choir, to the lively and entertaining Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!

RPO Resound RPO Resound, the Orchestra’s award-winning community and education programme, uses the transformative power of music to reach the communities the Orchestra serves. Launched in 1993, RPO Resound is one of the most celebrated programmes of its kind in the UK. Musicians travel extensively both nationally and internationally to bring meaningful musical experiences to participants in a range of settings, from hospital wards to homeless shelters, prisons to primary schools and beyond. In the last year alone, RPO Resound reached nearly 10,000 people through a range of inspirational and creative experiences delivered by our musicians.

To find out more about this ground-breaking programme visit www.rpo.co.uk/rpo-resound

‘WE NEED THIS EVERY DAY IN OUR SCHOOL’ © Richard Eaton

‘There was this great vibe in the school and everyone’s spirits were lifted and we’ve all been saying, “we need this every day in our school” because it has made everyone so happy. It’s made everyone work together and created a real team spirit.’ – Secondary School Headteacher, Wandsworth

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

CORPORATE HOSPITALITY NETWORKING | MARKETING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

To find out how you and your company can benefit, please contact Huw Davies (Deputy Managing Director and Head of Development) on 020 7608 8825 or DaviesH@rpo.co.uk

Southbank Centre Ticket Office

020 3879 9555 www.southbankcentre.co.uk

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‘THE RPO DO SENSUOUSNESS UNCOMMONLY WELL. THE END RESULT WAS RICH YET DELICATE, WITH WONDERFULLY LIQUID WOODWIND SOLOS AND AN EXQUISITE SHEEN ON THE STRINGS.’ — The

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Artists may be subject to change.

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