Scotland’s National Orchestra 1
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY No7
★★★★★
‘Exceptionally good’ The Scotsman
★★★★
‘Impressive unity’ The Times
★★★★
‘Simply wonderful’ Bachtrack
10 STUNNING CONCERTS FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS
Give the gift of music this Christmas with a ticket to the RSNO’s Digital Season Buy online at rsno.org.uk/digital-season
BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO7
Ludwig van Beethoven was a visionary, a hero, an iconoclast and a superstar. But above all, he was a revolutionary, and when you hear his Seventh Symphony in full, headlong flight, conducted by Cornelius Meister, you might feel like punching the air. First, though, comes an operatic drama of slavery and freedom, before Francesca Dego takes the spotlight in Mozart’s feistiest violin concerto.
MOZART Overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail K384 [6’] MOZART Violin Concerto No5 in A Major K219 Turkish [30’]* BEETHOVEN Symphony No7 in A Major Op92 [35’] Cornelius Meister Conductor Francesca Dego Violin/Director* Royal Scottish National Orchestra RECORDED AT THE RSNO CENTRE, GLASGOW Broadcast Fri 18 Dec 2020, 7.30pm This performance has been recorded for the RSNO Archive. Supported by the Iain and Pamela Sinclair Legacy.
Jack Hunter Director Simon Lowdon Script Supervisor Diana Dumi and Diego Almazán Camera Operators Diana Dumi Video Editor Phil Hobbs Producer Andrew Trinick Producer (Violin Concerto) Hedd Morfett-Jones Sound Supervisor
Next Digital Season Concert
DVOŘÁK NEW WORLD SYMPHONY Recorded at the RSNO Centre, Glasgow Broadcast date: Fri 15 January 2021, 7.30pm
Errollyn Wallen Mighty River
SCOTCH SNAPS
Wagner (orch Henze) Wesendonck-Lieder Dvořák Symphony No9 From the New World James Lowe Conductor Karen Cargill Mezzo-soprano
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 5
Welcome done any of this without the kind support and donations from our audience, patrons, donors and partners – thank you for brightening our year. This week we are indebted to both Cornelius Meister and Francesca Dego; Cornelius for stepping in to replace Thomas Søndergård due to travel restrictions and Francesca for playdirecting Mozart’s feisty Violin Concerto No5. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony overflows with joy, and I hope it brings you a ray of sunshine this December.
Dear Friends As 2020 comes to a close, it offers the opportunity to pause and reflect on the last 12 months. We started the year with a wonderful European Tour with Music Director Thomas Søndergård and Nicola Benedetti, playing to packed houses and standing ovations – a far cry from March, when we went through the sad process of cancelling concerts and experiencing the uncertainty of not knowing when we would be able to return to the concert hall stage. 2020 has been a challenging and unprecedented year for everyone, but for all its difficulties, it has also offered opportunities. For the RSNO, this has meant transferring our offering online, enabling us to connect with communities at home and around the world. We began our Friday Night Club, #RSNOchallenges and Sunday Sounds (all of which you can still view at youtube.com/ TheRSNO) and now we are halfway through our first-ever Digital Season. We couldn’t have
For many RSNO audience members, it isn’t Christmas until they’ve experienced the RSNO’s magical Christmas Concert featuring The Snowman. Sadly, we were unable to perform it live for you this year, but instead created the wonderful The Night Before Christmas concert with our friends at Children’s Classic Concerts. You can view this online at rsno.org.uk/Christmas-concert and I hope that you enjoy it. Keep safe over Christmas and we look forward to 2021 with renewed hope that we will be able to enjoy live performances together with you, our audience, once more.
Alistair Mackie CHIEF EXECUTIVE
6 Beethoven Symphony No7
73-80
64–72
55–63
46–54
37–45
28–36
19–27
10–18
1–9
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 7
ARTISTIC TEAM Thomas Søndergård MUSIC DIRECTOR Elim Chan PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR Neeme Järvi CONDUCTOR LAUREATE Alexander Lazarev CONDUCTOR EMERITUS
Gregory Batsleer
1 2 3 4 5
CHORUS DIRECTOR, RSNO CHORUS
Patrick Barrett
6 CHORUS DIRECTOR, RSNO JUNIOR CHORUS
FIRST VIOLIN Maya Iwabuchi LEADER Sharon Roffman LEADER Lena Zeliszewska
7 8 9
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Emily Davis ASSOCIATE LEADER 10 Tamás Fejes ASSISTANT LEADER 11 Patrick Curlett ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL 12 Barbara Paterson SUB PRINCIPAL 13 Jane Reid 14 Caroline Parry 15 Ursula Heidecker Allen 16 Lorna Rough 17 Susannah Lowdon 18 Alan Manson 19 Elizabeth Bamping 20 SECOND VIOLIN Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL Jacqueline Speirs ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
21 22
Marion Wilson ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL 23 Harriet Wilson SUB PRINCIPAL 24 Nigel Mason 25 Wanda Wojtasinska 26 Paul Medd 27 Anne Bünemann 28 Sophie Lang 29 Robin Wilson 30 Emily Nenniger 31
VIOLA Tom Dunn PRINCIPAL Asher Zaccardelli
32
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
33
Susan Buchan SUB PRINCIPAL Lisa Rourke SUB PRINCIPAL David Martin Nicola McWhirter Claire Dunn Katherine Wren Maria Trittinger Francesca Hunt
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
CELLO Aleksei Kiseliov PRINCIPAL 42 Betsy Taylor ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL 43 Kennedy Leitch ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL 44 Arthur Boutillier SUB PRINCIPAL 45 William Paterson 46 Rachael Lee 47 Sarah Digger 48 DOUBLE BASS Ana Cordova PRINCIPAL Margarida Castro
49 50
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Michael Rae ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Paul Sutherland SUB PRINCIPAL John Clark Sally Davis
51 52 53 54
FLUTE Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL Helen Brew ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Janet Richardson
55 56 57
PRINCIPAL PICCOLO
OBOE Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL Peter Dykes ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Henry Clay PRINCIPAL COR ANGLAIS
58 59 60
CLARINET Timothy Orpen PRINCIPAL CLARINET Duncan Swindells
61 62
PRINCIPAL BASS CLARINET
BASSOON David Hubbard PRINCIPAL Luis Eisen ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Paolo Dutto
63 64 65
PRINCIPAL CONTRABASSOON
HORN Christopher Gough PRINCIPAL 66 Alison Murray ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL 67 Andrew McLean 68 ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL 69 David McClenaghan Martin Murphy ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL 70 TRUMPET Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL Marcus Pope SUB PRINCIPAL Jason Lewis ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
71 72 73
TROMBONE Dávur Juul Magnussen PRINCIPAL Lance Green ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Alastair Sinclair
74 75 76
PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE
TUBA John Whitener PRINCIPAL
77
TIMPANI Paul Philbert PRINCIPAL
78
PERCUSSION Simon Lowdon PRINCIPAL John Poulter ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
79 80
8 Beethoven Symphony No7
Overture to Die Entführung aus dem Serail K384 The clue is in the German title: this was not Italian grand opera, but a Singspiel, a lighterhued work in the local vernacular that was extremely popular in Vienna at the time. The 25-year-old Mozart, newly arrived in the city and eager to establish himself, approached Gottlieb Stephanie, the director of the Nationalsingspiel – a favourite company that existed thanks to sponsorship by Emperor Joseph II – and won a commission to set a libretto by Stephanie himself.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
FIRST PERFORMED Vienna, 16 July 1782 DURATION 6 minutes As a child prodigy, escorted around the royal courts of Europe by his proud and pushy father, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once played in the corridors of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace with the princess Maria Antonia and also supposedly jumped onto Empress Maria Theresa’s lap. As an adult, however, his view of royal patronage was altogether more fraught. Like Beethoven after him, he loathed dependence on the rich and powerful, and sought an independent life as a freelance artist rather than a courtly servant. Without royal patronage, however, Mozart would probably never have completed the inspired confection that is Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Il Seraglio/The Abduction from the Seraglio).
Mozart had a considerable hand in the libretto’s formation and was grateful to the writer for preparing it ‘exactly as I want it’ – though, as it turned out, Stephanie had pinched the material without accreditation from another author, Christoph Friedrich Bretzner, who was none too pleased. The story of Belmonte who rescues his beloved Constanze from a harem was in tune with the current fashion: a craze for all things Turkish was sweeping the city, where the military threat posed by the Ottoman Empire had been safely consigned to the recent past. The opera was completed in a few months and premiered at Vienna’s Burgtheater on 16 July 1782. It was a runaway success; Goethe declared that it ‘conquered all’. The only dissent seems to have come from the Emperor, who famously told the composer the work contained ‘an extraordinary number of notes’. To which Mozart replied, as well he might, ‘There are just as many notes as there should be.’ The Turkish influence is upfront in the Overture, which jangles away to its heart’s content, evoking the sounds of Turkish janissary band music that recur later in the opera. Launching the work as it means to go on, it provides the perfect curtain-raiser. © Jessica Duchen
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 9
Violin Concerto No5 in A Major K291 Turkish Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
FIRST PERFORMED Salzburg, 1775 DURATION 30 minutes Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto Adagio Rondeau – Tempo di minuetto Mozart played the violin extremely well during his child prodigy days. Once, during the family’s performance tours around Europe, he played a minuet on the fiddle to a customs official at a border crossing, winning the family a happy wave-through. As time went by, though, Mozart’s relationship with the instrument seems to have become complex, indeed rather Freudian. His father, Leopold, was primarily known as a violin teacher and the young Wolfgang Amadeus’ relationship with him was distinctly chequered. It is almost as if he hesitated to embrace as his own an instrument that he might have associated with control, unwelcome directives and guilt-tripping. Leopold clearly was aware of his son’s ambivalence towards the violin. In 1778, trying to persuade him to return home to Salzburg rather than move to Mannheim, Munich or Paris, Leopold uses as encouragement: ‘You wouldn’t have to play the violin at court, but could conduct from the keyboard.’ Mozart gave him short shrift. When he finally moved to Vienna in 1781, it was in defiance of his father’s coercion; thereafter he rarely played the instrument and, when taking part in string quartets, preferred the viola. Perhaps it is no accident, then, that Mozart’s five violin concertos were all early works, written within six months of one another when
he was only 19. The A Major Concerto was completed on 20 December 1775; its premiere in Salzburg was likely given soon afterwards. It is not certain whether Mozart was the soloist or if the Italian violinist Gaetano Brunetti had the honour. From the Concerto’s outset, Mozart is pushing the boat out in terms of innovation. It begins genially enough, but when the soloist enters it is as if from another world, meandering down a completely new path before deciding to join in the Allegro after all. The slow movement is exquisitely songful, barely a step away from an operatic aria. In the finale, though, Mozart again takes us by surprise; after a minuet-like opening, the soloist breaks into a different theme altogether, and in the middle we stumble upon a sudden ‘Turkish’ episode, a minor-key section that supposedly evokes the then-fashionable exoticism with ferociously accented effects. Finally the opening theme returns, and instead of giving way to any virtuosic coda, the music simply comes to a perfectly controlled stop. © Jessica Duchen
10 Beethoven Symphony No7
Symphony No 7 in A Major Op 92 For much of his adult life, Beethoven was plagued by ill health: increasing deafness, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), headaches, stomach pains, rheumatic attacks, and on top of it all a tendency to profound depression. But he also had a remarkable ability not just to endure but to rise above suffering – a quality many listeners can hear in his music. Sometimes it was work that saved him; at others it was the experience of recovery that gave new energy to composition, as was very much the case with the Seventh Symphony.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
FIRST PERFORMED Vienna, 8 December 1813 DURATION 35 minutes Poco sostenuto – Vivace Allegretto Presto – Assai meno presto – Presto – Assai meno presto – Presto Allegro con brio
In 1811 Beethoven spent the summer in the Bohemian spa town of Teplitz, a place of relative peace and safety in turbulent times (Napoleon’s warmongering was still causing huge suffering in Europe). Beethoven returned home to Vienna with plans for two symphonies. He began writing the first of these, his Seventh, almost immediately; the second took rather longer, emerging 12 years later as the monumental choral Ninth. At times the Seventh Symphony seems ready to burst with renewed energy – this is the symphony Wagner famously described as ‘the apotheosis of the dance’. Its sheer dynamism, expressed in bracing muscular rhythms and brilliant orchestration, can in some performances border on the unnerving. Beethoven’s younger contemporary Carl Maria von Weber produced some pretty startling music himself, but confronted with one of the Seventh Symphony’s obsessively repeating crescendos he announced that Beethoven was now ‘ripe for the madhouse’. What sounded like madness to some, especially at first, now sounds to many like a joyous abundance of life. To borrow a line from Beethoven’s contemporary William Blake, ‘Exuberance is beauty’.
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 11
Slow woodwind phrases open the Symphony, brusquely punctuated by full orchestral chords – not much to dance about here, one might think. But then faster string figures galvanise the music into physical action. Eventually this slow introduction settles on a single note, passed between woodwind and strings, which soon develops into a sprightly dotted rhythm, and the Vivace begins. This rhythm – an emphatic long note followed by two short ones (ONE – two-three) – not only dominates this movement but plays a crucial part in the other three. You can also hear it in the main theme of the following Allegretto, after the initial minor-key wind chord. This magically atmospheric movement, with its hypnotic, sleepwalking tread (again, ONE – two-three), was such a success at its first performance that it had to be repeated. It evidently made a deep impression on another, younger Viennese composer, Franz Schubert. Next, the Presto bursts into life. This has all the racing forward momentum of a typical Beethoven Scherzo, twice interrupted by a slower Trio section (led by another version of the ONE – two-three rhythmic pattern). One last fading echo of the slower Trio theme is dismissed by five crisp orchestral chords. After this the finale is a magnificent dance of triumph, pounding out almost to frenzy the Symphony’s seminal ONE – two-three. The final build-up results in two huge waves of sound each culminating in a blazing fff (fortississimo – as loud as possible), leading to a stamping gesture like the final flourish of an elemental flamenco. © Stephen Johnson
What was happening in 1813? 24 Jan The Philharmonic Society (later gaining royal patronage) was founded in London 28 Jan Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was published – anonymously – in London 4 Mar James Madison was sworn in for a second term as US President 17 Mar In the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia declared war on France 19 Mar Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone was born 22 May Richard Wagner, composer of the Ring cycle of operas, was born in Leipzig 6 Jun European settlers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth successfully crossed Australia’s Blue Mountains 12 Aug In the Napoleonic Wars, Austria declared war on France 10 Oct Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer of the operas La traviata and Aida, was born 25 Dec William Debenham and Thomas Clark formed a partnership to run a draper’s store at 44 Wigmore Street, London
12 Beethoven Symphony No7
Francesca Dego VIOLIN Celebrated for her sonorous tone, compelling interpretations and flawless technique, ItalianAmerican violinist Francesca Dego is making her mark on the international scene. Recent and forthcoming highlights include performances with the Hallé, Ulster and Royal Scottish National orchestras, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana at Palau de les Arts, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia and Het Gelders Orkest in Arnhem. In Italy, this season’s highlights include opening the prestigious MITO Settembre Musica Festival with Milan’s ‘La Verdi’ Orchestra, and returns to the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma and to the main season of the ‘La Verdi’ Orchestra. Francesca has worked alongside many esteemed conductors, including Karen Durgaryan, Christopher Franklin, Yoel Levi, Grant Llewellyn, Wayne Marshall, Diego Matheuz, Gemma New, Dalia Stasevska, Alpesh Chauhan and Xian Zhang. An outstanding collaborative artist, she thrives in chamber settings, and has performed with Salvatore Accardo, Mahan Esfahani, Jan Lisiecki, Mischa Maisky, Antonio Meneses, Martin Owen, Roman Simovic and Kathryn Stott, as well as her regular recital partner, pianist Francesca Leonardi. Signed exclusively to Chandos Records, forthcoming releases include a celebration of the legacy of Niccolò Paganini with works inspired by the great violinist and performed on his violin, the fabled ‘Il Cannone’, and a recording of the complete Mozart Violin Concertos with the RSNO under the baton of Sir Roger Norrington. Francesca is based in London and plays on a precious Francesco Ruggeri violin (Cremona 1697).
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 13
Cornelius Meister CONDUCTOR new production of Hans Abrahamsen’s The Snow Queen at the Bavarian State Opera and returned to the Metropolitan Opera New York for Le nozze di Figaro. He continued the Mahler symphony cycle with the Stuttgart State Orchestra and conducted Tristan und Isolde, Lohengrin, Elektra and Don Carlo at the State Opera. Cornelius made his debut at the Hamburg State Opera at the age of 21, followed by engagements at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Theater an der Wien, New National Theatre Tokyo, San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera and the Royal Opera House. In 2015 he debuted at the Teatro alla Scala Milan.
Cornelius Meister began his tenure as Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera and Orchestra in 2018. Since 2017 he has also been Principal Guest Conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. In recent years he has received the Opus Klassik Conductor of the Year award, the International Classical Music Award in the Symphonic Recordings category for the complete Martinů symphonies, and the Diapason d’Or and German Record Critics’ award for the DVD of Massenet’s Werther at Opernhaus Zürich. In the 2019/20 season he conducted concerts with the Orchestre National de France, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic. He also conducted the
Cornelius studied piano and conducting in Hanover with Konrad Meister, Martin Brauß and Eiji Ōue, and at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Dennis Russell Davies, Jorge Rotter and Karl Kamper. From 2005 to 2012 he was Music Director of the Theater und Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, and from 2010 to 2018 Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as a pianist in Europe and the US, and has led piano concertos by Grieg, Liszt, Gershwin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn from the keyboard.
14 Beethoven Symphony No7
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company became the Scottish National Orchestra in 1950, and was awarded Royal Patronage in 1977. The Orchestra’s artistic team is led by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård, who was appointed RSNO Music Director in October 2018, having previously held the position of Principal Guest Conductor. Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan succeeds Søndergård as Principal Guest Conductor. The RSNO performs across Scotland, including concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness. The Orchestra appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms, and has made recent tours to the USA, China and Europe. The Orchestra is joined for choral performances by the RSNO Chorus, directed by Gregory Batsleer. The RSNO Chorus evolved from a choir formed in 1843 to sing the first full performance of Handel’s Messiah in Scotland. Today, the RSNO Chorus is one of the most distinguished large symphonic choruses in Britain. The Chorus has performed nearly every work in the standard choral repertoire, along with contemporary works by composers including John Adams, Howard Shore and James MacMillan. Formed in 1978 by Jean Kidd, the acclaimed RSNO Junior Chorus, under its director Patrick
Barrett, also performs regularly alongside the Orchestra. Boasting a membership of over 400 members aged from 7 to 18, it has built up a considerable reputation singing under some of the world’s most distinguished conductors and appearing on radio and television. The RSNO has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its recordings, receiving a 2020 Gramophone Classical Music Award for Chopin’s Piano Concertos (soloist: Benjamin Grosvenor), conducted by Elim Chan; two Diapason d’Or awards for Symphonic Music (Denève/Roussel 2007; Denève/Debussy 2012) and eight GRAMMY Awards nominations. Over 200 releases are available, including the complete symphonies of Sibelius (Gibson), Prokofiev (Järvi), Glazunov (Serebrier), Nielsen and Martinů (Thomson) and Roussel (Denève) and the major orchestra works of Debussy (Denève). Thomas Søndergård’s debut recording with the RSNO, of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, was released in 2019. The RSNO’s pioneering learning and engagement programme, Music for Life, aims to engage the people of Scotland with music across key stages of life: Early Years, Nurseries and Schools, Teenagers and Students, Families, Accessing Lives, Working Lives and Retired and Later Life. The team is committed to placing the Orchestra at the centre of Scottish communities via workshops and annual residencies.
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 15
On Stage
FIRST VIOLIN Sharon Roffman
CELLO Aleksei Kiseliov
HORN Christopher Gough
Lena Zeliszewska
Betsy Taylor Kennedy Leitch Arthur Boutillier Sarah Digger Rachael Lee
Alison Murray Andrew McLean Martin Murphy
DOUBLE BASS Ana Cordova
PRINCIPAL
LEADER
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Tamás Fejes
ASSISTANT LEADER
Patrick Curlett Barbara Paterson Aoife Ní Bhriain Alan Manson Caroline Parry Elizabeth Bamping Ursula Heidecker Allen Jane Reid SECOND VIOLIN Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL
Jacqueline Speirs Marion Wilson Robin Wilson Sophie Lang Paul Medd Wanda Wojtasinska Anne Bünemann VIOLA Tom Dunn PRINCIPAL
Susan Buchan Claire Dunn Katherine Wren David Martin Francesca Hunt
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPAL
TRUMPET Christopher Hart Marcus Pope
Margarida Castro Paul Sutherland Sally Davis
TIMPANI Paul Philbert
FLUTE Katherine Bryan
PERCUSSION John Poulter
Helen Brew
Tom Hunter Stuart Semple
PRINCIPAL
OBOE Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL
Henry Clay CLARINET Timothy Orpen PRINCIPAL
Duncan Swindells BASSOON David Hubbard PRINCIPAL
Luis Eisen
PRINCIPAL
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Scotland’s National Orchestra 17
Supporting the RSNO I am honoured and extremely proud to be Music Director of the RSNO. It is through the continued generosity of you, our friends, donors and supporters, that we can continue to achieve and realise the most ambitious goals of the Orchestra. The absence of musicians from the stage in 2020 has been the most difficult of times. It has reinforced for us all how vital music is in helping us overcome hardship, fear and loneliness. The creativity and dedication shown by RSNO musicians in recent months has been incredible. This is despite the pattern of our working lives being dramatically interrupted
and being separated, not just from one another, but also from our audiences and communities. I hope you will choose to support us now as we adapt and embark upon this next chapter in RSNO history. Thank you for your support
Thomas Søndergård MUSIC DIRECTOR, RSNO
RSNO Conductors’ Circle The RSNO Conductors’ Circle is an inspirational group of individual supporters at the heart of the RSNO’s Individual Giving programme. Our members’ annual philanthropic gifts enable us to realise the Orchestra’s most ambitious goals. Conductors’ Circle members support inspirational concert performances for our audiences alongside transformational education programmes in communities across Scotland, via our ground-breaking initiative Music for Life. The relationship between the RSNO and Conductors’ Circle members involves exceptional levels of access to all aspects of Orchestra life. We design bespoke private events tailored to individual interests and passions, providing insight into the artistic process and bringing our supporters further into the RSNO family. Members of the Conductors’ Circle benefit from an intimate and long-lasting connection with the RSNO Artistic Team and particularly with RSNO Music Director Thomas Søndergård, Principal Guest Conductor Elim Chan and the many
renowned guest Conductors we are privileged to welcome to the RSNO each year. The RSNO is very grateful for the continued support of its Conductors’ Circle: Ardgowan Charitable Trust Geoff and Mary Ball Sir Ewan and Lady Brown Ian and Evelyn Crombie Carol Grigor and the Trustees of Dunard Fund Gavin and Kate Gemmell Kenneth and Julia Greig Ms Chris Grace Hartness Kat Heathcote and Iain Macneil Bruce and Caroline Minto David and Alix Stevenson Eric and Karen Young We would also like to thank those generous donors who wish to remain anonymous. For more information on Individual Giving and becoming part of the Conductors’ Circle please contact Jenny McNeely at jenny.mcneely@rsno.org.uk
18 Beethoven Symphony No7
Patron Programme CHAIR PATRON From musical activities in schools with the musicians of the future to working in community venues across Scotland, as a Chair Patron you are enabling RSNO musicians to explore the many facets of their art and the positive impact it has on people’s lives. Supporting an individual musician puts you at the heart of the RSNO family. You’re connected directly to the musicians on stage and get to enjoy privileged behind-the-scenes access. RSNO musicians truly appreciate our Chair Patrons and enjoy developing personal relationships with our supporters.
Assistant Conductor
Cello Aleksei Kiseliov PRINCIPAL
Horn Christopher Gough PRINCIPAL
First Violin Maya Iwabuchi LEADER Sharon Roffman LEADER
Kennedy Leitch
Alison Murray
Dunard Fund Chair
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The David and Anne Smith Chair
Tamás Fejes Assistant LEADER
Arthur Boutiller
David McClenaghan
Rachael Lee
Trumpet Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL
The Solti Foundation Chair
The Bill and Rosalind Gregson Chair
Patrick Curlett ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The RSNO Circle Chair
Jane Reid
The James Wood Bequest Fund Chair
Alan Manson
The James Browning Chair
The Ardgowan Charitable Trust Chair The Christine and Arthur Hamilton Chair
Double Bass Ana Cordova PRINCIPAL
The Kate and Gavin Gemmell Chair
The Hugh and Linda Bruce-Watt Chair
John Clark
Elizabeth Bamping
The WL and Vera Heywood Chair
Flute Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL
Second Violin Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL
Helen Brew ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
The Hilda Munro Chair
Sophie Lang
The Ian and Evelyn Crombie Chair
Viola Lisa Rourke SUB PRINCIPAL The Meta Ramsay Chair
The Gregor Forbes Chair
The David and Anne Smith Chair The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Chair
Oboe Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL The Hedley Wright Chair
Peter Dykes
David Martin
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust Chair
Francesca Hunt
Cor Anglais Henry Clay PRINCIPAL
The Miss Grace MM Mitchell Bequest Chair The Rolf and Celia Thornqvist Chair
The Springbank Distillers Chair
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Mr & Mrs Pierre and Alison Girard The J & A Mitchell Chair
Ms Chris Grace Hartness
Marcus Pope SUB PRINCIPAL
The Nigel and Margot Russell Chair
Trombone Dávur Juul Magnussen PRINCIPAL The Mitchell’s Glengyle Chair
Lance Green
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL The William Cadenhead Chair
Timpani Paul Philbert
Ms Chris Grace Hartness
Percussion John Poulter
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL The Dot and Syd Taft Chair
Director of Concerts and Engagement Bill Chandler The James and Iris Miller Chair
In memory of a dear friend, Fiona H
Bassoon David Hubbard PRINCIPAL
The James and Morag Anderson Chair
We would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of Mr Hedley Wright in supporting the RSNO Chair Patron Programme.
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 19
LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT PATRON Our Learning and Engagement activity is structured around our Music for Life programme. From apps for babies to concerts and workshops for school children, and lunchtime concerts for older adults, the range of projects is vast. As a Patron, you will have access to our projects to bring you closer to the communities we serve across Scotland. Learning and Engagement Patrons Neil and Nicola Gordon Mr Maurice Taylor CBE Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust NEW WORKS PATRON The RSNO is dedicated to bringing new works and outstanding new talent to audiences across Scotland. Our New Works Patrons contribute a significant legacy to orchestral music that extends beyond the RSNO, providing new music for orchestras and audiences around the world – for generations to come. New Works Patron Susie Thomson We are also grateful to those who give but wish to remain anonymous. If you would like more information or would like to discuss how you can become part of the RSNO Family of Supporters, please contact Jenny McNeely, Head of Individual Giving and Partnerships, at jenny.mcneely@rsno.org.uk
We would like to thank all those who have made donations to the RSNO Covid Appeal over the recent months. The generosity of our supporters at this time is deeply appreciated.
Musical Memories Leave a gift to the RSNO and ensure future generations can create their own Musical Memories of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. We all have special Musical Memories. It could be learning to play an instrument when you were a child, or a special piece of music that just left you breathless the first time you heard the Orchestra play it. Maybe it was seeing a soloist you had always wanted to hear, or just a great concert shared with friends. Memories such as these make music such an important part of our lives. Leaving a gift to the RSNO in your will is the single most important way you can help us to make music and to create memories. Your legacy will support the work of the Orchestra for years to come, ensuring that we can continue to bring great music to a new generation of children, young people and adults right across Scotland. It is easy to leave a gift. After you have made provisions for family and friends, please think of the Orchestra.
Your gift is important to us and to everyone in Scotland who enjoys music. Contact your solicitor to draft a will or add a codicil to your current will. If your estate is subject to inheritance tax, a gift to a charity, such as the RSNO, is tax-free and will reduce the amount of tax payable to the Government. Please ask your solicitor for details. For more information please visit rsno.org.uk/memories If you would like to discuss this further, please contact Kirsten Reid, Individual Giving and Partnerships Officer, in the strictest confidence at kirsten.reid@rsno.org.uk To the many among you who have pledged to leave a gift already – thank you.
Scotland’s National Orchestra 21
Charitable Trusts and Foundations Charitable trusts and foundations have a long and illustrious history of supporting the RSNO, both on the concert platform and through our Learning and Engagement programmes in the community. Grants and awards of all sizes are greatly appreciated, and range from one-off donations for specific projects through to large-scale support over a number of years, including support of the acclaimed RSNO Junior Chorus and our flagship educational project, the National Schools Concert Programme. We are fortunate in having developed long-term relationships with a number of trusts who have sustained their invaluable support over many years, enabling a significant amount of our work and mission to go ahead each year that otherwise would simply not happen. Our 2020:21 Season of concerts and Learning and Engagement programmes is generously supported by the following trusts and foundations: Aberdeen Endowments Trust Alexander Moncur Charitable Trust Alma and Leslie Wolfson Charitable Trust Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Balgay Children’s Society Bank of Scotland Foundation Castansa Trust Cruden Foundation Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation David and June Gordon Memorial Trust D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunclay Charitable Trust Educational Institute of Scotland Ettrick Charitable Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust Forteviot Charitable Trust Gannochy Trust Garrick Charitable Trust Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Glasgow Educational and Marshall Trust Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Hugh Fraser Foundation Idlewild Trust James Wood Bequest Fund Jean & Roger Miller Charitable Trust Jennie S Gordon Memorial Foundation John Ellerman Foundation John Scott Trust Fund J T H Charitable Trust KPE4 Charitable Trust Leche Trust Leng Charitable Trust Meikle Foundation Michael Tippett Musical Foundation Mickel Fund Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust New Park Educational Trust Noël Coward Foundation Northwood Charitable Trust PF Charitable Trust PRS Foundation
R J Larg Family Trust Robertson Trust Ronald Miller Foundation RVW Trust Scott-Davidson Charitable Trust Solti Foundation Stevenston Trust Tay Charitable Trust Tillyloss Trust W A Cargill Fund Walter Scott Giving Group William Syson Foundation Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust We are also grateful to a number of trusts that wish to stay anonymous. If you would like more information about our work and how you can make a difference, please contact Ajda Šubelj, Head of Trusts and Projects, at ajda.subelj@rsno.org.uk
22 Beethoven Symphony No7
RSNO Circle The Circle is a vital part of the RSNO family. Our community of music-lovers inspire and support us. Supporting us by joining the Circle will help us to bring music to so many people, from our Learning and Engagement programmes to our brand-new digital performances. As part of our community and family, we will keep in touch with our exclusive magazine Inner Circle, our Circle member webpage and invitations to special events throughout the year. To find out more about joining the Circle please visit rsno.org.uk/circle or get in touch with our Individual Giving and Partnerships Officer, Kirsten Reid, RSNO, 19 Killermont Street, Glasgow G2 3NX Email: kirsten.reid@rsno.org.uk To all our existing Circle members, thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support that allows us to continue sharing the joy of music. Virtuoso
Ms Catherine Y Alexander Mrs A M Bennett Dame Susan and Mr John Bruce Mrs Stina Bruce-Jones Stephen and Morny Carter Philip and Mary Contini Sir Sandy and Lady Crombie Gavin and Kate Gemmell Dr M I and Mrs C R Gordon Scott and Frieda Grier Iain MacNeil and Kat Heathcote Miss A McGrory Miss M Michie Mr James Miller CBE Meta Ramsay Mr George Ritchie Mr and Mrs W Semple Myra and David Soutar Mr Ian Taft Claire and Mark Urquhart Raymond and Brenda Williamson Mr Hedley G Wright
Symphony
Ronnie and Evelyne Anderson Mr Alan and Mrs Carolyn Bonnyman Miss L Buist Mr and Mrs J K Burleigh Mr J L Donaldson Mr I Gow Mr J D Home Mrs J Kennedy Mrs A Lamont Norma and Christine Lessels Mr A D Mackay Mr I C MacNicol Professor J and Mrs S Mavor Mrs A McQueen Morag Millar Mr Miller Miss K Ridland Mr and Mrs David Robinson Mr D Rogerson Mrs Ann M Stephen Mr Alistair M and Mrs Mandy Struthers Mr and Mrs M Whelan Mrs A Wolfson
Concerto
Dr K Chapman and Ms S Adam Mr A Alstead Miss D Blackie Neil and Karin Bowman Dr M Bronte-Stewart Dr F L Brown Mr John Brownlie Mr and Mrs Burnside Mr A Campbell Sir Graeme and Lady Catto Mr R Cavanagh Myk Cichla Dr J Coleiro Mr and Mrs B H Cross Christine and Jo Danbolt Mr P Davidson Mr J Diamond Miss C Dixon-Carter OBE Mr C Ffoulkes Mr and Mrs M Gilbert Professor J R and Mrs C M Gray Richard and Linda Holden Mrs F D Inverarity Mr N Jack Mr and Mrs S G Kay Mr and Mrs W Kean Mrs M King Mr Alistair Mackie Mr D MacPherson Mr R G Madden Mr S Marwick Mr and Mrs G McAllister Mr E and Mrs S McGeachan Mr Rod McLoughlin Mrs B Morinaud Mr A Morrison Mrs A C Morrison Dr and Mrs D Mowle Dr P Osborne Mr and Mrs D Pirie Ms A and Miss I Reeve Elspeth M Robertson Miss L E Robertson Ross family Dr and Mrs G K Simpson Mr and Mrs A Stewart Mrs M Stirling
Mr G Stronach Dr G R Sutherland Mr I Szymanski Professor D E M Taylor Mr and Dr Tom Thomson Mr J B and Mrs M B Watson Mr and Mrs Wigglesworth
Sonata
Ms S Ace Mr K Allen Ms D Baines Mr O Balfour Mr N C Banks Mr N Barton Dr A D Beattie Mrs H Benzie Lord and Lady Borthwick Rev P Boylan John Bradshaw and Shiona Mackie Mrs L Brocklebank Ms H Calvert Mr E M Cameron Miss S M Carlyon Mrs H S Chalmers Mr T Cole and Mrs J Leslie-Cole Lady Coulsfield Adam and Lesley Cumming Ms K Cunningham Mr F Dalziel and Mrs S Walsh Dr J K and Mrs E E Davidson Mr and Mrs K B Dietz Mrs C Donald Jane Donald and Lee Knifton Ms P Dow Mrs P du Feu Mr John Duffy Mr and Mrs M Dunbar Mr R M Duncan Brigadier and Mrs C C Dunphie Mrs E Egan Miss L Emslie Mr R B Erskine Dr E Evans Mr D Fraser Mr D and Mrs A Fraser Mr D Frew Ms J Gardner
Dr P and Dr K Gaskell Mr W G Geddes Mrs E Gibb Mrs M Gibson Mr D Gibson Lady A V Gibson Mrs J Gilchrist Mrs M Gillan Mr R M Godfrey Dr J A Graham and Mrs H M Graham Professor and Mrs A R Grieve Mr and Mrs G Y Haig Lord and Lady Hamilton Dr P J Harper Dr N Harrison Mr and Mrs R J Hart Mr D Hartman Ms V Harvey Mrs S Hawthorn Mrs M Hayes Dr and Mrs P Heywood Bobby and Rhona Hogg Ms J Hope Mr R Horne Mr and Mrs F Howell Mrs A S Hunter Professor R N Ibbett Professor and Mrs E W Laing Mr J P Lawson Mr and Mrs J Lawson Mr R M Love Dr D A Lunt Mr and Mrs R MacCormick Mr and Mrs MacGillivray Lady Lucinda L Mackay Mr R Maizels and Ms C Tilley Dr A K and Mrs J C Martin Mr and Mrs J Martin Mr and Mrs D H Marwick Ms S McArthur Mr G McCormack Mrs L McCormick Mrs M McDonald Mrs C McGowan-Smyth Dr Colin McHardy Dr A H McKee Mr Patrick McKeever Mr G McKeown
Ms H L McLaren Mrs E McLean Ms Fiona McLeod Mr and Mrs B Mellon Mr and Mrs I Mills Mrs P Molyneaux Mr R Morley Mr B Morrison Mr K M Murray Mr B and Mrs C Nelson Mr and Mrs K O’Hare Professor Stephen Osborne and Frank Osborne Mr and Mrs K Osborne Dr G Osbourne Ms S Park Mr R Parry Mr J Paterson Misses J and M Penman Mr I Percival Dr M Porteous Mr J W Pottinger Miss J A Raiker Mr M Rattray Ms F Reith Mrs D A Riley Dr and Mrs D Robb Mr I Robertson Mr H and Mrs J Robson Ms A Robson Mrs E K Ross Mrs S Scott Mrs J Shanks Mr J A Shipley Dr M J and Mrs J A Shirreffs Mr E B Simmons and Mrs R Nicolson Dr Colin and Mrs Kathleen Sinclair Mr M J Smith Mrs E Smith Mr M A Snider Dr and Mrs B Stack Mrs Lorna Statham Mrs T Stevenson Rev N and Mr R Stewart Mrs R F Stewart Mr and Mrs B Tait Dr and Mrs T Thomson Mrs E B Tupman
Dr S Tweedie Dr Morag Ward Mr W Watters Dr and Mrs T Weakley Mrs V Wells Mr G West Miss M Whitelaw Dr and Mrs D T Williams Mr D Woolgar Mr R Young
Thank you to all our members of the Circle, including those who wish to remain anonymous. Every one of you makes a real difference.
24 Beethoven Symphony No7
A big Thank You to our supporters FUNDERS
CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
PRINCIPAL MEDIA PARTNER
PRINCIPAL TRANSPORT PARTNER
BROADCAST PARTNER
PARTNERS Glasgow Chamber of Commerce • Institute of Directors • Scots Magazine The Scottish Council for Development & Industry • Smart Graphics
PROJECT PARTNERS Abertay University • Children’s Classic Concerts • Children’s Hospices Across Scotland • Dundee University • Gig Buddies Glasgow Association for Mental Health (GAMH) • Glasgow Life • Horsecross Arts • National Youth Orchestras of Scotland Prescribe Culture (University of Edinburgh) • Royal Conservatoire of Scotland • Scottish Book Trust Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust • Usher Hall • Young Scot
CHAIR SPONSORS
If you would like more information about sponsorships, corporate partnerships or fundraising events with the RSNO, please contact Kirsten Reid, Individual Giving and Partnerships Officer, at kirsten.reid@rsno.org.uk
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 25
Royal Scottish National Orchestra PATRON
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Jenny McNeely
Her Majesty The Queen
Alistair Mackie Nicola Shephard
Graham Ramage
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
HEAD OF INDIVIDUAL GIVING AND PARTNERSHIPS GRAPHICS AND NEW MEDIA DESIGNER
Kirsten Reid
INDIVIDUAL GIVING AND PARTNERSHIPS OFFICER
RSNO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CONCERTS AND ENGAGEMENT
Elected Directors Dame Susan Bruce DBE
Bill Chandler
Sam Stone
Ajda Šubelj
John Heasley
Laura Baxter
HEAD OF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT (MATERNITY COVER)
Michael Cameron
FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES
DIRECTOR OF CONCERTS AND ENGAGEMENT
CHAIR
HONORARY TREASURER
Hugh Bruce-Watt Kat Heathcote Linda Holden Neil McLennan Costa Pilavachi David Robinson Gurjit Singh Lalli Jane Wood
DRIVER AND DEPUTY STAGE MANAGER
Samantha Campbell
HEAD OF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT (MATERNITY LEAVE)
Bekah Cork
ARTISTIC PLANNING AND TOURS MANAGER
Flora Farqhuarson CREATIVE ASSISTANT
Emma Hunter
DEPUTY ORCHESTRA MANAGER
Player Directors Dávur Juul Magnussen Sophie Lang Kennedy Leitch Paul Philbert Janet Richardson Lorna Rough
Rosie Kenneally
LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OFFICER
Ewen McKay
HEAD OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Richard Payne LIBRARIAN
Tammo Schuelke
ARTISTIC PLANNING MANAGER
Naomi Stewart
TRUSTS AND PROJECTS COORDINATOR INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER HEAD OF TRUSTS AND PROJECTS
Angela Moreland
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Ted Howie
FACILITIES COORDINATOR
Jack Hunter VIDEO PRODUCER
Irene McPhail
ACCOUNTS AND PAYROLL ASSISTANT
Hedd Morfett-Jones DIGITAL MANAGER
Susan Rennie FINANCE MANAGER
Abby Trainor ADMINISTRATOR
Jade Wilson
FINANCE ASSISTANT
Matthias van der Swaagh
Nominated Directors Cllr Frank Docherty
CONCERTS ADMINISTRATOR
Craig Swindells
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL
Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
STAGE AND PRODUCTION MANAGER
Christine Walker CHORUS MANAGER
Company Secretary Gordon Murray
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
RSNO COUNCIL
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Royal Scottish National Orchestra 19 Killermont Street Glasgow G2 3NX T: +44 (0)141 226 3868 W: rsno.org.uk
PROGRAMMES EDITOR
Scottish Company No. 27809 Scottish Charity No. SC010702
Dr Jane Donald
Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale CHAIR
Lady Gibson Ms Ruth Wishart
Ian Brooke
Constance Carter-Fraser
EXTERNAL RELATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
Jessica Cowley
/royalscottishnationalorchestra
Carol Fleming
@RSNO
SENIOR MARKETING OFFICER HEAD OF MARKETING
@rsnoofficial
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Youtube.com/thersno
Catriona Mackenzie
The RSNO is one of Scotland’s National Performing Companies, supported by the Scottish Government.
Orchestra list and programme details correct at time of going to print. Contents © Copyright RSNO and named authors.