Scotland’s National Orchestra 1
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY No7
POLSKA SCOTLAND Financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport of the Republic of Poland as part of the Multi-annual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017–2022
Spring/Summer 2021
Available from Fri 16 April 2021
NINE SPECTACULAR CONCERTS BROADCAST FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS Featuring Thomas Søndergård • Nicola Benedetti Elim Chan • Benjamin Grosvenor Paul Lewis and more
On Sale Now! rsno.org.uk
DVOŘÁK SYMPHONY No7
‘Polish music is a little bit of a mission for me!’ says the Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska, and today she kicks off with a real firecracker: Witold Lutosławski’s sparky Little Suite. Then, as the dust settles, Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony emerges from the shadows. Dark, stormy and heroic, some say it’s the greatest symphony he ever wrote: one of those pieces that grabs you with the very first note, and never lets go.
LUTOSŁAWSKI Mała suita [11’] DVOŘÁK Symphony No7 in D Minor Op70 [38’] Marta Gardolińska Conductor Royal Scottish National Orchestra RECORDED AT THE GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL Broadcast Fri 14 May 2021, 7.30pm
This performance has been recorded for the RSNO Archive. Supported by the Iain and Pamela Sinclair Legacy.
Jack Hunter Director Robert Baxter Script Supervisor Diana Dumi and Diego Almazán Camera Operators Claire Bryan Show Caller Diana Dumi Video Editor Phil Hobbs Producer Hedd Morfett-Jones Sound Supervisor Claire Bryan and Sam McErlean Sound Assistants
This concert is part of the RSNO’s Polska Scotland series. Polska Scotland is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh as part of the international cultural programme marking the centenary of Poland’s regained independence. Financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport of the Republic of Poland as part of the Multi-annual Programme NIEPODLEGŁA 2017–2022.
POLSKA SCOTLAND
POLSKA SCOTLAND
Next Digital Season Concert
SCHUMANN SYMPHONY No2 Mahler Blumine Schubert (arr Brahms) Six Songs for Voice and Orchestra Schumann Symphony No2 Kevin John Edusei Conductor Susanna Hurrell Soprano Felix Kemp Baritone Please note, due to illness artists have changed from those previously advertised.
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POLSKA SCOTLAND
Welcome
POLSKA SCOTLAND
Welcome to the fifth concert in our Spring/ Summer Digital Season, further exploring Polish repertoire as part of our Polska Scotland series. We are delighted to welcome Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska as she makes her debut with the RSNO. As well as featuring music from her compatriot Witold Lutosławski, her concert includes one of the most popular symphonies in the symphonic repertoire, Dvořák’s Seventh. It was commissioned by and dedicated to London’s Royal Philharmonic Society, but for some reason Dvořák’s publisher Simrock insisted on removing the dedication before it was published. It seems a shame that Dvořák didn’t join Haydn and Vaughan Williams by having a ‘London Symphony’. This is a concert of seemingly bright and happy music, yet both composers wrote these pieces at difficult periods in their lives. In 1950, when Lutosławski wrote the Little Suite, he was struggling to find his own musical voice. His recently premiered First Symphony had been badly received by the political authorities and, in the aftermath of that experience, he described his compositions as being of
‘substitute’ character. Despite that difficult balance between Communist censorship and honest artistic intent, he produced interesting and attractive music that lives above and beyond the struggles of the age in which it was written. At the heart of Dvořák’s beautiful Seventh Symphony is an exquisite slow movement. Following the death of his eldest child and mother, Dvořák described this movement as coming ‘from the sad years’. It would seem appropriate, after the year we have all just lived through, that the music in this concert celebrates resilience, optimism and hope. I’d like to thank you, our audience, for your continued support of the Orchestra through these difficult times, and also to say a special thank you to the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh for their invaluable support of our Polska Scotland series.
Alistair Mackie CHIEF EXECUTIVE
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73-80
64–72
55–63
46–54
37–45
28–36
19–27
10–18
1–9
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
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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
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Mała suita
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)
FIRST PERFORMED Warsaw, 20 April 1951 DURATION 11 minutes Fujarka (Fife) Hurra Polka Piosenka (Song) Taniec (Dance)
The late 1940s and early 1950s were challenging times for composers throughout the Soviet Bloc. In the years following the end of the Second World War, the Communist authorities in the USSR redoubled their efforts to clamp down on ‘bourgeois individualism’ in art. The climax came in 1948, at the First Congress of the Union of Composers, at which a purge on ‘formalism’ – essentially all forms of modernism and ‘art for art’s sake’ – was announced, and several leading composers (among them Prokofiev and Shostakovich) were publicly taken to task in menacing terms. The USSR’s satellite republics, including Lutosławski’s native Poland, were to a certain limited extent allowed leeway in how they implemented the new policies, but the sting was soon felt. Lutosławski’s First Symphony (1947) was roundly condemned: the Polish Vice-Minister of Culture is reported to have said that its composer deserved to be thrown under a tram. Like a great many of his contemporaries, Lutosławski was urged to go back to folk music, the music of ‘the people’, to reorient himself in keeping with the doctrine of ‘socialist realism’. But for Lutosławski this was by no means as creatively deadening as it turned out to be for many others. For one thing, Polish folk music is a remarkably rich and variegated field, musically speaking, often rhythmically complex and making use of scales that can still sound unusual to classically educated Western European ears. If Lutosławski initially thought that immersing himself in folk music risked stifling his own creative voice, he soon began to realise that something quite different was happening.
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By the time he began work on his Mała suita, or Little Suite, in 1950, his friend Andrzej Panufnik had already shown in his Sinfonia Rustica (1948) that basing music on folk material allowed a composer to smuggle a degree of adventurous harmonic and rhythmic thinking under the wire. Lutosławski followed suit, in his own highly individual way, in the Little Suite. It was a great success, especially in its later full-orchestral version, but at the same time it shows the composer enriching his own language, preparing the ground for the masterpiece that was to emerge four years later, the Concerto for Orchestra. The Little Suite’s four movements are laid out like a miniature symphony. The first opens with a piccolo imitating a folk instrument, the fifelike fujarka. The scherzo-like Hurra Polka is full of teasing cross-rhythms – is it a simple twoin-a-bar, or is there an undercurrent of triple time? Song is all soulful lyricism, the melody passed ‘communally’ among the instruments, with some lovely touches of tart dissonant harmonisation. The finale takes the Polish ‘Lasowiak’ dance as its starting point, but now the rhythmic fun and games grows more edgy and invigorating. The Concerto for Orchestra’s powerful first movement is only just around the corner. © Stephen Johnson
What was happening in 1951? 27 Jan US nuclear testing began at the Nevada Test Site, with a 1-kiloton bomb dropped on Frenchman Flat 29 Mar Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I opened on Broadway 11 Apr After its removal from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950, the Stone of Destiny resurfaced at Arbroath Abbey 18 Apr The Treaty of Paris was adopted, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community 3 May King George VI opened London’s Royal Festival Hall and the summer-long Festival of Britain 28 May The Goon Show, starring Milligan, Secombe, Sellers and Bentine, was broadcast for the first time 12 Aug J D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye was published in the US 25 Sep Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film series, was born 6 Oct In the Malayan Emergency, British high commissioner Sir Henry Gurney was assassinated by Communist insurgents 26 Oct Winston Churchill was re-elected UK Prime Minister, a month before his 77th birthday 31 Dec The US foreign-aid Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe expired
10 Dvořák Symphony No7
W Witold Lutosławski
brother wasn’t so lucky.) In Warsaw he joined his friend, the composer Andrzej Panufnik, playing banned music in underground cafés. It was in one of these that he met his future wife, Danuta Bogusławska, who in later years helped him develop his highly personal style of musical notation. After the war, the Polish-Soviet Treaty led to an increasingly Stalinist political climate in Poland. Lutosławski was able to write accessible, folk-based pieces to satisfy the authorities, but his more exploratory works were branded ‘formalist’ and banned. After Stalin’s death in 1953, however, came a degree of liberalisation, and Lutosławski’s brilliant and audacious Concerto for Orchestra (1954) even won him two state prizes.
Born 25 January 1913, Warsaw, Poland Died 7 February 1994, Warsaw, Poland Almost from the start, Witold Lutosławski’s life was marked by trauma and upheaval. He was just two when German forces invaded his native Warsaw. The family fled to Moscow, but after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Lutosławski’s father and brother Marian were arrested and shot by the Communist authorities. Back in Poland, Witold’s musical talents were soon apparent, and hearing Szymanowski’s opulent, intensely mystical Third Symphony at age 11 was a turning point. He studied piano and composition at the Warsaw Conservatory and planned to continue his education in Paris, but then came the German invasion of Poland in 1939. Lutosławski enlisted, and was soon captured, but he managed to escape, walking 250 miles back to Warsaw. (His sole surviving
From this, Lutosławski went on to develop a style which was later dubbed ‘avant garde with a human face’. He incorporated Schoenbergian serial techniques in Musique funèbre (Funeral Music, 1958) and ‘aleatoric’ (random) elements in his Jeux vénitiens (Venetian Games, 1961) but, in contrast to the deadly earnestness of much Central European modernism of the times, there was always an element of playfulness, of delight in invention, and of warm expression in his music. In later years there was an increasing reengagement with 19th- and early 20thcentury tradition, especially in the magnificent Third Symphony (1983), a recording of which was played by the Solidarity movement during protests against the imposition of Martial Law in 1981. In 1994, just before his death, Lutosławski was awarded Poland’s highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle. His wife Danuta died soon afterwards. © Stephen Johnson
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Symphony No7 in D Minor Op70 English people here show me. Everywhere they write and talk about me and say that I am the lion of this year’s musical season in London! Later that year, in response to a commission from London’s Royal Philharmonic Society – which had just nominated him as an honorary member – Dvořák began working on his Seventh Symphony with great enthusiasm. In December he told a friend, Now I am occupied with my new symphony [for London], and wherever I go I have nothing else on my mind but my work, which must be such as will make a stir in the world and God grant that it may!
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
FIRST PERFORMED London, 22 April 1885 DURATION 38 minutes Allegro maestoso Poco adagio Scherzo: Vivace Finale: Allegro If Smetana created Bohemian musical nationalism, Dvořák made it internationally popular. In England particularly, the Slavic exuberance and melodic charm of his music made him something of a celebrity. After a London performance of his Sixth Symphony in the summer of 1884, Dvořák wrote to his father: Yesterday I had my second concert in St James’ Hall where I again achieved the most splendid success! I cannot tell you how great is the honour and respect the
And indeed it did. Dvořák himself conducted its premiere at St James’ Hall in April 1885 and was once more delighted with its reception. He told a friend that English audiences had again welcomed him ‘heartily and demonstratively’, concluding that the Symphony was ‘immensely successful’. On the surface at least, the Seventh is the least obviously Bohemian of Dvořák’s symphonies and demonstrates the composer’s attempt to write a less overtly nationalistic work. It is undoubtedly influenced by the Third Symphony of his friend and mentor, Johannes Brahms, a work Dvořák regarded as a towering masterpiece, and it shares with this symphony an overall darkness of mood. At the same time, not a line of it could have been written by anyone but Dvořák. Brahms provides a model for its structure and ambience, and the influence of Wagner can also at times be heard, but its character remains essentially Czech. Furthermore, it is a turbulent work that reflects both personal and patriotic struggle: Dvořák had recently lost his mother, as well as his eldest daughter some time before, and, like
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S Smetana, was profoundly committed to the cause of Czech nationalism. As he told a friend during the composition of the work, ‘What is in my mind is Love, God, and my Fatherland.’ Over ominous murmurs in the depths of the orchestra, the first movement’s dark main theme gradually unfolds. The storminess intensifies, but a gently lilting woodwind melody, graceful and Brahms-like, provides richly lyrical contrast. The material is developed by Dvořák to great dramatic effect and, after the music builds to a powerful climax, there is a refrain of the opening themes, the first now played fff (very, very loud). There is another majestic climax but eventually the principal theme, again over dark rumblings, ebbs away into nothing. After completing the exquisite Poco adagio (which he unaccountably referred to as an ‘andante’), Dvořák described his satisfaction to a friend:
Dvořák’s trademark birdsong. The sky darkens again for a reprise of the Scherzo, the violas sing out a sorrowful, Wagner-like melody and the last bars bring the movement to a vigorous, emphatic close. Dvořák described the finale as reflecting the ability of the Czech people to resist oppression. It is, like the first movement, a tempestuous affair. However, whereas the opening movement fades into silence, the finale’s conflict leads to a triumphant resolution. Introduced by cellos, horns and clarinet, the principal theme has nervous, yearning qualities, while the more positive second theme hints at the possibility of a joyful outcome. Nevertheless, the bulk of the movement is so stormy and oppressive that the unrestrained exuberance of its ending is doubly striking. Here, in imagination at least, the Czech nation proudly and defiantly asserts itself. © Anthony Bateman
Just today I have finished the andante of my new symphony and I was as blissful and happy in this work as I have ever been … Accordingly, its opening is peaceful and prayer-like, a gently flowing clarinet melody creating a mood of cloudless calm. Gradually, however, tension builds and a stormy sequence recalls the more anguished mood of the first movement. A glowing horn melody provides a degree of consolation, though it is only at the very end of the movement that the serenity of the opening is fully recaptured. The cross-rhythms and passionate countermelodies of the Scherzo evoke a spirited Bohemian folk dance called the furiant. By contrast, the middle section (the so-called trio) is lighter and breezier, with snatches of
Listen again to the RSNO
Dvořák Symphony No7
Plus The Golden Spinning Wheel Op109
Conductor Neeme Järvi More information rsno.org.uk/recordings
RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 13
Marta Gardolińska CONDUCTOR Orchestra at the Philharmonic Hall. Alongside her work as a symphonic conductor, Marta is also active in the field of opera. Since 2017 she has regularly worked as assistant conductor to Tadeusz Kozłowski, rediscovering forgotten operatic masterpieces of Polish composers such as Legenda Bałtyku by Felix Nowowiejski and Manru by Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Between 2013 and 2015 she served as second conductor with the Johann-Strauss-Operette Wien, learning the purest style of the Viennese musical tradition.
The emerging Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska came to international attention as Young Conductor in Association at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra during the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. The 2019/20 season also saw Marta make her North American debut, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a Dudamel Fellow, where she was invited to be second conductor to Gustavo Dudamel for their performances and recording of Ives’ Symphony No4. From the 2021/22 season, Marta will become Music Director of the Opéra national de Lorraine, following her triumphant debut with a new production of Zemlinsky’s Der Traumgörge in 2019. Marta made her debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival, and other recent highlights have included concerts with the Wiener Concert-Verein at the Musikverein, and a return to her home city of Warsaw to conduct the young musicians of I Culture
The experience of singing in her school choir and a fascination with the colours of symphonic music led Marta to study conducting at the Frederic Chopin Music University of Warsaw, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and in masterclasses and workshops with artists such as Bernard Haitink, Peter Eötvös, Bertrand de Billy, György Kurtág and Marin Alsop. In 2015 Marta was named Conductor in Residence of the Akademischer Orchesterverein Wien, and during the 2017/18 season she was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of TU-Orchester Wien. Marta has received an Honourable Mention and the Special Orchestra Prize of the Witold Lutosławski Conducting Competition in Białystok, Poland (2016), and third prize and the Special Orchestra Prize from the Felix Mendelssohn International Conducting Competition in Thessaloniki, Greece (2016). She was Associate Fellow of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, established by Marin Alsop, for the 2017 to 2019 seasons. This concert marks Marta’s debut with the RSNO.
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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.
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On Stage FIRST VIOLIN Sharon Roffman
CELLO Aleksei Kiseliov
HORN Christopher Gough
Emily Davis
Betsy Taylor Kennedy Leitch Arthur Boutillier William Paterson Sarah Digger
Alison Murray Andrew McLean David McClenaghan Martin Murphy
LEADER
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Tamás Fejes
ASSISTANT LEADER
Patrick Curlett Barbara Paterson Caroline Parry Jane Reid Susannah Lowdon Lorna Rough Ursula Heidecker Allen Alan Manson Gillian Risi SECOND VIOLIN Marion Wilson ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Harriet Wilson Anne Bünemann Nigel Mason Emily Nenniger Robin Wilson Sophie Lang Wanda Wojtasinska Liam Lynch Kirstin Drew VIOLA Tom Dunn PRINCIPAL
Susan Buchan Lisa Rourke Francesca Hunt Maria Trittinger Claire Dunn Katherine Wren David Martin
PRINCIPAL
DOUBLE BASS Margarida Castro ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Michael Rae Paul Sutherland Sally Davis FLUTE Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL
Helen Brew Janet Richardson PRINCIPAL PICCOLO
OBOE Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL
Peter Dykes CLARINET Timothy Orpen PRINCIPAL
Duncan Swindells BASSOON David Hubbard PRINCIPAL
Luis Eisen
PRINCIPAL
TRUMPET Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL
Marcus Pope Jason Lewis TROMBONE Dávur Juul Magnussen PRINCIPAL
Lance Green Alastair Sinclair
PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE
TUBA John Whitener PRINCIPAL
TIMPANI Paul Philbert PRINCIPAL
PERCUSSION Simon Lowdon PRINCIPAL
WELCOME BACK TO OUR CINEMA! REOPENING ON WEDNESDAY 19 MAY Screenings every Wednesday at 2:00 pm and 6:45 pm Free for members £5 for everyone else
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See the full amazing programme and book by phone or online 0131 285 6030 www.ifecosse.org.uk Institut français d'Ecosse West Parliament Square Edinburgh EH1 1RF @InstitutFrancaisEcosse
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RSNO: 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 live performance and the separation of musicians from the stage make these difficult times for all. 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
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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 Kellen Gray
Cello Aleksei Kiseliov PRINCIPAL
Horn Christopher Gough PRINCIPAL
First Violin Maya Iwabuchi LEADER Sharon Roffman LEADER
Kennedy Leitch
Alison Murray
Arthur Boutiller
David McClenaghan
The Bill and Rosalind Gregson Chair
The Ardgowan Charitable Trust Chair
Patrick Curlett
Rachael Lee
Trumpet Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL
The Solti Foundation Chair
Dunard Fund Chair
Tamás Fejes Assistant LEADER
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The RSNO Circle Chair
Jane Reid
The James Browning Chair
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The David and Anne Smith Chair
The Christine and Arthur Hamilton Chair
Double Bass Ana Cordova PRINCIPAL
The James Wood Bequest Fund Chair
The Kate and Gavin Gemmell Chair
Alan Manson
John Clark
Elizabeth Bamping
Flute Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL
The Hugh and Linda Bruce-Watt Chair The WL and Vera Heywood Chair
The Gregor Forbes Chair
The David and Anne Smith Chair
Second Violin Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL
Helen Brew ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Sophie Lang
The Ian and Evelyn Crombie Chair
Oboe Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL
Viola Lisa Rourke SUB PRINCIPAL
Peter Dykes
The Hilda Munro Chair
The Meta Ramsay Chair
David Martin
The Miss Grace MM Mitchell Bequest Chair
Francesca Hunt
The Rolf and Celia Thornqvist Chair
The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Chair
The Hedley Wright Chair
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust Chair
Cor Anglais Henry Clay PRINCIPAL
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.
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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 Professor Gillian Mead Mr Maurice Taylor CBE RSNO Principal Oboe, Adrian Wilson 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.
RSNO: 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: Aberbrothock Skea Charitable Trust Aberdeen Endowments Trust Alexander Moncur Charitable Trust Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Balgay Children’s Society Boshier-Hinton Foundation Cruden 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 Hugh Fraser Foundation Idlewild Trust James Wood Bequest Fund Jean & Roger Miller’s Charitable Trust Jennie S. Gordon Memorial Foundation John Ellerman Foundation John Mather Charitable Trust John Scott Trust Fund J T H Charitable Trust Leche Trust Leng Charitable Trust McGlashan Charitable Trust MEB Charitable Trust Meikle Foundation Michael Tippett Musical Foundation Mickel Fund Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust Nancie Massey Charitable Trust Noël Coward Foundation Northwood Charitable Trust PF Charitable Trust Privy Purse Charitable Trust PRS Foundation R J Larg Family Trust Robertson Trust
Ronald Miller Foundation Russell Trust RVW Trust Scott-Davidson Charitable Trust Solti Foundation Stevenston Trust Tay Charitable Trust Tillyloss Trust Trades House of Glasgow W A Cargill Fund Walter Craig Charitable Trust Walter Scott Giving Group Wavendon Foundation 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 Dvořák 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 P Rollinson Mr and Mrs W Semple 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 Mr John Brownlie 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 Mr I C MacNicol Professor J and Mrs S Mavor Mrs A McQueen Morag Millar Mr Miller Graham and Elizabeth Morton 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 Mr L Borwick Neil and Karin Bowman Dr C M Bronte-Stewart Dr F L Brown Mr and Mrs Burnside Ms H Calvert 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 S Dunn Mr C Ffoulkes Mrs E Gibb Mr and Mrs M Gilbert Professor J R and Mrs C M Gray Mr W Gray Mrs S Hawthorn Richard and Linda Holden Mr N Jack Mr and Mrs S G Kay Mr and Mrs W Kean Mrs M King Norman and Christine Lessels Mr Alistair Mackie Mr D MacPherson Mr R G Madden Mr S Marwick Mr and Mrs G McAllister Ms M McDougall Mr E and Mrs S McGeachan Mr Rod McLoughlin Mrs B Morinaud Mr A Morrison Mrs A C Morrison Dr and Mrs D Mowle Mr and Mrs D Pirie Ms A and Miss I Reeve
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 D Weetman Mrs Wigglesworth Mr and Mrs Zuckert
Sonata
Ms S Ace Mr K Allen Mrs P Anderson Ms D Baines Mr O Balfour Mr N Barton Dr A D Beattie Professor G Beeston Mrs H Benzie Mr R Billingham Lord and Lady Borthwick Rev P Boylan John Bradshaw and Shiona Mackie Lady J Bute Miss S M Carlyon Mrs H S Chalmers Mr J Claxon 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 Mr R Ellis 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 M Gibson Mr D Gibson 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 Dr and Mrs P Heywood Bobby and Rhona Hogg Mr R Horne Mr and Mrs F Howell Mrs A S Hunter Professor R N Ibbett Ms J Incecik Mr A Kilpatrick Professor and Mrs E W Laing Mr J P Lawson Mr and Mrs J Lawson Mr R M Love Dr D A Lunt Mrs Lesley P Lyon Mr and Mrs R MacCormick Mr and Mrs MacGillivray Lady Lucinda L Mackay 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 Mr M McGarvie 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 W Ramage Mr M Rattray Ms F Reith Mrs D A Riley Dr and Mrs D Robb Mrs E Robertson 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 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 Struthers Mr and Mrs B Tait Dr and Mrs T Thomson Mr C Turnbull 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 Dvořák 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
CHAIR
Ajda Šubelj
John Heasley
Michael Cameron
DRIVER AND DEPUTY STAGE MANAGER
HONORARY TREASURER
Samantha Campbell
Liz Wallace
DIRECTOR OF CONCERTS AND ENGAGEMENT
HEAD OF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT
Hugh Bruce-Watt Kat Heathcote Linda Holden Neil McLennan Costa Pilavachi David Robinson Gurjit Singh Lalli Jane Wood
Bekah Cork
ARTISTIC PLANNING AND TOURS MANAGER
DEPUTY ORCHESTRA MANAGER
Angela Moreland
Rosie Kenneally
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Ted Howie
Jack Hunter
Richard Payne
Irene McPhail
Tammo Schuelke
Hedd Morfett-Jones
Matthias van der Swaagh
Susan Rennie
Craig Swindells
Abby Trainor
Christine Walker
Jade Wilson
STAGE AND PRODUCTION MANAGER CHORUS MANAGER
Company Secretary Gordon Murray
FACILITIES COORDINATOR
Ewen McKay
CONCERTS ADMINISTRATOR
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER (MATERNITY COVER)
Emma Hunter
ARTISTIC PLANNING MANAGER
Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron
HEAD OF TRUSTS AND PROJECTS
FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES
LIBRARIAN
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL
INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER
CREATIVE ASSISTANT
HEAD OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT
Nominated Directors Cllr Frank Docherty
TRUSTS AND PROJECTS COORDINATOR
Flora Farqhuarson
LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OFFICER
Player Directors Dávur Juul Magnussen Sophie Lang Kennedy Leitch Paul Philbert Janet Richardson Lorna Rough
Naomi Stewart
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
VIDEO PRODUCER
ACCOUNTS AND PAYROLL ASSISTANT DIGITAL MANAGER
FINANCE MANAGER ADMINISTRATOR
FINANCE ASSISTANT
PROGRAMMES EDITOR
Royal Scottish National Orchestra 19 Killermont Street Glasgow G2 3NX T: +44 (0)141 226 3868 W: rsno.org.uk
EXTERNAL RELATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
Scottish Company No. 27809 Scottish Charity No. SC010702
Dr Jane Donald
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Ian Brooke
RSNO COUNCIL
Constance Carter-Fraser
Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale
Jessica Cowley
Lady Gibson Ms Ruth Wishart
Carol Fleming
/royalscottishnationalorchestra
Lorimer Macandrew
@RSNO
CHAIR
MARKETING MANAGER HEAD OF MARKETING
DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER
@rsnoofficial
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER (MATERNITY LEAVE)
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.