Friday Night Club Fri 8 May 2020: 7.30pm Norrington Conducts DEBUSSY Sir Roger Norrington Conductor Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Piano Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Recorded on Sat 29 Feb 2020, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
This performance was recorded for the RSNO Archive. Supported by the Iain and Pamela Sinclair Legacy.
RSNO Friday Night Club: Norrington Conducts Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
FIRST PERFORMED 22 December 1894, Paris, conducted by Gustave Doret DURATION 10 minutes At only 10 minutes long – or maybe a little longer, depending on how languorously the conductor takes it – Debussy’s evocation of a dreamlike summer’s afternoon in the life of a faun marked ‘the beginning of modern music’, as remarked by the composer Pierre Boulez. Originally intended as incidental music for a possible staging of Mallarmé’s symbolist poem, L’après-midi d’un faune, it proved an instant success, making Debussy’s name both despite, and because of, its entirely unconventional nature. Certainly, Debussy’s orchestral work was far more popular than Mallarmé’s poem had ever been, shimmeringly evoking the written work’s symbolist impressions of a faun languidly trying to seduce two nymphs before falling into ‘intoxicating sleep’. Its orchestral colours, harmonies and apparent lack of any structure caused a stir in an 1894 Paris which was used to the traditional symphonic conventions as promoted by the Société nationale de Musique under Vincent d’Indy. There were detractors, too, not least Camille Saint-Saëns, who said, ‘The Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune has pretty sonority, but one does not find in it the least musical idea, properly speaking; it resembles a piece of music as the palette used by an artist in his work resembles a picture.’ Debussy had begun his masterpiece in 1892, originally planned in three parts as ‘Prélude, Interludes et Paraphrase finale pour l’Après-
midi d’un Faune’, although only the first was ever written. A regular at Mallarmé’s Tuesday salons, whose intellectual and artistic sparring partners were dubbed ‘Les Mardistes’, Debussy had previously set some of the poet’s work, although the overwhelming nature of the task perhaps weighed heavy. ‘Here I am, already 31, still not sure of where I’m going and still with things to learn (like how to write masterpieces …),’ he wrote to a friend in 1893. Debussy’s work is an innovation of orchestral timbres and textures, a confusion of keys in the opening flute solo followed by glissando harp and dissonant chords suggestive of the faun’s pipes, of woodland glades, all wrapped in a ‘delicious wash of vagueness’, as Leonard Bernstein once put it. There are hints of Wagner, from unresolved chords reminiscent of Tristan und Isolde to Siegfried’s Forest Murmurs. But Debussy bypasses the German composer, layering his motifs, never allowing phrases to finish without suggesting continuation. Despite its complexity, the piece appeared almost improvisational, with nothing to guide listeners but a series of exquisite textures and harmonies. ‘I have just come out of the concert, deeply moved,’ Mallarmé wrote to Debussy, in a brief letter of 1894. ‘Your illustration ... presents a dissonance with my text only by going much further, really, into nostalgia and into light, with finesse, with sensuality, with richness. I press your hand admiringly, Debussy.’ © Sarah Urwin Jones
Scotland’s National Orchestra
Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
FIRST PERFORMED 9 November 1919, London, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with Alfred Cortôt as soloist DURATION 25 minutes I. Andante ma non troppo II. Lento e molto espressivo III. Allegro molto In 1889, Debussy had just returned from the Villa Medici in Rome, where he had spent some years in residence as the winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1884. Initially unhappy, at times unable to compose, he gradually found his place, sending back some completed works, as required by the rules of the Prix, to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, whose members became increasingly confused as to the disappearance of the (deliberately) formulaic mastery that had won Debussy the Prix in the first place. On his return, Debussy continued to experiment with expression and harmony, initially influenced by Wagner, although finding his motifs ‘a sunset rather than a dawn’ for compositional development. On the cusp of his mature style and the advent of ‘impressionism’, Debussy began to compose the Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra (1889-90) – a work which had been planned as his fourth ‘envoi’ for the Prix de Rome, and which foreshadows many of the stylistic elements he would refine in his breakthrough work, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, some four years later. The Fantaisie, written partly in the sonata form that Société President Vincent d’Indy
promoted, yet with a piano part that slips in and out of the orchestra as if part of it, was Debussy’s first major symphonic work, a concerto that isn’t a concerto, begun the year he finished his cantata for soprano and chorus, La Damoiselle élue. Planned for premiere at the Société nationale de Musique on 21 April 1890, it was withdrawn by Debussy at the last minute – quite literally from the music stands – after the conductor, D’Indy, suggested they only play the first movement because he lacked the time to rehearse all three. Debussy revisited the work intermittently before his death in 1918, and yet it was not premiered until 1919, in London. The composer revised some of the orchestration in 1909, significantly reworking some of the piano and orchestral parts in the final movement to alter the perception of the piano within the orchestra. In 1919 it was finally published by Fromont – who had held it back since 1890 – in both an orchestral edition and Debussy’s two-piano edition, but ignoring the 1909 revisions. It was not until the Jobert publication of 1968 that Debussy’s revisions were incorporated into the score. There is much speculation as to why the Fantaisie was not premiered during Debussy’s lifetime, perhaps most notably that Debussy felt the work did not reflect his new tonal language since Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. And yet, whether Debussy judged it so or not, this is a significant work, showing his early mastery of expressive techniques and his growing drive towards immersing symphonic development amid the dominating textures of his soundworld. © Sarah Urwin Jones
RSNO Friday Night Club: Norrington Conducts Debussy
Sir Roger Norrington CONDUCTOR Roger Norrington is a frequent guest with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has had memorable tenures as Chief Conductor with the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (13 years), Camerata Salzburg (10 years) and Zürich Chamber Orchestra (five years). Other permanent posts include Chief Conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Music Director of the Orchestra of St Luke’s in New York. He is currently Conductor Emeritus in Stuttgart, Salzburg and Zürich, and of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. For 50 years Roger Norrington has been at the forefront of the movement for historically informed musical performance. He has sought to put modern musicians in touch with the style of the music they play.
Roger Norrington has made over 150 recordings. He was knighted in June 1997 and is, among other distinctions, an honorary fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and of the Royal College of Music.
Roger Norrington sang and played the violin from a young age and began to conduct while at Cambridge. He also studied History at Westminster School and English Literature at Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar, and later at the Royal College of Music in London under Adrian Boult.
Roger Norrington appeared most recently with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in February 2019, when he conducted a programme of Schumann’s Symphonies Nos3 and 4, and Mozart’s Violin Concerto No4.
His Heinrich Schütz Choir, founded in 1962, made many recordings and his London Classical Players, founded in 1978, achieved worldwide fame with their dramatic CDs of the Beethoven symphonies, as well as many other works. As early as 1969, Roger Norrington was made Music Director of Kent Opera. He conducted hundreds of performances for the company and went on to work at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, La Scala Milan, La Fenice Venice and the Vienna State Opera.
Scotland’s National Orchestra
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RSNO Friday Night Club: Norrington Conducts Debussy
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet PIANO
Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and NHK Symphony orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François-Xavier Roth, Nicholas Collon, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Edward Gardner and Sir Andrew Davis. Highlights of Jean-Efflam’s 2019-20 season include engagements with the LPO, Orchestre national de France and Budapest Festival Orchestra, and a tour of the UK with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier. He also performs all the Beethoven piano concertos with the Orchestre national de Lyon. He returns to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Symphony, and embarks on a tour of Australia to include appearances with the Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony orchestras. Jean-Efflam plays/directs two Beethoven programmes with both the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo. As part of the PostClassical Ensemble’s Haydn Festival in Washington, DC, he performs in recital and concerto, and also gives recitals at the Maestro Foundation in Santa Monica and Moscow International Performing Arts Center.
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet records exclusively for Chandos, and his recording of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner was nominated for a Gramophone Award. Ongoing cycles include a five-year project to perform and record the complete Mozart Piano Concertos with the Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy, as well as the complete Haydn Piano Sonatas. His complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos with the BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda won the Concerto category of the 2014 Gramophone Awards. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet appeared most recently with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in February 2015, when he played Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No5.
Scotland’s National Orchestra
RSNO Friday Night Club: Norrington Conducts Debussy
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. They are joined by Assistant Conductor Junping Qian. 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 throughout 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, with a membership of around 160. 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 new 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 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 orchestral works of Debussy (Denève). Thomas Søndergård’s debut recording with the RSNO, of Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, was released on Linn Records 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 community workshops and annual residencies across the length and breadth of the country.
Scotland’s National Orchestra
On Stage FIRST VIOLIN Maya Iwabuchi
CELLO
Aleksei Kiseliov
Martin Murphy
Lena Zeliszewska
Kennedy Leitch Arthur Boutillier William Paterson Sarah Digger
Alison Murray Lauren Reeve-Rawlings David McClenaghan Christine McGinley
DOUBLE BASS
TRUMPET
LEADER
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Emily Davis
ASSOCIATE LEADER
Patrick Curlett Barbara Paterson Alan Manson Elizabeth Bamping Lorna Rough Susannah Lowdon Caroline Parry
PRINCIPAL
Margarida Castro Michael Rae Paul Sutherland John Clark Sally Davis
SECOND VIOLIN
FLUTE
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPAL
Xander van Vliet Marion Wilson Harriet WIlson Nigel Mason Michael Rigg Wanda Wojtasinska Paul Medd Anne Bünemann Robin Wilson Fiona Stephen VIOLA
Tom Dunn PRINCIPAL
Asher Zaccardelli Susan Buchan Claire Dunn Katherine Wren Francesca Hunt
Katherine Bryan Helen Brew Janet Richardson PRINCIPAL PICCOLO
OBOE
Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL
HORN
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL
Marcus Pope Jason Lewis TROMBONE
Lance Green
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Paul Stone Alastair Sinclair
PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE
TIMPANI
Paul Philbert PRINCIPAL
Peter Dykes Henry Clay
PERCUSSION
PRINCIPAL COR ANGLAIS
GUEST PRINCIPAL
CLARINET
HARP
Nicholas Carpenter GUEST PRINCIPAL
Robert Digney Robert Fairley BASS CLARINET
BASSOON
David Hubbard PRINCIPAL
Luis Eisen Paolo Dutto
PRINCIPAL CONTRABASSOON
Tom Hunter
Pippa Tunnell Mary Reid
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