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Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN Leader pieter schoeman Composer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSON Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Wednesday 14 November 2012 | 7.30pm

CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH conductor BAIBA SKRIDE violin daniel mÜller-schott cello lars vogt piano

PROGRAMME £3 CONTENTS 2 Welcome / Leader 3 About the Orchestra 4 Tonight’s performers 5 Christoph Eschenbach 6 Baiba Skride / Daniel Müller-Schott 7 Lars Vogt 8 Programme notes 11 Latest LPO CD releases 12 Next concerts 13 Supporters 14 Orchestra news 15 Christmas gifts from the LPO 12 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

schumann Overture, The Bride of Messina, Op. 100 (8’) beethoven Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano in C major, Op. 56 (34’) Interval schumann Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 (34’)

* supported by the Tsukanov Family and one anonymous donor CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Welcome

pieter schoeman leader

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002.

WELCOME TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Concrete and Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery. If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 7960 4250, or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you again soon. A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment: PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium. LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance. RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended. MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

We hope you enjoy your visit. We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries please ask any member of staff for assistance.

Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning numerous competitions including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in the US. In 1987 he was offered the Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman, who recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. In 1994 he became her teaching assistant at Indiana University, Bloomington. Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chamber musician he regularly performs at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. As a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pieter has performed Arvo Pärt’s Double Concerto with Boris Garlitsky, Brahms’s Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the Orchestra’s own record label to great critical acclaim. He has recorded numerous violin solos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos, Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American film and television, and led the Orchestra in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Pieter is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s finest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most adventurous and forward-looking orchestras. As well as giving classical concerts, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own record label, and reaches thousands of Londoners every year through activities for schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and since then its Principal Conductors have included Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. The current Principal Conductor is Vladimir Jurowski, appointed in 2007, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Principal Guest Conductor.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded many blockbuster scores, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission, East is East, Hugo, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now nearly 70 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Dvořák’s Stabat Mater under Neeme Järvi; Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 with Vladimir Jurowski; Sibelius’s Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 under the late Paavo Berglund; and the world premiere of Ravi Shankar’s First Symphony conducted by David Murphy. In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics.

The Orchestra is Resident Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre, where it has performed since it opened in 1951, giving around 40 The London Philharmonic Orchestra maintains an concerts there each season. 2012/13 highlights include energetic programme of activities for young people and three concerts with Vladimir Jurowski based around local communities. Highlights include the Deutsche the theme of War and Peace in collaboration with the Bank BrightSparks Russian National Orchestra; Kurt schools’ concerts; the Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, ‘As things stand now, the LPO must rate Leverhulme Young also conducted by Jurowski; as an example to all orchestras.’ Composers project; 20th-century American works Musicalcriticism.com, July 2011 and the Foyle Future with Marin Alsop; Haydn and (BBC Proms 2011: Liszt, Bartók and Kodály) Firsts orchestral Strauss with Yannick Nézettraining programme Séguin; and the UK premiere of for outstanding young players. Over recent years, Carl Vine’s Second Piano Concerto with pianist Piers developments in technology and social networks have Lane under Vassily Sinaisky. Throughout 2013 the enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people Orchestra will collaborate with Southbank Centre on worldwide: all its recordings are available to download The Rest Is Noise festival, based on Alex Ross’s book of from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel, news the same name and charting the 20th century’s key blog, iPhone app and regular podcasts, the Orchestra musical works and historical events. has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter. The Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton Find out more and get involved! and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Every summer, the Orchestra leaves London for four months and takes up its annual residency lpo.org.uk accompanying the famous Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra since 1964. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing concerts to sell-out audiences worldwide. twitter.com/LPOrchestra Tours in the 2012/13 season include visits to Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, the USA and Austria.

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tonight’s performers

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Chair supported by John & Angela Kessler

Ilyoung Chae Chair supported by Moya Greene

Katalin Varnagy Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Geoffrey Lynn Robert Pool Yang Zhang Rebecca Shorrock Galina Tanney Toby Tramaseur Peter Nall Ishani Bhoola Charlotte Scott Second Violins Jeongmin Kim Principal Joseph Maher Fiona Higham Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Alison Strange Mila Mustakova Elizabeth Baldey Sarah Buchan Amanda Lake Dafydd Williams Naomi Anner Dean Williamson Sheila Law

Violas Fiona Winning Guest Principal Robert Duncan Gregory Aronovich Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani Susanne Martens Laura Vallejo Alistair Scahill Isabel Pereira Daniel Cornford Miranda Davis Sarah Malcolm

Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Tim Gibbs Co-Principal George Peniston Richard Lewis Helen Rowlands Tom Walley Kenneth Knussen Catherine Ricketts

Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Jonathan Ayling

Piccolo Julia Crowell

Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Gregory Walmsley Santiago Carvalho† Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Elisabeth Wiklander Tom Roff

Flutes Stewart McIlwham* Principal Sarah Bennington

Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Angela Tennick Clarinets Nicholas Carpenter* Principal Paul Richards Bassoons Gareth Newman* Principal Stuart Russell

Horns John Ryan* Principal Martin Hobbs Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal David Whitehouse Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal * Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Andrew Davenport David & Victoria Graham Fuller The Sharp Family Julian & Gill Simmonds

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH

conductor

In demand as a distinguished guest conductor with the finest orchestras and opera houses throughout the world, Christoph Eschenbach began his tenure in September 2010 as Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, as well as Music Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. In 2011/12, in addition to conducting the National Symphony in its home at the Kennedy Center, he led the orchestra on a tour of South America. In 2012/13, he will again lead the orchestra overseas on a tour of Europe and Oman. Christoph Eschenbach’s conducting activities in 2012/13 include performances in Europe with the NDR Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris; concerts in Israel with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; and a tour of Australia and Europe with the Australian Youth Orchestra. He will also return to the Vienna State Opera to conduct Strauss’s Capriccio. In the United States, in addition to leading the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, Eschenbach will return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and San Francisco Symphony orchestras. In 2011/12, Christoph Eschenbach toured Australia and the Far East with the Vienna Philharmonic, as well as conducting the orchestra in Vienna. Other highlights of the season included performances with the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China in Beijing; the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall, on tour in Oman and in Spain; The Philadelphia Orchestra, where he served as Music Director from 2003–08; the NDR Symphony Orchestra; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; the Boston Symphony Orchestra, including a concert at Carnegie Hall; the Orchestre de Paris; the Filarmonia della Scala; and the Czech Philarmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestras. In summer 2012 he conducted at the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals. Eschenbach has served as Principal Conductor of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival International Orchestral Academy since

2004, and appears regularly in Germany and on tour with the SHMF Orchestra. As a pianist, Eschenbach continues his fruitful collaboration with baritone Matthias Goerne. The duo have recorded Schubert’s three song cycles for the Harmonia Mundi label, the first instalment of which was released in May 2009. In summer 2010 they performed the complete cycle in three recitals at the Salzburg Music Festival, where Eschenbach also conducted two concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic. The duo also performed the complete cycle in three recitals in Paris at the Salle Pleyel during the 2011/12 season, and will again perform the cycle in 2012/13 at the Musikverein in Vienna. A prolific recording artist over five decades, Christoph Eschenbach has an impressive discography as both conductor and pianist. This includes recordings with the Orchestre de Paris on the Ondine and Deutsche Gramophone labels; and with the London Symphony Orchestra (Sony/BMG), the Vienna Philharmonic (Decca), the Hamburg NDR Symphony (BMG/Sony and Warner) and the Houston Symphony (Koch), among many others. In 2012/13 he is scheduled to record with the Vienna Philharmonic and soloist Lang Lang. Over the past five years, Ondine has released 16 recordings featuring Eschenbach with the Orchestre de Paris and The Philadelphia Orchestra, a number of which have received prestigious honours including BBC Music magazine Disc of the Month, Gramophone Editor’s Choice and the German Record Critics’ Award. Eschenbach’s Ondine recording of the music of Kaija Saariaho with the Orchestre de Paris and soprano Karita Mattila won the 2009 MIDEM Classical Award for Contemporary Music. Mentored by George Szell and Herbert von Karajan, Eschenbach was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra from 1982–86; Music Director of the Houston Symphony from 1988–99; Music Director of the Ravinia Festival from 1994–2003; and Artistic Director of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival from 1999–2002. His many honours include the Légion d’Honneur; Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; the Officer’s Cross with Star and Ribbon of the German Order of Merit; and the Commander’s Cross of the German Order of Merit.

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BAIBA SKRIDE

daniel mÜllerschott cello

Latvian violinist Baiba Skride has appeared with prestigious orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philharmonia, Zurich Tonhalle, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland orchestras, and the Orchestre de Paris. Conductors with whom she regularly collaborates include Thierry Fischer, Paavo and Neeme Järvi, Andris Nelsons, Vasily Petrenko, John Storgårds and Mario Venzago. The 2012/13 season sees continued collaborations with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2; and performances with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, including at the Edinburgh and Lucerne festivals. She also appears with the BBC Philharmonic and John Storgårds; the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä; the Orchestre National de France with Kurt Masur; and the Orchestre National de Lille, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Malmo Symphony, Norrköping Symphony and Netherlands Radio Chamber orchestras. She continues her Mozart residency with the RTÉ National Symphony, Dublin, and in North America she returns to the Detroit, Vancouver, San Antonio and Utah symphony orchestras. Chamber music highlights include performances at the Schubertiade Hohenems, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and a US recital tour with her sister, pianist Lauma Skride. Baiba’s latest recording for Orfeo features the Stravinsky and Frank Martin violin concertos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Thierry Fischer. Her debut recording for the label included Brahms’s Violin Concerto with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Sakari Oramo. Previously she recorded a Tchaikovsky disc with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; two concerto CDs including Mozart and Shostakovich; and duo and solo discs for Sony. Baiba Skride plays the Stradivarius ‘Ex Baron Feilitzsch’ violin (1734), generously on loan from Gidon Kremer. 6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

violin

With technical brilliance and authority, intellect and emotional esprit, Daniel Müller-Schott has established himself on the world stage since winning First Prize at the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 1992, aged 15. He regularly performs with the world’s major orchestras including the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philharmonia, Cleveland, New York Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic and Munich Philharmonic orchestras; the Orchestre National de Radio France; and the BBC, City of Birmingham, San Francisco and NHK symphony orchestras. He collaborates regularly with Christoph Eschenbach, Kurt Masur, Vasily Petrenko, André Previn, Michael Sanderling, Krysztof Urbanski, Iván Fischer, Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Sir Neville Marriner, Jun Märkl and Gianandrea Noseda. He particularly enjoys interpreting new works, and over recent seasons has premiered concertos dedicated to him by André Previn and Peter Ruzicka. Highlights of the 2012/13 season include further trio performances with Baiba Skride and Lars Vogt with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Andris Nelsons. Collaborations follow with the Orchestre National de France and Kurt Masur; the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko; the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin and Krysztof Urbanski; and the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Jun Märkl. Müller-Schott will undertake extensive tours with the New Zealand Symphony and Australian Chamber orchestras, and will also tour Europe as a chamber trio with Renaud Capuçon and Nicholas Angelich. Daniel Müller-Schott records exclusively for Orfeo, with whom he has an extensive discography. Autumn 2012 has seen the release of the Britten Cello Symphony and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. His instrument, the ‘Ex-Shapiro’ Matteo Goffriller, was made in Venice in 1727.

lars vogt

Christoph Eschenbach conducts Beethoven on the LPO Label

piano

Established as one of the leading pianists of his generation, Lars Vogt first came to public attention when he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition, and has enjoyed a varied career for over 20 years. He opened the 2012/13 season performing with The Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst at the Edinburgh Festival. He returns to The Cleveland Orchestra later in the season and also performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, Atlanta Symphony and Ottawa National Arts Centre orchestras. Other highlights include concerts with the Leipzig Gewandhaus under Riccardo Chailly; appearances in Paris with the Orchestre de Paris under Herbert Blomstedt and the Orchestre National under Kurt Masur; and the conclusion of his residency with the Netherlands Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw Hall in Amsterdam. Vogt’s special relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic continues, following his appointment as its first ever Pianist in Residence in 2003/04. Other highlights over recent seasons have included performances at the BBC Proms and a residency at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg, as well as appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, NHK Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Concertgebouw and Czech Philharmonic orchestras, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Orchestre de Paris. Lars Vogt enjoys a high profile as a chamber musician. He regularly performs with colleagues such as Christian Tetzlaff and Thomas Quasthoff, and collaborates occasionally with actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer and comedian Konrad Beikircher. As an EMI recording artist, Lars Vogt has made 15 discs for the label. Other recent recordings include Schubert for CAvi-music; Mozart concertos with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra for Oehms; a solo Liszt and Schumann disc on the Berlin Classics label; and Mozart sonatas with Christian Tetzlaff for Ondine.

Beethoven: Missa Solemnis Christoph Eschenbach conductor Anne Schwanewilms soprano Annette Jahns mezzo soprano Nikolai Schukoff tenor Dietrich Henschel bass London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir LPO–0061 £9.99 (Audio CD) ‘There’s fire and commitment in the choral singing and playing ...’ The Guardian ‘This stunning performance and recording of the Missa Solemnis came as a revelation. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is in sizzling and quite virtuosic form.’ Limelight ‘This performance is moving and often thrilling ...’ Time Out

Available from www.lpo.org.uk/shop, the London Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office (020 7840 4242, Monday–Friday 10am–5pm), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop. Downloads available from iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and classicsonline.com.

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PROGRAMME NOTES

Speedread Audiences don’t normally look to Beethoven for ‘light relief’, but his Triple Concerto – for piano trio and orchestra – was almost certainly aimed at a popular French market. The Triple Concerto is much less demanding, intellectually and emotionally, than any of his other great concertos. But it is also appealingly tuneful, full of virtuosic brilliance, with touches of delightful subversive humour. In this concert

Robert Schumann

it stands between two intense romantic dramas: Schumann’s impassioned, fate-haunted overture The Bride of Messina and his Second Symphony – the latter a much-misunderstood masterwork in which Schumann struggled to overcome the crippling depression that struck him in 1844. It ends with what is unmistakably a hymn of love and gratitude to his wife, Clara.

Overture, The Bride of Messina, Op. 100

1810–56

In 1851, Schumann read Friedrich Schiller’s play Die Braut von Messina (‘The Bride of Messina’) and was deeply impressed. This highly charged drama, with its depiction of incestuous passion and catastrophic revenge, all foreshadowed in a chilling prophetic dream, was exactly the kind of thing to set the archromantic Schumann’s imagination soaring. For a while he considered turning it into an opera – this came to nothing, but he did get as far as writing an overture to Schiller’s play: ‘more a theatre overture than a concert overture’, he explained at the time. The Overture begins with a striking, upward-thrusting theme, which surely signifies the terrible fate hanging over all the main characters. As the slow introduction transforms into a rapid Allegro, this ‘fate’ theme alternates with an agitated lyrical idea, heightened by piccolo, suggesting the implacable hostility of the play’s two brothers, Don Manuel and Don Cesar, both unwittingly in love with their sister Beatrice. The tender, long-breathed clarinet melody that follows later

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

must stand for Beatrice herself, the innocent cause of terrible strife. In the rest of the Overture we can hear that conflict working its way through to its inevitable conclusion, with the opening ‘fate’ motif never far away. Perhaps Schumann felt that, after this, there was no need for an opera; the Overture says it all.

Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

Baiba Skride violin Daniel Müller-Schott cello Lars Vogt piano For many listeners today, ‘Concerto’ means a battle – or possibly a friendly conversation – between one brilliant soloist and a full orchestra. It wasn’t always so; in fact the concerto with multiple soloists is arguably as old as the form itself. The late 17th and early 18th centuries saw the zenith of the concerto grosso, in which a team of soloists is contrasted with an orchestral ensemble. There was still a taste for concertos with two or more soloists in Paris in Beethoven’s day, but amongst German-speaking composers interest was waning. Eventually even the French lost interest. The fashion in the romantic era – the age of heroic individualism – and until well into the 20th century was for concertos with one star soloist. Brahms’s Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra (1887) is a very rare exception. Given all this, Beethoven’s interest in the multiplesolo concerto form may be surprising. Here, after all, is the composer generally credited with having taken musical individualism to new levels of intensity and originality. In the Triple Concerto, however, the element of struggle between solo voices and orchestra is far less pronounced. It is also relatively relaxed, in mood and structure, when compared with the other mature concertos. The American Beethoven scholar Lewis Lockwood calls it ‘a comfortable, rambling composition that aims to please but not stir its audiences’. For the British musicologist Donald Francis Tovey, however, the central slow movement ‘would have become famous for its warmth and breadth if it had been ascribed to Cherubini.’

Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano in C major, Op. 56 1 Allegro 2 Largo – 3 Rondo alla Polacca

Tovey’s invocation of the eminent Parisian composer Luigi Cherubini is significant. At the time Beethoven wrote the Triple Concerto (1804), Cherubini was at the height of his popularity in France, and it is very likely that Beethoven was thinking of a potential French audience for the Triple Concerto. Despite his famous furious outburst on hearing of Napoleon’s crowning himself Emperor that same year, Beethoven remained impressed by accounts of the role music played in revolutionary France. Perhaps there was money to be made there – as one of the world’s first fully freelance composers, Beethoven always had an eye open for financial opportunities. Clearly aware that he was writing for the lighter end of the French market, Beethoven avoids the intellectual daring of the recent Third Piano Concerto or of the contemporary ‘Waldstein’ and ‘Appassionata’ piano sonatas. Nevertheless Beethoven remains Beethoven, and there are moments where his delight in surprise re-asserts itself: the move to a distant key for the first movement’s second theme; the thrilling piled-up imitations just before the first theme’s triumphant return; the cello’s accelerando linking the slow movement to the finale – coming at a point where one might think the Largo still had some way to go. Also surprising is the prominence given to the cello, rather than Beethoven’s own instrument, the piano: it introduces both the first and second themes in the first movement, dominates the first phase of the Largo, then sets in motion the finale’s dashing ‘Polacca’ theme. This may not be one of Beethoven’s profoundest works, but it can certainly be very entertaining.

INTERVAL – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

PROGRAMME NOTES

Robert Schumann 1810–56

Of Schumann’s four symphonies, the Second is the one that has polarised opinion the most. For the eminent 19th-century musicologist Philipp Spitta, it had a ‘graver and more mature depth of feeling; its bold decisiveness of form and overpowering wealth of expression reveal distinctively the relationship in art between Schumann and Beethoven.’ But for the British critic Mosco Carner, the Symphony was a ‘pathetic failure … Laborious, dull, often mediocre in thematic invention, plodding and repetitive in argument’ – a direct consequence, Carner suggested, of Schumann’s ‘mental state’ at the time he wrote it. How can a piece of music provoke such extreme reactions? Schumann himself provided a clue: I wrote my symphony in December 1845, and I sometimes fear my semi-invalid state can be divined from the music. I began to feel more myself when I wrote the last movement, and I was certainly much better when I finished the whole work. All the same it reminds me of dark days. ‘Semi-invalid’ is an understatement. In 1844, after four years of volcanic creativity, Schumann fell into terrible, paralysing depression. For about a year he wrote virtually nothing. But in May–July 1845 he was at last able to force himself back to work, first completing his Piano Concerto, then beginning work on the Second Symphony. Mosco Carner’s intensely negative response to it may be more understandable as a reaction to its emotional character, especially to the first movement. At first everything seems hopeful enough: a hushed brass fanfare confidently rises above an evenly flowing theme on low strings. But the fast main movement is dominated by an obsessively repetitive theme. For some, clearly, this obsessiveness is too much, but in the right interpretative hands its dogged determination can be enormously compelling, drawing the listener directly

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61 1 2 3 4

Sostenuto assai — Allegro ma non troppo Scherzo: Allegro vivace Adagio espressivo Allegro molto vivace

into Schumann’s own struggles to work himself free from the coils of crippling depression. The first movement ends with hope renewed, the opening quiet brass fanfare now sounding out thrillingly in the trumpets. But there is something restless and edgy about the energy of the following Scherzo that the two gentler Trio sections do little to pacify. It is in the great Adagio espressivo that Schumann finally confronts melancholy and desolation head on. The opening motif (violins) recalls Bach, who in his two great Passions transformed the darkest emotions into glorious, noble lyricism. Schumann later admitted that composing this music was not all pain: the ‘mournful bassoon’ solo at the heart of the movement, he said, gave him ‘peculiar pleasure’. ‘I began to feel more myself when I wrote the last movement …’ The finale is in fact one of Schumann’s most original symphonic arguments. A rousing first theme is followed by a more lyrical second, itself a transformation of the slow movement’s Bachian main motif. Both themes are developed and recapitulated – all very proper and classical, if a bit on the brief side. But then comes something very unusual: a plaintive inversion of the Adagio theme brings the music back to the slow movement’s sombre minor key, the energy flags, and the music comes to a halt – almost as though this were an alternative, tragic ending for the Adagio. What happens next is that Schumann draws breath and simply starts again. First we hear a new theme in woodwind harmonies. This is a near-quotation from Beethoven’s song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (‘To the distant beloved’), which Schumann had alluded to in several works during his agonisingly protracted courtship of his wife Clara. The words of the song

Schumann invokes here are, in English, ‘Take, O take these songs I offer’ – surely an offering of thanks to Clara for her help in getting him through the crisis of 1844–5. After this comes a long but compelling crescendo of affirmation, culminating in a wordless hymn of love for full orchestra. Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

latest LPO cd releases Tennstedt conducts Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 This month saw an exciting new release on the Orchestra’s own CD label: Brahms’s Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 under the late Klaus Tennstedt (LPO–0068). Tennstedt enjoyed a close and enduring relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra that resulted in his appointment as its Principal Conductor and Music Director in 1983, later becoming Conductor Laureate. Renowned for his interpretations of the German Romantic repertoire, Tennstedt once said he loved the LPO so much because ‘it is a romantic orchestra’. These live recordings were made at Royal Festival Hall concerts in 1992 and 1983. ‘This was a splendid account of the symphony, majestic, tumultuous, every phrase alive with feeling. Under Tennstedt the London Philharmonic is shown to be a first-rate Brahms orchestra.’ Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 14 Oct 1992

The Greatest Video Game Music 2 Also released this month, on the X5 label, is the follow-up album to last year’s hugely popular The Greatest Video Game Music. Once again conductor Andrew Skeet has created symphony orchestra versions of a huge range of familiar tunes, including music from Final Fantasy VII, The Elder Scrolls V, Street Fighter II, Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect 3, Halo, Legend of Zelda: Dragon Roost Island, Little Big Planet, and many others. This is the sequel to 2011’s massively successful album The Greatest Video Game Music, which has sold almost 100,000 copies to date, making it the best selling video game music album of all time. Watch a short preview film, view the full tracklist, listen to soundclips and buy online via www.lpo.org.uk/heroes

The double CD is priced £10.99 and is available now. Listen to soundclips and buy online at lpo.org.uk/shop

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next LPO concertS at royal festival hall

Wednesday 21 November 2012 | 7.30pm

Saturday 1 December 2012 | 7.30pm

Haydn Symphony No. 44 (Trauer) Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2 R Strauss Don Quixote

Zimmermann Ecclesiastical Action, for two speakers, bass and orchestra (semi-staged) Brahms A German Requiem

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Lawrence Power viola Truls Mørk cello

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Dietrich Henschel bass-baritone Miah Persson soprano (A German Requiem) Omar Ebrahim Speaker 1 (Ecclesiastical Action) Malcom Sinclair Speaker 2 (Ecclesiastical Action) Annabel Arden director London Philharmonic Choir

Saturday 24 November 2012 | 7.30pm Haydn Nelson Mass R Strauss Ein Heldenleben Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Sarah-Jane Brandon soprano Sarah Connolly mezzo soprano Robin Tritschler tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir 6.15–6.45pm FREE pre-concert discussion Royal Festival Hall Yannick Nézet-Séguin looks in detail at Strauss’s epic work Ein Heldenleben.

Wednesday 28 November 2012 | 7.30pm Beethoven Overture, Fidelio Schoenberg Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte Schoenberg A Survivor from Warsaw Nono Julius Fučík Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Robert Hayward narrator Omar Ebrahim Fučík (Julius Fučík) Malcom Sinclair Voice (Julius Fučík) Annabel Arden director Gentlemen of the London Philharmonic Choir 6.15–6.45pm FREE pre-concert discussion Royal Festival Hall Composer and academic Silvina Milstein looks at the works of Nono and Schoenberg. FREE Barlines post-concert discussion The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall Artists involved in the performance will discuss the evening’s programme.

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

FREE Barlines post-concert discussion The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall Artists involved in the performance will discuss the evening’s programme.

Wednesday 12 December 2012 | 7.30pm Grisey Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil Mahler Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Allison Bell soprano 6.15–6.45pm FREE pre-concert discussion Royal Festival Hall The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Composer in Residence Julian Anderson takes a look at the music of Gérard Grisey.

Booking details London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Monday to Friday 10.00am–5.00pm lpo.org.uk (no transaction fee) Southbank Centre Ticket Office (transaction fees apply) 0844 847 9920 Daily 9.00am–8.00pm southbankcentre.co.uk

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors:

Guy & Utti Whittaker Manon Williams

David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Mr & Mrs Jeffrey Herrmann Peter MacDonald Eggers Mr & Mrs David Malpas Andrew T Mills Mr Maxwell Morrison Mr Michael Posen Mr & Mrs Thierry Sciard Mr John Soderquist & Mr Costas Michaelides Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Laurie Watt Mr Anthony Yolland

Ken Follett Pauline & Peter Halliday Michael & Christine Henry Mr Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha Mr Gerald Levin Sheila Ashley Lewis Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Mr Frank Lim Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Brian Marsh John Montgomery Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Edmund Pirouet Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Des & Maggie Whitelock Bill Yoe

Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Jane Attias Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Mr Charles Dumas

Benefactors Mrs A Beare Dr & Mrs Alan Carrington CBE FRS Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Dennis Mr David Edgecombe Mr Richard Fernyhough

Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd

Thomas Beecham Group The Tsukanov Family Anonymous The Sharp Family Julian & Gill Simmonds Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller Moya Greene John & Angela Kessler Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett

Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Pehr G Gyllenhammar Edmund Pirouet Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members Silver: AREVA UK British American Business Hermes Fund Managers Pritchard Englefield Bronze: Lisa Bolgar Smith and Felix Appelbe of Ambrose Appelbe Appleyard & Trew LLP Berkeley Law Charles Russell Lazard Leventis Overseas Education Partner Boeing Corporate Donor Lombard Street Research Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Villa Maria

In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Sela / Tilley’s Sweets Trusts and Foundations Addleshaw Goddard Charitable Trust Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation BBC Performing Arts Fund The Boltini Trust Britten-Pears Foundation The Candide Trust The Coutts Charitable Trust Diaphonique, Franco-British fund for contemporary music Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Eranda Foundation Fidelio Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation J Paul Getty Junior Charitable Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Capital Radio’s Help a London Child The Hobson Charity The Kirby Laing Foundation The Idlewild Trust

The Leverhulme Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust Paul Morgan Charitable Trust The Diana and Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust Musicians Benevolent Fund Newcomen Collett Foundation The Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Rothschild Foundation The Seary Charitable Trust The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust The Underwood Trust Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement Kurt Weill Foundation for Music Garfield Weston Foundation and others who wish to remain anonymous London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

orchestra news

Julian Anderson: British Composer Awards nomination

London Philharmonic Orchestra live at Heathrow Airport

Congratulations to Julian Anderson, the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, whose work The Discovery of Heaven has been shortlisted in the Orchestral category of this year’s British Composer Awards. The work was commissioned by the London Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic orchestras and was premiered at the Royal Festival Hall on 24 March 2012 by the LPO under Ryan Wigglesworth. The other works shortlisted are Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra and Rebecca Saunders’s Still. The winners in each category will be unveiled at a ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Monday 3 December.

Players from the London Philharmonic Orchestra entertained passengers passing through Heathrow’s Terminal 5 on 29 October with music from the best James Bond soundtracks from over the years, to link in with the release of the latest Bond film Skyfall. The musicians played classics including Goldfinger, Nobody Does It Better and Diamonds Are Forever to passengers waiting in Departures. This isn’t the first time the Orchestra has been invited to perform in the terminal; the musicians entertained passengers coming in and out of the country at the end of the Olympics.

britishcomposerawards.com

Animate Orchestra Animate Orchestra is a partnership between Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and local music services that offers children aged 9–15 the opportunity to write their own music and play together in a mixed instrumental ensemble. Members perform on instruments as varied as bassoon, guitar, ukulele and laptop, and draw upon their individual skills and interests to create their own music from scratch. During the last week of October we ran Animate courses in four boroughs – Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. Over 150 young people attended these courses, which culminated in an informal presentation for family and friends. To find out about Animate Orchestra courses in your borough, visit animateorchestra.org.uk Animate Orchestra is supported by The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Lewisham Council and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

These performances are part of a new partnership with Heathrow Airport, which is now a Principal Supporter of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The Orchestra will return to the airport several times throughout the year. The next event will take place on 6 December, featuring a selection of classic Christmas songs to warm up the crowds.

Deutsche Bank BrightSparks concert for GCSE students Monday 5 November saw over 2000 GCSE music students from across London attend the Orchestra’s Deutsche Bank BrightSparks concert at Royal Festival Hall. This was one of eight schools’ concerts taking place during the 2012/13 season, which in total will give 15,000 pupils across all ages the chance to experience a live orchestra. The concerts are especially designed to complement the National Curriculum. For many of the pupils, these events are the first time they will have visited a concert hall to hear a live orchestra. Through the generous support of Deutsche Bank the LPO is able to offer all tickets for these concerts completely free to schools. On 5 November, choirs from Eltham College (Greenwich), Emanuel School (Wandsworth) and Beaumont School (St Albans), together with instrumentalists from the Centre for Young Musicians in Lambeth, performed side-by-side with the Orchestra. www.lpo.org.uk/education

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Virtual Christmas Gifts from the London Philharmonic Orchestra Want to give a ‘different’ present to your music-loving friends or family this Christmas? How about a stocking filler or a gift for someone who has everything? Celebrate with the London Philharmonic Orchestra by giving one or more of our Virtual Gifts. Whether you are helping us to produce world-class concerts or providing a London child with their first experience of live music, your gift will have an impact long after the celebration itself. Each gift comes with a bespoke Christmas card which we can send to you or directly to the recipient with your own personal greeting, along with a 10% discount voucher for a spring 2013 London Philharmonic Orchestra concert of the recipient’s choice. For more details visit www.lpo.org.uk/virtualgifts or call 020 7840 4212.

Solo moments: £10 Your opportunity to support a sensational musical moment from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and guest soloists during one of next spring’s concerts. Choose from the following: • • • • • • • • •

Flute solo in Ravel’s Mother Goose (Saturday 16 February 2013) Cor anglais solo in Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony (Wednesday 20 February 2013) Clarinet opening of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Friday 22 February 2013) Bassoon solo in Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (Saturday 16 February 2013) Opening trumpet fanfare in Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra (Saturday 19 January 2013) Violin solo in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto (Friday 1 February 2013) Piano solo in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Friday 15 February 2013) Choir in Orff’s Carmina Burana (Saturday 6 April 2013) Vocal soloists in Weill’s The Threepenny Opera (Saturday 2 March 2013)

Adopt A Class: £30 Your gift will pay for an LPO player to spend an hour with disabled children in a London school, helping them overcome their disabilities through music.

Roll Call: £40 Help us liven up an assembly in one of South London’s schools by sending in a group of LPO musicians.

Centre Stage: £50 Your gift will help us offer the opportunity for a South London school child to perform on the Royal Festival Hall stage. Includes an invitation to watch the culmination of our Schoenberg New Horizons GCSE schools’ composition project on Wednesday 23 January 2013. You can also buy a gift of a year’s membership of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Friends or LPO Contemporaries: visit www.lpo.org.uk/gifts for more details. In order to guarantee delivery by Christmas please order by Wednesday 19 December 2012. Virtual gifts are intended as a way to show your support for the Orchestra’s charitable objectives this Christmas. The London Philharmonic Orchestra reserves the right to vary concert programmes if necessary. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is a registered charity No. 238045.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

administration

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