Issuu

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 1

Principal Conductor 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†

THE THOMAS BEECHAM GROUP CONCERT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Saturday 19 March 2011 | 7.30pm

VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF violin

JULIAN ANDERSON The Crazed Moon (13’) BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major

†

CONTENTS 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16

List of Players Orchestra History Leader Vladimir Jurowski Christian Tetzlaff Thomas Beecham Group Programme Notes Southbank Centre Supporters Recordings Administration Future Concerts

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

(42’)

INTERVAL TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F minor

PROGRAMME £3

(44’)

supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 2

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS Pieter Schoeman* Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Chair supported by John and Angela Kessler

Katerina Mitchell Katalin Varnagy Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Tina Gruenberg Martin Hรถhmann Chair supported by Richard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey Lynn Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Rebecca Shorrock Alain Petitclerc SECOND VIOLINS Clare Duckworth Principal Chair supported by Richard and Victoria Sharp

Jeongmin Kim Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David and Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Ashley Stevens Dean Williamson Sioni Williams Heather Badke Alison Strange Stephen Stewart Mila Mustakova

CELLOS Kristina Blaumane Principal Susanne Beer Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Jonathan Ayling Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie and Zander Sharp

Santiago Sabino Carvalho + Gregory Walmsley Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff DOUBLE BASSES Kevin Rundell* Principal Tim Gibbs Co-Principal Laurence Lovelle George Peniston Richard Lewis Kenneth Knussen Tom Walley Joe Melvin FLUTES Sue Thomas* Principal Eilidh Gillespie PICCOLO Stewart McIlwham* Principal ALTO FLUTE Eilidh Gillespie OBOES Ian Hardwick Principal Angela Tennick COR ANGLAIS Sue Bohling Principal

VIOLAS Alexander Zemtsov* Principal Chair supported by The Tsukanov Family

Robert Duncan Janis Lielbardis Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Emmanuella Reiter-Bootiman Laura Vallejo Daniel Cornford Isabel Pereira Michelle Bruil Sarah Malcolm

Chair supported by Julian and Gill Simmonds

CONTRA BASSOON Simon Estell Principal HORNS John Ryan Principal Abel Pereira Guest Princial Martin Hobbs Marcus Bates Gareth Mollison TRUMPETS Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff and Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal TROMBONES Mark Templeton* Principal David Whitehouse BASS TROMBONE Lyndon Meredith Principal TUBA Lee Tsarmaklis Principal TIMPANI Simon Carrington* Principal PERCUSSION Rachel Gledhill Principal Andrew Barclay* Co-Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Keith Millar

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Thomas Blunt

CLARINETS Robert Hill* Principal Nicholas Carpenter Katie Lockhart BASS CLARINET Katie Lockhart BASSOONS John Price Principal Gareth Newman*

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

* Holds a professorial appointment in London +

Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 3

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Patrick Harrison

Seventy-eight years after Sir Thomas Beecham founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra, it is recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage. Following Beecham’s influential founding tenure the Orchestra’s Principal Conductorship has been passed from one illustrious musician to another, amongst them Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. This impressive tradition continued in September 2007 when Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and, in a further exciting move, the Orchestra appointed Yannick Nézet-Séguin its new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2008. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It plays there around 40 times each season with many of the world’s most sought after conductors and soloists. Concert highlights in 2010/11 include an exploration of Mahler’s symphonies and complete song cycles during the composer’s anniversary season; the premières of works by Matteo D’Amico, Magnus Lindberg and Brett Dean; a rare opportunity to hear Rossini’s opera Aureliano in Palmira in collaboration with long term partner Opera Rara; and works by the Orchestra’s new Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In addition to its London season and a series of concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Orchestra has flourishing

residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. It is unique in combining these concert activities with esteemed opera performances each summer at Glyndebourne Festival Opera where it has been the Resident Symphony Orchestra since 1964. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs to enthusiastic audiences all round the world. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring continues to form a significant part of the Orchestra’s schedule and is supported by Aviva, the International Touring Partner of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Tours in 2010/11 include visits to Finland, Germany, South Korea, Spain, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Having long been embraced by the recording, broadcasting and film industries, the London Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts regularly on domestic and international television and radio. It also works with the Hollywood and UK film industries, recording soundtracks for blockbuster motion pictures including the Oscar-winning score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and scores for Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission, Philadelphia and East is East. The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its first recordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after its first public performance. It has recorded and broadcast

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 4

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

PIETER SCHOEMAN

regularly ever since, and in 2005 established its own record label. The recordings on its own label are taken mainly from live concerts given with distinguished conductors over the years including the Orchestra’s Principal Conductors from Beecham and Boult, through Haitink, Solti and Tennstedt, to Masur and Jurowski. Recent additions to the catalogue have included acclaimed releases of Christmas choral music conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, Verdi’s Requiem conducted by Jesús López-Cobos, Holst’s The Planets conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and Sea Pictures with Vernon Handley and Janet Baker. The Orchestra’s own-label CDs are also widely available to download. Visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop for the latest releases.

‘ … a simply tremendous performance of Mahler’s 3rd Symphony … Jurowski and his players plunged us into a winter of discontent so profoundly expectant that even the inveterate coughers were silenced.’ EDWARD SECKERSON, THE INDEPENDENT, 23 SEPTEMBER 2010

The Orchestra reaches thousands of Londoners through its rich programme of community and school-based activity in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, which includes the offshoot ensembles Renga and The Band, its Foyle Future Firsts apprenticeship scheme for outstanding young instrumentalists, and regular family and schools concerts. To help maintain its high standards and diverse workload, the Orchestra is committed to the welfare of its musicians and in December 2007 received the Association of British Orchestras/Musicians Benevolent Fund Healthy Orchestra Bronze Charter Mark. There are many ways to experience and stay in touch with the Orchestra’s activities: visit www.lpo.org.uk, subscribe to our podcast series, download our iPhone application and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

In 2002, Pieter Schoeman joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Leader. He was appointed Leader in 2008. Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra at the age of ten. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning numerous competitions, including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in America. 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 Schoeman has performed as a soloist and recitalist throughout the world 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, he has performed Arvo Pärt’s Double Concerto with Boris Garlitsky and Benjamin Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the Orchestra’s own record label to great critical acclaim. Last October he performed the Brahms Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane. In 1995 Pieter Schoeman became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has performed frequently as Guest Leader with the symphony orchestras of Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon and Baltimore as well as the BBC Symphony Orchestra. This season he has been invited to lead the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra on several occasions. Pieter Schoeman has recorded numerous violin solos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos, Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American film and television. He led the Orchestra in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He teaches at Trinity College of Music in London.

Patrick Harrison

LEADER

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 5

VLADIMIR JUROWSKI

Karen Robinson

CONDUCTOR

Born in Moscow, the son of conductor Mikhail Jurowski, Vladimir Jurowski completed the first part of his musical studies at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he relocated with his family to Germany where he continued his studies in Dresden and Berlin, studying conducting with Rolf Reuter and vocal coaching with Semion Skigin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival, where he conducted Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night. The same year saw his brilliant debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in Nabucco. In 1996 he joined the ensemble of Komische Oper Berlin, becoming First Kapellmeister in 1997 and continuing to work at the Komische Oper on a permanent basis until 2001. Since 1997 Vladimir Jurowski has been a guest at some of the world’s leading musical institutions including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Opéra Bastille de Paris, Théâtre de la Monnaie Bruxelles, Maggio Musicale Festival Florence, Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro, Edinburgh Festival, Semperoper Dresden and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (where he served as Principal Guest Conductor between 2000 and 2003). In 1999 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with Rigoletto. In January 2001 Vladimir Jurowski took up the position of Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in 2003 was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor in September 2007. He also holds the title of Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and from 2005 to 2009 served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra with whom he will continue to work in the years ahead.

Vladimir Jurowski is a regular guest with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras as well as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Highlights of the 2010/11 season and beyond include his debuts with the Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland, San Francisco Symphony and Mahler Chamber Orchestras, and return visits to the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras. His operatic engagements have included Jenůfa, The Queen of Spades and Hänsel und Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera, Parsifal and Wozzeck at Welsh National Opera, War and Peace at the Opéra National de Paris, Eugene Onegin at La Scala Milan, as well as Die Zauberflöte, La Cenerentola, Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, The Rake’s Progress and Peter Eötvös’ Love and Other Demons at Glyndebourne Opera. Future engagements include new productions of Die Meistersinger and The Cunning Little Vixen at Glyndebourne, Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera, Russlan and Ludmila at the Bolshoi Theatre, and Iolanta at the Dresden Semperoper. Jurowski’s discography includes the first ever recording of Giya Kancheli’s cantata Exil for ECM (1994), L’Étoile du Nord by Meyerbeer for Naxos-Marco Polo (1996), and Werther for BMG (1999) as well as live recordings of works by Rachmaninov, Turnage, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Brahms and Shostakovich on the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s own label, and Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery on Glyndebourne Opera’s own label. He also records for PentaTone with the Russian National Orchestra, with releases to date including Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 and Stravinsky’s Divertimento from Le Baiser de la fée, Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 6, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky’s Hamlet Incidental Music. Glyndebourne have released DVD recordings of his performances of La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, Die Fledermaus and Rachmaninov’s The Miserly Knight, and other recent DVD releases include Hänsel und Gretel from the Metropolitan Opera New York, and his first concert as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor featuring works by Wagner, Berg and Mahler (released by Medici Arts).

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 6

CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF

Georgia Bertazzi

VIOLIN

Equally at home in the classical and romantic repertoire as in contemporary music, Christian Tetzlaff sets standards with his interpretations of the violin concertos of Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky as well as Berg, Ligeti and Shostakovich. He is particularly renowned for his incomparable performances of the Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas. In the 2010/11 season Christian curates a series of projects as a Carnegie Hall ‘Perspectives’ artist, including the world première of Harrison Birtwistle’s Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and James Levine, a play-conduct project with the Orchestra of St Luke’s, violin duos with Antje Weithaas, concerts as part of the Tetzlaff Quartet and performances with the Ensemble ACJW and Sir Simon Rattle. He will also give a masterclass presented by the Weill Music Institute for young violinists and pianists. In Europe he performs with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons, Philharmonia Orchestra with Esa-Pekka Salonen and NDR Sinfonieorchester with John Storgards. He continues to be a regular guest soloist with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. Christian performs at major festivals including those in Edinburgh and Lucerne, and at the BBC Proms, in addition to summer festivals throughout the US. He also gives recitals with chamber partners Leif Ove Andsnes, Alexander Lonquich and Lars Vogt, as well as his own Tetzlaff Quartet.

6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Christian Tetzlaff has recorded for the Virgin/EMI, Hänssler, Decca, Pentatone and Arte Nova labels. His extensive discography includes the violin concertos of Dvořák, Mozart, Lalo, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. He has also recorded Sibelius’s complete works for violin and orchestra, Bartók’s sonatas for violin and piano with Leif Ove Andsnes, and the three Brahms Violin Sonatas with Lars Vogt. His latest disc features Bach’s complete Solo Sonatas and Partitas for Hänssler. This year three CD releases are planned: Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez on the Deutsche Grammophon label, Piano Trios by Schumann with Leif Ove Andsnes and Tanja Tetzlaff on Virgin/EMI and the first CD with the Tetzlaff Quartet of works by Sibelius and Schönberg on CAvi. Christian’s recordings have received numerous prizes and awards, including the Diapason d’Or, the Edison prize, the Midem Classical Award and the ECHO Klassik prize, together with several nominations for Grammy Awards. In 2005 Musical America named him ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’. Born in Hamburg in 1966, Christian Tetzlaff studied at the Lübeck Conservatory with Uwe-Martin Haiberg and in Cincinnati with Walter Levin. He now lives near Frankfurt. Christian Tetzlaff plays a violin by the German violin maker Peter Greiner.

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 7

An Instrumental Role: The Thomas Beecham Group Tonight’s performance has been designated the Thomas Beecham Group Concert in recognition of the generous support provided to the London Philharmonic Orchestra by individuals with a passion for music. Exactly fifty years since his death, Beecham’s dedication and spirit of musical adventure live on in the commitment of these vital donors to the Orchestra’s work. Many have chosen to associate their major annual gift with the chair of a specific musician, and after tonight’s concert will join their supported player and the evening’s artists for a celebratory dinner and a talk from Beecham’s son, who is with us at the Royal Festival Hall tonight. Our donors are vital members of the Orchestra’s family, and at a time of state retrenchment their generosity is ever more important in helping us to perform to the highest standards both on and off the concert platform, in London, at Glyndebourne, and on tour around the world. In return for their support they enjoy unparalleled access to the musicians and a wide range of benefits, including the opportunity to arrange private recitals and see the Orchestra perform abroad. For further information about the Thomas Beecham Group and to find out how you can play a principal role in the life of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, please contact Nick Jackman, Development Director, on 020 7840 4211. ‘Our enjoyment of concerts is enhanced through pre-concert and interval receptions with fellow music lovers and members of the Orchestra. Post-concert dinners with soloists and conductors, intimate chamber concerts, invitations to other cultural activities and visits to Glyndebourne all make being part of the Thomas Beecham Group so special.’ GARF AND GILL COLLINS We are grateful to the following donors for their generous major gifts: Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport David & Victoria Graham Fuller Richard Karl Goeltz John & Angela Kessler Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann

Mr & Mrs Richard & Victoria Sharp Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Tsukanov Family Guy & Utti Whittaker

Benjamin Ealovega

Below (left to right): Vesselin Gellev (Sub-Leader), Sue Bohling (Principal Cor Anglais) and Andrew Barclay (Co-Principal Percussion) are amongst the players whose chairs are supported by members of the Thomas Beecham Group.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 8

PROGRAMME NOTES

A POWERFUL ELEGY, A LYRICAL CONCERTO AND A DRAMATIC SYMPHONY Tonight’s programme opens with a work by the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence Julian Anderson, The Crazed Moon. It is an elegy for a composer friend, Graeme Smith, whose initials, translated into musical notation as G and E flat, permeate the work’s distant fanfares, keening melodies, powerful climaxes and sombre chorales. Similarly allpervasive is the drum-tap figure which opens Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and recurs throughout the first movement – including the cadenza which the

Julian ANDERSON

composer wrote for his little-known adaptation of the piece as a piano concerto, and which Christian Tetzlaff has arranged for the violin. But, despite the drum-taps, the predominant qualities of the work are lyricism, as in the profoundly still slow movement, and virtuosity, as in the sparkling rondo finale. Last comes Tchaikovsky’s famous Fourth Symphony, which begins like Anderson’s piece with a solemn fanfare. Here it symbolises the threat of Fate, which hangs over the dramatic first movement, recedes in the song-like slow movement and the ingenious collage-like scherzo, and returns in the course of the finale, only to be swept away by the cheerful rejoicing of a folk festival.

THE CRAZED MOON

Born 1967

Julian Anderson, although in his first season as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, is no stranger to the Orchestra: he was its Composer in Focus in 2002/03, he wrote Alleluia for it to perform at the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall in 2007, and for some years he has been a member of the London Philharmonic Choir. Born in London, Anderson studied composition with John Lambert at the Royal College of Music, with Alexander Goehr at Cambridge University, and in Paris with Tristan Murail. He has been Composer in Residence with Sinfonia 21, Composer in Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and a Daniel Lewis Young Composer Fellow with the Cleveland Orchestra; and from 2002 until this season he has been artistic director of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s early-evening ‘Music of Today’ series. Meanwhile, he has taught at the Royal College, at Harvard University, and since 2007 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Anderson’s music belongs uncompromisingly to the modernist mainstream, but it has always succeeded in making a direct connection

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

with audiences because of his imaginative handling of colour, his clear delineation of mood, and his use of simple melodic material, often derived from different folk traditions. He is currently engaged in tackling a new challenge, an opera for English National Opera based on the Oedipus trilogy. Anderson wrote The Crazed Moon in 1997, in response to a BBC commission for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and its then conductor Tadaaki Otaka. The title is that of a poem by one of the most moon-struck of poets, W.B. Yeats, from a collection published in 1933; it begins with a memorable image: Crazed through much child-bearing The moon is staggering in the sky In Anderson’s mind, these lines became linked with a beautiful lunar eclipse that he observed in March 1996. But the lunar imagery is overlaid by the fact that the work is also an elegy for a composer friend, Graeme Smith, who had died suddenly in September 1995 at the age of 24.

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 9

PROGRAMME NOTES

This tragic occurrence dictated the nature of much of the piece: predominantly slow, with tolling bells, heavy chords, keening melodic lines, and climaxes not only of mourning but also of protest. But two things make its expressive course over its 13-minute duration unpredictable. One is the overall plan of the work, which like a film sequence cuts between different elements developing independently of one another. The other is the incorporation as a recurring musical idea of Graeme Smith’s initials, G.S., which in German note-names spell G and E flat (Es). These two notes make a bright major third, which whenever it is used, harmonically or melodically, stands out in the darker, atonal context, to poignant effect.

The next section, marked Molto cantabile e sempre lirico (‘very song-like and always lyrical’), is identified by the composer as the ‘central plateau’ of the piece. It is based on a sustained melody, beginning with E flat and G once more, which is treated in heterophony, in other words played in different rhythmic variants at once – a favourite technique of the composer, arising from his interest in folk traditions. As the melody continues to unfold in ever-proliferating textures, it is punctuated by incisive alarm-calls on high woodwind, trumpets and bells. Finally, the melody accelerates and solidifies into a single line, leading to a big chord over which the alarmcalls sound even more forcefully – a point which Anderson identifies as the moment of lunar eclipse.

The piece begins with fanfares for three offstage trumpets, growing out of the ‘G.S.’ motif but ending with a piercing dissonance. The rest of the orchestra enters in an episode marked Lento funebre (‘slow and funereal’), which gradually builds up from a single line in the lowest register to full and complex textures, but dies away suddenly. The major third of ‘G.S.’ returns insistently to begin a passage of lamenting melodies on high woodwind and solo violins, which again gradually increases in density, to reach an Agitato molto (‘very agitated’) climax.

Calm is restored in a sequence of chorale-like chord progressions for strings, sometimes reinforced by the wind, against a background of bells and gongs tolling ‘G.S.’; this culminates in a double skein of wind and string chorales in dense harmonies. Then, as the harmonic progression of the Lento funebre episode near the start is resumed and brought to a resolution, the offstage trumpet fanfares of the very opening return – though the last sound is an E natural dying away in the double-basses.

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN

VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, OP. 61 CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF violin Allegro ma non troppo | Larghetto – | Rondo: [Allegro]

1770-1827

cadenzas by Beethoven, arranged by Christian Tetzlaff

Beethoven wrote his only surviving Violin Concerto (an early one in C major is now mostly lost) towards the end of 1806, for a concert given in Vienna on 23 December by his violinist friend Franz Clement. The manuscript shows many signs of haste – in fact it has been described as ‘a mass of crossings out and rewriting’; and this seems to bear out the statement by Beethoven’s pupil Czerny that the work was written very

rapidly and completed ‘scarcely two days’ before the performance. In keeping with what seem (according to contemporary accounts) to have been the qualities of Clement’s playing, the Concerto is more lyrical than dramatic in nature, and the solo episodes are lightly scored so that they do not require great power, but the solo part does make considerable technical demands, especially in the upper register.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 10

PROGRAMME NOTES

The Violin Concerto is laid out on the same plan as Beethoven’s other later concertos, the Triple Concerto and the last two for piano: that is, with an extremely spacious first movement balanced by the remaining two, a slow movement leading without a break into a rondo finale. The opening drum-tap figure – an extremely unusual start for a classical concerto – permeates the first movement, sometimes reinforcing the stability of the prevailing key, sometimes disrupting it. It is nearly always played quietly, and its first and only fortissimo statement marks a point of special significance, the start of the recapitulation. The recapitulation also ends fortissimo, at the usual pause for a cadenza; but, less usually, the soloist continues with the orchestra after the cadenza, playing the serene second subject complete and unadorned for the first time. The tranquillity of this moment is regained in the Larghetto, a set of variations which also incorporates towards the end a second theme and a variant of that. This is the still centre of the work – literally still, because, although the principal theme takes one characteristic turn away from the home key and back to it, the basic tonality of G major prevails throughout the movement. The dreamlike atmosphere is enhanced by the subdued scoring, for clarinets, bassoons, horns, and strings with the violins muted.

Only at the end does a sudden string fortissimo, with the violin mutes now off, announce a change of mood and a transition – effected by another cadenza – to the finale. This is a Rondo with three subsidiary episodes: the second sharing a lyrical G minor melody between the soloist and the bassoon in its expressive tenor register; the last leading, by way of a cadenza, not to a final reprise of the main theme but straight to a coda. The dancing main theme of the movement is introduced each time by the soloist first at the bottom of the violin’s range, quiet but firm, on the G string, and then high above the stave, sweetly sung, on the E string – a pair of contrasting statements which together seem to encapsulate the very nature of the violin. Beethoven never wrote cadenzas for his Violin Concerto, leaving soloists to devise or improvise their own, as was the custom of the time. But in 1809 he did write a complete set for his little-known transcription of the work for piano and orchestra. This set includes a remarkable cadenza for the first movement, on an expansive scale and at one point breaking into a march accompanied by the drum-tap figure on the timpani – an unprecedented intervention into what was traditionally the preserve of the soloist. In tonight’s performance, Christian Tetzlaff will play these Beethoven cadenzas, in his own adaptation for violin.

INTERVAL 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.

Hear every note

Hard of hearing? Visit the cloakroom for equipment to improve your concert experience.

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 11

PROGRAMME NOTES

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY

SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN F MINOR, OP. 36 Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima | Andantino in modo di canzona | Scherzo (Pizzicato ostinato): Allegro | Finale: Allegro con fuoco

1840-1893

Tchaikovsky wrote most of this Symphony in 1877: the year of his greatest emotional crisis, unresolved and intensified by his impossible marriage, and culminating in a suicide attempt; but also the year in which Nadezhda von Meck, the wealthy widow with whom he corresponded prolifically and intimately for thirteen years, first settled on him enough money to enable him to live and work in comfort. It was to her, though in print only as ‘my best friend’, that he dedicated the Symphony; and it was also to her that he wrote, early in 1878, outlining the programme behind the work. This letter (translated in full in David Brown’s biography of the composer) was of course written after the event, and in a postscript Tchaikovsky described his attempt to interpret his music in words as ‘confused and inadequate’. But all the same it is of value in indicating something of his ideas and intentions, and in particular his conception of the Symphony – under the influence, surely, of Bizet’s Carmen, which he had seen in Paris early in 1876 – as dominated by the idea of Fate, that ‘force which prevents the impulse to happiness from achieving its goal’ and ‘hangs above your head like the sword of Damocles, and unwaveringly, constantly poisons the soul’. This notion is embodied in the stern fanfares of the introduction to the first movement – after which the main theme of the ensuing Moderato con anima (‘with soul’) depicts the resulting ‘cheerless and hopeless feeling’ which ‘grows yet stronger and more burning’, and the second-subject group represents a retreat from reality into a world of day-dreams. This dream world, set in the correspondingly distant keys of A flat minor and B major, is, as John Warrack has pointed out, ‘that of the ballet’: the dance measure implied by the sub-heading in movimento di valse in Tchaikovsky’s tempo marking comes increasingly to the fore, though always in the

form of a waltz in phrases of three bars, written as 9/8. The ‘Fate’ theme recurs three times in the mounting excitement of the development section, and then again after the much altered and truncated recapitulation (which is in D minor and F major) and in the much faster coda. ‘Thus’, in Tchaikovsky’s words, ‘all life is an unbroken alternation of hard reality with swiftly passing dreams and visions of happiness.’ The two middle movements are more straightforward in form and expression. The description in modo di canzona in the heading of the B flat minor slow movement indicates a song-like style, exemplified in the oboe’s first long melody, and also the ‘song form’ of A–B–A – though this is complicated by the fact that there are two alternating principal ideas in the outer sections, the second beginning as an inversion of the first. Tchaikovsky said that this movement suggested ‘that melancholy feeling which comes in the evening when, weary from your labour, you are sitting alone’, reflecting on a host of distant memories: ‘happy moments, when the young blood boiled, and life was satisfying ... painful moments, irreparable losses’. The Scherzo, the composer went on, ‘expresses no definite feeling’, but ‘is made up of capricious arabesques, ... fleeting images’, including ‘a picture of drunken peasants and a street song’, and later ‘somewhere in the distance, a military procession’. But this unusual movement – in 2/4 metre, rather than the triple time then still expected of a scherzo – seems chiefly concerned with what Tchaikovsky called in an earlier letter ‘a new instrumental effect of which I have great hopes’. The strings play pizzicato throughout the movement: the scherzo sections are for them alone. The trio is in two sections, the first for woodwind and the second for the brass and timpani. And in a tailpiece to

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 12

PROGRAMME NOTES

the trio, and again in a coda to the whole movement, the three elements, and their different tempi and thematic ideas, are ingeniously combined. The finale has been analysed by different writers in terms of variation and sonata forms, but it is most likely to be perceived as a kind of rondo, in which statements of the brilliant opening flourish in F major – joined later by a march-like idea in the same key – alternate with a subsidiary theme in various minor keys. This subsidiary theme, a Russian folk song called ‘In the fields there stood a birch tree’, also forms the basis for two

developmental episodes. The second of these culminates in the return of the ‘Fate’ theme from the first movement – after which the two major-key themes return in reverse order to launch a triumphant coda. Tchaikovsky’s programme here speaks of finding joy amidst the merry-making of the people, who ‘have not noticed that you are solitary and sad’. ‘Rejoice in others’ rejoicing’, he wrote to Madame von Meck, but really to himself. ‘To live is still possible!’

WELCOME

A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment:

TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE

LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance

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. 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 Kenelm Roberts, our Head of Customer Relations, at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk or phone 020 7960 4250. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium

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

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 13

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group Mr & Mrs Richard & Victoria Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds The Tsukanov Family Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport David & Victoria Graham Fuller Richard Karl Goeltz John & Angela Kessler Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Guy & Utti Whittaker Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams Jane Attias Lady Jane Berrill Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Mrs Sonja Drexler Mr Charles Dumas David Ellen Commander Vincent Evans

Mr Daniel Goldstein Mrs Barbara Green Oliver Heaton 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 Howard & Sheelagh Watson Mr Laurie Watt Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mrs A Beare Dr & Mrs Alan Carrington CBE FRS Marika Cobbold & Michael Patchett-Joyce Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr David Edgecombe

Mr Richard Fernyhough Ken Follett Michael & Christine Henry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr R K Jeha Mr & Mrs Maurice Lambert 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 Edmund Pirouet Mr Peter Tausig Mrs Kazue Turner Lady Marina Vaizey Mr D Whitelock Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged. Corporate Members Appleyard & Trew llp AREVA UK British American Business Brown Brothers Harriman Charles Russell Destination Québec – UK Diagonal Consulting Lazard Leventis Overseas Man Group plc Québec Government Office in London Corporate Donor Lombard Street Research In-kind Sponsors Google Inc Heineken The Langham London Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Sela / Tilley’s Sweets Villa Maria

Trusts and Foundations Allianz Cultural Foundation The Andor Charitable Trust Arts and Business Ruth Berkowitz Charitable Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust Britten-Pears Foundation The Candide Charitable Trust The John S Cohen Foundation The Coutts Charitable Trust The Dorset Foundation The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Eranda Foundation The Ernest Cook Trust The Fenton Arts Trust The Foyle Foundation The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Capital Radio’s Help a London Child The Idlewild Trust The Emmanuel Kaye Foundation The Leverhulme Trust Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Maurice Marks Charitable Trust The Michael Marks Charitable Trust

Marsh Christian Trust UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation The Mercers’ Company Adam Mickiewicz Institute Paul Morgan Charitable Trust Maxwell Morrison Charitable Trust Musicians Benevolent Fund The R K Charitable Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Reed Foundation The Rubin Foundation The Seary Charitable Trust The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Sound Connections The Stansfield Trust The Steel Charitable Trust The Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation The Swan Trust John Thaw Foundation The Underwood Trust Garfield Weston Foundation Youth Music and others who wish to remain anonymous.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 14

RECORDINGS ON THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA’S OWN RECORD LABEL LPO-0026 Klaus Tennstedt conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Choral) as part of Volume 3 of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Box Sets. Soloists Lucia Popp, Ann Murray, Anthony Rolfe Johnson and René Pape join the London Philharmonic Choir for this performance. ‘ The other jewel is Tennstedt’s Beethoven: Ninth Symphony, crackling with nervous energy from the start and showcasing the LPO’s intuitive relationship with its late lamented German chief.’ ANDREW CLARK, FINANCIAL TIMES, 27 OCTOBER 2007

This volume features four CDs by the Orchestra’s most recent Principal Conductors: Klaus Tennstedt (Beethoven Symphony No. 9), Franz WelserMöst (Strauss, Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner), Kurt Masur (Shostakovich Symphonies Nos 1 and 5) and Vladimir Jurowski (Shostakovich Symphony No. 14).

LPO-0039 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 6 ‘Both are exceptional performances, superbly recorded with a breathtaking range of dynamics … In both works, the playing of the LPO is world class.’ ANDREW CLEMENTS, THE GUARDIAN, 4 SEPTEMBER 2009

LPO-0009 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony ‘... it is a wonderfully vivid recording of an exceptionally vibrant, immaculately played performance ... a superb disc.’ THE GUARDIAN, 2 JUNE 2006

The recordings may be downloaded in high quality MP3 format from www.lpo.org.uk/shop. CDs may also be purchased from all good retail outlets or through the London Philharmonic Orchestra: telephone 020 7840 4242 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm) or visit the website www.lpo.org.uk

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011_57694 LPO 19 Mar 2011 14/03/2011 11:58 Page 15

ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL