LPO programme notes 26 and 27 Nov 10

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 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†

JTI FRIDAY SERIES SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL Friday 26 November 2010 | 7.30pm CONCERT HALL, BRIGHTON DOME Saturday 27 November 2010 | 7.30pm

GÜNTHER HERBIG conductor ANDREAS HAEFLIGER piano

MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, K503

PROGRAMME CONTENTS 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 15 16

List of Players Orchestra History Leader Günther Herbig Andreas Haefliger Programme Notes Recordings Administration Supporters Brighton Dome Southbank Centre Future Concerts at Southbank Centre

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

(30’)

INTERVAL BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D minor

†

(59’)

supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT ON 26 NOVEMBER 2010 PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA CONCERT ON 27 NOVEMBER 2010 PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WITH ASSISTANCE FROM BRIGHTON DOME

Ticket Office 01273 709709 www.brightondome.org

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 2

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS Pieter Schoeman* Leader Alexander Velinzon Guest Leader Katalin Varnagy Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Tina Gruenberg Geoffrey Lynn Robert Pool† Florence Schoeman Sarah Streatfeild† Yang Zhang Peter Nall Galina Tanney Joanne Chen Alina Petrenko Catherine Van de Geest SECOND VIOLINS Jeongmin Kim Principal Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Chair supported by David and Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Nynke Hijlkema Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Sioni Williams Elizabeth Baldey Stephen Dinwoodie Naomi Anner Stephen Stewart† Mila Mustakova†

VIOLAS Steve Burnard Guest Principal Robert Duncan Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Naomi Holt Isabel Pereira Sarah Malcolm Martin Fenn Claudio Cavalletti Rebecca Carrington† Anthony Byrne† CELLOS Alexander Somov Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Santiago Sabino Carvalho + Gregory Walmsley Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Emma Black Helen Rathbone† Pavlos Carvalho† DOUBLE BASSES Kevin Rundell* Principal Laurence Lovelle Richard Lewis Tom Walley Joe Melvin Helen Rowlands Kenneth Knussen† Louis Garson†

FLUTES Jaime Martin* Principal Joanna Marsh Jane Spiers

TRUMPETS Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney*

OBOES Ian Hardwick Principal Angela Tennick Will Oinn

Daniel Newell Tony Cross

CLARINETS Robert Hill* Principal Nicholas Carpenter Paul Richards BASSOONS John Price Principal Gareth Newman* Stuart Russell HORNS John Ryan Principal Philip Eastop Guest Principal Martin Hobbs Grzegorz Curlya Gareth Mollison Jonathan Bareham Carsten Williams Anthony Chidell Adrian Uren WAGNER TUBAS John Ryan Principal Jonathan Bareham Martin Hobbs Carsten Williams

Chair supported by Geoff and Meg Mann

TROMBONES Mark Templeton* Principal David Whitehouse BASS TROMBONE Lyndon Meredith Principal TUBA Lee Tsarmaklis Principal TIMPANI Simon Carrington* Principal

† Royal Festival Hall only * 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 Richard Karl Goeltz John and Angela Kessler Caroline, Jamie and Zander Sharp Richard and Victoria Sharp Julian and Gill Simmonds The Tsukanov Family Simon Yates and Kevin Roon

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 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

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 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 Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and Sea Pictures with Vernon Handley and Janet Baker; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt; Brahms’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 2 conducted by Vladimir Jurowski; and Dvořák’s Requiem under the baton of Neeme Järvi.

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 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 month 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

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 5

GÜNTHER HERBIG CONDUCTOR

Symphony, Philharmonia and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Since then he has conducted most of the major European orchestras and has also toured Japan, South America and Australia many times.

Günther Herbig has established himself as a prominent conductor in the international music world and in particular has built a strong career in America since 1979. Because of the political situation in East Germany, his first opportunity in the West came quite late – he was invited to be the Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1979. After being Music Director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1984 for six years he became Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for five years – a position he gave up in 1994 to enable him to work more often in Europe.

He continues to live in Michigan.

Since moving to the USA in 1984, he has appeared with all the great American orchestras: the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. He toured America several times with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and received high praise for their many performances in New York’s Carnegie Hall. In January 1989, he toured Europe with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Gidon Kremer as soloist to critical acclaim. With the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he toured the Far East in 1990 and Europe in spring 1991, his 37th international orchestra tour. From 1990 to 1997 he was the visiting Professor of Conducting at Yale University, giving a one week masterclass each term.

In West Europe, he started his career in Britain in 1979 when he was invited to become Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. It was only in 1984, after he had left East Germany, that Günther Herbig was able to conduct regularly in Western Europe. Very quickly he was invited by the other major British orchestras including the London

In 2001 he became the Chief Conductor of the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra and succeeded in rebuilding the Orchestra and bringing it up to a higher level. Several of their concerts were shown on French and German television. Unfortunately, subsidies to all the German radio orchestras were substantially cut in 2005 and he was unable to renew his contract after 2006.

Günther Herbig has recorded more than one hundred works, some of which were with the East German orchestras with whom he was associated prior to moving to the West in 1984. Since then he has made recordings with several of the London orchestras, the BBC Philharmonic and the Saarbrücken RSO. Günther Herbig began his musical training with Hermann Abendroth at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar. He continued his studies with Hermann Scherchen and was one of only a few students chosen for intensive study with Herbert von Karajan, with whom he worked for two years. In 1972 he became General Music Director of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and from 1977 held the same position with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra until 1984 when he resigned and moved to America.

He is famed for his conducting of the 19th century German repertoire and in 2001 the Edinburgh International Festival decided to present a marathon ‘Homage to Beethoven’ concert inviting Günther Herbig to conduct this. It was a duplicate of the programme that took place at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 22 December 1808 when Beethoven presented (and conducted) the premières of five new compositions. The programme comprised Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), Ah! Perfido, the Gloria from the C major Mass, Piano Concerto No. 4, Symphony No. 5, the Sanctus from the C major Mass and the Choral Fantasia. The programme was also shown on BBC Television.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 6

ANDREAS HAEFLIGER PIANO

the Philharmonia Orchestra and Christoph von Dohnányi at the Royal Festival Hall, and with Eiji Oue in Osaka; Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety with the Radiosinfonieorchester Wien at the Vienna Konzerthaus; and Brahms in North America and with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.

Andreas Haefliger was born into a distinguished Swiss musical family and grew up in Germany, going on to study at the Juilliard School in New York. With his formidable technique and musicality, and his innate sense of architecture and phrasing, he was quickly recognised as a pianist of the first rank. Engagements with major US orchestras – the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras among them – followed swiftly. In his native Europe too, Haefliger was invited to the great orchestras and festivals such as the Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival, London Symphony and Vienna Symphony Orchestras as well as to the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin and the Orchestre de Paris.

He also established himself as a superb recitalist, making his New York debut in 1988, and becoming a frequent performer at recital venues and festivals around the world, most notably the Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals, the BBC Proms and the Wiener Festwochen.

This season his concerto performances include Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Jonathan Nott; Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony and Music Director Peter Oundjian which he will also tour to Montreal and Ottawa; and Mozart with the Tonkuenstlerorchester in Vienna’s Musikverein.

Concerto highlights over the past year or so have included Mozart at Carnegie Hall, at the Aspen Festival and with the Strasbourg Philharmonic; Beethoven with

6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Andreas Haefliger also excels as a recitalist and chamber musician. He was described in The Guardian after a recent Wigmore Hall recital as ‘…one to take risks, which makes him a fascinating artist’, and in an earlier review in The Independent, ‘there seems to be no limit to the resources of Haefliger’s touch’. He performed a series of recitals of Schubert's Die Winterreise in New York, London and Milan with his late father, the great tenor Ernst Haefliger, and in recent years has collaborated with Wolfgang Holzmair, the Takacs Quartet, and his wife, flautist Marina Piccinini.

He has a long-standing partnership with Matthias Goerne, with whom he performed at the festivals of Tanglewood, Toronto and Aix last summer, and gave a Wigmore Hall recital in October.

The focus of Haefliger’s solo recital appearances in recent years has been an ongoing series Perspectives on Beethoven in which he performs the complete piano works of Beethoven alongside works by other composers including Mozart, Schubert, Bartók, Brahms, Janáček, Schoenberg and Ligeti. The recital programmes have all been recorded for the Avie label to widespread critical acclaim. His UK recital tour in spring 2009 culminated in an appearance at the International Piano Series at Southbank Centre and he took the same programme to Chicago’s Symphony Hall.

After the enormous success of his first recording of Mozart Sonatas for Sony Classical, Haefliger made three further recordings for Sony of Schumann’s Davidsbündlertanze and Fantasiestücke, Schubert’s Impromptus, and a disc of music by Sofia Gubaidulina.

Haefliger has also recorded for Decca with the Takacs Quartet and Matthias Goerne, the latest Goerne/ Haefliger release of Schubert’s Goethe Lieder being awarded a Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 7

PROGRAMME NOTES

SPEEDREAD For Mozart the key of C major was one for pomp and brilliance, and both are to be found in this evening’s piano concerto, which he composed in late 1786 for himself as soloist. With its trumpets and drums it is a comparably grand counterpart to another brilliant C major work, the Jupiter Symphony, which was to come a year and a half later. Mozart loved to avoid the obvious, and here he delays the pianist’s first entry by one bar beyond the expected point. The first movement’s development is mostly concerned with a march theme.

The slow movement has a lovely quasi-operatic melody, and the finale is a witty rondo.

Bruckner worked on his Ninth Symphony until the very day of his death, and had to leave the last movement unfinished. There have been attempts in recent years to

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART

construct a finale based on Bruckner’s sketches, but tonight’s performance of this great symphony follows the usual practice in consisting of just the three movements that Bruckner completed.

The deeply religious composer wanted to dedicate this symphony ‘To my dear Lord’, and he headed the massive first movement with the instruction ‘Solemn, mysterious’. The first section climaxes in a powerful unison theme. A lyrical second section contrasts with this, and a third combines characteristics of the first two.

The second movement is a blunt and fierce scherzo.

Bruckner called the following Adagio his ‘farewell to life’.

By turns anguished and tender, it rises to a dissonant climax before reaching a quiet end. © Eric Mason

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 25 IN C, K503 ANDREAS HAEFLIGER piano Allegro maestoso | Andante | Allegretto

1756-1791

To be deprived of any part of Mozart’s mature output would be to suffer an appalling loss, but were fate to decree that only his works in one medium should remain, many music-lovers would choose to be left with his piano concertos. He wrote 27 of them (including four transcriptions) and they span almost his whole life.

None is quite like any other, not even those that share the same key signature, and the later concertos embody all the finest attributes of his music in its most personal form.

Like most of those that he composed after settling in Vienna, this concerto in C was written for him to play at the subscription concerts on which he largely depended

for a living. Finished on 4 December 1786 – two days before the Prague Symphony – it proved to be arguably the grandest concerto of them all, a counterpart to that other brilliant work in C major, the Jupiter Symphony.

Only two piano concertos were still to come: the less substantial Coronation Concerto, K537, and the resigned, enigmatic K595.

In K503 strong themes are developed with a consummate mastery of contrapuntal, rhythmic and harmonic resource within a carefully unified and perfectly proportioned formal structure. To Mozart C major was a key for martial pomp and brilliance, and both are to be found here. Trumpets and drums are

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 8

PROGRAMME NOTES

included in the orchestra, which also contains a flute, two each of oboes, bassoons and horns, and the usual complement of strings.

The martial style characterises the arresting introduction, which immediately justifies Mozart’s maestoso marking. At the 18th bar the music gathers energy from a figure of three staccato quavers and two legato crotchets, which is treated sequentially to provide the first subject proper, moving through suggestions of E flat to a cadence on the dominant G. After the second subject, a C minor march theme repeated in the major, and a brief return to the first, we are ready for the soloist’s entry. But Mozart rarely does exactly what one expects, and here he delays the piano’s appearance by one bar to insert a gentle violin phrase. A short piano cadenza leads to the restatement of the exposition, ornamented now with rippling semiquavers from the piano and with fresh material added. The development section concerns itself mainly with the march theme, which goes through much variation and modulation before the main piano

cadenza is reached. Since Mozart did not write his own cadenza down, soloists have to fill the gap. Andreas Haefliger has composed a cadenza for this evening’s performance.

In striking contrast to the first movement’s sweeping energy the Andante offers serene relaxation with a lovely melody that might almost have come from one of the operas; the concerto dates from midway between The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni and contains several potentially operatic elements. The piano weaves exquisite arabesques around this deceptively simple tune, while Mozart’s invention repeatedly intrigues and charms the ear by avoiding the obvious. One notes especially the contributions from woodwind and horns.

The mood changes sharply again in the finale, a sparkling, witty rondo full of boisterous spirits anticipating Beethoven, who was to learn much from the study of this concerto and its companions. © Eric Mason

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.

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 9

PROGRAMME NOTES

Anton BRUCKNER

SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN D MINOR Feierlich, misterioso | Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft | Adagio: Langsam, feierlich

1824-1896

In September 1887 Bruckner sent the score of his recently completed Eighth Symphony to one of his firmest supporters, the conductor Hermann Levi, and began to sketch a symphony in D minor. According to his biographer, August Göllerich, he remarked how annoying it was that the opening theme came to him in D minor, because everyone would say: ‘Of course Bruckner’s Ninth must be in the same key as Beethoven’s!’ Composition of the new symphony was soon interrupted by Levi’s severe criticism of the Eighth, which persuaded Bruckner to undertake a drastic revision of that work. This occupied much of his time until 1890, and the remainder was largely devoted to revising the First and Third Symphonies.

Not until 1891 was Bruckner able to resume work in earnest on the Ninth Symphony. He finished the first three movements by the end of 1894, but by then his health was failing. Although he worked on the finale to the very day of his death, he was unable to complete the symphony. His sketches for the finale show that he planned a huge crowning movement incorporating a fugue, a chorale and the opening string figures of his Te Deum.

Doubt has been cast on the assertion that when he realised he might not finish the symphony, Bruckner suggested using the Te Deum itself as a finale. The choral work’s key of C major does not fit with the D minor of the symphony’s first two movements. A number of musicians have constructed a finale based on Bruckner’s sketches, but most performances of this great symphony consist – like this evening’s – of just Bruckner’s three completed movements.

The first performance took place in Vienna on 11 February 1903 under Ferdinand Löwe, who had heavily edited Bruckner’s score, no doubt with

honourable intentions, and added the Te Deum.

Bruckner’s original score, edited by Alfred Orel for the International Bruckner Society, was published in 1934 as part of the Complete Edition prepared under the general editorship of Robert Haas. In 1951 the symphony was re-published with editorial amendments

by Leopold Nowak, whose edition is played tonight.

Bruckner’s Roman Catholic faith profoundly influenced not only his church music but also his symphonies. He proposed dedicating the Ninth ‘To my dear Lord’, and one senses that his thoughts were on his relationship with God. There is more tension and anguish than in any of the earlier symphonies. As in most of those, Bruckner addresses the listener in long, contrasting paragraphs, rising to sonorous climaxes and making sudden contrasts between massive sound and silence.

The music seems to be conceived for some ideal cathedral acoustic where the pauses might be filled with dying echoes. However, in actual performance in ultra-resonant cathedrals the textures have sounded too confused. Perhaps after all a concert hall provides the best environment, and one may hear the dying echoes with the ear of faith.

The first movement, marked ‘solemn, mysterious’, is a typically massive structure founded on three elements.

It opens with a string tremolo, out of which rise thematic fragments on the horns. The D minor key is established but quickly contradicted by an E flat horn motive. Other melodic ideas are added as a long crescendo builds to its climax, a powerful unison theme for full orchestra. A pizzicato bridge leads to the flowing second section, beginning in A minor, and another linking passage takes us to the D minor third section, which combines the solemnity of the first with the lyricism of the second. What follows is an expanded and varied re-statement of these themes, the great unison

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 10

PROGRAMME NOTES

theme being surrounded by rushing string scales and followed by an anguished climax. Relief comes with the return of the second section, which now merges with the third. The movement ends with a powerful coda based on the first part of the opening episode.

Most of Bruckner’s scherzos are transmutations of peasant dances, but the one in this symphony is quite different. Blunt and fierce, it shows remarkable harmonic daring; the home key is D minor, but the angular main theme gives little feeling of tonality. It has been suggested that this movement may represent the composer’s view of evil; certainly it is no dance unless one for hobgoblins and foul fiends. The faster trio section is in remote F sharp.

Four Wagner tubas are added to the orchestra for the Adagio, in which Bruckner looks back over his past – there are momentary recollections of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies – and meditates on mortality and eternity. He called this his ‘farewell to life’. The first of two contrasted groups of themes seems to be searching for a definite key. The opening theme, rising chromatically, culminates in an anguished climax answered by a chorale on the tubas. The second group in A flat contains two themes of great tenderness. The following development of the first-subject group, interrupted for a time by the second, ranges widely before a clear tonality – E major – is attained. Very slowly the music ascends to the symphony's biggest climax; its ultimate chord, a shattering dissonance, is abruptly cut off. Tension is eased in the coda, which brings the movement to a quiet end. © Eric Mason

Download London Philharmonic Orchestra recordings from www.lpo.org.uk/shop It’s easy to take the London Philharmonic Orchestra with you wherever you go! Visit our downloads site to choose the works (or even single movements) you’d like to buy, and download high quality MP3s to your computer for transfer to an MP3 player or CD. With regular additions of new recordings with conductors from Beecham to Jurowski you’ll always have a selection of great music to choose from.

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

The Mozart Question Sunday 5 December 2010 | 3.30pm Royal Festival Hall An afternoon of music and storytelling, suitable for children aged 8 and over, based on Michael Morpurgo’s well-loved book which tells of one family’s experience of the holocaust and the incredible healing power of music.

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Daniel Pioro violin Michael Morpurgo narrator Alison Reid narrator Simon Reade director Excerpts from: Beethoven Violin Concerto Vivaldi The Four Seasons Strauss The Blue Danube Bach Violin Sonata No. 1 Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik Running time 75 minutes. No interval.

Tickets Under 16: £7 £9 Adult: £14 £18 For booking details see page 16.

Dedicated by the Dorset Foundation in memory of the late Harry M. Weinrebe and supported by a syndicate of individual donors.

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 11

RECORDINGS ON THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA’S OWN RECORD LABEL LPO-0014 Klaus Tennstedt conducts Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 ‘... one of the greatest accounts of the work that I have ever heard. The LPO is on magnificent form ... Tennstedt’s fervent love of every note transmits itself to the listener ... the effect is sublime.’

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

LPO-0030 Klaus Tennstedt conducts Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 ‘This is an account of great individuality and cumulative power … The Scherzo and finale are both urgent and strongly projected and the playing is excellent from start to finish.’

INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW, FEBRUARY 2008

LPO-0032 Klaus Tennstedt conducts Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 ‘... a triumphant interpretation by Klaus Tennstedt and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Expansive and throbbing with strength, this is a worthy addition to the discography.’

GAVIN ENGLEBRECHT, NORTHERN ECHO, 30 OCTOBER 2008

LPO-0006 The Founding Years: Sir Thomas Beecham conducts Mozart, Chabrier, Sibelius and Handel ‘The LPO’s first issues include this disc of recordings from the 1930s, when the orchestra and its founder, Thomas Beecham, were making history. The excerpts from Sibelius’s Tempest music, never issued before, are a fascinating rarity…

The studio versions of Mozart’s Haffner Symphony and Chabrier’s España are scintillating examples of the playing that transformed the British orchestral scene.’

THE SUNDAY TIMES, 9 OCTOBER 2005

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 12

ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

ARCHIVES

Martin Höhmann Chairman Stewart McIlwham Vice-Chairman Sue Bohling Simon Carrington Lord Currie* Jonathan Dawson* Anne McAneney George Peniston Sir Bernard Rix* Kevin Rundell Sir Philip Thomas* Sir John Tooley* The Rt Hon. Lord Wakeham DL* Timothy Walker AM †

Timothy Walker AM † Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Edmund Pirouet Consultant

Sarah Thomas Librarian

Philip Stuart Discographer

Michael Pattison Stage Manager

Gillian Pole Recordings Archive

*Non-Executive Directors

THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC TRUST Pehr Gyllenhammar Chairman Desmond Cecil CMG Richard Karl Goeltz Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann Angela Kessler Clive Marks OBE FCA Victoria Sharp Julian Simmonds Timothy Walker AM † Laurence Watt AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, INC. We are very grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for its support of the Orchestra’s activities in the USA. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Charles Russell Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Manager FINANCE David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager CONCERT MANAGEMENT Roanna Chandler Concerts Director Ruth Sansom Artistic Administrator Graham Wood Concerts, Recordings and Glyndebourne Manager Alison Jones Concerts Co-ordinator Jenny Chadwick Tours and Engagements Manager Jo Orr PA to the Executive / Concerts Assistant

Camilla Begg Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager Ken Graham Trucking Instrument Transportation (Tel: 01737 373305) DEVELOPMENT Nick Jackman Development Director Phoebe Rouse Corporate Relations Manager Sarah Tattersall Corporate Relations and Events Manager Melissa Van Emden Corporate Relations and Events Officer Elisenda Ayats Development and Finance Officer

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 www.lpo.org.uk Visit the website for full details of London Philharmonic Orchestra activities.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.

Photographs of Mozart and Bruckner courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London.

MARKETING

Photograph on the front cover

by Pip Eastop.

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant

Kath Trout Marketing Director

Programmes printed by Cantate.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMME

Ellie Dragonetti Marketing Manager

Anne Findlay Education Officer

Frances Cook Publications Manager

Isobel Timms Community Officer

Samantha Kendall Box Office Administrator (Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Alec Haylor Education and Community Assistant

Charly Fraser-Annand Intern

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Valerie Barber Press Consultant (Tel: 020 7586 8560)

Dr Louise Miller Honorary Doctor

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

†Supported by Macquarie Group

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 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 Simon Yates & Kevin Roon

Guy & Utti Whittaker

Commander Vincent Evans Mr Daniel Goldstein Mrs Barbara Green Oliver Heaton 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

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

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

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

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 Mr & Mrs Egil Oldeide 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 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 Jonathan & Jeniffer Harris Trust Capital Radio’s Help a London Child The Idlewild Trust The Emmanuel Kaye Foundation 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 Rubin Foundation The Samuel Sebba Charitable Trust Sound Connections 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

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:31 Page 14

BRIGHTON DOME CHIEF EXECUTIVE ANDREW COMBEN

FUTURE CONCERTS AT BRIGHTON DOME

Saturday | 26 February 2011 | 7.30 pm

Ticket Office 01273 709709 www.brightondome.org

Schubert Overture, Rosamunde Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Beethoven Symphony No. 7 DANAIL RACHEV conductor SOFYA GULYAK piano

WELCOME TO BRIGHTON DOME We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit to Brighton Dome. For your comfort and safety, please note the following: LATECOMERS may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks.

SMOKING Brighton Dome is a no smoking venue.

INTERVAL DRINKS may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues.

Danail Rachev and Sofya Gulyak

Saturday | 11 June 2011 | 7.30 pm Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 (Winter Daydreams) Dvořák Cello Concerto DMITRY SITKOVETSKY conductor YAN LEVIONNOIS cello

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium.

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium.

Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Yan Levionnois

Thank you for your co-operation.

The concert at Brighton Dome on 27 November 2010 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with assistance from Brighton Dome.

TO BOOK

Call the Ticket Office on 01273 709709 Book online at www.brightondome.org Tickets £27.50, £23, £18, £15, £10 Premium Seats £32.50 (Series discounts are available if you book for two concerts.)

Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Arts Council England and Brighton & Hove City Council.

Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Festival Ltd which also runs the annual three-week Brighton Festival in May. www.brightonfestival.org

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:32 Page 15

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

WELCOME TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE 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.

FREE Pre-Concert Event Royal Festival Hall 1 December 2010 | 6 pm Vladimir Jurowski conductor

FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS orchestral apprenticeship programme Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (with Njabulo Madlala baritone) Kancheli Exil (with Allison Bell soprano)

The Foyle Future Firsts programme is generously funded by the Foyle Foundation with additional support from The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The Eranda Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust and the Musicians Benevolent Fund.

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

FREE Pre-Concert Event The Clore Ballroom Royal Festival Hall Foyer Southbank Centre 4 December 2010 | 6 pm THE BAND The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s youth community fusion ensemble is back!

The Band is a group of 15-19 year olds from the south London boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. These talented young musicians work alongside members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts to write and perform their own new compositions, influenced by rock, classical, funk, jazz and blues. As well as the usual toe-tapping funky hits, this term’s music will in part be influenced by the flavours of Gustav Mahler whose centenary the Orchestra is celebrating this year.

The Band is kindly supported by The Mercers’ Company.

www.lpo.org.uk/theband

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010_56303 LPO 26 & 27 Nov 2010 19/11/2010 13:32 Page 16

FUTURE CONCERTS AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

MAHLER ANNIVERSARY Wednesday 1 December 2010 | 7.30pm Debussy (orch. Colin Matthews) Préludes: Des pas sur la neige; La Cathédrale engloutie; Feux d’artifice Britten Les Illuminations Mahler Symphony No. 4 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Christine Schäfer soprano 6.00pm–7.00pm | FREE Pre-Concert Event Royal Festival Hall A performance of chamber music including Giya Kancheli’s Exil by the Orchestra’s outstanding young apprentice musicians conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

MAHLER ANNIVERSARY JTI FRIDAY SERIES Friday 14 January 2011 | 7.30pm Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 2 Mahler Symphony No. 6 Jaap van Zweden conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin 6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert Event Royal Festival Hall With the help of the Orchestra’s percussion section we take a look at Mahler’s growing interest in non-standard instrumentation.

Jaap van Zweden and Leonidas Kavakos

Christine Schäfer and Hélène Grimaud

MAHLER ANNIVERSARY Saturday 4 December 2010 | 7.30pm

MAHLER ANNIVERSARY Wednesday 19 January 2011 | 7.30pm

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Mahler Symphony No. 1 (original version including Blumine)

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Mahler Symphony No. 5

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Hélène Grimaud piano

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Nicholas Angelich piano

Barlines – FREE Post-Concert Event Level 2 Foyer at Royal Festival Hall An informal discussion with Vladimir Jurowski following the evening’s performance.

Yannick NézetSéguin and Nicholas Angelich

Wednesday 15 December 2010 | 7.30pm Beethoven Overture, Egmont Martinů Violin Concerto No. 2 Julian Anderson The Stations of the Sun Nielsen Symphony No. 5 Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Frank Peter Zimmermann violin Supported by The Boltini Trust 6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert Event Royal Festival Hall The Orchestra’s new Composer in Residence Julian Anderson discusses his role and looks at the evening’s performance of The Stations of the Sun. 16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

TO BOOK

Tickets £9-£38 | Premium seats £55 London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 | www.lpo.org.uk Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; no booking fee Southbank Centre Ticket Office | 0844 847 9920 www.southbankcentre.co.uk/lpo Daily, 9am-8pm. £2.50 telephone / £1.45 online booking fees; no fee for Southbank Centre members