Presented by THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA as part of THE REST IS NOISE I SSU E 1 OF 4
JA NUA RY— FEB RUA RY 2013
FRE E
ALL THE MAKINGS OF A SCANDAL SHOCKING NEW WORK CAUSES VIOLENT UNREST
V
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
IEW ED T HROU G H T H E
crinoline and candles of Downton Abbey, the first part of the 20th century can appear like an endless sepia summer. But in historian Philipp Blom’s recent book The Vertigo Years, quite the opposite is the case. ‘Then, as now, the feeling of living in an accelerating world, of speeding into the unknown, was overwhelming.’ Our nostalgic idea of a prewar idyll would have startled most people living at the time. You only need look at how audiences responded to the music of the age to see that the belle époque was far from belle. In concert halls and theatres across Europe, people voted with their hands, feet and voices. Stamping and boos greeted Mahler’s symphonies, while daily columns debated the concurrent rush of provocative new operas. C ONTIN U ED ON PAGE 10
PULLING DOWN THE FAÇADES Unforgiving portrait of modern life • PAGE
4
ELGAR: FAME AND EMPIRE Patriotism, or unwelcome imperialism? • PAGE 6
SIBELIUS: NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE Despair results in chilling masterpiece • PAGE 7
COMPOSING IN THE CONSUMERIST AGE Ravel: genius, sell-out or perfect blend of both? • PAGE 8
THE RIOT OF SPRING STRAVINSKY’S THE RITE OF SPRING: The premiere prompted ‘barbaric responses’ from Paris audiences in 1913
The London Philharmonic Orchestra launches its 2013 concert series, as part of Southbank Centre’s year-long festival The Rest Is Noise (SEE PAGE 2 FOR DETAILS). lpo.org.uk/therestisnoise
Premiere performance descends into chaos • PAGE 10