London Philharmonic Orchestra 18 October concert programme

Congress Theatre, Eastbourne Concert programme 2015/16 Season lpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI* Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA Leader PIETER SCHOEMAN† Composer in Residence MAGNUS LINDBERG Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Congress Theatre, Eastbourne Sunday 18 October 2015 | 3.00pm

Shostakovich Festive Overture, Op. 96 (6’) Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 (18’) Interval Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 (54’)

Robert Trevino conductor Harriet Krijgh cello

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation † supported by Neil Westreich CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Programme £2.50 Contents 2 Welcome

Orchestra News 3 On stage today 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Vesselin Gellev 6 Robert Trevino 7 Harriet Krijgh 8 Programme notes 13 2015/16 LPO Eastbourne concerts 14 Sound Futures donors 15 Supporters 16 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

Harriet Krijgh will be available to sign copies of her CDs during the interval of today's performance.

The CDs will be sold at the main kiosk.

Welcome

Orchestra news

Welcome to the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne

New season 2015/16 Welcome to the first concert in the LPO’s 2015/16 season at Congress Theatre, Eastbourne. Highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’ alongside popular concertos and some not so well known, such as the little-heard gem, Medtner’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The season culminates in a concert with the Classic BRIT Award-winning guitarist Miloš Karadaglić performing Rodrigo's dance-inspired Fantasía para un gentilhombre. But we start with Shostakovich's riotous Festive Overture, with Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony after the interval. We welcome ECHO 'Rising Star' Harriet Krijgh performing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations and conductor Robert Trevino, both making their debuts today with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. lpo.org.uk/whats-on-and-tickets

Artistic Director Chris Jordan General Manager Gavin Davis Welcome to this afternoon’s performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We hope you enjoy the concert and your visit here. As a courtesy to others, please ensure mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off during the performance. Thank you.

We are delighted and proud to have the London Philharmonic Orchestra reside at the Congress Theatre for the 19th year. Thank you, our audience, for continuing to support the concert series.

Without you, these concerts would not be possible.

We welcome comments from our customers. Should you wish to contribute, please speak to the House Manager on duty, email theatres@eastbourne.gov.uk or write to Gavin Davis, General Manager, Eastbourne Theatres, Compton Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4BP.

What we did this summer The LPO had a busy summer as usual. Our Glyndebourne productions were Bizet’s Carmen with Jakub Hrůša at the helm; Enrique Mazzola conducted the premiere production at Glyndebourne of Donizetti’s Poliuto; and Robin Ticciati conducted a double bill of Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Chamber orchestra resources were required for Fiona Shaw’s award-winning production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia.

All received wonderful reviews including Michael Tanner of The Spectator describing Carmen as 'one of the absolute peaks of my opera-going life'. High praise indeed!

The Orchestra also made its annual visit to the BBC Proms, this time with Vladimir Jurowski conducting Beethoven's Fidelio Overture and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 8.

Mitsuko Uchida joined the Orchestra for Schoenberg’s rarely heard Piano Concerto.

LPO on Tour It's been a busy touring season with visits to Germany, Italy, including the Orchestra's debut at La Scala, Milan.

In September the Orchestra had an exciting tour to Mexico as part of the UK Mexico Year of Culture. The highlight was the spectacular outdoor concert at the Plaza la Victoria, Puebla on 15 September celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day. lpo.org.uk

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On stage today

First Violins Vesselin Gellev Leader Martin Höhmann Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Caroline Frenkel Maeve Jenkinson Georgina Leo Miranda Allen John Dickinson Jamie Hutchinson Judith Castro Gavin Davies Francesca Smith Second Violins Helena Smart Guest Principal Tania Mazzetti Fiona Higham Joseph Maher Harry Kerr Elizabeth Baldey Alberto Vidal Suzannah Quirke Nicole Stokes Kate Lindon

Violas Jon Thorne Guest Principal Benedetto Pollani Daniel Cornford Alistair Scahill Martin Fenn Sarah Malcolm Stanislav Popov Martin Wray Cellos Pei-Jee Ng Principal Gregory Walmsley Santiago Carvalho† Susanna Riddell Tom Roff George Hoult Double Basses George Peniston Principal Lowri Morgan Kenneth Knussen Helen Rowlands Flutes Harry Winstanley Guest Principal Hannah Grayson Katherine Bicknell Piccolo Katherine Bicknell

Oboes Helen Barker Guest Principal Lydia Griffiths Jennifer Brittlebank Cor Anglais Jennifer Brittlebank Clarinets Thomas Watmough Principal Emily Meredith Paul Richards Bass Clarinet Paul Richards Principal

Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal Trombones Roger Harvey Guest Principal Matthew lewis Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Bassoons Simon Estell Principal Emma Harding

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Contrabassoon Rachel Simms

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal

Horns Stephen Nicholls Guest Principal Alex Wide Mark Bennett Gareth Mollison Marcus Bates

Keith Millar Sarah Mason James Bower

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Neil Westreich; Eric Tomsett Sonja Drexler; David & Victoria Graham Fuller; Bianca and Stuart Roden; The Viney Family, Victoria Robey OBE, Friends of the Orchestra, Simon Robey; Laurence Watt; William & Alex de Winton; Jon Claydon; an anonymous donor

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

‘It was one of those unforgettable evenings where everything and everyone performed beautifully [with] an extraordinary performance by the London Philharmonic ... The ovation should have been standing.’

Andrew Collins, The News, March 2015 Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most forwardlooking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and community groups.

The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur.

Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. Magnus Lindberg is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence.

The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives over 30 concerts each season. Throughout 2014/15 the Orchestra gave a series of concerts entitled Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, a festival exploring the composer’s major orchestral

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

masterpieces. 2015/16 is a strong year for singers, with performances by Toby Spence and Anne Sofie von Otter amongst others; Sibelius enjoys 150th anniversary celebrations; distinguished visiting conductors include Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko, with Robin Ticciati returning after his debut in 2015; and in 2016 the LPO joins many of London’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400 years since his death. The Orchestra continues its commitment to new music with premieres of commissions including Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto, and works by Alexander Raskatov and Marc-André Dalbavie.

Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. 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

Vesselin Gellev leader

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label.

There are now over 80 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Vaughan Williams’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Messiaen’s Des Canyons Aux Étoiles.

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. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble.

© Benjamin Ealovega

Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2015/16 season include visits to Mexico City as part of the UK Mexico Year of Culture, Spain, Germany, Canary Islands, Belgium, a return to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and the Orchestra’s premiere at La Scala, Milan.

Bulgarian violinist Vesselin Gellev has been a featured soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Juilliard Orchestra, among others.

He won First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York as a member of the Antares Quartet, and has recorded several albums and toured worldwide as Concertmaster of Kristjan Järvi’s Grammynominated Absolute Ensemble.

Vesselin has performed as Guest Leader with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Vesselin studied at The Juilliard School, and joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Sub-Leader in 2007.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people.

Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more and get involved! lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

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Robert Trevino conductor

Trevino's presence on the podium set the orchestra pit on fire – it was sparkling, glowing, exploding with passion.

© Lisa Hancock

Classical Music News Russia, July 2014

It was fate that led to Texan Robert Trevino's love of classical music: he heard Mozart's Requiem by chance on the radio in his father's truck as a boy. He became a bassoonist and then a conductor, bursting into the international spotlight at the Bolshoi Theatre in December 2013, when he led a new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos substituting for Vasily Sinaisky. He has become one of the Bolshoi's most regular guest conductors with numerous performances scheduled in the coming seasons. Appearances with some of the world’s top orchestras followed after becoming a laureate of the Evgeny Svetlanov Competition in 2010.

Robert Trevino is known in the US for his work on productions of Don Giovanni and A Quiet Place at the New York City Opera as well as for his performances in VOX: American Opera Series where he worked on the world premieres of five new operas. His mentors include David Zinman, Michael Tilson Thomas and Louis Langree, with whom he has been working closely during his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Last year he became the Principal Conductor of the Shippensburg Music Festival.

In May 2014, Robert Trevino inaugurated the new hall Opera di Firenze of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, making his highly anticipated Italian debut with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo with whom he toured Europe and Japan. He was invited to lead the Orchestra in their performances at the Maggio Musicale and the International Rostropovich Festival in Baku, and to return again over the next two seasons. His recent appearances at two of France’s top music festivals, La Folle Journee and La Roque D’Antheron, also resulted in immediate re-engagements and a feature on the

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Arte Channel as well as broadcasts on France Musique and Radio France.

This season's highlights include debuts with the Bamberg Symphony (with a concert performance of Lohengrin), NHK Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw), Dresden and the Munich Philharmonic orchestras. Early this year, Trevino was proud to be nominated for a Golden Mask Award in recognition of his outstanding work at the Bolshoi Opera.

An avid advocate and performer of contemporary music, Robert Trevino has commissioned, premiered, and worked closely with many leading composers of today including Augusta Read Thomas, Jennifer Higdon, Charles Wuorinen, Bernard Rands, Shulamit Ran, George Walker, David Felder, and John Zorn. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Art, Gene Gutche Foundation, and the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago.

Today is Robert s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Trevino sounds rather zen when discussing his approach to conducting these days. After starting out as a rabid learner (he basically taught himself how to conduct Stravinsky’s incredibly complex Rite of Spring at the age of 14), he said he has learned to put the intellectual half aside when conducting and let the music do the talking.

From an interview with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra

roberttrevino.org/

Harriet Krijgh cello

Harriet Krijgh impressed with wonderfully sonorous and supple instrumental sounds ... [and] highly virtuoso dexterity in the Rococo Variations.

© Nancy Horowitz

Kieler News, August 2015

Still just aged 24, Dutch cellist Harriet Krijgh is one of today’s most exciting and promising young cellists.

She has already performed in many of Europe’s most prestigious venues including the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Philharmonie Essen and Konzerthaus Dortmund. She has debuted with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, NDR Hamburg, Vienna Radio Symphony and Bamberg Symphony orchestras. She makes regular festival appearances at the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Festival Sommets Musicaux Gstaad, and the Rheingau and Schwetzingen music festivals.

This season Harriet has been invited onto the 'Rising Star' series of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) with recitals throughout Europe including, amongst others, London’s Barbican, Stockholm’s Konzerthuset, Palace of Arts in Budapest, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Tonhalle Zurich and Vienna’s Muziekverein. Other highlights of the 2015/16 season include her orchestral debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Munich Chamber Orchestra. This autumn she tours with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields to Germany.

Harriet Krijgh was first prize winner of the 'Prinses Christina Concours' in the Netherlands, the Austrian Federal Competition 'Prima la Musica', the Fidelio Competition in Vienna as well as the 'Nicole Janigro prize' at the international Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia. In her native Holland she was awarded both the First Prize and the Audience Award at the Amsterdam Cello Biennale in November 2012.

In 2013 she was awarded the WEMAG Soloists prize at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Harriet Krijgh is an exclusive artist with the Capriccio label. Releases include Haydn’s cello concertos, a CD of French works for cello and piano, followed by the cello sonatas of Brahms and a CD of romantic cello works with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and conductor Gustavo Gimeno. She has just released a Rachmaninov disc.

A passionate chamber musician and enterprising young artist Harriet Krijgh formed her own festival 'Harriet and Friends' that takes place every summer at the Feistritz castle in Austria.

Harriet Krijgh was born in the Netherlands in 1991. She studied with Lenian Benjamins at the Music College in Utrecht. She moved to Vienna in 2004, and continues studies with Lilia Schulz-Bayrova and Jontscho Bayrov at the Vienna Conservatoire. Since September 2013 she has also studied at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson (made possible by the Casals scholarship).

Harriet plays a Giovanni Paolo Maggini cello from 1620, generously loaned to her privately.

Today is Harriet's debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. harrietkrijgh.com 'Cows' Story': Harriet gives a private recital to some very lucky and musically astute cows.

You 'herd' it here first. lpo.uk/cowsstory

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Programme notes

Speedread An all-Russian programme today, by three of the greatest composers that country has produced. The two pieces in the first half are both examples of works whose quality has caused them to outgrow their original purpose: Shostakovich’s Festive Overture is a piece of occasional music whose sheer orchestral verve has long left its original context behind to make it a favourite in the concert hall, while Tchaikovsky turned a showpiece for cello into a homage to the

Dmitri Shostakovich

atmosphere of an earlier age that he so loved.

In the second half, Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony – dating from a period in its composer’s life when, with his principal years of fame as a giant of the keyboard still ahead of him, his reputation was a more rounded one as a pianist, composer and conductor – shows his resource, seriousness and depth away from the keyboard.

Festive Overture, Op. 96

1906–75

Despite his long and weary struggles with the authorities in Soviet Russia, composing was something that came easily to Shostakovich, even for official occasions; a friend once recalled that when he was writing light music in particular ‘he was able to talk, make jokes and compose simultaneously’.

The same friend was responsible for the anecdote that Shostakovich supplied his Festive Overture in a matter of hours when a new piece was desperately needed for the Bolshoi Theatre’s celebrations of the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution in November 1954, but there is reason to think that he actually reached for an unperformed overture he had originally composed for the 30th anniversary in 1947.

He even appears to have talked about the work that year in a newspaper interview, in which he described it as conveying ‘the moods of a man who has gone through the harrowing ordeals of the war years and conquered his country’s enemies … I want to embody in musical form the enthusiasm of men working peacefully under the new five-year plan’.

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Listening to it today we can set aside associations of that kind (even if it was used as a signature tune for the Moscow Olympics in 1980), and focus instead on Shostakovich’s more pertinent – and laconic – description of the actual music of the Festive Overture: ‘there are no sharp dramatic conflicts. Its themes are melodious, its orchestration varied.’ To which we could add that, with its mock-pompous fanfares, cartoon-like orchestral dash and broad-arched slower themes – some of which, in what is perhaps a private Shostakovich joke, bears a close resemblance to that of a scene from his 1936 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, that had been drummed from the stage by official criticism – it is indeed light music of the most skilful and vibrant kind.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33 Harriet Krijgh cello

1840–93

The 19th century is littered with tales of composers running into trouble with players over concertos, but Tchaikovsky seems to have suffered more than most: his First Piano Concerto was roundly rubbished by the pianist and director of the Moscow Conservatory Nikolay Rubinstein in 1875; and three years later Leopold Auer flatly refused to premiere the Violin Concerto. He had more luck with his Variations on a Rococo Theme for cello and orchestra, though perhaps only because its dedicatee and probable commissioner Wilhelm Fitzenhagen – a German-born cellist who, like Tchaikovsky, taught at the Moscow Conservatory – enjoyed unusual freedom to make changes to it to suit his own taste. Shortly after composing the piece in December 1876 Tchaikovsky had sent it to Fitzenhagen for comments on the cello part, and when he left Russia in haste the following October after the traumatic breakdown of his marriage, put him in charge of preparing it for publication. He probably did not expect Fitzenhagen to re-order the variations, cut one and make numerous other smaller changes, but that is exactly what he did, premiering the piece in this form in Moscow that December, while Tchaikovsky was still abroad. Though seemingly not entirely happy with this state of affairs, the composer sanctioned publication of the piece in this form the following year, and while the printing of Tchaikovsky’s original in the 1950s has belatedly given it a place in the concert hall, the ‘Fitzenhagen version’ that we hear tonight has perhaps remained the more familiar.

The title and character of the piece both come from Tchaikovsky’s love of the music of Mozart, ‘the culminating point that beauty has attained in the sphere of music’ which he saw as defining a golden age of elegance and refinement. The theme of the Variations itself is his, and indeed sounds like it, while yet taking on a clear-cut melodic profile strongly evocative of the 18th century. A ‘simple’ theme such as this is also a grateful subject for variation, of course, and here, after a brief, tender introduction, it is treated to seven re-imaginings, stepping daintily through several different keys while pinned in place by a charming woodwind refrain (itself varied on occasion, as well as being stirred into one of the variations). The theme itself is variously speeded up, slowed down, fragmented, turned into a dance or a soulful song, given to the orchestra while the cello accompanies (after which the cello reclaims centre-ground with a solo cadenza), and finally made the impulse for a lightly dashing finale.

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

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Programme notes continued

Serge Rachmaninoff 1873–1943

Thanks largely to the concertos, Rachmaninoff is usually thought of primarily as a composer for the piano, but before he left Russia for the last time in 1917 he was more widely recognised as a composer of vocal, chamber and orchestral music and a gifted conductor active both in the concert hall and the opera house.

The Third Piano Concerto came well into a period of heartening success that had served to wipe away the creatively crippling depression caused by the disastrous premiere of the First Symphony ten years earlier: 1901 had seen him return to form with the Second Piano Concerto; in 1902 he had married, his wife giving birth to a daughter the following year; and 1904 had brought a conducting post at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, where, early in 1906, he presided over wellreceived premieres of his operas Francesca da Rimini and The Miserly Knight.

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 1 Largo – Allegro moderato 2 Allegro molto 3 Adagio 4 Allegro vivace

melodic flow, yet also one of great expressive power and sweep. Rachmaninoff’s talent for memorable melody is as present as ever here, but it never descends into facility; like Tchaikovsky (whose influence is unmistakable), he was able to move the listener with a big tune, but also to mould his melodies into great architectural spans with a subtlety that makes them appear totally natural. This Symphony is in fact shot through with motivic connections and links, but so organic do they seem that the listener could be forgiven for hardly noticing.

By this time, however, Rachmaninoff was beginning to feel the strain of celebrity, and made the decision to give himself more breathing space by removing himself and his family to Dresden. It was there that he composed his Second Symphony, in such secrecy that even his closest friends were unaware of the fact until they read about it in the press. ‘I have completed a symphony, it’s true!’, he wrote to one of them in February 1907. ‘It’s only ready in draft. I finished it a month ago and immediately put it aside. It was a severe worry to me and I am not going to think about it any more.’ The score was eventually completed early the following year and the premiere took place in St Petersburg on 8 February 1908, with Rachmaninoff himself conducting.

Three important thematic cells are set out in the Symphony’s opening eight bars. The first, a weighty, undulating figure heard in the cellos and basses, is closely followed by a lightly syncopated stab from the woodwind and horns, and then by a downwardwinding line in the violins. All are significant to the work as a whole, but for the moment they serve to initiate a sombre slow introduction which is lengthy enough to include a powerful climax before subsiding on to a cor anglais solo. The main Allegro section of the movement features two themes, the first a dreamy transformation of the opening cello-and-bass figure, and the second (heralded by a brief clarinet solo) a romantic dialogue between wind and strings with links to the syncopated second motif. Reminders of all three motifs then continue to appear as the music drives forward through a Tchaikovskian climax in the central development section (built largely on the first motif), warm restatements of the principal themes, and on to an impassioned finish.

The Second Symphony is both one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular orchestral compositions and one of his finest, a work of relaxed expansiveness and easy

The second movement starts out as a breezily confident scherzo. Simpler in design than its companions, it is in three sections, the third of which is essentially a reprise

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of the first. The outer sections oppose a striding main theme and a lovingly lyrical second for strings, while the central one introduces a contrasting texture of closely worked, chattering counterpoint. Towards the end of the reprise, the brass interrupt with an apparition of the first movement’s second motif, and the scherzo ends in unexpectedly ominous mood.

The Adagio that forms the third movement is one of Rachmaninoff’s most generous melodic creations, a worthy cousin to the slow movement of the Second Piano Concerto, to which it bears similarities. Strangely, its two main themes are presented almost on top of each other, the initial arpeggio-based string melody being immediately followed by a long and languid solo clarinet tune, but both are given ample space to breathe in the course of the ravishing movement that follows, as Rachmaninoff handles their leisurely juxtaposition with great skill and expressive control, decorating them here and there with glistening remembrances of the by-now familiar motifs.

The Finale announces its intentions in joyously whirling, carnivalesque music whose textural complexities carry numerous thematic references to what has gone before. Rachmaninoff does not intend to let the movement run away with him, however, and before long introduces a noble violin theme to calm things down. It is an uplifting new presence, and proves even more heart-swellingly so when – following a nostalgic reminiscence of the slow movement and a mountingly exciting section built on descending scales – it makes its majestic return as the Symphony’s crowning glory.

Programme notes © Lindsay Kemp

Latest releases on the LPO label The Genius of Film Music Hollywood Blockbusters 1960s to 1980s John Mauceri conductor £10.99 (2 CDs) | LPO-0086

Beethoven Coriolan Overture Symphony No. 5

Klaus Tennstedt conductor A BBC recording £6.99 | LPO-0087

Browse the catalogue and sign up for updates at lpo.org.uk/recordings CDs will be available at Eastbourne Congress Theatre at the next LPO concert on 15 November.

Available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets Available to download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and others.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

www.eso.org.uk

eastbourne Symphony orchestra

2016

36th SeaSon More information: concertmanager@eso.org.uk 07780 993801

January / February

April

June

Annual Young Soloist Competition

Choral Concert

Summer Concert

In its 29th year, this competition has international recognition

7.30pm Sunday 24 April

7pm Sunday 19 June Programme will include a concerto with the winner of the Young Soloist Competition

pm Sat 9 Jan and Sun 10 Jan First round (audience welcome) 2pm Sun 7 Feb Final (audience welcome) The winner plays a concerto in the summer concert Birley Centre Carlisle Road, Eastbourne BN21 4EF

Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius October

Autumn Concert 7pm Sunday 23 October St Saviour’s Church South Street, Eastbourne BN21 4UT

autumn Concert 2015 included: Walton Orb and Sceptre Handel Organ Concerto in F Sibelius Symphony No 2

at Congress Theatre, Eastbourne Sunday 15 November 2015 | 3.00pm

Sunday 31 January 2016 | 3.00pm

Mozart Overture, The Marriage of Figaro Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’

Wagner Prelude to Act 1, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 Khachaturian Masquerade Suite Tchaikovsky Swan Lake (excerpts)

Gad Kadosh conductor Kristīne Balanas violin

Matthew Wood conductor Tianwa Yang violin

Sunday 14 February 2016 | 3.00pm VALENTINE’S DAY CONCERT Nielsen Helios Overture Schumann Piano Concerto Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Christian Kluxen conductor Jayson Gillham piano

Sunday 6 March 2016 | 3.00pm Medtner Piano Concerto No. 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Marc-André Hamelin piano

Sunday 17 April 2016 | 3.00pm De Falla The Three-cornered Hat (Suite No. 2) Rodrigo Fantasía para un gentilhombre* Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Jaime Martín conductor Miloš Karadaglić guitar *Please note a change to the work from originally advertised

Tickets £13–£29 plus £1 postage per booking.

Box Office 01323 412000 Book online at eastbournetheatres.co.uk

SOUND FUTURES DONORS We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures.

Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey OBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Underwood Trust

The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Welser-Möst Circle Lady Jane Berrill William & Alex de Winton Mr Frederick Brittenden John Ireland Charitable Trust David & Yi Yao Buckley The Tsukanov Family Foundation Mr Clive Butler Neil Westreich Gill & Garf Collins Tennstedt Circle Mr John H Cook Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Mr Alistair Corbett Richard Buxton Bruno de Kegel The Candide Trust Georgy Djaparidze Michael & Elena Kroupeev David Ellen Kirby Laing Foundation Christopher Fraser OBE & Lisa Fraser Mr & Mrs Makharinsky David & Victoria Graham Fuller Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Goldman Sachs International Simon Robey Mr Gavin Graham Bianca & Stuart Roden Moya Greene Simon & Vero Turner Mrs Dorothy Hambleton The late Mr K Twyman Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Solti Patrons Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Ageas Mrs Philip Kan John & Manon Antoniazzi Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Gabor Beyer, through BTO Rose & Dudley Leigh Management Consulting AG Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Jon Claydon Miss Jeanette Martin Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Duncan Matthews QC Suzanne Goodman Diana & Allan Morgenthau Roddy & April Gow Charitable Trust The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Dr Karen Morton Charitable Trust Mr Roger Phillimore Mr James R.D. Korner Ruth Rattenbury Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia The Reed Foundation Ladanyi-Czernin Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Rind Foundation The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Lady Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Queree The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland And all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, Principal Benefactors and Benefactors: Thomas Beecham Group The Tsukanov Family Foundation Neil Westreich William and Alex de Winton Mrs Philip Kan* Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Bianca & Stuart Roden Laurence Watt Anonymous Jon Claydon Garf & Gill Collins* Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds* Eric Tomsett The Viney Family John & Manon Antoniazzi Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker * BrightSparks Patrons: instead of supporting a chair in the Orchestra, these donors have chosen to support our series of schools’ concerts.

Principal Benefactors Mark & Elizabeth Adams David & Yi Yao Buckley Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook David Ellen Mr Daniel Goldstein Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter MacDonald Eggers Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr & Mrs G Stein Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Lady Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Benefactors Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Ms Molly Borthwick David & Patricia Buck Mrs Alan Carrington Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr Bruno de Kegel Mr David Edgecombe Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Mr Richard Fernyhough Wim and Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Tony & Susan Hayes Michael & Christine Henry

Malcolm Herring J. Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Per Jonsson Mr Gerald Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Ms Ulrike Mansel Mr Brian Marsh Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Michael Posen Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Mr Konstantin Sorokin Martin and Cheryl Southgate Mr Peter Tausig Simon and Charlotte Warshaw Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Christopher Williams Bill Yoe and others who wish to remain anonymous Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged: Corporate Members Silver: Accenture Berenberg Carter-Ruck We are AD Bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLP BTO Management Consulting AG Charles Russell Speechlys Lazard Leventis Overseas Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsors Google Inc

Trusts and Foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust The Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Help Musicians UK The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leche Trust The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust

The Ann and Frederick O’Brien Charitable Trust Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Embassy of Spain in London The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust The Stanley Picker Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation The R K Charitable Trust RVW Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Tillett Trust UK Friends of the Felix-MendelssohnBartholdy-Foundation The Viney Family Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and all others who wish to remain anonymous

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Manon Antoniazzi Roger Barron Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson William de Winton Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Martin Southgate Sir Philip Thomas Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Elizabeth Winter American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Inc. Jenny Ireland Co-Chairman William A. Kerr Co-Chairman Kyung-Wha Chung Alexandra Jupin Dr. Felisa B. Kaplan Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee Dr. Joseph Mulvehill Harvey M. Spear, Esq. Danny Lopez Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Digital Projects

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director (maternity leave)

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Amy Sugarman PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

Clare Lovett Education Director (maternity cover)

Finance

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Lucy Duffy Education and Community Project Manager

Philip Stuart Discographer

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director David Greenslade Finance and IT Manager Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Concert Management

Development

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Nick Jackman Development Director

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager

Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Kathryn Hageman Individual Giving Manager Laura Luckhurst Corporate Relations Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Rebecca Fogg Development Co-ordinator

Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator

Helen Yang Development Assistant

Orchestra Personnel

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians (job-share) Christopher Alderton Stage Manager

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Libby Northcote-Green Marketing Manager

Damian Davis Transport Manager

Rachel Williams Publications Manager (maternity leave)

Madeleine Ridout Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah Breeden Publications Manager (maternity cover)

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Samantha Cleverley Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Anna O’Connor Marketing Co-ordinator Natasha Berg Marketing Intern

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Public Relations

Archives

Gillian Pole Recordings Archive Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Louise Miller Honorary Doctor London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.

Composer photographs courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London.

Front cover photograph: Katalin Varnagy, First Violin © Benjamin Ealovega. Cover design/ art direction: Ross Shaw @ JMG Studio.

Printed by Cantate.