2018/19 CONCERT SEASON
CONCERT PROGRAMME
AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
2019/20 Concert season at Brighton Dome
CONCERT PROGRAMME
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI Principal Conductor Designate EDWARD GARDNER Leader PIETER SCHOEMAN supported by Neil Westreich Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM
Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 21 September 2019 | 7.30pm
Beethoven Overture, Leonore No. 3, Op. 72b (13’) Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 (42’) Interval (20’) Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major (36’)
Kensho Watanabe conductor Emmanuel Tjeknavorian violin
The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIGHTON DOME
Contents 2 Welcome Orchestra news 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Vesselin Gellev 6 Kensho Watanabe 7 Emmanuel Tjeknavorian 8 Programme notes 11 Next concerts 12 Beethoven on the LPO Label 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration
Welcome
Welcome to Brighton Dome Chief Executive Andrew Comben 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. PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium. RECORDING is not allowed in the auditorium. MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium. Thank you for your co-operation. The concert at Brighton Dome on 21 September 2019 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in association with Brighton Dome. Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England.
Orchestra news
T
hank you for joining us here at Brighton Dome for the first of our four concerts in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2019/20 Brighton season. This evening, as we approach Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, Kensho Watanabe makes his debut with the Orchestra conducting the composer’s stirring ‘Leonore’ Overture No. 3 and the sweeping Seventh Symphony, and violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian – also making his LPO debut – performs the radiantly serene Violin Concerto. We hope you enjoy this evening’s performance and hope you will be able to join us again later this season. On 2 November, conductor and film music specialist Anthony Weeden leads the Orchestra in a celebration of British cinema featuring iconic pieces from a century of unforgettable films, from Lawrence of Arabia and Brief Encounter to Romeo and Juliet. Star cellist Leonard Elschenbroich joins us on 15 February to perform Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. Conducted by Joshua Weilerstein and coupled with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, this promises to be a concert to remember. Matthew Coorey conducts the final concert of our season on 18 April when we return to Beethoven, with the much-loved ‘Pastoral’ Sixth Symphony and the poetic Fourth Piano Concerto performed by Joanna MacGregor. Full concert listings are on page 11, and you can find out more and book online at lpo.org.uk/brighton
Edward Gardner: Our new Principal Conductor
Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org | brightonfestival.org
2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
In July we were delighted to announce the appointment of Edward Gardner as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s next Principal Conductor: the first British holder of the position since John Pritchard in the late 1960s. Gardner will succeed current Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski when the latter’s tenure concludes at the end of the 2020/21 season, with Jurowski subsequently becoming Conductor Emeritus. Currently Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway, Gardner first conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003 and has since returned for concerts at Royal Festival Hall and Snape Maltings and opera performances at Glyndebourne, and conducted the Orchestra on tour in the USA.
On stage tonight
First Violins Vesselin Gellev Leader Minn Majoe Catherine Craig Rebecca Shorrock Amanda Smith Eleanor Bartlett Essi Kiiski Nilufar Alimaksumova Rasa Zukauskaite Caroline Sharp John Dickinson Alice Hall Miranda Allen Maeve Jenkinson Second Violins Eriko Nagayama Guest Principal Helena Smart Nancy Elan Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Ashley Stevens Helena Nicholls Sioni Williams Kate Cole Sarah Thornett Harry Kerr Alison Strange Violas David Quiggle Principal Ting-Ru Lai Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Stanislav Popov Martin Wray Richard Cookson Sarah Malcolm Julia Kornig Mark Gibbs
Cellos David Lale Principal Francis Bucknall Sue Sutherley Helen Rathbone George Hoult Sibylle Hentschel Philip Taylor Daniel Benn
Horns John Ryan* Principal Martin Hobbs Oliver Johnson Gareth Mollison
Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal George Peniston Tom Walley Charlotte Kerbegian Lowri Morgan Laura Murphy
Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann
Flutes Juliette Bausor Principal Hannah Grayson Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Amy Roberts Clarinets Michael Whight Guest Principal Elliot Gresty Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal
Trumpets Chris Evans Guest Principal Anne McAneney* David Hilton Offstage Trumpet David Hilton Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
Andrew Connington Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Timpani Tom Lee Guest Principal
The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: David & Yi Buckley The Candide Trust The Chiltern Friends of the LPO Gill & Garf Collins Andrew Davenport Donors to the 2019 Gala Player Appeal Sonja Drexler Friends of the Orchestra Roger Greenwood Dr Barry Grimaldi Countess Dominique Loredan Bianca & Stuart Roden Victoria Robey OBE Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Neil Westreich
Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players
Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey
Simon Estell*
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3
London Philharmonic Orchestra
The performance was as good as could be … the LPO was beautifully poised and utterly perfect. Alan Sanders, Seen and Heard International (LPO at Royal Festival Hall, 6 October 2018: Beethoven and Stravinsky)
One of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with its reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles. As well as its concert performances, the Orchestra also records film soundtracks, releases CDs and downloads on its own label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and has since been headed by many great conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2017 Vladimir Jurowski celebrated his tenth anniversary as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. Edward Gardner is currently Principal Conductor Designate, and will take up the position when Jurowski’s tenure concludes in September 2021. 4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Throughout the rest of 2019 we celebrate the music of Britain in our festival Isle of Noises, exploring music from and inspired by the British Isles, from Purcell to the present day. 2020 will see a new series entitled 2020 Vision, which features some of the most exciting works written since 2000, each combined in concert with pieces composed exactly 100 and 200 years earlier. The London Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys flourishing residencies in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and performs regularly around the UK. Every summer, the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sellout audiences worldwide.
Vesselin Gellev
The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded many blockbuster film scores, 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 100 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 under the late Kurt Masur, and a film music disc under Dirk Brossé. 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. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians. We recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Education and Community department, whose work over three decades has introduced so many people of all ages to orchestral music and created opportunities for people of all backgrounds to fulfil their creative potential. Our dynamic and wide-ranging programme provides first musical experiences for children and families; offers creative projects and professional development opportunities for schools and teachers; inspires talented teenage instrumentalists to progress their skills; and develops the next generation of professional musicians. The Orchestra’s work at the forefront of digital technology has enabled it to reach millions of people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download and stream and, as well as a YouTube channel and podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on social media.
© Benjamin Ealovega
leader
Praised by the New York Times for his ‘warmth and virtuosic brilliance’, 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. Prior to joining the LPO as Sub-Leader in 2007, Vesselin was Leader of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in the USA and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy. He performs regularly as Guest Leader with numerous orchestras in the UK and abroad including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Vesselin received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, New York, as a student of Robert Mann. He has served on the violin and chamber music faculties of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and the Eleazar de Carvalho Music Festival in Fortaleza, Brazil.
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London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5
Kensho Watanabe conductor
... a combination of authority, charisma and technical aplomb rarely found in a young conductor.
© Andrew Bogard
Bernard Jacobson, Seen and Heard International
Emerging onto the international stage over the past two years, Kensho Watanabe is fast becoming one of the most exciting and versatile young conductors to come out of the United States. He held the position of Assistant Conductor at The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2016–19 during which time he made his critically acclaimed subscription debut with the Orchestra and pianist Daniil Trifonov, taking over from his mentor Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He returned to The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2018 to conduct three subscription concerts, as well as making his debut at the Bravo! Vail Festival and giving concerts at the Mann and Saratoga Performing Arts Centres. He was previously an inaugural conducting fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music from 2013–15, under the mentorship of Nézet-Séguin. Recent highlights have included debuts with the Houston Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as his Japanese debut at the Matsumoto Festival and return visits to the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal. Tonight’s concert is Kensho’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra: other highlights this season include debuts with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, as well as his Finnish debut with the Jyväskylä Sinfonia.
Equally at home in both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Kensho Watanabe has led numerous operas with the Curtis Opera Theatre, most recently Puccini’s La rondine in 2017 and La bohème in 2015. He also served as assistant conductor to Yannick Nézet-Séguin on a new production of Strauss’s Elektra at Montreal Opera. This season he will conduct Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus at the Ozawa Juku Festival. An accomplished violinist, Kensho Watanabe received his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music, and served as a substitute violinist in The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2012–16. Committed to the training and development of young musicians, he has worked on the staff of the Greenwood Music Camp in Massachusetts since 2007, currently serving as the camp’s Orchestra Conductor. Kensho Watanabe is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with distinguished conducting pedagogue Otto-Werner Mueller. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale College, where he studied molecular, cellular and developmental biology.
kenshowatanabe kenshowatanabe.com
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Emmanuel Tjeknavorian violin
In terms of virtuosity, intensity, phrasing, tone colour and profound musical understanding, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian has everything.
© Uwe Arens
Robert Matthew-Walker, Musical Opinion
Since being awarded the Best Sibelius Violin Concerto and Second Prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2015, Viennese violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian has gained international attention. In recent seasons he has toured Europe’s most prestigious concert venues as part of the European Concert Hall Organisation’s Rising Star Tour. He has made numerous debuts, including with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala and London Symphony Orchestra, performing with such conductors as Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly and Yuri Temirkanov. Tonight’s concert is Emmanuel’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Other highlights this season include debuts with the the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Juraj Valčuha; the Konzerthausorchester Berlin with Christoph Eschenbach; and the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne with Lionel Bringuier. He also returns to the Konzerthaus Dortmund, where he is a ‘Junger Wilder’. Additionally he is the Vienna Musikverein’s 2019/20 Artist in Residence, returning to the famed hall this season with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (under Alain Altinoglu) and the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (under Jakub Hrůša), and with a ‘Carte Blanche’ recital.
the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival with his piano partner Maximilian Kromer. Last season he performed on Mozart’s very own ‘Costa’ violin at the Salzburg Mozartwoche, and appeared at the Grafenegg Festival’s Midsummer Night’s Gala, which was televised across Europe. Emmanuel Tjeknavorian’s first Sony Classical album, Solo, garnered much attention when it was released in December 2017, receiving the newly-minted Opus Klassik Award in October 2018. Since September 2017 he has hosted his own radio show, ‘Der Klassik-Tjek’, which airs on Vienna’s Radio Klassik. He has also been featured on numerous broadcasts, such as ‘Titel, Thesen, Temperamente’ und ‘Der Tagesschau’ on ARD; ‘Capriccio’ on BR; ‘Kulturzeit’ on 3sat and ORF2; as well as on the show ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ with Rolando Villazón on ARTE. Born in Vienna in 1995, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian grew up in a family of musicians and took his first violin lesson at the age of five. In 2011 he began studying with Gerhard Schulz, a former member of the Alban Berg Quartet, at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. He plays a Cremona 1698 violin by Antonio Stradivari, kindly loaned to him by a benefactor from the Beare’s International Violin Society in London.
emmanueltjeknavorian.com Emmanuel Tjeknavorian is a frequent guest at prestigious festivals, as well as an accomplished chamber musician. In the summer of 2018 he won the LOTTO Sponsorship Prize awarded by the Rheingau Music Festival and the NORDMETALL Ensemble Prize at
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Programme notes
Speedread 1806 was an extraordinary year for Beethoven. This single year saw the composition of his Fourth Symphony, the Fourth Piano Concerto, the three ‘Razumovsky’ Quartets, his only Violin Concerto and a handful of music for solo piano. It was, in short, a year of instrumental music. That his second attempt at an overture for the opera Leonore (as it was then known) should have been written that same year explains a lot about its character. Bold, intense and almost symphonic in its design, it was eventually cast out for being altogether too dramatic as a preface for the opera. Beethoven, it seems, was bursting with ideas, his defiant ‘heroic’ style then at its height.
Ludwig van Beethoven
If only the same could be said of 1811, a year in which Beethoven’s health took a turn for the worse. Forced to pull out of a performance of his ‘Emperor’ Piano Concerto because he could not hear well enough to keep time with the orchestra, Beethoven soon withdrew from public life. His ‘Grand Symphony in A’, however, reveals little of his turbulent personal circumstances. With the exception only of its funereal slow movement, this Seventh Symphony glows with an easy sense of selfcontentment, as joyous and uninhibited as anything he ever composed.
Overture, Leonore No. 3, Op. 72b
1770–1827
As Beethoven himself was willing to concede, composing for the voice was never his strongest suit. ‘I do not like composing songs’, he once admitted. The eminent musicologist Carl Dahlhaus would go so far as to declare that Beethoven composed ‘against the voice’. It is little surprise then, that in an output that stretches from symphonies to string quartets, concertos to sonatas, there is just one opera attached to Beethoven’s name. And even this lone opera endured a long and protracted process of conception.
no fewer than four separate versions, of which the second incarnation – confusingly now known as the ‘Leonore Overture No. 3’ – seems to have earned its place as the concert-hall favourite. While Beethoven’s final Overture would take themes from the opera and use them to create a chronological précis of the opera’s main dramatic action, the Overture No. 3 is a dramatic curtainraiser in its own right. Indeed, its tone is so dramatic that it is often at risk of overshadowing the opera itself, hence its more fitting place in the concert hall.
Fidelio, as the opera would eventually become known, began life as Leonore in 1803. But this three-act opera (originally named after the heroine, Leonore), was subsequently revised and reduced into the two-act Fidelio (‘the faithful one’), and was premiered in the ‘final’ version as we know it today some 11 years later. The overture, meanwhile, appeared in
The Overture begins morosely and in darkness in Florestan’s prison cell, his thoughts gradually drifting towards happier, earlier times. As minor transforms to major and Florestan’s fighting spirit returns, the Overture unfurls into a buoyant work of irrepressible energy, a triumph of liberty in the face of adversity, the epitome of Beethoven’s ‘heroic’ style.
8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
By the time Beethoven composed his first – and only – complete concerto for the violin, he was already a master of the instrument. He had under his belt a series of nine sonatas for violin and piano, two solo Romances for violin and orchestra, and the start of a youthful Violin Concerto in C major, which would remain unfinished. He had also established himself as a composer of considerable renown: in 1801 he wrote gleefully to his friend Franz Wegeler that when it came to publishers, ‘I state my price and they pay.’ So it is altogether surprising that the reception at the premiere of his Violin Concerto in D major was lukewarm at best. ‘The Concerto enjoyed no great success’, wrote his biographer, Anton Schindler. ‘It was totally ignored: violinists … rejected the work as unrewarding.’ It was not until 1844, when Joseph Joachim resurrected the Concerto under Mendelssohn’s direction to ‘frenetic applause’, that the work became firmly established within the repertoire. By then, tastes had changed and features that nearly half a century earlier had been regarded as ‘risky’ and ‘disconcerting’ were now deemed more acceptable. The mysterious strokes on the timpani with which the Concerto opens would come to seem intriguing, rather than simply bizarre. The Concerto’s surprising length was now more in keeping with the extended nature of the Romantic concerto. And the dazzling virtuosity of the solo violin part became a real draw for audiences becoming increasingly accustomed to inspiring and impressive musical feats within the concert hall. It is worth bearing in mind, though, that Beethoven’s Violin Concerto as we know it today is thought to be considerably revised from that of the 1806 premiere.
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 Emmanuel Tjeknavorian violin 1 Allegro ma non troppo 2 Larghetto – 3 Rondo: Allegro
According to Carl Czerny, Beethoven completed the work in haste at the request of Franz Clement, the Concerto’s dedicatee and commissioner. Clement wanted a new concerto to perform at a benefit concert in Vienna in December 1806 and reports suggest that the score was barely finished before the first rehearsals began – so much so that Clement was all but sight-reading at the premiere. After its rather lacklustre premiere, the work underwent several revisions before its publication, including its transformation into a concerto for piano, for which Beethoven added an unusual extended cadenza with timpani accompaniment. Like the knocking of ‘Fate’ at the start of the Fifth Symphony, the timpani beats with which the work opens form the foundations of the Violin Concerto. These five strokes saturate the opening movement, intertwining themselves within the first theme and underpinning the accompaniment of the second, alternating between ominous and celebratory at every turn. This expansive first movement, wrought with dense thematic interplay and dramatic dynamic contrasts, is quite at odds with the stillness of the central Larghetto – a series of ethereal variations in which the soloist appears to extemporise freely over muted strings. This quiet corner of the Concerto has none of the showmanship of the outer movements, with its serene, bird-like utterances seeming to prefigure that of Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending by more than a hundred years. The finale, by contrast, is a riot of drama and colour, bursting out of the Larghetto without pause with a pastoral violin melody that is taken up by the orchestra with full force. With every repetition, this simple country theme grows increasingly virtuosic, eventually leading to a climactic coda packed full of exhilarating showmanship.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9
Programme notes continued
Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827
Four years separate Beethoven’s Sixth and Seventh symphonies, four years in which Beethoven’s health went into steep decline. Over the course of six months between 1811 and 1812 he was twice ordered by doctors to spend time at a spa in the Bohemian town of Teplitz to help him recover from a spate of illness. His diaries from this time convey his despondency and heartache, even admitting to thoughts of suicide. Where then, did Beethoven find the sunny demeanour that characterises his Seventh Symphony? Brisk, joyous and radiating warmth, it is one of Beethoven’s most carefree symphonic works, a symphony that Richard Wagner would later call ‘the apotheosis of the dance herself’. Beethoven, for his part, referred to it as his ‘Grand Symphony in A’, adding in a letter to the impresario Johann Peter Salomon that he considered it ‘one of my best works’. And ‘grand’ is certainly a fitting description. The introduction to the opening Vivace is longer than any symphonic introduction ever composed before. Nor does it stick to symphonic norms by setting up the tonic of A major and preparing for the first movement proper. Instead, Beethoven diverts almost immediately from A major to touch, in turn, upon C major and F major, neither of which have any close relation to the key of the Symphony. It takes Beethoven nearly four suspense-laden minutes to reach the Vivace, by which time the last thing we are expecting is the ebullient romp that follows. But it is the solemn Allegretto that has become the Symphony’s calling-card. Although it is not ‘slow’ in the traditional sense (Allegretto meaning ‘fairly brisk’), the Allegretto is the de facto slow movement in an otherwise spirited symphony. Muted both in tone and dynamics, this rather sombre series of variations upon a repetitive, walking theme has been compared to
10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 7 in A major 1 Poco sostenuto – Vivace 2 Allegretto 3 Presto – Assai meno presto 4 Allegro con brio
a funeral procession – and for good reason. Just as the first movement was carried along by its propulsive rhythmic accompaniment, repetition abounds here too, but here the ‘long-short-short long-long’ ostinato has quite the opposite effect. Every time it seems to get going, we stall once more, as though the procession were inching forwards only to stop, take stock, and set off again. Only when Beethoven begins to spin out long, languorous counter-melodies does the procession find its momentum and a remarkable grandeur emerges out of this rather unassuming theme, only to peter out and sidle off into the distance once more. There is nothing unassuming, however, about the scherzo that follows. Composed in F major, that same errant key that made its first appearance in the expansive introduction, the scherzo is a whirlwind of tossed-out melodic fragments and sudden dynamic contrasts, relaxing only briefly in the more measured, rustic trio sections – which again recall elements of the composer’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. And then, with little more than a couple of punchy chords to pull us back to the home key, Beethoven launches headlong into the finale, a wild, unbound Allegro that Tchaikovsky called ‘a whole series of images, full of unrestrained joy, full of bliss and pleasure of life’. While the conductor Thomas Beecham was rather less kind (‘What can you do with it? It’s like a lot of yaks jumping about’), there is no denying its physicality. Joy spills over into raucousness, the gloom of the Allegretto long forgotten, as the finale hurtles along with an earthy, unrestrained energy that flirts with dance but borders on bedlam. Programme notes © Jo Kirkbride
2019/20 season at Brighton Dome Concert Hall
Saturday 2 November 2019 | 7.30pm A Celebration of British Cinema including music from Lawrence of Arabia, Brief Encounter, Murder on the Orient Express and many other classic British films. Anthony Weeden conductor Piers Lane piano Saturday 15 February 2020 | 7.30pm Dvoล รกk Cello Concerto Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Joshua Weilerstein conductor Leonard Elschenbroich cello Saturday 18 April 2020 | 7.30pm Beethoven Overture, Fidelio Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) Matthew Coorey conductor Joanna MacGregor piano
Book online at brightondome.org or call 01273 709709 Season discounts of up to 20% available
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11
Beethoven Symphonies on the LPO Label
Symphonies Nos. 1 & 4 Kurt Masur conductor
Symphony No. 3 | Overture, Fidelio Vladimir Jurowski conductor
LPO-0093 | £9.99
LPO-0096 | £9.99
New Symphonies No. 3 & 5 Kurt Masur conductor
Symphony No. 5 | Coriolan Overture Klaus Tennstedt conductor
LPO-0112 | £9.99
LPO-0087| £6.99
Symphony No. 6 | Egmont Overture Klaus Tennstedt conductor
Symphony No. 9 Klaus Tennstedt conductor London Philharmonic Choir
LPO-0085 | £6.99
LPO-0026 | £9.99
Recordings available from the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets, the Royal Festival Hall shop & lpo.org.uk/recordings. Download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music and others.
12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
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 Sir 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 The Rind Foundation Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar
Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited 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 Querée 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
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Thank you
We are extremely grateful to all donors who have given generously to the LPO over the past year. Your generosity helps maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.
Artistic Director’s Circle An anonymous donor Sir Simon & Lady Robey OBE Orchestra Circle The Candide Trust Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich Principal Associates Richard Buxton In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Associates Steven M. Berzin Richard Buxton Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton Mrs Irina Gofman Countess Dominique Loredan Mr & Mrs Makharinsky George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley In memory of Allner Mavis Channing The Chiltern Friends of the LPO Gill & Garf Collins Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Beuill Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas MBE Mr Roger Greenwood The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Geoff & Meg Mann Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Laurence Watt
Silver Patrons Ms Terri Borain Andrea d’Avack Georgy Djaparidze Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe John & Angela Kessler Mr James R. D. Korner The Metherell Family Denis & Yulia Nagy Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Tom & Phillis Sharpe Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Guy & Utti Whittaker Grenville & Krysia Williams Bronze Patrons Anonymous donors Michael Allen Mr Mark Astaire Margot Astrachan Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Dr Anthony Buckland Mr Alan C Butler Desmond & Ruth Cecil The Earl & Countess of Chichester Mr Michael Cole-Fontayn Mr John H Cook Howard & Veronika Covington Mrs Maria Danilova Guy Davies Bruno De Kegel Cameron & Kathryn Doley Jill Dyal David Ellen Ignor & Lyuba Galkin Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Eugene & Allison Hayes Ms Elena Heinz
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Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Rose & Dudley Leigh Elena Lileeva & Adrian Pabst Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Peter & Lucy Noble Linda & Tim O’Neill Jacopo Pessina Mr Alex Petrov Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Mr Alex Smedley Ms Nadia Stasyuk Ms Sharon Thomas Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Marina Vaizey Ms Jenny Watson CBE Christopher Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Principal Supporters Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Helen Brocklebank Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Ms Phyllia Chen Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen David & Liz Conway Mr Alistair Corbett In honour of Bea Crumbine Mr Jonathan Davies Mr Richard Fernyhough Mr Michael Fox Mr Stephen Goldring Vadim Levin Mr Ian Haslegrave Michael & Christine Henry Lady Hill Mrs Maureen HooftGraafland Jamilya Jakisheva Per Jonsson Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF
Lady Leonora, Countess of Lichfield Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Michael & Patricia MclarenTurner Alice P. Melly Mr John Meloy Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mrs Jannifer Oxley Mr James Pickford Natalie Pray Mr Christopher Querée Sir Bernard Rix Mr Robert Ross Barry & Gillian Smith Mr Bill Smith Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Matthew Stephenson & Roman Aristarkhov Marina Vaizey Howard & Sheelagh Watson Supporters Anonymous donors Mr John D Barnard Mr Bernard Bradbury Mr Richard Brooman Mrs Alan Carrington Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Joshua Coger Mr Geoffrey A Collens Miss Tessa Cowie Lady Jane Cuckney OBE Mr David Devons Samuel Edge Manuel Fajardo & Clémence Humeau Mrs Janet Flynn Scott & Icy Frantz Christopher Fraser OBE Will Gold Mr Peter Gray The Jackman Family Mr & Mrs Bon Jasperson Mr David MacFarlane
Peter & Isabel Malkin Mr Frederic Marguerre Mr Mark Mishon Trevor Mulineaux Bill & Jane Nickerson Mr Stephen Olton Anju & Radhika Patel Mr David Peters Candace Procaccini Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr David Russell Deb & Jay Shaw Ms Elizabeth Shaw Mr Kenneth Shaw Ms Natalie Spraggon & Mr David Thomson Mrs John E Stauffer Ronald & Davidde Strackbein Mr John Weekes Joanna Williams Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Alfonso Aijón Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Laurence Watt LPO International Board of Governors Natasha Tsukanova Chair Steven M. Berzin (USA) Kay Bryan (Australia) Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil (France) Irina Gofman (Russia) Joyce Kan (China/Hong Kong) Countess Dominique Loredan (Italy) Olivia Ma (Greater China Area) Olga Makharinsky (Russia) George Ramishvili (Georgia) Victoria Robey OBE (USA)
We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America: Simon Freakley Chairman Xenia Hanusiak Alexandra Jupin William A. Kerr Kristina McPhee Natalie Pray Stephanie Yoshida Antony Phillipson Hon. Chairman Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Connecticut Gala Committee Bea Crumbine & Jill Dyal Co-Chairmen Rodica Brune Mandy DeFilippo Rachel Franco Nick Gutfreund Mary Hull Steve Magnuson Natalie Pray Victoria Robey OBE Lisa & Scot Weicker Corporate Donors Arcadis Christian Dior Couture Faraday Fenchurch Advisory Partners IMG L Catterton Pictet Bank Steppes Travel White & Case LLP
Corporate Members Gold freuds Sunshine Silver After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Bronze Ageas Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Walpole Preferred Partners Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc Trusts and Foundations The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Sir William Boreman’s Foundation Borletti-Buitoni Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Candide Trust The Chalk Cliff Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The Fidelio Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust John Thaw Foundation The Idlewild Trust
Kirby Laing Foundation The Lawson Trust The Leverhulme Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation The London Community Foundation Lord & Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute PRS For Music Foundation The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Romanian Cultural Institute RVW Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Steel Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The Thomas Deane Trust The Viney Family The Clarence Westbury Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust The William Alwyn Foundation and all others who wish to remain anonymous.
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15
London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration
Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Dr Catherine C. Høgel Vice-Chairman Henry Baldwin* Roger Barron David Buckley Bruno De Kegel Martin Höhmann* Al MacCuish Susanne Martens* Pei-Jee Ng* Andrew Tusa Timothy Walker AM Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Martin Höhmann Chairman Rob Adediran Christopher Aldren Dr Manon Antoniazzi Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank Desmond Cecil CMG Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport William de Winton Cameron Doley Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Andrew Neill Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey OBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Andrew Swarbrick Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter
General Administration Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director
Education and Community Isabella Kernot Education and Community Director
David Burke General Manager and Finance Director
Talia Lash Education and Community Manager
Sarah Gee PA to the Chief Executive/ Office Administrator
Emily Moss Education and Community Project Manager
Finance Frances Slack Finance and Operations Manager
Hannah Tripp Education and Community Project Co-ordinator
Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer
Development Laura Willis Development Director
Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts Director
Vicky Moran Development Events Manager
Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager Sophie Richardson Glyndebourne and Projects Manager (maternity leave) Fabio Sarlo Glyndebourne and Projects Manager (maternity cover) Grace Ko Tours Manager
Christina McNeill Corporate Relations Manager Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Izzy Keig Development Assistant Lewis Hammond Development Assistant
Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator
~ Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director
Christina Perrin Concerts and Tours Assistant
Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate
Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Damian Davis Transport Manager Hannah Verkerk Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator Laura Kitson Assistant Transport & Stage Manager
16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Mairi Warren Marketing Manager Megan Macarte Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Rachel Williams Publications Manager Rachel Smith Website Manager Greg Felton Digital Creative Alexandra Lloyd Marketing Co-ordinator Georgie Gulliver Marketing Assistant
Public Relations Premier classical@premiercomms.com Tel: 020 7292 7355/ 020 7292 7335 Archives Philip Stuart Discographer Gillian Pole Recordings Archive Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Barry Grimaldi Honorary Doctor Mr Chris Aldren Honorary ENT Surgeon Mr Brian Cohen Mr Simon Owen-Johnstone Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeons 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. Cover illustrations Brett Ryder/Heart Agency Cover artwork Ross Shaw @JMG Studio Printer Cantate