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2018/19 Concert Season

AT Southbank Centreâ€™s Royal Festival Hall

concert programme

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA Leader pieter schoeman supported by Neil Westreich Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Wednesday 28 November 2018 | 7.30pm Enescu Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11 No. 1* (11’) Pascal Dusapin At Swim-Two-Birds (UK premiere)** (30’) Interval (20’) Martinů Symphony No. 4 (33’) Ravel La Valse (13’) Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Viktoria Mullova violin Matthew Barley cello

* Generously supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute

** Commissioned by Radio 4’s zaterdagmatinee series in The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London Philharmonic Orchestra (with generous support from Diaphonique, a Franco-British contemporary music fund supported by the Institut Français, the Bureau export de la musique, the British Council and Ministère de la Culture et de la communication), Gewandhausorchester and Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Contents 2 Welcome Orchestra news 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Kevin Lin 6 Andrés Orozco-Estrada 7 Viktoria Mullova Matthew Barley 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings 12 Next concerts 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration

Welcome

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 a member of staff for assistance. Eating, drinking and shopping? Enjoy fresh seasonal food for breakfast and lunch, coffee, teas and evening drinks with riverside views at Concrete Cafe, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Riverside Terrace Cafe, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall. Visit our shops for products inspired by our artistic and cultural programme, iconic buildings and central London location. Explore across the site with Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, wagamama, YO! Sushi, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Honest Burger, Côte Brasserie, Skylon and Topolski. If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit, please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone us on 020 3879 9555, or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk 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 AND WATCHES should be switched off before the performance begins.

A welcome message from the Romanian Ambassador to London Dear Friends, Like many other events set up under the aegis of the Romanian Embassy and the Romanian Cultural Institute, tonight’s concert marks a triple observance. On 1 December we celebrate the National Day of Romania. Its symbolism is always potent as it evokes the foundation of Greater Romania, when all our historical provinces – Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, Bessarabia, Bukovina and the Old Kingdom of Romania finally came together in one democratic, national state. Yet this time our excitement is even greater as, throughout 2018, we have been celebrating the Centenary Year (1918–2018), looking back, through an effervescent programme unfolding in Great Britain and elsewhere, to 100 years of modern life in a country that, like many others, has had its share of triumphs and defeats. This event is even richer in meaning, as exactly 100 years ago, on 28 November, the General Congress of Bukovina, historical Romanian province at the time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, decided to unite with the Kingdom of Romania. We are honoured to celebrate all these auspicious landmarks in the company of one of the best classical ensembles in the world and one of our most cherished partners in the UK, the London Philharmonic Orchestra. And, of course, with the Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, the acclaimed masterpiece of George Enescu, our most celebrated composer. May you have a memorable evening. Happy Birthday, Romania!

Out now The Autumn 2018 edition of Tune In, our free LPO magazine. Copies are available at the Welcome Desk in the Royal Festival Hall foyer, or phone the LPO office on 020 7840 4200 to receive one in the post. Also available digitally: issuu.com/londonphilharmonic

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H.E. Dan Mihalache, Ambassador of Romania to the Court of St James’s

On stage tonight

First Violins Kevin Lin Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Hรถhmann Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Tina Gruenberg Rebecca Shorrock Georgina Leo Lasma Taimina Evin Blomberg Nilufar Alimaksumova Second Violins Tania Mazzetti Principal Chair supported by Countess Dominique Loredan

Konrad Elias-Trostmann Helena Smart Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Csilla Pogรกny Emma Oldfield Sioni Williams Robin Wilson Violas David Quiggle Principal Richard Waters Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani

Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Stanislav Popov Richard Cookson Martin Wray Martin Fenn Charles Cross Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Helen Rathbone Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Tom Walley Laurence Lovelle Nathan Knight Lowri Morgan

Oboes Ian Hardwick Principal Alice Munday

Trombones David Whitehouse Principal Richard Ward

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Jennifer Brittlebank Sue Bรถhling

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Cor Anglais Sue Bรถhling* Principal Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Clarinets Robert Plane Guest Principal Thomas Watmough

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Henry Baldwin Co-Principal Keith Millar Jeremy Cornes James Bower Karen Hutt

Paul Richards* Bass Clarinet Paul Richards* Principal Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Gareth Newman Simon Estell* Contrabassoon Simon Estell* Principal Horns David Pyatt* Principal

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Harps Rachel Masters Principal Lucy Haslar Piano/Celeste Catherine Edwards * Holds a professorial appointment in London

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

John Ryan* Principal Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Hannah Grayson Renate Sokolovska Stewart McIlwham* Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin Hobbs Nicholas Mooney Gareth Mollison Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal James Fountain Guest Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Kaitlin Wild

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: William & Alex de Winton Neil Westreich

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic’s closing concert took excellence and courageous programme planning to levels of expectation and emotional intensity more than once defying belief. Here was an orchestra in terrific form, rising to every challenge. Classicalsource.com (LPO at Royal Festival Hall, 2 May 2018: Panufnik, Penderecki & Prokofiev)

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 performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, has its own record 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. 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 the Orchestra’s current Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, and in 2017 we celebrated the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary partnership. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in 2015. The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Throughout the remainder of

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

2018 we continue our series Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey, charting the life and music of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers. In 2019 we celebrate the music of Britain in our festival Isle of Noises, exploring a range of British and British-inspired music from Purcell to the present day. 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 Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2018/19 season include a major tour of Asia including South Korea, Taiwan and China, as well as performances in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Switzerland and the USA.

Kevin Lin 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 100 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include a Poulenc disc conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3 under Vladimir Jurowski, 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. In 2017/18 we 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. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the LPO Young Composers programme; the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme; and the LPO Junior Artists scheme for talented young musicians from communities and backgrounds currently underrepresented in professional UK orchestras. The Orchestra’s work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled it to reach even more people worldwide: as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on social media. lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

Kevin Lin joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Leader in August 2017. Originally from New York, Kevin has received international recognition for his musicianship and ‘soulful’ playing (The Arts Desk). He has performed as a soloist and recitalist in the UK, Taiwan, South Korea and Canada, in addition to numerous performances in the USA. He was previously Guest Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Houston Symphony, and in 2015 was invited to lead the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra at the Aspen Music Festival and School. He has also served as Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin at The Colburn School and The Curtis Institute of Music. An avid chamber musician, Kevin’s recent collaborations include performances with the Tokyo and Ebène quartets, Edgar Meyer, Cho-Liang Lin, Orion Weiss and Andrew Bain. In recent years he has received prizes from the Irving M. Klein International Competition and the Schmidbauer International Competition, and competed in the George Enescu International Violin Competition and the Menuhin International Violin Competition. Kevin spent his early years studying with Patinka Kopec in New York, before going on to study with Robert Lipsett at The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree. He then continued his studies at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia as a Mark E. Rubenstein Fellowship recipient, under the pedagogy of Aaron Rosand.

instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Principal Guest Conductor

Orozco-Estrada steered a gripping journey ... In phenomenal form, the London Philharmonic matched him beat for beat, every section excelling, every principal deserving individual credit, playing together and off each other with an impeccability of exchange, ensemble, chording and dynamic finesse. Breathtaking! Classical Source, 29 October 2017 (Shostakovich’s ‘Leningrad’ Symphony with the LPO at Royal Festival Hall)

Andrés Orozco-Estrada first worked with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in November 2013, conducting a major tour of Germany. His impressive energy and musicianship, and the immediate rapport that formed between him and the players, combined with such success that it led quickly to the announcement that he would take up the position of Principal Guest Conductor from September 2015. Born in Medellín, Colombia and trained in Vienna, Andrés is one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation. In 2014 he became Music Director of the Houston Symphony and Chief Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has also been appointed Music Director Designate of the Vienna Symphony from the 2021/22 season. Andrés Orozco-Estrada first came to international attention in 2004 when he took over a concert with the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich at the Vienna Musikverein, and was celebrated by the Viennese press as a ‘wonder from Vienna’. Numerous engagements with many international orchestras followed, and since then, Orozco-Estrada has developed a highly successful musical partnership with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, serving as Music Director from 2009–15. Andrés Orozco-Estrada now appears with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome and the Orchestre National de France.

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Recent successful debuts have included the Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic. In 2014 he made his debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera conducting Don Giovanni with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015 he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival followed by a re-invitation for 2016 with Nicolai’s Il templario. Recent CDs released on Pentatone are generating a great deal of attention and include Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Macbeth, both with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Andrés has also recorded Dvořák’s Symphonies Nos. 6–9 with the Houston Symphony. Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his musical studies on the violin and had his first conducting lessons at the age of 15. In 1997 he moved to Vienna, where he studied at the renowned Vienna Music Academy and completed his degree with distinction by conducting the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Musikverein. He currently lives in Vienna.

Matthew Barley

violin

cello

One of the world’s greatest violin virtuosos, Viktoria Mullova’s musical horizons continue to expand. She has journeyed into the worlds of jazz and world music, and she works regularly with period ensembles such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Il Giardino Armonico, Accademia Bizantina and Venice Baroque, as well as appearing each season with top international orchestras and conductors.

Cello playing is at the centre of Matthew Barley’s career, while his musical world has virtually no geographical, social or stylistic boundaries. Matthew is passionate about improvisation, education, multi-genre musicmaking, electronics, and pioneering community programmes. He is also a world-renowned cellist who has performed in over 50 countries, including concertos with the London Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Kremerata Baltica, and the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Swedish Chamber, Vienna Radio Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony and Metropole Jazz orchestras.

During the 2018/19 season Viktoria is Artist in Residence at The Sage Gateshead, appearing in recital, concertos and with her ‘Stradivarius in Rio’ programme, for which she is joined by Matthew Barley, Paul Clarvis and João Luís Nogueira Pinto. She gives solo recitals in Japan, China and the UK, alternating between two violins in the same programme, with gut strings for Bach and metal strings for contemporary music. With Katia Labèque, she performs in recital at the Edinburgh International Festival and starts new collaborations with fortepianist Alasdair Beatson, playing Beethoven sonatas on gut strings, and with double bassist, jazz musician and composer Misha Mullov-Abbado, with whom she is touring and performing their ‘Music we Love’ programme. Viktoria’s most recent project, ‘Stradivarius in Rio’, sees her exploring the music of Brazil. A CD of the same name has been enthusiastically received and she is presenting the project in concerts throughout Europe. As well as her own projects, Viktoria has also commissioned works from composers such as Pascal Dusapin, Fraser Trainer, Thomas Larcher and Dai Fujikura. Viktoria either plays on her ‘Jules Falk’ 1723 Stradivarius or a Guadagnini violin.

Viktoria Mullova

Matthew Barley’s collaborations include Matthias Goerne, the Labèque sisters, Avi Avital, Manu Delago, Martin Fröst, Thomas Larcher, Amjad Ali Khan, Julian Joseph, Nitin Sawhney and Jon Lord (Deep Purple), appearing in venues ranging from Ronnie Scott’s and the WOMAD festivals to Vienna’s Konzerthaus and Zürich’s Tonhalle. Matthew’s new music group, Between The Notes, has undertaken over 60 creative projects with young musicians and orchestral players worldwide. Matthew has given premieres by James MacMillan, Thomas Larcher, Detlev Glanert, Dai Fujikura and many other prominent composers. His recordings have been released on Black Box, Signum Classics and Onyx Classics – the latter included The Peasant Girl, a CD with Viktoria Mullova on which Matthew was cellist, arranger, composer and producer, which has gained rave reviews worldwide and is now also available on DVD. Highlights of this season include performances with the RAI Torino, Paris National, Seattle Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhaus. Next season sees a tour with wind quintet Calefax, a recording of John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil for Signum Classics, the premiere of Matthew’s arrangements of Brazilian jazz for cello and string orchestra in Helsinki, and tours to Australia and New Zealand.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread ‘What I maintain as my deepest conviction is the essential nobility of thoughts and things which are quite simple and which, not explained in highsounding words and abstruse phrases, still hold an ethical and human significance.’ Bohuslav Martinů, exiled from his native Czechoslovakia to the USA, felt he had to justify the musical choices he’d made as a late-flowering symphonist. But throughout the modern era, composers have known how to unlock worlds of meaning

George Enescu

from outwardly simple sounds. George Enescu accidentally found the spirit of a young nation in a throwaway drinking song; Maurice Ravel heard the gears of a coming apocalypse whirring beneath the glittering surface of a grand waltz. And Pascal Dusapin, in our own time, takes Flann O’Brien’s tales of another once-marginalised national culture – early 20th- century Ireland – to create something universal and wholly new. No ‘high-sounding words and abstruse phrases’ required.

Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, Op. 11 No. 1

1881–1955

In the silence of a Carpathian valley, a clarinettist plays a hopeful, hesitant tune. Romania had existed as a kingdom for barely 20 years when the 19-year-old George Enescu completed his first Romanian Rhapsody in August 1901. A nation finding its voice, indeed: and the Rhapsody’s opening melody – a popular Romanian song whose title translates loosely as ‘I’ve got a coin; I’ll spend it on drink’ – is as familiar now throughout Romania as Greensleeves is here. You’ll hear it played by Roma buskers, broadcast over loudspeakers at railway stations, and tinkled by souvenir musical boxes.

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Enescu paints that beloved melody in all the glowing colours of the late-Romantic orchestra, before accelerating into a sequence of folk dances that culminate in a dazzling orchestral re-imagining of Ciocârlia (The Lark): the ever-higher, ever-crazier folkfiddle showpiece that’s as essential as plum brandy at any Romanian wedding. ‘Just a few tunes thrown together without thinking about it’ was Enescu’s own verdict – though of course, as any good fiddler knows (and Enescu was one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century), insouciance is all part of the show.

Pascal Dusapin born 1955

Commissioned by Radio 4’s zaterdagmatinee series in The Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London Philharmonic Orchestra (with generous support from Diaphonique, a Franco-British contemporary music fund supported by the Institut Français, the Bureau export de la musique, the British Council and Ministère de la Culture et de la communication), Gewandhausorchester and Seattle Symphony Orchestra. World premiere by the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, 30 September 2017.

‘I'll never write a motif, rhythm, or chord that I cannot sing,’ Pascal Dusapin once said. And indeed, all his music has a vocal, cantabile quality. As a child Dusapin was so impressed when he first heard a jazz trio, that he decided there and then to start playing the clarinet. From the age of ten he developed a passion for the organ, but only when he heard Arcana by Edgard Varèse he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life composing. Instead of going to a conservatoire, however – which he deemed too academic – Dusapin studied art history and aesthetics at the Sorbonne. He developed his compositional skills mainly on his own, yet between 1974 and 1978 he did attend some seminars of Iannis Xenakis. He considered the Greek composer to be the living heir of Varèse. Yet, unlike his heroes, he was not interested in engaging electronics in the compositional process. With purely physical instruments Dusapin creates highly organic music, full of colourful sound tapestries and lyrical solos. His music has a distinctly organic character. His great affinity with the human voice is not only apparent in his many operas and vocal works, but also manifests itself in the lilting quality of

At Swim-Two-Birds (UK premiere) Viktoria Mullova violin Matthew Barley cello I II

his instrumental music. It certainly applies to At SwimTwo-Birds, which has its UK premiere tonight. Dusapin composed this double concerto at the request of the violinist Viktoria Mullova and the cellist Matthew Barley. At first the composer had doubts about writing yet another piece for solo strings. He admitted having hesitated to accept the commission: ‘When they approached me, I had just written a violin concerto and a cello concerto, as well as several large-scale chamber music pieces. I felt a bit overwhelmed by violin and cello. But when I mentioned that it might be a bit too much to compose for these two instruments again, they remonstrated that violin and cello together are a completely different instrument. And that changed everything ...'. While composing, Dusapin stumbled upon the experimental novel At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien from 1939. This is literally swarming with unlikely figures and characters, who in the end take over the initiative from the author. It is a mixture of farce, satire and fantasy, and ranks as one of the important exponents of postmodern literature. ‘Although I named my composition after this strange and untranslatable title, it was not my intention to create a musical equivalent of the book’, says Dusapin. ‘I was struck by the narrative and formal extravagance of this Irish novelist.’ He was equally impressed by 'the way in which the story that was written by an imaginary protagonist becomes entangled with the real story of the author. And then, of course, there are two birds in the title ...'. The number two not only refers to the soloists, but also to the form of the concerto. Instead of the usual three, At Swim-Two-Birds has only two movements, both London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

Programme notes continued

slow. Dusapin gives a lot of room to the soloists, who often play virtuoso solo lines against a silent orchestra. At other times the two ‘birds’ sensually intertwine in soaring duets, the orchestra moving in so cautiously you hardly notice they’re taking part in the argument.

themselves together quickly, 'overtaking' the violin and restoring the quiet atmosphere. The concerto ends with softly rumbling drums and gongs, the string orchestra playing a chord that slowly fades away into nothingness.

The overall pace is slow, but towards the end vehement tapping on a tambourine triggers a faster tempo, while the dynamics become louder. The solo violin ‘breaks loose’ in staggeringly virtuosic figurations, giving the orchestra and fellow soloist the go-by. Yet they pull

Programme note © Thea Derks. English translation of programme note written for the world premiere in 2017 at NTRZaterdagMatinee, Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

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

Bohuslav Martinů 1890–1959

By the mid-1940s, a generation of Central European composers who’d been either too radical or too selfconscious to approach the symphony in their youth now found themselves in exile. And as Europe descended into barbarism, they started to re-assert their right to the symphony and all that it stood for. Erich Korngold, Egon Wellesz, Ernst Toch and Hans Gál all wrote socalled ‘exile symphonies’. Starting in 1942, Bohuslav Martinů wrote five in the space of four years. He started the Fourth in New York when the end of the war was in sight, and completed it on vacation in Cape Cod in June 1945 (he worked outdoors, claiming that the sea air was good for his circulation). It was premiered by The Philadelphia Orchestra in the first autumn of peace, on 30 November 1945, and it’s surely no coincidence that it’s the most optimistic – even relaxed – symphony that Martinů had written so far. 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony No.4 1 Molto moderato 2 Scherzo: Allegro vivo 3 Lento 4 Poco allegro

It’s intensely sophisticated, of course – the orchestration, as ever with Martinů, is alternately luminous and brilliant, and a complex network of interrelated motifs ties the four movements together. But the spirit – of those ‘thoughts and things which are quite simple’ – is lucid and confident. It’s so melodious and lyrical that some commentators have compared it to Schubert. Martinů cautioned against attempts to overanalyse the Symphony: he wanted listeners to experience it as something ‘vital and living’. So it’s probably only necessary to say that the first movement – which begins with the strings seeming to exhale, amidst a shimmering texture – is in a songful sonata form. The second is a brisk, dancing scherzo and trio almost in the manner of Dvořák. (Perhaps, with Nazism defeated, Martinů’s thoughts were already starting to turn back

towards Czechoslovakia). The Largo, after a toylike woodwind flourish, unfurls in warm, slowly blossoming song, and the finale ties together strands from throughout the Symphony. But what you mostly notice, as horns and brass march ebulliently, lopsidedly for the finish, is the sense of sheer jubilation. No explanation supplied – or (in mid-1945) needed.

Maurice Ravel

La Valse

1875–1937

At the first, the scene is dimmed by a kind of swirling mist. Occasionally the clouds part, allowing glimpses of waltzing couples. The mists dissolve little by little, and the light grows brighter, revealing an immense ballroom filled with whirling dancers. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth on the fortissimo. An imperial court, about 1855.

That’s what Ravel wrote on the first page of La Valse. It was conceived as a ‘choreographic poem’, a ballet score, written in 1919–20 for (but never staged by) Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Ravel made no bones about his love of the ‘useless occupation of social dancing’, and he’d sketched La Valse as early as 1906 as ‘a grand waltz, a kind of homage to the memory of the great Strauss, not Richard, the other one – Johann’. ‘You know how much I love those wonderful rhythms’, he added. He even gave those first sketches a title: Wien. But that was 1906. This was 1919, and a different world. La Valse (as Wien became) begins gorgeously enough – sighing, gliding, swooning seductively into the arms of the rhythm. It’s hard to put a finger on the moment when you realise that the tempo is increasing, that the distant snarls are growing louder – and that a whole civilisation is starting to spin terrifyingly out of control.

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works Many of our recommended recordings, where available, are on sale this evening at the Foyles stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer. Enescu: Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 BBC Symphony Orchestra | Gennady Rozhdestvensky (Chandos) Martinů: Symphony No. 4 BBC Symphony Orchestra | Jiří Bělohlávek (Onyx) Ravel: La Valse London Philharmonic Orchestra | Serge Baudo (Eminence) or Orchestre de Paris | Herbert von Karajan (Warner)

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

GET

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next lpo concerts

AT Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

friday 30 november 2018 7.30pm

Blacher Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 Liadov The Enchanted Lake Liadov Baba Yaga Liadov Kikimora Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Ray Chen violin

wednesday 5 december 2018 7.30pm Weber Overture, Der Freischütz Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Bruckner Symphony No. 2 (1877 revised version) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Alena Baeva violin

saturday 8 december 2018 7.30pm

Stravinsky Variations (Aldous Huxley in Memoriam) Stravinsky Threni** Stravinsky Tango* Berio Sinfonia* Vladimir Jurowski conductor Elizabeth Atherton soprano Maria Ostroukhova mezzo-soprano Thomas Walker tenor Joel Williams tenor Theodore Platt baritone Maxim Mikhailov bass† The Swingles* London Philharmonic Choir** † Please note a change of artist from previously advertised.

Book now at lpo.org.uk or call 020 7840 4242 Season discounts of up to 30% available

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

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 The Tsukanov Family Dr James Huang Zheng (of Kingdom Music Education Group) Principal Associates Gabor Beyer, through BTO Management Consulting AG In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Associates Steven M. Berzin Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley John Burgess Richard Buxton In memory of Allner Mavis Channing Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Beuill Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas Mr Roger Greenwood The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Countess Dominique Loredan Geoff & Meg Mann

Sally Groves & Dennis Marks Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski Melanie Ryan Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Laurence Watt Silver Patrons Dr Christopher Aldren Peter Blanc Georgy Djaparidze Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Will & Kate Hobhouse Matt Isaacs & Penny Jerram John & Angela Kessler The Metherell Family Simon Millward Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Susan Wallendahl Guy & Utti Whittaker

Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Peter & Lucy Noble Noel Otley JP & Mrs Rachel Davies Jacopo Pessina Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Tatiana Pyatigorskaya Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr Christopher Stewart Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Marina Vaizey Grenville & Krysia Williams Christopher Williams Ed & Catherine Williams Mr Anthony Yolland

Bronze Patrons Anonymous donors Michael Allen Andrew Barclay Mr Geoffrey Bateman Peter & Adrienne Breen Mr Jeremy Bull Mr Alan C Butler Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Bruno De Kegel Mr John L G Deacon David Ellen Ignor & Lyuba Galkin Mrs Irina Gofman David Goldberg Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Catherine Hogel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Mr James R. D. Korner Rose & Dudley Leigh

Principal Supporters Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Margot Astrachan Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Mr Edwin Bisset Dr Anthony Buckland Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Sir Alan Collins KCVO David & Liz Conway Mr Alistair Corbett Mrs Alina Davey Guy Davies Henry Davis MBE Mr Richard Fernyhough Patrice & Federica Feron Ms Kerry Gardner Malcolm Herring Ivan Hurry Per Jonsson Mr Ralph Kanza Ms Katerina Kashenceva Vadim & Natalia Levin Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Mr Christopher Little

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Mr John Meloy Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Dr Wiebke Pekrull Mr James Pickford Andrew & Sarah Poppleton Natalie Pray Mr Christopher Querée Martin & Cheryl Southgate Ms Nadia Stasyuk Matthew Stephenson & Roman Aristarkhov Louise Walton Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Liz Winter Bill Yoe Supporters 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 Christopher Fraser OBE Will Gold Mr Peter Gray Mrs Maureen HooftGraafland The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Mr Frederic Marguerre Mr Mark Mishon Mr Stephen Olton Mr David Peters Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr David Russell Mr Kenneth Shaw

Ms Elizabeth Shaw Ms Natalie Spraggon & Mr David Thomson 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) Gabor Beyer (Hungary) Kay Bryan (Australia) Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil (France) Joyce Kan (China/Hong Kong) Olivia Ma (Greater China Area) Olga Makharinsky (Russia) George Ramishvili (Georgia) Victoria Robey OBE (USA) Dr James Huang Zheng (of Kingdom Music Education Group) (China/ Shenzhen)

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 Corporate Donors Arcadis Christian Dior Couture Faraday Fenchurch Advisory Partners IMG 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 Fever-Tree Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Sipsmith 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 Ernest Cook Trust Diaphonique, Franco-British Fund for contemporary music The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust Help Musicians UK

John Horniman’s Children’s Trust The Idlewild Trust Embassy of the State of Israel to the United Kingdom Kirby Laing Foundation The Lawson Trust The Leverhulme Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord & Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust The Mercers’ Company Adam Mickiewicz Institute Newcomen Collett Foundation The Stanley Picker Trust The Austin & Hope Pilkington Trust PRS For Music Foundation The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Romanian Cultural Institute The R K Charitable Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The Steel Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Thistle Trust UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation 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

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 Richard Brass 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 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 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

Public Relations Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Talia Lash Education and Community Manager