GET
closer
2018/19 Concert Season
AT Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
concert programme
Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI 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 Friday 29 March 2019 | 7.30pm
Gala Evening with Juan Diego Flórez Popular tenor arias from world-famous operas There will be a 20-minute interval in tonight’s concert, which will end at approximately 9.40pm.
Sascha Goetzel conductor Juan Diego Flórez tenor
The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide. CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12
Welcome Orchestra news On stage tonight About the Orchestra Leader: Pieter Schoeman Sascha Goetzel Juan Diego Flórez Tonight’s programme Programme notes Next concerts Sinfonía por el Perú LPO 2019/20 season 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration
Welcome
Orchestra news
LPO 2019/20 season
Welcome to Southbank Centre
Booking is now open for our new 2019/20 season, which begins in September. Pick up a season brochure as you leave this evening’s concert, visit lpo.org.uk/newseason to browse and book online, or call 020 7840 4200 to request a season brochure by post.
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, Spiritland, 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.
Out now The Spring 2019 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
2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Highlights of the new season include:
2020 Vision A new strand of concerts featuring some of the most exciting works written since 2000, each combined in concert with pieces composed exactly 100 and 200 years earlier.
Beethoven 250th anniversary We will perform Beethoven’s first six symphonies alongside other rarer gems including his Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II.
Wagner Ring Cycle: Siegfried We reach the third instalment of our Ring Cycle conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, described as ‘simply outstanding’ by The Guardian.
Isle of Noises continues Continuing our exploration of landmark classics inspired by the British Isles, our programmes include music by Walton, Vaughan Williams, Britten and Foulds, as well as a celebration of British cinema.
Celebrated artists We welcome an array of fine artists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Igor Levit, Antonio Pappano, Susanna Mälkki, Edward Gardner, Diana Damrau, Sheku Kanneh- Mason, Nicola Benedetti and Anoushka Shankar.
Choral masterpieces The London Philharmonic Choir will join us for Verdi’s Requiem and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass under Edward Gardner; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) under Vladimir Jurowski; Elgar’s The Apostles under Mark Elder; Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Marin Alsop; and Fauré’s Requiem under Bertrand de Billy. Browse the full season at lpo.org.uk/newseason
On stage tonight
First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich
Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Mai Tategami Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler
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 Grace Lee Rebecca Shorrock Amanda Smith Second Violins Tristan Gurney Guest Principal Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley
Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Kate Cole Georgina Leo Nilufar Alimaksumova Emma Wragg Nicole Stokes Jamie Hutchinson John Dickinson Violas Richard Waters Principal Ting-Ru Lai Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins
Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Daniel Cornford Martin Wray Sarah Malcolm Charles Cross
Cellos Pei-Jee Ng Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue David Lale Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Sibylle Hentschel
Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Gareth Newman Contrabassoon Simon Estell* Principal Horns David Pyatt* Principal Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey
Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Charlotte Kerbegian Laura Murphy Catherine Ricketts Flutes Fiona Kelly Guest Principal Hannah Grayson Lindsey Ellis Piccolos Lindsey Ellis Hannah Grayson Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra
Cor Anglais Sue Bรถhling* Principal Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi
Clarinets Thomas Watmough Principal Chair supported by Roger Greenwood
Massimo Di Trolio Bass Clarinet Paul Richards* Principal Saxophone Martin Robertson
John Ryan* Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt
Martin Hobbs Duncan Fuller Gareth Mollison Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Philip Cobb Guest Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann
Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton
Harp Rachel Masters Principal Piano/Celeste Catherine Edwards
* Holds a professorial appointment in London Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players
The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: The Candide Trust Andrew Davenport Countess Dominique Loredan Victoria Robey OBE Bianca & Stuart Roden
David Whitehouse Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal Percussion Keith Millar Principal James Bower Karen Hutt Feargus Brennan James Larter
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 2018 our series
4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra
Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey charted the life and music of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers, and 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.
Pieter Schoeman leader
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 instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra
Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. © Benjamin Ealovega
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.
Born in South Africa, Pieter made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. Five years later he won the World Youth Concerto Competition in Michigan. Aged 17, he moved to the US to further his studies in Los Angeles and Dallas. In 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman who, after several consultations, recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chamber musician he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. At the invitation of Yannick Nézet-Séguin he has been part of the ‘Yannick and Friends’ chamber group, performing at festivals in Dortmund and Rheingau. Pieter has performed several times as a soloist with the LPO, and his live recording of Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov was released on the Orchestra’s own label to great critical acclaim. He has also recorded numerous violin solos for film and television, and led the LPO in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. In April 2016 he was Guest Leader with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for Kurt Masur’s memorial concert. He is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Pieter’s chair in the London Philharmonic Orchestra is supported by Neil Westreich.
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5
Sascha Goetzel conductor
Goetzel is the consummate showman ... [with] a fine sense of orchestral colours.
© Ozge Balkan
The Guardian
Viennese conductor Sascha Goetzel has crafted a dynamic global reputation as both a music director and guest conductor. As Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009, he has raised the ensemble to even higher artistic standards, garnering international recognition, with appearances at the Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms and Vienna Musikverein. Goetzel also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan, and previously held titles with the Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne and the Kuopio Symphony in Finland. Tonight’s concert is Sascha Goetzel’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Other guest conducting engagements in the 2018/19 season include the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. He will tour with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, including concerts at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and in Paris, and will conduct Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with the Vienna State Opera. Last season Goetzel led the NHK Symphony, Münchner Symphoniker, Brandeburgisches Staatsorchester, Teatro Communale Bologna, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Slovak National Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique et Lyrique Nancy, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Pays de la Loire, Dresden Philharmonic at the Abu Dhabi Music Festival, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Große Orchester Graz at the Stefaniensaal Graz, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Kioi Sinfonietta, National Orchestra of Belgium
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and Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with soloists including Vadim Repin, Daniel Hope, Yuja Wang, Hilary Hahn and Branford Marsalis. Sascha Goetzel is also highly regarded as an opera conductor, and has appeared at the Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Volksoper, Angers Nantes Opéra, Tiroler Landestheater, Opéra de Montpelier, Opéra de Rennes and Tokyo Nikkikai Opera Company at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. His 2014 direction of The Marriage of Figaro at the Wiener Staatsoper garnered high praise and re-invitations to conduct six more operas – Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, La traviata, La bohème, The Magic Flute and Die Fledermaus – in the coming seasons. He has conducted many famed singers in concert including Juan Diego Flórez, Renée Fleming, Roberto Alagna, Thomas Hampson, Bryn Terfel, Piotr Beczała, Bo Skovhu and Ian Bostridge. Recording on the Deutsche Grammophon and Onyx labels, Goetzel and the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic have released international award-winning albums: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto/Rococo Variations (2017); Carmen (2016); Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (2014); Music from the Machine Age (2012); and Sascha Goetzel conducts Respighi, Hindemith & Schmitt (2010).
Juan Diego Flórez tenor
For a voice of high class and high Cs by the armful, Flórez is your man.
© Kristin Hoebermann
The Financial Times
Juan Diego Flórez is one of today’s most celebrated and beloved tenors. His fluid, expressive singing and dazzling virtuosity have made him the bel canto tenor of choice for the world’s leading opera houses. His operatic and recital appearances at the most prestigious international venues have earned him the enthusiastic acclaim of critics and audiences alike. Born in Lima in 1973, Juan Diego began singing and playing Peruvian folk and pop music at an early age, later studying at Peru’s National Conservatory of Music, and eventually winning a scholarship to the renowned Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 1996 he made his professional debut at the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, stepping in at the last minute to sing the leading role of Corradino in Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran. Despite the short preparation time, his debut was a triumph, and marked the beginning of his stellar career. His singular voice and astonishing agility made him an overnight sensation and led to another debut that year, at the age of 23, in the opening of La Scala’s 1996/97 season conducted by Riccardo Muti. Since then he has made regular appearances at all major international opera houses and venues, with the world’s leading conductors. In 2007 Juan Diego Flórez made history at La Scala when he broke a decades-long ban and gave the first encore in the theatre since 1933. The aria was ‘Ah! mes amis’ from Donizetti’s La fille du régiment, known for its nine high Cs. He repeated the feat a few months later at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where no encores had been heard at the company for several years.
Juan Diego Flórez has been an exclusive Decca artist since 2001, recording numerous solo albums and complete operas on CD and DVD. He has been recognised as one of the best tenors in history by the BBC, and has received spectacular accolades and awards including Peru’s highest distinction, the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Sol, and the Austrian government’s title of Kammersänger. In 2011 Juan Diego Flórez founded ‘Sinfonía por el Perú’, an inclusive social project inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema, which establishes orchestras and choirs throughout his native country to help its most vulnerable children and teens. In recognition of his foundation, he was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2012 and received the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in 2014.
Sinfonía por el Perú: Changing lives through the power of music. Turn to page 12 to read more.
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7
Tonight’s programme
First half Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) Overture to La gazza ladra Addio ai Viennesi Bolero Vincenzo Bellini (1801–35) Overture to Norma ‘A te, o cara’, from I puritani ‘O di Capellio, generosi amici … È serbato a questo acciaro … L’amo tanto e m’è sì cara’, from I Capuleti e i Montecchi Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) Overture to La Favorita ‘Allegro io son’, from Rita ‘Tombe degli avi miei … Fra poco a me ricovero’, from Lucia di Lammermoor
INTERVAL (20 minutes) Second half Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) ‘Son fra voi! Questi plausi ... Già parmi udire il fremito’, from Oberto ‘La mia letizia infondere … Come poteva un angelo’, from I lombardi Georges Bizet (1838–75) Prelude to Carmen Charles Gounod (1818–93) Cavatina (‘Salut! Demeure chaste et pure’), from Faust Jules Massenet (1842–1912) ‘Pourquoi me réveiller’, from Werther Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut ‘Che gelida manina’, from La bohème
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Programme notes
Speedread Bel canto, translated, simply means ‘beautiful song’, but in the world of opera it refers both to a style of singing that is rooted in centuries of Italian tradition, and the music – melodious, sometimes florid, usually (but not always) Italian – that was written to celebrate it. Juan Diego Flórez is an artist with many facets, but he is, supremely, a tenor in the bel canto tradition, and he’s compiled this programme as a sort of guided tour through 19th-century bel canto at its most gloriously unbuttoned.
A
nyone fortunate enough to be invited to one of the famous musical samedi soirs at the Villa Rossini on Avenue Ingres, Paris, would not find themselves sitting down to a table groaning with extravagant delicacies. In his long retirement, Gioacchino Rossini was fastidious about his food. A simple glass of cordial or wine and a cigar would suffice him for lunch: for his dinner parties, he would shop in person, selecting fresh Italian imports of the highest quality. A shopkeeper in the Marais was astonished when the elderly maestro, offered some authentic ‘Neapolitan’ macaroni, promptly rejected it as Genoese. ‘If he knows as much about music as he does about macaroni he must write beautiful stuff’, remarked the disappointed merchant. Rossini’s tastes in singing – to the surprise of some listeners – were just as simple. When the star tenor Enrico Tamberlik paid him a visit, Rossini requested that he ‘leave his high C sharp on the coat rack. He may collect it when he leaves’. Rossini insisted that urlo francese – ‘French bawling’ – had supplanted the ancient art of bel canto, which, as he told Edmond Michotte, … is made up of three elements: 1. The instrument – the voice – the Stradivarius, if you like; 2. Technique – that is to say, the means of using it; 3. Style, the ingredients of which are taste and feeling.
So beginning at home with Italy’s ultimate composer-as-bon vivant, Gioacchino Rossini, he takes us through the dramatic worlds of Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi, before looking at their French disciples and ending with the last of the great Italian operatic masters, Giacomo Puccini. It’s a personal celebration of a glorious tradition – as well as the gleaming legato, the heartfelt edge and the spectacular power that have made Flórez, according to The Independent, ‘the best tenor in the world’.
In short: fresh ingredients, skilfully prepared. Those were the components of the musical delicacies he rustled up for his guests and later collected as Soirées Musicales (1835) or, famously, Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age) (1857–68). And they were the elements of song, in its purest form, for three further generations of Italian composers. For Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini and their French imitators, opera took its cue from the bel canto spirit. Their emphasis on melody and voice rather than the complex word-setting and increasingly integrated accompaniments of Germanic opera represented a development of a different tradition, rather than a throwback to a lost age. Though most German contemporaries could only envy the Europe-wide success of operas like Rossini’s La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) – premiered at La Scala in May 1817. The plot – based, incredibly, on a true story – involves a sweet-natured servant girl, wrongly accused of theft (The actual culprit? Well, the clue’s in the title). The spirited overture, spiced with military percussion, is a piquant hors d’oeuvre to the feast of melody ahead. The two songs Addio ai Viennesi and Bolero belong to the world of the salon. The first was written on leaving Vienna (where La gazza ladra had been a huge hit) in July 1822; the shrewd Rossini later recycled it, changing the name of the city to wherever he happened to be appearing. Bolero (1835) is simply a flavoursome musical canapé from one of those unforgettable soirées musicales. Continued overleaf London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9
Programme notes continued
Vincenzo Bellini would have recognised the impulse; the stormy psychological realism of his operas Norma (1831), I puritani (1835 – set during the English Civil War) and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830 – a retelling of Romeo and Juliet based not on Shakespeare but the original Italian sources) never precluded a flow of glorious melody. Norma is a tale of redemptive selfsacrifice set in ancient Gaul (Norma is a druid priestess) and unusually for the period, Bellini’s tempestuous overture aims to create a tragic mood rather than simply preview the score’s greatest hits. ‘Ah te, o cara’ is a pure outpouring of love from Arturo, the hero of I puritani, to his beloved Elvira: a direct masculine counterpart of Norma’s celebrated ‘Casta diva’ and a glorious example of the ‘long, long, long spun-out melodies, like nothing that had been written before’ that Verdi would so admire in Bellini’s music. In ‘O di Capellio, generosi amici’, the dashing Tebaldo (Tybalt to English-speakers) rallies the Capulets against the ‘impious, savage Romeo’. Gaetano Donizetti, meanwhile, boasted that he could write arias ‘while the rice was cooking’ but he certainly admired what he called the ‘undreamed-of beauties and treasures of sublime harmony’ in the music of ‘my
friend, or rather, my brother Bellini’ and there are few of his own 60-plus operas that don’t contain at least one bel canto jewel. He composed La Favorita for the Paris Opera in 1840. It seems to have been a rush job, though this red-blooded drama of love, death and Catholicism at the court of 14th-century Castile was such a hit that the young Richard Wagner, in urgent need of ready cash, later produced an arrangement of it for sale. The Overture colourfully sets the scene. Donizetti wrote Rita (or, The Beaten Husband) in just eight days in 1841, purely to keep himself busy between larger commissions. Its plot (the innkeeper Rita physically assaults successive spouses) probably wouldn’t seem intrinsically hilarious today, but the spirited little aria ‘Allegro io son’ is too good to lose – in it, the timid husband Peppe exults in his newfound happiness upon finding himself unexpectedly freed from his tyrannical wife . Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) is another matter – this adaptation of Sir Walter Scott’s tragic historical novel is one of the defining masterpieces of Romantic opera. ‘Tombe degli avi miei’, as the hero Edgardo contemplates suicide amidst the tombs of his ancestors, pretty much epitomises the art of the tragic bel canto tenor aria.
Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.
T
he influence of Bellini and Donizetti is easy to hear in Verdi’s Oberto (1839), the 26-yearold genius’s very first completed opera. The story was originally set in 17th-century Staffordshire, but ended up in medieval Italy, where the chivalrous Riccardo is admired by his followers, but faces vengeance at the hands of Count Oberto, whose daughter he has seduced and abandoned. In ‘Son fra voi!’ he introduces his intended bride Cuniza. In I lombardi (1843) Verdi turns a romance of the Crusades into a story of Italians banding together in a common cause. But there’s tenderness amongst the grandeur: here, in ‘La mia letizia infondere’, the Muslim Oronte has fallen in love with his Christian captive Giselda.
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Verdi, Rossini and Donizetti all worked in Paris, and with Italian operas travelling all over Europe, it’s no surprise that French opera in the second half of the 19th century is saturated with a very Italian spirit of song – as well as an eye for spectacle. The brilliant Prelude to Bizet’s Carmen (1875) immediately promises excitement – and tragedy – under a blazing Mediterranean sun; it’s strange, now, to think that Carmen was a flop at its premiere shortly before Bizet’s untimely death. Yet Charles Gounod, no less, declared it ‘all sauce and no fish’ (Rossini wasn’t the only composer to go in for culinary metaphors). Gounod could afford to be dismissive: for nearly a century, his own adaptation of Goethe’s Faust (1859) would be one of the world’s favourite operas, with arias
like ‘Salut! Demeure chaste et pure’ – Faust’s enraptured hymn to the pure-hearted Marguerite – taking their place in every star tenor’s recital repertoire. The same destiny awaited the heartbroken hero’s ‘Pourquoi me réveiller’ in Massenet’s Werther (1892). French audiences have always enjoyed Goethe when he’s sung as ardently as this. And a later Italian generation generously requited France’s love affair with bel canto – whether in Puccini’s heart-on-sleeve adaptation of Abbé Prevost’s steamy 1731 morality tale Manon Lescaut (1893), or that sweetest of all fairytales of Paris, La bohème (1896).
The penniless youngsters of Puccini’s opera would never have made it onto Rossini’s guest list; but they probably wouldn’t have minded too much. It’s Christmas Eve 1830, somewhere on the Rive Gauche. The stars are shining, the streets of the Latin Quarter are bustling with revellers, and in a freezing garret up amidst the rooftops and chimneys the aspiring poet Rodolfo has just met the equally impoverished seamstress Mimi. Her hands are almost blue with cold, and she needs to borrow a candle. Puccini’s music tells you the rest. Programme notes © Richard Bratby
NEXT CONCERTS AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL FRIDAY 5 APRIL 2019 7.30PM
Bax Tintagel Grieg Piano Concerto Sibelius Suite, Belshazzar’s Feast Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Osmo Vänskä conductor Jan Lisiecki piano ISLE OF
NOISES
WEDNESDAY 10 APRIL 2019 7.30PM
Debussy Iberia from Images Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 (Egyptian) Ravel Mother Goose Suite Debussy La mer Edward Gardner conductor Stephen Hough piano
SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2019 7.30PM
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2* Elgar Falstaff R Strauss Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Vladimir Jurowski conductor Yefim Bronfman piano ISLE OF
NOISES
* Please note a change of concerto from previously advertised.
BOOK NOW AT LPO.ORG.UK OR CALL 020 7840 4242 SEASON DISCOUNTS OF UP TO 30% AVAILABLE
London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11
Sinfonía por el Perú Changing lives through the power of music In places where crime, violence and child labour threaten to maintain a status of material and spiritual poverty in the most underprivileged areas of Peru, the power of music is bringing hope of change for the new generations. A musical instrument replaces a future weapon, teamwork replaces ganging and the pride that families feel for their children’s achievements replaces domestic violence and child labour. How is this miracle happening? Thanks to Sinfonía por el Peru, the social inclusion project that I founded in 2011 inspired by in El Sistema in Venezuela, that currently benefits more than 7000 vulnerable children and youth in 21 musical centres nationwide. In these centres children play and sing in orchestras and choirs, where they interact and develop a high self-esteem, and a set of values, habits and attitudeswhich transform them. By playing music, these children are enriched, they feel valued and appreciated, they don’t feel poor anymore. Now, they can face the world in a different way and think that nothing can stop their dreams. Sinfonía por el Peru has made a serious effort to measure the project’s real impact by means of a thorough investigation about the participants and their surroundings: children taking part in Sinfonía show more selfesteem and creativity, they perform better in school and show greater determination in carrying out their tasks. Furthermore, the children’s verbal and physical aggression towards others diminish and conviviality at a family level is greatly improved. These results fill us with pride and encourage us to go forward. We are very thankful to all people and institutions worldwide who support us in this dream. Join us to continue changing the lives of more and more children and their families, singing together a Symphony for Peru! To find out more or to donate, please visit www.sinfoniaporelperu.org Juan Diego Flórez
2019/20 Concert season at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
ON SALE NOW LPO.ORG.UK/NEWSEASON 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 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 Richard Buxton Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton Mrs Irina Gofman Countess Dominique Loredan George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley John Burgess In memory of Allner Mavis Channing 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 Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe 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 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 Andrea d’Avack Bruno De Kegel Mr John L G Deacon David Ellen Ignor & Lyuba Galkin David Goldberg Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Mr James R. D. Korner
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Rose & Dudley Leigh 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 Ms Jenny Watson CBE Grenville & Krysia Williams Christopher Williams Ed & Catherine Williams Mr Anthony Yolland 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 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 Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Patricia & Michael McLarenTurner Mr John Meloy Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Mrs Jennifer Oxley 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 Keith Bolderson 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 Mr and Mrs Gofton 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 Mr Trevor Weston 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) 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) 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 Chalk Cliff Trust The Ernest Cook Trust Diaphonique, Franco-British Fund for contemporary music The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Fidelio Charitable Trust 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 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.
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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
David Burke General Manager and Finance Director
Talia Lash Education and Community Manager
Lucas Dwyer PA to the Chief Executive/ Administrative Assistant
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 Nick Jackman 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 Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator 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
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Christina McNeill Corporate Relations Manager Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Ellie Franklin Development Assistant Georgie Gulliver Development Assistant Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate 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 Tom Wright 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. Cover artwork Ross Shaw Printer Cantate