London Philharmonic Orchestra 2 Feb 2019 concert programme

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2018/19 Concert Season

AT Southbank Centre’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 Saturday 2 February 2019 | 7.30pm

Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 (31’) Interval (20’) Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in E major (Nowak edition) (64’)

Robin Ticciati conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin

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: Pieter Schoeman 6 Robin Ticciati 7 Christian Tetzlaff 8 Programme notes 10 Recommended recordings 11 LPO Player Appeal 2018/19 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, 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

Orchestra news

LPO 2019/20 season launch Details of our 2019/20 concerts will available on our website from Monday 18 February, and booking opens on Wednesday 27 February online and via the LPO Box Office.

To take advantage of priority booking (from Monday 18 February), become a Friend of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for as little as £60 a year. Call Ellie Franklin on 020 7840 4225 or visit lpo.org.uk/friends

Spring tours: Asia and the USA Next month the Orchestra embarks on a major twoweek tour of Southeast Asia with conductor Vladimir Jurowski and violinist Julia Fischer. This tour marks our first visit to Taiwan in ten years and our first South Korean tour since 2010.

The tour begins on 3 March, when the Orchestra departs Heathrow for the South Korean capital Seoul. There and in the city of Yongin we will perform works by Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn and Strauss, before flying to Taiwan to give concerts in Taipei and Kaohsiung. We’ll then continue to China to perform at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Concert Hall in Tianjin and the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, before returning to London on 18 March.

In mid-April we jet off again, travelling to New York to give two concerts at Lincoln Center on 14 & 15 April with conductor Edward Gardner, pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and violinist James Ehnes. From there it’s just a short hop to Stamford, Connecticut where we perform the following evening (16 April) at the city’s Palace Theatre.

Follow all our touring adventures: twitter.com/lporchestra instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Kevin Lin Co-Leader Chair supported by The Candide Trust

Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Jeanie Thorpe Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Hรถhmann Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Rebecca Shorrock Georgina Leo Lasma Taimina Evin Blomberg Rasa Zukauskaite Essi Kiiski Second Violins Tania Mazzetti Principal Chair supported by Countess Dominique Loredan

Eriko Nagayama Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Ioana Forna Sioni Williams Alison Strange Emma Purslow John Dickinson

Violas Richard Waters Principal Ting-Ru Lai Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Stanislav Popov Daniel Cornford Luca Casciato Martin Wray Richard Cookson Charles Cross Julia Kornig Jonathan Welch

Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Stewart McIlwham*

David Whitehouse Charlotte Van Passen

Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall David Lale Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell Helen Rathbone Jane Lindsay Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal Hugh Kluger Laurence Lovelle Lowri Morgan Charlotte Kerbegian Nathan Knight Catherine Ricketts

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Clarinets Thomas Watmough Principal

Timpani Henry Baldwin Principal

Massimo Di Trolio

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal

Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Gareth Newman

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Horns David Pyatt* Principal

Keith Millar * Holds a professorial appointment in London

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Duncan Fuller Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison Elise Campbell Wagner Tubas John Ryan* Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Adam Howcroft Martin Hobbs Alex Wide Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Philip Cobb Anne McAneney*

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: Dr Barry Grimaldi Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

David Hilton

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

Robin Ticciati conductor

The London Philharmonic Orchestra plays with exquisite blend under Robin Ticciati’s delicate direction.

© Giorgia Bertazzi

The Times, July 2018 (Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Glyndebourne)

Robin Ticciati has been Music Director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2017 and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera since 2014.

He was Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra from 2009–18.

Recent guest conducting highlights include concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestras; the 2018/19 season sees returns to the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as well as two concerts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Christian Tetzlaff tonight at Royal Festival Hall and tomorrow at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris.

This summer Robin Ticciati will conduct the LPO in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust and Dvořák’s Rusalka at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Other opera projects include new productions of Pelléas et Mélisande and La clemenza di Tito at Glyndebourne and the BBC Proms; Peter Grimes at La Scala, Milan; The Marriage of Figaro at the Salzburg Festival; and Eugene Onegin at both the Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera.

Robin’s highly acclaimed discography includes Berlioz with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Haydn, Schumann, Berlioz and Brahms with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; and Dvořák, Bruckner and Brahms with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. His most recent recording with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin features works by Duparc and Ravel.

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Born in London, Robin Ticciati is a violinist, pianist and percussionist by training. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain when, aged 15, he turned to conducting under the guidance of Colin Davis and Simon Rattle. He was recently appointed ‘Sir Colin Davis Fellow of Conducting’ by the Royal Academy of Music.

Christian Tetzlaff violin

With Christian Tetzlaff as soloist, Sibelius’s Violin Concerto was highly charged, mercurial, quivering with vibrato and with a fiery first-movement cadenza.

© Giorgia Bertazzi

Classical Source, March 2016 (Sibelius Violin Concerto with LSO at the Barbican)

Equally at home in classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire, Christian Tetzlaff sets standards with his interpretations of the concertos by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Berg and Ligeti, and is renowned for his innovative chamber music projects and performances of Bach solo repertoire.

The 2018/19 season sees Christian Tetzlaff perform with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Munich Philharmonic, Lucerne Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic orchestras in Europe; the Detroit, New World and Toronto symphony orchestras in North America; and in Asia with the Seoul Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony orchestras, joining the latter on a tour to Vietnam. Here in the UK he returns to the London Philharmonic Orchestra for tonight’s concert at Royal Festival Hall and a reprise tomorrow evening at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, as well as to the City of Birmingham Symphony and BBC Philharmonic orchestras.

Last year saw Christian reunite with Simon Rattle to open the London Symphony Orchestra season; tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski to the Enescu Festival in Bucharest and the Musikfest Bremen; and return to Wigmore Hall for a season-long residency including a duo recital with Lars Vogt and performances with the Tetzlaff Quartet and Jörg Widmann. His regular collaboration with conductor Robin Ticciati continued with tours to Dubai with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Frankfurt, Hamburg and Essen with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; and a return to Edinburgh with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Previously an Artist in Residence with the Berlin Philharmonic, Christian’s other projects last

season included concerts with Paavo Järvi and the NHK Symphony and Lahav Shani and the Israel Philharmonic orchestra, as well as appearances with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Vladimir Jurowski), Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Juraj Valčuha), Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (Paavo Järvi), Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich (Ton Koopman), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Hannu Lintu), Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Kent Nagano), and the Pittsburgh and St Louis symphony orchestras under Manfred Honeck and David Robertson respectively.

Christan Tetzlaff’s recordings have received numerous prizes, most recently the Gramophone Classical Music Award in 2018 for his album of Bartók’s concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Other awards include the Diapason d’Or, Edison and MIDEM Classical, as well as several Grammy nominations. His discography also includes violin concertos by Dvořák, Mozart, Lalo, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Jörg Widmann.

In 2008 he gave the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Mambo, Blues and Tarantella with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, which was subsequently released on the LPO Label (LPO-0066).

He has also recorded violin sonatas by Mozart, Bartók, Schumann and Brahms; and Bach’s complete solo sonatas and partitas.

Born in Hamburg in 1966, Christian Tetzlaff studied at the Lübeck Conservatoire with Uwe-Martin Haiberg, and in Cincinnati with Walter Levin. He has been Artist in Residence with Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich and the hr-Sinfonieorchester.

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Programme notes

Speedread Sibelius’s Violin Concerto is a product of inner turmoil, composed at a time when the composer was struggling with inner demons of alcoholism and lacerating self-doubt. Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, on the other hand, is the most serene orchestral work he ever composed, an expression of his profound and enduring Roman Catholic faith and his love of nature.

The virtuosic brilliance of the Sibelius concerto is a long way from Bruckner’s warm, stable radiance. Yet the two also have much in common. Both begin with exquisite – one might say visionary – long melodies, and heart-melting lyricism is abundant in both works. There are also moments of stern grandeur,

Jean Sibelius 1865–1957

In Sibelius’s diary of 1915 there’s a sad little entry: ‘Dreamt I was twelve years old and a virtuoso.’

There had been a time when a career as a concert solo violinist had been a real possibility. Sibelius’s violin teacher at the Helsinki University, Mitrofan Vasiliev, had pronounced him a ‘genius’. But something seems to have gone disastrously wrong with Sibelius’s confidence. He thought of renouncing music altogether – ‘and living the life of an idiot, for which I’m well qualified.’ Eventually Sibelius bowed to what he believed to be the ruling of Fate – he was to be a composer, not a violinist – but not without lasting regret.

Then, at the turn of century, Sibelius met the man who was to become one of his most important friends, Axel Carpelan. Carpelan presented Sibelius with a long to-do list: he should go to Italy, should write another 8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

and in different ways both works confront issues of loss: for Bruckner (in the Seventh Symphony’s great slow movement), the death of his idol Richard Wagner; for Sibelius, his failure to make a career as a violin virtuoso. Yet from this comes music that lifts the spirits and hints of sources of strength and consolation beyond the everyday world. Sibelius admired Bruckner greatly, and found inspiration in his simple faith and love of the natural world.

So much contrast, but at the same time so much in common – these two great pieces make a near-ideal partnership.

Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 Christian Tetzlaff violin 1 Allegro moderato 2 Adagio di molto 3 Allegro, ma non tanto

symphony, music for Shakespeare’s plays, a violin concerto ... Sibelius did all these things; but one can imagine how mixed his feelings must have been when he came to tackle the Concerto. It may be significant, but the time immediately before and during Sibelius’s work on the Violin Concerto in 1904 was marked by one of his worst periods of alcoholism. The slow movement of the Concerto was apparently sketched out during an epic three-day hangover. It is unlikely he would have finished the score at all without the support of his heroically patient wife Aino. Sibelius’s brother Christian (a clinical psychiatrist), begged him to stop drinking, but Sibelius protested his own weakness: ‘When I am standing in front of a grand orchestra and have drunk a half-bottle of champagne, then I conduct like a young god. Otherwise I am nervous and tremble, feel unsure of myself, and then everything is lost. The same is true of my visits to the bank manager.’

Given all this, it is surprising how little evidence of weakness – either intellectually or spiritually – there is in the Violin Concerto. The violin writing is masterly – an indication of how thoroughly Sibelius understood his instrument, even if he couldn’t bring himself to play it in public. Some of it is ferociously difficult – even in the ‘simplified’ revised version Sibelius made in 1905 – but on the whole it presents the kind of challenges that excite rather than intimidate virtuosos. The idea of mastery extends to every dimension of the Violin Concerto. Construction is taut, emotions are powerful but not uncontrolled, the long lyrical paragraphs (like the floating, soaring violin line at the very beginning) are always beautifully shaped – they never sprawl.

There are moments, such as the impassioned second theme of the first movement, or virtually the whole

of the central Adagio di molto, where the mood is achingly nostalgic, even pained. At the same time, in the magnificent solo cadenza at the heart of the first movement, for instance, there’s a sense of struggle – could this be Sibelius grappling with his inner demons?

But the hand of the great symphonist, the master of organic logic, is always in evidence. And after the emotionally probing first and second movements comes an energetic, resolute finale, with a theme the musicologist Donald Tovey dubbed a ‘polonaise for polar bears’. The stern, stormy but unambiguously major-key ending suggests inner darkness confronted and defied – the composer very much the captain of his soul. In terms of Sibelius’s own life at the time, this may have been more fantasy than reality; but as art it’s resoundingly convincing.

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

Anton Bruckner 1824–96

The world premiere of Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony in 1884 was the big turning point in the composer’s career. The previous 16 years had been a hard lesson in patience. In 1868, the 44-year-old Bruckner had left his Upper Austrian homeland for Vienna, full of hope.

Instead he experienced rejection and mockery from the Viennese musical establishment. The first performance of the Third Symphony in 1877, by a visibly reluctant Vienna Philharmonic, was a catastrophe. The hall gradually emptied, and Bruckner was then subjected to a hideous mauling in the press. After that, few were disposed to take him seriously.

Then, in 1881, the long-delayed premiere of the Fourth under Hans Richter began to turn the tide.

Buoyed up by this, Bruckner began work on one of his

Symphony No. 7 in E major (Nowak edition) 1 2

3

4

Allegro moderato Adagio: Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam [Very solemn and slow] Scherzo: Sehr schnell [Very fast] – Trio: Etwas langsamer [Somewhat slower] Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht schnell [Lively, but not fast]

most grandly affirmative works, the choral-orchestral Te Deum, which he dedicated proudly ‘to God, for having brought me through so much anguish in Vienna’. A few months later, on 23 September, Bruckner began sketching the Seventh Symphony. Apparently its wonderful opening melody came to Bruckner in a dream: a friend from Bruckner’s younger days played the theme on a viola, with the words ‘This will bring you success.’ If this is true it was prophetic: the premiere of the Seventh Symphony – significantly, not in conservative Vienna, but in the more culturally progressive German city of Leipzig – was one of the greatest successes of Bruckner’s life. One critic wrote, ‘How is it possible that he could remain so long unknown to us?’

Continued overleaf London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

Programme notes continued

It isn’t hard to believe that the long, serenely arching first theme (cellos and violas, with horn at first) could have come straight from the unconscious – a gift of nature. As the theme is repeated by full orchestra the vision intensifies, then fades. A more melancholy second theme (oboe and clarinet) aspires to recover lost glory.

Eventually it sounds as though it might succeed, in a long crescendo over a repeated bass note, topped with brass fanfares. But this is suddenly cut off, and a more animated third theme follows: an earthy dance tune (strings in unison, with woodwind and brass support).

After this, Bruckner allows us memories of his original vision; but it is only at the end of the movement that the promise of the opening is fulfilled: the Symphony’s opening motif rises steadily through the orchestra, crescendo, over a long-held major triad. Bruckner may have had the elemental one-chord crescendo that opens Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the back of his mind, but the effect here is quite different – after all, this is a culmination, not a beginning.

It is said that Bruckner composed the Adagio in the knowledge that his idol Wagner hadn’t long to live.

There is an unmistakable note of mourning in the noble first theme, in which Bruckner uses – for the first time – a quartet of so-called ‘Wagner tubas’ (more like deep horns than tubas). Just before the lovely second theme (strings, in 3/4), hushed horn and tubas allude to Wagner’s masterpiece Tristan und Isolde, but unless this

Recommended recordings Sibelius: Violin Concerto Ida Haendel | City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Simon Rattle (Testament) or Christian Ferras | Berlin Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan (Deutsche Grammophon) Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 London Philharmonic Orchestra | Klaus Tennstedt (LPO Label LPO-0030: see right) or London Philharmonic Orchestra | Stanisław Skrowaczewski (LPO Label LPO-0071: see right)

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

is pointed out, you’d hardly notice it: the effect is pure Bruckner. In some performances the Adagio’s climax is crowned by a cymbal clash, with triangle and timpani.

(This wasn’t Bruckner’s idea, but a suggestion from two friends.) Either way, it’s a thrilling moment: a revelation of pure light, after which the tubas, joined by horns, sing a magnificent elegy, then the movement concludes in peace.

Like many of Bruckner’s earlier scherzos, the Scherzo of the Seventh Symphony reveals its rustic roots at almost every turn. (Bruckner often played in country dancebands in his youth.) There are strong echoes of the Austrian Ländler, country cousin of the sophisticated Viennese waltz. But there is an obsessive, elemental drive here. The central Trio is much gentler, more songful, after which the Scherzo is repeated. Then comes the finale – unusually for Bruckner it’s the lightest (and in most performances, the shortest) of the four movements. Again there are three themes: a dancing, dotted theme (violins); a solemn chorale on violins and violas above a ‘walking’ pizzicato bass; and a jagged version of the first theme for full orchestra in unison. Excitement builds towards the end, until at last Bruckner reveals that the finale’s dancing first theme is simply the Symphony’s serene opening motif in disguise: we have travelled full circle.

Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

Symphony No. 7 on the LPO Label

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7

Bruckner: Symphony No. 7

Klaus Tennstedt conductor LPO–0030 | £9.99

Stanisław Skrowaczewski conductor LPO–0071 | £9.99

CDs available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop. Download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music and others.

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This feels incredibly relevant when working with the LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts and Young Composers.

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Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor)

Javier Perianes’s Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle is generously supported by an anonymous donor.

ISLE OF

NOISES

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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

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 Richard Buxton Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley John Burgess 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 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 Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Mr James R. D. Korner

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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 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 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 Ms Jenny Watson CBE 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 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

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 & Projects Manager Grace Ko Tours Manager Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant

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

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director

Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians

Mairi Warren Marketing Manager

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.

Christopher Alderton Stage Manager

Megan Macarte Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242)

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

Damian Davis Transport Manager

Rachel Williams Publications Manager

Hannah Verkerk Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator

Cover artwork Ross Shaw Printer Cantate

Rachel Smith Website Manager

Laura Kitson Assistant Transport & Stage Manager

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Greg Felton Digital Creative Alexandra Lloyd Marketing Co-ordinator Tom Wright Marketing Assistant