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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 5 December 2018 | 7.30pm

Weber Overture, Der Freischütz (10’) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (34’) Interval (20’) Bruckner Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1877 revised version) (61’)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Alena Baeva 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 Recommended recordings 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Vladimir Jurowski 7 Alena Baeva 8 Programme notes 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, 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

Christmas gifts from the LPO Searching for the perfect Christmas present for the music lover in your life? Look no further. With more than 100 CD releases on the LPO label, tickets for concerts in London, Eastbourne or Brighton, gift vouchers and memberships, there’s something for everyone. Share the joy of music and make it a Christmas to remember. Visit lpo.org.uk/gifts to explore the full collection, or call the LPO Ticket Office on 020 7840 4242. The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall The London Philharmonic Orchestra has long been renowned for its prowess in the opera pit at Glyndebourne, but this Christmas we’ll be branching out into ballet. The Orchestra has been invited to accompany Tchaikovsky’s festive favourite The Nutcracker, with Birmingham Royal Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall from 28–31 December. For more information and booking visit royalalberthall.com or call the Royal Albert Hall Box Office on 020 7589 8212.

We look forward to seeing you again soon. A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment:

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

Many of our recommended recordings, where available, are on sale this evening at the Foyles stand in the Royal Festival Hall foyer.

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 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

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Weber: Overture, Der Freischütz Philharmonia Orchestra | Neeme Järvi (Chandos) or The Hanover Band | Roy Goodman (Nimbus) Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto Augustin Hadelich | London Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko (LPO Label, LPO-0094) or Jascha Heifetz | London Philharmonic Orchestra John Barbirolli (Strings Records) Bruckner: Symphony No. 2 Vienna Symphony Orchestra | Carlo Maria Giulini (Testament)

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Kevin Lin Co-Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Martin Hรถhmann Robert Pool Yang Zhang Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Lasma Taimina Evin Blomberg Eleanor Bartlett Nilufar Alimaksumova Morane Cohen-Lamberger Essi Kiiski Kana Kawashima Miranda Allen Second Violins Tania Mazzetti Principal Chair supported by Countess Dominique Loredan

Helena Smart Kate Birchall Nancy Elan Fiona Higham

Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Joseph Maher Marie-Anne Mairesse Ashley Stevens Csilla Pogรกny Sioni Williams Robin Wilson Georgina Leo Sarah Thornett Sheila Law

Violas David Quiggle Principal Ting-Ru Lai Katharine Leek Susanne Martens Benedetto Pollani Stanislav Popov Isabel Pereira Martin Wray Richard Cookson Luca Casciato Charles Cross Julia Kornig

Flutes Sue Thomas* Principal

Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-Principal Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue David Lale Elisabeth Wiklander Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Helen Rathbone George Hoult Sibylle Hentschel Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Tom Walley Laurence Lovelle Lowri Morgan Emre Erล ahin

Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Christopher Hart Guest Principal Anne McAneney*

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Hannah Grayson Stewart McIlwham* Ian Mullin

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal

Sue Bรถhling*

David Whitehouse

James Hulme

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Clarinets James Burke Guest Principal Thomas Watmough

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Assistant Conductor Tim Murray

Paul Richards* Emma Burgess Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Gareth Newman Simon Estell* Emma Harding Horns David Pyatt* Principal

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

John Ryan* Principal

Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison

* 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: Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

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.

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

Vladimir Jurowski Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor

Ten years of Vladimir Jurowski in London have brought a non-stop journey of discovery. As the London Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates his decade as music director, it can look back on a period of unrivalled adventure, taking audiences to places other orchestras never reach. Richard Fairman, Financial Times, 30 November 2017

Vladimir Jurowski was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, becoming Principal Conductor in 2007: last season we celebrated the tenth anniversary of this extraordinary partnership.

The Cleveland Orchestra; the Boston, San Francisco and Chicago symphony orchestras; and the TonhalleOrchester Zürich, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden and Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed worldwide for his incisive musicianship and adventurous artistic commitment, Vladimir Jurowski was born in Moscow and studied at the Music Academies of Dresden and Berlin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night, and the same year saw his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Nabucco.

His opera engagements have included Rigoletto, Jenůfa, The Queen of Spades, Hansel and Gretel and Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Parsifal and Wozzeck at Welsh National Opera; War and Peace at the Opéra National de Paris; Eugene Onegin at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan; Ruslan and Ludmila at the Bolshoi Theatre; Salome with the State Academic Symphony of Russia; Moses und Aron at the Komische Oper Berlin; Iolanta and Die Teufel von Loudun at Semperoper Dresden, and numerous operas at Glyndebourne including Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff, Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, The Cunning Little Vixen, Peter Eötvös’s Love and Other Demons, and Ariadne auf Naxos. In 2017 he made an acclaimed Salzburg Festival debut with Wozzeck and his first return to Glyndebourne as a guest conductor, in the world premiere production of Brett Dean’s Hamlet with the LPO.

In 2021 Vladimir will take up the position of Music Director at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. In 2017 he became Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition he holds the titles of Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Artistic Director of the Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the George Enescu International Festival, Bucharest. He has previously held the positions of First Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin (1997–2001), Principal Guest Conductor of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (2000–03), Principal Guest Conductor of the Russian National Orchestra (2005–09), and Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera (2001–13). Vladimir is a regular guest with many leading orchestras in both Europe and North America, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome; the New York Philharmonic; The Philadelphia Orchestra;

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The London Philharmonic Orchestra has released a wide selection of Vladimir Jurowski’s live recordings with the Orchestra on its own label, including Brahms’s complete symphonies; Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2; and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 and Symphonic Dances. Autumn 2017 saw the release of a sevendisc set of Tchaikovsky’s complete symphonies under Jurowski (LPO-0101), and a special anniversary sevendisc set of his previously unreleased recordings with the LPO spanning the symphonic, choral and contemporary genres (LPO-1010). Visit lpo.org.uk/recordings to find out more.

Alena Baeva violin

A magnetic presence … Baeva’s strength and fire make a masterpiece.

New York Classical Review

A protégée of Mstislav Rostropovich and Seiji Ozawa, Alena Baeva is fast emerging as one of the finest violinists of her generation. Winner of the Grand Prix and other special prizes at the Wieniawski (2001), Moscow Paganini (2004) and Sendai (2007) international violin competitions, Alena has already carved out an impressive career to date, and works regularly with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. Tonight is her debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Alena holds an already vast and rapidly expanding repertoire including over 40 concertos, and is a champion of lesser-known works – with recent performances promoting concertos by such neglected composers as Bacewicz, Karaev and Karłowicz. Her extensive discography reflects the impressive breadth of her repertoire, with recordings spanning from Bruch and Shostakovich, to Szymanowski, Debussy, Poulenc and Prokofiev. Born in 1985 to a musical family in Kazakhstan, Alena took her first violin lessons at the age of five. From 1995 she studied at the Central School of Music, Moscow, and from 2002–07 at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire. In addition to her formal education, Alena studied in France at the personal invitation of Mstislav Rostropovich in 2003, and began attending Seiji Ozawa’s Academy in Switzerland in 2007. Aged 16, Alena won the Grand Prix at the 12th International Henryk Wieniawski Competition (2001), as well as the Prize for Best Performance of a Contemporary Work. She went on to take the Grand Prix at the Moscow International Niccolò Paganini Competition (2004), including a Special Prize allowing

her to perform on the 1723 Wieniawski Stradivari for one year, and was also awarded both the Gold Medal and the Audience Prize at the Sendai International Violin Competition (2007). Alena Baeva enjoys longstanding collaborations with Vladimir Jurowski and Valery Gergiev. Her performance of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 2 features as part of the Mariinsky Theatre/Gergiev box-set DVD collection released by Arthaus Musik in 2015. Other conductor collaborations to date include Vladimir Fedoseyev, Pablo Heras-Casado, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sakari Oramo and Kazuki Yamada, and chamber music partnerships have featured such esteemed musicians as Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Steven Isserlis, Nikolai Lugansky and Mischa Maisky. Baeva’s regular sonata partner is pianist Vadym Kholodenko, with whom she has established a musical partnership of more than a decade. Recent and forthcoming concerto highlights include the Düsseldorf Symphony/Alexander Bloch, Netherlands Philharmonic/Karl-Heinz Steffens, NHK Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ Grzegorz Nowak, and Tonkünstler Orchester/Michał Nesterowicz. Alena enjoys a particularly strong profile in Russia, working regularly with the leading orchestras, including the Mariinsky Orchestra, MusicaÆterna, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia ‘Evgeny Svetlanov’ (GASO) and the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others. Alena Baeva plays on the ex-William Kroll Guarneri del Gesù of 1738, on generous loan from an anonymous patron.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread ‘Long and pretentious’: Eduard Hanslick’s rather uncharitable assessment of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto might just as well have applied to Bruckner’s Second Symphony, its score a long chain of thwarted climaxes and sprawling ideas. But just like Hanslick, Bruckner’s early detractors have been proved wrong too. Tchaikovsky’s fiery Violin Concerto is now one of the cornerstones of the repertoire, and Bruckner’s rather more measured symphony is now celebrated as one of the most significant turning points in the Western symphonic tradition. This was a new era for the symphony, an age that saw the

Carl Maria von Weber

symphonic canvas expand to hitherto unimagined proportions. In Bruckner’s hands, its pace was slowed, its movements broadened, the dynamism of the Beethovenian model exchanged for something more spacious and fluid. This is a Wagnerian version of the symphony – the symphony Wagner (Bruckner’s idol) never managed to write. Fifty years on from the first truly ‘German’ opera, Weber’s Der Freischütz, Bruckner demonstrated that even in an abstract symphonic landscape, the storytelling could be as colourful and as powerful as anything composed for the stage.

Overture, Der Freischütz

1786–1826

When Weber unveiled his seventh opera, Der Freischütz, to a startled Berlin audience in June 1821, his fortunes transformed overnight. ‘Weber must now write operas, nothing but operas’, Beethoven wrote, proclaiming the work an unmitigated triumph. Weber had spent much of his early career in or around the opera house, but none of his operas before Der Freischütz had quite hit the mark. This was an era when Italian opera held the public enthralled, and the German Singspiel – although elevated by Beethoven with Fidelio (1805) – had not yet been able to make the same impression. With Der Freischütz, and with Euryanthe and Oberon in the years that followed, Weber at last found a way of combining the thrill of Italianate models and the gloss of French romanticism with a spirit that was defiantly German, its themes strongly rooted in the German folk tradition. The story of Der Freischütz (literally ‘The Free Shooter’ or ‘The Marksman’) is adapted from a traditional German

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legend, in which a hunter, Kaspar, sells his soul to the Devil in return for seven silver bullets which never fail to hit their mark. When the Prince sets his loyal assistant, Max, a shooting test to win his daughter’s hand in marriage, Kaspar takes Max on and with the help of the silver bullets looks set to triumph. But the heavens intervene, the final bullet is deflected and Kaspar is killed, leaving Max to claim the Prince’s daughter for his own. The Overture, in Weber’s words, depicts the opera’s two opposing forces: ‘the life of the hunter and the rule of demonic powers’. Instead of a glittering curtain-raiser this makes for a rather darker opener, the ominous swell of the lower strings punctuated by moments of eerie silence, the overture initially faltering and uncertain. This gives way to the sunny call of the hunter – a glorious pastoral horn quartet – but this too is cut off, all too soon, by the return to the portentous ripple of the strings. What follows would not sound out of place in Wagner’s early

works: a thrilling exploration of good versus evil, major versus minor, its vivid storytelling rendered in full colour through Weber’s astonishing orchestration.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93

In June 1877, Tchaikovsky made one of the rashest decisions of his life: he proposed to Antonia Miliukova, a woman with whom he admitted he was ‘not the least in love’. Their marriage was unsurprisingly short-lived and, just a few weeks later, Tchaikovsky left. Keen to make a clean break with his disastrous attempt at traditional domesticity, he set off for Europe, where he spent most of the next year travelling and composing, all the while receiving the support of his patron and confidante, Nadezhda von Meck. ‘My heart is full’, he wrote to her, ‘it thirsts to pour itself out in music.’ Tchaikovsky was true to his word: his Fourth Symphony was completed in January, his opera Eugene Onegin a month later. By March he had settled in Clarens, on the banks of Lake Geneva, where he was visited by one of his former pupils, the violinist Joseph Kotek. AlthoughTchaikovsky was at pains to hide his homosexuality from the public – one of the reasons, it seems, behind his abrupt decision to marry – his letters do little to hide the extent of his feelings towards Kotek. ‘I love him very, very much’, he wrote to his brother, Anatoly. ‘He has the kindest and most tender of hearts.’ So it was, with the dark cloud of his marriage beginning to lift, that Tchaikovsky composed his Violin Concerto. While Kotek was integral to the Concerto’s composition (‘It goes without saying that I would have been able to do nothing without him’, he confided to Anatoly), he was not the work’s dedicatee. That honour went to Leopold Auer, who – in a move that scarred Tchaikovsky for many years

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Alena Baeva violin 1 Allegro moderato 2 Canzonetta: Andante 3 Finale: Allegro vivacissimo

– refused to give the Concerto its premiere, claiming that it was ‘unplayable’. It would be another three years before, in 1878, the work was finally premiered in Vienna with Adolph Brodsky as the soloist. The reviews were less than favourable: Eduard Hanslick called it ‘long and pretentious’, adding that ‘the violin is no longer played, but rent asunder, beaten black and blue’. The features that Hanslick found so distasteful – its longwinded lyricism and fiery virtuosity – are precisely what has made the Concerto so popular with audiences and cemented its place in the repertoire over the past 150 years. Most of the acrobatics are packed into the dazzling first movement, its form cleaved in two by an expansive cadenza that leads to even more challenging, stratospheric writing in the second half – passages that can easily be overplayed if not treated with caution. The Canzonetta was Tchaikovsky’s second attempt at a slow movement (his first was published separately as the Souvenir d’un lieu cher), its wistful and melancholic melodic writing so clearly heartfelt that it almost won Hanslick over. But his objections were reaffirmed by the wild drama of the finale, an adrenaline-fuelled Allegro packed with Russian folk themes that culminates in a thrilling double-stopped exchange between soloist and orchestra. Auer, for his part, later conceded that the Concerto was not ‘unplayable’, just ‘difficult’, adding ‘it is impossible to please everybody.’

Interval – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval. London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

Programme notes continued

Anton Bruckner 1824–96

Much like his symphonies, Bruckner’s career was long and rather slow to get going. He was 44 years old before he unveiled his First Symphony to the Viennese public, and it would be another six years before he composed his Second. Even then, these were preceded by a number of false starts – his so-called Studiensymphonie (‘study symphony’) in F minor (1863) and the Symphony in D minor (1869) having been erased from his catalogue because, according to Bruckner, they ‘did not count’. Part of the Bruckner Problem, as it has since become known, was his tendency for revisions. A diligent student but one plagued by self-doubt, Bruckner was all too eager to take on board the (often well-meaning) criticism from friends and colleagues, resulting in reams of alterations to otherwise ‘finished’ works. The First Symphony was revised at least three times over the course of Bruckner’s lifetime, with even the version performed at its 1868 premiere altered from the score he had completed two years earlier. The story of the Second Symphony is little different. Its score was ‘finished’ in 1872 but before the Symphony could be premiered the following year he made a series of substantial revisions – some resulting in little more than a change of orchestration, others seeing whole sections being replaced by new ones. After conducting yet another amended version in 1876 Bruckner went back to the drawing board once more, this time excising a huge chunk of the slow movement (whose horn solo had been judged too difficult), dropping some of the new material he had added to the finale before the 1873 premiere and swapping around the placement of the second and third movements. While Bruckner considered the reworkings worthwhile, no one would accept his offer of dedication in the score – Liszt, Wagner and even the Vienna Philharmonic (who gave the work its first outing) all refused the chance to become the Symphony’s dedicatee.

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Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1877 revised version) 1 Moderato 2 Andante 3 Scherzo: Mäßig schnell — Trio: Gleiches Tempo 4 Finale: Ziemlich schnell

What appears to have irked them is its somewhat unorthodox form. The Second Symphony is a work demanding patience and persistence, its ideas conceived on the grandest of scales and worked out over huge expanses of score. Those searching for vigour and immediacy may be disappointed – this is a work of pregnant pauses, of inexorable unfolding and long, drawn out climaxes that duck out of view just as they seem to be glimmering on the horizon. But it is also one of the earliest examples of Bruckner’s mastery of symphonic form, his deft handling of large-scale planning balanced by his care for the most intricate motivic details. Like Wagner – one of his greatest influences – Bruckner repeats isolated motifs almost to the point of exhaustion, such that time can appear to stand still, the music apparently stalling even at moments of climax. The sudden silence in the transition between the first and second themes in the opening Allegro is a case in point. And yet, although in both the opening and closing movements, Bruckner breaks off into silence just as the music appears to be reaching a breakthrough (not for nothing is it often called his ‘Symphony of Pauses’), in the slow movement he takes a different approach. Here, every peak turns out to be a false summit, the view ever more spectacular as we round each bend. This is Bruckner’s greatest gift to the symphonic tradition – the gift of pacing – our patience as listeners rewarded by climaxes that shine all the brighter for having been so very hard won. Programme notes © Jo Kirkbride

Player Appeal 2018/19 Be instrumental to our future

At the London Philharmonic Orchestra we believe that together we are greater than the sum of our parts. Players, supporters, staff and audience members; this is your LPO and you’re the LPO. We want you to stand with us as we show and share with the world our rare and special passion for the timeless art of orchestral music.

With your support ...

we can invest in talent development

we can maintain our great opera heritage

This feels incredibly relevant when working with the LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts and Young Composers. Performing side-by-side with young players, playing the music of new composers is crucial. Through my work with the LPO Junior Artists, musicians from currently underrepresented backgrounds, I see incredible talent in those young people. With your support we can help them navigate their journeys.

The players develop a real sense of camaraderie in the pit at Glyndebourne – how could we not when we’re that squashed in!? By contrast, being able to see and interact with singers when we do something like the Ring Cycle at Royal Festival Hall makes for an incredibly exciting experience and brings opera to a wider audience. Please give your support to help us maintain this incredible strand of opera in concert.

Kevin Lin, Co-Leader

Juliette Bausor, Principal Flute

we can take risks as we explore adventurous works

we can share the power and wonder of orchestral music with the As an LPO player you never wider world sit for long with the same set of notes. It’s a great challenge. We have to raise our game constantly. The demanding and exciting repertoire that you may associate with the LPO helps its players develop but also keeps our audiences on their toes and experiencing new things. With your support we can continue sharing these experiences. Thomas Watmough, Principal E-flat Clarinet

I’ve played with the LPO in London, Eastbourne, Glyndebourne, Brighton and all over the world – it’s a thrilling ride! Performing around the UK and the world, concert experiences are always different – that’s what makes it exciting. Please help us ensure that we can continue creating special, shared experiences throughout the UK and around the world.

Elisabeth Wiklander, Cello

We are asking you to be instrumental in our future and in our ability to continue doing all that you know us for. Donate online at lpo.org.uk/donate or call our Individual Giving Team on 020 7840 4212 or 020 7840 4225 to make a donation by credit or debit card.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

GET

closer

next lpo concerts

AT Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

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.

wednesday 16 january 2019 7.30pm

Arne Gieshoff Burr (world premiere)** Erkki-Sven Tüür Solastalgia for piccolo and orchestra (UK premiere)† Helen Grime Percussion Concerto (world premiere)†† Louis Andriessen Agamemnon (European premiere)

Anders Hillborg Sound Atlas (world premiere)‡ Marin Alsop conductor Stewart McIlwham piccolo Colin Currie percussion Concert generously supported by Dior.

sunday 27 january 2019 4.00pm please note start time Wagner Die Walküre

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Stuart Skelton Siegmund Evgeny Nikitin Wotan* Ruxandra Donose Sieglinde* For full cast visit lpo.org.uk * Please note a change of artists from previously advertised. Sung in German with English surtitles. Generously supported by members of the Orchestra’s Ring Cycle Syndicate. Make this an afternoon to remember. Join us for a champagne Taittinger interval reception with the opportunity to meet the soloists and musicians after the concert. Visit lpo.org.uk/walkure to find out more.

** Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra following Arne Gieshoff’s participation in the LPO Young Composers programme. † Commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, St. Louis Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestra. †† Commissioned by Southbank Centre, London, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Chamber Orchestra. ‡ Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Göteborgs Symfoniker.

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

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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 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

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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.

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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

Public Relations Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Talia Lash Education and Community Manager