Issuu

ISLE OF

y– December r a 20 u n

NOISES Landmark classics inspired by the British Isles 1689 – 2019

Concert programme

lpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI Principal Conductor Designate EDWARD GARDNER Leader PIETER SCHOEMAN supported by Neil Westreich Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Saturday 5 October 2019 | 7.30pm

Sibelius The Oceanides, Op. 73 (10’) Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 (26’) Interval (20’) Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10 (27’) Sibelius Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104 (27’)

Susanna Mälkki conductor Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello Tonight’s concert is generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE and dedicated to the memory of David Fuller.

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

ISLE OF

NOISES Contents 2 Welcome 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman 6 Susanna Mälkki 7 Sheku Kanneh-Mason 8 Programme notes 11 Recommended recordings 12 Sibelius on the LPO Label 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:

elcome to this evening’s London Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. Tonight we continue our year-long series Isle of Noises, celebrating music from the British Isles. In this evening’s concert two visions of nature from British masters Elgar and Britten are framed by two beautiful and intensely contrasted masterworks by Sibelius. Making his highly-anticipated debut with the Orchestra tonight, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto, is cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of the brightest young stars on the classical music scene. Winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician, Sheku became a household name in May 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle. We are delighted to welcome both him and tonight’s conductor Susanna Mälkki to the Royal Festival Hall stage this evening. Tonight’s concert is dedicated to the memory of David Fuller, a longstanding and generous supporter of the Orchestra who passed away earlier this year. We hope you enjoy this evening’s concert and that you can join us again at the LPO soon. For full details of all our concerts, pick up a season brochure in the foyer this evening or visit lpo.org.uk.

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 Autumn 2019 edition of our free LPO magazine, Tune In. 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

Introducing LPO Plus: our new loyalty scheme LPO Plus is the new online reward scheme from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. As a member of LPO Plus, you’ll be rewarded with points every time you book tickets or buy CDs online at lpo.org.uk. These points will be worth at least 10% of the order you’re making and can then be redeemed on future orders. For more details and to join LPO Plus, visit lpo.org.uk/lpoplus

On stage tonight

First Violins Pieter Schoeman* Leader Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Mai Tategami Katalin Varnagy Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Thomas Eisner Chair supported by the Chiltern Friends of the LPO

Martin Hรถhmann Robert Pool Sarah Streatfeild Yang Zhang Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Amanda Smith Georgina Leo Lasma Taimina Eleanor Bartlett Non Peters Robert Yeoman 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 Sioni Williams Mathilde Gheorgiu Ioana Forna Kalliopi Mitropoulou

Violas David Quiggle Principal Richard Waters Co-Principal Ting-Ru Lai Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani Naomi Holt Julia Kornig Georgina Payne Rachel Benjamin Marie De Bry Ilona Bondar James Heron Cellos Kristina Blaumane Principal Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

David Lale Francis Bucknall Laura Donoghue Gregory Walmsley Elisabeth Wiklander Tom Roff Helen Rathbone Sibylle Hentschel Iain Ward Double Basses Kevin Rundell* Principal Sebastian Pennar Co-Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Tom Walley Charlotte Kerbegian Laura Murphy Dominic Dudley

Flutes Juliette Bausor Principal Sue Thomas*

Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal Chair supported by Donors to the 2019 Gala Player Appeal

Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

James Fountain Guest Principal Anne McAneney*

Stewart McIlwham* Piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Oboes Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal Benny Vernon Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

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

Clarinets Benjamin Mellefont Principal

Timpani Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Charys Green

Henry Baldwin

Bass Clarinet Paul Richards* Principal

Percussion Andrew Barclay* Principal

Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Gareth Newman Contrabassoon Simon Estell* Principal Horns Mark Vines Principal Duncan Fuller Gareth Mollison Alex Wide

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Harps Tamara Young Guest Principal Rachel Wick

* 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 Gill & Garf Collins Roger Greenwood

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London Philharmonic Orchestra

The performance was as good as could be … the LPO was beautifully poised and utterly perfect. Alan Sanders, Seen and Heard International (LPO at Royal Festival Hall, 6 October 2018: Beethoven and Stravinsky)

One of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with its reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles. As well as its concert performances, the Orchestra also records film soundtracks, releases CDs and downloads on its own label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and local communities. The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and has since been headed by many great conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2017 Vladimir Jurowski celebrated his tenth anniversary as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. Edward Gardner is currently Principal Conductor Designate, and will take up the position when Jurowski’s tenure concludes in September 2021. 4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Throughout the rest of 2019 we celebrate the music of Britain in our festival Isle of Noises, exploring music from and inspired by the British Isles, from Purcell to the present day. 2020 will see a new series entitled 2020 Vision, which features some of the most exciting works written since 2000, each combined in concert with pieces composed exactly 100 and 200 years earlier. The London Philharmonic Orchestra enjoys flourishing residencies in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and performs regularly around the UK. Every summer, the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sellout audiences worldwide.

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. We recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Education and Community department, whose work over three decades has introduced so many people of all ages to orchestral music and created opportunities for people of all backgrounds to fulfil their creative potential. Our dynamic and wide-ranging programme provides first musical experiences for children and families; offers creative projects and professional development opportunities for schools and teachers; inspires talented teenage instrumentalists to progress their skills; and develops the next generation of professional musicians. The Orchestra’s work at the forefront of digital technology has enabled it to reach millions of people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download and stream and, as well as a YouTube channel and podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on social media. 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 many blockbuster film scores, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 100 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 under the late Kurt Masur, and a film music disc under Dirk Brossé.

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.

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Susanna Mälkki conductor

She is unmatched for podium presence, projecting an assured authority that has an uncanny, almost mesmerising effect.

New York Classical Review

Susanna Mälkki is one of today’s most sought-after conductors, whose versatility and broad repertoire have taken her to symphony and chamber orchestras, contemporary music ensembles and opera houses around the world. She continues to guest-conduct at the very highest level, with 2019/20 appearances including return visits to the New York Philharmonic; The Cleveland Orchestra; The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic and London Symphony orchestras; and the Munich Philharmonic and the Orchestre national de Lyon. This season she also makes debuts with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. Recent engagements include the Vienna Symphony and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (as a Wiener Konzerthaus ‘Portrait’ artist), the hrSinfonieorchester, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. 2019/20 marks Susanna Mälkki’s fourth season as Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, with highlights this season including premieres by leading national composers Kaija Saariaho and Lotta Wennäkoski, and a new work by Felipe Lara. As part of her third season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Susanna pays tribute to the late Oliver Knussen, programming his Violin Concerto and co-curating (with Leila Josefowicz) a New Music Group concert centred around his chamber music; she also conducts Holst’s The Planets, Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite and a new composition by Saariaho. Susanna Mälkki was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra (2013–17) and Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (2006–13).

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Also a renowned opera conductor, Susanna Mälkki makes her debut at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in 2020, conducting the world premiere of Saariaho’s opera Innocence. She also returns to the Opéra national de Paris to conduct Philippe Boesmans’s Yvonne, princesse de Bourgogne; past engagements there include Dvořák’s Rusalka (2019) and the world premiere of Luca Francesconi’s Trompe-la-Mort (2017). In 2018 she made her debut at the Wiener Staatsoper with Gottfried von Einem’s Dantons Tod, directed by Josef Ernst Köpplinger; December 2016 marked her debut at the Metropolitan Opera for its premiere of Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin directed by Robert Lepage. Susanna previously collaborated with Francesconi on his opera Quartett, and was the first woman to conduct a production at Teatro alla Scala, Milan (2011), later returning in 2014. Other past opera highlights include Der Rosenkavalier and The Marriage of Figaro at the Finnish National Opera, and her debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg conducting a revival of Jenůfa. A former student of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Susanna Mälkki studied with Jorma Panula and Leif Segerstam. Prior to her conducting studies she had a successful career as a cellist, and from 1995–98 was one of the principals of the Gothenburg Symphony. In 2010 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London, and she is also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 2011 she was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland – one of Finland’s highest honours – and in 2016 was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in France. In October 2016 she was named Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year, and in November 2017 she was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello

Sheku Kanneh-Mason is just what classical music needs.

The Guardian

One of the brightest young stars on the classical music scene, Sheku Kanneh-Mason became a household name in May 2018 after performing at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle. His performance was greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally. Winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, Sheku is in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. In January 2018 his debut recording for Decca Classics, Inspiration, was released, featuring Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. The phenomenal success of the album propelled Sheku to No. 18 in the Official UK Album Charts, and No. 1 in the Classical Chart. Alongside short works by Shostakovich, Offenbach, Casals and SaintSaëns, Sheku’s own arrangement of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’ was also featured on the album, and clocked a million streams in its first month on Spotify alone. Tonight’s concert is Sheku’s debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; this season will also see debuts with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, among others. In 2017 Sheku made his BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall as soloist with Chineke! Orchestra, an ensemble with whom he enjoys a special relationship, having taken part in their debut concert at Royal Festival Hall in 2015 and returned as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in 2016. He returned to the BBC Proms in 2019 to perform the Elgar Concerto. Sheku is passionate about the importance of making classical music accessible to all, and is currently the first London Music Masters Junior Ambassador. In 2018 he

also began a two-year role as Young Artist in Residence at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2018 Sheku performed at the BAFTA Awards show at the Royal Albert Hall. He was joined on stage by four of his six siblings, all of whom perform classical music to an exceptional standard. This was the first time any artist has been invited to perform in the ceremony two years running, and followed his memorable performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ at the 2017 BAFTAs, the subsequent recording going viral on YouTube. In 2017 Sheku was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award, given by the judges to the most promising young artist across all genres, following recent winners Billie Piper and Stormzy. In June 2018 he received the Male Artist of the Year and Critics’ Choice awards at the Classic BRIT Awards, and in July 2018 he became the first artist to receive the new BRIT Certified Breakthrough Award. Sheku is currently a full-time ABRSM Scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Hannah Roberts. He began learning the cello at the age of six with Sarah Huson-Whyte and then studied with Ben Davies at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music, where he held an ABRSM Junior Scholarship. A keen chamber musician, Sheku performs with his sister Isata and brother Braimah as a member of the Kanneh-Mason Trio. Sheku Kanneh-Mason appears by arrangement with Enticott Music Management. Sheku Kanneh-Mason records exclusively for Decca Classics. He plays an Antonius and Hieronymus Amati cello c.1610, kindly on loan from a private collection.

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Programme notes

Speedread Two beautiful and intensely contrasted masterworks by Sibelius frame this concert. The Oceanides is a vividly atmospheric portrait of a vast ocean, its moods ranging from sparkling delicacy to aweinspiring elemental drama. At the other extreme is the Sixth Symphony: less heroic, less ardent, more intimate than the popular Second, Fifth and Seventh, but every bit as beautiful and original. Sibelius’s sketches suggest he thought of calling it ‘Winter’ – if so, it’s a reminder that winter has its own magic and serenity. Elgar was on the threshold of a creative winter when he wrote his Cello Concerto, and its mood can

Jean Sibelius

be poignantly elegiac. Yet there’s so much else as well: playfulness, warmth, bluff humour, and Elgar’s feeling for the soul of the cello is exceptional, as though he had entered the instrument and spoken his most private thoughts through it. Benjamin Britten was just at the beginning of his brilliant international career when he wrote his Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. On one level it’s a stunning demonstration of compositional virtuosity by a uniquely gifted young composer; on another it’s a deeply touching tribute to the teacher from whom Britten learned so much, and a kaleidoscopic foretaste of masterpieces to come.

The Oceanides, Op. 73

1865–1957

The Oceanides is one of Sibelius’s most powerful and atmospheric tone-poems, and one of the most vivid evocations of the sea in music. Sibelius composed it in 1914 for performance at the Music Festival at Norfolk, Connecticut. By the end of March the score was ready to send to America. But soon afterwards Sibelius began work on a radically new version of the piece – effectively a complete re-composition based on some of the old ideas. Sibelius was still working on the revision during the voyage, and there were further corrections after he arrived in America. True or not, it’s tempting to infer that the experience changed the character of the music. Before it, Sibelius had never experienced the full power of a vast ocean. The Baltic Sea, which he knew well, is virtually landlocked, tideless and on the whole relatively well behaved. The conductor Osmo Vänskä, who conducted the premiere of the original version,

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has aptly described it as ‘more like a large lake than a mighty ocean’. The revised score, performed here, is a very different matter. The Oceanides begins with a wonderful musical impression of slowly clearing mists (muted violins) above a gently swelling sea (two sets of timpani), from which the unmistakable cries of seabirds emerge on flutes. Harps and undulating strings – and, later, glockenspiel – present a calm, sometimes sparkling surface, but there are suggestions of huge forces at work in the depths. Gradually the string writing becomes more agitated as elemental chord progressions mount slowly on brass and timpani. These lead to an immense, stormy climax which breaks like a great wave; then we are left with more woodwind bird-calls, and a now uneasy stillness.

Edward Elgar 1857–1934

The Cello Concerto (1918–19) was the last major work Elgar completed. The following year, his wife Alice died, and without her support and encouragement Elgar fell into near-creative silence for the best part of a decade. Yet already the music seems to be haunted by a sense of something either lost or about to be lost. Like many of his contemporaries, Elgar had come to realise that the catastrophe of the First World War had brought to an end what he had called the ‘glad confident morning’ of the Edwardian era, the age that had seen his rise from provincial obscurity to international fame. Still, Elgar’s Cello Concerto is no unrelieved lament. The four movements contain a wide range of moods and colours. The solo cello part in particular is beautifully conceived for the instrument, bringing out its dancing agility and warm singing tone so effectively that it has become a firm favourite with cellists the world over.

I have nearly completed a Concerto for Violoncello: a real large work, and I think good and alive. Edward Elgar, writing to his friend, the art critic Sidney Colvin, in 1919 during the composition of the Cello Concerto.

Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello 1 2 3 4

Adagio – Moderato Lento – Allegro molto Adagio – Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo

The very opening is glorious cello writing: three sonorous full chords followed by a poignant recitative, ending in a ringing fortissimo on the cello’s bottom string. Violas then begin the Moderato main movement with a wistful, wandering theme, unaccompanied. A lilting second theme brings warmer visions, then the main Moderato theme returns, building as before to a full-orchestral climax, before the cello leads the music back to a sombre E minor. After a few hesitant, broken phrases, the cello suddenly springs out of the starting gate like a greyhound. Before long this racing, playful scherzo seems to recapture something of the younger Elgar’s glad confidence. The slow movement is an exquisitely tender aria for cello and reduced orchestra. Eventually the cello’s singing seems to falter mid-phrase, and then the finale begins, brisk and martial. Has the Elgar of the ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ marches found his stride again? But in time the music subsides into a slower, heartrending outpouring, led by the cello, culminating in a hushed reminiscence of the slow movement. At last the three chords from the Concerto’s opening return. The martial music resumes, but only briefly, bringing the Concerto to a stoically resolute, firmly minor-key ending.

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

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Programme notes continued

Benjamin Britten

Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10

1913–76

Introduction and Theme Variation 1: Adagio Variation 2: March Variation 3: Romance Variation 4: Aria Italiana Variation 5: Bourrée classique Variation 6: Wiener Walzer Variation 7: Moto perpetuo Variation 8: Funeral March Variation 9: Chant Variation 10: Fugue and Finale Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge was the 23-yearold Benjamin Britten’s first international success. In May 1937 Boyd Neel, director of England’s premier string orchestra, approached Britten for a virtuoso showpiece for his ensemble. The deadline was tight: the new work had to be ready for performance at the Salzburg Festival in August, but Britten managed to complete this substantial score in less than six weeks. In it he pays touching tribute to his teacher Frank Bridge (1879–1941) – much admired today, but then at the low point of his reputation. He took the theme from the second of Bridge’s Three Idylls for string quartet. It turns out to be an ideal choice for variation treatment, with two distinctive short melodic motifs that quickly lodge in the memory; but what Britten achieves in his ten variations is virtuosic in itself, more than matching the virtuosity demanded of the performers. Two loud pizzicato chords herald a series of fanfare-like figures, culminating in trills and brilliant runs, then Bridge’s theme emerges first on solo string quartet, then on full strings. Britten draws out Bridge’s underlying melancholy in his first variation, following it with a sinister goose-stepping March. A sweetly wistful Romance yields to a joyously absurd send-up of Rossinian operatic ‘bel canto’ in Aria Italiana. Bourrée classique is 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

French baroque with a touch of biting Stravinskian neoclassicism, then comes Wiener Walzer: a Ravel-like parody of a Viennese waltz that turns nightmarish. Some of this variation’s nervous energy is released in the angry Moto perpetuo, then comes something profoundly serious, an anguished, searching Funeral March. After the eerie calm of Chant, the Fugue and Finale gradually grows in confidence and complexity, its intricate 11-part contrapuntal writing a clear homage to his teacher Bridge’s own technical skill and flair. But gradually the brilliance subsides and Bridge’s original theme re-emerges on full violins, warmly re-harmonised. This leads to a radiant climax before subsiding, via fleeting memories of earlier sounds, and building again to a massively confident close. Bridge was deeply affected by his former pupil’s tribute, writing to him in response that ‘it is one of the few lovely things that has ever happened to me.’

On the LPO Label Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Double Concerto for Violin and Viola Les Illuminations Vladimir Jurowski conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO-0037 | £9.99 CD available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets. Download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music, Idagio and others.

Jean Sibelius 1865–1957

For some Sibelius lovers, the Sixth Symphony (1923) is simply one of the most beautiful and original things he ever wrote, yet it has never been anywhere near as popular as the Fifth or Seventh. Perhaps the problem is that the Sixth Symphony doesn’t really behave like any of Sibelius’s other symphonies. The musical landscape is recognisable: luminous or mysterious writing for the strings, woodwind bird-calls, elemental brass chords like great slabs of volcanic rock. But there are no heroics, and no readily identifiable ‘big tunes’; instead the music seems to be almost constantly singing, at times openly, but often intimately. This is more private reflection than public oration. Another feature that sets the Sixth Symphony apart from its neighbours is its extensive use of an unusual kind of scale: the so-called ‘Dorian mode’ – try imagining a scale of D minor on the piano using only the white notes. Such ‘modal’ writing is common in the Finnish folk music Sibelius knew well, but he was also deeply impressed by the music of the English Tudor church composers, whose use of modes sometimes results in piquant major-minor clashes. In terms of form, too, the Sixth Symphony is unique. Sibelius once said that a symphony should be like a river, and this particular musical river follows its own course throughout. The spacious string polyphony of the opening builds eventually to a brass-enhanced climax. As the brass chord dies away, woodwind with rustling strings and harp usher in a more active, river-like kind of music, developing into a sustained instrumental song. But the end is mysterious. In the second movement a kind of slow waltz emerges gradually from plaintive woodwind chords. But this is suddenly cut off, and we are transported to a hushed Nordic forest, with whispering strings and snatches of birdsong on woodwind.

Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 104 1 2 3 4

Allegro molto moderato Allegretto moderato Poco vivace Allegro molto

The third movement starts like a fairly conventional scherzo, but before long the dance rhythms seem to get stuck in a groove, while flutes and harp pick out a folk-like tune in imitation. The whole process is repeated, then with a sudden dramatic gesture the movement comes to an abrupt close. More folk-like phrases set the finale in motion, and eventually the music turns stormy. Calm slowly returns, leading to a rapt, hymn-like coda, led by a choir of strings with woodwind responses. At the end, only violins, violas and hushed timpani are left, bringing the Symphony to a strangely peaceful close in the minor key. Sibelius’s sketches suggest that he thought of calling this symphony ‘Winter’ – if so, then it’s a reminder that winter has its own magic and serenity. Programme notes © Stephen Johnson

Recommended recordings by Laurie Watt Sibelius: The Oceanides Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra | Edward Gardner (Chandos) or Lahti Symphony Orchestra | Osmo Vänskä (BIS) Elgar: Cello Concerto Paul Tortelier | London Philharmonic Orchestra Adrian Boult (Warner Classics) or Jacqueline du Pré | London Symphony Orchestra John Barbirolli (Warner Classics) Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge London Philharmonic Orchestra | Vladimir Jurowski (LPO Label LPO-0037: see page 10) or English Chamber Orchestra | Benjamin Britten (Decca) Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 London Philharmonic Orchestra | Paavo Berglund (LPO Label LPO-0065: see page 12) London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

Sibelius on the LPO Label Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Sibelius Symphony No. 6 Sibelius The Swan of Tuonela Paavo Berglund conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 | LPO-0065

Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Sibelius Symphony No. 7 Paavo Berglund conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 | LPO-0005

Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Lutosławski Concerto for Orchestra Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 | LPO-0057

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

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Sound Futures donors

We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures. Masur Circle Arts Council England Dunard Fund Victoria Robey OBE Emmanuel & Barrie Roman The Underwood Trust

The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Welser-Möst Circle Lady Jane Berrill William & Alex de Winton Mr Frederick Brittenden John Ireland Charitable Trust David & Yi Yao Buckley The Tsukanov Family Foundation Mr Clive Butler Neil Westreich Gill & Garf Collins Tennstedt Circle Mr John H Cook Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Mr Alistair Corbett Richard Buxton Bruno De Kegel The Candide Trust Georgy Djaparidze Michael & Elena Kroupeev David Ellen Kirby Laing Foundation Christopher Fraser OBE & Lisa Fraser Mr & Mrs Makharinsky David & Victoria Graham Fuller Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Goldman Sachs International Sir Simon Robey Mr Gavin Graham Bianca & Stuart Roden Moya Greene Simon & Vero Turner Mrs Dorothy Hambleton The late Mr K Twyman Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Solti Patrons Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Ageas Mrs Philip Kan John & Manon Antoniazzi Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Gabor Beyer, through BTO Rose & Dudley Leigh Management Consulting AG Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Jon Claydon Miss Jeanette Martin Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Duncan Matthews QC Suzanne Goodman Diana & Allan Morgenthau Roddy & April Gow Charitable Trust The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Dr Karen Morton Charitable Trust Mr Roger Phillimore Mr James R.D. Korner Ruth Rattenbury Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia The Reed Foundation Ladanyi-Czernin The Rind Foundation Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada) Mr Paris Natar

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Querée The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

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Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all donors who have given generously to the LPO over the past year. Your generosity helps maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.

Artistic Director’s Circle An anonymous donor Sir Simon & Lady Robey OBE Orchestra Circle The Candide Trust Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich Principal Associates Richard Buxton In memory of Brenda Lyndoe Casbon In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Associates Steven M. Berzin Kay Bryan William & Alex de Winton Mrs Irina Gofman Countess Dominique Loredan Mr & Mrs Makharinsky George Ramishvili Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith Gold Patrons David & Yi Buckley In memory of Allner Mavis Channing The Chiltern Friends of the LPO Gill & Garf Collins Andrew Davenport Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Beuill Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas MBE Mr Roger Greenwood The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Geoff & Meg Mann Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Laurence Watt

Silver Patrons Ms Terri Borain Andrea d’Avack Georgy Djaparidze Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe John & Angela Kessler Jamie & Julia Korner The Metherell Family Denis & Yulia Nagy Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Tom & Phillis Sharpe Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Guy & Utti Whittaker Grenville & Krysia Williams Bronze Patrons Anonymous donors Michael Allen Mr Mark Astaire Margot Astrachan Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Dr Anthony Buckland Mr Alan C Butler Desmond & Ruth Cecil The Earl & Countess of Chichester Mr Michael Cole-Fontayn Mr John H Cook Howard & Veronika Covington Mrs Maria Danilova Guy Davies Bruno De Kegel Cameron & Kathryn Doley Jill Dyal David Ellen Ignor & Lyuba Galkin Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare Eugene & Allison Hayes

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Ms Elena Heinz Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle J Douglas Home Rose & Dudley Leigh Elena Lileeva & Adrian Pabst Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Peter & Lucy Noble Linda & Tim O’Neill Jacopo Pessina Mr Alex Petrov Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Mr Alex Smedley Ms Nadia Stasyuk Ms Sharon Thomas Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Marina Vaizey Ms Jenny Watson CBE Christopher Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Principal Supporters Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Helen Brocklebank Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Ms Phyllia Chen Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen David & Liz Conway Mr Alistair Corbett In honour of Bea Crumbine Mr Jonathan Davies Mr Richard Fernyhough Mr Michael Fox Mr Stephen Goldring Mr Milton Grundy Mr Ian Haslegrave Michael & Christine Henry Lady Hill Mrs Maureen HooftGraafland Jamilya Jakisheva Per Jonsson

Vadim Levin Lady Leonora, Countess of Lichfield Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr Peter Mace Michael & Patricia MclarenTurner Alice P. Melly Mr John Meloy Andrew T Mills Dr Karen Morton Maxim & Natalia Moskalev Mrs Jannifer Oxley Mr James Pickford Natalie Pray Mr Christopher Querée Sir Bernard Rix Mr Robert Ross Barry & Gillian Smith Mr Bill Smith Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Matthew Stephenson & Roman Aristarkhov Marina Vaizey Howard & Sheelagh Watson Supporters Anonymous donors Mr John D Barnard Mr Bernard Bradbury Mr Richard Brooman Mrs Alan Carrington Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Joshua Coger Mr Geoffrey A Collens Miss Tessa Cowie Lady Jane Cuckney OBE Mr David Devons Samuel Edge Manuel Fajardo & Clémence Humeau Mrs Janet Flynn Scott & Icy Frantz Christopher Fraser OBE

Will Gold Mr Peter Gray The Jackman Family Mr & Mrs Bon Jasperson Mr David MacFarlane Peter & Isabel Malkin Mr Frederic Marguerre Mr Mark Mishon Trevor Mulineaux Bill & Jane Nickerson Mr Stephen Olton Anju & Radhika Patel Mr David Peters Candace Procaccini Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr David Russell Deb & Jay Shaw Ms Elizabeth Shaw Mr Kenneth Shaw Ms Natalie Spraggon & Mr David Thomson Mrs John E Stauffer Ronald & Davidde Strackbein Mr John Weekes Joanna Williams Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Alfonso Aijón Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Laurence Watt

LPO International Board of Governors Natasha Tsukanova Chair Steven M. Berzin (USA) Kay Bryan (Australia) Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil (France) Irina Gofman (Russia) Joyce Kan (China/Hong Kong) Countess Dominique Loredan (Italy) Olivia Ma (Greater China Area) Olga Makharinsky (Russia) George Ramishvili (Georgia) Victoria Robey OBE (USA) We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America: Simon Freakley Chairman Alexandra Jupin William A. Kerr Kristina McPhee Natalie Pray Stephanie Yoshida Antony Phillipson Hon. Chairman Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Connecticut Gala Committee Bea Crumbine & Jill Dyal Co-Chairmen Rodica Brune Mandy DeFilippo Rachel Franco Nick Gutfreund Mary Hull Steve Magnuson Natalie Pray Victoria Robey OBE Lisa & Scot Weicker

Corporate Donors Barclays L Catterton Paul Hastings LLP Payne Hicks Beach Pictet Bank White & Case LLP LPO Corporate Circle Leader freuds Sunshine Principal Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Tutti Ageas Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Walpole Preferred Partners After Digital Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc Trusts and Foundations The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Sir William Boreman’s Foundation Borletti-Buitoni Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Candide Trust The Chalk Cliff Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund

Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation The Fidelio Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation Lucille Graham Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust John Thaw Foundation The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Lawson Trust The Leverhulme Trust Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation The London Community Foundation Lord & Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust Adam Mickiewicz Institute PRS For Music Foundation The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Romanian Cultural Institute RVW Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The Steel Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The Thomas Deane Trust The Viney Family The Clarence Westbury Foundation Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust The William Alwyn Foundation and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

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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 David Buckley Bruno De Kegel Martin Höhmann* Al MacCuish Susanne Martens* Pei-Jee Ng* Andrew Tusa Timothy Walker AM Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director Advisory Council Martin Höhmann Chairman Rob Adediran Christopher Aldren Dr Manon Antoniazzi Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank Desmond Cecil CMG Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport William de Winton Cameron Doley Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Andrew Neill Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey OBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Andrew Swarbrick Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

General Administration Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Education and Community Isabella Kernot Education and Community Director

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Talia Lash Education and Community Manager

Sarah Gee PA to the Chief Executive/ Office Administrator

Emily Moss Education and Community Project Manager

Finance Frances Slack Finance and Operations Manager

Hannah Tripp Education and Community Project Co-ordinator

Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer

Development Laura Willis Development Director

Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Vicky Moran Development Events Manager

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager Sophie Richardson Glyndebourne and Projects Manager (maternity leave) Fabio Sarlo Glyndebourne and Projects Manager (maternity cover) Grace Ko Tours Manager

Christina McNeill Corporate Relations Manager Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Izzy Keig Development Assistant Lewis Hammond Development Assistant

Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

~ Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director

Christina Perrin Concerts and Tours Assistant

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager Sarah Holmes Sarah Thomas Librarians Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Damian Davis Transport Manager Hannah Verkerk Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator Laura Kitson Assistant Transport & Stage Manager

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing Director Mairi Warren Marketing Manager Megan Macarte Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242) Rachel Williams Publications Manager Rachel Smith Website Manager Greg Felton Digital Creative Alexandra Lloyd Projects and Residencies Manager Georgie Gulliver Marketing Assistant

Public Relations Premier classical@premiercomms.com Tel: 020 7292 7355/ 020 7292 7335 Archives Philip Stuart Discographer Gillian Pole Recordings Archive Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Barry Grimaldi Honorary Doctor Mr Chris Aldren Honorary ENT Surgeon Mr Brian Cohen Mr Simon Owen-Johnstone Honorary Orthopaedic Surgeons London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Box Office: 020 7840 4242 Email: admin@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045. Composer photographs courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London. Cover artwork Ross Shaw @JMG Studio Printer Cantate