LPO Tune In newsletter – Autumn/Winter 2019

– AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

I’m thrilled to be appointed Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Their commitment, virtuosity and intensity is breathtaking.

EDWARD GARDNER

EDWARD GARDNER

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

BACKSTAGE

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– 10 –

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The Orchestra’s new Principal Conductor from September 2021

We catch up with graduates of our Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training scheme

Introducing our new Principal Clarinet, Benjamin Mellefont

NEW ON THE LPO LABEL

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

RACHMANINOFF

The Isle of the Dead Symphony No. 1

MAJOR PARTNER

Vladimir Jurowski conductor £9.99

RACHMANINOFF

THE ISLE OF THE DEAD SYMPHONY NO. 1

LPO-0111 | Released March 2019

VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

PRINCIPAL SUPPORTERS

BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5

BEETHOVEN

SYMPHONY NO. 3 (EROICA) SYMPHONY NO. 5 KURT MASUR conductor LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Kurt Masur conductor £9.99 LPO-0112 | Released March 2019

MAHLER Symphony No. 4 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Sofia Fomina soprano £9.99 LPO-0113 | Released July 2019 See page 6 for more details.

MOZART MOZART FLUTE CONCERTO NO. 2 SINFONIA CONCERTANTE FOR FOUR WINDS BASSOON CONCERTO VLADIMIR JUROWSKI conductor JULIETTE BAUSOR flute JONATHAN DAVIES bassoon IAN HARDWICK oboe JOHN RYAN horn THOMAS WATMOUGH clarinet LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Coming soon

Flute Concerto No. 2 Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds Bassoon Concerto Vladimir Jurowski conductor Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra £9.99 | LPO-0114 | Release date November 2019

RAVI SHANKAR Sukanya

CORPORATE MEMBERS

David Murphy conductor RAVI SHANKAR

LPO-0115 | Release date November 2019 See page 5 for more details.

SUKANYA DAVID MURPHY conductor ALOK KUMAR Chyavana SUSANNA HURRELL Sukanya BBC SINGERS LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Coming soon

CDs available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop.

Download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music and others.

freuds Sunshine After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce

Ageas BTO Management Consulting AG Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Walpole

PREFERRED PARTNERS Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Steinway

IN-KIND SPONSOR Google Inc –2–

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

WELCOME

W

elcome to the Autumn 2019 issue of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s newsletter, Tune In. As the evenings start to turn cooler and another successful summer at Glyndebourne draws to a close, we look forward to returning to our Southbank Centre home to launch our 2019/20 season on 27 September.

Throughout the remainder of 2019 we continue our year-long celebration of music from the British Isles in our festival Isle of Noises. This second half of the festival includes music by Britten, Elgar, Walton, Vaughan Williams and Butterworth, as well as a celebration of great British film scores.

There are bold new sounds from Thomas Adès with the UK premiere of his new Piano Concerto, and a vision of heaven from William Alwyn, his lovely, neglected Lyra Angelica.

And to round off the year and the festival, a rare performance of John Foulds’s Dynamic Triptych: a fusion of Art Deco modernism with Indian rhythms. Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer shares his passion for this fascinating composer and his unique piano masterpiece on page 12. Other concert highlights this autumn include Mahler’s mighty ‘Resurrection’ Symphony, Verdi’s glorious Requiem, and celebrated soprano Diana Damrau performing a selection of her favourite Strauss songs. Turn to page 13 for full autumn concert listings.

At the end of July we were delighted to announce the Orchestra’s next Principal Conductor, Edward Gardner, who will take up his position in September 2021 after Vladimir Jurowski’s 12-year tenure concludes. It’s been fascinating to watch Edward grow into a great musician since his debut with the LPO 16 years ago. During his ten years at English Editor Rachel Williams Publisher London Philharmonic Orchestra Printer Conquest Litho

Timothy Walker © Chris Blott

Cover photograph Edward Gardner © Benjamin Ealovega

– TIMOTHY WALKER – Chief Executive and Artistic Director

National Opera, and more recently at the Bergen Philharmonic, he has mastered a huge range of orchestral and vocal repertoire.

For him to return to the UK as our Principal Conductor is exciting not only for the LPO, but also for London and the country’s wider cultural scene. There are several chances to see Edward in action with the LPO at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall before then: the first is on 9 October, when he

conducts a programme including Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 and Walton’s Violin Concerto with soloist James Ehnes; and the second on 12 October, when he conducts the LPO and LPC in Verdi’s Requiem – turn to page 13 for all the details.

Elsewhere in this issue we hear from our colleagues at the London Philharmonic Choir about why they’ve teamed up with the charity Crisis to tackle homelessness in the UK (page 9). We also catch up with some former participants from the LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training scheme and find out where life has taken them since their year with us (pages 10–11). It’s inspiring and encouraging to see what an impressive and diverse range of careers these young musicians are now pursuing, and a real testament to how the programme is practically equipping its participants for life as 21st-century orchestral musicians.

With so much to look forward to, 2019/20 certainly looks to be an exciting season, and I hope you will be able to join us whether in London, across the UK or abroad, or through our broadcasts, social media or online. Thank you for your support of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

KEEP UP TO DATE JOIN US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

OTHER WORLDS 2019/20 Concert season at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall

LPO 2019/20 SEASON BROCHURE: AVAILABLE NOW

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER twitter.com/LPOrchestra

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE

lpo.org.uk/newseason

youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

CONTENTS NEW & NOTEWORTHY 04–06 SUMMER 2019 ROUNDUP 07 LPO PEOPLE 08 LONDON PHILHARMONIC CHOIR 09 FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS 10–11 JOHN FOULDS: DYNAMIC TRIPTYCH 12 CONCERT LISTINGS 13–15 BACKSTAGE: BENJAMIN MELLEFONT 16

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, we cannot accept liability for any statement or error contained herein. © 2019 London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The paper used for printing this magazine has been sourced from responsibly managed forests, certified in accordance with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). It is manufactured to the ISO 14001 international standard, minimising negative impacts on the environment and is manufactured from pulp that has been bleached without the use of chlorine compounds using oxygen (elemental chlorine free), which are considered harmful to the environment.

Concert listings and booking information on pages 13–15 – 03 –

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

LPO NEWS

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

In July we were delighted to announce the appointment of Edward Gardner as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s next Principal Conductor: the first British holder of the position since John Pritchard in the late 1960s. Gardner will succeed current Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski when the latter’s tenure concludes at the end of the 2020/21 season, with Jurowski subsequently becoming Conductor Emeritus.

Gardner’s initial five-year contract will see him working with the Orchestra for at least 10 weeks each season, including our London season at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, on international tours, and on our many Education & Community programmes.

During the 2019/20 season he will conduct the Orchestra in four concerts at Royal Festival Hall, the first a programme of Bartók, Nielsen and Walton on 9 October (see page 13).

Currently Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway, Gardner first conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003 and has since returned for concerts at Royal Festival Hall and Snape Maltings and opera performances at Glyndebourne, and conducted the Orchestra on tour in the USA. His Royal Festival Hall concert of Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Ravel in April 2019 received widespread praise, Gardner ‘creating with the LPO a magic carpet of sound that transported the listener into more exotic territory’ (Bachtrack).

Also in demand as a guest conductor, Gardner’s recent seasons have included performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Vienna Symphony and his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Janáček’s Katya Kabanova. He returned to the ROH this September for Massenet’s Werther.

Edward Gardner said: ‘I’m thrilled to have been appointed Principal Conductor of the LPO. I worked with the Orchestra early in my career and I was quite overwhelmed by the brilliance and virtuosity of the musicians. Returning to the Orchestra recently, I’ve felt a sense of pleasure and privilege working with this inspiring group of musicians and relished the passion and hunger the LPO brings to performance. I’m looking forward to our collaboration with huge anticipation and excitement.’

This September the London Philharmonic Orchestra takes up a brand new residency at Saffron Hall in Saffron Walden, Essex, enabling the Orchestra to share its work with audiences in the East of England regularly for the first time.

Saffron Hall is an award-winning 740-seat performance space built in the grounds of Saffron Walden County High School, just minutes away from the historic town centre.

The LPO will be a significant addition to the cultural life of the region, providing topquality symphonic music and becoming increasingly involved in Saffron Hall’s groundbreaking model of world-class performing arts and educational provision.

Each year we will bring four concerts to Saffron Hall, including our popular FUNharmonics concerts for families.

Conductors involved in the first season of the residency include Vladimir Jurowski, Marin Alsop and Antonio Pappano.

In addition to the concert programme, the Orchestra will run composition projects and training opportunities for local students and teachers, and will coach young people at the Saffron Centre for Young Musicians, a specialist Saturday school offering musical training to students through a partnership between the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Saffron Hall, Essex Music Education Hub and Saffron Walden County High School.

Angela Dixon, Chief Executive of Saffron Hall, said: ‘I am absolutely delighted that we are formalising the excellent relationship that exists between the LPO, Saffron Hall and our audience by announcing this residency alongside the excellent programme already offered by Britten Sinfonia. With the LPO and Britten Sinfonia as our Resident Orchestras, we have an exceptional offering for musiclovers in the Eastern region’.

lpo.org.uk/news

saffronhall.com

EDWARD GARDNER: NEW LPO PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR

lpo.org.uk – 04 –

Edward Gardner © Benjamin Ealovega – Saffron Hall © Saffron Hall

NEW RESIDENCY AT SAFFRON HALL

Sukanya © Bill Cooper – Zog © 2018 Orange Eyes Ltd. Zog word mark and logo are trade marks of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler and used under licence. Licensed by Magic Light Pictures Ltd.

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

RAVI SHANKAR’S ‘SUKANYA’

NEW CD RELEASE: PUCCINI’S ‘LE WILLIS’

One of 2017’s most memorable musical events was the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s world premiere of Ravi Shankar’s only opera, Sukanya. Co-produced

by The Royal Opera, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Curve, Leicester, and conducted by David Murphy, the performances won universal critical RAVI SHANKAR acclaim and the production was described by The Telegraph as ‘a charming evening of pure escapism’.

Not only will the Orchestra give a second, semi-staged performance of Sukanya at Royal Festival Hall in January 2020 as part of Southbank Centre’s Shankar 100 centenary celebrations (see below), but this winter will see the release of Sukanya on the LPO’s own label (LPO-0115). Available on CD and to download, it will be available from late 2019 at lpo.org.uk/recordings.

Back in November 2018 the Orchestra collaborated with Opera Rara and conductor Mark Elder to perform Puccini’s first opera, Le Willis, at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. This was the first time in 120 years that the opera had been heard in its original one-act version, reconstructed by musicologist Martin Deasy. This performance marked the 16th collaboration between the LPO and Opera Rara, whose mission is to rediscover, restore, record and perform the lost operatic heritage of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The cast featured soprano Ermonela Jaho in the Sir Mark Elder role of Anna, Armenian tenor Arsen Soghomonyan as her lover Roberto, Brian Mulligan as her father Guglielmo, and the Opera Rara Chorus.

We are delighted that this version of Le Willis will be released on Opera Rara’s own label on 20 September 2019: the first ever recording of this original version of the opera. This recording includes the two celebrated arias that were added to the revised two-act version of the opera and showcases the young and prodigiously talented Puccini in his first exploration of operatic drama. The CD, which also includes a full libretto and extensive programme notes on the new edition, is priced £14.99 and will be available physically and digitally from the Opera Rara website from 20 September.

SUKANYA

DAVID MURPHY conductor ALOK KUMAR Chyavana SUSANNA HURRELL Sukanya BBC SINGERS LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Wednesday 15 January 2020 | 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Shankar Sukanya David Murphy conductor Cast to include: Susannah Hurrell Sukanya Alok Kumar Chyavana Jonathan Lemalu King Sharyaati Michel de Souza Aswini Twin 1 Njabulo Madlala Aswini Twin 2 Suba Das director Gauri Diwakar choreographer Matt Haskins lighting designer Synergy Vocals London Philharmonic Orchestra Tickets on sale now: for booking details see page 13.

PUCCINI

LE WILLIS Ermonela Jaho, Arsen Soghomonyan, Brian Mulligan London Philharmonic Orchestra, Opera Rara Chorus

FIND OUT MORE AND BUY ONLINE opera-rara.com

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: LIVE

FUNHARMONICS: ZOG

On 4 & 5 December the Orchestra will bring Disney’s timeless classic, Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, to life, providing a live orchestral soundtrack to two shows at Wembley’s SSE Arena as part of the movie’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Original soundtrack composer Danny Elfman, performing his role of Jack Skellington, will be joined by other original cast members Catherine O’Hara as Sally and Ken Page as the voice of Oogie Boogie.

The two Wembley dates follow three sold-out nights at the prestigious Hollywood Bowl earlier this year, and will be only the second time this special event has left the USA. Tickets are priced from £44.

As part of our FUNharmonics series of family concerts, on 27 October we present a live concert performance of Zog – the latest animated film from Magic Light Pictures, based on the witty storybook by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Follow the adventures of the eager but accident-prone young dragon, as the LPO performs René Aubry’s lively score to a big-screen projection of the film. The concert starts at 12.00 noon, and ticket-holders can join in free pre-concert foyer activities and ‘Have a Go’ sessions from 10.00am–12.00 noon.

MORE DETAILS AND BOOKING ssearena.co.uk/events

lpo.org.uk – 05 –

MORE DETAILS ON PAGE 13, OR BOOK ONLINE: lpo.org.uk/funharmonics

FUNHARMONICS FOYER ACTIVITIES ARE GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED

BY STENTOR MUSIC CO. LTD AND BELL MUSIC.

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

LPO NEWS

NEW & NOTEWORTHY LEGACY DONORS - A THANK YOU

EDITOR’S CHOICE FOR OUR MAHLER 4

CELEBRATING BRITISH CINEMA THIS AUTUMN

On Saturday 26 October the LPO is delighted to celebrate the generous individuals who have pledged to leave the Orchestra a gift in their Will. We will be hosting with drinks and canapes in the Beecham Bar pre-concert and again at the interval.

Invitations will be sent, nearer the time, to those who have notified us of their intent to remember the LPO in their Will.

If you have named the LPO to receive a gift in your Will and are unsure whether the organisation knows of this pledge, or if you are considering the LPO as a beneficiary in your Will, please contact Rosie Morden on 020 7840 4212 or rosie.morden@lpo.org.uk

Our July 2019 LPO Label release of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, with conductor Vladimir Jurowski and soprano Sofia Fomina, was recently chosen as Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine.

Captured live in concert at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on 12 October 2016, the recording was praised by reviewer Edward Seckerson as ‘as insightful and individual as we have come to expect from Jurowski and the LPO’, who achieved ‘a wonderful clarity and transparency’.

The recording (LPO-0113) is priced £9.99 and is available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop.

It is also available to download or stream online via Spotify, Apple Music and others.

Having long been embraced by the Hollywood and UK film industries, for over half a century the LPO has been the orchestra of choice for film soundtrack recordings, from Lawrence of Arabia, to East is East, Lord of the Rings and, most recently, Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3.

As part of our Isle of Noises concert season celebrating the music of the British Isles, on Friday 1 November film music maestro Anthony Weeden introduces a century of great British film scores live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, from the elegance of Murder on the Orient Express, to the visionary pre-war sci-fi of Things to Come; to the sheer emotion of Romeo and Juliet.

The programme will be repeated on Saturday 2 November at Brighton Dome and on Sunday 3 November at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre. For full programme details and booking information see pages 13–15.

REMEMBERING THE LPO IN YOUR WILL: lpo.org.uk/giftsinwills

Earn points as you spend! 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.

LPO Plus points can then be redeemed on future orders*, saving you money every time you redeem them with us.

*Certain exclusions apply. Our multi-buy series discount is not eligible for the LPO Plus points reward. See our website for full terms and conditions of the scheme.

For more details and to join LPO Plus go to: lpo.org.uk/lpoplus

lpo.org.uk – 06 –

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

LPO NEWS

SUMMER 2019 ROUNDUP SPRING GALA 2019

‘The London Philharmonic Orchestra gave a majestic reading of Massenet’s kaleidoscopic score’ (The Times, 11 June 2019): Massenet’s Cendrillon at the 2019 Glyndebourne Festival

GLYNDEBOURNE 2019 Over the summer we took our seats in the orchestra pit for our annual summer residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. We gave a total of 54 performances during the 2019 Festival, which opened in May with Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust conducted by Glyndebourne Music Director Robin Ticciati. Making a welcome return to the Festival later in May was Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia in Annabel Arden’s stylish production, conducted by Rafael Payare. Later in the summer Ticciati conducted the Orchestra in Dvořák’s Rusalka, inspired by The Little Mermaid, and John Wilson conducted another fairytale-inspired opera: Massenet’s ‘Cinderella’ opera Cendrillon, making its Glyndebourne Festival debut.

Glyndebourne © Richard Hubert Smith – Gala © Lia Vittone

BELMOND: A MALLORCAN ENCORE Continuing our ongoing partnership with luxury travel collection Belmond, in late August a string quartet of LPO Principal musicians was invited to perform for guests at the indulgent retreat of Belmond La Residencia in the Mallorcan village of Deiá.

The bohemian village is renowned for its sympathy with the arts: writers, poets, painters and musicians have made their pilgrimage there over the years, and Belmond La Residencia has played host to its fair share of musical greats. As part of the ‘Exceptional Music in Exceptional Locations’ series, the quartet delighted the audience with music by Beethoven and Borodin, as well as Spanish works by de Falla and Albéniz.

FIND OUT MORE belmond.com/lpo

lpo.org.uk – 07 –

On 1 May the LPO welcomed the start of the warmer weather with our 2019 ‘Spring is in the Air’ Gala, in the beautiful setting of Whitehall’s Banqueting House. Almost 300 guests attended the celebration of spring, which comprised a Champagne Taittinger reception, spring-themed three-course meal and a fantastic silent auction. The evening included stunning performances by the Orchestra curated by Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Vladimir Jurowski, around the theme of spring; soprano Miah Persson delighted the audience with ‘Spring’ from Strauss’s Four Last Songs; and violinist Nicola Benedetti performed Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending to a captivated audience.

The evening culminated in a game focused on raising funds to support a chair in the Orchestra and, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the guests, the ‘Donors to the 2019 Gala Player Appeal’ now support the chair of Principal Trumpet, Paul Beniston. In total, the Gala raised over £200,000 to support the London Philharmonic Orchestra and our work on the concert platform and beyond.

Next year’s Gala will take place on Monday 1 June 2020. Details will be released later in the year, but if you would like to receive more information please contact gala@lpo.org.uk lpo.org.uk/support

BBC PROMS 2019 On 17 August the Orchestra appeared at this year’s BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Vladimir Jurowski conducted works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Liadov and Glazunov, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Alexander Ghindin. The concert was also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

LPO NEWS

LPO PEOPLE ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA

IN THE OFFICE

The close of the 2018/19 season marked the end of Andrés Orozco-Estrada’s tenure as the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, a position he has held since September 2015.

Andrés takes up a new position at the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, where he will become Principal Conductor Designate before taking over the position of Principal Conductor from the 2021/22 season.

After nine years as the LPO’s Development Director, in spring 2019 Nick Jackman took on the new role of Campaigns and Projects Director, and we welcomed Laura Willis as our new Development Director. Laura was Corporate Relations Manager at the Orchestra from 2014–18 and subsequently managed the corporate programme at the Design Museum. The team also welcomed two new Development Assistants: Izzy Keig succeeded Ellie Franklin, who left to take up a new role with Girlguiding; and Lewis Hammond replaced Georgie Gulliver, who moved across the office to become our Marketing Assistant.

In April the Concerts team said a fond farewell to Tours Co-ordinator Jo Cotter who, after nearly 9 years at the LPO, left to begin a new job with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We welcome Christina Perrin as our new Concerts and Tours Assistant. Fabio Sarlo joined us in the spring as interim Glyndebourne and Projects Manager, covering for Sophie Richardson who is on maternity leave, and we welcomed Sarah Gee as PA to the Chief Executive/Office Administrator, succeeding Lucas Dwyer.

Website Manager Harriet Dalton decided not to return to the LPO after the end of her maternity leave. We were delighted that Rachel Smith, who had been covering the role, agreed to stay on permanently.

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Geoffrey Lynn retired in August 2019 after a record-breaking 45 years as a member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s First Violin section.

Born in Stirling, Geoff started playing the violin at an early age. Initially he had aspirations to be a psychiatrist, but after two years at medical school in Edinburgh he missed music so much that he abandoned his ambition to be the next Sigmund Freud and instead enrolled at the Royal College of Music.

Whilst studying there with Frances Mason, he won the top violin prize. After successfully auditioning for the LPO in 1974, at the age of 24 he became the youngest member of the Orchestra.

Geoff was always a pleasure to sit next to, a wonderful musician who could sight-read anything. He never lost his passion for playing the ‘fiddle’ – in nearly every coffee break he would find a corner in which to practise. But it is his human qualities that the ‘Firsts’ will most miss. We all remember our first shy day in the job, but Geoff went out of his way to make us feel immediately welcome. Eventually, after getting used to his charming Scottish lilt, we would rely on his humour to get through many a demanding rehearsal. He has a rare ability to keep conductors on their toes by discovering mistakes in orchestral parts. Geoff has also taken a very active role in the LPO’s education activities: teaching is a passion for him, and he is looking forward to having more time to concentrate on encouraging the next generation of violinists.

Geoff, thank you for being such a great colleague and Mensch.

Thomas Eisner, LPO First Violin

L–R: Benjamin Mellefont, Richard Waters & Ting-Ru Lai

We are delighted to welcome Benjamin Mellefont as the Orchestra’s new Principal Clarinet from September 2019. Originally from Australia, Ben was previously Principal Clarinet with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he also appeared as a soloist. He has also played as Guest Principal with many of the orchestras in the UK and Australia. Turn to page 16 to read our ‘Backstage’ interview with Ben. The Viola section welcomed two new members earlier this year: Richard Waters was appointed Co-Principal Viola, and Ting-Ru Lai as No. 4 Viola. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music, Richard was previously a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra and Principal Viola No. 2 in the Orchestra of Opera North. Ting-Ru was previously Principal Viola in Ensemble Esperanza, and has also played as as Guest Principal with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein.

In August we bade farewell to Principal Horn David Pyatt, who left to take up the post of Principal Horn at the Royal Opera House.

Earlier in the year we also said goodbye to First Violinist JiJi Lee, who was appointed to a new job in the Orchestra of Royal Swedish Opera along with her husband. We wish them well for their new life in Stockholm.

lpo.org.uk – 08 –

FIND A STAFF MEMBER lpo.org.uk/about/staff

CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to the Orchestra’s Finance and Operations Manager Frances Slack, who married Rob Taylor on 1 June 2019. We wish Frances and Rob all the best for their future together.

NEW ARRIVALS We were delighted to hear that Principal Flute Juliette Bausor had a baby girl, Beatrice Rose Gurney, on 11 December 2018. Congratulations to Juliette and her husband Tristan.

Congratulations too to Sophie Richardson, Glyndebourne and Projects Manager, and her husband Claymore, who welcomed their daughter Freya Poppy Richardson on 10 April 2019.

Geoffrey Lynn © Benjamin Ealovega – Richard Waters © Philharmonia Orchestra/Marina Vidor

GEOFFREY LYNN

TUNE IN – AUTUMN / WINTER 2019 –

LPO PARTNERS

LONDON PHILHARMONIC CHOIR This Christmas, two years after premiering Paul Fincham’s ‘Ring the Bells’ at the Royal Albert Hall, the London Philharmonic Choir is leading a choral force behind the charity Crisis’s plan to end homelessness.

The Choir’s Chairman, Tessa Bartley, takes up the story ...

I

Photographs © Crisis/LPC

t’s summer 2018, and six months have passed since the premiere of Paul Fincham’s Christmas carol Ring the Bells.

His new piece, Awen, commissioned by the British Museum, has been premiered in the Great Court, and Paul is now collaborating with librettist Jessica Duchen on a new work for Garsington Opera’s Youth Company.

Then, he calls to tell me that Boosey & Hawkes have agreed to publish Ring the Bells, and I’m excited – very excited. Around the time of the Ring the Bells premiere, we had bounced around ideas about pledging the carol to a charity. We wanted it to mean something; wanted it to have impact. A few days after the premiere, I was volunteering for a Crisis Christmas centre and it became clear to me that this was the cause we were destined to support.

I strongly believe that ensuring everyone has access to a home (along with healthcare and an education) is the foundation of a thriving society. Crisis, the UK’s national charity for homeless people, predicts that if action is not taken, the UK is set to exceed 300,000 homeless households by 2041. In this – the fifth largest economy in the world – that’s simply unacceptable. But it’s not just a moral argument. Crisis has a plan which includes solutions for homelessness, along with strategies to prevent people becoming homeless in the first place.

The world premiere of ‘Ring the Bells’ by the LPC at the Royal Albert Hall, December 2017

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has estimated that the total cost of implementing Crisis’s plan to end homelessness between now and 2041 would be £19.3 billion, and that this investment would deliver benefits of £53.9 billion. That’s a £34.6 billion investment opportunity – imagine pitching that to Dragons’ Den! The more I looked at Crisis’s operation, the more convinced I was that we were fated to work together. The Choir and Crisis share the patronage of HRH Princess Alexandra, and one of the Choir’s objectives is to find ways to work with and support our sister charities.

Our orchestra, the LPO, already works on musical projects with Crisis, so the intersection of our Venn diagram was becoming increasingly concentrated.

Back to summer 2018, I’d just been elected Chairman of the London Philharmonic Choir, and it seemed the stars were aligning.

The decision by Boosey & Hawkes to publish Ring the Bells was a key piece of the puzzle.

It wasn’t enough to just sell a recording: we wanted choirs all over the UK singing this carol and promoting the Crisis plan. On a warm September day in Islington, the Choir (conducted by Artistic Director, Neville Creed) banked a recording of Ring the Bells, and the ball was rolling. Buoyed by the news that the LPO would release the recording for us on its label, we approached Crisis with our idea and the pledge of Choir and composer royalties.

In November, we were able to visit part of the LPO’s annual creative music project for Crisis members in East London, which illustrated the positive impact of music on those living with homelessness and solidified our mission that we wanted to be a choral force behind the fight to end homelessness. A month later, we formally kicked off this project with a performance of Ring the Bells by the Merbecke Choir in the Crisis Carol Service at Southwark Cathedral.

lpc.org.uk/ringthebells – 09 –

The Crisis Choir sharing the positive impact of music

As 2019 dawned, we embarked on a strategy to engage choirs all over the UK in performing Ring the Bells to raise awareness of, and funds towards, Crisis’s work on ending homelessness. And we’re making great progress. More than 25 choirs, including symphony choruses, cathedrals and schools, have already committed to performing Ring the Bells this Christmas. We’re looking forward to our performance with conductor Toby Purser at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in our ‘Christmas With Alan Titchmarsh’ concert on 14 December. And we’re thrilled to have choirs from Clackmannanshire to Cornwall singing Ring the Bells in their own concerts. Every performance will help us drive sales of our recording, and royalties from the scores and recordings sold will be donated to Crisis.

Join the choral force behind the plan to end homelessness by programming Ring the Bells in your choir’s Christmas concerts and carol services. For more information visit lpc.org.uk/ringthebells.

Tessa Bartley, Chairman, London Philharmonic Choir THE LPC RECORDING OF ‘RING THE BELLS’ WILL BE RELEASED ON 29 NOVEMBER 2019 ON THE LPO LABEL (CAT NO LPOD911).

DOWNLOAD IT AT LPO.ORG.UK/RECORDINGS

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LPO EDUCATION & COMMUNITY

FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

N

THE 2019/20 FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IS GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY THE FOYLE FOUNDATION WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE BARBARA WHATMORE CHARITABLE TRUST AND THE FIDELIO CHARITABLE TRUST.

Applications for the 2020/21 Foyle Future Firsts programme will open in April 2020. For more information please visit lpo.org.uk/futurefirsts

HANNAH GRAYSON FLUTE (2011/12)

CHRIS AUGUSTINE TROMBONE (2013/14)

HANNAH PERFORMS REGULARLY AS AN EXTRA WITH THE LPO FLUTE SECTION. SHE IS ALSO INVOLVED WITH EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS, BOTH WITH THE LPO AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS.

CHRIS WAS APPOINTED SUB-PRINCIPAL TROMBONE OF WELSH NATIONAL OPERA ORCHESTRA IN 2017. HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF CHINEKE! ORCHESTRA AND HAS PLAYED IN THE ORCHESTRAS FOR WEST END SHOWS INCLUDING WICKED, MATILDA AND THE LION KING.

After five years at the Royal College of Music I joined the LPO Foyle Future Firsts scheme in 2011, and I would hands down say that this felt like the most valuable year of ‘study’ of them all! Nothing could have better prepared me for the magnitude of skills required for orchestral playing. During the year I took on board as much as I could mentally and physically absorb, and my LPO mentors guided me through this continual learning curve with lessons, advice and playing opportunities.

I also got involved with as many LPO Education and Community activities as I was able.

Over the past seven years I’ve built up a healthy freelance profile of both performing and education work. I’m lucky enough to play regularly as an extra with the LPO, as well as having had trials with English National Opera, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. I jump at any opportunity the LPO Education team offers too, and find that these activities complement my playing work.

I continue to build on the fundamental skills I learnt in my Future Firsts year, and fully credit the programme for setting me up for life as an orchestral musician and helping me to get that ‘foot in the door’ in such a competitive industry. I have huge respect for, and am so grateful to, my LPO mentors, who I’m now also proud to call my colleagues!

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Since completing my Foyle Future Firsts year in 2014 I’ve enjoyed a varied freelance career, leading to my permanent position with WNO. I also previously had trials with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Royal Ballet Sinfonia, each of which involved auditions in front of a panel. This was a nervewracking experience, but as part of the Future Firsts programme we took part in mock auditions with LPO Principals, which helped me feel much better prepared. For my current position with Welsh National Opera there were two rounds of auditions and I was subsequently granted a trial with the orchestra, which took me on tour to Dubai. My trial started in January 2017 and I was offered the permanent position in September 2017. During my time on the Foyle Future Firsts programme I’d had the opportunity to attend LPO opera rehearsals at Glyndebourne, which turned out to be an invaluable experience when it came to understanding the ins and outs of playing for opera at WNO. Since my Future Firsts year I’ve returned to the LPO to help out with FUNharmonics family concerts and with auditions for LPO Junior Artists, a programme for aspiring musicians from backgrounds under-represented in professional UK orchestras. I feel indebted to the LPO as a whole for the opportunities it’s given me, so it’s great to feel I’m now in a position to pay it forward.

Chris Augustine © Eric Richmond

ow in its 16th year, the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme offers 16 talented graduate instrumentalists a unique year-long experience designed to bridge the gap between music college and the professional platform.

Participants play alongside LPO members in rehearsals throughout the year, take lessons with LPO Principals, and receive guidance and mentoring. They also benefit from advice on audition skills and etiquette through a series of mock auditions in front of a panel of LPO Principals. The Foyle Future Firsts also have the opportunity to develop their skills in creative leadership alongside LPO players as part of the Orchestra’s busy Education and Community Programme.

A key part of the Foyle Future Firsts scheme is the opportunity to work closely throughout the year with participants from the LPO’s Young Composers programme, taking part in a series of collaborative workshops culminating in a final ‘Debut Sounds’ concert at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall at the end of the year, comprising an orchestra of LPO members and Future Firsts; a highlight of the calendar that fuses exciting chamber orchestra repertoire with new works from the Young Composers.

Many of our former Foyle Future Firsts have secured permanent positions with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and other world-class ensembles. Others are enjoying successful careers as soloists, chamber musicians and freelance performers. Others still are forging careers within other areas of the arts such as music education, teaching, concert promotion and digital projects.

This summer we revisited five alumni of the Foyle Future Firsts programme to find out where life has taken them since their participation on the scheme, and how their year with the LPO influenced their career plans and helped them on their way.

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Olivia Jageurs © Maximilian Van London – Kate Oswin © Miha Smirnov Oštir

OLIVIA JAGEURS HARP (2013/14)

JUDE CARLTON PERCUSSION (2015/16)

A FREELANCE HARPIST, OLIVIA ALSO RUNS HER OWN CLASSICAL BRUNCH CONCERT SERIES (BACHNEGGS.COM) AND HER SOCIAL MEDIA PROJECT, @15SECONDHARP

JUDE IS A FREELANCE PERCUSSIONIST AND TIMPANIST WHO APPEARS REGULARLY WITH THE LPO AND OTHER ENSEMBLES.

I’m enjoying a busy freelance career as a harpist with various orchestras, alongside working on my own projects. In 2016 I started a social media project called @15secondharp, where composers around the world send snippets of music for me to record, and I give feedback on their harp writing. To date I’ve posted around 500 of these miniatures, and the project was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. Thanks to this project I’m now gaining work doing remote sessions from my home studio – a career option I didn’t know existed when I first left music college. I also run a series of classical brunch concerts called ‘Bach’n Eggs’, aimed at attracting a new crowd to live classical music. Looking ahead, I’m excited about making my Wigmore Hall debut in the 2019/20 season, in three concerts including Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and Canticle V .

Since my year on the Foyle Future Firsts scheme I’ve been lucky in forging an increasingly varied career. As well as still occasionally playing with the LPO, I also frequently work on projects with the Orchestra’s Education & Community department – experience that has set me in good stead for outreach work with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Multi-Story Orchestra.

When I started the Foyle Future Firsts scheme I’d just finished my Masters at the Royal Academy of Music. I’d done my undergraduate degree in Manchester, so still felt quite new to London. The Future Firsts scheme gave me access to a community of musicians when I was first entering the music profession: a time that can feel particularly scary and overwhelming. The LPO’s Principal Harp, Rachel Masters, and the Education & Community team helped me feel supported and part of the wider LPO family. Listening to and playing in LPO rehearsals gave me an invaluable insight into professional life, and imparted me with confidence at the start of my freelance career.

Recently I premiered a new percussion concerto by Rūta Vitkauskaitė with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra: something I certainly wouldn’t have dreamed of a few years ago – the contemporary music element of the Future Firsts scheme, in particular the Debut Sounds collaboration with the LPO Young Composers, gave me a greater understanding of performing new music and of the collaborative process between composers and performers.

I also play regularly as a timpanist and percussionist with the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia orchestras, as well as period ensembles such as the OAE and the Gabrieli Consort. I came a slightly roundabout route to orchestral playing by going to university initially rather than to a conservatoire, but my time on the Foyle Future Firsts scheme really helped solidify my understanding of what’s required in playing with an orchestra – I use skills gleaned from that time literally every day.

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KATE OSWIN VIOLIN (2017/18) KATE WAS RECENTLY APPOINTED A MEMBER OF THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S FIRST VIOLIN SECTION, FOLLOWING THE END OF HER FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTS YEAR IN 2018.

I’m currently a member of the First Violin section in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. During my year on the Foyle Future Firsts scheme I took auditions and won trials for a few different positions in orchestras around the UK – I was notified of my appointment to the CBSO just before the final Future Firsts project of the year, the Debut Sounds concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall, which was a very exciting way to end my time on the scheme! I officially started with the CBSO in October 2018. Since then I’ve completed two big European tours with the orchestra, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw; recorded for Deutsche Grammophon with our Principal Conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; and finished my first main season of concerts at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Next year will be our centenary season, so there are lots of exciting projects and tours planned. When I’m not working in the CBSO, I do other orchestral freelance work around the UK, and also fit in as much chamber music as I can.

The Foyle Future Firsts scheme has been invaluable in helping me get to where I am today – getting used to the fast pace at which UK orchestras work up to the highest international standards prepared me really well for the demands of my position now. I am so thankful for having had this opportunity.

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LPO 2019/20 SEASON

JOHN FOULDS: DYNAMIC TRIPTYCH Composer John Foulds is one of the forgotten heroes of 20th-century British music. But with a Foulds revival under way, this autumn Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO are resurrecting the work that journalist and Foulds champion Simon Heffer calls ‘the greatest British piano concerto’. salt in their wounds. He divorced and lived with a common-law wife, with whom he had two children, when such things were thought scandalous. He was rumoured to be a Bolshevik. But the last straw for him was the eventual rejection of his gigantic A World Requiem, written to commemorate all deaths in the Great War, which had been performed in London on four successive Armistice nights from 1923 to 1926. Foulds had volunteered but been rejected for military service, and it was suggested that this should disqualify him from presenting such a work.

Whatever the reason, Foulds was convinced he was finished in England. He took his family to Paris, where he earned a living as an accompanist for silent films, work that soon dried up. During the 1920s he wrote much piano music, notably his Essays in the Modes and the sparkling, deceptively complex April: England, as well as what I regard as his masterpiece, his piano concerto Dynamic Triptych, finished in 1929, just before he returned to England for a frustrating five years until heading for India.

The first movement, ‘Dynamic Mode’, using the modes of Indian music, is a pyrotechnic display of his genius as an orchestrator and evokes influences from Busoni to Rachmaninoff. The second, ‘Dynamic Timbre’, is by turns stately, dramatic and magnificent. The third, ‘Dynamic Rhythm’, uses variations of time signature to create rhythmic effects that are both disconcerting and compelling. It makes prodigious demands on the pianist, and was not performed in public between 1934 and 2005, but had a spectacular recording in 1984

by Howard Shelley and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, under Vernon Handley, on Lyrita.

With the Foulds revival properly under way, this awesome work will be given a rare performance on 11 December 2019 at lpo.org.uk – 12 –

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall by Peter Donohoe – who has also recorded it – with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski. One day it will be considered the greatest British piano concerto, and will be heard far more often. For now, that will be a concert to savour.

Simon Heffer THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN THE TELEGRAPH, 20 APRIL 2019 . © SIMON HEFFER/THE TELEGRAPH

Pianist Peter Donohoe, who will perform Foulds’s Dynamic Triptych with the LPO on 11 December.

Wednesday 11 December 2019 ISLE OF 7.30pm NOISES Royal Festival Hall Foulds Dynamic Triptych Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Peter Donohoe piano London Philharmonic Orchestra For ticket information see pages 13–14.

Peter Donohoe © Sussie Ahlberg

T

he English musical renaissance at the start of the 20th century produced numerous composers who acquired greatness, but hardly any intuitive geniuses. Benjamin Britten was obviously one; but another was John Foulds. He died in 1939, aged 58, of cholera in India, where after a haphazard career he was running a classical music radio station.

For more than 30 years neither his name nor his music made so much as a ripple. Then, in the mid-1970s, Malcolm MacDonald, a musicologist, discovered some of his manuscript scores in the British Library and wrote a revelatory book on him. The musical world began to wake up to Foulds and his overwhelming talent.

Foulds was born in Manchester in 1880, into a family of Plymouth Brethren. His father, Fred, was a bassoonist in the Hallé, in which John too would play as a cellist, having from his mid-teens worked in minor orchestras around England. He was a natural musician, and not just as an instrumentalist. Henry Wood conducted one of Foulds’s early works at the Proms in 1906, which helped launch him as a composer, but his career took two paths.

To earn money, Foulds wrote hugely popular light music; and it subsidised what he really wanted to do, which was to write innovative classical music. Foulds was interested in the music of the East – which partly explains why he ended up in India – and brought its influence into much of his serious music, notably in his radical use of quartertones. The greatest fruit of that interest was his opera Avatara, which is now lost, although Foulds took from it his orchestral work Three Mantras, which survives, and was performed at the 1998 Proms to an ecstatic reception.

Yet Foulds never fitted into the British musical establishment. He provoked jealousy among less-gifted rivals; that he had not trained in a conservatoire or university rubbed

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LPO AUTUMN 2019

CONCERT LISTINGS SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Saturday 5 October 2019 | 7.30pm

Unless otherwise stated, standard prices £14–£46 Premium seats £65* London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Mon–Fri 10am–5pm lpo.org.uk *Transaction fees: £3 online, £3.50 telephone Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office 020 3879 9555 southbankcentre.co.uk *Transaction fees apply: £3 online; £3.50 over the phone. No transaction fees for in-person bookings, Southbank Centre Members and Supporters Circles.

ISLE OF

NOISES

Concerts marked with this symbol are part of the festival Isle of Noises. lpo.org.uk/isleofnoises

Sibelius The Oceanides Elgar Cello Concerto Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge Sibelius Symphony No. 6

Wednesday 9 October 2019 | 7.30pm Bartók Dance Suite Walton Violin Concerto Nielsen Symphony No. 4 (The Inextinguishable) Edward Gardner conductor James Ehnes violin London Philharmonic Orchestra

Knussen Scriabin Settings Britten Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

NOISES

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Julia Fischer violin London Philharmonic Orchestra Free pre-concert event 6.15–6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall

Saturday 19 October 2019 | 7.30pm

As we continue our Isle of Noises festival featuring landmark classics from the British Isles, we look at how British music continues to be a strong force in the world of classical music – from Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Britten through to current champions Colin Matthews and Thomas Adès.

Wednesday 2 October 2019 | 7.30pm Elgar Violin Concerto R Strauss An Alpine Symphony

Edward Gardner conductor Elza van den Heever soprano Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano Arsen Soghomonyan tenor Gábor Bretz bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir London Philharmonic Orchestra

Colin Matthews Metamorphosis Mahler Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Sofia Fomina soprano Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano London Philharmonic Choir London Youth Choir London Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 23 October 2019 | 7.30pm Sibelius Night Ride and Sunrise Thomas Adès Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (UK premiere) Holst The Planets

ISLE OF

NOISES

Thomas Adès conductor Kirill Gerstein piano Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir London Philharmonic Orchestra

Concert generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE. Concert dedicated to the memory of David Fuller.

Verdi Requiem ISLE OF

NOISES

Susanna Mälkki conductor Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello London Philharmonic Orchestra

Saturday 12 October 2019 | 7.30pm Friday 27 September 2019 | 7.30pm

ISLE OF

Free pre-concert event 6.15–7.00pm | Royal Festival Hall Student musicians from the Royal College of Music showcase their talent with a performance of chamber works by Thomas Adès.

ISLE OF

NOISES Saturday 26 October 2019 | 7.30pm Elgar The Apostles

ISLE OF

NOISES

Mark Elder conductor Elizabeth Watts The Angel Gabriel/ The Blessed Virgin Mary* Alice Coote Mary Magdalene/Narrator 2 Allan Clayton John/Narrator 1 Roderick Williams Jesus David Stout Peter Brindley Sherratt Judas London Philharmonic Choir BBC Symphony Chorus London Philharmonic Orchestra

*Please note change of artist from originally advertised.

Sunday 27 October 2019 | 12.00 noon FUNharmonics Family Concert: Zog We are delighted to present a live concert performance of Zog – the latest animated film from Magic Light Pictures, based on the witty storybook written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Follow the adventures of the eager but accident-prone young dragon, as the LPO performs René Aubry’s lively score to a big screen projection of the film.

Join in the free pre-concert foyer activities from 10.00am–12.00 noon (FUNharmonics concert ticket-holders only).

FUNharmonics foyer activities are generously supported by Stentor Music Co. Ltd and Bell Music.

ISLE OF

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Adults £16–24, children £8–12

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nicola Benedetti violin London Philharmonic Orchestra

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LPO AUTUMN 2019

CONCERT LISTINGS CONTINUED A Celebration of British Cinema

ISLE OF

NOISES

Programme includes: Jarre Main theme (Lawrence of Arabia) Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Mvt 1 (Brief Encounter) Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, Mvt 2 (The Spy Who Loved Me) Arnold Suite (David Copperfield) Rota Love theme (Romeo & Juliet) Rodney Bennett Waltz (Murder on the Orient Express) Rodney Bennett Love theme (Four Weddings and a Funeral) Bliss Suite (Things to Come) Anthony Weeden conductor Piers Lane piano London Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 6 November 2019 | 7.30pm Elgar Froissart Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto Alwyn Lyra Angelica* R Strauss Don Juan

AROUND THE UK

Wednesday 13 November 2019 | 7.30pm

Friday 1 November 2019 | 7.30pm

Wagner Tristan & Isolde: Prelude to Act 1 R Strauss Songs: Das Rosenband; Ständchen; Freundliche Vision; Wiegenlied; Zueignung; Allerseelen; Morgen!

Mahler Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Diana Damrau soprano London Philharmonic Orchestra

Beethoven Overture, Leonore No. 3 Beethoven Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7 Kensho Watanabe conductor Emmanuel Tjeknavorian violin London Philharmonic Orchestra

Saturday 7 December 2019 | 7.30pm ISLE OF Purcell (arr. Manze) Suite NOISES Thomas Adès Violin Concerto (Concentric Paths) Lawes (arr. Manze) Fantasy in G Vaughan Williams Job: A Masque for Dancing

Andrew Manze conductor Anthony Marwood violin London Philharmonic Orchestra

Lawrence Renes conductor Juliette Bausor flute Xavier de Maistre harp London Philharmonic Orchestra

Free pre-concert performance 6.00–7.00pm | Royal Festival Hall The LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme bridges the transition between college and the professional platform for up to 16 outstanding young musicians. Meet this season’s new cohort in a lively programme of British music.

*Generously supported by the William Alwyn Foundation.

Saturday 9 November 2019 | 7.30pm Butterworth A Shropshire Lad (Rhapsody for Orchestra) Elgar Enigma Variations Walton Belshazzar’s Feast

ISLE OF

NOISES

Marin Alsop conductor Roderick Williams baritone London Philharmonic Choir London Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 11 December 2019 | 7.30pm Foulds Dynamic Triptych Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Peter Donohoe piano London Philharmonic Orchestra

Free pre-concert performance 6.00–7.00pm | Royal Festival Hall Crisis members perform alongside LPO musicians as the culmination of our annual week of creative music-making at the Crisis Skylight Centre in East London.

Saturday 28 September 2019 | 7.30pm Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden Box Office: 0845 548 7650 saffronhall.com Knussen Scriabin Settings Britten Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

ISLE OF

NOISES

Saturday 21 September 2019 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Box Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org

ISLE OF

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Julia Fischer violin London Philharmonic Orchestra Sunday 13 October 2019 | 3.00pm Congress Theatre, Eastbourne Box Office: 01323 412000 eastbournetheatres.co.uk Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Andrew Gourlay conductor Reinis Zariņš piano London Philharmonic Orchestra

NOISES Saturday 2 November 2019 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Box Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org A Celebration of British Cinema Programme includes: Jarre Main theme (Lawrence of Arabia) Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Mvt 1 (Brief Encounter) Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, Mvt 2 (The Spy Who Loved Me) Arnold Suite (David Copperfield) Rota Love theme (Romeo & Juliet) Rodney Bennett Waltz (Murder on the Orient Express) Rodney Bennett Love theme (Four Weddings and a Funeral) Bliss Suite (Things to Come) Anthony Weeden conductor Piers Lane piano London Philharmonic Orchestra

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Sunday 3 November 2019 | 3.00pm Congress Theatre, Eastbourne Box Office: 01323 412000 eastbournetheatres.co.uk Programme as 2 November, Brighton Sunday 10 November 2019 | 7.30pm Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden Box Office: 0845 548 7650 saffronhall.com Butterworth A Shropshire Lad (Rhapsody for Orchestra) Elgar Enigma Variations Walton Belshazzar’s Feast Marin Alsop conductor Roderick Williams baritone Saffron Walden Choral Society London Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 4 December 2019 & Thursday 5 December 2019 | 6.00pm SSE Arena, Wembley Box Office: 0844 815 0815 ssearena.co.uk Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Live in Concert John Mauceri conductor Danny Elfman Catherine O’Hara Ken Page London Philharmonic Orchestra

INTERNATIONAL CONCERTS Friday 15 November 2019 | 8.00pm Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, Germany elbphilharmonie.de Wagner Tristan & Isolde: Prelude to Act 1 R Strauss Songs: Das Rosenband; Ständchen; Freundliche Vision; Wiegenlied; Zueignung; Allerseelen; Morgen!

Mahler Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Diana Damrau soprano London Philharmonic Orchestra Sunday 17 November 2019 | 6.00pm Kulturpalast, Dresden, Germany kulturpalast-dresden.de Britten Symphony for Cello Mahler Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Jan Vogler cello London Philharmonic Orchestra Tuesday 19 November 2019 | 8.00pm Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany koelner-philharmonie.de

Thursday 28 November 2019 | 7.30pm Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid, Spain auditorionacional.mcu.es Elgar Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nicola Benedetti violin London Philharmonic Orchestra Thursday 12 December 2019 | 7.30pm Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria konzerthaus.at Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Beatrice Rana piano London Philharmonic Orchestra Friday 13 December 2019 | 8.00pm Konzerthaus, Dortmund, Germany konzerthaus-dortmund.de Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Beatrice Rana piano London Philharmonic Orchestra

Programme as 17 November, Dresden

Wednesday 20 November 2019 | 8.00pm Konzerthaus, Freiburg, Germany konzerthaus.freiburg.de Britten Violin Concerto Mahler Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Arabella Steinbacher violin London Philharmonic Orchestra Thursday 21 November 2019 | 8.00pm Graf-Zeppelin-Haus, Friedrichshafen, Germany gzh.de Programme as 17 November, Dresden Wednesday 27 November 2019 | 7.30pm Auditorio Nacional de Música, Madrid, Spain auditorionacional.mcu.es Programme as 20 November, Freiburg

lpo.org.uk – 15 –

Saturday 14 December 2019 | 7.30pm Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany liederhalle-stuttgart.de Programme as 12 December, Vienna Sunday 15 December 2019 | 7.00pm Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany alteoper.de Programme as 13 December, Dortmund

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LPO PEOPLE

BACKSTAGE Who are your musical heroes?

I don’t really have heroes in a ‘musical celebrity’ sense. I’m more inspired by my close friends (many of whom are musicians) and colleagues; I get to learn from their music-making and soak up their great personalities all the time, so I’m able to admire more about them than any famous recording artist.

What part did music play in your life when you were growing up?

I was lucky to grow up in a household where there was an openness to different musical styles. Early sounds around me ranged from psychedelic rock or Italian opera, all the way to black metal! In the family car we had a cassette of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto that got jammed in the tape player for about ten years, so we could only listen to that on long car trips.

Which of the LPO’s autumn concerts are you most looking forward to?

Actually, my first two weeks with the band will be very special – Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony (27 September) and Strauss’s Alpine Symphony (2 October)!

The Tchaikovsky was the first complete symphony I ever played when I was 16, so it still holds all of those strong memories of exploring powerful music with close friends for the first time. An Alpine Symphony is simply epic – one of those pieces where you feel humbled by your small contribution to this enormous orchestral machine.

Do you experience performance nerves before a concert and if so, how do you deal with them?

Actually, nerves tend to hit me hardest in the first rehearsal for a piece that I haven’t played before, but usually settle by the time the concert comes round. I like to practise Qi Gong during the half-hour before a gig starts: it’s a series of movements that promotes circulation through the body, and also makes my mind feel relaxed.

– BENJAMIN MELLEFONT – Ben takes up the position of LPO Principal Clarinet from September 2019. Born in Sydney, Australia, he was previously Principal Clarinet with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. We get to know Ben and find out a little about his life, both on- and off-stage.

Had you not pursued a musical career, what might you have considered doing for a living instead?

I’d love to work in a kitchen. I have huge respect for the passion and skill level of many chefs. As a student I had a job making coffee in a fancy French restaurant. The chefs downstairs would regularly work 15-hour shifts, on minimum wage, and still be trying to better every plate they put out with a great spirit. Whenever I’m feeling tired at work I try and remember those colleagues.

Outside orchestral music, what are your musical interests?

I’m really fascinated by electronic music.

When I’m not playing clarinet I write and produce this sort of music as a hobby, and also practise DJing at home. Building music like this is somehow more ‘literal’ – you’re manipulating sound signals on a computer rather than playing an instrument, but you’re still trying to create something that has aesthetic value. For me, the feeling of bass rattling through your chest on a huge sound system is powerful in the same way as a full orchestra going crazy!

What else do you get up to when you’re not working?

I spend far too much money on food – both eating out and cooking at home – but at the same time I can’t think of a more worthwhile way to become poor! I also play chess a lot, but I’m painfully aware of my low skill level and how much practice is required to be a threatening player.

What advice would you have for a young instrumentalist hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Try and lead a life that’s balanced, and allow yourself to have as many rich and eye-opening experiences outside of your instrument as possible – both musical and non-musical. I always feel most relaxed and confident on the clarinet when my mind is curious and open to other things, rather than obsessive and neurotic. Practising is important, but you can’t learn humility, empathy or any of the collegiate skills required of musicians by playing scales all day.

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Newsletter published by the London Philharmonic Orchestra 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP Tel: 020 7840 4200 Fax: 020 7840 4201 Ticket Office: 020 7840 4242 lpo.org.uk

– 16 –

Benjamin Mellefont © Deni Teo

Welcome to the LPO, Ben! What have been your first impressions of the Orchestra during your period as a triallist for the Principal Clarinet position?

I felt very welcomed by all the friendly people right from the first day that I played with the LPO, which is always nice! Then I quickly grew to love the way this band plays: the LPO always plays very generously and expressively. I’m honoured to be able to join and keep developing my playing in this environment.