London Philharmonic Orchestra 11 Mar 2017 Brighton concert programme

MUSIC IS OUR WORLD. WE WANT TO SHARE ITS ASTONISHING POWER AND WONDER WITH YOU in brighton.

Concert programme Brighton Dome lpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADA Leader pieter schoeman supported by Neil Westreich Composer in Residence magnus lindberg Patron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM

Brighton Dome Concert Hall Saturday 11 March 2017 | 7.30pm

Dvořák Symphonic Variations (21’) Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 (33’) Interval (20’) Elgar Enigma Variations (29’)

Rory Macdonald conductor Igor Tchetuev piano

The Steinway concert piano chosen and hired by the London Philharmonic Orchestra for this performance is supplied and maintained by Steinway & Sons, London.

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

CONCERTS PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH BRIGHTON DOME

Contents 2 Welcome

Next concert 3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra 5 Leader: Vesselin Gellev 6 Rory Macdonald 7 Igor Tchetuev 8 Programme notes 11 Latest CD release 12 LPO NOISE for students

and under-26s 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration

Welcome

Welcome to Brighton Dome Chief Executive Andrew Comben We hope you enjoy the performance and your visit to Brighton Dome. For your comfort and safety, please note the following: LATECOMERS may not be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Some performances may contain no suitable breaks.

SMOKING Brighton Dome is a no-smoking venue.

INTERVAL DRINKS may be ordered in advance at the bar to avoid queues.

PHOTOGRAPHY is not allowed in the auditorium.

RECORDING is not allowed in the auditorium.

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switched off before entering the auditorium.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The concert at Brighton Dome on 11 March 2017 is presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in association with Brighton Dome.

Brighton Dome gratefully acknowledges the support of Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England.

Final LPO concert this season at Brighton Dome Concert Hall

Saturday 29 APRIL 2017 7.30pm Sibelius Valse Triste* Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) Joshua Weilerstein conductor Mark Bebbington piano * Please note a change to the previously advertised programme.

Our 2017/18 Brighton season brochure will be available at the 29 April concert.

@LPOrchestra Great concert at #BrightonDome. Thanks for the amazing music.

Audience member

Brighton Dome is managed by Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival, which also runs the annual threeweek Brighton Festival in May. brightondome.org | brightonfestival.org

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Book now Tickets £10–£27.50 brightondome.org 01273 709709

On stage tonight

First Violins Vesselin Gellev Leader Ilyoung Chae Chair supported by the Candide Trust

Catherine Craig Geoffrey Lynn Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Yang Zhang Amanda Smith Molly Cockburn Jacqueline Martens Galina Tanney Deborah Gruman Eleanor Bartlett Jamie Hutchinson Anna Croad Jacqueline Roche Second Violins Alison Kelly Guest Principal Nancy Elan Nynke Hijlkema Joseph Maher Ashley Stevens Harry Kerr Alison Strange John Dickinson Judith Choi-Castro Suzannah Quirke Alberto Vidal Cathy Fox

Violas Jon Thorne Guest Principal Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Naomi Holt Richard Cookson Martin Wray Martin Fenn Charles Cross Julia Kornig Cellos Steffan Morris Guest Principal Francis Bucknall Santiago Carvalho† Chair co-supported by Molly & David Borthwick

Elisabeth Wiklander Chair supported by Drs Oliver & Asha Foster

Susanna Riddell Sibylle Hentschel Iain Ward Jane Lindsay Double Basses Sebastian Pennar Principal George Peniston Laurence Lovelle Charlotte Kerbegian Helen Rowlands Kate Addis

Flutes Charlotte Ashton Guest Principal Lindsey Ellis

Trumpets Paul Beniston* Principal James Fountain Guest Principal Anne McAneney* Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Piccolo Lindsey Ellis

Trombones Mark Templeton* Principal

Oboes Alun Darbyshire Guest Principal Sue Böhling*

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse

Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Bass Trombone Lyndon Meredith Principal

Clarinets Thomas Watmough Principal Emily Meredith

Tuba Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Bassoons Jonathan Davies Principal Emma Harding

Timpani Jeremy Cornes Guest Principal

Contrabassoon Simon Estell* Principal

Percussion Henry Baldwin Principal Keith Millar James Bower

Horns John Ryan* Principal Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Mark Vines Co-Principal Martin Hobbs Stephen Nicholls Gareth Mollison Jonathan Eddie

* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at these concerts: David & Yi Buckley • Andrew Davenport • Sonja Drexler • Friends of the Orchestra • Sir Simon Robey • Victoria Robey OBE • Bianca & Stuart Roden • Eric Tomsett • Neil Westreich

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Everything about this performance ... was perfect ... one of the best pieces of orchestral playing I have heard in quite a long time.

Seen and Heard international, February 2015

Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most forwardlooking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and local communities.

The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur.

Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. Magnus Lindberg is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence.

The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives around 40 concerts each season. Throughout 2016 the LPO joined many of the UK’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

years since his death. In 2017 we will collaborate with Southbank Centre on Belief and Beyond Belief: a year-long multi-artform festival. Other 2016/17 season highlights include the return of Osmo Vänskä to conduct the Sibelius symphonies alongside major British concertos by Britten, Elgar, Walton and Vaughan Williams; Jurowski’s continuation of his Mahler and Brucker symphony cycles; landmark contemporary works by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams and Gavin Bryars; and premieres of new works by Aaron Jay Kernis and the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg.

Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of the Orchestra’s life: last season included visits to Mexico,

Vesselin Gellev leader

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 90 releases available on CD and to download: recent additions include a disc of Stravinsky works with Vladimir Jurowski, Act 1 of Wagner’s Die Walküre with Klaus Tennstedt, and Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 4 with Kurt Masur.

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 through an energetic programme of activities for young people.

Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as regular concert streamings and a popular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on social media.

© Benjamin Ealovega

Spain, Germany, the Canary Islands and Russia; and tours in 2016/17 include New York, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

Praised by the New York Times for his ‘warmth and virtuosic brilliance’, Bulgarian violinist Vesselin Gellev has been a featured soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Juilliard Orchestra, among others.

He won First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York as a member of the Antares Quartet, and has recorded several albums and toured worldwide as Concertmaster of Kristjan Järvi’s Grammynominated Absolute Ensemble.

Prior to joining the LPO as Sub-Leader in 2007, Vesselin was Leader of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in the USA and the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy. He has also performed as Guest Leader with numerous orchestras in the UK and abroad including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Vesselin received Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, New York, as a student of Robert Mann. He has served on the violin and chamber music faculties of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and the Eleazar de Carvalho Music Festival in Fortaleza, Brazil.

lpo.org.uk facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra twitter.com/LPOrchestra youtube.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

Rory Macdonald conductor

Rory Macdonald’s conducting was admirably muscular and wholehearted, drawing fiercely impassioned playing from the orchestra.

© Benjamin Ealovega

The Telegraph, June 2010 (Bizet's The Pearl Fishers at English National Opera)

One of the brightest stars of the younger generation of conductors, Rory Macdonald’s career was launched following assistant roles with Iván Fischer, Sir Mark Elder and Sir Antonio Pappano. Equally at home on the concert platform and in the opera house, he draws out distinctive interpretations of classical and romantic repertoire, and brings passion and intellectual insight to contemporary scores.

debut with the Canadian Opera Company in 2010, Rory made his US debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, conducting a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Subsequent US debuts have included new productions of The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera and The Magic Flute at San Francisco Opera. In 2014 he made his debut at Santa Fé Opera conducting Carmen, returning in 2016/17.

Recent guest conducting engagements have included the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Hallé, Royal Scottish National, Bournemouth Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber, Nagoya Philharmonic, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony, Queensland Symphony and West Australian Symphony orchestras; the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse; the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine; and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Future orchestral debuts include the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Essen Philharmonic and Japan Century Symphony orchestras. In 2015 Rory toured China with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, including performances at the Shanghai Grand Theatre and Beijing Concert Hall, amongst others.

In Europe, Rory Macdonald has conducted The Barber of Seville and Hansel and Gretel at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (where he has also conducted Fidelio, Das Rheingold, Owen Wingrave, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Philip Glass's Orphée), and he opened English National Opera’s 2011/12 season with The Elixir of Love. In 2014 he conducted Britten's The Turn of the Screw at the Vienna Konzerthaus with a cast including Mark Padmore, and in 2015 made his debut at the Royal Danish Opera with The Magic Flute. Future operatic highlights include Così fan tutte with Oper Frankfurt, The Magic Flute with Opera Australia and Ariadne auf Naxos with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

In December 2013 Rory stood in for Mariss Jansons in two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and at the Sydney Opera House, during the Orchestra's world tour celebrating its 125th anniversary.

Rory Macdonald has also built up an extensive operatic repertoire and is in demand at the world’s leading opera houses. Following his highly successful North American

6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Rory Macdonald studied music at Cambridge University, and plays violin and piano. While at university he studied under David Zinman and Jorma Panula at the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. After graduation from Cambridge he was appointed Assistant Conductor to Iván Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra (2001–03), and to Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra (2006–08). He was also a member of the Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House (2004–06), where he worked closely with Sir Antonio Pappano on major projects such as the complete Ring Cycle, and conducted performances of several operas.

Igor Tchetuev piano

Beaming like a laser, confident yet unaggressive, shining, colourful, structured without being rigid, the work of Igor Tchetuev makes every piece’s vital force emerge.

© Marco Borggreve

Le Monde de la Musique, October 2014

Igor Tchetuev was born in Sebastopol (Ukraine) in 1980, and at the age of 14 won the Grand Prix in the International Vladimir Krainev Young Pianists Competition (Ukraine), as a student of Maestro Krainev. In 1998, at the age of 18, he was the First Prize Laureate of the Ninth Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, and was voted 'Audience Favourite'.

Igor Tchetuev has been invited to perform with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Semyon Bychkov, the Hallé under Sir Mark Elder, the Orchestre National de France under Neeme Järvi, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra under Günter Neuhold, the Russian National Philharmonic under Ken-David Masur, the Orchestre National de Montpellier under Ari Rasilainen, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux, the Orchestre Pasdeloup and the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Igor gives regular recitals in France and Europe. This season he returns to the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, giving a solo recital and a duo recital with bass Ferruccio Furlanetto. He also appears at London's Wigmore Hall, the Salle Gaveau, the Festival de Menton, the Colmar International Festival, the Chopin Festival Paris, the Montpellier Festival and the Lille Piano Festival. He performs chamber music at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Prague Rudolfinum, the Mariinsky Theatre, La Scala Milan, the Wiener Staatsoper and the Opera Garnier, Paris, where he will again accompany Ferruccio Furlanetto.

He has performed under such conductors as Yevgeny Svetlanov, Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov, Neeme Järvi, Günther Herbig, Vladimir Spivakov, Sir Mark Elder,

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Maxim Vengerov, Alexander Dmitriev, Justus Franz and Maxim Shostakovich, among others. He plays chamber music with cellist Xavier Phillips, violinists Valery Sokolov, David Grimal, Chloë Hanslip and Andrey Bielov, oboist Alexei Ogrintchouk, and the Szymanowski Quartet.

Each year Igor gives a number of appearances at prestigious venues and festivals including the White Nights Festival, the Mariinsky Theatre, La Scala Milan, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Wiener Staatsoper, Wigmore Hall, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Festival de Menton, the Colmar International Festival, the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Braunschweig Festival, the Sintra Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, the Louvre Auritorium, the Accademia Philharmonica Romana, the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier and the festival of La Roque d’Anthéron, where he gave an acclaimed evening recital performing Chopin's 24 Études.

Igor Tchetuev has received numerous awards for his recordings: these include Prokofiev's Violin Sonatas with violinist Andrey Bielov (Naxos); Romantic Études

by Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin (Tri-M Classic); Three Chopin Sonatas (Orfeo) and Schnittke's Complete Piano Sonatas (Caro Mitis: this received the German Radio Critics' Award, an R10 rating in the French Classica-Répertoire and a magnificent article in Gramophone magazine). His most recent recordings are the first five volumes of his Complete Beethoven Sonatas (Caro Mitis), and a Medtner recording with violinist Chloë Hanslip (Hyperion).

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread Two great 19th-century sets of variations dominate tonight’s programme, both written just before their composers made their breakthroughs to international fame: Dvořák’s Symphonic Variations is a celebration of the art for its own brilliant and playful sake by a composer finding his creative feet; and Elgar’s ‘Enigma’ Variations are inspired and

Antonín Dvořák

warmly coloured by thoughts of his Worcestershire friends and their endearing idiosyncracies. In between comes Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, a work roundly rubbished by a respected friend at its first unveiling, but whose rich tunefulness and virtuoso glitter mean that it will surely never lose its place in the public’s affection.

Symphonic Variations

1841–1904

Ten years separated the first performance of Dvořák’s Symphonic Variations from the second, a surprising state of affairs for a composition that has come to be considered as one of his best orchestral works. But then in December 1877, when it was premiered in Prague to no great reaction, the composer was little-known in his homeland and hardly known at all outside it. That was about to change, however. Only a few days before, the critic Eduard Hanslick had recommended that Dvořák send some of his work to Brahms to look at; he did, Brahms liked what he saw, and the result was that within 12 months the 36-year-old composer had a publisher in Germany and the rise of his international reputation had begun.

By 1887 he was in constant demand from concert promoters and publishers, and as well as producing new works was rooting through his older ones to see what could be brought back into the light. Among them was the Variations, which he himself conducted in Prague that March and offered to the great conductor Hans Richter to take to London in May. Richter presented it at a Crystal Palace concert and reported back that

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

‘in the hundreds of concerts I have conducted in my life, no new work has ever had such a success as yours!’.

Richter conducted it again in December with the Vienna Philharmonic, and this time it was Brahms who was marvelling at its success, and presenting Dvořák with the gift of a ‘lovely cigar-holder’.

The theme of Dvořák’s Variations is one he had himself recently written, for a part-song setting the words ‘I am a fiddler’. There is a folkish feel to its brevity and asymmetric phrase structure, but the treatment it undergoes in its 28 variations, once it has been presented in an almost eerie slow pianissimo by unison strings over held wind chords and a timpani roll, ranges through many and various milieux, from cosmopolitan salons and ballrooms, to 'Bohemian woods and fields' folk, to the world of Dvořák’s own distinctive imagination. Some are witty, some serious, and some, such as the still Variation 14, highly original in texture and orchestral colourings. At the same time, some briefly recall famous earlier variation sets such as the finale of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony or Brahms’s ‘Haydn’ Variations. As is often the case, the

first few variations are primarily decorative and regular, and for much of the work the piece stays in C. Yet, as it progresses, the variations begin to run into one another, bringing a more evolutionary feel, and a little over halfway through, at the shapely Variation 18, Dvořák begins a wander through other keys – some quite distant – before returning to C major in time for the last two variations. The second of these, also functioning as the finale, is an ebullient, episodic and even jokey fugue – perhaps the only one ever to include a few bars of polka!

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840–93

That his First Piano Concerto would rise to become one of the most popular of all would no doubt have come as a surprise to Tchaikovsky, had he been informed of it on the morning of Christmas Day 1874. The previous night he had played it through and invited the opinion of his friend and mentor, the pianist Nikolay Rubinstein.

The answer was quite a surprise, as he later recalled: ‘It appeared that my Concerto was worthless, that it was unplayable, that passages were trite, awkward, and so clumsy that it was impossible to put them right, that as a composition it was bad and tawdry ... that there were only two or three pages that could be retained, and that the rest would have to be scrapped or completely revised.’ It was an inauspicious start. Yet Tchaikovsky chose not to bin the Concerto, and neither did he make significant changes to it. It was premiered in Boston in October 1875, and in time even Rubinstein softened to the point of performing it himself both as soloist and conductor.

Why this discouraging start to the work’s life? Well, Tchaikovsky was no great pianist, and perhaps his private performance did not show the work at its best.

Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23 Igor Tchetuev piano 1

2 3

Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito Andantino semplice – Prestissimo Allegro con fuoco

But Rubinstein was of conservative cast, and the formal oddities of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto may well have left him perplexed – as indeed they have often baffled other listeners since. Strangest of all its features is the very opening, where, after a lofty horn-call, the music shifts immediately into the ‘wrong’ key (D flat major) for one of the grandest and most memorable of all concerto tunes. Curiouser still, this turns out after a while to have been a giant introduction featuring music that will not figure in the Concerto again. The main part of the movement, when it is reached, is for the most part comparatively gentle, its two main themes being a skipping minor-key melody for the soloist, based on a Ukrainian folk-song, and an elegantly shaped tune first heard on the clarinet.

The central slow movement also has an unusual design: returning to D flat major, it opens with a tranquil melody shared between piano and woodwinds, to the tenderest of string accompaniments. Even for Tchaikovsky this is inspired lyricism, and its nostalgic air is reinforced by the knowledge that the string tune over which the piano throws feather-light decoration in

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

Programme notes continued

the ensuing Prestissimo section is based on a song once beloved of Désirée Artôt, a singer to whom Tchaikovsky had briefly been engaged a few years earlier. The movement ends with a shortened reprise of the opening music.

The finale bursts in with another energetic Ukrainian folk melody, but it is another ‘big tune’ that dominates the movement in a manner Rachmaninoff would later employ to great effect. Gently squeezed out at first by the violins, then quickly taken over by the piano, this broad melody later returns in glory after thunderous bravura piano octaves, before the Concerto races to the finish in a brilliant coda.

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

Edward Elgar

Enigma Variations

1857–1934

‘Through and over the whole set a larger theme “goes” but is not played.’ Thus Elgar teased the world with his Enigma Variations, the work which took his reputation – almost overnight – from provincial writer of salon music to international composer. Its premiere, given in London in 1899, was a huge success and performances further afield soon followed: by 1904 it had even reached Russia, where Rimsky-Korsakov rated the Variations ‘the best since Brahms’.

So what is the ‘larger theme’? Is it musical (‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘God save the Queen’ are among the numerous suggestions), or is it, as some have proposed, personal or philosophical? These questions are still exercising musicological minds over a century later, but actually they are of limited significance when set beside what we do know about the work: that in it Elgar first found his true artistic voice, and at the same time 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

created what was the most important work by a native English composer since Purcell. Beautifully designed, exquisitely wrought and brimming with charm and elegance, it is a piece whose purely musical eloquence renders the enigma’s solution superfluous.

Whatever the ‘enigma’ may be, there is one subject that the Variations undoubtedly embrace: friendship.

Elgar dedicated the work ‘to my friends pictured within’, and although he did not publicly reveal their identities at the time, he later wrote an article explaining these smaller enigmas. Each friend was allotted one variation, as follows: 1 C.A.E: His wife Alice.

2 HDS-P: Hew David Steuart-Powell, an amateur pianist.

3 RBT: Richard Baxter Townshend, and his brokenvoiced participation in amateur theatricals.

Latest release on the LPO Label

4 WMB: William Meath Baker, a country squire who was in the habit of giving house-guests brisk instructions for the day.

5 RPA: Richard, son of the poet Matthew Arnold, who mixed serious conversation with witty remarks.

6 Ysobel: Isabel Flitton, a tall and statuesque amateur viola player.

7 Troyte: Arthur Troyte Griffith, a boisterous character and somewhat clumsy pianist.

8 WN: The graceful ladies of the Norbury family – in particular Winifred – who lived in an 18thcentury house.

9 Nimrod: A.J. Jaeger, Elgar’s publisher and loyal supporter; his famous variation, the emotional core of the work, recalls a conversation about Beethoven’s slow movements.

10 Dorabella: Dora Penny, a lively and frequent guest at the Elgars’ house.

11 GRS: G.R. Sinclair, the organist of Hereford Cathedral – or rather his dog Dan, who is depicted falling into the River Wye and climbing out again with a bark 12 BGN: Basil Nevinson, an amateur cellist.

13 *** Romanza: Lady Mary Wygon, who left England for Australia by sea in 1899; the timpani rumble is supposed to represent the low hum of the ship’s engines. Elgar’s use of asterisks in the score, as well as the subtitle, have prompted commentators to speculate that he was alluding to some other more meaningful relationship.

14 EDU: Elgar himself.

While these descriptions are fun, and do indeed form a wonderful testament to friendly affection and playful ‘japes’ (as Elgar would have called them), Enigma can be enjoyed perfectly well without any knowledge of them, such is its strength. But as the late Michael Kennedy pointed out in his wonderful Portrait of Elgar, there is an immensely touching personal note to these skilful variations and the place they hold at a crossroads in the composer’s life, for they ‘sum up the world Elgar was leaving for the world into which they took him’.

Dvořák Othello Overture, Op. 93 Symphony No. 6 in D, Op. 60 Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO-0095 | £10.99 (2 CDs) Recorded live at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, London, on 3 February 2016 (Othello Overture, Symphony No. 6) and 27 May 2009 (Symphony No. 7).

‘Nézet-Séguin drew a ripe string sound from the LPO and unleashed fearsome brass playing in the score’s violent denouement.’

Bachtrack, February 2016

Available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets Download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and others

Programme notes © Lindsay Kemp

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

MUSIC IS OUR WORLD. Student & Under 26 NOISE Scheme at Brighton Dome Students receive best available seats for just £4 at selected concerts throughout the year at Brighton Dome.

Sign up online at lpo.org.uk/noise

‘Concert-goers are lucky to have concerts as creative as this’ - Financial Times

‘@LPOrchestra

bring it on!’

The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s NOISE programme is supported by the Orchestra’s Principal Beer Sponsor, Heineken.

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 Queree The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 13

Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all donors who have given generously to the LPO over the past year.

Your generosity helps maintain the breadth and depth of the LPO’s activities, as well as supporting the Orchestra both on and off the concert platform.

Artistic Director’s Circle An anonymous donor Victoria Robey OBE

Eric Tomsett Laurence Watt Michael & Ruth West

Orchestra Circle Natalia Semenova & Dimitri Gourji The Tsukanov Family

Silver Patrons Mrs Molly Borthwick Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Mrs Irina Gofman David Goldstone CBE LLB FRICS Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe John & Angela Kessler Vadim & Natalia Levin Mrs Elena Lileeva & Dr Adrian Pabst The Metherell Family Mr Brian Smith The Viney Family Guy & Utti Whittaker

Principal Associates An anonymous donor Mr Peter Cullum CBE Alexander & Elena Djaparidze Dr Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Sergey Sarkisov & Rusiko Makhashvili Neil Westreich

Associates Oleg & Natalya Pukhov Sir Simon Robey Stuart & Bianca Roden Barry Grimaldi William & Alex de Winton Gold Patrons An anonymous donor Mrs Evzen Balko David & Yi Buckley Garf & Gill Collins Andrew Davenport Georgy Djaparidze Sonja Drexler Mrs Gillian Fane Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Drs Oliver & Asha Foster Simon & Meg Freakley David & Victoria Graham Fuller Wim & Jackie Hautekiet-Clare The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Alexandra Jupin & John Bean James R D Korner Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds Virginia Slaymaker

Bronze Patrons An anonymous donor Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Dr Christopher Aldren Michael Allen Mr Jeremy Bull Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Bruno De Kegel David Ellen Mrs Marie-Laure Favre-Gilly de Varennes de Bueil Igor & Lyuba Galkin Mr Daniel Goldstein Mr Gavin Graham Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Mr Martin Hattrell Mr Colm Kelleher Rose & Dudley Leigh Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mrs Angela Lynch Peter MacDonald Eggers William & Catherine MacDougall Mr & Mrs David Malpas Mr Adrian Mee Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Mrs Rosemarie Pardington Ms Olga Pavlova Mr Michael Posen Mrs Karmen Pretel-Martines Dr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry Sciard

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr & Mrs G Stein Sergei & Elena Sudakova Captain Mark Edward Tennant Ms Sharon Thomas Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Grenville & Krysia Williams Christopher Williams Mr Anthony Yolland Principal Supporters Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Roger & Clare Barron Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mrs A Beare Mr Charles Bott Mr Graham Brady Mr Gary Brass Mr Richard Brass Mr Frederick Brittenden David & Patricia Buck Dr Anthony Buckland Sir Terry Burns GCB Mr Alan C Butler Richard Buxton Mr Pascal Cagni Mrs Alan Carrington Dr Archibald E Carter The Countess June Chichester Mr & Mrs Stewart Cohen Mr Alistair Corbett Mr Alfons Cortés Mr David Edwards Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Mr Timothy Fancourt QC Mr Richard Fernyhough Mr Derek B Gray Mr Roger Greenwood Mr Chris Grigg Malcolm Herring Amanda Hill & Daniel Heaf J Douglas Home Ivan Hurry Mr Glenn Hurstfield Mr Peter Jenkins Per Jonsson Mr Frank Krikhaar Mr Gerald Levin

Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Paul & Brigitta Lock Mr John Long Mr Nicholas Lyons Mr Peter Mace Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski Elena Mezentseva Andrew T Mills Randall & Maria Moore Dr Karen Morton Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin Pavel & Elena Novoselov Dr Wiebke Pekrull Mr Roger Phillimore Mr James Pickford Andrew & Sarah Poppleton Oleg Pukhov Miss Tatiana Pyatigorskaya Mr Robert Ross Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr Christopher Stewart Peter Tausig Mr Jonathan Townley Andrew & Roanna Tusa Marina Vaizey Howard & Sheelagh Watson Des & Maggie Whitelock Bill Yoe Supporters Mr Clifford Brown Miss Siobhan Cervin Miss Lynn Chapman Mr Joshua Coger Mr Geoffrey A Collens Timothy Colyer Miss Tessa Cowie Lady Jane Cuckney OBE Ms Holly Dunlap Mr Nigel Dyer Ms Susanne Feldthusen Mrs Janet Flynn Mr Nick Garland Dr Geoffrey Guy The Jackman Family Mrs Svetlana Kashinskaya Niels Kroninger

Mr Christopher Langridge Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Miss S M Longson Mr David Macfarlane Mr John Meloy Miss Lucyna Mozyrko Mr Leonid Ogarev Mr Stephen Olton Mr David Peters Mr Ivan Powell Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr Christopher Queree Mr James A Reece Mr Olivier Rosenfeld Mr Kenneth Shaw Mr Kevin Shaw Mr Barry Smith Ms Natalie Spraggon James & Virginia Turnball Michael & Katie Urmston Timothy Walker AM Mr Berent Wallendahl Edward & Catherine Williams Mr C D Yates Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd Hon. Life Members Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE 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: Jenny Ireland Co-Chairman William A. Kerr Co-Chairman Xenia Hanusiak Alexandra Jupin Kristina McPhee David Oxenstierna Natalie Pray Antonia Romeo Hon. Chairman

Noel Kilkenny Hon. Director Victoria Robey OBE Hon. Director Richard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP Stephanie Yoshida Corporate Donors Fenchurch Advisory Partners LLP Goldman Sachs Linklaters London Stock Exchange Group Morgan Lewis Phillips Auction House Pictet Bank Corporate Members Gold Sunshine Silver Accenture After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Bronze Ageas BTO Management Consulting AG Charles Russell Speechlys Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Willis Towers Watson Preferred Partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Sipsmith Steinway Villa Maria In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

Trusts and Foundations Axis Foundation The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini Trust Borletti-Buitoni Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The Ernest Cook Trust Diaphonique, Franco-British Fund for contemporary music The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund The Equitable Charitable Trust The Foyle Foundation The Goldsmiths’ Company Lucille Graham Trust Help Musicians UK Derek Hill Foundation John Horniman’s Children’s Trust The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group Foundation Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian Trust The Mercers’ Company Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Stanley Picker Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation The R K Charitable Trust RVW Trust The Sampimon Trust Schroder Charity Trust Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust Spears-Stutz Charitable Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Michael Tippett Musical Foundation UK Friends of the FelixMendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation

Garfield Weston Foundation The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 15

Administration

Board of Directors Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-President Roger Barron Richard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Bruno de Kegel Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* Al MacCuish Julian Metherell George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines* Timothy Walker AM Neil Westreich David Whitehouse* * Player-Director

Chief Executive

Education and Community

Public Relations

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Isabella Kernot Education Director

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930)

Talia Lash Education and Community Project Manager

Archives

Tom Proctor PA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant Finance

Lucy Sims Education and Community Project Manager

David Burke General Manager and Finance Director

Richard Mallett Education and Community Producer

Frances Slack Finance and Operations Manager

Development

Dayse Guilherme Finance Officer Concert Management

Advisory Council Victoria Robey OBE Chairman Rob Adediran Christopher Aldren Dr Manon Antoniazzi Richard Brass David Buckley 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 Martin Höhmann Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Nadia Powell Sir Bernard Rix Baroness Shackleton Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Sir John Tooley Chris Viney Timothy Walker AM Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director (maternity leave)

Nick Jackman Development Director Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager Laura Luckhurst Corporate Relations Manager Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager

Liz Forbes Concerts Director (maternity cover)

Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Ellie Franklin Development Assistant

Sophie Kelland Tours Manager Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager

Amy Sugarman Development Assistant Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate Marketing

Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Kath Trout Marketing Director

Jo Cotter Tours Co-ordinator

Libby Papakyriacou Marketing Manager

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant

Martin Franklin Digital Projects Manager

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Samantha Cleverley Box Office Manager (Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Sarah Holmes Librarian Sarah Thomas Librarian Christopher Alderton Stage Manager Damian Davis Transport Manager Madeleine Ridout Orchestra Co-ordinator and Auditions Administrator

16 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Rachel Williams Publications Manager Anna O’Connor Marketing Co-ordinator Oli Frost Marketing Intern

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 design Ross Shaw @ JMG Studio Cover copywriting Jim Davies Printer Cantate