London Philharmonic Orchestra 12 Mar 2017 Eastbourne concert programme

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

Concert programme Eastbourne Congress Theatre & Devonshire Park Theatre 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

Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne Sunday 12 March 2017 | 3.00pm

R Strauss String Sextet from Capriccio (10’) Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581 (33’) Interval (20’) Mendelssohn String Octet in E flat major, Op. 20 (35’)

Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

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

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA IN ASSOCIATION WITH EASTBOURNE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Contents 2 Welcome

Orchestra news 3–5 Today's musicians 6 About the Orchestra 7 LPO Eastbourne Appeal 8 Programme notes 11 New on the LPO Label 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Supporters 16 LPO administration

Welcome

Orchestra news

Welcome to the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

We are delighted to return to the Devonshire Park Theatre this afternon for this, the second of three chamber concerts here this season. We hope you enjoy today's concert featuring nine of the Orchestra's players in an enchanting, intimate programme of chamber music by Strauss, Mozart and Mendelssohn. Please do join us again on Sunday 23 April for our final concert at Eastbourne this season (see below left). Our 2017/18 Eastbourne season brochure will be available at the 23 April concert.

Artistic Director Chris Jordan General Manager Gavin Davis Welcome to this afternoon’s performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Please sit back and enjoy the concert and your visit here. As a courtesy to others, please ensure mobile phones and watch alarms are switched off during the performance. Thank you.

We are excited to be hosting half this season at our atmospheric Victorian playhouse, the Devonshire Park Theatre. It is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the London Philharmonic Orchestra to its delightful acoustics and we invite you to immerse yourself in its historic surroundings. We’ve worked closely with the Orchestra and its specialists to ensure the new venue enhances the orchestral sound and thank you, our audience, for continuing to support the concert series.

We welcome comments from our customers. Should you wish to contribute, please speak to the House Manager on duty, email theatres@eastbourne.gov.uk or write to Gavin Davis, General Manager, Eastbourne Theatres, Compton Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4BP.

Last LPO concert this season at the Devonshire Park Theatre

Sunday 23 APRIL 2017 3.00pm Brahms Horn Trio Schubert Piano Quintet in A major (‘Trout’) Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Book now 01323 412000 Tickets £15–£25

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Glyndebourne 2017 Booking is now open for the 2017 Glyndebourne Festival, which begins on 20 May. This summer the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne's Resident Symphony Orchestra, will perform Verdi’s La traviata conducted by Richard Farnes and Andrés Orozco-Estrada; the world premiere performances of Brett Dean’s Hamlet conducted by Vladimir Jurowski; Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos under Cornelius Meister; and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale under Giacomo Sagripanti. To book, call the Glyndebourne Box Office on 01273 815000 or visit glyndebourne.com New on the LPO Label Recently released on the LPO Label (LPO-0095) is a disc of works by Dvořák: the Othello Overture and Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7. Conducted by Yannick NézetSéguin and recorded live in concert at Royal Festival Hall, the double disc is priced at £10.99 and is 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.

2017 London Marathon: Support Team LPO! On Sunday 23 April a team from the wider LPO community will take part in the Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of the Orchestra’s schools concerts, BrightSparks. All money raised will help to enable over 12,000 young people to attend one of our live schools concerts, many for the very first time. £9 will enable one child to attend a concert and if you would like to make your contribution go even further, £27 will provide access for three children and £108 would provide an entire row in the stalls. Meet our runners and donate here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/LPOLondonMarathon

Today's musicians

Pieter Schoeman

Vesselin Gellev

Leader | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sub-Leader | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002.

Born in South Africa, Pieter made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. In 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman who, after several consultations, recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg.

Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. As a chamber musician he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. At the invitation of Yannick NézetSéguin he has been part of the ‘Yannick and Friends’ chamber group, performing at festivals in Dortmund and Rheingau. Pieter has performed several times as a soloist with the LPO, and his live recording of Britten’s Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov was released on the Orchestra’s own label to great critical acclaim.

He has also recorded numerous violin solos for film and television, and led the LPO in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. In April 2016 he was Guest Leader with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra for Kurt Masur’s memorial concert. He is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.

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.

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

Today's musicians continued

Jeongmin Kim (violin) was born in Seoul and began playing the violin at the age of five. Following studies at the Yewon School and Seoul Arts High School, she was selected for early entrance to the College of Music in Detmold, Germany. She studied the violin with Thomas Brandis at the University of Arts in Berlin and chamber music with Christoph Poppen in Munich.

Jeongmin began her orchestral career with the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in 2000, and has also played in the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Bayerische Staatsoper orchestras. She has been a regular guest with the Camerata Salzburg and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. In 2006 she was appointed Principal First Violin of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Jeongmin joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008.

Cyrille Mercier (viola) was born in France and studied with Françoise Gnéri, Pierre-Henri Xuereb and Jean-Philippe Vasseur.

In 1998 he received First Prize from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.

Passionate about chamber music, he has taken masterclasses with the Amadeus, Alban Berg, Bartók and Artis string quartets and has given many performances as soloist and with string quartets, string trios and sonata ensembles. Cyrille has been Principal Viola of the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra since 2000 and joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Principal Viola at the start of the 2013/14 season.

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

© Guido Vadilonga

Tania Mazzetti (violin) was born in Rovereto (Italy) and studied with Glauco Bertagnin, Salvatore Accardo and Dora Schwarzberg. In 2000 she graduated from the Conservatory of Music Guido Cantelli in Novara.

Tania has always had a keen interest in chamber music: she has attended chamber music courses at the International Academy of the Trio di Trieste and the International Academy of Music in Pinerolo. She was also a founding member of the Archi Riflessi String Quartet.

Tania began her orchestral career with the Orchestra Symphonica Toscanini under Lorin Maazel. She has also played in the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, the Filarmonica della Scala, the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Since 2014 she has led the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari in Sardinia. She joined the LPO in 2016.

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Robert Duncan (viola) was born in London and started violin lessons aged seven with Colin Verrall of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Later studies took him to the Guildhall School and the Centre for Young Musicians, where he also took up the viola.

He decided to specialise on that instrument and entered the Royal College of Music, where his main teacher was Frederick Riddle. Whilst at the College he won an Exhibition Scholarship and prizes for viola and chamber music.

After a period of freelancing in London he joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1977, becoming Sub-Principal Viola in 1995. Apart from his long career in the LPO he has played in many chamber music groups, including the Park Lane Sextet which delved into the lesser-heard pieces of the repertoire giving many first performances, BBC broadcasts and concerts.

Kristina Blaumane (cello) was born in Riga and graduated from the Latvian Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She has performed as soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (of which she is Principal Cello), Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Kremerata Baltica, Britten Sinfonia and Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, as well as all the main orchestras in Latvia.

As a chamber musician Kristina has worked with such renowned artists as Isaac Stern, Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, Yuri Bashmet, Leif Ove Andsnes and Janine Jansen, and has performed at festivals such as Lockenhaus, Gstaad, Salzburg, Verbier, Basel, Jerusalem, Utrecht, Spitalfields, Cheltenham and Aldeburgh.

Kristina is a keen promoter of new music. She has given a number of world premieres and several works are dedicated to her.

Chair supported by Stuart and Bianca Roden

Š Kaupo Kikkas

Pei-Jee Ng (cello) was the 2001 Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and won the 2008 Young Concert Artists Trust auditions in London. As well as with the six major Australian symphony orchestras, he has performed concertos with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Oulu Symphony, Sinfonia ViVA and Estonian National Symphony orchestras, and made his debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the 2011 Chichester Festivities, performing the Elgar Concerto. As a soloist and recitalist he has performed in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Centre, Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, the Berlin Konzerthaus and the Sydney Opera House.

Thomas Watmough (clarinet) studied at The Purcell School and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. After several years as a freelancer working with many of the British orchestras (particularly with the LPO), he spent nine years as a member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra before finally joining the LPO as Sub-Principal Clarinet/ Principal E flat Clarinet in September 2014. He recorded many of the principal clarinet cornerstones of the orchestral repertoire while with the RPO, and Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock for EMI.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert: Molly & David Borthwick David & Yi Buckley The Candide Trust Andrew Davenport William & Alex de Winton Sonja Drexler Drs Oliver & Asha Foster Dr Barry Grimaldi Geoff & Meg Mann Sir Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Eric Tomsett Laurence Watt

A committed chamber musician, Pei-Jee is cellist of the Fournier Trio. He joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Principal Cello in 2015.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

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

6 | 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,

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.

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra 2016/17 Eastbourne Appeal The London Philharmonic Orchestra is extremely proud of its longstanding relationship with our audiences and we hope that you have enjoyed this season’s concerts so far.

This year's Eastbourne Appeal aimed to secure support towards talent in the Orchestra, ensuring that we are able to continue presenting the very best players on the Eastbourne stage. About 55% of the LPO’s total outlay goes towards paying the musicians and artists with whom we work, and finding the funding for this poses a constant challenge. We invited you to help the Orchestra by donating, supporting us in our mission to continue showcasing players of the highest calibre.

It is thanks to your support, both as audience members and through your generous donations, that we are able to continue presenting the very best talents on the Eastbourne stage. We wish to say a huge thank you to all of you who gave so generously this year, helping us to raise over £4,000 to date. To donate, or if you have any questions, please contact Ellie Franklin on 020 7840 4225 or ellie.franklin@lpo.org.uk

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

Programme notes

Speedread Richard Strauss opens his final opera Capriccio with a String Sextet. Its wistful music looks back over an evergreen tradition of chamber music in the German-speaking world and was composed in 1942 as the Allies began bombing Strauss’s birthplace of Munich. The countries where the septuagenarian composer had made his career, Austria and Germany, are also represented on this afternoon’s programme, by composers whose music certainly left its mark on Strauss’s late Sextet. The Salzburg-born Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781 and quickly embarked on a freelance existence. Responding to one of the city’s most gifted instrumentalists, he wrote his Clarinet

Richard Strauss 1864–1949

What comes first: words or music? The question had dogged Richard Strauss ever since he began his first opera, Guntram, in February 1892. Undaunted by the lack of an immediate answer, however, Strauss went on to work with some of the greatest literary talents of his day, including Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Stefan Zweig, together creating a series of operas that filled theatres the world over. Yet for his last stage work, Capriccio, Strauss penned what he called a ‘conversation piece for music in one act’, in which he finally sought to solve the question that had haunted him for half a century.

The plot of this last, somewhat esoteric, opera concerns a Countess in France in the late 18th century. She is torn between two lovers: Olivier, who is a poet, and the composer Flamand. As well as trying to work out how she can reciprocate their affections, the Countess also 8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Quintet in 1789, whose lyrical lines recall the music of his own spirited operas. Like Mozart before him, Mendelssohn was a musically prodigious youth, writing numerous chamber works for performances in his family’s palatial Berlin home. But in 1825, at the age of 16, he completely reconceived what chamber music could be. The frothing melodies and skittish Scherzo of his String Octet may speak of youthful impetuosity, yet the music’s determination, the boldness of its harmonic language and the range of emotions communicated by its four movements likewise announce the composer’s maturity.

String Sextet from Capriccio Pieter Schoeman violin Tania Mazzetti violin Cyrille Mercier viola Robert Duncan viola Kristina Blaumane cello Pei-Jee Ng cello

has to solve the debate about which metier is most important and so she asks the pair to collaborate on an opera, with a plot reflecting the events unfolding in her château. Strauss, as a composer, subtly but unsurprisingly, sides with the composer.

And it is the String Sextet ‘by Flamand’ – originally a quartet and then a quintet, according to Strauss’s correspondence with his librettist Clemens Krauss – that opens the opera. This rather melancholy sonatina not only provides a curtain-raiser to the drama but also introduces the Mozartian tropes that characterise much of Capriccio. It also heralds the chamber-like atmosphere of this last opera, first seen in Munich in October 1942, shortly after the Royal Air Force had started bombing the city. Despite the dangers of attending the premiere, many took that chance, as director Rudolf Hartmann later described: ‘They risked being caught in a heavy

air raid, yet their yearning to hear Strauss’s music, their desire to be part of a festive occasion and to experience a world of beauty beyond the dangers of war led them to overcome all these material problems.’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–91

Clarinet Quintet in A major, K581 Vesselin Gellev violin Jeongmin Kim violin Cyrille Mercier viola Kristina Blaumane cello Thomas Watmough clarinet

1 Allegro 2 Larghetto 3 Menuetto 4 Allegretto con variazioni

by you.’ That quality is evident in the works Mozart wrote for Stadler, including this 1789 Clarinet Quintet, the parts for the instrument in Così fan tutte (1790) and, of course, the famous Concerto, completed shortly before Mozart’s death.

Not long after arriving in Vienna in 1781, Mozart met local clarinettists (and brothers) Anton and Johann Stadler. The pair played in the court orchestra and Anton, in particular, was to become a close friend of Mozart’s. He performed the ‘Kegelstatt’ Trio K498 in 1786 and he (and his brother) doubtless played in the orchestra for many of the performances of Mozart’s operas during this last decade of the composer’s life.

He and Anton also maintained more or less constant contact through the Masonic Lodge they attended, and it appears Mozart might also have incautiously lent money to the spendthrift clarinettist.

The Quintet opens with hymn-like reserve, as the strings move in contrary motion, in equal two-bar phrases. This is answered by an exuberant clarinet flourish and it is not long before the soloist brings the quartet out of its shell and their dialogue becomes more energetic. The second subject, led by the first violin, is initially rather melancholy, before the work’s underlying cheerfulness bursts through once more.

As an instrumentalist, however, Anton could not be faulted. With the help of Lodz, the court instrument maker, he had enhanced the range of the clarinet and was renowned for being a highly lyrical player. ‘I have never heard the like of what you contrived with your instrument’, one contemporary commentator wrote; ‘Never should I have thought that a clarinet could be capable of imitating the human voice as it was imitated

Like the languid Adagio in the Concerto, the Quintet’s second movement, Larghetto, constitutes the emotional heart of the work and features a particularly ravishing clarinet melody. The thematic honours are shared more equally in the courtly Minuet. The first of its two intervening trios focusses on the sighing strings, while the clarinet leads the second in a minor key that casts a rare shadow in this otherwise sunlit work. The forces then come together for the finale, with its pert theme, followed by five flowing variations, evoking the spirit of comic opera.

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

Programme notes continued

Felix Mendelssohn 1809–47

String Octet in E flat major, Op. 20 Pieter Schoeman | Vesselin Gellev | Jeongmin Kim | Tania Mazzetti violins Cyrille Mercier | Robert Duncan violas Kristina Blaumane | Pei-Jee Ng cellos

1 Allegro moderato ma con fuoco 2 Andante 3 Scherzo 4 Presto

Completed in 1825, when he was just 16, Mendelssohn’s String Octet is rightly considered the pinnacle of his youthful output. It is the chamber counterpart to the inspired Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which followed in 1826. And there is a premonition of that prelude’s visionary fairy music in the third movement of the Octet, inspired not by Shakespeare but by the 'Walpurgis Night' scenes in Goethe’s Faust, set on the eve of May Day, when witches meet on the Brocken Mountain to dance with the devil.

Goethe is Germany’s most important literary figure and Mendelssohn had the good luck to meet the great man shortly before travelling to Paris in the spring of 1825, a trip that would make an equally marked impression on the young composer. Something of the musical virtuosity associated with the French capital is certainly evident in the Octet, which Mendelssohn completed on 15 October that year and dedicated to Eduard Rietz, his near contemporary, friend and violin teacher – hence the ornate figures for the first violinist throughout.

Alongside these literary, musical and amicable incentives, the practical impetus for the work doubtless stemmed from the Sunday afternoon chamber performances that took place at the Rebecksches Palais, the Mendelssohns’ home on Leipziger Strasse, right in the heart of Berlin. Felix and his sister Fanny carefully curated these concerts for their friends and family.

And yet, for all the comfortable domesticity of the events, Mendelssohn broke the Hausmusik mould with his Octet, whose rich, polyphonic textures are more 10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

orchestral in manner. Indeed, he asked that the ‘pianos and fortes must be precisely observed and more sharply emphasised than is usual in pieces of this kind.’ Clearly, the 16-year-old Mendelssohn was beginning to stride out on his own.

That spirit of enterprise is immediately apparent in the Allegro moderato, with its revealing instruction, ma con fuoco ('but with fire'). Rather than chamber music, its barnstorming first subject prompts immediate parallels with Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony (with which the Octet shares its home key). And although a more lyrical second subject follows, it is the movement’s vigorous opening theme that dominates, building to a thrilling climax at the close.

The Andante begins as a ‘song without words’, yet its wordlessness belies a more conflicted spirit, here hymnic, there restless. And there is certainly something agitated about the Scherzo, skittering, as Shakespeare’s Puck would say, ‘over hill, over dale, through bush, through brier, over park, over pale, through flood, through fire’. After the rich soundworld of the first two movements, this devilish dance’s diaphanous textures are undoubtedly surprising. And then, to remind us of another of his skills, the 16-year-old Mendelssohn caps his chamber music masterpiece with a dizzyingly quick fugato and another winning coda.

Programme notes © Gavin Plumley

Latest release on the LPO Label: Dvořák 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

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

Bachtrack, February 2016

LPO-0095 | £10.99 (2 CDs)

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

LPO CD Subscription Packages Treat yourself or someone you know to a subscription to the London Philharmonic Orchestra's CD releases and receive all the new releases on the LPO label for a whole year, mailed before the CDs are available in the shops. The perfect gift for a music lover!

Available online at lpo.org.uk/recordings or from the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242)

One-year CD subscription: £79.99 10 CDs (worth at least £100) Exclusive pre-release mailing Inclusive of P&P

Half-year CD subscription: £44.99 5 CDs (worth at least £50) Exclusive pre-release mailing Inclusive of P&P

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Eastbournian Society Chorus

Sunday 19 March 7.30pm

37

th season

St Saviour’s Church Eastbourne BN21 4UT

Brahms’

Requiem Graham Jones conductor Lisa Wigmore leader Máire Flavin soprano Matthew Sprange bass

Máire Flavin

Matthew Sprange

£14 (in advance) £15 (on the door) Reid and Dean, 43–45 Cornfield Road Eastbourne BN21 4QG boxoffice@eastbourne-college.co.uk (01323 452255)

www.eso.org.uk

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 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 Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr & Mrs G Stein

14 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

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 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 Peter Tausig Mr Jonathan Townley Andrew & Roanna Tusa Lady 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 Jill Fine Mainelli Kristina McPhee David Oxenstierna Natalie Pray Robert Watson 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 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.

LPO player photographs © Benjamin Ealovega.

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