LPO programme: 28 Jan 2023 - Spirits of Delight (Edward Gardner/Víkingur Ólafsson)

2022/23 concert season at the Southbank Centre

Concert programme Where music takes you

Concert programme

Principal Conductor Edward Gardner supported by Aud Jebsen Principal Guest Conductor Karina Canellakis Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski Patron HRH The Duke of Kent KG Artistic Director Elena Dubinets Chief Executive David Burke Leader Pieter Schoeman supported by Neil Westreich

Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall Saturday 28 January 2023 | 7.30pm

Spirits of Delight Mendelssohn The Fair Melusina Overture (10’) Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54* (31’) Interval (20’) Elgar Symphony No. 2 in E flat, Op. 63 (54’) Edward Gardner conductor

Generously supported by Aud Jebsen

Víkingur Ólafsson piano *Please note change of programme from previously advertised.

Generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE

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

Concert presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 16

Welcome LPO news On stage tonight London Philharmonic Orchestra Leader: Pieter Schoeman Edward Gardner Víkingur Ólafsson Programme notes Recommended recordings Next concerts Sound Futures donors Thank you LPO administration

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Welcome

LPO news LPO Junior Artists: Overture Day

Welcome to the Southbank Centre

Calling young orchestral players! If you’re aged 11–14 and Grade 4+ standard on your orchestral instrument, there’s still time to apply for our LPO Junior Artists: Overture Day on Sunday 5 March at Saint Gabriel’s College in Lambeth. This Overture Day is part of the Classical Vauxhall festival, a series of exciting musical events in the Vauxhall area, celebrating ‘classical done differently’.

We’re the largest arts centre in the UK and one of the nation’s top visitor attractions, showcasing the world’s most exciting artists at our venues in the heart of London. We’re here to present great cultural experiences that bring people together, and open up the arts to everyone.

The Southbank Centre is made up of the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery, National Poetry Library and Arts Council Collection. We’re one of London’s favourite meeting spots, with lots of free events and places to relax, eat and shop next to the Thames.

LPO Junior Artists: Overture days are free, fun orchestral skills days where participants play alongside LPO musicians, get tips on musicianship and find out what happens behind the scenes of a professional orchestra. Applications are open to all, but priority is given to young musicians from Lambeth and musicians whose backgrounds are currently under-represented in professional UK orchestras, who may be eligible for the main LPO Junior Artists programme in the future.

We hope you enjoy your visit. If you need any information or help, please ask a member of staff.

You can also write to us at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, or email hello@southbankcentre.co.uk

Applications close at 9am on Monday 6 February.

To find out more or apply, visit lpo.org.uk/overture Find out more about Classical Vauxhall at classicalvauxhall.com

Subscribers to our email updates are the first to hear about new events, offers and competitions.

Just head to our website to sign up.

Support our 90th Birthday Appeal This season marks the LPO’s 90th anniversary, and as we celebrate memories of the last 90 years, we’re asking for your help to keep the next 90 years – and beyond – exciting, dynamic and inclusive.

Drinks You are welcome to bring drinks from the venue’s bars and cafés into the Royal Festival Hall to enjoy during tonight’s concert. Please be considerate to fellow audience members by keeping noise during the concert to a minimum, and please take your glasses with you for recycling afterwards.

Thank you.

As you may have seen from recent media coverage, the vibrant arts community of which we are part has been hit hard by the funding cuts from Arts Council England.

The LPO is no exception to this and so we find ourselves even more reliant on our supporters and your generosity to help carry us forward towards an exciting future.

Donate online at lpo.org.uk/celebrate90 or call our Individual Giving Team on 020 7840 4212 or 020 7840 4225 to make a donation by credit or debit card. Thank you.

2

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

On stage tonight First Violins

Violas

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Chair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Pieter Schoeman* Leader Lasma Taimina

Chair supported by Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave

Minn Majoe Yang Zhang

Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin Varnagy

Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Quentin Capozzoli Martin Höhmann Catherine Craig Thomas Eisner Elizaveta Tyun Fanny Fheodoroff Nilufar Alimaksumova Sophie Mather Rasa Zukauskaite Amanda Smith Gabriela Opacka

Second Violins

Tania Mazzetti Principal Emma Oldfield Co-Principal Helena Smart Kate Birchall Nynke Hijlkema Nancy Elan Joseph Maher Sioni Williams Claudia Tarrant-Matthews Harry Kerr Ashley Stevens Sheila Law Fiona Higham Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Eleanora Consta

Oboes

Richard Waters Principal

Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

James Heron Benedetto Pollani Kate De Campos Martin Wray Alistair Scahill Naomi Holt Kim Becker Rachel Robson Laura Vallejo Daniel Cornford

Cor Anglais

Sue Böhling* Principal Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Clarinets

Benjamin Mellefont Principal

Thomas Watmough James Maltby

Cellos

E-flat Clarinet

Pei-Jee Ng Guest Principal Richard Birchall Francis Bucknall Susanna Riddell Tom Roff Helen Thomas Sibylle Hentschel Laura Donoghue Jane Lindsay Colin Alexander

Thomas Watmough Principal

Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Bass Clarinet

Paul Richards* Principal

Horns

John Ryan* Principal Martin Hobbs Mark Vines Co-Principal Gareth Mollison Duncan Fuller

Flutes

Juliette Bausor Principal Clare Childs Stewart McIlwham*

Trumpets

Paul Beniston* Principal James Nash Guest Principal Anne McAneney*

Piccolo

Stewart McIlwham* Principal

3

Bass Trombone

Lyndon Meredith Principal

Tuba

Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Timpani

Simon Carrington* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Percussion

Andrew Barclay* Principal Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins

Harps

Simon Estell* Principal

Adam Wynter Michael Fuller Colin Paris Catherine Ricketts

David Whitehouse

Hunter Gordon

Contrabassoon

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Jonathan Davies Principal Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Kevin Rundell* Principal George Peniston Laura Murphy Tom Walley

Mark Templeton* Principal

Karen Hutt Keith Millar Jeremy Cornes

Bassoons

Double Basses

Trombones

Rachel Masters Principal Tamara Young * Holds a professorial appointment in London

The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose player is not present at this concert: Bianca & Stuart Roden

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

© Mark Allan

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Our conductors

Uniquely groundbreaking and exhilarating to watch and hear, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has been celebrated as one of the world’s great orchestras since Sir Thomas Beecham founded it in 1932. With every performance we aim to bring wonder to the modern world and cement our position as a leading orchestra for the 21st century.

Our Principal Conductors have included some of the greatest historic names like Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur.

In 2021 Edward Gardner became our 13th Principal Conductor, taking the Orchestra into its tenth decade.

Vladimir Jurowski became Conductor Emeritus in recognition of his impact as Principal Conductor from 2007–21. Karina Canellakis is our current Principal Guest Conductor and Brett Dean our Composer-in-Residence.

Our home is here at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, where we’re at the beating heart of London’s cultural life. You’ll also find us at our resident venues in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and on tour throughout the UK and internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. Each summer we’re resident at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, combining the magic of opera with Glyndebourne’s glorious setting in the Sussex countryside.

Soundtrack to key moments Everyone will have heard the London Philharmonic Orchestra, whether it’s playing the world’s National Anthems at every medal ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, our iconic recording with Pavarotti that made Nessun Dorma a global football anthem, or closing the flotilla at The Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant. And you’ll almost certainly have heard us on the soundtracks for major films including The Lord of the Rings.

Sharing the wonder We’re always at the forefront of technology, finding new ways to share our music globally. You’ll find us online, on streaming platforms, on social media and through our broadcast partnership with Marquee TV. During the pandemic period we launched ‘LPOnline’: over 100 videos of performances, insights and introductions to playlists, which led to us being named runner-up in the Digital Classical Music Awards 2020. During 2022/23 we’ll be working once again with Marquee TV to broadcast selected live concerts, so you can share or relive the wonder from your own living room.

We also release live, studio and archive recordings on our own label, and are the world’s most-streamed orchestra, with over 15 million plays of our content each month. Recent releases include the first volume of a Stravinsky series with Vladimir Jurowski; Tippett’s complete opera The Midsummer Marriage under Edward Gardner, captured in his first concert as

4

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Pieter Schoeman Leader

LPO Principal Conductor in September 2021; and James MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio, recorded at the work’s UK premiere performance in December 2021.

We’re committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and music-lovers: there’s nothing we love more than seeing the joy of children and families enjoying their first musical moments, and we’re passionate about equipping schools and teachers through schools’ concerts, resources and training.

Reflecting our values of collaboration and inclusivity, our OrchLab and Open Sound Ensemble projects offer music-making opportunities for adults and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Today’s young instrumentalists are the orchestral members of the future, so we’re committed to offering them opportunities to progress. Our LPO Junior Artists programme is leading the way in creating pathways into the profession for young artists from under-represented communities, and our LPO Young Composers and Foyle Future Firsts schemes support the next generation of professional musicians, bridging the transition from education to professional careers.

© Benjamin Ealovega

Next generations

Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002. He is also a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. As a chamber musician he regularly appears at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. His chamber music partners have included Anne-Sophie Mutter, Veronika Eberle, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Boris Garlitsky, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Martin Helmchen and Julia Fischer.

2022/23 and beyond We believe in the relevance of our music, and that our programmes must reflect the narratives of modern times. This season we’re exploring themes of belonging and displacement in our series ‘A place to call home’, delving into music by composers including Austrians Erich Korngold and Paul Hindemith, Hungarian Béla Bartók, Cuban Tania León, Ukrainian Victoria Vita Polevá and Syrian Kinan Azmeh. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary we perform works premiered by the Orchestra during its illustrious history. This season also marks Vaughan Williams’s 150th anniversary and we’ll be celebrating with four of his works, as well as both symphonies by Elgar and music by Tippett and Thomas Adès. Our commitment to everything new and creative includes premieres by Brett Dean and Heiner Goebbels, as well as new commissions from composers from around the world including Agata Zubel, Elena Langer and Vijay Iyer.

Pieter has performed numerous times as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Highlights have included an appearance as both conductor and soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at the Royal Festival Hall, the Brahms Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and the Britten Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the LPO Label to great critical acclaim.

Pieter has appeared as Guest Leader with the BBC, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon and Baltimore symphony orchestras; the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras; and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

lpo.org.uk

Pieter’s chair in the LPO is generously supported by Neil Westreich.

5

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Edward Gardner Principal Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra

© Benjamin Ealovega

Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) and a staged performance of Wagner’s Parsifal. Following recent tours to Berlin, Munich and Amsterdam, and appearances at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival, the orchestra looks forward to touring projects in Germany and Belgium. In demand as a guest conductor, Edward will also return to the Cleveland and Chicago symphony orchestras, and conduct the Staatskapelle Berlin in its Sommerkonzert.

Following the announcement of Edward’s appointment at the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, the 2022/23 season will see him conduct a new production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera alongside two concert performances of Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust. He will also conduct the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra in a programme of Dvořák and Rachmaninoff.

Music Director of English National Opera for eight years (2007–15), Edward has an ongoing relationship with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, where he has conducted productions of The Damnation of Faust, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier and Werther. In London he has future plans with the Royal Opera House, where he made his debut in 2019 in a new production of Káťa Kabanová and returned for Werther the following season. During the 2021/22 season Edward made his debut with Bayerische Staatsoper in a new production of Peter Grimes. Elsewhere, he has conducted at La Scala, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Opéra National de Paris.

Edward Gardner became Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2021.

He is also Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic, a position he will relinquish at the end of the 2023/24 season. From August 2024 he will undertake the Music Directorship of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet (DNO&B), having commenced the role of Artistic Advisor in February 2022.

This season Edward leads the London Philharmonic Orchestra in celebrating its 90th anniversary with music originally written for the LPO, including Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time. He opened the Orchestra’s season in September with Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, bringing the Orchestra and soloists together with the London Philharmonic Choir and London Symphony Chorus.

Other highlights this season include Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, an Elgar symphony cycle, Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass and Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust.

He premieres works by LPO Composer-in-Residence Brett Dean, Vijay Iyer and Agata Zubel, and tours with the Orchestra throughout the UK and Benelux as well as undertaking an extensive tour of Germany.

A passionate supporter of young talent, Edward founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra in 2002 and regularly conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

He has a close relationship with The Juilliard School of Music, and with the Royal Academy of Music who appointed him their inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair in 2014.

Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward was educated at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to become Assistant Conductor of the Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include being named Royal Philharmonic Society Award Conductor of the Year (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009) and an OBE for Services to Music in The Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).

Edward opened the LPO’s 2021/22 season with an acclaimed performance of Tippett’s The Midsummer Marriage, released in September 2022 on the LPO Label. In August 2022 he conducted the Orchestra in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at the BBC Proms with the LPC and the Hallé Choir.

Edward Gardner’s position at the LPO is generously supported by Aud Jebsen.

Edward opened the Bergen Philharmonic season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 (Eroica); further symphonic highlights include works by Stravinsky, Brahms and Nielsen. Choral projects include Mahler’s

6

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Víkingur Ólafsson piano

Pianists with the LPO this spring MY HOMELAND © Ari Magg

Friday 10 February 2023 Kirill Gerstein plays Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 plus works by Glinka & Smetana

Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has made a profound impact with his remarkable combination of highest level musicianship and visionary programmes. His recordings for Deutsche Grammophon – Philip Glass Piano Works (2017), Johann Sebastian Bach (2018), Debussy/ Rameau (2020) and Mozart & Contemporaries (2021) – captured the public and critical imagination and have led to career streams of over 400 million. His latest album, From Afar, was released in October 2022. Now one of the most sought-after artists of today, Víkingur’s multiple awards include the Rolf Schock Prize for music (2022), Gramophone magazine Artist of the Year, Opus Klassik Solo Recording Instrumental (twice) and Album of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards.

GARDNER CONDUCTS RACHMANINOFF Saturday 4 March 2023 Leif Ove Andsnes plays Grieg’s Piano Concerto plus works by George Benjamin & Rachmaninoff

TCHAIKOVSKY’S FIFTH

Víkingur Ólafsson continues to perform as artist-inresidence at the world’s top orchestras, concert halls and festivals, and work with today’s greatest composers. In the 2022/23 season he is a Resident Artist with the Southbank Centre, and tonight’s concert is his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

This season he also performs with orchestras including the Philharmonia, Concertgebouw, Czech Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmonic, Cleveland, Bergen Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony orchestras, and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

Wednesday 15 March 2023

Daniil Trifonov plays Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 plus works by Beethoven & Tchaikovsky

HEROES AND HEROINES Friday 31 March 2023

Beatrice Rana plays Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1

A captivating communicator both on and off stage, Ólafsson’s significant talent extends to broadcast, having presented several of his own series for television and radio. He was Artist in Residence for three months on BBC Radio 4’s flagship arts programme, Front Row – broadcasting live during lockdown from an empty Harpa concert hall in Reykjavík, he reached millions of listeners around the world.

plus works by Tania León & Sibelius

LPO.ORG.UK 7

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Programme notes Felix Mendelssohn 1809–47

The Fair Melusina Overture 1833

Courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London

Felix Mendelssohn’s 1833 concert overture The Fair Melusina was inspired by a popular legend from medieval European folklore, first recorded in 1387 by Jean d’Arras. The beautiful Melusina is cursed to take the form of a serpent from her waist down for one day each week. She agrees to marry a knight and live in the human world on the condition that he does not seek her out on her ‘serpent day’. Ultimately, the knight breaks his promise and Melusina returns to the water for eternity.

Mendelssohn’s Overture begins with gently rippling currents which suggest a sense of sunny, blissful serenity and effortless forward motion. This flowing motif, which we first hear bubbling up in the solo clarinet, anticipates the music of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, which premiered nearly 40 years later.

Soon, this fluid dreamscape is interrupted by music that takes an abrupt turn towards stormy passion.

Mendelssohn’s music gives us a sense of two worlds colliding. The drama comes to a sudden end as the music seems to sigh with nostalgic lament. The Overture’s final bars fade into watery depths.

Programme note © Timothy Judd

8

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Programme notes Robert Schumann 1810–56

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 1841–46

Vikingur Ólafsson piano

1 Allegro affettuoso 2 Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso – 3 Allegro vivace The first movement begins with a brash and brief flourish, but for the most part the atmosphere is lyrical, the various thematic elements interweaving easily and smoothly, and the falling motif of the gentle first theme never far away. It seems that Schumann may have modelled it on a movement he particularly admired from the Piano Concerto No. 7 by the Irish composer John Field; certainly the nocturne-like opening of the central development section echoes a similar passage in the Field. A fiery reappearance of the opening flourish sweeps this away, however, and further explorations of the first theme lead to its formal recapitulation. After this has spilled into a solo cadenza, march-like memories of the first theme then hasten the movement to its finish.

Schumann’s one and only Piano Concerto arrived in instalments: in 1841 he composed a freestanding Fantasie for piano and orchestra, which four years later he converted into the first movement of the Concerto by adding a newly composed second and third. His wife Clara gave the premiere in Leipzig on 1 January 1846.

Although this may seem a casual way to build a threemovement work, the result shows no signs of piecemeal construction, and indeed can lay claim to being one of the more satisfying concertos of the Romantic period.

This is partly because thematic links between the different movements are strong and natural, but also because of the way in which Schumann fused to a unique degree the roles of piano and orchestra into one organism, steering a mid-course between the Classical ‘symphonic dialogue’ style concertos of Mozart and Beethoven and the virtuoso vehicles of the early Romantics. It was no accident: in an article in 1839 Schumann had called for ‘a genius who will show us ... how orchestra and piano may be combined, how the soloist, dominant at the keyboard, may unfold the wealth of his instrument and his art, while the orchestra, no longer a mere spectator, may interweave its many facets into the scene’. No concerto has done that better than the example Schumann himself provided.

The middle movement is an Intermezzo in which appearances of a tripping outer theme frame a central section dominated by yearning cello lines. At the end, as it seems to be drifting away, stately major and minor statements of the first-movement theme on clarinets and bassoons call it in another direction and suddenly, with a bound, we are in the finale. Even here, the waltzlike main theme recalls that of the first movement, though the overriding feel of this exuberant conclusion, with its free-running piano figuration, is of utter and joyous spontaneity.

Programme note © Lindsay Kemp

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

9

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Programme notes Edward Elgar 1857–1934

Symphony No. 2 in E flat, Op. 63 1911

1 Allegro vivace e nobilmente 2 Larghetto 3 Rondo 4 Moderato e maestoso ‘Rarely, rarely comest thou, Spirit of delight!’

From the collection of Arthur Reynolds

Thirty months after the premiere of his First Symphony, Elgar’s world had changed: his beloved monarch Edward VII, to whom he had dedicated his Coronation Ode in 1902 and who had knighted him, died on 6 May 1910. Elgar turned his Second Symphony’s slow movement into an elegiac tribute to the King and dedicated the work ‘to the memory of His late Majesty’.

When the Symphony was premiered in London on 24 May 1911 with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, the country was in party mood as its people anticipated the coronation of a new king.

A symphony with a funeral march at its centre and which ends with a quiet coda of great richness now seemed out of place to many, and led to little more than a polite reception. It took a world war and the championship of the likes of Sir Adrian Boult to establish the Symphony’s place in the repertoire.

The epigraph from Shelley’s Invocation that Elgar printed in the published score covers, in a few words, much of the work’s emotional variety. A two-bar phrase – the ‘Spirit of Delight’ theme – is heard almost immediately at the opening, and reappears at key points throughout.

Elgar spoke of the work’s ‘tremendous energy’, but it also contains moments of terror, introspection and great emotion, beginning with the full orchestra unleashed as

10

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Programme notes from the slips: Allegro vivace e nobilmente. This is busy, heady writing, before the ‘Spirit of Delight’ phrase is emphasised, sforzando, with the tempo settled in the fourth bar. After 47 bars the second subject and a countermelody change the atmosphere, although the impetus ensures there is no immediate relaxation.

After a calming section, the energy returns, only to be supplanted by a change of mood as muted instruments, below eight harp notes, herald throbbing timpani and basses introducing a new theme which Elgar described as ‘a sort of malign influence wandering thro’ the summer night in the garden’. The recapitulation is signalled by fortississimo blows on the timpani and, as in the First Symphony, Elgar’s orchestration paints a variety of pictures as he weaves his melodies into a cohesive and brilliant conclusion.

conductor Hans Richter, seems to settle the atmosphere, but Elgar develops his material by a return to restlessness using some of the instruments at their extremes. With the reappearance of the opening theme, we might expect the pulse to increase as the Symphony heads towards a conventional ending. Instead, signalled by the ‘Spirit of Delight’, Elgar produces a masterstroke: a long diminuendo (decrease in volume), supported by orchestration of great beauty and imagination.

Gracefully, Elgar guides his Symphony towards its conclusion, the full orchestra ending on a fortissimo chord which dissipates into eternity, the Symphony’s work done, its emotions reconciled.

Programme note © Andrew Neill

For the Larghetto second movement, a short introduction precedes the march played over the tread of strings, lower woodwind, brass, timpani and harps.

Originally conceived as a memorial to a friend, the movement serves a dead king, but its inherent sadness becomes more personal as an oboe threnody leads the listener towards the march’s recapitulation. The tension is then intensified towards a climax of almost unbearable grief, the strings seeming to weep as the outburst ends before the movement concludes dispassionately, Elgar reflecting on the introduction and seemingly shrugging off his vision of what lay beyond his personal abyss.

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

by Laurie Watt Mendelssohn: The Fair Melusina Overture City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Edward Gardner (Chandos) Schumann: Piano Concerto Leif Ove Andsnes | Berlin Philharmonic Mariss Jansons (Warner Classics)

The energetic rhythm of the opening theme of the Rondo third movement gives way to a more bucolic – almost pastoral – second subject but, lurking beneath are sinister undertones which presage the return of the ‘malign influence’. Intrusive, violent timpani strokes lead the whole orchestra towards a massive statement conjuring an image of great ‘malignity’ as brass and timpani ‘beat’ out the rhythm. The climax subsides as if Elgar was embarrassed by what he had imagined.

He later told a friend that lines from Tennyson’s Maud came to mind when composing the passage:

Elgar: Symphony No. 2 BBC Symphony Orchestra | Edward Gardner (Chandos) or London Philharmonic Orchestra | Adrian Boult (Lyrita) or London Philharmonic Orchestra | Georg Solti (Decca)

Dead, long dead, Long dead!

And my heart is a handful of dust And the wheels go over my head … … The hoofs of the horses beat, Beat into my scalp and brain …

Enjoyed tonight’s concert?

Help us to share the wonder of the LPO by making a donation today. Use the QR code to donate via the LPO website, or visit lpo.org.uk/donate. Thank you.

The rhythm of the Finale’s first theme suggests that calm might at last pervade the Symphony which the second theme cannot disturb. A third theme (nobilmente – nobly), labelled by Elgar ‘Hans himself’ after the great

11

Next LPO concerts at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall THE DAMNATION OF FAUST Saturday 4 February 2023 | 7.30pm Berlioz The Damnation of Faust Edward Gardner conductor Karen Cargill Marguerite David Junghoon Kim Faust Christopher Purves Méphistophélès Jonathan Lemalu Brander London Philharmonic Choir Members of the London Symphony Chorus London Youth Choir

MY HOMELAND

Friday 10 February 2023 | 7.30pm Glinka Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Smetana Má Vlast (movements 1–4) Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor Kirill Gerstein piano

EHNES PLAYS BRAHMS Friday 17 February 2023 | 7.30pm

Missy Mazzoli Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres) Brahms Violin Concerto Dvořák Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Kevin John Edusei conductor James Ehnes violin

LPO.ORG.UK

Edward Gardner © Mark Allan

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

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

Welser-Möst Circle William & Alex de Winton John Ireland Charitable Trust The Tsukanov Family Foundation Neil Westreich

Tennstedt Circle Valentina & Dmitry Aksenov Richard Buxton The Candide Trust Michael & Elena Kroupeev Kirby Laing Foundation Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Alexey & Anastasia Reznikovich Sir Simon Robey Bianca & Stuart Roden Simon & Vero Turner The late Mr K Twyman

Solti Patrons Ageas John & Manon Antoniazzi Gabor Beyer, through BTO Management Consulting AG Jon Claydon Mrs Mina Goodman & Miss Suzanne Goodman Roddy & April Gow The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Mr James R.D. Korner Christoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia Ladanyi-Czernin Robert Markwick & Kasia Robinski The Maurice Marks Charitable Trust

Mr Paris Natar The Rothschild Foundation Tom & Phillis Sharpe The Viney Family

Haitink Patrons Mark & Elizabeth Adams Dr Christopher Aldren Mrs Pauline Baumgartner Lady Jane Berrill Mr Frederick Brittenden David & Yi Yao Buckley Mr Clive Butler Gill & Garf Collins Mr John H Cook Mr Alistair Corbett Bruno De Kegel Georgy Djaparidze David Ellen Christopher Fraser OBE David & Victoria Graham Fuller Goldman Sachs International Mr Gavin Graham Moya Greene Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Tony & Susie Hayes Malcolm Herring Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mrs Philip Kan Rehmet Kassim-Lakha de Morixe Rose & Dudley Leigh Lady Roslyn Marion Lyons Miss Jeanette Martin Duncan Matthews KC Diana & Allan Morgenthau Charitable Trust Dr Karen Morton Mr Roger Phillimore Ruth Rattenbury The Reed Foundation The Rind Foundation Sir Bernard Rix David Ross & Line Forestier (Canada)

13

Carolina & Martin Schwab Dr Brian Smith Lady Valerie Solti Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Miss Anne Stoddart TFS Loans Limited Marina Vaizey Jenny Watson Guy & Utti Whittaker

Pritchard Donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene Beare Mr Patrick & Mrs Joan Benner Mr Conrad Blakey Dr Anthony Buckland Paul Collins Alastair Crawford Mr Derek B. Gray Mr Roger Greenwood The HA.SH Foundation Darren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts Trust Mr Geoffrey Kirkham Drs Frank & Gek Lim Peter Mace Mr & Mrs David Malpas Dr David McGibney Michael & Patricia McLaren-Turner Mr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr Christopher Querée The Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer Charitable Trust Timothy Walker CBE AM Christopher Williams Peter Wilson Smith Mr Anthony Yolland and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

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 Anonymous donors Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet Aud Jebsen In memory of Mrs Rita Reay Sir Simon & Lady Robey OBE

Orchestra Circle

William & Alex de Winton Patricia Haitink Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Principal Associates

Richard Buxton Gill & Garf Collins In memory of Brenda Lyndoe Casbon In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Sally Groves MBE George Ramishvili

Associates

Mrs Irina Andreeva In memory of Len & Edna Beech Steven M. Berzin Ms Veronika BorovikKhilchevskaya The Candide Trust Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave The Lambert Family Charitable Trust Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith The Tsukanov Family The Viney Family

Gold Patrons

An anonymous donor Chris Aldren David & Yi Buckley In memory of Allner Mavis Channing Sonja Drexler Jan & Leni Du Plessis The Vernon Ellis Foundation Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Mr Roger Greenwood Malcolm Herring John & Angela Kessler

Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza Mrs Elena & Mr Oleg Kolobov Rose & Dudley Leigh Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mr Nicholas Little Geoff & Meg Mann Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Andrew T Mills Peter & Lucy Noble Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Mr Anthony Salz Ms Nadia Stasyuk Charlotte Stevenson Joe Topley Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Timothy Walker CBE AM Jenny Watson CBE Grenville & Krysia Williams

Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Guy & Utti Whittaker Mr Florian Wunderlich

Silver Patrons

Dame Colette Bowe David Burke & Valerie Graham John & Sam Dawson Bruno De Kegel Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Virginia Gabbertas MBE Dmitry & Ekaterina Gursky The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Sir George Iacobescu Jamie & Julia Korner Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Mr Nikita Mishin Andrew Neill Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Laurence Watt Grenville & Krysia Williams

Principal Supporters

Anonymous donors Dr Manon Antoniazzi Julian & Annette Armstrong Mr John D Barnard Mr Geoffrey Bateman Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Mrs A Beare Dr Anthony Buckland Dr Simona Cicero & Mr Mario Altieri Mr Peter Coe Mrs Pearl Cohen David & Liz Conway Mr Alistair Corbett Ms Mary Anne Cordeiro Ms Elena Dubinets Mr Richard Fernyhough Jason George Mr Christian Grobel Prof Emeritus John Gruzelier Mark & Sarah Holford Mrs Maureen Hooft-Graafland Per Jonsson Mr Ian Kapur Ms Kim J Koch Ms Elena Lojevsky Mrs Terry Neale John Nickson & Simon Rew Oliver & Josie Ogg Ms Olga Ovenden Mr James Pickford Filippo Poli Sir Bernard Rix Mr Robert Ross Priscylla Shaw

Bronze Patrons

Anonymous donors Michael Allen Mr Mark Astaire Nicholas & Christine Beale Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Mr Anthony Blaiklock Lorna & Christopher Bown Mr Bernard Bradbury Simon Burke & Rupert King Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr Evgeny Chichvarkin Mr John H Cook Georgy Djaparidze Deborah Dolce Cameron & Kathryn Doley Mariana Eidelkind & Gene Moldavsky David Ellen Ben Fairhall Mr Richard & Helen Gillingwater Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton Martin & Katherine Hattrell Michael & Christine Henry Mr Steve Holliday J Douglas Home

14

Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Dr Peter Stephenson Joanna Williams Christopher Williams Ms Elena Ziskind

Supporters

Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mr & Mrs Robert Auerbach Mrs Julia Beine Harvey Bengen Miss YolanDa Brown OBE Miss Yousun Chae Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Joshua Coger Miss Tessa Cowie Mr David Devons Patricia Dreyfus Mr Martin Fodder Christopher Fraser OBE Will Gold Ray Harsant Mr Peter Imhof The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Dame Jane Newell DBE Mr Stephen Olton Mari Payne Mr David Peters Ms Edwina Pitman Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr Giles Quarme Mr Kenneth Shaw Mr Brian Smith Ms Rika Suzuki Tony & Hilary Vines Dr June Wakefield Mr John Weekes Mr C D Yates

Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd

Hon. Life Members Alfonso Aijón Kenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G Gyllenhammar Robert Hill Victoria Robey OBE Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE Timothy Walker CBE AM Laurence Watt

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

Thank you

Thomas Beecham Group Members

David & Yi Buckley Gill & Garf Collins William & Alex de Winton Sonja Drexler The Friends of the LPO Irina Gofman Roger Greenwood Dr Barry Grimaldi Mr & Mrs Philip Kan John & Angela Kessler Sir Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Bianca & Stuart Roden Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett Neil Westreich Guy & Utti Whittaker

Corporate Donor Barclays

LPO Corporate Circle Principal Bloomberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce

Tutti Lazard Natixis Corporate Investment Banking Sciteb Ltd Walpole

Trusts and Foundations

Board of the American Friends of the LPO

ABO Trust BlueSpark Foundation The Boltini Trust Borrows Charitable Trust The Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The London Community Foundation The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Foyle Foundation Garrick Charitable Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust John Thaw Foundation Institute Adam Mickiewicz Kirby Laing Foundation The Marchus Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Rothschild Foundation Scops Arts Trust Sir William Boremans' Foundation The John S Cohen Foundation The Stanley Picker Trust The Thriplow Charitable Trust Vaughan Williams Foundation The Victoria Wood Foundation The Viney Family The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust

We are grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who assist with fundraising for our activities in the United States of America: Simon Freakley Chairman Kara Boyle Jon Carter Jay Goffman Alexandra Jupin Natalie Pray Damien Vanderwilt Marc Wasserman Elizabeth Winter Catherine Høgel Hon. Director Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA, EisnerAmper LLP

LPO International Board of Governors Natasha Tsukanova Co-Chair Martin Höhmann Co-Chair Mrs Irina Andreeva Steven M. Berzin Shashank Bhagat Veronika Borovik-Khilchevskaya Marie-Laure Favre Gilly de Varennes de Bueil Aline Foriel-Destezet Irina Gofman Countess Dominique Loredan Olivia Ma George Ramishvili Sophie Schÿler-Thierry Jay Stein

and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

Preferred Partners Gusbourne Estate Jeroboams Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd OneWelbeck Steinway

In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

15

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 28 January 2023 • Spirits of Delight

London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration Board of Directors

Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Vice-Chair Martin Höhmann* President Mark Vines* Vice-President Kate Birchall* David Buckley David Burke Bruno De Kegel Deborah Dolce Elena Dubinets Tanya Joseph Hugh Kluger* Katherine Leek* Al MacCuish Minn Majoe* Tania Mazzetti* Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Andrew Tusa Neil Westreich Simon Freakley (Ex officio – Chairman of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra) *Player-Director

Advisory Council

Martin Höhmann Chairman Christopher Aldren Dr Manon Antoniazzi Roger Barron Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank YolanDa Brown OBE Simon Burke Simon Callow CBE Desmond Cecil CMG Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Guillaume Descottes Cameron Doley Christopher Fraser OBE Jenny Goldie-Scot Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Marianna Hay MBE Nicholas Hely-Hutchinson DL Amanda Hill Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Andrew Neill Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey OBE

Finance

Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe KC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Nicholas Snowman OBE Martin Southgate Chris Viney Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

Frances Slack Finance Director Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager Jean-Paul Ramotar Finance and IT Officer

Education and Community

General Administration

Talia Lash Education and Community Director

Elena Dubinets Artistic Director David Burke Chief Executive Chantelle Vircavs PA to the Executive

Concert Management Roanna Gibson Concerts and Planning Director

Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager Katurah Morrish Development Events Manager

Robert Winup Concerts and Tours Assistant

Eleanor Conroy Al Levin Development Assistants

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director

Sarah Thomas Martin Sargeson Librarians

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Laura Kitson Stage and Operations Manager

Marketing Kath Trout Marketing and Communications Director

Stephen O’Flaherty Deputy Operations Manager Felix Lo Orchestra and Auditions Manager

Sophie Harvey Marketing Manager Rachel Williams Publications Manager

16

Hayley Kim Marketing Co-ordinator Alicia Hartley Marketing Assistant

Gillian Pole Recordings Archive

Siân Jenkins Corporate Relations Manager

Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Greg Felton Digital Creative

Hannah Smith Education and Community Co-ordinator

Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager

Madeleine Ridout Glyndebourne and Projects Manager

Ruth Haines Press and PR Manager

Archives

Laura Willis Development Director

Maddy Clarke Tours Manager

Gavin Miller Sales and Ticketing Manager

Lowri Davies Hannah Foakes Education and Community Project Managers

Development

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager

Harrie Mayhew Website Manager

Philip Stuart Discographer

Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Barry Grimaldi Honorary Doctor Mr Chris Aldren Honorary ENT Surgeon Mr Simon Owen-Johnstone Hon. Orthopaedic Surgeon 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 Cover illustration Simon Pemberton/Heart 2022/23 season identity JMG Studio Printer John Good Ltd