LPO programme: 6 Dec 2023 - Scheherazade (Tianyi Lu/Tom Borrow)

2023/24 concert season at the Southbank Centre

Free 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 Wednesday 6 December 2023 | 7.30pm

Scheherazade Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) (38’) Interval (20’) Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (47’)

Tianyi Lu conductor Tom Borrow piano

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

Concert presented by the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Contents 2

Welcome LPO news 3 On stage tonight 4 London Philharmonic Orchestra 6 Tianyi Lu 7 Tom Borrow 8 Programme notes 9 Recommended recordings 12 Next concerts 13 Sound Futures donors 14 Thank you 16 LPO administration

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Welcome

LPO news

Welcome to the Southbank Centre

OrchLab Festival Day Earlier today we welcomed nearly 100 guests to our Royal Festival Hall home to join us for OrchLab Festival Day, our annual celebration of music-making with disabled adults.

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.

OrchLab is a music project founded on collaboration and inclusivity. Run by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in partnership with Drake Music, experts in music, technology and disability, OrchLab offers musicmaking opportunities for disabled adults, through workshops, specially-created accessible instruments and bespoke web activities through its dedicated website, orchlab.org

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.

OrchLab is generously supported by JTI.

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

Christmas at the Southbank Centre This month we’re getting into the festive spirit with three concerts as part of the Southbank Centre’s Winter Festival. On Thursday 14 December, Christmas in Tinseltown features favourite seasonal film themes – from Miracle on 34th Street to The Holiday and The Grinch – presented by Mark Kermode and featuring singer Tommy Blaize alongside the LPO.

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

Just head to our website to sign up.

On Saturday 16 December at 3pm & 7.30pm we join the London Philharmonic Choir & London Youth Choirs, West End star Marisha Wallace and host YolanDa Brown for Christmas Classics. Sing along to some of the ultimate Christmas tunes, from Hark! The Herald Angels Sing to Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.

Tickets available via the Southbank Centre only (online, by phone or in person): southbankcentre.co.uk

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.

Christmas gifts from the LPO Looking for a Christmas present for the music-lover in your life? LPO gift vouchers are the perfect option – vouchers can be purchased for any amount, are presented in a smart gift card, and can be redeemed against any concert in the LPO season at the Southbank Centre within a year of purchase.

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.

Or how about a gift membership to our LPO Friends scheme? Get up close to the Orchestra with opportunities to see behind the scenes at members’ rehearsals and special events throughout the season.

Gift membership starts at just £60 (£6 per month equivalent). Visit lpo.org.uk/gifts to find out more.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

On stage tonight First Violins

Alice Ivy-Pemberton Leader Vesselin Gellev Sub-Leader Kate Oswin Chair supported by Eric Tomsett

Lasma Taimina

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

Minn Majoe Thomas Eisner Martin Höhmann Katalin Varnagy

Chair supported by Sonja Drexler

Elizaveta Tyun Sylvain Vasseur Nilufar Alimaksumova Amanda Smith Rasa Zukauskaite Chu-Yu Yang

Second Violins

Tania Mazzetti Principal Emma Oldfield Co-Principal Ricky Gore Helena Smart Nynke Hijlkema Nancy Elan Joseph Maher Kate Birchall Ashley Stevens Fiona Higham

Chair supported by David & Yi Buckley

Claudia Tarrant-Matthews

Chair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

Sioni Williams

Violas

Rebecca Chambers Guest Principal Martin Wray Katharine Leek Benedetto Pollani Laura Vallejo Lucia Ortiz Sauco Shiry Rashkovsky Daniel Cornford Mark Gibbs

Cellos

Kristina Blaumane Principal

Chair supported by Bianca & Stuart Roden

Silvestrs Kalniņš Francis Bucknall Sue Sutherley Tom Roff Helen Thomas George Hoult Auriol Evans

Horns

John Ryan* Principal Annemarie Federle Principal Martin Hobbs Kristina Yumerska Gareth Mollison

Trumpets

Paul Beniston* Principal Tom Nielsen Co-Principal Anne McAneney*

Double Basses

Sebastian Pennar Principal Hugh Kluger George Peniston Tom Walley

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

Laura Murphy Lowri Morgan

Trombones

Mark Templeton* Principal

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse

Bass Trombone

Lyndon Meredith Principal

Flutes

Juliette Bausor Principal Fiona Sweeney Katie Bicknell

Piccolos

Tuba

Lee Tsarmaklis* Principal

Timpani

Simon Carrington* Principal

Katie Bicknell Fiona Sweeney

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Percussion

Oboes

Ian Hardwick* Principal Alice Munday

Cor Anglais

Sue Böhling* Principal

Chair supported by Dr Barry Grimaldi

Andrew Barclay* Principal

Chair supported by Gill & Garf Collins

Karen Hutt

Chair supported by Mr B C Fairhall

Oliver Yates Feargus Brennan Oliver Butterworth

Harp

Clarinets

Benjamin Mellefont* Principal Thomas Watmough Chair supported by Roger Greenwood

Rachel Masters Principal *Professor at a London conservatoire

Bassoons

Jonathan Davies* Principal

Chair supported by Sir Simon Robey

Dominic Tyler

The LPO also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present: Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Neil Westreich

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

© 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 Tania León 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 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 2023/24 we’re once again be working 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.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Alice Ivy-Pemberton Leader

Next generations 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.

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. We also recently launched the LPO Conducting Fellowship, supporting the development of outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds currently under-represented in the profession.

Alice Ivy-Pemberton joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Leader in February 2023.

Praised by The New York Times for her ‘sweet-toned playing’, Alice has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician to international acclaim. While growing up in New York City and studying with Nurit Pacht, Alice made a nationally televised Carnegie Hall debut aged ten, and was a finalist at the Menuhin International Competition at the age of 12.

Looking forward The centrepiece of our 2023/24 season is our spring 2024 festival The Music in You. Reflecting our adventurous spirit, the festival embraces all kinds of expression – dance, music theatre, and audience participation. We’ll collaborate with artists from across the creative spectrum, and give premieres by composers including Tania León, Julian Joseph, Daniel Kidane, Victoria Vita Polevá, Luís Tinoco and John Williams.

Alice earned her Bachelors and Masters degrees at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho as a fully-funded recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. During her studies she won Juilliard’s Violin Concerto Competition, performed extensively with the New York Philharmonic and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and led orchestras under the baton of Barbara Hannigan, Xian Zhang and Matthias Pintscher.

Upon graduating in 2022 she was awarded the Polisi Prize and a Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant in recognition of ‘tremendous talent, promise, creativity, and potential to make a significant impact in the performing arts’.

Rising stars making their debuts with us in 2023/24 include conductors Tianyi Lu, Oksana Lyniv, Jonathon Heyward and Natalia Ponomarchuk, accordionist João Barradas and organist Anna Lapwood. We also present the long-awaited conclusion of Conductor Emeritus Vladimir Jurowski’s Wagner Ring Cycle, Götterdämmerung, and, as well as our titled conductors Edward Gardner and Karina Canellakis, we welcome back classical stars including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Robin Ticciati, Christian Tetzlaff and Danielle de Niese.

An avid chamber musician, Alice has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Anthony Marwood, Gil Shaham and members of the Belcea, Doric, Juilliard and Brentano string quartets, and performed with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Festival appearances include Music@Menlo, Moritzburg and Yellow Barn. Also a passionate advocate for new music and its social relevance, Alice created Drowning Monuments, a noted multimedia project on climate change that brought together five world premieres for solo violin.

lpo.org.uk

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Tianyi Lu

© Marco Borggreve

conductor

Internationally known for her thrilling energy on the podium, her deeply creative approach to the repertoire and her open-hearted style of leadership, Chinese-born New Zealander Tianyi Lu collaborates with major orchestras and opera houses worldwide. Her work is driven by an ethos of empowerment, creating connection and compassion across diverse communities through music. Tonight’s concert is her debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Orchestra. Return engagements include Het Residentie Orkest in Den Haag, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. At the Theater Basel, Lu leads the world premiere of Bobbi Jene Smith’s production of Marie & Pierre, composed for Ballett Basel by Celeste Oram.

Passionately committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and to building a more empathetic world through the arts, Tianyi Lu is on the Board of Directors for the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and an Artist Ambassador for Opera for Peace. She is regularly invited to work with and speak to communities and institutions about her experiences in empowering leadership, transforming cultures, resilience and wellbeing. She has appeared in and hosted Welsh National Opera’s podcast ‘The O Word’, has spoken as a guest for London Marathon Events and the ‘Do More Good’ podcast, and conducted and hosted ‘Ears Wide Open’ concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

After winning first prizes in 2020 at both the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition and the Guido Cantelli International Conducting Competition in Italy, Tianyi Lu was appointed Conductor-in-Residence with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra in Norway, following a sensational debut with them in the 2020/21 season. She is also Principal Conductor of the St Woolos Sinfonia, based in Newport, Wales, and was Assistant Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra from 2017–19.

Recent highlights include concerts and recordings with the Philharmonia, Hallé, Malmö Symphony, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Sydney Symphony orchestras. A former Dudamel Fellow, in July 2021 Lu made her Hollywood Bowl debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and subsequently returned for her Disney Hall debut in April 2023. In autumn 2021 she conducted performances of Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen.

Tianyi Lu completed her Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting with Distinction at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2015, where she studied with David Jones. She has assisted or attended masterclasses with Sir Andrew Davis and Xian Zhang with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Daniele Gatti with the Concertgebouworkest and Bernard Haitink with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and is an alumni of the Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.

Other teachers and mentors have included Sian Edwards, Carlo Rizzi, Neemi Järvi, Alexander Polianichko, Kenneth Kiesler, Carlo Montanaro and Alice Farnham.

As well as tonight’s LPO debut, the 2023/24 season sees Tianyi Lu make her debuts with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, Duisburg Philharmonic and Lausanne Chamber

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Tom Borrow piano

Julia Mustonen. Tom has been regularly mentored by Murray Perahia through the Jerusalem Music Centre’s programme for outstanding young musicians. He has also participated in masterclasses with Sir András Schiff, Christoph Eschenbach, Richard Goode, Menahem Pressler and Tatiana Zelikman, among many others.

© Michael Pavia

Tom has won every national piano competition in Israel, including first prize at the Israeli Radio & Jerusalem Symphony Young Artist Competition, and three first prizes at the ‘Piano Forever’ Competition in Ashdod (in three different age categories). In 2018 he won the prestigious Maurice M. Clairmont Award, given to a single promising artist every two years by the AmericaIsrael Cultural Foundation and Tel-Aviv University.

Following his Israel Philharmonic success, Tom has been invited by major orchestras around the world – recent and forthcoming engagements include with the Cleveland Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, and others – and has been invited by leading conductors including Semyon Bychkov, Fabio Luisi, Christoph Eschenbach, Sakari Oramo, Thierry Fischer, Xian Zhang, Robert Trevino, Peter Oundjian and Maxim Emelyanychev. Tom has also toured to Eastern Europe with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and to South Korea with the Tel Aviv Soloists.

In January 2019 Tom Borrow was called on to replace renowned pianist Khatia Buniatishvili in a series of twelve concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

At only 36 hours’ notice, he performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G to sensational public and critical acclaim.

The chief music critic of the Israel Broadcasting Corporation, Yossi Schifmann, hailed his performance as ‘brilliant ... outstanding’, ending his review with the words: ‘Tom Borrow is already a star and we will all surely hear more about him.’ Tom was further presented by the Israel Philharmonic in gala concerts in London and Mexico City, and reinvited for a second subscription series. Later that year, International Piano magazine named him their ‘One to Watch’ and soon afterwards, Gramophone gave him the same accolade. In December 2021, following his hugely praised US debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, Musical America named Tom their ‘New Artist of the Month’.

Equally in demand on the chamber music and recital stages, he has received invitations to the Verbier Festival, Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Konzerthaus, Ruhr Piano Festival, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Beethoven Haus Bonn, Vancouver Recital Society, Festival Piano Aux Jacobins (Toulouse), Aldeburgh Festival and Cheltenham Festival. In autumn 2023 he opened the season for Cal Performances in California.

Tom is a BBC New Generation Artist and in July 2022 made his debut at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was recently presented with the prestigious Terence JuddHallé Award 2023. In 2024 he will be Artist-In-Residence with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP). Tom made his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2023, when he performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre with the Orchestra under Patrick Hahn.

WWFM Radio in the US has featured Tom as an outstanding young talent, and Interlude magazine named him its ‘Artist of The Month’. International Piano livestreamed Tom’s recital for the Rubinstein Virtual PianoFest, RAI Television livestreamed his concert with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, Wigmore Hall livestreamed his recital debut, and ETB Television (Spain) broadcast a performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Basque National Orchestra under Robert Trevino.

Born in Tel Aviv in 2000, Tom Borrow has performed as soloist with all the major orchestras of his native country. He began studying piano aged five with Dr Michal Tal at the Givatayim Music Conservatory, and continued with Prof. Tomer Lev of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, and now with

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Programme notes Ludwig van Beethoven 1770–1827

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 (Emperor) 1809

Tom Borrow piano 1 Allegro 2 Adagio un poco mosso – 3 Rondo: Allegro

Photo courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London

One has to wonder whether the organisers of the concert at which Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto received its Viennese premiere in February 1812 – the actual premiere having taken place in Leipzig the previous November – provided the ideal audience.

A contemporary report of the combined concert and art exhibition mounted by the Society of Noble Ladies for Charity tells us that ‘the pictures offer a glorious treat; a new pianoforte concerto by Beethoven failed’.

And it is true that in its early years the ‘Emperor’ struggled for popularity. Perhaps its leonine strength and symphonic sweep were simply too much for everyone, not just the Noble Ladies. Cast in the same key as the ‘Eroica’ (‘heroic’) Third Symphony, it breathes much the same majestically confident air, though in a manner one might describe as more macho.

Composed in the first few months of 1809, with war brewing between Austria and France, this is Beethoven in what may have seemed overbearingly optimistic mood.

The Concerto is certainly not reticent about declaring itself. The first movement opens with extravagant flourishes from the piano punctuated with stoic orchestral chords, leading us with an unerring sense of direction towards the sturdy first theme. This march-like tune presents two important thematic reference-points in the shape of a tight melodic twist (technically known as a ‘turn’) and a tiny figure of just two notes (long and short) which Beethoven refers to constantly in the course of the movement. The latter ushers in the chromatic scale with which the piano re-enters, and

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Programme notes eerily drops down a semitone as the piano toys idly with some quiet, thickly scored chords. In a flash, these are then transformed and revealed to be the main theme of the bouncy Rondo finale, which has followed without a break. Physical joins between movements were a trend in Beethoven’s music at this time, but so too were thematic ones. At one point in this finale, with the main theme firmly established, the strings gently put forward the ‘experimental’ version from the end of the slow movement, as if mocking the piano’s earlier tentativeness. The movement approaches its close, however, with piano and timpani in stealthy cahoots before, with a final flurry, the end is upon us.

the same sequence of events later serves to introduce the development section. Here the turn dominates, dreamily passed around the woodwind, but the twonote figure emerges ever more strongly, eventually firing off a stormy tirade of piano octaves. The air quickly clears, however, and reappearances of the turn lead back to a recapitulation of the opening material. Towards the end of the movement Beethoven makes his most radical formal move. In the early 19th century it was still customary at this point in a concerto for the soloist to improvise a solo passage (or cadenza), but in this work Beethoven for the first time includes one that is not only fully written-out, but involves the orchestra as well. It was an innovation that many subsequent composers, perhaps glad of the extra measure of control, would follow.

The Concerto’s nickname was not chosen by Beethoven, and, given the composer’s angry reaction to Napoleon’s self-appointment as Emperor in 1804, it may seem more than usually inappropriate. Yet there is an aptness to it if we take the music’s grandly heroic stance as a picture of what, perhaps, an emperor ought to be.

Beethoven once remarked that if he had understood the arts of war as well as he had those of music, he could have defeated Napoleon. Who, listening to this Concerto, could doubt that?

The second and third movements together take less time to play than the first. The Adagio opens with a serene, hymn-like tune from the strings, which the piano answers with a theme of its own before itself taking up the opening one in ornamented form. This in turn leads to an orchestral reprise of the same theme, now with greater participation from the winds and with piano decoration. At the end, the music dissolves, then

Programme note © Lindsay Kemp

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

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

by Laurie Watt Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Garrick Ohlsson | Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra | Donald Runnicles (Reference Recordings) or Kristian Bezuidenhout (fortepiano) | Freiburg Baroque Orchestra | Pablo Heras-Casado (Harmonia Mundi) or Alfred Brendel | London Philharmonic Orchestra | Bernard Haitink (Universal) Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade London Philharmonic Orchestra | Mariss Jansons (Warner Classics/Gemini) or London Philharmonic Orchestra | Alexander Lazarev (Essential Masterworks)

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Programme notes Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 1844–1908

Scheherazade, Op. 35 1888

The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship The Tale of the Kalender Prince The Young Prince and the Young Princess Festival in Baghdad – The Sea – The Ship goes to pieces on a rock surmounted by a Bronze Warrior – Conclusion Orientalism was big business during the final decades of the 19th century. World fairs introduced new clothes and customs to culturally voracious Westerners and, as shipping lines opened – not least the Suez Canal in 1869 – access to the East increased. Following suit, the Russians also created a brand of Orientalism, though even they admitted that an empire straddling both Europe and Asia could not entirely consider the Middle and Far East as ‘other’. Nonetheless, there are numerous examples of exotic tropes in the music of the time, such as Borodin’s In Central Asia, the ‘Arabian Dance’ in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and RimskyKorsakov’s Scheherazade.

The work begins with a fanfare, describing Sultan Schariar. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote that the Sultan ‘vowed to put to death each of his wives after the first nuptial night. But the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by entertaining her lord with fascinating tales.’

After a passage that is clearly indebted to Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we hear Scheherazade’s own beguiling motif, played by a solo violin and harp. There follows a steady but sweeping barcarolle, describing the sea and Sinbad’s ship. Its melody, full of chromatic inflections, develops freely over the course of the ensuing sections, in which Scheherazade’s storytelling theme is also prominent.

Drawing on One Thousand and One Nights, the collection of West and South Asian folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Middle Ages, this symphonic poem was composed in 1888, shortly after Rimsky-Korsakov had finished work on the completion and orchestration of Borodin’s mammoth opera Prince Igor. RimskyKorsakov decided that his new work, Scheherazade, would recall, rather than directly refer to, events from One Thousand and One Nights. ‘All I desired’, he wrote in his autobiography, ‘was that the hearer, if he liked my piece as symphonic music, should carry away the impression that it is beyond doubt an Oriental narrative of some numerous and varied fairytale wonders and not merely four pieces played one after the other and composed on the basis of themes common to all the four movements’.

The second movement brings with it another story, introduced once more by the Sultana. She recites the tale of a young prince who dresses up as a wandering pauper and endures hardship in his search for wisdom.

Various instruments pick up his travelling tune before they are interrupted by more ominous forces (with premonitions of the evil Kashchei from Stravinsky’s The Firebird). The third movement, on the other hand, is a heartfelt romance, evoking a prince, represented by a string melody, and his love for a princess, who is described in the dancing middle section. Although the two are initially separated, they eventually come together, as the movement closes contentedly with both themes.

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Programme notes Tracking the scheme of many four-movement symphonies, the Finale offers a grand summation of the preceding descriptions. Particularly prominent is the juxtaposition of the Sultan’s booming bass motif and Scheherazade’s storytelling theme. To save her life, she offers a dazzling conflation of three episodes from One Thousand and One Nights, featuring the humming bazaars of Baghdad and a particularly violent seascape. Ultimately, Scheherazade’s charms overwhelm the Sultan’s murderous intentions and the work closes with her theme and a final iteration of those Mendelssohn-like chords.

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AEG Artistic Presents

Thursday 14 December

CHRISTMAS IN TINSELTOWN Join Mark Kermode for a selection of the greatest Christmas movie music of all time including The Holiday, The Grinch, Miracle on 34th Street and many more.

aegpresents.co.uk

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Saturday 16 December

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS

Sing along to festive carols and the biggest Christmas hits of all time.

With host YolanDa Brown, vocalist Marisha Wallace, London Youth Choirs and London Philharmonic Choir.

southbankcentre.co.uk

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axs.com

Next LPO concerts at the Southbank Centre MUTTER PLAYS JOHN WILLIAMS Saturday 13 January 2024 | 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall

John Williams Superman March John Williams Violin Concerto No. 2 (UK premiere) John Williams The Duel from The Adventures of Tintin John Williams Nice to Be Around from Cinderella Liberty John Williams Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter Bernstein Suite, On the Waterfront Jonathon Heyward conductor Anne-Sophie Mutter violin

FAMILY TIES – THE SCHUMANNS AND THE MENDELSSOHNS Friday 19 January 2024 | 7.30pm Queen Elizabeth Hall (please note venue)

Fanny Mendelssohn Overture in C major Clara Schumann Piano Concerto Robert Schumann Introduction and Concert Allegro Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 (Scottish) Natalia Ponomarchuk conductor Alexander Melnikov piano

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE Wednesday 24 January 2024 | 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Ryan Bancroft conductor Inon Barnatan piano

LPO.ORG.UK

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

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)

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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 • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

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

The American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra 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 Edward Gardner & Sara Övinge Patricia Haitink Catherine Høgel & Ben Mardle Mr & Mrs Philip Kan Neil Westreich

Principal Associates

Richard Buxton Gill & Garf Collins In memory of Brenda Lyndoe Casbon In memory of Ann Marguerite Collins Irina Gofman & Mr Rodrik V. G. Cave George Ramishvili The Tsukanov Family Mr Florian Wunderlich

Associates

Mrs Irina Andreeva In memory of Len & Edna Beech Steven M. Berzin The Candide Trust John & Sam Dawson HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern Stuart & Bianca Roden In memory of Hazel Amy Smith

Gold Patrons

Iain & Alicia Hasnip Eugene & Allison Hayes J Douglas Home Molly Jackson Mrs Farrah Jamal Mr & Mrs Jan Mr & Mrs Ralph Kanza Mr Peter King Jamie & Julia Korner Rose & Dudley Leigh Wg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAF Drs Frank & Gek Lim Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Mr Gordon McNair Andrew T Mills Denis & Yulia Nagy Andrew Neill Jamie Njoku-Goodwin Peter & Lucy Noble Oliver & Josie Ogg Mr Stephen Olton Simon & Lucy Owen-Johnstone Mr Roger Phillimore Mr Michael Posen Saskia Roberts John Romeo Priscylla Shaw Mr & Mrs John C Tucker Mr & Mrs John & Susi Underwood Karina Varivoda Grenville & Krysia Williams Joanna Williams

David & Yi Buckley In memory of Allner Mavis Channing Sonja Drexler Peter & Fiona Espenhahn Mr B C Fairhall Hamish & Sophie Forsyth Virginia Gabbertas MBE Mr Roger Greenwood Malcolm Herring Julian & Gill Simmonds Eric Tomsett The Viney Family Guy & Utti Whittaker

Silver Patrons

Dame Colette Bowe David Burke & Valerie Graham Cameron & Kathryn Doley Ulrike & Benno Engelmann Dmitry & Ekaterina Gursky The Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust John & Angela Kessler Mrs Elena & Mr Oleg Kolobov Mrs Elizabeth Meshkvicheva Mikhail Noskov & Vasilina Bindley Tom & Phillis Sharpe Mr Joe Topley & Ms Tracey Countryman Andrew & Rosemary Tusa Jenny Watson CBE Laurence Watt

Principal Supporters

Anonymous donors Ralph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mr John D Barnard Roger & Clare Barron Dr Anthony Buckland Dr Simona Cicero & Mr Mario Altieri Mr Alistair Corbett Guy Davies David Devons Igor & Lyuba Galkin Prof. Erol & Mrs Deniz Gelenbe In memory of Enid Gofton Alexander Greaves Prof. Emeritus John Gruzelier Michael & Christine Henry Mrs Maureen Hooft-Graafland Per Jonsson Mr Ian Kapur Ms Elena Lojevsky Pippa Mistry-Norman Mrs Terry Neale

Bronze Patrons

Anonymous donors Chris Aldren Michael Allen Mrs A Beare Mr Anthony Blaiklock Lorna & Christopher Bown Mr Bernard Bradbury Simon Burke & Rupert King Desmond & Ruth Cecil Mr John H Cook Deborah Dolce Ms Elena Dubinets David Ellen Christopher Fraser OBE Mr Daniel Goldstein David & Jane Gosman Mr Gavin Graham Lord & Lady Hall Mrs Dorothy Hambleton

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John Nickson & Simon Rew Mr James Pickford Filippo Poli Mr Robert Ross Martin & Cheryl Southgate Mr & Mrs G Stein Christopher Williams

Supporters

Anonymous donors Mr Francesco Andronio Julian & Annette Armstrong Mr Philip Bathard-Smith Emily Benn Mr Julien Chilcott-Monk Alison Clarke & Leo Pilkington Mr Peter Coe Mr Joshua Coger Miss Tessa Cowie Caroline Cox-Johnson Mr Simon Edelsten Will Gold Mr Stephen Goldring Mr & Mrs Graham & Jean Pugh Mr Geordie Greig Mr Peter Imhof The Jackman Family Mr David MacFarlane Paul & Suzanne McKeown Nick Merrifield Dame Jane Newell DBE Mr David Peters Nicky Small Mr Brian Smith Mr Michael Timinis Mr & Mrs Anthony Trahar Tony & Hilary Vines Mr John Weekes Mr Roger Woodhouse Mr C D Yates

Hon. Benefactor Elliott Bernerd

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

London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

Thank you

Thomas Beecham Group Members

David & Yi Buckley Gill & Garf Collins William & Alex de Winton Sonja Drexler Mr B C Fairhall The Friends of the LPO 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 Solicitors French Chamber of Commerce

Tutti

German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce Lazard Natixis Corporate Investment Banking Sciteb Ltd Walpole

Preferred Partners

Trusts and Foundations

Board of the American Friends of the LPO

ABO Trust The Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust BlueSpark Foundation The Boltini Trust Borrows Charitable Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The London Community Foundation Dunard Fund Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Foyle Foundation Garrick Charitable Trust Idlewild Trust Institute Adam Mickiewicz John Coates Charitable Trust John Horniman’s Children’s Trust John Thaw Foundation Kirby Laing Foundation The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music The Lennox Hannay Charitable Trust Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Lucille Graham Trust The Marchus Trust PRS Foundation The R K Charitable Trust The Radcliffe Trust Rivers Foundation Rothschild Foundation Scops Arts Trust TIOC Foundation The Thriplow Charitable Trust Vaughan Williams Foundation The Victoria Wood Foundation The Viney Family

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 Wassermann 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 HSH Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern Aline Foriel-Destezet Irina Gofman Olivia Ma George Ramishvili Sophie Schÿler-Thierry Florian Wunderlich

and all others who wish to remain anonymous.

Jeroboams Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd Neal’s Yard OneWelbeck Sipsmith Steinway

In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

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London Philharmonic Orchestra • 6 December 2023 • Scheherazade

London Philharmonic Orchestra Administration Board of Directors

General Administration

Dr Catherine C. Høgel Chair Martin Höhmann* President Mark Vines* Vice-President Emily Benn Kate Birchall* David Burke Deborah Dolce Elena Dubinets Tanya Joseph Hugh Kluger* Katherine Leek* 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

Elena Dubinets Artistic Director

Advisory Council Roger Barron Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass Helen Brocklebank YolanDa Brown OBE David Buckley 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 Dr Catherine C. Høgel Martin Höhmann Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Geoff Mann Andrew Neill Nadya Powell Sir Bernard Rix Victoria Robey OBE Baroness Shackleton Thomas Sharpe KC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin Southgate Chris Viney Laurence Watt Elizabeth Winter

Education and Community Talia Lash Education and Community Director

David Burke Chief Executive Chantelle Vircavs PA to the Executive and Employee Relations Manager

Lowri Davies Hannah Foakes Education and Community Project Managers

Concert Management

Hannah Smith Education and Community Co-ordinator

Roanna Gibson Concerts and Planning Director

Claudia Clarkson Regional Partnerships Manager

Graham Wood Concerts and Recordings Manager Maddy Clarke Tours Manager

Development Laura Willis Development Director

Madeleine Ridout Glyndebourne and Projects Manager

Rosie Morden Individual Giving Manager

Alison Jones Concerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Siân Jenkins Corporate Relations Manager Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager

Robert Winup Concerts and Tours Assistant Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant

Katurah Morrish Development Events Manager

Andrew Chenery Orchestra Personnel Manager

Eleanor Conroy Al Levin Development Co-ordinators

Sarah Thomas Martin Sargeson Librarians Laura Kitson Stage and Operations Manager

Nick Jackman Campaigns and Projects Director

Stephen O’Flaherty Deputy Operations Manager

Kirstin Peltonen Development Associate

Benjamin Wakley Assistant Stage Manager

Marketing

Felix Lo Orchestra and Auditions Manager

Kath Trout Marketing and Communications Director

Finance

Sophie Harvey Marketing Manager

Frances Slack Finance Director

Rachel Williams Publications Manager

Dayse Guilherme Finance Manager

Gavin Miller Sales and Ticketing Manager

Jean-Paul Ramotar Finance and IT Officer

Ruth Haines Press and PR Manager Hayley Kim Residencies and Projects Marketing Manager

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Greg Felton Digital Creative Alicia Hartley Digital and Marketing Co-ordinator Isobel Jones Marketing Assistant

Archives Philip Stuart Discographer Gillian Pole Recordings Archive

Professional Services Charles Russell Speechlys Solicitors Crowe Clark Whitehill LLP Auditors Dr Barry Grimaldi Honorary Doctor Mr Chris Aldren Honorary ENT Surgeon Mr 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 Selman Hoşgör 2023/24 season identity JMG Studio Printer John Good Ltd