LPO Tune In newsletter – Autumn/Winter 2017

– AUTUMN / WINTER 2017 –

As Jurowski prepares to mark 10 years with the LPO, the understanding between them seems in great shape.

The Guardian, Jan 2017

vladimir jurowski: 10 years with the lpo

lpo junior artists

Backstage

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Celebrating the 10th anniversary of our extraordinary partnership

As our scheme reaches the end of its first year, we meet some of the participants

In conversation with Second Violinist Fiona Higham

New on the LPO Label TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto

Principal Partner

Principal Supporters

Vasily Petrenko conductor Augustin Hadelich violin

LALO Symphonie espagnole Omer Meir Wellber conductor Augustin Hadelich violin £9.99 | LPO-0094 | Released February 2017 Generously supported by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust

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DvoRák

Othello Overture Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7 Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor £10.99 (2CDs) LPO-0095 | Released March 2017

beethoven

Symphony No. 3 Overture, Fidelio Vladimir Jurowski conductor £9.99 LPO-0096 | Released April 2017

tchaikovsky

Complete Symphonies plus Francesca da Rimini & Serenade for Strings

7CD Box Set (see page 8) Vladimir Jurowski conductor

Education Partner

£34.99 LPO-0101 | Released September 2017 London Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski 10 years boxset Slipcase visual with gold pantone ink

vladimir jurowski

10th Anniversary 7CD Box Set (see page 8) Vladimir Jurowski conductor £49.99 Coming soon

LPO-1010 | Released October 2017

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

Download or stream online via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and others.

Corporate Members Sunshine After Digital Berenberg Carter-Ruck French Chamber of Commerce Accenture Ageas BTO Management Consulting AG Lazard Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Willis Towers Watson

Preferred Partners Fevertree Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli Ltd London Orthopaedic Clinic Sipsmith Steinway

In-kind Sponsor Google Inc

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WELCOME

W

elcome to the Autumn 2017 edition of the London Philharmonic Orchestra newsletter, Tune In. This September marks the 10th anniversary of Vladimir Jurowski’s appointment as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Principal Conductor – and what a decade it’s been! Vladimir’s outstanding performances and creative vision have earned him and the Orchestra an enviable reputation which continues to go from strength to strength. On 27 January 2018 we’ll celebrate in Wagnerian style with a special Gala Evening performance of Das Rheingold at Royal Festival Hall (see page 5 for details) – in the meantime, over the page we look back on the first ten years of this extraordinary partnership.

This season we are also proud to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Orchestra’s Education & Community department, whose work over three decades has created opportunities for people from all backgrounds to fulfil their musical potential: on pages 10–11 we reflect on the first year of our trailblazing LPO Junior Artists scheme, launched last year to help address the lack of diversity within professional UK orchestras.

It’s clear that the programme has been an eye-opener for the inaugural eight participants and the Orchestra alike, and we look forward to developing and expanding the scheme further over the years to come.

The first half of our new Royal Festival Hall season, from September–December 2017, sees the continuation of Belief and Beyond Belief, our year-long festival in partnership with Southbank Centre. Our autumn concert programmes will delve into themes of ‘Judgment’, ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Rituals and Seasons’. Full listings are on pages 13–15, and Editor Rachel Williams Publisher London Philharmonic Orchestra Printer Romax

Timothy Walker © Chris Blott

Cover photograph LPO Gala 2017 © Lia Vittone

Resident at

– Timothy walker – Chief Executive and Artistic Director

on page 12 three LPO players choose their own highlights of the coming months’ concerts. We also get to know Second Violinist Fiona Higham in our regular ‘Backstage’ interview feature on page 16.

Looking ahead to 2018, we will bring another major year-long series to Royal Festival Hall. Entitled Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey, it will chronologically chart the life and music of one of the 20th century’s most influential composers: more on this in the next issue. In the meantime, if you haven’t already got a copy of our 2017/18 season brochure, do pick one up next time you’re at Royal Festival Hall, or call us on 020 7840 4200 to request one via post.

We’re always delighted to receive feedback from our audiences and supporters. Get in touch on Twitter or Facebook (links below), email us at admin@lpo.org.uk, or call 020 7840 4200.

I hope you will be able to join us this autumn. Thank you for your support of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Keep up to date

LPO 2017/18 season brochure: available now

Join us on Facebook facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/LPOrchestra

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Contents vladimir jurowski: 10 years 04–05 summer 2017 roundup 06–07 New & noteworthy 08 News: lpo people 09 lpo junior artists 10–11 player picks 12 Concert listings 13–15 Backstage: fiona higham 16

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, we cannot accept liability for any statement or error contained herein. © 2017 London Philharmonic Orchestra.

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

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

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LPO people

vladimir jurowski: 10 years with the lpo Over his first decade as Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski’s creative energy and artistic vision have been central to their joint success. We look back on the first ten years of this extraordinary partnership. things properly, and that they seemed grateful to me for taking the time to work on details. The other thing that fascinated me was their infallible sense of rhythm – I was astonished at how precise the Orchestra was at producing the very intricate rhythms – not only of Prokofiev, but of other composers too.’

Later that summer saw Jurowski’s first Glyndebourne performances with the Orchestra – in his new role there as Music Director – with Britten’s Albert Herring. Barely a year later, in March 2003, came the announcement that Jurowski would become the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s new Principal Guest Conductor, allowing Orchestra and conductor to nurture a year-round relationship. At that time, Kurt Masur was the LPO’s Principal Conductor, and Jurowski recalls that the LPO enjoyed a reputation as the most ‘Germanic’ of the London orchestras, due mainly to Masur’s influence as well as those of its illustrious former Principal Conductors Klaus Tennstedt and Bernard Haitink. However, it was not long

before Jurowski began to make his own mark on the Orchestra: not only his trademark clean and precise conducting style, but the inventive concert programming and enthusiasm for contemporary music that he brought to the Orchestra. The temporary closure of Royal Festival Hall for refurbishment from 2005–07 and the Orchestra’s consequent relocation to Queen Elizabeth Hall gave Jurowski the opportunity to programme works using smaller forces than usual: anniversary celebrations programmed around Mozart and Shostakovich – in often unexpected combinations – and other distinctive musical line-ups at Queen Elizabeth Hall led the Financial Times to proclaim in February 2006 that ‘Jurowski’s concerts are turning into a festival in all but name, so inventive is the programme-building and so fresh the music-making’.

In 2004 Jurowski topped BBC Music Magazine’s poll of the world’s top young conductors, and in 2006 was named Classical

Press launch announcing Jurowski’s appointment as LPO Principal Conductor, 4 May 2006: L-R: Former LPO Chairman and First Violin Martin Höhmann; Vladimir with his wife Patricia; LPO Chief Executive & Artistic Director Timothy Walker

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Press launch © Benjamin Ealovega

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testament to love at first sight between conductor and orchestra’ (The Telegraph, 17 December 2001): not an everyday appraisal of a lastminute substitute conductor – but this was no ordinary stand-in. Vladimir Jurowski’s first appearance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra came on 12 December 2001, when the 29-year-old agreed to step in at short notice for an indisposed Yuri Temirkanov in a Royal Festival Hall concert with the Orchestra. The young Russian conductor was not unknown to UK audiences: after bursting onto the London scene conducting Verdi’s Nabucco at the Royal Opera House he had recently been appointed Music Director at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the LPO concert conveniently fell midway through a run of The Rake’s Progress at ENO. But praise for the last-minute stand-in surpassed all expectations, The Telegraph hailing Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony as ‘an electrifying performance’ and ‘one of the LPO’s finest hours in the concert hall’.

Jurowski returned to the LPO just three months later, for his originally planned debut on 6 March 2002: Stravinsky’s complete Firebird and Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Suite.

Benefitting from more throrough preparation, this concert further illustrated the burgeoning relationship between orchestra and conductor; the Financial Times declaring: ‘Jurowski is more than a cut above the rest.

His clarity, subtlety, intelligence and wellpreparedness – added to uncommon maturity – turned the Prokofiev into a balletic tour de force, while the Stravinsky showcased his ability to get an orchestra to play to the peak of its ability.’ Jurowski himself clearly recalls the rehearsals for that concert and his first impressions of the LPO: ‘What immediately struck me was that they were extremely passionate about rehearsing

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Vladimir Jurowski © Drew Kelley

‘An imagination matched by none of London’s other principal conductors’ (The Arts Desk): LPO Principal Conductor & Artistic Advisor Vladimir Jurowski

Artist of the Year by Time Out, also receiving a nomination in the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. On 4 May 2006 Timothy Walker, the Orchestra’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director, announced that Vladimir Jurowski, then aged 34, would become the LPO’s twelfth Principal Conductor from September 2007. He took up the reins as the Orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary year and moved back to its refurbished Royal Festival Hall home. In an interview upon his appointment Jurowski expressed his wish to perform more 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, in which he was confident that those attributes he most admired in the LPO – their enthusiasm, their accuracy and their sight-reading ability – would come into their own. In his first few seasons alone he conducted world premieres by Mark-Anthony Turnage, Julian Anderson, Torsten Rasch and Matteo D’Amico, as well as music by neglected 20th-century composers such as Zemlinsky, Miaskovsky, Zimmermann and Honegger.

Over the next few seasons, in close collaboration with Timothy Walker and Southbank Centre, Jurowski cemented a reputation for crafting illuminating and in-depth concert series – both composerbased festivals (Tchaikovsky in 2008, Schnittke in 2009, Prokofiev in 2012 and Rachmaninoff in 2012/13) and wider-ranging vistas such as 2013’s The Rest Is Noise and, most recently,

Belief and Beyond Belief throughout 2017.

Next year will see Changing Faces: Stravinsky’s Journey, a year-long celebration of the composer’s well-known and rarer works, under Jurowski’s Artistic Directorship.

Like Jurowski himself, the LPO has opera in its DNA, having been Resident Symphony Orchestra at Glyndebourne for over 50 years.

‘I’ve always said that it’s the sign of a great orchestra,’ says Jurowski, ‘one that can play opera as well as it can play the symphonic repertoire, and the LPO certainly falls into this category. It creates a whole different sense of flexibility and open-mindedness on the side of the musicians.’ In recent seasons Jurowski has established a tradition of ambitious opera-in-concert productions on the LPO stage: memorable highlights include Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy in 2012, Weill’s Threepenny Opera and Britten’s Peter Grimes in 2013 and Rachmaninoff’s The Miserly Knight in 2015, and the curtain will rise on the LPO 2017/18 Royal Festival Hall season with a concert performance of Enescu’s Oedipe on 23 September 2017.

Fittingly, the Orchestra and Jurowski have chosen to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a complete concert performance of Wagner’s Das Rheingold at Royal Festival Hall on 27 January 2018 (see right). After countless acclaimed productions, Jurowski’s 12-year tenure at Glyndebourne came to an end in lpo.org.uk/vj10 – 05 –

summer 2013; however in 2017 he made a welcome return to conduct the world premiere performances of Brett Dean’s new opera Hamlet with the LPO, the production receiving universal rave reviews.

Since the launch of the LPO’s own label in 2005, more than 25 discs of Jurowski’s recordings with the Orchestra have been issued, ranging from works by Bach and Haydn to world premieres by Turnage and Anderson. In 2011 Jurowski completed his survey of Brahms’s symphonies, and in 2016 those of Tchaikovsky, the latter released on the label this autumn as a CD box set. In celebration of his 10th anniversary with the LPO, October 2017 will see the issue of a seven-CD box set of previously unreleased recordings with the Orchestra, comprising a typical Jurowskian juxtaposition of the familiar and the unexpected (see page 8).

As Jurowski enters his second decade as the LPO’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, his hallmark inventive programming and artistic vision show no signs of waning.

With his eyes firmly fixed on the future, he relishes the prospect of raising the quality and status of the Orchestra yet further: plans for future seasons include concert performances of Britten’s The Rake’s Progress and Billy Budd, as well as the completion of his Mahler and Bruckner symphony cycles and, eventually, the complete Ring Cycle.

Vladimir jurowski’s position with the LPO is generously supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation.

Das Rheingold: A Golden Gala Evening Saturday 27 January 2018 | 6.00pm Royal Festival Hall Wagner Das Rheingold Vladimir Jurowski conductor with soloists including Sofia Fomina, Anna Larsson, Matthias Goerne and Matthew Rose As well as standard concert tickets, we are offering special packages including pre- and post-concert receptions and the chance to meet the musicians who will bring Wagner’s great music drama to the stage.

More details at lpo.org.uk/vj10

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Lpo news

summer 2017 roundup

summer gala 2017

ravi shankar’s sukanya During May 2017 the London Philharmonic Orchestra took the plunge into somewhat unfamiliar musical territory, in the world premiere and UK tour of Indian legend Ravi Shankar’s only opera, Sukanya. Taken from the legendary Sanskrit texts of the Mahābhārata, and completed posthumously by the composer’s daughter Anoushka and conductor David Murphy, the story of Sukanya was brought to life in this innovative production combining traditional Indian instruments and Western orchestra and singers. Directed by Suba Das of Leicester Curve and with a libretto by Amit Chaudhuri, it also featured the BBC Singers with soloists including soprano Susanna Hurrell and tenor Alok Kumar, dance by the Aakash Odedra Company and production design by 59 Productions. Following the world premiere at Leicester’s Curve on 12 May, the opera toured to The Lowry, Salford; Symphony Hall, Birmingham; and London’s Royal Festival Hall. The reaction from audiences and the press was overwhelmingly positive, and it was a real privilege for our musicians to be involved in such an ambitious and fruitful collaboration.

Manori R. @manori_r · May 19 Why can’t more opera be like Ravi Shankar’s #Sukanya? Hope this opens door for more. Absolutely stellar show.

Njabulo Madlala @Njabza · May 20 Can’t get over that audience yesterday! Who said Opera is a dying art form?

Maybe not. #sukanyatheopera

John Suchet @JohnSuchet1 · May 20 East meets West. Stunning opera #Sukanya

by Ravi #Shankar @LPOrchestra David Murphy conducting. Unique evening

Ashanti Omkar @AshantiOmkar · May 20 @LPOrchestra @BBCSingersYou were #onfleek with the vocals at #sukanyaopera at #AlchemyFestival @southbankcentre. So much precision by @LPOrchestra for every Raag

Sukanya was a co-production between The Royal Opera, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Curve, Leicester.

The 19 May performance was a co-production between The Royal Opera, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Curve, Leicester in association with Southbank Centre. With generous philanthropic support from Arts Council England and the Bagri Foundation.

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FIND OUT MORE lpo.org.uk/support/gala

glyndebourne 2017 This summer the Orchestra played for performances of Verdi’s La traviata conducted

by Richard Farnes and Stefan Soltesz; Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos under Cornelius Meister; and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale under Giacomo Sagripanti; however, the most anticipated and talked-about production this summer was Brett Dean’s brand new opera Hamlet with Vladimir Jurowski, hailed in the Times’s review as ‘the operatic event of the year’. The final Hamlet performance, on 6 July, was broadcast to 150 cinemas across the UK, and on the Telegraph and Glyndebourne websites. Later this autumn it will also be broadcast on the BBC, France Télévisions, Medici.tv and NHK Japan: details will be available on our Twitter and Facebook pages as they are announced.

FIND OUT MORE glyndebourne.com

Sukanya © Royal Opera House/photo Bill Cooper – Gala © Lia Vittone

Some of the LPO players and Indian musicians involved in Sukanya relax backstage at Royal Festival Hall following the final performance on 19 May

This year’s annual LPO Fundraising Gala took place on 6 June at Whitehall’s magnificent Banqueting House. We celebrated Vladimir Jurowski’s 10th anniversary as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor with a selection of musical favourites chosen by Vladimir himself, with guest soloists Barbara Hannigan, Sarah Connolly, Toby Spence and Rod Gilfry. A Champagne Taittinger reception in the Undercroft was followed by dinner, performances and both silent and live auctions in the stunning Main Hall. Takings from the evening were record-breaking at over £240,000 in total.

Next year’s Gala will take place on 11 June 2018 at Guildhall. For more information contact gala@lpo.org.uk

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debut sounds The annual Debut Sounds concert has become a regular feature in the LPO’s calendar, highlighting our commitment to developing the next generation of performers and composers. This year’s concert took place on 12 July at St John’s Smith Square. It was the culmination of a year’s work with the Orchestra by this year’s LPO Young Composers Stef Conner, Nathan James Dearden, Yvonne Eccles and Alex Paxton, who each had a new work premiered by an orchestra comprising LPO Foyle Future Firsts and LPO members. For the first time this year we were also joined by echo, a choir formed from alumni of The Sixteen’s ‘Genesis Sixteen’ young singers’ scheme, who performed a cappella works by Purcell and James MacMillan.

Photos © LPO

summer festivals As well as our annual Glyndebourne residency, we performed at several festivals across the UK and abroad over the summer.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, on 8 August we gave a free open-air concert at Canary Wharf, featuring Bach’s Double Violin Concerto along with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

On 24 August we were invited to take part in the Snape Proms at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The showpiece of our concert was Strauss’s Four Last Songs with soprano Renée Fleming under conductor Edward Gardner, together with Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel and Elgar’s Symphony No. 1.

On 2 September we travelled to Romania to appear at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, giving a performance of Enescu’s Oedipe under Vladimir Jurowski, which we will reprise as the opening concert of our 2017/18 Royal Festival Hall season on 23 September.

6 September saw our annual appearance at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Jurowski conducted a programme featuring Shostakovich’s epic Symphony No. 11, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Two days later the Orchestra and Jurowski, along with violin soloist Alina Ibramigova, travelled to Prague to appear at the Dvořák Festival, and on 9 September we performed at the Bremen Musikfest in Germany, again under Jurowski, with violin soloist ChristianTetzlaff.

finely-tuned athletes

On 23 April a team from the LPO community took part in the Virgin Money London Marathon in aid of the Orchestra’s schools concerts, BrightSparks. They raised an amazing total of over £18,000, which will allow over 12,000 young people to attend our schools’ concerts. Congratulations to our runners Laura, Tom, Frankie, Lowri and Philipp. Well done too to Co-Principal Percussionist Henry Baldwin, who also ran the Marathon in aid of homeless charity Crisis.

Continuing the sporting theme, on 9 July a team from the LPO, our Corporate Members Sunshine and the London Philharmonic Choir took part in the Virgin Sport British 10K, again in aid of BrightSparks. Many thanks to everyone who generously sponsored and supported our runners.

LPO golf day

Stewart McIlwham (Piccolo), Victoria Robey OBE (LPO Board Chairman) and Gareth Newman (Bassoon)

Now in its third year, the LPO Charity Golf Day has become a much-loved part of the Orchestra’s event calendar. On 20 July LPO musicians and special guest Adrian Chiles joined guests at The Berkshire Golf Club for a day on the green, raising over £13,000 for the Orchestra’s Education & Community programme. more fundraising events lpo.org.uk/support

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PRIMEPHONIC: a new classical streaming service

On 14 June a trio of brass players from the LPO were invited to perform at the launch event of Primephonic, a new streaming service dedicated to classical music.

The entire LPO Label catalogue of over 100 discs is available on the platform, which features over 100,000 classical tracks from labels including Sony Classical, Warner Classics, Naxos, Harmonia Mundi, Chandos and Bis. Its revolutionary search functionality – for the first time tailored to the needs of classical music listeners – enables searching by criteria such as composer, work, artist, ensemble, historical period or genre. The platform also places an emphasis on integrating education into its user experience through its playlist curation and original editorial content, designed to inform even the most knowledgeable listener.

Primephonic can be used via a desktop streaming platform or a mobile-optimised website, with a dedicated iOS app currently in development. All tracks are available to stream in 16-bit FLAC file format (CD quality).

Primephonic offers a 30-day free trial (no credit card information required), and subscriptions then cost £14.99 per month ($14.99 in the USA) for unlimited access to its catalogue.

Find out more primephonic.com

rmonic Orchestra wski 10 years boxset al with gold pantone ink

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Lpo news

New & noteworthy google cultural institute

JAPAN CHINA

A page from the 1973 LPO schedule, showing 17 March 1973 with handwritten itinerary for journey to Peking

japan & china: on tour in 2017/18 We all know the LPO is a well-travelled orchestra, but you may be surprised to learn that over the 2016/17 season the players gave 33 concerts outside the UK. They performed in nine different countries and 25 cities, and travelled a total of 23,101 miles – 19,063 by plane, 2,406 by train and a mere(!) 1,631 by coach.

During the 2017/18 season the Orchestra will rack up plenty more airmiles: on 4 October they jet off to Japan with conductor Vladimir Jurowski, for a tour generously supported by JTI. With Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii – who has been blind from birth – they will give eight concerts in Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, Niigata, Tokyo, Hamamatsu and Kawasaki, returning to London on 15 October. A second major Far East tour follows on 27 December, when the Orchestra will travel to China to perform in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing over the New Year period. In between they’ll squeeze in a European tour in mid-November with conductor Alain Altinoglu and violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, taking in Antwerp, Vienna, Freiburg, Friedrichshafen, Stuttgart and Munich, and make a festive trip to Paris to perform Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 17 December, following the Royal Festival Hall performance the previous evening. Full details are on pages 14–15. follow our tour adventures on twitter

The LPO is no stranger to firsts – we were the first Western orchestra to cross the Iron Curtain and perform in the Soviet Union in 1956, the first to tour to China in 1973 ... and now we’re the first London orchestra to have our own Google Cultural Institute exhibit.

As part of Google’s mission to catalogue the world’s information, it works with leading museums and galleries to publish digital collections, and we are proud to be part of the first wave of performing arts organisations to join the project. We’ve delved into our photo archives and put together our first Google exhibit, focussing on the period 1955–73 when the Orchestra embarked on a series of touring firsts. We look forward to sharing more of the Orchestra’s rich history with viewers worldwide in future. explore the exhibit google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/partner/ london-philharmonic-orchestra

twitter.com/LPOrchestra

lpo label news This autumn sees the release of two major box sets as part of our Vladimir Jurowski 10th anniversary celebrations.

Our September release was a seven-disc set of Tchaikovsky’s complete symphonies – including Manfred – conducted by Jurowski. The set includes previously unreleased recordings of Nos. 2 and 3, plus Francesca da Rimini and the Serenade for Strings, and is priced at £34.99 (LPO-0101).

In October we release another seven-disc box set: a special collection of previously unreleased recordings by Jurowski and the LPO. These include Ravel’s complete ballet Daphnis et Chloé, Brahms’s German Requiem, Enescu’s Symphony No. 3 and Liszt’s Faust Symphony, along with both familiar and rare repertoire spanning the symphonic, choral and contemporary genres (LPO-1010; £49.99). Both box sets, along with the other 100+ recordings on the LPO Label, are available to buy from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242), all good CD outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop.

In other label news, we were delighted that our disc of music by former LPO Composer in Residence Julian Anderson received the ‘Premiere’ award at April’s BBC Music Magazine Awards. The disc features two world premiere recordings of works Anderson wrote for the Orchestra: In lieblicher Bläue and Alleluia (LPO-0089).

July saw the release on the Opus Arte label of Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict (conductor Antonello Manacorda) and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (conductor Enrique Mazzola) on DVD and Blu-ray, both filmed at the 2016 Glyndebourne Festival: each priced at £25 (CD)/£30 (Blu-ray), they are available from glyndebourneshop.com lpo.org.uk/recordings

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Lpo news

lpo people sir james macmillan

In the office

welcome

L-R: Greg Felton, Alexandra Lloyd, Oli Frost

L-R: Kevin Lin, David Quiggle

Sir James MacMillan

James MacMillan © Philip Gatward

We are delighted to announce that esteemed British composer Sir James MacMillan will take up the role of LPO Young Composer Mentor for the 2017/18 season.

Each season our annual Young Composers programme offers five promising but as-yet unpublished young composers the opportunity to develop, workshop and compose a new piece for an orchestra of London Philharmonic players and Foyle Future Firsts. As Composer Mentor, MacMillan will lead seminars with the composers across the year, and conduct the annual Debut Sounds concert next summer showcasing their new works.

James MacMillan’s prolific output has been performed and broadcast around the world. His percussion concerto Veni, Veni Emmanuel has received close to 500 outings worldwide, including a memorable performance by Evelyn Glennie with the LPO at Royal Festival Hall in 2013. In 2014 the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski gave the world premiere of MacMillan’s Viola Concerto with soloist Lawrence Power.

musical chairs Emmanuella Reiter left the LPO viola section in 2017 after nearly nine years with the Orchestra. We also recently said goodbye to Principal Second Violin Andrew Storey, Co-Principal Viola Cyrille Mercier and Second Violin Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi.

A warm welcome to Kevin Lin, who has been appointed Co-Leader of the Orchestra. The 24-year-old American violinist took up the position in August 2017. Kevin is a graduate of the Colburn School Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. He has won numerous prizes in international competitions including the 2013 Irving Klein International String Competition and First Prize at the 2011 Schmidbauer International Young Artist String Competition, Junior Division.

We also welcomed David Quiggle as Principal Viola in August. American violist David is a former member of the Casals Quartet. Based until recently in Spain, he taught for ten years at the Musikene Conservatory in San Sebastián. meet our members lpo.org.uk/players

in memoriam We were saddened to learn of the death of several former LPO members this year, including Iain Keddie in April 2017. Iain was No. 4 Horn in the LPO from 1963–95, playing under several different section principals including Keith Whitmore, Ron Harris and latterly the late Nick Busch.

Cellist Keith Harvey passed away on 28 April 2017, aged 79. In 1958 Keith was appointed the youngest ever Principal Cello of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, where he remained for five years. He was subsequently appointed first cellist of the English Chamber Orchestra, and later formed the Gabrieli String Quartet.

We were also sorry to hear of violinist George Apel’s death on 9 May 2017. He was a member of the Orchestra for 30 years, from 1962 until he emigrated to Australia in 1991, playing under Sir Malcolm Sargent, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti and Klaus Tennstedt. lpo.org.uk – 09 –

Over the summer we welcomed new Digital Creative Greg Felton and Marketing Co-ordinator Alexandra Lloyd, after saying goodbye to Martin Franklin and Anna O’Connor, as well as Development Assistant Amy Sugarman. Oli Frost, previously our Marketing Intern, accepted the permanent role of Marketing Assistant.

Find a staff member lpo.org.uk/about/staff

Jobs at the lpo lpo.org.uk/jobs

CONGRATULATIONS Congratulations to LPO Tours Manager Sophie Richardson (née Kelland), who married Claymore Richardson on 10 June 2017 in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

Congratulations too to Corporate Relations Manager Laura Willis (née Luckhurst), who married David Willis at Almonry Barn in Muchelney, Somerset on 15 July 2017.

new arrivals The LPO First Violin section celebrated two new arrivals this spring: baby Leander Martin, son of violinist Martin Höhmann and his wife Heather, was born on 6 March 2017, sharing a birthday with his mother!

Congratulations too to violinist Ji-Hyun Lee and her husband Ji Hyun Kim, whose daughter Sarang Kim was born on 10 April 2017. Not only do the couple fortuitously share a first name, but their daughter’s name means ‘love’ in Korean.

Happy news too for LPO Concerts Director Roanna Gibson, her husband Steve and daughter Lucy, who welcomed baby Albert Eric (Bertie) on 30 March 2017. We are very grateful to Liz Forbes for covering Roanna’s position while she has been on maternity leave.

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LPO education & community

LPO junior artists In November 2016 the LPO launched its pioneering Junior Artists scheme. As it approached the end of its first year, we caught up with the inaugural participants.

Each Junior Artist was paired with a mentor from within the Orchestra, and over the year they have spent time taking part in one-to-one instrumental lessons with them.

Most of the participants are studying at specialist music schools or the junior departments of London’s conservatoires, so are already receiving high-level tuition from their regular teachers. The aim is not to duplicate this expertise but to complement it, adding an extra dimension with a practical focus on topics such as tackling orchestral excerpts and audition skills. As Pasha Orleans-Foli, one of this year’s inaugural Junior Artists, explains: ‘It really helps to hear from another perspective: even looking at the same piece, it’s great to have fresh ideas, to discuss the tricks of the instrument and what audition panels might be looking for.’

Clarinettist Pasha has been working with mentor Tom Watmough, the Orchestra’s Principal E-flat Clarinet. Previously Head Girl at her school while also studying clarinet and guitar at the Junior Guildhall, she is off to Birmingham University in September 2017 to study Modern Languages and Music with the eventual aim of becoming a professional musician.

A second key element of the Junior Artists programme is a series of ‘Insight’ sessions involving LPO players and guest artists,

The 2016/17 LPO Junior Artists: (L–R): Nathaniel Groves, Thea Sayer, Jesse Francis, Bethany Crouch, Daria Phillips, Michael Hollette, Pasha Orleans-Foli, Daniel Swani

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Three Junior Artists visit the iconic Abbey Road Studios to observe an LPO recording session in action

offering more in-depth opportunities to discuss the realities of life as an orchestral musician and such thorny topics as how to juggle a freelance career, overcoming performance nerves and the challenges of life on tour. The Junior Artists also took part in a group discussion session with representatives from the major London conservatoires, covering the topics of higher-level training and routes into the orchestral profession. A key aim of the Junior Artists programme is to demystify an industry that is often seen as dependent on networking and personal contacts, and this behind-the-scenes insight is invaluable, as one of this year’s Junior Artists explains: ‘Everything that you would have to go through in the early years of your career, starting from scratch and making mistakes along the way: I feel like we’re getting the chance to do all that now, but in a safe and supportive environment where we’re getting feedback and learning from it all the time.’

To help equip them with the practical skills to launch a successful career, the Junior Artists have also been invited to workshops on such topics as communication,

LPO Junior Artists © Benjamin Ealovega

A

t a time when the lack of diversity within the arts as a whole is rightly under scrutiny and orchestral music in particular is accused of being the preserve of a white, wealthy elite, the London Philharmonic Orchestra believes more strongly than ever that it has a duty to support pathways into the profession for talented young players from all backgrounds.

In December 2016 we launched LPO Junior Artists, an orchestral experience programme for talented young musicians from communities and backgrounds currently under-represented in professional UK orchestras. It aims to promote diversity and inclusion within professional orchestras – among both players and management – by offering support, advice and professional insight to students aged 15–19 who are considering pursuing an orchestral career.

We invited applications from participants from backgrounds currently underrepresented in classical music: these included – but were not limited to – under-represented racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as players with disabilities. After auditions in November 2016 we offered eight places, and the first cohort of Junior Artists were welcomed to the LPO family in December.

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presentation skills and self-confidence, led by Summing up their experience on the year-round work that goes into planning and industry experts including actor and writer scheme this year, Bethany Crouch, running a busy concert and touring season.

Lolita Chakrabarti. For Junior Artist Daniel a clarinettist and 2016/17 Junior Artist, is As an orchestra with a long history of Swani, a flautist and sixth-former at The full of praise for the programme and for the education work, and with a large proportion Purcell School, this was one of the of its members active in the Orchestra’s many confidence it has given her: ‘We would never programme’s highlights: ‘I found it really otherwise get this kind of experience at our education and community projects, the LPO useful, hearing advice from different age – it’s a truly unique opportunity.’ About to was also keen to involve the Junior Artists in professional angles. We’re taught about start Year 13, Bethany studies at the Royal this aspect of its work. With music performance skills at school so I wasn’t sure I’d increasingly sidelined in school curriculums, College of Music Junior Department. In the learn anything new, but the sessions taught future she hopes to attend a conservatoire and orchestras and venues needing to seek me so much about social dynamics, and the with the aim of becoming a professional out ever-new audiences, inspiring the next way you present yourself and your body orchestral player. Flautist Daniel agrees: generation of music-lovers is a key part of the language.’ Daniel has been mentored this year LPO’s manifesto and something that will be ‘Having everything we’ve done in one by the Orchestra’s Principal Piccolo and Board coherent programme has been brilliant. This crucial to all the Junior Artists in their future President Stewart McIlwham. In September careers. Clarinettist Pasha admits that for her, is a great opportunity.’ he’s off to study at the Royal Academy of Talking to these motivated, articulate one of the most nerveracking parts of the Music and hopes to become an orchestral young people, it’s clear that the future of scheme was the prospect of visiting local flautist or soloist. For Daniel, getting orchestral music is in good hands. By investing primary schools to introduce the to know Stewart – and on in a scheme such as this to help launch them children to her instrument: occasion performing side-byonto the right path, we hope to assure the ‘Some of them didn’t even side with him – has been one orchestral talent of tomorrow for the benefit know what a clarinet was We would never of the most exciting of all of us: fellow musicians, arts managers or what it looked like, so it otherwise get this elements of the scheme. and concert audiences alike. was quite a challenge.’

‘That’s one of the reasons In preparation for their kind of experience at find out more and meet the 2017/18 junior artists lpo.org.uk/juniorartists I applied – for the chance to school visits the Junior our age – it’s a truly play alongside actual LPO Artists received coaching the lpo Junior Artists Pilot programme was generously unique opportunity. members; the people that from professional supported by Virginia Gabbertas and the Steel you’re trying one day to animateur and music Bethany Crouch, Charitable Trust. We are delighted to have received emulate. It’s so inspiring to educator Rachel Leach, who 2016/17 LPO Junior Artist three year funding at £30,000 from the Andrew Lloyd imagine yourself sitting in shared ideas and tips about Webber Foundation to continue and expand this programme next season. It is the first time that the that chair in a few years’ how to engage young people Foundation has supported the LPO. its kind support will time.’ During the year the Junior in an accessible way. After the be supplemented by generous donations from the Austin Artists also had the opportunity to meet event Pasha was surprised that the & Hope Pilkington Trust, the UK Friends of the Felix conductor Rebecca Miller, cellist Sheku experience was ‘very fulfilling: I learnt a lot Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation and donors to the Kanneh-Mason and soprano Angel Blue, who from it.’

Chairman’s Appeal at the Orchestra’s 2017 Gala. performed Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall in April 2017.

‘Talking to Angel was amazing,’ recalls Daniel.

She’s an incredible international soloist, and yet you learn that she’s just a normal person, that she’s actually human. As someone who aspires to a solo career, just the opportunity to chat to someone like that is hugely inspiring.’

Of course there’s more to any orchestra than the musicians, and the Junior Artists have also had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the behind-the-scenes activity of the LPO. A highlight was spending a day observing a live recording session with the Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, where they also met the LPO’s ‘on the road’ team of stage, transport and library staff. At the Orchestra’s offices in Vauxhall they spent time with the Concerts, Education, Development and Marketing teams finding out about the The Junior Artists rehearsing at Southbank Centre under conductor Rebecca Miller

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lpo 17/18 season

player picks As we prepare to open our 2017/18 season, some of the Orchestra’s musicians tell us which of the autumn’s concerts they’re looking forward to most ...

Alice munday oboe

A highlight for me will be Schumann’s Violin Concerto, which Patricia Kopatchinskaja performs with the Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall on 8 November. This piece has been part of my life in quite an unusual way, as my wife, Jessica Duchen, wrote a novel, Ghost Variations, about its extraordinary history.

The Concerto was Schumann’s last orchestral work and was left unpublished, languishing in a library until 1933 when it was rediscovered by the great Hungarian violinist Jelly D’Arányi, allegedly with the startling aid of a Ouija board. Hitler had just come to power and his Ministry of Propaganda conscripted the work for their own purposes.

The starry young Yehudi Menuhin also wanted to play it, and an alarming race to the premiere ensued. Arguments still rage about whether or not it betrays Schumann’s worsening mental illness. Either way, I think it’s great!

I’m looking forward to Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada on 25 October. It’s a challenging piece, but the writing really showcases the woodwind (especially the oboe section!) right from the opening bar. I like hearing the different soloists within the Orchestra being featured for a while before someone else takes the spotlight. There are so many different colours and moods conjured up in this piece and it always transports me in my head to faraway lands.

The other concert I’m really looking forward to is J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on 16 December. Most of Bach’s orchestral works have prominent roles for the oboe section.

However, as a modern symphony orchestra we don’t often play in this Baroque style, so this will be an interesting challenge that I don’t doubt under Vladimir Jurowski’s direction the Orchestra can rise to! The Christmas Oratorio has two oboes and two cors anglais in the scoring, so my section will be out in force that night. It’s the last London concert of the year, and will send us off for Christmas very happily indeed!

Fancy reading up before the concert? Ghost Variations by Jessica Duchen is published by Unbound and is available in paperback and Kindle formats.

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mark templeton trombone Two of the works that stand out for me this autumn are Janáček’s Taras Bulba on 27 September with Vladimir Jurowski, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 on 4 November with Lawrence Renes.

Taras Bulba is an orchestral suite depicting the life and death of a Cossack military leader, and in it Janáček really makes the trombones work hard. We have some great melodies for the section, but also some really ‘grungy’ passages with all of us scraping the bottom of the instruments’ range. Janáček gets some awesome colours from the whole orchestra.

As a young trombonist, first hearing the finale of Bruckner’s Eighth was like being thrown into a rollercoaster mid-ride. The relentless string riffs and pounding timpani just grab you.

Mark’s chair in the LPO is supported by William & Alex de Winton.

To find out more about supporting a player’s chair in the Orchestra, please contact Rosie Morden on 020 7840 4212 or rosie.morden@lpo.org.uk

Thomas Eisner & Mark Templeton © Benjamin Ealovega

thomas eisner first violin

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Lpo autumn 2017

Concert listings Southbank centre Unless otherwise stated, standard prices £10–£46 Premium seats £65 London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 Mon–Fri 10am–5pm lpo.org.uk Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office 020 3879 9555 Daily 9am–8pm southbankcentre.co.uk Transaction fees: £2.50 online, £3.00 telephone No transaction fee for bookings made in person

Saturday 23 September 2017 | 7.00pm (Please note start time) Enescu Oedipe Vladimir Jurowski conductor Paul Gay Oedipe* Sir Willard White Tirésias Christopher Purves Créon Graham Clark Shepherd Mischa Schelomianski High Priest In Sung Sim Phorbas Maxim Mikhailov Watchman* Boris Pinkhasovich Thésée Marius Vlad Budoiu Laïos Ruxandra Donose Jocaste Ildikó Komlósi The Sphinx Gabriela Istoc Antigone Dame Felicity Palmer Mérope Choir of the George Enescu Philharmonic Romanian Radio Children’s Choir Chahine Yavroyan lighting designer Sung in French with English surtitles Concert generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE Additional generous support from the Romanian Cultural Institute * Please note a change to the artists from previously advertised

Free pre-concert event | 5.45–6.15pm The Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall Writer, broadcaster and lecturer Professor Erik Levi joins Vladimir Jurowski to talk about Oedipe.

Wednesday 27 September 2017 | 7.30pm Britten Symphony for Cello Silvestrov Symphony No. 3 (Eschatophony) Janáček Taras Bulba Vladimir Jurowski conductor Jan Vogler cello

Saturday 30 September 2017 | 7.30pm

Friday 27 October 2017 | 7.30pm

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, K466 Bruckner Symphony No. 5 (1878 version)

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Richard Goode piano

Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Inon Barnatan piano*

Saturday 21 October 2017 | 7.30pm

* Generously supported by the Embassy of the State of Israel to the United Kingdom.

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 Rossini Stabat Mater Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor* Hannes Minnaar piano Joyce El-Khoury soprano Anna Stéphany mezzo-soprano Kan Wang tenor* Michele Pertusi bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir * Please note a change to the artists from previously advertised

Free pre-concert event | 6.15–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall Dr Stefano Castelvecchi looks at Rossini’s Stabat Mater in the context of the Belief and Beyond Belief festival.

Sunday 22 October 2017 | 12.00 noon FUNharmonics Family Concert: The Gruffalo’s Child Terry Davies conductor Polly Ives presenter ‘The Gruffalo said that no gruffalo should ever set foot in the deep dark wood.’

One wild and windy night, the Gruffalo’s Child ignores her father’s warnings and bravely tiptoes out into the snow in search of the Big Bad Mouse.

A companion film to the hugely successful The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child is brought to life by the LPO performing the live soundtrack, plus extra musical highlights. Suitable for all ages.

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

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

Free pre-concert event | 6.15–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall ‘I couldn’t not write it’, Shostakovich said; ‘War was all around.’ Dr Kate Kennedy looks at the astonishing story of the ‘Leningrad’ Symphony with its portrayal of a city at siege and a people’s willpower to exist as a nation.

Saturday 4 November 2017 | 7.30pm Bruckner Symphony No. 8 (Haas edition) Lawrence Renes conductor* * Please note a change to the conductor from previously advertised.

Wednesday 8 November 2017 | 7.30pm Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture Schumann Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) Alain Altinoglu conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin Wednesday 22 November 2017 | 7.30pm Bridge Summer Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 (Winter Daydreams) Michail Jurowski conductor Beatrice Rana piano Friday 24 November 2017 | 7.30pm

Adults £12–20, children £6–10

Vivaldi The Four Seasons* Kabalevsky Spring Glazunov The Seasons

Wednesday 25 October 2017 | 7.30pm

Marius Stravinsky conductor Pieter Schoeman director/violin*†

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 Pēteris Vasks Dona nobis pacem Gregorian Chant Dies Irae Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances* Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor István Várdai cello London Philharmonic Choir The Lay Vicars of Westminster Abbey * In co-operation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.

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† Pieter Schoeman’s chair in the Orchestra is generously supported by Neil Westreich.

Free pre-concert event | 6.15–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall Writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson looks at how composers have sought inspiration and responded musically to the cycle of the seasons and the ancient rites associated with it.

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Lpo autumn 2017

Concert listings continued Wednesday 29 November 2017 | 7.30pm Respighi Autumn Poem Chausson Poème Marx An Autumn Symphony (UK premiere) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Julia Fischer violin Free pre-concert performance | 6.00–6.45pm Royal Festival Hall In their first performance of the season, the Foyle Future Firsts, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, present a 20th-century programme inspired by rituals and seasons: Toru Takemitsu Rain Coming Toru Takemitsu Tree Line Giya Kancheli Midday Prayers from Life Without Christmas

Around the UK Wednesday 6 September 2017 | 7.00pm BBC Proms: Royal Albert Hall, London Box Office: 0845 401 5040 bbc.co.uk/proms

Saturday 2 September 2017 | 7.30pm Sala Mare a Palatului, Bucharest, Romania salapalatului.ro

Stravinsky Funeral Song Stravinsky Song of the Volga Boatmen Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 Britten Russian Funeral Music Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Paul Gay Oedipe* Sir Willard White Tirésias Christopher Purves Créon Graham Clark Shepherd Mischa Schelomianski High Priest In Sung Sim Phorbas Maxim Mikhailov Watchman* Boris Pinkhasovich Thésée Marius Vlad Budoiu Laïos Ruxandra Donose Jocaste Ildikó Komlósi The Sphinx Gabriela Istoc Antigone Dame Felicity Palmer Mérope Choir of the George Enescu Philharmonic Romanian Radio Children’s Choir

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Alina Ibragimova violin Saturday 28 October 2017 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Box Office: 01273 709709 brightondome.org

Monday 4 December 2017 | 7.30pm

Beethoven Coriolan Overture Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

Meow Meow: More Pandemonium ... with a festive twist

Eugene Tzigane conductor Inon Barnatan piano*

Benjamin Northey conductor

* Generously supported by the Embassy of the State of Israel to the United Kingdom.

After last year’s hugely entertaining and mildly terrifying evening of orchestrated chaos, we are delighted that international comedienne extraordinaire and queen of song Meow Meow joins the Orchestra once again. Meow returns with her unique brand of subversive and sublime cabaret, and a little twist of untraditional festive cheer. Suitable for ages 14 and over.

Tickets £25/£35/£45 Please note series discounts do not apply to this performance.

Saturday 16 December 2017 | 7.00pm J S Bach Christmas Oratorio Vladimir Jurowski conductor Maria Keohane soprano Anke Vondung mezzo-soprano Jeremy Ovenden tenor* Stephan Loges bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir Please note start time. * Please note a change to the artist from previously advertised

INTERNATIONAL CONCERTS

Sunday 5 November 2017 | 3.00pm Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne Box Office: 01323 412000 eastbournetheatres.co.uk Dvořák String Sextet Schubert Octet Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Saturday 25 November 2017 | 7.30pm Brighton Dome Concert Hall Box Office details as above J S Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 Vivaldi Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat major, RV 547 J S Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor Vivaldi The Four Seasons Pieter Schoeman director/violin* Kevin Lin violin Pei-Jee Ng cello * Pieter Schoeman’s chair in the Orchestra is generously supported by Neil Westreich.

Tuesday 28 November 2017 | 7.30pm Wigmore Hall, London Box Office: 020 7935 2141 wigmore-hall.org.uk Programme as 5 November, Eastbourne

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Enescu Oedipe

Sunday 3 September 2017 | 7.30pm Sala Mare a Palatului, Bucharest, Romania salapalatului.ro Wagner Tristan und Isolde, Prelude to Act I Berg Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Monday 4 September 2017 | 5.00pm Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest, Romania fge.org.ro/en/romanian-atheneum.html Mendelssohn Octet Enescu Octet Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Friday 8 September 2017 | 8.00pm Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic rudolfinum.cz Dvořák The Noonday Witch Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Alina Ibragimova violin Saturday 9 September 2017 | 8.00pm Die Glocke, Bremen, Germany musikfest-bremen.de Stravinsky Funeral Song Berg Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 (The Year 1905) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin

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Friday 6 October 2017 | 7.00pm Fukuoka Symphony Hall, Fukuoka, Japan* acros.or.jp

Thursday 9 November 2017 | 8.00pm Queen Elisabeth Hall, Antwerp, Belgium elisabethcenter.be

Saturday 30 December 2017 | 8.00pm Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China gzdjy.org

Wagner Overture, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Stravinsky Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

Berlioz Overture, Béatrice et Bénédict Elgar Cello Concerto Sibelius Symphony No. 2

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nobuyuki Tsujii piano

Alain Altinoglu conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin

Vasily Petrenko conductor Andreas Brantelid cello

Saturday 7 October 2017 | 3.00pm Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan* festivalhall.jp

Saturday 11 November 2017 | 7.30pm Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria konzerthaus.at

Sunday 31 December 2017 | 8.00pm Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China gzdjy.org

Wagner Overture, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

Programme as 9 November, Antwerp

Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nobuyuki Tsujii piano Sunday 8 October 2017 | 3.00pm NTK Hall Forest Hall, Nagoya, Japan* nagoya-phil.or.jp

Sunday 12 November 2017 | 8.00pm Konzerthaus, Freiburg, Germany konzerthaus.freiburg.de Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Schumann Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

Programme as 7 October, Osaka

Alain Altinoglu conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin

Monday 9 October 2017 | 3.00pm Ryutopia, Niigata, Japan* ryutopia.or.jp

Monday 13 November 2017 | 8.00pm Graf-Zeppelin-Haus, Friedrichshafen, Germany gzh.de

Programme as 7 October, Osaka

Programme as 9 November, Antwerp

Wednesday 11 October 2017 | 7.00pm Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan* t-bunka.jp

Tuesday 14 November 2017 | 8.00pm Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany liederhalle-stuttgart.de

Wagner Overture, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nobuyuki Tsujii piano Thursday 12 October 2017 | 7.00pm Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan* suntory.com Programme as 7 October, Osaka Friday 13 October 2017 | 7.00pm ACT City, Hamamatsu, Japan* actcity.jp Brahms Tragic Overture Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Nobuyuki Tsujii piano Saturday 14 October 2017 | 6.00pm Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall, Kawasaki, Japan* kawasaki-sym-hall.jp

Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Schumann Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) Alain Altinoglu conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin Wednesday 15 November 2017 | 8.00pm Gasteig, Munich, Germany gasteig.de Programme as 14 November, Stuttgart Sunday 17 December 2017 | 8.00pm Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, France theatrechampselysees.fr

Vasily Petrenko conductor Andreas Brantelid cello Monday 1 January 2018 | 8.00pm Shenzhen Concert Hall, Shenzhen, China szyyt.com Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Vasily Petrenko conductor Andreas Brantelid cello Wednesday 3 January 2018 | 7.30pm Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai, China shsymphony.com Berlioz Overture, Béatrice et Bénédict Elgar Cello Concerto Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Vasily Petrenko conductor Andreas Brantelid cello Thursday 4 January 2018 | 7.30pm Shanghai Symphony Hall, Shanghai, China shsymphony.com Programme as 1 January, Shenzhen Friday 5 January 2018 | 7.30pm National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China chncpa.org Programme as 3 January, Shanghai

J S Bach Christmas Oratorio (Parts 1–3) Vladimir Jurowski conductor Maria Keohane soprano Anke Vondung mezzo-soprano Jeremy Ovenden tenor Stephan Loges bass-baritone London Philharmonic Choir

Programme as 13 October, Hamamatsu * Our tour to Japan is generously supported by JTI with additional support from the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation.

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Saturday 6 January 2018 National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing, China chncpa.org Programme as 1 January, Shenzhen

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LPO people

backstage

What impact do you think Vladimir Jurowski’s ten years as Principal Conductor has had on the Orchestra?

As someone who has played under four Principal Conductors in my time, I think we have been the luckiest of the London orchestras to have had Vladimir here at the LPO. He has raised the virtuosity and versatility of the Orchestra to amazing levels, and we’ve tackled some of the most challenging repertoire – mostly new to us – that I’ve ever known. We’ve grown together with him artistically and made some absolutely wonderful recordings such as the complete Brahms and Tchaikovsky symphonies, and we’re now nearing the completion of the Mahler symphonies too.

This is also while being consistently the most well-reviewed orchestra in London for many years, all thanks to Vladimir.

What are the particular challenges of playing within an orchestral string section?

Being part of a string section is very much about teamwork, and you have to learn to blend with the colleagues around you all the time. It’s not an easy thing to learn, especially when one is young and full of confidence – getting used to not hearing your own sound in the interests of the whole is a real learning curve. It’s very different from being a wind player, where you are always a soloist. We strings are the worker bees of the orchestra!

– fiona higham – Fiona has been a member of the LPO Second Violin section since 1989. We asked her about some of her favourite memories and how life in the Orchestra has changed over the last 28 years.

How has life as an orchestral musician changed over your career?

When I first joined the LPO in 1989, orchestras in general were much more male-dominated and – as in many other areas of life – often quite chauvinistic. That has changed over the years, I am happy to say, and we have far more women in the Orchestra now: it’s close to 50/50. I was a single mother in the Orchestra in the 1990s and was something of a trailblazer, even in terms of bringing my baby on tour when she was very small. This raised a few eyebrows but it passed off without mishap, the baby being looked after by a friend who travelled with me. My two daughters very much grew up with the Orchestra as a second family: I played The Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne five days before the birth of my second child, and then Verdi’s Otello three days after!

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

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Tell us about some of the LPO Education projects you’ve been part of – why is this work important to you?

A real highlight was going into an inner London primary school and helping a group of children to compose their own piece and perform it a few days later at Queen Elizabeth Hall. They had me tearing my hair out at the penultimate session when they all seemed to go on strike, and then when it came to the performance I was so moved by their efforts that it brought tears to my eyes.

Another highlight was going to India with our former fusion group Renga. Working with Indian jazz musicians and giving workshops in three Indian schools where there was literally no music education at all was an absolute thrill.

I think we don’t realise how inspiring it can be for children to work with us musicians.

There is so little music provision in schools compared to when I was at school, back in the days of the Inner London Education Authority.

They did fabulous work in London such as running the Centre for Young Musicians on Saturdays, and the London Schools Symphony Orchestra – without which I wouldn’t be playing in the LPO today !

Your chair in the LPO is supported by David and Yi Buckley. What does this mean to you?

The Orchestra simply couldn’t function without the support of such generous individuals. I’m absolutely thrilled to be supported by such lovely people as David and Yi, and we’re hoping to organise a performance at their home at some point in the future. meet our members lpo.org.uk/players

Fiona Higham © Benjamin Ealovega

What have been your most memorable moments in your time with the LPO? I’ll never forget playing Strauss’s Capriccio at Glyndebourne many years ago under Bernard Haitink, who was at that time Music Director. It was one of my first summers at Glyndebourne and I had rented a cottage in the village of Glynde, which turned out to be next door to Bernard’s house. My cocker spaniel Sally had been – unbeknownst to me – regularly popping through the hedge and visiting Bernard, which he apparently loved!

During Vladimir Jurowski’s 13-year spell as Glyndebourne Music Director there were many extraordinary experiences too, the most memorable of which for me was playing Wagner’s Die Meistersinger: the first time it had ever been performed at Glyndebourne.

I was amazed that a five-hour opera could make time stand still and seem like no time had passed.

Working with the late Klaus Tennstedt in his final years was such an inspiring and emotional time. He seemed to draw out the true heart of the Orchestra, standing unsteadily on the podium with his arms outstretched towards us, albatross-like. It was impossible not to really bust a gut to give every phrase its true meaning for him: if you watch some of the televised broadcasts from Japan you’ll see what I mean.