Programme Notes
Beethoven’s Pastoral Thu 1 October 2026 • 20.15 Fri 2 October 2026 • 20.15
PROGRAMME dirigent Philipp von Steinaecker violin Bomsori Kim Anton Webern 1883-1945 Symphony, op. 21 (1927–28) • Ruhig schreitend • Variationen Ludwig van Beethoven 1770-1827 Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 (1806) • Allegro ma non troppo • Larghetto • Rondo: allegro intermission Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6 in F major, op. 68, ‘Pastoral’ (1802–08) • Allegro ma non troppo • Andante molto mosso • Allegro • Allegro • Allegretto concert ends at around 22.30 Most recent performances by our orchestra Webern Symphony: Jun 2024, conductor Bertie Baigent Beethoven Violin Concerto: Jun 2026, violin Paul Huang, conductor Lahav Shani (on tour) Beethoven Symphony No. 6: Apr 2021, conductor Lahav Shani One hour before the start of the concert, Gijsbert Kok will give an introduction (in Dutch) to the programme, admission €7,50. Tickets are available at the hall, payment by debit card. The introduction is free for Vrienden. Cover: Photo Vivaan Trivedii (Unsplash)
Songbirds. Educational wall chart (1950) by H.J. Slijper, published by Thieme Zutphen
Old forms in a new guise Beethoven’s symphonies revolutionised European music, and his ‘Pastoral’ is no exception. The symphony that Webern wrote a century later is even more rebellious. Yet both composers embrace tradition – although with Webern, you must listen carefully to hear it.
Anton Webern’s Symphony, composed in 1927 and 1928, is unmistakably a work of the twentieth century. It was the first composition in which Webern employed the twelve-tone technique, a then brand-new, mathematical approach to composition that radically broke with classical harmony. All the musical material is derived from a single theme, in which each of the twelve notes of the scale appears exactly once. Webern once said of this: ‘Once all twelve notes have been played, the piece is over.’ With that statement, he did his own compositions a disservice, but it is true that many of his pieces are characterised by their conciseness, both in duration and
Webern once said: ‘Once all twelve notes have been played, the piece is over.’ in instrumentation. The Symphony is a good example of this: it lasts only about ten minutes and is written for an orchestra consisting of nothing more than a bass clarinet, a clarinet, two horns, a harp and strings without double basses. Yet however innovative Webern’s Symphony may be, it is brimming with older compositional techniques. The first movement
‘So silent are the green woods of our homeland’. Portrait photograph (c. 1930) of Anton Webern with a handwritten fragment of his song Abendland II, Op. 14 No. 3
clearly features elements of sonata form: the classical structure for the opening movement of a symphony, in which two contrasting themes are pitted against one another. The second movement is a theme with variations, another form already employed by Beethoven and his predecessors. In the first variation, the first violin and the cello play a canon, whilst the second violin and the viola are engaged in another canon. There are many more such canons in the piece, demonstrating that Webern has employed yet another traditional compositional technique. Nevertheless, he wrote of the Symphony: ‘This
piece is not contemporary classicism. It is something personal.’
Tenderness
One century earlier, Beethoven’s approach was just as innovative as Webern’s. It was surprising, for instance, that he opened his Violin Concerto with five soft strikes on the timpani. The rhythmic motif recurs no fewer than seventy times across various instruments in the first movement, which, at twenty-five minutes, was exceptionally long for the early nineteenth century. The surprises Beethoven had in store did not go down well with everyone. Moreover, that
first performance was somewhat chaotic; Beethoven had only completed the work just before the premiere, meaning that the violinist Franz Clement had to perform the concerto with virtually no preparation. In his haste, Beethoven had not composed a solo cadenza. At the time, soloists usually improvised their own cadenzas. Today, most violinists play the written cadenza by the violinist Fritz Kreisler. It was not until the twelve-year-old child prodigy Joseph Joachim performed the concerto in 1844 that the piece came to be appreciated. It is now one of the most frequently performed violin concertos. The second movement begins with a simple melody, which passes from one instrument to the next. A few sudden, powerful chords lead into a short solo cadenza, which flows seamlessly into the third movement. In this movement, the violinist plays a catchy, folk-style melody on the lowest string of the instrument, which forms the recurring refrain of the final movement. Just as the momentum seems to have faded slightly from the finale, the full orchestra plays two powerful chords, and the concerto comes to an end. The subdued second movement and a predominantly light-hearted finale led Beethoven’s critics to write that he had failed to show his strength. Was this the same composer as the fiery man who had composed the ‘Eroica’ two years earlier? The explanation may well be that behind Beethoven’s gruff exterior lay an extremely sensitive soul.
Innovation
This is very much evident in Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the ‘Pastoral’. The first violin sets off with a gentle melody in F major, a key that composers often use when they wish to give their music a pastoral character. It is remarkable that Beethoven, who, in his own words, loved nature more than anyone
else, does not merely allude to the pastoral character through the music: he has added text in various places in the score. ‘Erwachen heiterer Empfindungen bei der Ankunft auf dem Lande’ he has noted above the first movement: ‘The awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the countryside’. Regarding the second movement, he writes that it sets to music a scene by a stream, which can be heard in the flowing movement of the accompanying parts. Further on in this movement, he notes that the birdsong we hear is, in succession, that of the nightingale, the quail and the cuckoo. The other movements of the symphony also have descriptive titles in addition to tempo markings. By referring to extra-musical sources of inspiration, Beethoven took a step towards programme music, which would be developed much further over the nineteenth century. It is striking that Beethoven added an extra movement to the standard four-movement form of a symphony. The extended first movement, the slower second movement and the light-hearted third movement still follow the conventions of Beethoven’s time. However, instead of a finale, an extra movement follows. Beethoven wrote ‘Gewitter, Sturm’ (‘Thunderstorm, Storm’) above the fourth movement. The light staccato playing by the strings evokes raindrops, which build up to a mighty thunderstorm, with powerful outbursts across the entire orchestra, including loud timpani beats. In the finale, Beethoven concludes the symphony in the pastoral atmosphere of the first movements. The Sixth Symphony comes from a very different era to Webern’s music, but with its programmatic elements and five-movement form, the ‘Pastoral’ is just as innovative. Bart de Graaf
Photo: Julian Hargreaves
Photo: Bartek Barczyk
Philipp von Steinaecker • conductor
Bomsori Kim • violin
Born: Hamburg, Germany Current position: Music Director of the Gustav Mahler Academy, Bolzano Education: cello with Harvey Shapiro at the Juilliard School, New York; baroque cello with Christophe Coin at the CNSM, Paris; conducting with Mark Stringer at the Musikhochschule, Vienna; Claudio Abbado was his mentor Breakthrough: 2024: tour of Europe with the Mahler Academy Orchestra, Edison Klassiek, and Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik Guest appearances: Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, SWR Symphonieorchester, Residentie Orkest, Camerata Salzburg, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra (principal guest conductor from 2019 to 2022) Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2026
Born: Daegu, South-Korea Education: violin with Young Uck at the Seoul National University and with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes at the Juilliard School, New York Awards: Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition 2010, ARD International Music Competition 2013, International Tchaikovsky Competition 2015, Queen Elisabeth Competition 2015 Solo-appearances: San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Camerata Salzburg, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Instrument: Guarneri del Gesù ‘ex-Moller’ from 1725, loaned by the Samsung Foundation of Culture and the Stradivari Society Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2023 (on tour)
Agenda Scapino Ballet: La Mer Thu 8 October 2026 • 20.00 Fri 9 October 2026 • 20.00 Sat 10 October 2026 • 20.00 Sun 11 October 2026 • 14.30 Nieuwe Luxor Theater Rotterdam conductor and soprano Barbara Hannigan chorus Laurens Symfonisch dance Scapino Ballet Rotterdam concept, direction, choreography Nanine Linning Debussy La mer Debussy Sirènes Kyriakides Abyssal (World premiere) Thu 15 October 2026 • 20.15 Fri 16 October 2026 • 20.15 conductor Tarmo Peltokoski piano Yuja Wang Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 Fri 30 October 2026 • 20.15 Sun 1 November 2026 • 14.15 conductor Maxim Emelyanychev piano Alexander Melnikov Prokofiev Lieutenant Kijé Suite Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 Beethoven Symphony No. 1 Thu 5 November 2026 20.15 conductor Brad Lubman director Anne Kauffman production design Jeff Sugg chorus Nationale Koren viola Roman Spitzer Stravinsky Elegy Wolfe Fire in my mouth (NL premiere)
Musicians Honorary Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin Lahav Shani Principal Guest Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski
Rosalinde Kluck León van den Berg Olfje van der Klein Jan Navarro Jutta Demuynck Cello Emanuele Silvestri Gustaw Bafeltowski Joanna Pachucka Daniel Petrovitsch Mario Rio Eelco Beinema Carla Schrijner Pepijn Meeuws Yi-Ting Fang Killian White Paul Stavridis
Clarinet/ Bass Clarinet Romke-Jan Wijmenga Bassoon Pieter Nuytten Lola Descours Marianne Prommel
First Violin Bassoon/ Marieke Blankestijn, Contrabassoon Concert Master Elias Agsteribbe Vlad Stanculeasa, Concert Master Horn Quirine Scheffers David Fernández Alonso Saskia Otto Felipe Freitas Maria Dingjan Wendy Leliveld Marie-José Schrijner Richard Speetjens Noëmi Bodden Laurens Otto Petra Visser Pierre Buizer Double Bass Sophia Torrenga Matthew Midgley Hadewijch Hofland Trumpet Ying Lai Green Annerien Stuker Alex Elia Jonathan Focquaert Alexandra van Beveren Arjen Leendertz Adrián Martínez Marie Duquesnoy Simon Wierenga Ricardo Neto Sarah Decamps Javier Clemen Martínez Giovanni Giardinella Mario Fernández Second Violin Trombone Charlotte Potgieter Pierre Volders Flute Laurens van Vliet Alexander Verbeek Juliette Hurel Elina Staphorsius Remko de Jager Joséphine Olech Jun Yi Dou Manon Gayet Bob Bruyn Bass trombone Eefje Habraken Rommert Groenhof Flute/Piccolo Maija Reinikainen Beatriz Baião Babette van den Berg Tuba Melanie Broers Martijn van Rijswijk Oboe Tobias Staub Karel Schoofs Timpani/ Robin Veldman Jesús Pinillos Rivera Percussion Annija Kolerta Anja van der Maten Danny van de Wal Viola Oboe/Cor Anglais Ronald Ent Martijn Boom Anne Huser Ron Tijhuis Jesús Iberti Rubira Roman Spitzer Galahad Samson Clarinet Harp José Moura Nunes Julien Hervé Albane Baron Kerstin Bonk Bruno Bonansea Janine Baller Alberto Sánchez García Veronika Lénártová