In the South

RCM Philharmonic Friday 9 May 2014 | 7.30pm Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall

RCM Philharmonic Friday 9 May 2014, 7.30pm | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall Stephen Bell conductor James Murray conductor (Elgar) Rowan Baker conductor (Dallapiccola) Daniel Curzon horn Elgar R Strauss

In the South (Alassio) op 50 (20’) Horn Concerto in E flat major op 11 (15’) INTERVAL

Dallapiccola Respighi

Piccola musica notturna (7’) Pini di Roma (13’)

An introduction to this evening’s programme Images of Italy, both real and imagined, suffuse the programme this evening, and in particular the unique and special quality of warm Italian summer nights. The moonlight over the Italian Riviera in Alassio as experienced by Elgar, the fractured beauty of a deserted village square described by Dallapiccola, and Respighi’s tender evocation of the residual warmth of the day amongst the Pines of the Janiculum Hill in Rome — a lone nightingale filling the shimmering air.

Richard Strauss, too, had his own Italian epiphany in 1886, resulting in the early tone poem, Aus Italien. The year before this he wrote the first of his two horn concertos, music we celebrate in this, his 150th anniversary year. And he may, too, have felt himself an honorary Italian — he was born and raised in Munich, the city they still like to call the most northerly city of Italy.

Stephen Johns, RCM Artistic Director

In the South (Alassio) op 50

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)

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In the South, Elgar’s delightful Italian concert overture, was written during a family holiday to Italy in the winter of 1904, and dedicated to the composer’s friend and patron Leo F Schuster. Alassio is the name of the town on the Italian Riviera in which the Elgar family were staying, and the sweeping central themes of the piece were inspired by the imposing and peaceful scenery of the surrounding mountains, contrasted with the town’s turbulent wartime history. The work’s central passage is a quiet and reflective viola solo, bisecting the more bombastic outer sections with a period of relaxed introspection, before the texture builds once again to a climactic cadential progression typical of Elgar’s large orchestral works.

Whilst Italianate in inspiration, the work is also exemplary of Elgar’s relatively measured and almost stereotypically English style, offering a fusion of style and idea that is indeed rather typical of foreign holidays in the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras. Whilst immersing themselves in the excitement of foreign travel, middle-class Edwardian tourists such as the Elgar family expected no decrease in the quality of their accommodation or catering, contrasting the need for established comforts and a strict, Victorian moral code with an enthusiasm for exploration and adventure. Parallels may be drawn between In the South and E M Forster’s 1908 novel A Room with a View, in which a young English woman begins to explore life outside the repressive society and culture of pre-war England. © Gabbi Freemantle (RCM Performance & Programming) Horn Concerto in E flat major op 11 Allegro — Andante — Allegro

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

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Richard Strauss is most commonly remembered as a conductor and composer of operas and Lieder. However, despite his strong association with vocal works, Strauss’s musical upbringing was heavily influenced by his father, Franz Strauss, the principal horn player at the Munich Court Orchestra. Franz was supportive of his son’s talent, and financed his musical development. Richard composed the first of two horn concertos at the age of 18, with the intention that his father, still an active performer, would give the premiere. However, the honours were passed to another when Franz felt that the technically difficult passages of the piece were too risky to play in public.

Indeed, the work utilises the extremes of the instrument’s range, often juxtaposed in quick succession. The piece also exposes the solo horn from the start, unusual for concerti. Rather than elaborate upon a passage played initially by the orchestra, the horn introduces the main theme. The concerto also features three segments, typically played without a break. Despite the irregularities, this concerto continues to be a staple of the repertoire. Strauss’s famously-rich orchestral textures often employ the colours of the horn, perhaps as homage to his early appreciation of this instrument. © Erin McHugh (RCM Doctoral Programme, Year 2)

Piccola musica notturna

Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–1975)

Luigi Dallapiccola is considered one of the most politically -inspired Italian composers of the 20th century. Born in 1904 in Istria (now Croatia), then part of the Austrian empire, Dallapiccola’s early life was unstable due to ongoing political tension. At the start of the First World War, the Italian -speaking school at which his father was headmaster was closed down, and the entire family placed in internment. During the Second World War, he was forced to go into hiding in the Florentine suburbs due to his wife being Jewish. Famous works such as Canti di prigionia and Il prigioniero reflect such political stresses. Perhaps an anomaly within his core repertoire, then, Piccola musica nocturna is a nonpolitical work. Stripped of intentional political subtext, the musical structure Dallapiccola produces is understated, restrained, and yet perfectly -formed.

Piccola musica notturna is based on the poem Noche de verano (‘Summer night’)

by Antonio Machado: Es una hermosa noche de verano.

Tienen las altas casas abiertos los balcones del viejo pueblo a la anchurosa plaza.

En el amplio rectángulo desierto, bancos de piedra, evónimos y acacias simétricos dibujan sus negras sombras en la arena blanca.

En el cénit, la luna, y en la torre, la esfera del reloj iluminada.

Yo en este viejo pueblo paseando solo, como un fantasma.

A beautiful summer night. the tall houses leave their balcony shutters open to the wide plaza of the old village.

In the large deserted square, stone benches, burning bush and acacias trace their black shadows symmetrically on the white sand.

In its zenith, the moon; in the tower, the clock’s illuminated globe.

I walk through this ancient village, alone, like a ghost.

Dallapiccola’s work fully inhabits the poem’s evocative twilight world. Due to Dallapiccola’s association with the second Viennese school, especially Alban Berg, with whom he was close friends from 1934, the work derives its material — pitch, rhythm and dynamic — through serial techniques. His manipulation of these compositional devices is so pictorially expressive, however, that the resultant aesthetic is far more reminiscent of the twilight music of Debussy, Ravel (especially the opening of Rapsodie espagnole) and Bartók, yet with an almost undiagnosable spectral lyricism all of its own. © Rowan Baker (RCM Master of Music in Conducting, Year 2)

Pini di Roma

Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)

I pini di Villa Borghese (‘Pines of the Villa Borghese’) — Pini presso una catacomba (‘Pines Near a Catacomb’) — I pini del Gianicolo (‘Pines of the Janiculum’) — I pini della Via Appia (‘Pines of the Appian Way’) Ottorino Respighi was one of the most prominent Italian composers of the early 20th century. Born in Bologna, Respighi studied at the city’s Liceo Musicale, and later received composition lessons from both Bruch and Rimsky Korsakov. Respighi’s oeuvre is a varied one, drawing equally upon pre -Classical styles, high Romanticism and more progressive contemporaneous ideas.

Though critically maligned for much of the 20th century under accusations of vulgarity, regressiveness and triviality, Respighi’s eclectic music has in recent decades come to be widely admired as imaginative and colourful, with particular esteem being given to his orchestration and his craftsmanship. This rehabilitation likely owes, at least in part, to charges of fascism being largely dismissed in scholarship. While it is true that Mussolini enjoyed Respighi’s music, and that the composer’s international success won him the Fascists’ backing, Respighi himself seems to have been indifferent to politics, and did not really engage with or ingratiate himself to the regime.

Composed in 1923–4, Pini di Roma (‘Pines of Rome’) is the second in a trilogy of symphonic poems inspired by Rome, where Respighi settled in 1913.

Rhythmically vibrant and abounding with highly characteristic sonorities, Pines comprises four movements, without gaps. The first depicts children playing in the pine groves of the Villa Borghese, employing impressionistic harmonies and avoiding the lower registers of the orchestra almost entirely. The second movement, notable for its open fifth sonorities and plainchant-inspired melodies, depicts pine trees fringing the entrance to a catacomb, while a mournful hymn floats through the air. The serene third movement depicts the pine trees of the Janiculum outlined by moonlight, and is perhaps the most forward-looking, featuring a gramophone recording of a nightingale’s song alongside occasionally disorienting harmony. The final movement, a gradually building march, depicts the pine trees along the Appian Way as a consular army marches towards the Capitol. © Alexander Scott (RCM Performance & Programming)

Stephen Bell Stephen Bell studied at the Royal College of Music under the renowned conductor Norman Del Mar, and now finds himself increasingly in demand with a wide variety of European orchestras, such as the Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Hallé, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, ERT National Symphonic Orchestra (Athens), Brighton Philharmonic and Ulster Orchestras. A progressively challenging conducting schedule now affords Stephen the opportunity to conduct both at home and abroad, in venues such as London, Istanbul, Toronto and Athens.

Stephen’s recent discography includes critically -acclaimed CDs on ASV, Naxos and Dutton labels, including two with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, most recently, a disc of Gordon Jacob for Dutton Records, and three world premiere recordings with violist Roger Chase and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

He also has extensive broadcasting experience, frequently appearing on BBC Radio, Classic FM and BBC television. In 2009, he was appointed Artistic Director of the City of Oxford Orchestra, and from the 2013/14 season he took up the post of Associate Conductor for Hallé Pops.

His diverse repertoire, versatility, and aptitude for communication with audiences of all genres has led to exciting conducting projects with an eclectic range of artists, from Guy Johnston, Xuefei Yang, Alexei Grynyuk, Julian Lloyd Webber, Alan Opie, Peter Donohoe, Julian Bliss, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Mark Simpson, Joanna MacGregor, Stephen Hough and the BBC Singers, to Katie Melua, Alfie Boe, John Barrowman, Tony Hadley, Natasha Marsh, Chris de Burgh, Hayley Westenra and G4. Previous seasons’ highlights include the Queen’ s Jubilee Concert at Chatsworth House, the Royal Festival Hall tribute concert for Stanley Black, conducting a gala event at Windsor Castle for Prince Charles, the Westminster Abbey Memorial Concert for Alastair Cooke, the award -winning Pitch Perfect at Wembley for BBCTV’s Children in Need, and the televised Music Nation concert from the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow.

From 2005 to 2010, Stephen was invited to conduct the annual televised BBC Proms in the Park with the BBC Philharmonic, and, since 2011, the live TV broadcasts of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Last Night of the Proms celebrations. The highly successful 2008 Doctor Who Prom represented his Royal Albert Hall Proms debut, and he returned to the BBC Proms in 2012 conducting the Northern Sinfonia. His 2013/14 season includes further engagements with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, London Concert Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, together with the release of his latest collaboration on disc with Roger Chase and the BBC Concert Orchestra for Dutton Records.

James Murray James entered the Royal Academy of Music in 2005, studying composition with Paul Patterson, Gary Carpenter and Christopher Austin on the new Concert and Media Composition Programme, graduating in 2009. Whilst at the Academy, he directed many performances given by students. These included more than 50 premieres of contemporary works, including his role as conductor for the Hyperbow project, a collaboration between the Royal Academy of Music and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, featuring cellist Peter Gregson.

Since leaving the Academy, James’s commitment to contemporary music has remained strong, giving concerts at Kings Place as part of the Nonclassical series, and taking part in the London Sinfonietta Conductors Academy in 2012.

In September 2012, James began his studies in conducting at the Royal College of Music, where he studies with Peter Stark and Robin O’Neill. Recent projects include an ongoing Beethoven symphony cycle. Also in demand as a choral conductor, he served as music director of the choirs at St Thomas’s Church, Oakwood for two years, and conducted a choir at the Serenata Festival 2010.

Rowan Baker Rowan graduated from the University of Southampton in 2011, where he majored in conducting and composition and received first -class honours. He is currently in his first year at the RCM, studying for a Master’s in conducting with Peter Stark and Robin O’Neill.

Rowan has attended conducting masterclasses with Michael Rose, Peter Stark, Mark Heron, Tim Reynish, Howard Williams and George Hurst. He was Assistant Conductor of Southampton University Symphony Orchestra during his studies in Southampton. Rowan has also conducted Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra, Luton Symphony Orchestra, Hertfordshire Philharmonic and the De Havilland Symphony Orchestra. Rowan regularly visits the Minack Theatre in Cornwall as Musical Director. He currently works for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, is an arranger, transcriber and copyist for London Festival Opera, and is Musical Director for the Southampton University Symphonic Wind Orchestra.

Daniel Curzon Daniel joined the RCM in 2010 on a foundation scholarship, and is currently studying with Tim Jones and Simon Rayner. Daniel has played with the Bedford County Youth Orchestra, of which he was principal horn, and was coached by Brendan Thomas. Daniel’s teachers have included David Wythe and Uwe Radok.

Daniel has enjoyed orchestral experiences through Bedford Youth Orchestra (co-principal 2010–2013), the Bedford Symphony Orchestra (guest principal) and The New Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (principal).

In 2004, Daniel was invited to perform the solo part in Saint -Saëns’s Romance with the Bedford Third County Youth Orchestra. Recently he has played with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia. For the academic year 2013–2014 he was selected by the RCM for the English National Opera Evolve Scheme, playing alongside the orchestra in rehearsals. He also continues to play in many renowned venues across London with the Orion Orchestra, with whom he has been playing since 2011.

RCM Philharmonic The RCM Philharmonic plays a central part in the orchestral training at the College. They perform varied programmes of repertoire during the year, covering major works of the orchestral canon as well as other works of particular interest. The orchestra predominantly comprises younger musicians of the RCM, following their successful orchestral auditions. For all these students, the orchestra will enhance and develop their performance and technical skills in preparation for the professional world. During the past few years the RCM Philharmonic has forged close relationships with conductors including Martin André, Emmanuel Siffert and Michael Seal, and the RCM conducting professors Peter Stark and Robin O’Neill.

Preparation for concerts includes intensive sectional and tutti rehearsals, regularly taken by principal players from the London orchestras. The orchestra perform a rich diversity of repertoire, from Peter Eötvös’s Triangel to Shostakovich’s Symphony no 1, and many world premieres of works by RCM student composers. The orchestra also regularly perform concerts for schools as part of the RCM Sparks programme.

Founded in 1882, the RCM moved to its present site on Prince Consort Road in 1894. Illustrious alumni include Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Dame Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Colin Davis, John Wilson, Alina Ibragimova and Alfie Boe. In addition to its 750 full -time students, the College engages dynamically with a wider and more diverse community of children and adults through a dedicated range of creative activities delivered by RCM Sparks’ education and participation projects, the RCM Junior Department programme and the Woodhouse Professional Development Centre. A further development is the growing schedule of live -streamed concerts and masterclasses which can be viewed on www.rcm.ac.uk.

Violin I Johannes Marmen * Katherine Robb * Kaarin Lehemets Wei-Ting Wu * Bethan Allmand Aleem Kandour * Jessica Wadey Laura Ayoub Eleonora Consta Gilbert Wasserman * Sabina Stancs Anna Ziman Alice Millar Violin II Naoka Aoki * Rosa Hartley Helena Yah * Sally Law * Maria Gilicel David Lopez * Laia Braun * Laure Chan * Mun Jeong Kim * Anny Chen Julia Liang Viola Ana Alves Marsailidh Groat Hardy Natasha Michael Joshua Hayward Nazli Erdogan * Katherine Clarke Philippa Bint James Douglas Yi Chen Olivia Buckland Martin Jeriga * Cello Melissa Ong Kristiana Ignatjeva * Angela Lobato Miriam Liske-Doorandish * Abraham Wallfisch-Jacobs * Indigo Hicks Yukyung Na * Harriet Walker

Bass Jon Mikel Martinez Valganon* Rodrigo Moro Martin * Lucy Keller Ben Havinden-Williams Lewis Tingey Alexandre Klein Flute Kei Lok Chau (first half) Daniel Scott (second half) Octavia Bovey * Rocco Smith (pic) Oboe Molly Broadley (first half) Elsie Woollard (second half) * Emma Gibbons * Jessica Chorley (cor) * Clarinet Jake Hinson (first half) Emma Burgess (second half) * Camellia Johnson * William Knight (bcl) *

Trombone Dominic Hales* Robert Moseley * Gareth Murphy Offstage Trombone Jillian Groom Christopher Ford Tuba Edward Ashby * Timpani Jonathan French Percussion Ana Gasco * Fabian Edwards Kimberley-Anne Foster Thomas Hollister Lucy Landymore * Harp Helena Pearson * Catrin Meek

Bassoon Phoebe Stamford-Kamps (first half) Emma Westley (second half) * Emily Newman * Rachel Hurst (cbn)

Piano Jun Ishimura *

Horn Elizabeth Tocknell * Rupert Browne Helena Jacklin * Pablo Ortiz de Urbina * Alan Kartik

Organ James Perkins

Trumpet Philip Smith Adam Stockbridge Laura Gilroy Erika Curbelo * Offstage Trumpet Tom Griffiths (solo) Andrew McLean * Louis Barclay Ben Edwards Jack Wilson

Celeste Muqiao Zhou

Italics denote section principals Personnel correct at the time of going to print * Scholars/Award Holders generously supported by RCM donors The RCM would like to thank the following orchestral coaches: Gonzalo Acosta violin Linda Kidwell viola Amanda Truelove cello Gabriele Ragghianti bass Mike Seal tutti strings Simon Channing woodwind

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RCM New Perspectives 6.00pm | Thursday 15 May 2014 | Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall Timothy Lines director Victoria Royce piano Valentin Barray piano Gwenaëlle Rouger piano Joanne Sy Miniatures of the Whisperer (world premiere) György Kurtág …quasi una fantasia…

Messiaen Oiseaux exotiques Gaudibert Gong (UK premiere) Exotic influences and even more exotic soundworlds permeate these three miniature piano concertos by three great composer-pianists of recent times: the eccentric Hungarian genius György Kurtág, his onetime teacher Olivier Messiaen, and doyen of Swiss music Eric Gaudibert, who died in 2012. Completing the programme is a new work by RCM Concerto Competition winner Joanne Sy. Join Jean-Philippe Calvin for a pre-concert talk discussing Messiaen's Oiseaux Exotiques at 5.00pm.

Tickets: £5 RCM Box Office tel: 020 7591 4314 | www.rcm.ac.uk/boxoffice In the interests of safety, sitting or standing on the steps, gangways or floors in any part of the auditorium is strictly prohibited.

Please turn off your mobile phone to avoid any disturbance to the performance. All private sound and video recordings are prohibited.

Photography before and during performances is not permitted. You may take photographs only during applause.

Latecomers will not be allowed into the auditorium until there is a suitable break in the performance.

Smoking is not permitted in any part of the building. Your co-operation is appreciated.