RSNO Principals Month: Haydn Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major Hob. VIIe/1

PRINCIPALS MONTH MARCH 2021

HAYDN TRUMPET CONCERTO With RSNO Principal Trumpet Christopher Hart

Gregory Batsleer Conductor Royal Scottish National Orchestra Recorded at the RSNO Centre, Glasgow Broadcast Fri 26 Mar 2021

Principals Month is dedicated to all RSNO Chair Patrons

2 Haydn Trumpet Concerto

Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major Hob. VIIe/1 Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

DURATION 16 minutes Allegro Andante Allegro The closing years of Haydn’s long and highly productive composing career reached their climax in the two great choral works The Creation and The Seasons. It was while writing The Creation that Haydn composed the Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major.

The inspiration for the Trumpet Concerto was a newly modified instrument, the keyed trumpet, created by Anton Weidinger, a friend of Haydn and trumpeter of the Imperial Court Orchestra in Vienna. Before 1800, a trumpet was simply a coiled tube of brass about 8 ft long, with a mouthpiece at one end and flaring into a bell at the other, with none of the valve machinery in the middle that characterises the modern instrument. It was capable of playing the ‘natural’ notes of the overtone series, which has large intervals at the low end and progressively smaller ones as pitch gets higher, so that the trumpeter could play scales, instead of just bugle-call notes, only by cultivating the trumpet’s very highest notes.

The orchestral trumpeter of the Classical period principally cultivated only about ten notes – the notes of a major chord at the bottom and half of a major scale at the top.

Weidinger’s modifications to the natural trumpet (in which keys, operated by the player’s left hand, were added, covering holes which could each raise the pitch a semitone) allowed the instrument to play chromatically

throughout its entire register. Haydn responded to the capability of the instrument like a gleeful child with a new toy. At the outset he indulges in a little teasing, letting the trumpet join the orchestra in the opening tutti for a few notes, all of them playable on the natural trumpet.

Only with the first solo entrance does he break new ground, with the trumpet running up the scale from its written middle C, playing notes not possible on the natural trumpet.

From then on the trumpet sings, slides around chromatically, skips and jumps, and every now and then plays a fanfare figure, as if Haydn wants to remind us that this newfangled thing really is a trumpet. A short fanfare serves as a coda, but Haydn left no cadenza – doubtless that was Weidinger’s privilege.

The slow movement is in A flat Major and very much reflects the lyrical abilities of the trumpet. The music pulls towards the remote key of C flat Major, surely for Weidinger’s benefit and for those audience members who realised they were hearing the impossible – notes that could not previously have been played on a trumpet. The Concerto ends with a brilliant rondo, witness both to Haydn’s unfailing powers of invention and to the technical prowess of Weidinger.

Although the Concerto was written in 1796, it was not performed until 1800, and one might well infer that Weidinger needed the four years to work out how to negotiate the more difficult passages. But the keyed trumpet never became an orchestral instrument. Trumpets with valves instead of keys were invented a few years after Haydn’s death in 1809. His Trumpet Concerto lay forgotten until the 20th century, when it was heard again in a 1928 broadcast by George Eskdale and the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra. © Mark Fielding

RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 3

Christopher Hart TRUMPET Christopher has been the Principal Trumpet of the RSNO since 2016.

He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with Distinction in his Master of Arts degree in 2016, studying under Mark David, Paul Beniston, Gareth Small, Robert Farley and John Hutchins. Prior to this, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, studying with Philippe Schartz, and graduating with First Class Honours in 2014.

During his time at the RAM, Christopher won the John Solomon Brass Prize and the Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Brass Ensemble Prize, and graduated with a DipRAM for an outstanding final recital.

He recorded Igor Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale for Linn Records as part of the RAM’s Manson Ensemble, and was chosen to play the Peter Maxwell Davies Trumpet Concerto at the Royal College of Music in 2016.

He has performed as a soloist with the RSNO in Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with Sir Roger Norrington and the Neruda Trumpet Concerto with Gemma New. Christopher enjoys a busy freelance career alongside his full-time position, and has appeared as Guest Principal Trumpet with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and London Sinfonietta, with conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Vladimir Jurowski and Sakari Oramo.

Christopher Hart is supported by the Ms Chris Grace Hartness Chair

Spring/Summer 2021

Available from Fri 16 April 2021

NINE SPECTACULAR CONCERTS BROADCAST FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS Featuring Thomas Søndergård • Nicola Benedetti Elim Chan • Benjamin Grosvenor Paul Lewis and more

On Sale Now! rsno.org.uk

RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 5

Gregory Batsleer CONDUCTOR he has curated and conducted cross-art performances at Latitude Festival, Wilderness Festival, Southbank Centre, London Handel Festival and Royal Northern College of Music.

He has worked as an artistic advisor at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and on projects with leading contemporary artists including Elbow, Damon Albarn, David Lang, Carlos Acosta, Clean Bandit and Guy Garvey.

From 2012 to 2016 Gregory was Artistic Director of the National Portrait Gallery’s Choir in Residence Programme, the world’s first in-house music programme in a museum or gallery. Together with the Portrait Choir, he recorded an acclaimed Choral Audio Guide to the Gallery’s permanent collection.

Gregory is widely regarded as one of the most innovative conductors of his generation. His current posts include Chorus Director with both the RSNO and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Music Director of the Huddersfield Choral Society. He has received widespread acclaim for raising the artistic standards of all these ensembles, as well as continuing to renew the choral traditions of each organisation.

As Guest Conductor, recent highlights include performances with Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Hallé, Black Dyke Band, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Orchestra of Opera North, Manchester Camerata, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Academy of Ancient Music.

Gregory is deeply committed to exploring new ways of presenting music and extending its reach beyond the concert hall. He is cofounder Artistic Director of Festival Voices, a professional ensemble dedicated to the performance of choral music reimagined with live electronic music. In recent seasons

Alongside his work as a performer, Gregory works in a number of strategic and advisory positions and sits on the boards of Manchester Camerata and the London Handel Festival.

His work as a choral director was recognised with the 2015 Arts Foundation’s first-ever Fellowship in Choral Conducting.

6 Haydn Trumpet Concerto

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra, the company became the Scottish National Orchestra in 1950, and was awarded Royal Patronage in 1977. The Orchestra’s artistic team is led by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård, who was appointed RSNO Music Director in October 2018, having previously held the position of Principal Guest Conductor. Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan succeeds Søndergård as Principal Guest Conductor.

The RSNO performs across Scotland, including concerts in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth and Inverness. The Orchestra appears regularly at the Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms, and has made recent tours to the USA, China and Europe.

The Orchestra is joined for choral performances by the RSNO Chorus, directed by Gregory Batsleer. The RSNO Chorus evolved from a choir formed in 1843 to sing the first full performance of Handel’s Messiah in Scotland. Today, the RSNO Chorus is one of the most distinguished large symphonic choruses in Britain. The Chorus has performed nearly every work in the standard choral repertoire, along with contemporary works by composers including John Adams, Howard Shore and James MacMillan.

Formed in 1978 by Jean Kidd, the acclaimed RSNO Junior Chorus, under its director Patrick

Barrett, also performs regularly alongside the Orchestra. Boasting a membership of over 400 members aged from 7 to 18, it has built up a considerable reputation singing under some of the world’s most distinguished conductors and appearing on radio and television.

The RSNO has a worldwide reputation for the quality of its recordings, receiving a 2020 Gramophone Classical Music Award for Chopin’s Piano Concertos (soloist: Benjamin Grosvenor), conducted by Elim Chan; two Diapason d’Or awards for Symphonic Music (Denève/Roussel 2007; Denève/Debussy 2012) and eight GRAMMY Awards nominations. Over 200 releases are available, including the complete symphonies of Sibelius (Gibson), Prokofiev (Järvi), Glazunov (Serebrier), Nielsen and Martinů (Thomson) and Roussel (Denève) and the major orchestra works of Debussy (Denève). Thomas Søndergård’s debut recording with the RSNO, of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, was released in 2019.

The RSNO’s pioneering learning and engagement programme, Music for Life, aims to engage the people of Scotland with music across key stages of life: Early Years, Nurseries and Schools, Teenagers and Students, Families, Accessing Lives, Working Lives and Retired and Later Life.

The team is committed to placing the Orchestra at the centre of Scottish communities via workshops and annual residencies.

RSNO: Scotland’s National Orchestra 7

On Stage

FIRST VIOLIN Maya Iwabuchi

CELLO Aleksei Kiseliov

HORN Christopher Gough

Lena Zeliszewska

Betsy Taylor Kennedy Leitch William Paterson

Martin Murphy

DOUBLE BASS Ana Cordova

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

LEADER

ASSOCIATE LEADER

Emily Davis

ASSOCIATE LEADER

Barbara Paterson Jane Reid Caroline Parry Ursula Heidecker Allen Susannah Lowdon SECOND VIOLIN Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL

Jacqueline Speirs Robin Wilson Wanda Wojtasinska Emily Nenniger Nigel Mason

PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL

Sally Davis FLUTE Helen Brew

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Janet Richardson OBOE Peter Dykes

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

Henry Clay

VIOLA Tom Dunn

BASSOON Luis Eisen

Susan Buchan Francesca Hunt Maria Trittinger

Paolo Dutto

PRINCIPAL

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

PRINCIPAL

TRUMPET Jason Lewis

Marcus Pope TIMPANI Paul Philbert PRINCIPAL

8 Haydn Trumpet Concerto

RSNO Chair Patrons We are delighted to dedicate Principals Month to all RSNO Chair Patrons – a very special group of individuals whose giving is channelled through forming a personal connection with an RSNO musician.

On behalf of everyone at the RSNO, thank you for your inspirational support and encouragement.

Assistant Conductor

Cello Aleksei Kiseliov PRINCIPAL

Horn Christopher Gough PRINCIPAL

First Violin Maya Iwabuchi LEADER Sharon Roffman LEADER

Kennedy Leitch

Alison Murray

Dunard Fund Chair

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The David and Anne Smith Chair

Tamás Fejes Assistant LEADER

Arthur Boutiller

David McClenaghan

Rachael Lee

Trumpet Christopher Hart PRINCIPAL

The Solti Foundation Chair

The Bill and Rosalind Gregson Chair

Patrick Curlett ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL The RSNO Circle Chair

Jane Reid

The James Wood Bequest Fund Chair

Alan Manson

The James Browning Chair

The Ardgowan Charitable Trust Chair The Christine and Arthur Hamilton Chair

Double Bass Ana Cordova PRINCIPAL

The Kate and Gavin Gemmell Chair

The Hugh and Linda Bruce-Watt Chair

John Clark

Elizabeth Bamping

The WL and Vera Heywood Chair

Flute Katherine Bryan PRINCIPAL

Second Violin Xander van Vliet PRINCIPAL

Helen Brew ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

The Hilda Munro Chair

Sophie Lang

The Ian and Evelyn Crombie Chair

Viola Lisa Rourke SUB PRINCIPAL The Meta Ramsay Chair

The Gregor Forbes Chair

The David and Anne Smith Chair The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Chair

Oboe Adrian Wilson PRINCIPAL The Hedley Wright Chair

Peter Dykes

David Martin

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL Witherby Publishing Group Charitable Trust Chair

Francesca Hunt

Cor Anglais Henry Clay PRINCIPAL

The Miss Grace MM Mitchell Bequest Chair The Rolf and Celia Thornqvist Chair

The Springbank Distillers Chair

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL Mr & Mrs Pierre and Alison Girard The J & A Mitchell Chair

Ms Chris Grace Hartness

Marcus Pope SUB PRINCIPAL

The Nigel and Margot Russell Chair

Trombone Dávur Juul Magnussen PRINCIPAL The Mitchell’s Glengyle Chair

Lance Green

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL The William Cadenhead Chair

Timpani Paul Philbert

Ms Chris Grace Hartness

Percussion John Poulter

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL The Dot and Syd Taft Chair

Director of Concerts and Engagement Bill Chandler The James and Iris Miller Chair

In memory of a dear friend, Fiona H

Bassoon David Hubbard PRINCIPAL

The James and Morag Anderson Chair

We would like to acknowledge the generous contribution of Mr Hedley Wright in supporting the RSNO Chair Patron Programme.

‘Being Chair Patrons gives us a very direct connection to the Orchestra and increases our sense of personal investment in its future and success’

Joining the RSNO as a Chair Patron is a unique way to support the work of the Orchestra both on-stage and in the community and creates a direct connection between Patron and musician.

Your support will enable RSNO musicians to explore the many facets of their art and the positive impact it has on people’s lives, from working with our Young Creatives to connecting with communities across Scotland.

As well as enjoying an individual relationship with an RSNO musician, as a Patron you will receive invitations to bespoke events and be welcomed to our Mezzo bar. Since March 2020 this hospitality has continued online and

our virtual ‘bar’ has become a place for our friends and supporters to enjoy conversation with each other, RSNO musicians and special guests.

If you would like to discuss how you can become part of the RSNO family of supporters, please contact Jenny McNeely at jenny.mcneely@rsno.org.uk

‘We decided to become Chair Patrons because, having been Circle members for a couple of years, we could see how much it means to the players to have sponsors’