RSNO Principals Month: Mozart Flute Concerto No1

PRINCIPALS MONTH MARCH 2021

MOZART FLUTE CONCERTO No1 With RSNO Principal Flute Katherine Bryan

Gregory Batsleer Conductor Royal Scottish National Orchestra Recorded at the RSNO Centre, Glasgow Broadcast Fri 5 Mar 2021

Principals Month is dedicated to all RSNO Chair Patrons

2 Mozart Flute Concerto No1

Flute Concerto No1 in G Major K313 always in the mood for working. I could, to be sure, scribble things off the whole day long, but a composition of this kind goes out into the world, and naturally I do not want to have cause to be ashamed of my name on the title page. Moreover, you know that I become quite powerless whenever I am obliged to write for an instrument which I cannot bear.’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

DURATION 25 minutes Allegro maestoso Adagio ma non troppo Rondo: Tempo di menuetto In December 1777, during a stay in Mannheim, Mozart received a commission from the Dutch amateur flautist and patron of music referred to in his letters as ‘de Jean’. The commission was for ‘three short, simple concertos and a couple of quartets for the flute’ for the sum of two hundred florins.

Mozart’s antipathy towards the flute is well known, and certainly a letter written to his father early in 1778 shows that he fulfilled the commission unwillingly and without his customary facility: ‘I never have a single quiet hour here. I can only compose at night, so that I can’t get up early as well; besides, one is not

Whatever his feelings for the flute, the fluency and idiomatic style of the Concerto would suggest that Mozart was very well acquainted with the technical and sonorous capabilities of the instrument. Indeed, he seems to have over-compensated for his ‘powerlessness’, as the Concerto is neither short nor simple, as the commission stipulated it should have been, but expansive and technically demanding. Like its companion (No2 in D Major), this concerto is in the then-fashionable galante style. Infused with Mozart’s inimitable gift for melody and thematic development, the resulting work is one of the most engaging of his wind concertos.

The opening Allegro provides ample opportunity for virtuosic display, especially in the concluding cadenza, while the slow movement allows the soloist elegantly ornamented florid phrases. The rondo finale combines elegance with vitality, and a poignant middle section in the darker key of E Minor. © Mark Fielding

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Katherine Bryan FLUTE School of Music, Manchester and won a full scholarship to study flute at the Juilliard School, New York. She was a prizewinner at the Royal Overseas League Music Competition and the Young Concert Artists International Competition in New York, and was a finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year for three consecutive competitions. She was awarded the Julius Isserlis Scholarship by the Royal Philharmonic Society.

Katherine has been the Principal Flute of the RSNO since 2003.

Katherine is a regular Guest Principal with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and has also played as Principal with the London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, Seattle Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony and London Symphony orchestras.

Katherine made her concerto debut at the age of 15 with Daniel Harding and the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and later made her US concerto debut at the Lincoln Center in New York with the Juilliard Orchestra.

Katherine premiered the new concerto The White Road, written for her by Scottish composer Martin Suckling, in 2017. The piece was co-commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the RSNO. She is looking forward to giving the world premiere of a concerto written for her by Scottish composer Jay Capperauld, postponed due to the pandemic.

Katherine’s debut solo recording of works for flute and orchestra was released to great acclaim in 2010. She released a further disc of concertos in 2013, including works by Ibert, Martin and Rouse. Katherine’s recording of the Rouse Concerto is the first-ever British recording. Her third album, Silver Bow, is a collection of transcriptions of music for violin and orchestra. She released her latest album, Silver Voice, with the Orchestra of Opera North in 2017.

Katherine is a lecturer in flute at Chetham’s and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and launched her International Flute Course in 2017, welcoming students from around the world to a five-day intensive course in Scotland. She tutors for both the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, and regularly gives masterclasses in educational institutions around the world, including the Juilliard School.

A winner of the prestigious Audi Music Competition, Katherine studied at Chetham’s

Katherine Bryan is supported by the David and Anne Smith Chair

In 2019 she was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the top six international flute players of all time.

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.

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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.

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On Stage

FIRST VIOLIN Maya Iwabuchi

VIOLA Tom Dunn

FLUTE Helen Brew

Lena Zeliszewska

Susan Buchan Francesca Hunt Maria Trittinger

Janet Richardson

CELLO Aleksei Kiseliov

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

Betsy Taylor Kennedy Leitch William Paterson DOUBLE BASS Ana Cordova PRINCIPAL

Paul Sutherland

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

OBOE Peter Dykes Henry Clay

HORN Christopher Gough PRINCIPAL

Martin Murphy

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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’