Passion in the Salon programme

The Tait Memorial Trust presents

Passion in the Salon Presented by Ross Alley

Leighton House Museum 12 Holland Park Road London, W14 8LZ March 6th 2017 at 7:30pm

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CONCERT PROGRAMME Jo Dee Yeoh, cello Ning Hui See, pianist Brahms: Cello Sonata in F Major, 1st Mov‘t – Allegro vivace Nathan Lay, baritone Krystal Tunnicliffe, pianist ―Betrachte, meine Seel‖ from Bach‘s St. John’s Passion ―Silent Noon‖ Ralph Vaughan Williams (poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti) ―Deh vieni alla finestra‖ from Mozart‘s Don Giovanni (libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte) ―The Foggy, Foggy Dew‖ folksong arr. by Benjamin Britten.

(The tune is a late 18th or early 19th century revision of ―When I First Came to Court‖, licensed in 1689.)

Vivien Conacher, mezzo-soprano Krystal Tunnicliffe, pianist ―O del mio dolce ardor‖ from Gluck‘s Paride ed Elena (libretto by Ranieri de‘ Calzabigi) ―Widmung‖ by Schumann (poem by Friedrich Rückert) ―L‘heure exquise‖ by Reynaldo Hahn (poem by Paul Verlaine) ―Johnny by Benjamin Britten (poem by W.H. Auden) Sally Law, violin Jun Lin Wu, pianist Maurice Ravel: ―Tzigane‖ INTERVAL Kate Amos, soprano Krystal Tunnicliffe, pianist ―Je veux vivre‖ – Juliette‘s Act I aria from Gounod‘s Roméo et Juliette (libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré) ―Quando m‘en vo‖ – Musetta‘s aria from Puccini‘s La bohème (libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa) Duets Krystal Tunnicliffe, pianist ―La ci darem la mano from Mozart‘s: Don Giovanni (Nathan & Kate) ―Il core vi dono‖ from Mozart‘s Così fan tutte (Nathan and Viv) ―Barcarolle‖ from Offenbach‘s Les contes d’Hoffmann (Viv & Kate) Sujin Park, violin Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 3 in D Minor Tonight’s concert is generously supported by Chevalier Richard Gunter

PROGRAMME NOTES Passion is an intense emotion, a compelling enthusiasm or desire for something that, depending on its intensity, aches, throbs and burns, sometimes provoking us to lose our reason, perform rash acts and even lead to madness.

George Bernard Shaw may have insisted ―that there are passions far more exciting than the physical ones...intellectual passion, mathematical passion, passion for discovery and exploration‖ but tonight we are going to surrender to the blisses of musical passion, to submit to an intoxication of the senses, created not only through the alluring compositions themselves in this evening‘s programme but in the interpretive skills of our fabulous young performers exploring the full gamut of emotive stimuli.

Brahms‘ Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major was composed for, dedicated to and premiered by Robert Hausmann, who was renowned for his large and virile tone. In his review of early performances, the Viennese critic Eduard Hanslick wrote: ―In the Cello Sonata, passion rules, fiery to the point of vehemence, now defiantly challenging, now painfully lamenting‖. In the extraordinarily exuberant first movement, the impassioned opening theme of the cello is accompanied by tremolandi on the piano and as the sonata-form movement progresses both instruments are pitted against each other in a wild, storm-tossed sea of tremolandi.

“that there are passions far more exciting than the physical ones...intellectual passion, mathematical passion, passion for discovery and exploration” George Bernard Shaw Religious passion has always inspired intense expression in music: witness the multitudes of masses, motets, cantatas and requiems. The sufferings of Christ, inspiring devout compassion in his followers, is captured supremely in Bach‘s Passions, represented tonight with the moving ―Betrachte meine Seel‖ (―Consider, my soul‖) from the St. John’s Passion.

It will come as no surprise that erotic passion has inflamed the creative juices of nearly every composer: there are the seducers such as Don Giovanni, wooing us tonight both in his serenade to Donna Elvira‘s maid and in the wickedly charming duet with Zerlina: ―La ci darem la mano‖, and the young bachelor weaver in the English folksong ―The Foggy, Foggy Dew‖; the temptresses such as Puccini‘s Musetta (―Quando m‘en vo‖ from La bohème); the lovers (Guglielmo and Dorabella in Mozart‘s Così fan tutte) and the quiet bliss of unnamed lovers in Dante Gabriel Rossetti‘s sonnet ―Silent Noon‖; not forgetting the pain of unrequited love (Auden‘s ―Johnny‖ – almost a parody in its atmosphere of affectionate laughter mixed with destructive contempt). And then there are the paeans to passion itself: Schumann‘s ecstatic ―Widmung‖, Hahn‘s ravishing reverie ―L‘heure exquise‖ and the lulling, alluring enchantment of Offenbach‘s ―Barcarolle‖ from Les contes d’Hoffmann.

Ravel‘s rhapsodic Tzigane was commissioned by and dedicated to the Hungarian violinist Jelly d‘Arányi, great-niece of the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim. In 1922, having

PROGRAMME NOTES heard Jelly d‘Arányi playing Bartók‘s Sonata No. 1 with the composer, Ravel determined to write a showpiece in the Hungarian manner for the young violinist incorporating as many technical challenges as he could devise. Following the Bartók performance, Ravel had spent the remainder of the evening requesting D‘Arányi to play numerous gypsy tunes on her violin, probing her on the technical limits of the instrument. Tzigane begins with the violin alone, playing a long slow introduction, similar to a cadenza, or free fantasia, ending with trills in double stops. Rippling arpeggios on the piano herald a dance-like second section introducing melodies of a true gypsy character, the tempo accumulating in excitement towards the end leading to a thrilling climax.

Rodin—Eternal Springtime c. 1884

The legendary Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe‘s cycle of Six Solo Sonatas for Violin (1923) represent the evolution of musical techniques and expressions of his time and each sonata was dedicated to one of his contemporary violinists. The Sonata in D minor (the shortest of the group) was conceived with the playing style of its dedicatee, the virtuoso Romanian violinist, teacher, and composer George Enescu. It is cast in single-movement form (containing two sections: a slow, recitative-like opening followed by an Allegro) and places the highest technical demands on its performers employing virtuoso bow and left hand techniques throughout. Ysaÿe, one of the greatest violinists of his century, believed that ―at the present day the tools of violin mastery, of expression, technique, mechanism, are far more necessary than in days gone by. In fact, they are indispensable, if the spirit is to express itself without restraint.‖ Yet, he warned, a violin master ―must be a violinist, a thinker, a poet, a human being, he must have known hope, love, passion and despair, he must have run the gamut of the emotions in order to express them all in his playing.‖ Overflowing with poetry and imagination Ysaÿe‘s sonatas balance thrilling pyrotechnics with lyrical expression, emotional challenges with ferocious technique. It is the perfect climax to an evening of musical passion.

Ross Alley

BIOGRAPHIES Ross Alley, a New Zealander, is a music lecturer for Birkbeck College, University of London. He has been a frequent lecturer at the Royal Opera House giving over 70 talks on opera and ballet music. Over the years he has given numerous preperformance talks and lectures at the E.N.O, Wigmore Hall, the Wagner Society, Symphony Hall Birmingham, the Gustav Mahler Society & the London Jewish Cultural Centre .

Ross founded The Lure of Opera/Inside Opera 1991 – Present (26 years) in the function rooms of the Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, London ―The Lure of Opera‖ is a privately-run lecture series on opera currently in its 55th series. The focus for each ten-week course is usually the operatic works of one composer and takes place on a Monday evening at the Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair In addition, Ross has given numerous guest lectures for the Cecchetti Societies of Great Britain, USA, Canada & Italy; Royal Academy of Dancing, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, the Council for Dance Education and Training, Birmingham Royal Ballet Education, London Junior Ballet, Hammond School, Elmhurst School of Dance. Numerous lectures on music for English National Opera, Wigmore Hall, Symphony Hall Birmingham, London Symphony Orchestra, the UK Wagner Society, the Gustav Mahler Society, Kenwood, NADFAS, Artstur and the Newbury Spring Festival. Internationally, Ross has lectured several times at the ―The Great Romantics‖ Festival in Hamilton, Ontario organized by the foremost Liszt scholar, Dr. Alan Walker and is co-hosted by McMaster University and the American Liszt Society.

Save the Date - to book and more info www.taitmemorialtrust.org/events Monday 6th March 2017 7 for 7.30pm

Passion in the Salon | Leighton House 12 Holland Park Road, London, W14 8LZ Join Ross Alley for the 4th Concert in the Salon.

Featuring our current Tait Awardees

Wednesday 3rd May 2017 6 for 6.30pm

Tait Friends | Stoke Lodge 45 Hyde Park Gate, London, SW7 5DU Our 4th annual Friends event at Stoke Lodge.

Courtesy of the Australian High Commissioner, HE The Hon. Alexander Downer AC, and Mrs Nicola Downer AM

Wednesday 24th May 2017 6.30 for 7.00pm

Young Australian Performers | ROSL Arts & The Trust Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James‘s Street. London SW1A 1LR

Wednesday 13th September 2017 Save the Date for our 25th Anniversary Gala.

BIOGRAPHIES Kate Amos completed her Bachelor of Music (Performance) Honours, at the University of Melbourne in 2013 with a Diploma in Italian, Kate is currently undertaking the Master of Music (Opera Performance) course, a specialised scholarship program at The University of Melbourne in conjunction with the Victorian Opera as one of their Young Artists.

As an Australian Opera Scholar for four consecutive years with AME, Kate was chosen as the 2011-12 Opera Scholar of the Year. Kate‘s numerous awards include the Sleath Lowrey Scholarship, Mabel Kent Scholarship, EC Wellisch Bequest Scholarship, Athenaeum Competition Award from Melbourne University and twice winning the Robert Stolz Viennese Operetta Award.

Kate was a finalist in the "Mathy" IFAC Australian Singing Competition in Sydney 2014, singing with the Australian Opera & Ballet Orchestra conducted by Johannes Fritzsch, winning several prestigious awards including the UK Royal-Overseas League Award, Italian Merenda Scholarship and Symphony Australia Young Vocalist Prize.

Kate was a Young Artist with the Victorian Opera Company in 2016 and now works as a free-lance opera singer.

Vivien Conacher’s stage roles include Rivka Fiddler on the Roof alongside Bryn Terfel (Grange Park Opera and BBC Proms), Sorceress Dido and Aenaes (Bowes Museum), Filippyevna Eugene Onegin (Bloomsbury Opera, and cover for Grange Park Opera), Hortense Koanga by Delius (Wexford Festival Opera), Penelope (cover) Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria (Iford Arts Festival), and Wild Goose and Moppet (cover) Paul Bunyan (British Youth Opera). She has also performed in Opera Australia‗s award-winning chorus, in both the 2015 and 2016 summer seasons.

On the concert platform, Vivien has appeared as a soloist for the Iford Arts Festival, St-Martin-in-the-Fields lunchtime recital series, Pacific Opera, and the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation in Sydney. Vivien‘s stage show Moonstricken, a semi-staged performance of art songs and poetry readings recently premiered at the 2016 Bloomsbury Festival. She has also founded a new dementia-friendly concert series called Songhaven, supported by Camden Carers Centre, Age UK Camden, and the St Andrew Holborn Charity. Currently based in London, Vivien trained on the Opera Works scheme at English National Opera and at the Royal College of Music, where she completed a Masters in Vocal Performance (with Distinction). She is a current Concordia Foundation Artist and is an alumna of the Oxford Lieder Festival Mastercourse with Roger Vignoles and the prestigious Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme. Vivien also performed a variety of musical theatre roles throughout school and university, including Maria (West Side Story), Yum-Yum (The Mikado), Euridice (Venetian Twins), and Miss Bell (Loves Lessons

BIOGRAPHIES Learned – World Premiere). In addition to her postgraduate vocal studies, Vivien holds a Bachelor of Arts (English) degree (with Distinction) and Bachelor of Music degree (also with Distinction) from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She transitioned to singing mezzo soprano repertoire in 2010 when she moved to London.

Vivien is grateful for the support of the Concordia Foundation, Tait Memorial Trust, Tillet Trust, Kathleen Trust, PPCA Performers‘ Trust Foundation, and Opera & Arts Support Group, Sydney.

Jo Dee Yeoh was born in Australia and began playing the cello at the age of seven. She studied with Nelson Cooke where she was also a Young Academy musician at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. In 2009 she received a scholarship to attend the Australian String Academy and has attended the ―Civica Scuola di Musica Beniamino Gigli‖ master course in Italy and ―L‘Academie Internationale de Music de Montpellier‖ in France. She has performed in masterclasses with Valter Despalj, Hans Jorg Jensen and Julian Lloyd Webber and given performances in St Mary Abbott‘s Church, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin‘s in the Fields and Amarylis Fleming Concert Hall in London as well as venues in Australia, France and Italy. She has played in the Australian Youth Orchestra, International World Baccalaureate Orchestra, RCM Symphony Orchestra and is also an active chamber musician. She moved to the UK upon acceptance to the Royal College of Music in 2011 where she is currently a third year undergraduate student studying with Alexander Boyarsky.

Sally Law is currently a Tait Trust Scholar supported by a Big Give Award at the Royal College of Music, studying violin with Jan Repko. She began playing violin at the age of eight in Brisbane, Australia. In 2015, Sally held a solo performance for HRH Princess Alexandra at Queen Alexandra House. Over this past summer, Sally played in the Macao Orchestra for their 2016-2017 opening concert; the Roman River Music Festival with her clarinet trio; as well as the 24-hour music marathon at St John‘s Smith Square, London.

Sally also recently performed in masterclasses with Alexander Markov and Professor Alexander Bonduryansky.

Sally has won prizes in numerous competitions, including First Prize in the Queensland Young Instrumentalist Competition in 2012, resulting in her debut as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She also received First Prize in the Strings Open Somerville House Solo Instrumental and Vocal Competition in 2011, and the Australia National Youth Concerto Competition Recitalist Award consecutively 2010-2012, amongst others. Following her debut as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Sally has performed solo recitals in the UK and Australia, and enjoys working regularly as a chamber

BIOGRAPHIES musician, and has formed the Mellanie Trio with musicians at the Royal College of Music.

The trio have received coaching from Alina Ibragimova and Trio Apaches. Recent engagements include a performance at the Austrian Cultural Forum. She was also part of a string trio of Australian musicians who performed at numerous events including representing Australia in the Delegates Lounge of the International Maritime Organisation.

Sally was also first violinist with the Queensland Youth Symphony in 2009 and the Australian Youth Orchestra in 2011, and has performed in venues including St Paul‘s Cathedral, St James‘s Church Piccadilly, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Town Hall.

Nathan Lay graduated from the Melba Conservatorium of Music in 2008. Nathan has won the National Liederfest, Australian Music Events‘ Opera Scholar of the Year, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria, and placed 3rd in the Herald Sun Aria. He has performed with Opera Australia (A Masked Ball, Aida, Falstaff, Tosca, The Pearlfishers, La Boheme), Melbourne Opera (‗Schaunard‘ - La Boheme, ‗Guglielmo‘ - Cosi fan tutte), and has recently completed the Victorian Opera Developing Artist Program along with his Master of Music (Opera Performance) at The University of Melbourne. During his time at Victorian Opera, Nathan performed ‗The Baker/Billy Webster‘ - Sunday in the Park with George, ‗The King‘ - Puss in Boots, ‗Barone Douphol‘ - La traviata, ‗Father‘ - Hansel and Gretel, ‗Bunyip Bluegum‘ - The Magic Pudding – The Opera, ‗Young Recruit‘ in Richard Mills‘ Remembrance alongside David Hobson, ‗Sir Riccardo Forth‘ – I Puritani, in the quartet for Weill‘s Die sieben Todsünden featuring Meow Meow, ‗Le Roi‘ -Cendrillon, and ‗Mr. Mayor‘ in Richard Mills‘ world premiere of The Pied Piper.

Nathan has performed in concert with many of Australia‘s major orchestras, such as Orchestra Victoria, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also featured on Mirusia‘s new album ‗This Time Tomorrow‘ in the famous duet ‗All I Ask of You‘ from Phantom of the Opera. Nathan is the current recipient of the Australian International Opera Award, which with assistance from the Tait Trust, is supporting him during his time at WIAV. Sujin Park first began her violin studies with Alice Waten at the Australian Institute of Music as a scholarship holder on the Young Musicians Programme. After graduating from high school, Sujin put music on hold and studied law and business administration for two years. However, her love of music drew her back to the violin and she went on to study with Goetz Richter at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2009.

Sujin subsequently moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music, graduating with first class bachelor‘s and master‘s degrees as an ABRSM scholar and later a Frederick

BIOGRAPHIES Johnson Scholar, supported by a Greenbank Award and the Lydia Napper Award.

Sujin has won numerous awards, notably first prize in the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship Competition (2009), finalist and prize-winner in the Royal Overseas League Competition (2012), first prize of the Jeunesses International Violin Competition (2012) and winner of the two-year loan of a modern Bergonzi violin in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (2013). In 2012, Sujin was also selected to take part in the London Symphony Orchestra String Experience Scheme.

Participating in festivals in the US and in Israel, Sujin has enjoyed being involved in many chamber projects and performances and has had the opportunity to perform in many venues around the globe, her most recent appearance as a soloist with the Little Chamber Orchestra in London.

Sujin was the 2016 recipient of the Sir Charles Mackerras Chair. This award is funded jointly by the Estate of Lady Mackerras & the Tait Memorial Trust.

Krystal Tunnicliffe completed a Bachelor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, under the tutelage of Glenn Riddle. In September 2015 she commenced a Masters of Music (majoring in Piano Accompaniment) at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, where she is currently studying with Andrew West. She received her A. Mus. A. diploma in 2009, and her L. Mus. A. diploma (with distinction) in 2015. She is the recipient of numerous scholarships, including the Ian Potter Foundation Cultural Grant, the FW Homewood Scholarship, and twice the Cassidy Bequest Scholarship. Since arriving in London, Krystal has participated in concerts curated by Iain Burnside and Emanuele Moris, public masterclasses with Graham Johnson and Gordon Back, and performances in all of the Guildhall School‘s major concert halls, including the Milton Court Concert Hall. Upcoming engagements include recital performances in London and Oxford, and a contemporary music concert ‗Voiceworks‘, curated by Jane Manning.

Also an avid musical theatre accompanist, Krystal has been involved in fifty different productions, with highlights including the professional production of Pippin (with international patronage from Stephen Schwartz: Magnormas – Melbourne Recital Centre), the highly acclaimed Phantom Of The Opera (Windmill Theatre Company) and the Australian premiere of Frankenstein: The Musical (WMTC). She is also an experienced choral accompanist, having worked with the Gondwana Voices (Australia‘s premiere children‘s choir), the Ashton-Smith Singers, and CHIME (Choral Institute of Melbourne), among others. She has worked as an opera repetiteur, with the Opera Scholars Australia, and Lyric Opera of Melbourne; and she has accompanied numerous VCE and AMEB exams, recitals, eisteddfods and various concert performances.

Proudly supporting young Australian performing artists in the UK Founded in 1992

Principal Partner

Chairman Isla Baring OAM Founding Patrons Dame Joan Sutherland AC OM DBE, Viola, Lady Tait AM, John McCallum AO CBE, Googie Withers AO CBE Patrons Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, John Frost AM, Julian Gavin, The Dowager Countess of Harewood, Barry Humphries AO CBE, Piers Lane AO, June Mendoza AO OBE, Danielle de Niese, Ermes de Zan Trustees Justin Baring, Isla Baring OAM, Shirley Barr, Anne Longden, Susie Thornton The Leanne Benjamin Awards—Ballet Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, Artistic Director & Patron Committee Fay Curtin, Jan Gowrie-Smith, Caroline Hamilton, Ros Higgins, Wendy Kramer, Dr Margaret Mayston AM, Alice McCahey, Gayle McDermott, Sue McGregor, Patricia Nimmo, John Rendall, Margaret Rodgers, Ann Seddon, Jacqueline Thompson, Rosemary Tuck Music Board Caroline Almonte, Dr Helen Ayres, Isla Baring OAM, Shirley Barr, Jessica Cottis*, Julian Gavin, Jayson Gillham*, Dr Leslie Howard, Deborah Humble, Liane Keegan, Cameron Menzies, Anthony Roden, Katrina Sheppeard*, Chad Vindin* Member of Tait Artistic Planning Committee* Honorary Member Nicola Downer AM Executive Director James Hancock Registered charity 1042797 Tait Memorial Trust 4/80 Elm Park Gardens London SW10 9PD Phone +44 207 351 056 info@taitmemorialtrust.org www.taitmemorialtrust.org

The Tait Memorial Trust is pleased to be assisting these talented young Australian performing artists in the 2016/2017 academic year Adopt a Performer Tait Scholar Higgins Scholar Loewenthal/White Award Whalley/Goldie-Morrison Award

Sally Law, violin Wayne Kwonn, cello Madeleine Randall Lisa Bucknell, viola

Royal College of Music Royal Northern College of Music Guildhall School of Music & Drama Royal College of Music

The Leanne Benjamin Awards Tait Award Tait Award John Frost Award

Chloe Keneally, ballet Lauren Songberg, ballet Rebecca Blenkinsop, ballet

English National Ballet School English National Ballet School Royal Ballet School

Ann Beilby, viola Sujin Park, violin Nathan Lay, baritone Emma Moore, soprano

Private Study Southbank Sinfonia Wales International Academy of Voice Private Study/Tait Concert Platform

Andrey Lebedev, guitar Vivien Conacher mez sop Cameron Campbell, viola Nicholas Mooney, french horn Krystal Tunnicliffe, piano Ashlyn Tymms, mez sop Jo Dee-Yeoh, cello

Royal Academy of Music Private Study Private Study Southbank Sinfonia Guildhall School of Music & Drama Royal College of Music Royal College of Music

Partner Award funding Royal Over-Seas League Tait & Sir Charles Mackerras Chair Aust. Int. Opera Awards John Frost/Frank & Viola Tait Award Bel Canto Awards, JS & RB Found.

Tait Awards Thornton Foundation Thornton Foundation Margaret Rodgers Award Margaret Rodgers Award Hunter family Award Louise Worthington Award VEC Acorn Trust Award