2 012 S E A S O N

Wed 22 August 8pm Fri 24 August 8pmSat 25 August 8pm

Brahms 2A Romantic Symphony

Ausgrid Master Series

PRESENTING PARTNER

2012 seasonausgrid master seriesWednesday 22 August, 8pmFriday 24 August, 8pmSaturday 25 August, 8pm

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

Brahms 2: A Romantic SymphonyHugh Wolff CONDUCTOR

Piers Lane PIANO

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)Two movements from Images for orchestra

GiguesRondes de printemps

Carl Vine (born 1954)Piano Concerto No.2

RhapsodyNocturneCloudless Bluepremiere

INTERVAL

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73

Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) – Presto ma non assai Allegro con spirito

Friday night’s performance will be recorded for later broadcast on ABC Classic FM.

Pre-concert talk by David Larkin at 7.15pm in the Northern Foyer. Visit bit.ly/SSOspeakerbios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 16 minutes, 30 minutes, 20-minute interval, 40 minutesThe concert will conclude at approximately 10pm.

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Brahms composed his second symphony in 1877 at his favourite summer resort, the Alpine village of Pörtschach-am-Wörthersee in the Austrian alps. ‘The melodies fl y so thick here,’ he wrote, ‘that you

have to be careful not to step on one.’

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INTRODUCTION

Brahms 2: A Romantic SymphonyIf you’ve been subscribing to the Ausgrid Master Series, then the sounds of Brahms’s fi rst piano concerto, performed earlier in the month, will be fresh in your mind. Not to mention the second piano concerto, played in June, and the violin concerto from earlier in the year. A Brahms bonanza.

Despite that, there’s no feeling of excess. Brahms occupies a central place in the orchestral repertoire, and there’s a profound appeal in his balance of romantic instinct and classical inclination. He can be serious or light-hearted, weighty or lyrical, but you can never have too much of his music.

But this isn’t a concert of just Brahms, whatever the title may suggest. Conductor Hugh Wolff and artistic planner Peter Czornyj have assembled an ingenious program that off ers intriguing contrasts of style, personality and colour. There’s also the mix of old and new, and of tradition and innovation, that emerges through all three pieces.

First, we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Debussy – hewas born 22 August 1862. The two movements from Images are dance-inspired and fl avoured with the composer’s impressions of place: England and France. They also reveal the fl oating colours, sensuous eff ects and fantastic visions that characterise the work of this reluctant ‘impressionist’.

At the heart of the program is something so completely new that at the time of publication we can’t begin to know how it will sound here in the concert hall or what eff ect it might have on us. Some things we do know, however. Like a modern-day Debussy, Carl Vine is a master of the orchestra and its wealth of colours. He describes his style as ‘radically tonal’ and he takes tradition – the conventions of the romantic piano concerto, for example – as the framework for new ideas.

Finally there is Brahms’s Second: his most popular symphony during his lifetime and still holding a fond place in hearts today. The symphony is lyrical and expansive, sometimes hinting at shadowy moods but mostly radiant and serene – it’s easy to imagine him composing it in the idyllic surrounds of his favourite lakeside resort.

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Keynotes

DEBUSSYBorn St Germain-en-Laye, 1862Died Paris, 1918

In attempting to establish a palpably ‘French’ musical style in the face of the Austro-Germanic tradition, Debussy brought about the birth of modern music. He first heard the sound of gamelan music at the Paris Exposition of 1889, and this encouraged him to adopt non-traditional scales and free-floating effects. In both his orchestral and his piano music he explored new instrumental and harmonic colours, and his style has often been compared with that of the Impressionists in visual art, even though Debussy himself hated the term ‘Impressionism’.

IMAGES

When played in full, Debussy’s Images for orchestra forms a triptych: three pictures, each representing a different European country through its dancing. The three parts were composed over eight years (1905–1912) and were originally performed and published separately. In this concert we perform Gigues (originally sad jigs), Debussy’s portrait of England based on the folk song ‘Keel Row’, and Rondes de printemps (spring round dances), based on a dance-like French folk song (We’ll to the woods no more).

Claude DebussyTwo movements from Images for orchestra

GiguesRondes de printemps

Three of Debussy’s four orchestral works are triptychs. The amount of connection between the movements within each work varies: La Mer has been described as almost symphonic; Nocturnes abruptly contrasts meditations on the basic idea of the title. Images is less unifi ed. Its three parts were written over eight years and fi rst performed as separate pieces. Indeed, they are published as separate scores, ‘Images pour orchestre’ appearing as a subtitle. The extra-musical intention of Images, to evoke three diff erent European countries (England, Ibéria for Spain, and France), suggests diversity and even eclecticism.

However, Images is more than a set of musical postcards. The orchestration outdoes any of Debussy’s earlier scoring in sophistication and brilliance, but mostly the resources are deployed with subtlety and understatement. Even the rousing climaxes fail to raise the roof; Debussy prefers to remain objective. Almost incredibly, the music was originally conceived for two pianos.

Gigues, published fi rst, was actually the last ‘image’ to be composed, reaching completion in 1913. It is Debussy’s portrait of England, a country he visited several times, and lays claim to being one of his strangest, yet most utterly characteristic, achievements. Its paradox is indicated by its original title: ‘Gigues tristes’ (sad jigs). The basic material is the well-known English tune ‘The Keel Row’, but presented in distorted and truncated form. The other main element is a melancholy, folk-like tune for the sweet but rare oboe d’amore. At fi rst the music moves in fi ts and starts, until the introduction of the second half of the ‘Keel Row’ seems to signal an escape from gloom. But this is abruptly halted by an icy blast which descends from the piccolos through the entire woodwind section, leaving the stage to the oboe d’amore and reminiscences of the opening.

Rondes de Printemps (Spring Rounds) is based on the idea of a festival parade, but in a restrained and coherent way. The score is headed by Tuscan lyrics, but the piece’s locale is indicated by a French folksong, ‘Nous n’irons plus au bois’ (We’ll to the woods no more). After a subdued opening, the tempo quickens and a solo oboe presents phrases of the folksong (in the unusual time signature of 15/8). This builds to a climactic phrase for the strings, which is to recur throughout (the rondo of the title?). There are contrasting episodes, many suggesting ‘Nous n’irons’, but the music

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keeps returning to the dance-like tempo and A major tonality of the string phrase.

Images can be a problematic work for concert programmers. There are justifi cations for considering the set as a single work: parallel moments of sonority; the frequent use of solo oboe and bassoon timbres. Together, the three movements form a satisfying whole, the patriotic Debussy expressing, perhaps, the well-adjusted French national character, in comparison with English morbidity and Spanish vulgarity! But all three together is potential overkill, risking a surfeit of consummate orchestral pictorialism, and the fl amboyant central movement, Ibéria, is often performed alone [as it will be when the Sydney Symphony and Richard Gill perform it in November]. As you will hear this evening, the beauties of this music can just as easily be enjoyed through the individual movements.

ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY ELLIOTT GYGER © 1996/2006

Debussy’s sophisticated musical colours call for a large orchestra: piccolo and three flutes (two doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais and oboe d’amore, three clarinets and bass clarinet, three bassoons and contrabassoon; four horns, four trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (xylophone, side drum, cymbals, castanets, tambourine, chimes, and a tambourin provençal, a long, slender drum related to the tabor); two harps, celesta and strings.

The Sydney Symphony first performed Images in 1942 under Percy Code, and most recently in 2007, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Gigues is founded on ‘The Keel Row’ – ‘rags and tatters of which caper fantastically in the dim light of a rainy English evening.’

THE RECORD GUIDE

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Carl Vine (born 1954)Piano Concerto No.2

RhapsodyNocturneCloudless BluePiers Lane piano

The composer writes…

The idea to tackle a second piano concerto came from my friends, Geoff and Vicki Ainsworth, who turned out to be the principal commissioners of the work. The Sydney Symphony generously off ered a vehicle for the fi rst performances, and agreed that Piers Lane would be the perfect soloist.

The notion of composing music tailored to a specifi c performer implies that they have strengths to be celebrated and, conversely, weaknesses to be ameliorated. It is my distinct impression that Piers Lane is incredibly good at everything on the keyboard, so writing music for him brings a liberating sense of having unfettered reign over the instrument.

Although this work has no explicit narrative or extra-musical provenance, I have named its three movements to suggest their predominant characters: Rhapsody, Nocturne and Cloudless Blue. The fi rst two speak for themselves, although ‘nocturnal’ here includes some surprisingly energetic activity – if only glimpsed by moonlight. The third might be called ‘Diurnal’ to counterbalance the nocturne, but this has no historical model while also failing to capture the sense of brilliant Australian summer that I wanted to summon in the presto fi nale.

About the composer

Carl Vine fi rst came to prominence as a composer of music for classical dance, with more than 20 scores to his credit. He has since emerged as a major orchestral composer and his catalogue now includes seven symphonies, nine concertos, electronic music, numerous chamber works, and music for fi lm, television and theatre. His solo piano music is played frequently around the world. Although primarily a composer of modern classical music, he has undertaken tasks as diverse as arranging the Australian National Anthem and writing music for the Olympic Games (1996 Atlanta Olympics, the ‘Sydney 2000’ presentation).

Born in Perth, he studied piano with Stephen Dornan and composition with John Exton at the University of Western Australia. Moving to Sydney in 1975, he worked as a freelance pianist and composer with a wide range of

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ensembles, theatre and dance companies over the following decades.

Amongst his most acclaimed scores are Mythologia (2000), Piano Sonata (1990) and Poppy (1978) for the Sydney Dance Company, and Choral Symphony (Symphony No.6, 1996) for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Many of his works are available on CD, including his fi rst six symphonies, which have been recorded by the Sydney Symphony. His arrangement of Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in F minor, BWV1056 will be released next month on The Art of Instrumentation: Homage to Glenn Gould, featuring Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica.

Since 2000, Carl Vine has been the Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia, and since 2006 he has also been Artistic Director of the Huntington Estate Music Festival. His most recent compositions include Symphony No.7 for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and a violin concerto for the Australian Youth Orchestra. Forthcoming performances of his music include his fi rst piano quintet, which will be premiered at the 2013 Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival by Sydney pianist Bernadette Harvey and the Shanghai Quartet.

Among his many awards are the Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award (2012) and the Don Banks Award for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music (2005).

The orchestra for the piano concerto comprises flute, piccolo, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon and contrabassoon; four horns, two trumpets, two trombones and tuba; timpani and two percussionists; harp, celesta and strings.

The performance on Wednesday 22 August 2012 is the world premiere. The European premiere will take place on 17 October 2012 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vassily Sinaisky and Piers Lane again as soloist.

Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto No.2 was composed for Piers Lane and commissioned by the Sydney Symphony with the generous support of Geoff and Vicki Ainsworth, and by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the support of Garf and Gill Collins.

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Johannes BrahmsSymphony No.2 in D, Op.73

Allegro non troppoAdagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) – Presto ma non assaiAllegro con spirito

Composed in the summer of 1877 at the resort village of Pörtschach, on the edge of the Wörthersee in the Austrian Alps, the Second Symphony is the sunniest of Brahms’ symphonies. There, in solitude and in between dawn swims and long daily walks – Brahms was always a keen trekker – he composed this bucolically joyous work with rare swiftness. Four months is all it took, nothing like the tortuous, two decades’ struggle of the First Symphony.

A personal tone and easy lyrical warmth immediately set the Second Symphony apart from the First. Brahms seems at last able to put the weighty symphonic inheritance of Beethoven behind him and arrive at a more individual position. Clara Schumann was one of the fi rst to comment: on hearing Brahms play parts of the score on piano, she remarked that the new symphony was more original than its predecessor, and she predicted correctly that the public would prefer it. The premiere by the Vienna Philharmonic under conductor Hans Richter on 30 December was a resounding success, critics praising the work as ‘attractive’, ‘understandable’ and refreshingly un-Beethovenian.

Paradoxically, the Second’s originality lies partly in its mild, backward-looking stance. Gentle pastoral imagery and a compressed expressive scale seem to evoke a past world. The work’s character is genial: all four movements are like companions, not dramatically set against one another – and all are in major keys.

More than anything else, it is a melodic symphony. Brahms wrote to Eduard Hanslick about how inspired he was fi nding Pörtschach: ‘The melodies fl y so thick here that you have to be careful not to step on one.’ Indeed each movement abounds with lyricism. In the fi rst movement a leisurely, lilting waltz serves as the main subject, followed by an equally lilting ‘lullaby’ second subject in the cellos. No doubt the birdsong later in the fl ute, decorating the main subject’s return, helped this to become ‘Brahms’ Pastoral Symphony’ – which label greatly annoyed the composer.

The fl owing melodic vein continues in a noble, expansively romantic Adagio, one of Brahms’ fi nest symphonic movements. Tuneful in a diff erent way is the diminutive third movement, which consists of a suite of elegant Baroque-sounding dances. The fi nale is the only

KeynotesBRAHMSBorn 1833, HamburgDied 1897, Vienna

Having finally completed his first symphony after a 14-year struggle, Brahms almost immediately began work on a second, completing it the following year, in 1877. He did much of the work in a lakeside resort in Austria’s Carinthia region, where ‘the melodies fly so thick…that you have to be careful not to step on one.’

SECOND SYMPHONY

Brahms’ First Symphony was dubbed ‘the Tenth’ and his Third ‘Brahms’ Eroica’ – both references to Beethoven. In another reference, his Second Symphony came to be known as ‘Brahms’s Pastoral’. This annoyed Brahms, but it is hardly surprising: the Second is the most melodic of his symphonies, and its lyrical and radiant character assured its place as the most popular during his lifetime. But it has a darker side as well, which Brahms half-joked about, saying that the music should be printed with a black border. We can hear that, for example, in the way he introduces the sombre sounds of timpani and trombones very early in the first movement.

Hans Richter conducted the premiere of the Second Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic on 30 December 1877.

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outrightly dramatic movement: it bursts out with resplendent melody as if proclaiming victory.

But a victory over what? If one listens with diff erent ears to the Second Symphony, its radiantly lit landscape seems continually threatened. A brooding quality seems to grow out of the fi rst movement’s initial three-note motif, heard in the cellos, and it is emphasised by this motif ’s numerous reappearances not only in this movement but in the second as well. Even the third and fourth movements with their lighter mood have a shadowy side, in wistful major-minor infl ections and moments of muted introspection.

So maybe all is not so sunny after all. One perceptive listener of the time, Vincenz Lachner, questioned Brahms about his intent in the symphony, in particular on why he introduces the gloomy sounds of tremolo timpani and low trombones so early in the fi rst movement – just one minute in. Brahms’ reply is extraordinary for what it reveals about himself and the work:

I would have to confess that I am…a severely melancholic person, that black wings are constantly fl apping above us, and that in my output – perhaps not entirely by chance – this symphony is followed by a little essay about the great ‘Why’. If you don’t know this [motet, Warum] I will send it to you. It casts the necessary shadow on the serene symphony and perhaps accounts for those timpani and trombones.

Paradoxically, the Second’s originality lies partly in its mild, backward-looking stance.

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‘The new symphony is so melancholy that you can’t stand it. I have never written anything so sad, so minorish: the score must appear with a black border.’BRAHMS TO HIS PUBLISHER SIMROCK

Thus it is a Janus-faced Brahms who found his idyll in the mountainous retreat of Pörtschach: the sombre sounding motet he mentions, Warum ist das Licht gegeben, Op.74, dates from his same summer there.

All of which has led Malcolm MacDonald to suggest that the Second is ‘one of the darkest of major-key symphonies’. Not to be overlooked either is Brahms’ own wryly exaggerated comment to the publisher Fritz Simrock: ‘The new symphony is so melancholy that you can’t stand it. I have never written anything so sad, so minorish: the score must appear with a black border.’

The Second does not easily disclose itself but is like the man himself, wrapped in ambiguity and internal contradictions. Friends loved him yet found him insuff erable, fearing that, as Hermann Levi put it to Clara, the ‘demon of abruptness, of coldness and of heartlessness’ would fi nally snatch his ‘better self ’ away. That cold-warmth, or warmth at a distance, is felt particularly in this work; but with granite-like creative strength Brahms turns his own frailties into human universalities.

The Second is too amiable to be revolutionary. But in its tone-painting without glory, its fatalism and its ‘taint of the real’, Brahms points the way toward the symphonies of Mahler. Reinhold Brinkmann calls the Second ‘an emphatic questioning of the pastoral world, a fi rm denial of the possibility of pure serenity’. Its revelation is of a composer, a nature lover, for whom there was no joy without sadness, and no sadness without joy.

GRAHAM STRAHLE © 2004

Brahms’s Second Symphony calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons (it is the only Brahms symphony not to use the contrabassoon); four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and strings.

The Sydney Symphony first performed Brahms’ Second Symphony in 1938 conducted by Joseph Post, and most recently in the 2007 Master Series under Gianluigi Gelmetti.

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Hugh Wolff CONDUCTOR

With musical interests ranging from baroque performance practice to the championing of new works, Hugh Wolff is among the leading conductors of his generation. Born in Paris in 1953 to American parents, he spent his formative years in London and Washington DC. After graduating from Harvard, he returned on a fellowship to Paris, where he studied conducting with Charles Bruck and composition with Olivier Messiaen. He then continued his studies in Baltimore with Leon Fleisher.

He began his professional career in 1979 as Associate Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovich, later going on to become Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (1986–1993) and Music Director of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival (1994–1997). He was Principal Conductor and then Music Director of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (1988–2000), and Principal Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (1997–2006).

As a guest conductor, Hugh Wolff has appeared with all the major North American orchestras, including those of Chicago, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Toronto and Montreal. He is also a frequent conductor at summer music festivals such as Aspen, Tanglewood and Ravinia. In Europe he is much in demand, working with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic and the Bavarian and Berlin radio orchestras, among others. He also appears regularly with orchestras in Japan.

His extensive discography ranges from Haydn to Stravinsky with ensembles such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. He has recorded a disc of music by Aaron Jay Kernis with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and a disc with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has also recorded the Barber and Meyer violin concertos with Hilary Hahn, which, together with his recording of Antheil symphonies (Nos. 1 and 6), won a 2001 Cannes Classical Award.

Hugh Wolff ’s most recent appearance with the Sydney Symphony was in 2009, when he conducted Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and, in the Master Series, Walton’s Symphony No.1.

www.HughWolff .com

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

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Piers Lane PIANO

Australian pianist Piers Lane is based in London and his fl ourishing international career has taken him to more than 40 countries. In addition to appearances throughout the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, in the 2012–13 season he will perform at the Sitka Summer Music Festival in Alaska, and give the European premiere of Carl Vine’s new piano concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Highlights of recent years have included a sold-out performance with the LPO and Alexander Verdernikov at Royal Festival Hall, concerto performances at the Lincoln Center, participation in the Brett Dean Day and solo recitals for the London Pianoforte series at Wigmore Hall, and a New Zealand tour with the Doric String Quartet. His performance in 2007 of Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Pietari Inkinen received the Limelight Award for Best Orchestral Performance in Australia.

His extensive discography includes admired recordings of rare Romantic piano concertos, the Scriabin Preludes and Etudes, transcriptions of Bach and Strauss, complete collections of concert etudes by Saint-Saëns, Moscheles and Henselt, and transcriptions by Grainger. Recent releases include piano quintets by Elgar, Bloch, Bridge and Dvorák, all with the Goldner String Quartet, and a disc with clarinettist Michael Collins.

Piers Lane is in great demand as a collaborative artist. He enjoys longstanding partnership with violinist Tasmin Little as well as with Michael Collins. In recent years his touring has included performances with singers Cheryl Barker and Peter Coleman-Wright, violist-composer Brett Dean, and the Australian, Doric, Goldner, Medici, New Zealand, Prazak and RTE Vanbrugh string quartets.

He has been the Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music since 2007, and he is also Artistic Director of the annual Myra Hess Day at the National Gallery in London. From this sprang his collaboration with actress Patricia Routledge on a theatre piece devised by Nigel Hess, exploring Dame Myra’s work throughout World War II. This show, Admission: One Shilling, has been performed throughout the UK.

In the Queen’s 2012 Birthday Honours, Piers Lane was appointed an Offi cer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO), for distinguished service to the arts as pianist, mentor and organiser.

www.pierslane.com

In the Green RoomDownload program pdf bit.ly/PianoRecitals2012program to read an interview with Piers Lane

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MUSICIANS

FIRST VIOLINS

Dene Olding Concertmaster

Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster

Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster

Fiona ZieglerAssistant Concertmaster

Julie BattyJennifer BoothMarianne BroadfootBrielle ClapsonSophie ColeAmber DavisNicola LewisAlexander NortonLéone ZieglerClaire Herrick°Sonja Schebeck*Martin Silverton*Jennifer Hoy

SECOND VIOLINS

Marina Marsden Emily Long A/Assistant Principal

Maria DurekStan W KornelShuti HuangBenjamin LiNicole MastersPhilippa PaigeBiyana RozenblitMaja VerunicaAlexandra D’Elia*Freya Franzen*Monique Irik*Kristina Zelinska*Kirsty Hilton Emma West Assistant Principal

Susan Dobbie Principal Emeritus

Emma Hayes

VIOLAS

Tobias Breider Anne-Louise Comerford Justin Williams Assistant Principal

Robyn BrookfieldSandro CostantinoGraham HenningsStuart JohnsonLeonid VolovelskyElla Brinch*Jacqueline Cronin*Tara Houghton°Rosemary Curtin*Roger Benedict Jane HazelwoodJustine MarsdenFelicity Tsai

CELLOS

Catherine Hewgill Karolina Ohman*Leah Lynn Assistant Principal

Fenella GillTimothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleAdrian WallisDavid WickhamRowena Macneish°Rachael Tobin°Kristy ConrauChristopher Pidcock

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees Boersma Alex Henery David CampbellSteven LarsonRichard LynnDavid MurrayBenjamin WardHugh Kluger*Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus

FLUTES

Janet Webb Emma ShollCarolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo

OBOES

Shefali Pryor David PappAlexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais

Huw Jones*Diana Doherty

CLARINETS

Lawrence Dobell Francesco Celata Christopher TingayCraig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet

BASSOONS

Matthew Wilkie Nicole Tait°Fiona McNamaraNoriko ShimadaPrincipal Contrabassoon

HORNS

Ben Jacks Geoffrey O’ReillyPrincipal 3rd

Marnie SebireEuan HarveyRachel Shaw°Robert Johnson

TRUMPETS

David Elton Paul Goodchild John FosterAnthony Heinrichs

TROMBONES

Ronald Prussing Scott Kinmont Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone

Nick Byrne

TUBA

Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Mark Robinson Assistant Principal

Richard Miller

PERCUSSION

Rebecca Lagos Colin PiperJohn Douglas*

HARP

Louise Johnson Genevieve Lang*

CELESTA

Josephine Allan*

Bold = PrincipalItalics = Associate Principal* = Guest Musician° = Contract Musician† = Sydney Symphony FellowGrey = Permanent member of the Sydney Symphony not appearing in this concert

To see photographs of the full roster of permanent musicians and find out more about the orchestra, visit our website: www.sydneysymphony.com/SSO_musiciansIf you don’t have access to the internet, ask one of our customer service representatives for a copy of our Musicians flyer.

The men of the Sydney Symphony are proudly outfitted by Van Heusen.

Vladimir AshkenazyPrincipal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Jessica CottisAssistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse

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SYDNEY SYMPHONYVladimir Ashkenazy, Principal Conductor and Artistic AdvisorPATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO

Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world’s fi nest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities.

Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the Sydney Symphony also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence, most recently in the 2011 tour of Japan and Korea.

The Sydney Symphony’s fi rst Chief Conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in 1947; he was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdenek Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. David Robertson will take up the post of Chief Conductor in 2014. The orchestra’s history also boasts collaborations with legendary fi gures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky.

The Sydney Symphony’s award-winning education program is central to its commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The orchestra promotes the work of Australian composers through performances, recordings and its commissioning program. Recent premieres have included major works by Ross Edwards, Liza Lim, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra’s recording of works by Brett Dean was released on both the BIS and Sydney Symphony Live labels.

Other releases on the Sydney Symphony Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The orchestra has recently completed recording the Mahler symphonies, and has also released recordings with Ashkenazy of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on the ABC Classics label.

This is the fourth year of Ashkenazy’s tenure as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor.

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MORE MUSIC

PIERS LANE

Among Piers Lane’s recent releases is a recording of Elgar’s Piano Quintet (completed in 1919) with the Goldner String Quartet. The quintet is coupled with Elgar’s String Quartet in E minor and a selection of Elgar piano solos. (Lane and the Goldner Quartet have also recorded chamber music by Dvorák, Bloch, Bridge and, most recently, Hamilton Harty.)HYPERION 67857

Last year, for Hyperion’s budget label, he recorded the complete concert studies of Ignaz Moscheles – virtuoso piano music of the 19th century, in some instances being recorded for the fi rst time.HELIOS 55387

Piers Lane also has a number of releases in Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series, with recordings of rarely heard concertos by composers such as Delius, Ireland and Paderewski.

Broadcast Diary

September

abc.net.au/classic

Friday 21 September, 8pmmystery and motionHannu Lintu conductorAngela Hewitt pianoDutilleux, Mozart, Beethoven

Fine Music 102.5sydney symphony 2012Tuesday 11 September, 6pmMusicians, staff and guest artists discuss what’s in store in our forthcoming concerts. Fine Music is the new name for the station previously known as 2MBS (Music Broadcasting Society), transmitting on 102.5FM and streaming online from www.FineMusicFM.com

Webcasts

Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are webcast live on BigPond and Telstra T-box and made available for later viewing On Demand. Our latest webcast:wagner under the sailsVisit: bigpondvideo.com/classical

DEBUSSY

For the complete orchestral works of Debussy – including all three movements of Images – look for the 9-CD box set featuring the Lyon National Orchestra conducted by Jun Märkl. A wealth of music, including all the standard concert pieces as well as some rarities that can be more diffi cult to fi nd.NAXOS 8509002

CARL VINE

The Sydney Symphony has recorded the complete symphonies of Carl Vine with chief conductors Stuart Challender (Nos. 1, 2 and 3) and Edo de Waart (Celebrare Celeberrime, No.4.2, No.5 Percussion and No.6 Choral). Synergy and the Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir are the guest performers. The collection was issued as a 2-CD set in 2005.ABC CLASSICS 476 7179

For a smaller collection that also includes Carl Vine’s fi rst piano concerto from 1997, look for the ‘Choral Symphony’ recording on the same label. Filling out the disc is Symphony No.4.2. Michael Kieran Harvey is the piano soloist and Edo de Waart conducts.ABC CLASSICS 456 6982

BRAHMS

There are plenty of recordings of Brahms symphonies to choose from, but among Australian interpretations, Simone Young – with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra – ranks highly. Her recording of the second symphony is coupled with the Tragic Overture.OEHMS 676

From another Australian, Charles Mackerras, comes a recording of all four symphonies together with the Academic Festival Overture and the ‘Haydn’ Variations. This recording, made with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, is distinctive for adopting the smaller orchestral forces that Brahms would have enjoyed in his work with the Meiningen Court Orchestra. TELARC 80450

HUGH WOLFF

Among Hugh Wolff ’s most recent releases is an exquisite collection of ‘fi rst symphonies’. Bizet’s Symphony in C, Haydn’s Symphony No.1 in D and Prokofi ev’s Classical Symphony (another No.1 in the key of D) have been recorded with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.APEX 467 3020

He also conducts on the Sydney Symphony recording of music by Brett Dean, available on both the BIS label and our own Sydney Symphony Live label. Hugh Wolff conducts Komarov’s Fall; Simone Young conducts Twelve Angry Men and the Viola Concerto with the composer as soloist.SSO 200702

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BEHIND THE SCENES

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Rory JeffesEXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT

Lisa Davies-Galli

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING

Peter Czornyj

Artistic AdministrationARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Elaine ArmstrongARTIST LIAISON MANAGER

Ilmar LeetbergRECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER

Philip Powers

Education ProgramsHEAD OF EDUCATION

Kim WaldockEMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER

Mark LawrensonEDUCATION COORDINATOR

Rachel McLarin

LibraryLIBRARIAN

Anna CernikLIBRARY ASSISTANT

Victoria GrantLIBRARY ASSISTANT

Mary-Ann Mead

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Aernout KerbertORCHESTRA MANAGER

Chris Lewis ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR

Georgia StamatopoulosOPERATIONS MANAGER

Kerry-Anne CookTECHNICAL MANAGER

Derek CouttsPRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Tim DaymanPRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Ian SpenceSTAGE MANAGER

Peter Gahan

SALES AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING

Mark J ElliottMARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES

Simon Crossley-MeatesA/SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER, SALES

Matthew RiveMARKETING MANAGER, BUSINESS RESOURCES

Katrina RiddleONLINE MARKETING MANAGER

Eve Le Gall

John C Conde ao ChairmanTerrey Arcus amEwen CrouchRoss GrantJennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew KaldorIrene LeeDavid LivingstoneGoetz Richter

Sydney Symphony Board

Sydney Symphony Council

Sydney Symphony StaffMARKETING & ONLINE COORDINATOR

Kaisa HeinoGRAPHIC DESIGNER

Lucy McCulloughDATA ANALYST

Varsha KarnikMARKETING ASSISTANT

Jonathon Symonds

Box OfficeMANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS

Lynn McLaughlinMANAGER OF BOX OFFICE OPERATIONS

Tom DowneyCUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

Steve Clarke – Senior CSRMichael DowlingDerek ReedJohn RobertsonBec Sheedy

COMMUNICATIONS

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS & SPONSOR RELATIONS

Yvonne ZammitPUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Katherine StevensonCOMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Janine Harris DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Ben Draisma

PublicationsPUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER

Yvonne Frindle

DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Caroline SharpenEXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER

Stephen AttfieldPHILANTHROPY, PATRONS PROGRAM

Ivana JirasekPHILANTHROPY, EVENTS & ENGAGEMENT

Amelia Morgan-Hunn

BUSINESS SERVICES

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

John HornFINANCE MANAGER

Ruth TolentinoACCOUNTANT

Minerva PrescottACCOUNTS ASSISTANT

Emma FerrerPAYROLL OFFICER

Laura Soutter

HUMAN RESOURCES

HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Michel Hryce

Geoff Ainsworth amAndrew Andersons aoMichael Baume aoChristine BishopIta Buttrose ao obePeter CudlippJohn Curtis amGreg Daniel amJohn Della BoscaAlan FangErin FlahertyDr Stephen FreibergDonald Hazelwood ao obeDr Michael Joel amSimon JohnsonYvonne Kenny amGary LinnaneAmanda LoveHelen Lynch amDavid MaloneyDavid Malouf aoJulie Manfredi-HughesDeborah MarrThe Hon. Justice Jane Mathews aoDanny MayWendy McCarthy aoJane MorschelGreg ParamorDr Timothy Pascoe amProf. Ron Penny aoJerome RowleyPaul SalteriSandra SalteriJuliana SchaefferLeo Schofield amFred Stein oamGabrielle TrainorIvan UngarJohn van OgtropPeter Weiss amMary WhelanRosemary White

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS

Sydney Symphony Leadership EnsembleDavid Livingstone, CEO, Credit Suisse, AustraliaAlan Fang, Chairman, Tianda GroupTony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner PrettyInsurance Australia Grou pMacquarie Group FoundationJohn Morschel, Chairman, ANZ

Andrew Kaldor, Chairman, Pelikan ArtlineLynn Kraus, Sydney Office Managing Partner, Ernst & YoungShell Australia Pty LtdJames Stevens, CEO, Roses OnlyStephen Johns, Chairman, Leighton Holdings,

and Michele Johns

Maestro’s CirclePeter Weiss am – Founding President & Doris WeissJohn C Conde ao – ChairmanGeoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth Tom Breen & Rachael KohnIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonAndrew Kaldor & Renata Kaldor aoRoslyn Packer ao

Penelope Seidler amMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy StreetWestfield GroupBrian & Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson oam in memory of the late James Agapitos oam

01 Roger Benedict Principal Viola Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Chair

02 Lawrence Dobell Principal Clarinet Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus am Chair

03 Diana Doherty Principal Oboe Andrew Kaldor & Renata Kaldor ao Chair

04 Richard Gill oam Artistic Director Education Sandra & Paul Salteri Chair

05 Jane Hazelwood Viola Veolia Environmental Services Chair

06 Catherine Hewgill Principal Cello The Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair

07 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair

08 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair

09 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair

10 Shefali Pryor Associate Principal Oboe Rose Herceg Chair

11 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair

For information about the Directors’ Chairs program, please call (02) 8215 4619.

Directors’ Chairs

01 02 03 04 05 06

07 08 09 10 11

Andrea Brown Ian BurtonJennifer BurtonRon ChristiansonMichael CookPaul CousinsJustin Di Lollo

Rose GalloDerek Hand Rose HercegDamian KassagbiChris KeherElizabeth Lee

Jonathan PeaseAnna Swan

Sydney Symphony VanguardVanguard CollectiveJustin Di Lollo – ChairKees BoersmaRose Herceg

David McKeanAmelia Morgan-Hunn

MembersNikki AndrewsJames ArmstrongStephen AttfieldAndrew BaxterMar BeltranKees Boersma Peter Braithwaite

Antony Lighten Gary LinnaneDavid McKeanHayden McLeanAmelia Morgan-HunnHugh Munro

Peter OutridgeJonathan Pease Seamus R QuickJacqueline RowlandsBernard RyanJonathan Watkinson

sydney symphony 23

PLAYING YOUR PART

The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the orchestra each year. Each gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Donations of $50 and above are acknowledged on our website at www.sydneysymphony.com/patrons

Platinum Patrons $20,000+Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth am & Vicki AinsworthRobert Albert ao & Elizabeth AlbertTerrey Arcus am & Anne ArcusTom Breen & Rachael KohnSandra & Neil BurnsMr John C Conde aoRobert & Janet ConstableJames & Leonie FurberDr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuff reIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonMs Rose HercegMr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor aoD & I KallinikosJames N Kirby FoundationMrs Joan MacKenzieJustice Jane Mathews aoMrs Roslyn Packer aoDr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June RoartyPaul & Sandra SalteriMrs Penelope Seidler amMrs W SteningMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy StreetMr Peter Weiss am & Mrs Doris WeissWestfi eld GroupMr Brian & Mrs Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oamKim Williams am & Catherine DoveyJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

Gold Patrons$10,000–$19,999Mr C R AdamsonStephen J BellAlan & Christine BishopIan & Jennifer BurtonCopyright Agency Limited The Hon. Ashley Dawson-DamerFerris Family FoundationNora GoodridgeMr Ross GrantThe Estate of the late Ida GuggerHelen Lynch am & Helen BauerRuth & Bob MagidThe Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran MeagherMrs T Merewether oamMr B G O’ConorMrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet CookeHenry & Ruth WeinbergAnonymous (2)

Silver Patrons $5000–$9,999Doug & Alison BattersbyMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyMr Robert BrakspearMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie ClampettHoward ConnorsEwen & Catherine CrouchIan Dickson & Reg HollowayColin Draper & Mary Jane BrodribbPenny EdwardsEdward FedermanThe Greatorex Foundation Mrs Jennifer HershonThe Sherry Hogan FoundationMr Rory Jeff esStephen Johns & Michele BenderJudges of the Supreme Court of NSW Mr Ervin KatzThe Estate of the late Patricia LanceMr David LivingstoneTimothy & Eva PascoeWilliam McIlrath Charitable FoundationDavid Maloney & Erin FlahertyRodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia RosenblumManfred & Linda SalamonJF & A van OgtropMichael & Mary Whelan TrustMs Caroline WilkinsonJill WranAnonymous (2)

Bronze Patrons $2,500–$4,999Mr Marc Besen ao & Mrs Eva Besen aoJan BowenM BulmerFirehold Pty LtdStephen Freiberg & Donald CampbellAnthony Gregg & Deanne WhittlestonVic & Katie FrenchWarren GreenMrs Jennifer HershonAnn HobanIn memory of Bernard M H KhawGary LinnaneMatthew McInnesJ A McKernanR & S Maple-BrownGreg & Susan MarieAlan & Joy MartinMora MaxwellJames & Elsie MooreDrs Keith & Eileen Ong

In memory of H St P ScarlettDavid & Isabel SmithersMrs Hedy SwitzerMarliese & Georges TeitlerDr Richard WingateMr & Mrs T & D YimAnonymous (2)

Bronze Patrons $1,000–$2,499Charles & Renee AbramsMrs Antoinette AlbertAndrew Andersons aoMr Henri W Aram oamDr Francis J AugustusRichard and Christine Banks David BarnesMichael Baume ao & Toni BaumeNicole BergerMrs Jan BiberAllan & Julie BlighLenore P BuckleIn memory of RW BurleyEric & Rosemary CampbellThe Hon. Justice JC & Mrs CampbellDr John H CaseyJoan Connery oam & Maxwell Connery oamConstable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill CaukillMr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret CunninghamGreta DavisLisa & Miro DavisMatthew DelaseyMr & Mrs Grant DixonJohn FavaloroMr Ian Fenwicke & Prof. Neville WillsMichael & Gabrielle FieldDr & Mrs C GoldschmidtMr James Graham am & Mrs Helen GrahamAkiko GregoryJanette HamiltonDorothy Hoddinott aoThe Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret HuntDr & Mrs Michael HunterMr Peter HutchisonMichael & Anna JoelAnna-Lisa KlettenbergMr Justin LamMr Peter Lazar amAssociate Professor Winston LiauwSydney & Airdrie LloydCarolyn & Peter Lowry oamKevin & Deidre McCann

24 sydney symphony

Robert McDougallIan & Pam McGawMacquarie Group FoundationMr Robert & Mrs Renee MarkovicA NhanMs Jackie O’BrienMr R A OppenMr Robert OrrellMr & Mrs OrtisIn memory of Sandra PaulPiatti Holdings Pty LtdAndy & Deirdre Plummer Robin PotterPottingerErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R ReedPatricia H Reid Endowment Pty LtdCaroline SharpenCatherine StephenJohn & Alix SullivanThe Hon. Brian Sully qcMildred TeitlerJohn E TuckeyMrs M TurkingtonIn memory of Joan & Rupert VallentineDr Alla WaldmanIn memory of Dr Reg WalkerThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyAnn & Brooks Wilson amGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary WalshMr R R WoodwardIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John YuAnonymous (14)

Bronze Patrons $500–$999Mr Peter J ArmstrongMr & Mrs Garry S AshBarlow Cleaning Pty LtdMrs Margaret BellMinnie BiggsPat & Jenny BurnettMr & Mrs CoatesDr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Arnaldo BuchThe Hon. Justice JC & Mrs CampbellDr Rebecca ChinMrs Sarah ChissickMrs Catherine J ClarkR A & M J Clarke

Mrs Joan Connery oamJen CornishMr David CrossElizabeth DonatiThe Dowe FamilyDr Nita & Dr James DurhamMalcolm Ellis & Erin O’NeillMrs Margaret EppsIn memory of Peter EverettMr & Mrs FarrellMr Tom FrancisTony Grierson Vivienne GoldschmidtMr Richard Griffi n amIan R L HarperKen HawkingsMrs A HaywardMr Roger HenningHarry & Meg HerbertMr Joerg HofmannMrs Kimberley HoldenMr Gregory HoskingAlex HoughtonBill & Pam HughesBeauty Point Retirement ResortNiki KallenbergerMrs W G KeighleyMrs Margaret KeoghDr Henry KilhamChris J KitchingMr Aron & Mrs Helen KleinlehrerMr & Mrs Gilles T KrygerSonia LalMr Luigi LampratiDr & Mrs Leo LeaderMargaret LedermanIrene LeeAnita & Chris LevyErna & Gerry Levy amMrs A LohanMrs Panee LowDr David LuisDr Jean MalcolmPhilip & Catherine McClellandMrs Flora MacDonaldMrs Helen MeddingsMrs Toshiko MericP J MillerDavid & Andree MilmanKenneth N MitchellChris Morgan-HunnMrs Milja Morris

Coff s Airport Security Car ParkDr Mike O’Connor amMr Graham NorthDr A J PalmerJustice George Palmer amMr Andrew C PattersonDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamLois & Ken RaeRenaissance ToursAnna RoPamela RogersLesley & Andrew RosenbergAgnes RossMrs Pamela SayersGarry Scarf & Morgie BlaxillWilliam SewellMrs Diane Shteinman amDr Agnes E SinclairMs Stephanie SmeeMs Tatiana SokolovaDoug & Judy SotherenMrs Judith SouthamMargaret SuthersMr Lindsay & Mrs Suzanne StoneNorman & Lydia TaylorDr Heng Tey & Mrs Cilla TeyMrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward SpicerKevin TroyJudge Robyn TupmanGillian Turner & Rob BishopProf Gordon E WallMrs Margaret WallisRonald WalledgeMr Palmer WangMs Elizabeth WilkinsonAudrey & Michael WilsonA Willmers & R PalDr Richard WingDr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K WongMr Robert WoodsMrs Everly WyssMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (15)

To find out more about becominga Sydney Symphony Patron, pleasecontact the Philanthropy Officeon (02) 8215 4625 or emailphilanthropy@sydneysymphony.com

sydney symphony 25

SALUTE

PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body

The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW

PREMIER PARTNER

Fine Music 102.5

MARKETING PARTNER

GOLD PARTNERS

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS

SILVER PARTNERS

executive search

EDUCATION PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS

COMMUNITY PARTNER PLATINUM PARTNERS

Centre-front is the greatest seat in the house.

sound of the string section for a more unified approach.’

You might have noticed Dene playing within the ranks of the First Violin section in some concerts recently. ‘I’m happy to say that so far I haven’t been demoted! That was my choice. It’s been useful and instructive to remind myself what it’s like to sit in the back.’ And a delight-ful reminder of the honour and privilege of his usual chair. ‘Centre-front is the greatest seat in the house. I feel sorry that the rest of the orchestra and public can’t sit where I’m sitting, where you really get the full impact!’

So how does Dene unwind? With martial arts, no less. ‘I was a relative latecomer to Aikido, but it seemed to be tailor-made.’ The name ‘Aikido’ translates to ‘the way of the harmonious spirit’. ‘With my profession, I’m not out there trying to break bricks. Aikido is about harmonising with an attack, and then neutral-ising it. As a philosophy, it fits well with music.’ Aikido’s roots in jujitsu and Samurai sword technique also pay unexpected dividends. ‘There are so many similarities in the way you hold the bow – the grip is almost identical!’

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A simple warm-up interview question – ‘How has your day been?’ – draws an unexpected response from Dene Olding, Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony. ‘I’m sure my tomb-stone will read, “Here lies a busy man”.’

‘Busy’ doesn’t begin to describe Dene’s schedule. He’s just come from the audition of a new member of the cello section, having led the orchestra in the previous week through Richard Strauss’s fabulous but fiendish suite from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, and is about to dash off for two weeks at the Australian Festival of Chamber

Music in Townsville, where he will perform in eight concerts with the Goldner String Quartet, a chamber group he co-founded. Phew!

Recently, the Sydney Sym-phony has been in search of a second concertmaster, someone with whom Dene will share the role. ‘It’s very important to have concertmasters with the same musical philosophy about what the orchestra should sound like.’ Any change of leader means a change of gear, ‘but in an ideal world, we should have people with a similar style of leading, and of a similar temperament. Then we can start to develop the

LEADING A BUSY LIFEOur Concertmaster Dene Olding has a non-stop schedule, with only the occasional pause for breath.

ORCHESTRA NEWS | AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2012

This year has already seen many wonderful musical experiences as part of our 80th anniversary year, and there are many more to come, not least when our artistic leader Vladimir Ashkenazy returns in October for concerts in preparation for our tour of major venues in China. Then in November, he will be back for Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades, which we’ll be presenting in concert. This is a personal highlight of our season for me, and something I urge you not to miss.

As I welcome you to this edition of Bravo!, we have just launched our 2013 season. Next year presents an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful musical partnership between the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The programming includes many artists and friends he admires – Pinchas Zukerman, Murray Perahia performing in recital, and Lisa Gasteen, to name but a few. It promises to be an outstanding season for your orchestra and audiences alike and I very much look forward to sharing it with you.

RORY JEFFES

From the Managing Director

Nita Lawrie asked us a great question via Facebook: Why was the orchestra arranged quite differently on stage for the Tchaikovsky? (Absolutely fantastic concert btw.)

Ask a Musician in mind. One practical result is that it gives listeners a kind of stereo effect between the first and second violins, and in some pieces this brings out the question-and-answer gestures in the music, for example the first movement of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony. So it’s not unknown for conductors to request this kind of arrangement for Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, to name a few.

By contrast, the Vaughan Wil-liams Fantasia that began this concert called for a special layout of the strings, dictated by the fact that the orchestra is functioning as three ensembles in one.

For those who weren’t there, in our performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony, the first and second violin sections sat left and right of the podium, with the cellos and violas in the middle in front of the conductor. (The double basses had moved to the left, behind the cellos.) It’s often called an ‘antiphonal’ arrange-

ment. For some orchestras, it’s their basic configuration.

This layout is requested by our conductors from time to time, depending on the music we’re playing. It was a common arrange-ment for orchestras right into the late 19th century, so there’s a lot of music that would have been composed with this layout

Insider TipsJust in time for our 2013 season launch, ‘Box Office’ Steve shares some of his Top Tips for helping ensure a hassle-free subscription purchase.

requests, it’s important to let us know early and thus improve your chances of securing the seats you want.

give us a clearer idea of where you want to sit. Also, in case your preferred seat isn’t available, offering alternative options is helpful.

don’t have any particular seating preferences, try to avoid calling first thing on Monday morning, when we’re super busy in the box office.

renewal form means a shorter wait before you have your tickets in hand.

trained staff join the box office team, and as we all know, it can take a little while to get into the swing of things. Your patience is truly appreciated!

The US Consul General Niels Marquardt hosted a welcome for David Robertson, who will begin his tenure as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director in 2014. From left: Rory Jeffes, Orli Shaham, David Robertson, John Conde and Niels Marquardt.

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Proud sponsor of theSydney Symphonyin their 80th yearof timeless entertainment

Your Saythe Sydney Symphony’s performance [7 July] was quite special. The Adès Violin Concerto was refreshing and approachable, and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony had all the excitement of a first performance. I have a very good feeling about the Sydney Symphony’s future under the direction of David Robertson. David Potter

Richard Gill taught me music at Marsden High School in 1961/2 and I loved it. He sat down at the beginning of one lesson and played the Moonlight Sonata without any music – wow. He had us close our eyes, listen to classical music and make up our own story according to the music we heard – great. He composed the school anthem. Thank you Richard Gill. Judy Crofton

Touring Focus – China‘The Phoenix China is emerging,’ says ABC Classic FM presenter Damien Beaumont. ‘Industrially and financially, of course, but also culturally, which is most exciting.’ In October, the Sydney Symphony will set course for China, for a six-concert tour conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. Our programs will include Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, which was completed

after Stalin’s death in 1953, and Dvorák’s Cello Concerto, a showpiece for soloist Jian Wang.

Coinciding with the orchestra’s tour, Damien will be leading a 15-day Renaissance Tour, which will take in several performances at the Beijing Music Festival, visits to Shanghai and Hangzhou, and a trip to the Great Wall of China. He’ll be in the audience

when we perform in the ‘Bird’s Egg’ – the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. ‘Hearing our beloved Sydney Symphony in an ambassadorial role will be a real highlight.’

For more information about Music Lovers Renaissance Tours, visit bit.ly/RenaissanceToursChina2012

Bruckner’s Symphony No.8 was superbly performed by the SSO and Lothar Koenigs [21 June]. It was very evident that the orchestra and conductor at their first concert together had mutual respect and the result was beautiful, emotional, professional, and simply overwhelming. The brass and horns did an outstanding job with what must be one of the most taxing pieces of music for them, and the strings were relentless, sweeping, sweet, and everything that is beautiful. Congratulations to my favourite orchestra and Lothar Koenigs who must return on a regular basis. Richard Fay

I must confess to a certain bias in favour of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia. Let’s put it this way…if it could cook, I would marry it. Even allowing for that, I thought

We like to hear from you. Write to yoursay@sydneysymphony.com or Bravo! Reply Paid 4338, Sydney NSW 2001.

Education Focus

Our Fellows recently surprised violinist Anthony Marwood on his birthday, which he had generously given over to leading a masterclass. ‘We played the three opening notes of Beethoven’s Septet,’ said Viola Fellow Neil Thompson, ‘and then launched into “Happy Birthday”. It definitely caught him by surprise!’

Putting laughter aside, the real work started. ‘Anthony immediately focussed on the dramatic aspect of Beethoven’s music.’ The musicians also worked on a Grand Septet by Berwald. ‘At one point Anthony was gesturing for us to bring out its theatrical strains, and it suddenly dawned on me that he hadn’t brought his instrument with him. And yet, he was leading the masterclass so effortlessly without it! It was a really inspiring and nourishing session.’ – with birthday cake at the end to reward hard work, naturally!

We gratefully acknowledge the supporters of the Fellowship program: Kim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey, Robert Albert AO & Elizabeth Albert, June & Alan Woods Family Bequest, Paul & Sandra Salteri, Mrs W Stening, Bruno & Rhonda Giuffre, Tempe Merewether OAM, Neil & Sandra Burns and premier partner Credit Suisse.

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A SEASON IS BORNOur 2013 season has finally launched – 28 conductors, 63 soloists and nearly 120 musical works coming together in 46 different programs…

Artistic FocusDancing Moon GoddessThis October, saxophonist Amy Dickson must become the ‘uni-versal Moon Goddess incarnate’, according to Ross Edwards, who has written his latest concerto for her. Full Moon Dances requires her to effect a series of onstage apotheoses, by adorning herself in a variety of heavenly costumes. Amy, who became close friends with the composer after she was named ABC/Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year in 2004, said it was ‘a dream come true’ when he offered to write the concerto for her.

Ross Edwards is well-known for his use of special lighting, choreography, costume and other seemingly extra-musical visual accompaniments – all part of his vision to restore the ancient, elemental associations of music with the mysticism, ritual and dance of a primal humanity. Amy worked directly with Ross and his family in the design of the costumes, which include a halo manufactured by Sydney milliner Suzy O’Rourke. She says that with Ross’s conception in mind, and arrayed in her celestial regalia, she finds it very easy to assume the goddess-like role he describes: ‘Serene and mysterious, she nonetheless has the power to unleash ecstasy and terror beyond the bounds of reason.’

Dancing with the SaxophoneVerdi, Edwards and Ravel’s BoleroFri 5 Oct | 8pm Sat 6 Oct | 8pm Mon 8 Oct | 7pm

Full Moon Dances was com-missioned by Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO with the support of Symphony Services International.

The Score

On Wednesday 8 August we launched the 2013 season. And in homes across Sydney, excited concert-goers were tearing the wrapping from their season brochures to see what was in store.

The first responses poured in. Explosions of delight as music-lovers spotted favourites. ‘Murray Perahia – boom!’ said one. ‘Woah…Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony! Always good when the SOH organ gets a chance to assert itself,’ wrote another. ‘Tan Dun!! John Adams!! Flying Dutchman!! Verdi Requiem!! Britten’s War Requiem!! Woohoo!!’ More than a few are looking forward to the third instalment of The Lord of the Rings, one of several special events supported by premier partner Credit Suisse.

One fan spotted two of her favourite pieces – ‘Massively happy to be a subscriber!’ – only to follow with ‘Dang, neither of my favourites are in my series.’ Then another fan offered some advice: ‘Why not opt for a Con-noisseur’s Selection and choose your own concerts?’

A local journalist got so excited she slipped into all-caps. ‘ERIC OWENS! PINCHAS ZUKERMAN! JOHN ADAMS! MURRAY PERAHIA! THOMAS ADÈS! WU MAN! KRISTJAN JÄRVI!’ And once she’d calmed down… ‘OK, Schreker and Mozart with Geoffrey Lancaster. That does it for me. So much goodness.’ Yes, a little program buried in the Mozart in the City series, but

promising to be one of the jewels of the season with some scrump-tious music and a truly inspiring soloist.

This is why the season brochure rewards a thorough reading. The warhorses will leap out at you – Carmina Burana, Bruch and Mendelssohn violin concertos, Dvorák’s New World Symphony or Respighi’s Pines of Rome. But then there will be the treats, the rarities and the new creations to look forward to as well. Perhaps that piece you love despite its not being famous has been included in the wider ‘constellation’ of works, as our artistic planner Peter Czornyj calls it.

Threaded through the season are the connecting themes. Perhaps you’ve noticed a lot of Britten and Wagner as well as Verdi’s concert hall masterpiece. There’s a reason: 2013 is an anniversary year for all three. Next year is also the centenary of the notorious premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, and we celebrate that with a spellbind-ing program of Stravinsky and Mendelssohn.

Above all, our 2013 program-ming acknowledges the remark-able musical relationship the orchestra enjoys with Principal Conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. There are concerts featuring some of his favourite composers, and two high-energy programs with Pinchas Zukerman (pictured).

We’ve put our energy into creating a season that offers a wealth of choice and – we sincerely hope – will bring you a year of delight.

You can request a brochure via our website: www.sydneysymphony.com or by calling (02) 8215 4600.

Impatient music-lovers can view the brochure online at: bit.ly/2013OnlineBrochure

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TRUSTMr Kim Williams AM [Chair]Ms Catherine Brenner, The Hon Helen Coonan, Mr Wesley Enoch,Ms Renata Kaldor AO, Mr Robert Leece AM RFD, Mr Peter Mason AM,Dr Thomas Parry AM, Mr Leo Schofi eld AM, Mr John Symond AM

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENTActing Chief Executive Offi cer Jonathan BielskiDirector, Theatre and Events David ClaringboldDirector, Marketing, Communications and Director, Customer Services Victoria DoidgeBuilding Development and Maintenance Greg McTaggartDirector, Venue Partners and Safety Julia PucciChief Financial Offi cer Claire Spencer

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSEBennelong Point GPO Box 4274, Sydney NSW 2001Administration (02) 9250 7111 Box Offi ce (02) 9250 7777Facsimile (02) 9250 7666 Website sydneyoperahouse.com

Clocktower Square, Argyle Street, The Rocks NSW 2000GPO Box 4972, Sydney NSW 2001Telephone (02) 8215 4644Box Offi ce (02) 8215 4600Facsimile (02) 8215 4646www.sydneysymphony.com

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Managing Director Michael Nebenzahl Editorial Director Jocelyn Nebenzahl Manager—Production & Graphic Design Debbie ClarkeManager—Production—Classical Music Alan ZieglerOperating in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart & Darwin

THANK YOU

We are extremely grateful to the many donors who responded to our recent end-of-financial-year appeal. This support will enable us to achieve our growing educational and orchestral goals and provide you in the audience and many music students throughout NSW with exciting and fulfilling musical experiences. These can range from supporting our more ambitious large-scale productions such as operas in concert to the annual development of student and teacher training resources. And of course, your support is welcome throughout the year. For more details, visit our website or feel free to contact us at philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com or (02) 8215 4625.

WELCOME TO A NEW FACE IN THE ORCHESTRA

We’re delighted to welcome Justin Williams to the position of Assistant Principal Viola. Justin was previously a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and is also an active chamber musician and a founding member of the Tinalley String Quartet.

BRASS EXHIBITION

Living brass legend, Australian trombonist Michael Mulcahy, will take time out from his regular ‘gig’ with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to direct the Sydney Symphony Brass Ensemble for a performance at the Sydney Opera House on Friday 14 September. The Sydney performance will be preceded by a tour to Armidale, Port Macquarie and Grafton at the end of August.

Regional and metropolitan audiences will enjoy the talents of these fabulous musicians in a concert that promenades from the high

Renaissance to high Romanticism and on to music of our own time and place, including music by Elena Kats-Chernin. The program culminates in Elgar Howarth’s spectacular arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

FREE LUNCH…

…time concerts in the city. In August and September you can enjoy two lunchtime performances by our musicians. Entry is by donation.

Wed 29 August, 1.15pm St James’ Church Sydney Symphony Fellows. The program will include Mozart’s Oboe Quartet and Franz Hasenöhrl’s witty chamber version of a Richard Strauss tone poem: Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders! – a frolic for five instruments.

Wed 19 September, 1.15pm St James’ Church Sophie Cole (violin), Rosemary Curtain (viola) and Leah Lynn (cello) The program will include Ravel’s Sonata for violin and cello .

CODA

BRAVO EDITOR Genevieve Lang sydneysymphony.com/bravoBRAVO EDITOR Genevieve Lang sydneysymphony.com/bravo‘SCORE’ CONTRIBUTOR Douglas Rutherford