2 012 S E A S O N

Fri 29 June 11am

Classical Symphony

Tea & Symphony

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INTRODUCTION

The Classical Symphony

‘Classical’ is an ambiguous term. In music it can refer to pretty much everything orchestras do: ‘classical music’. But it also refers to the style that was current between 1750 and the end of the 18th century – the music of Haydn and Mozart, the inheritance of Beethoven, Classical with a capital C.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of the Classical era was the symphony, and the father of the symphony was Joseph Haydn. Without Haydn’s hundred-plus symphonies to show the way, we wouldn’t have the symphonies of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler or Shostakovich. And we certainly wouldn’t have the most delightful ‘classical’ symphony of all, by Prokofi ev.

Prokofi ev had a sense of humour, and the Classical Symphony, his fi rst, is a musical game – something to tease his listeners and critics. Haydn is the model, but Prokofi ev didn’t copy him slavishly. ‘It seemed to me,’ he said, ‘that if Haydn had lived to our day he would have retained his own style while at the same time absorbing something of the new. This was the kind of symphony I wanted to write.’ If Haydn had lived he would have been 185 years old; the mischievous Prokofi ev was just 25.

The concert begins with music by another 20-something: Mozart in Paris, not trying to tease but to please. His Symphony No.31 is full of grand and fashionable gestures that won him plenty of applause – between movements too! The whole thing was so successful that afterwards he headed out to celebrate with ice cream at the Palais Royal.

Framed by these classical symphonies is Stumble to Grace by Steven Mackey, a piano concerto composed especially for Orli Shaham and David Robertson to perform and premiered in St Louis just nine months ago. Prokofi ev would have understood Mackey, because here is another composer who has his own distinctive style but who has also absorbed a myriad of infl uences old and new, beginning with his fi rst musical love, the electric guitar. That said, we should heed Mackey’s words: ‘Stumble to Grace, like all my music, is about but not like the music I love.’

COVER IMAGE:Facade of Carlo Rossi’s neoclassical Mikhailovsky Palace, built for Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich in 1819–25 and subsequently established as the main building of the Russian Museum by Nicholas II in 1895.

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Classical SymphonyDavid Robertson CONDUCTOR

Orli Shaham PIANO

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)Symphony No.31 in D, K297 (Paris)

Allegro assaiAndanteAllegro

Steven Mackey (born 1956)Stumble to Grace – Piano Concerto

Stage 1 –Stage 2 –Stage 3 –Stage 4 –Stage 5 and Epilogue

The fi ve stages are played without pause.

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

Sergei Prokofi ev (1891–1953)Classical Symphony (Symphony No.1 in D), Op.25

Allegro LarghettoGavotte (Non troppo allegro)Finale (Molto vivace)

2012 SEASON

TEA & SYMPHONY

Friday 29 June, 11am

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

On Thursday evening the music in this program was broadcast on ABC Classic FM and webcast via BigPond. The concert, which also includes Kalkadungu by Barton & Hindson, can be watched on demand at bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony

Estimated durations: 18 minutes, 25 minutes, 15 minutesThe concert will conclude at approximately 12.10pm.

Biscuits at Tea & Symphony concertskindly provided by Kambly

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

WOLFGANG MOZART Austrian composer(1756–1791)

MOZART Paris SymphonyIn 1778, Leopold Mozart sent his 22-year-old son to Paris. Leopold told Wolfgang: ‘Find your place among great people there, who treat men of genius with esteem and courtesy.’ Among the ‘great people’ Mozart met was Joseph Legros. Legros ran a series of ‘sacred concerts’ held on days when, because of religious restrictions, opera (by far the more popular musical entertainment in Paris at the time) was banned. On one such religious holiday, Corpus Christi, 18 June, Legros programmed a new symphony by Mozart, which according to Mozart himself was a ‘tremendous success’.

This symphony (now nicknamed ‘Paris’) was the fi rst completely new symphony Mozart had composed in over four years, and it was bursting with new ideas. For the fi rst time in any of his symphonies, Mozart included clarinets. Writing home to his father, Wolfgang described how he had planned the highlights to tease his Paris audience:

‘Right in the middle of the fi rst Allegro assai was a passage I knew they’d like. The whole audience was thrilled, and there was tremendous applause. I knew when I wrote it the kind of eff ect it would make, so I repeated it again at the end, and they shouted Da capo!’ (‘Again, from the top’). They liked the Andante, too. And the fi nal Allegro. I’d heard that here in Paris the fashion is for fi nales to begin with all the instruments playing together, usually in unison. So I began mine, instead, with the fi rst and second violins only, piano (soft) for the fi rst eight bars. After which immediately a forte (loud). The audience, as I expected, said ‘Shh!’ at the piano, and at the forte they immediately began to applaud.’Legros had one reservation. For him, the Andante seemed

too long and full of strange modulations. So he asked Mozart to replace it with another, simpler Andante. Mozart, unfussed, did so, and decided he liked it better than the fi rst. History takes another view, however, and the fi rst Andante is usually performed today.

GRAEME SKINNER © 2012

The Sydney Symphony fi rst performed Mozart’s Paris Symphony in 1943, conducted by Percy Code, and most recently in 2006 in a Mozart in the City concert directed by Dene Olding.

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STEVEN MACKEY American composer(born in Germany, 1956)

MACKEY Stumble to Grace

The composer writes…Stumble to Grace is about 25 minutes, in fi ve Stages, played continuously without pause. There is a narrative running through the piece that refl ects the title: the piano is all thumbs (literally and metaphorically) as it stumbles in its fi rst entrance, playing naïve and awkward plinks and plunks. By Stage 5 the piano plays sophisticated, virtuosic and, at times, graceful contrapuntal music – a fugue, in fact. The intervening music refl ects various stages of progress and regress in the physical and spiritual evolution of the piano.

The piano is particularly suited to such a narrative because, on the one hand, it is one of the most diffi cult and complex instruments to play because of its polyphonic capabilities, but on the other hand, it is perhaps the easiest instrument to play in that there is no practice required to make a decent sound, unlike most other instruments of the orchestra.

The inspiration for this narrative came from observing my now two-and-a-half year old toddler learning to become human. I began thinking about the piece when he was fi rst experimenting with perambulation and now a year later there is a confi dent lilt to his step. More generally, I wanted to open my compositional process to incorporate some of the whimsy and exuberance that he brings to his exploration of the world. Among his fi rst phrases was ‘this, there’ spoken as he tried to insert a square peg into a round hole.

A preoccupation with one’s children is common among most new parents but this seemed a particularly appropriate source of metaphor for a piece written for Orli Shaham. She and her husband, David Robertson, have twins less than a year older than my son and we’ve had play dates and shared narrations about new parenthood. They were very supportive when my boy was born two months premature and spent six weeks in a neo-natal intensive-care unit and I often think of them and that time as I watch him bound around the house now.

The knowledge that the soloist and conductor for the premiere performances is a married couple had its own infl uence on the work. In Stage 5, the piano fugue is structured in a complicated meter with odd numbers of eighth notes. Writing it in the metre of the piano part would handicap the orchestra’s ability to comment freely and independently since it would be all they can do to hang on. Writing it in a metre comfortable for the orchestra means that the soloist has to get used to playing her part against seemingly contradictory gestures from the conductor but, Orli and David should have a chance to

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practice these passages together before the orchestra shows up.

Stumble to Grace, like all my music, is about but not like the music I love. Although the piano concerto as a genre reached a zenith in the mid-late 19th century, the pianistic infl uences of which I am consciously aware in Stumble to Grace are not from that repertoire. Rather, the rich complexity of Rosalyn Tureck playing Bach fugues, the crystalline sound and clarity of line in Mozart piano concertos, the ‘orchestration’ of Debussy piano preludes, the beguiling awkwardness in the improvisations of Thelonius Monk, and the ebullient rhythmic textures of Vince Giraldi (music from Charlie Brown) were in my ear.

STEVEN MACKEY © 2011

About the composer

Steven Mackey was born to American parents in Frankfurt, Germany. His fi rst musical passion was the electric guitar. He later discovered concert music and began composing for orchestra. Since the mid-1980s he has resumed his interest in the electric guitar and regularly performs his own music for it, including two concertos. He is currently Professor of Music at Princeton University. Helping to shape the next generation of composers and musicians, he teaches composition, theory, 20th-century music, and improvisation. He lives in Princeton New Jersey with his wife, composer Sarah Kirkland Snider, and their son Jasper.

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY 7

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Russian composer(1891–1953)

PROKOFIEV Classical SymphonyProkofi ev’s symphonic career began long before this offi cial ‘First’ in 1917. In 1902, aged 11, he composed the fi rst of two juvenile symphonies under the guidance of his teacher Glière. In 1904, impressed with Prokofi ev’s potential, Glazunov admitted him to the St Petersburg Conservatory. In 1905 his orchestration instructor, Rimsky-Korsakov, was suspended from teaching because of his subversive political activities. Glazunov and another composer, Anatol Liadov, resigned in sympathy. Prokofi ev, anyway, had found Liadov’s harmony and counterpoint classes stultifying, and even Rimsky-Korsakov’s orchestration lessons fell on mostly stony ground. However he remembered his conducting instructor, Nikolai Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (father of composer Alexander), with fondness:

As Tcherepnin and I were sitting side-by-side with a Haydn or Mozart score in front of us, he would say, ‘Just listen how marvellous the bassoon sounds right here!’ And so I gradually developed a taste for bassoon playing staccato and fl ute playing two octaves above it, and so on. It was because of this that I thought up the idea of the Classical Symphony, though that came fi ve or six years later.Prokofi ev began work on the symphony in 1916, composing

the Gavotte fi rst, and continued into 1917 in the months leading up to Russia’s October Revolution. Given the extreme political turmoil that surrounded its creation – the violent overthrow of the Tsar and the formation of a people’s Soviet government – it is an unlikely souvenir of its time. Prokofi ev wanted it to be a symphony in Haydn’s style: ‘It seemed to me that, if Haydn had lived on into our time, he would have kept his own style, while at the same time absorbing something from our new music.’ Prokofi ev himself named it the ‘Classical Symphony’, while admitting that he was ‘secretly hoping the symphony really would prove to be a classic’. And, of course, it did!

The symphony utilises exactly the same instrument list as Mozart’s Paris, a real ‘Classical’ symphony. All four movements are short. The fi rst further confi rms its Classical credentials, keeping to melodies constructed simply from scales and broken chords. Prokofi ev adds a modern touch by avoiding the predictable cadences and modulations of genuine 18th-century music. The second movement, Larghetto, is characterised by its high violin melody and gently ticking accompaniment. The third, Gavotte, seems not quite to belong in any one key. Yet it perfectly conjures an image of a Classical dance, if a rather stilted and angular one, like the painter Picasso’s Cubist re-imagining of a great master. The last movement gave Prokofi ev a lot of trouble. He scrapped his fi rst attempt, and began again ‘from scratch…setting myself the task of writing it without

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any minor chords whatsoever’. He almost (but not quite) succeeded, producing an unusually bright movement dominated by strings and bubbling winds. Only the brass are left with relatively little to do, other than adding an occasional ‘hear, hear!’ in true Classical style.

By 1918, a year after the Classical Symphony, Prokofi ev decided that the new revolutionary Russia had little need for composers, and so took himself off to New York. Compared with America’s other famous Russian musical emigré, Rachmaninoff , Prokofi ev was considered an ‘angry young man’. The New York Times dubbed him a ‘Fortissimist’! Next he went to Paris, where in the 1920s he created ballets with another Russian exile, Sergey Diaghilev, before fi nally, in 1927, making a tentative visit back home. ‘Aspects of Prokofi ev’s music remain foreign to us’, a Soviet critic observed, and even after he returned home permanently the authorities remained suspicious of what they perceived to be unhealthy foreign infl uences in his music. During the purges of the 1940s, Prokofi ev, like Shostakovich, came in for damning criticism. Unfortunately he did not live to see a 1958 Party resolution vindicating him and his music completely against the late dictator Stalin’s ‘subjective attitude to certain works of art’. By a curious coincidence, Stalin and Prokofi ev died on the same day – 5 March 1953.

GRAEME SKINNER © 2012

The Sydney Symphony fi rst performed Prokofi ev’s Classical Symphony in 1943, conducted by Percy Code, and most recently in 2009 in Vladimir Ashkenazy’s Prokofi ev Festival.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

American conductor David Robertson is a compelling and passionate communicator who has established strong relationships with major orchestras throughout Europe and North America. He begins his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony in 2014.

He is Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has held music director posts with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Ensemble Intercontemporain. He also appears as a guest conductor with major orchestras and opera houses, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic, as well as the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and the opera houses in Munich, Hamburg and San Francisco, among others.

David Robertson was born in Santa Monica, California and educated at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied French horn and composition before turning to conducting. He fi rst conducted the Sydney Symphony in 2003 and his most recent appearance with the orchestra was in 2010 when he conducted the Australian premiere of Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphony and an all-Bernstein program. He is married to pianist Orli Shaham.

David Robertson CONDUCTOR

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Orli Shaham PIANO

A consummate musician recognised for her grace and vitality, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation – in demand for her prodigious skills and admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire.

Her performance schedule brings her to major venues and recording studios around the world, and 2012 sees the release of three recordings: Hebrew Melodies with her brother, violinist Gil Shaham; Carnival of the Animals with pianist Jon Kimura Parker and the San Diego Symphony, and the Brahms Horn Trio with Richard King and violinist Amy Lee.

Driven by a passion to bring classical music to new audiences, Orli Shaham maintains a parallel career as a broadcaster, writer and lecturer. In 2010 she created Baby Got Bach, a series of interactive classical concerts for young children, now in its third season. She has taught music literature at Columbia University, and contributed to Piano Today, Symphony and Playbill magazines. She has also served as artist-in-residence on National Public Radio’s Performance Today.

In addition to her education at the Juilliard School, Orli Shaham holds a degree in history from Columbia University. Her most recent appearance with the Sydney Symphony was in 2010, when she performed the solo part in Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety, conducted by David Robertson.www.orlishaham.com

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MUSICIANS

Vladimir AshkenazyPrincipal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Nicholas CarterAssociate Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse

FIRST VIOLINS

Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster

Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster

Fiona Ziegler Assistant Concertmaster

Jennifer Booth Marianne BroadfootBrielle ClapsonSophie Cole Amber Davis Jennifer Hoy Nicola Lewis Alexander NortonLéone Ziegler Claire Herrick°Elizabeth Jones°Dene Olding Concertmaster

Julie Batty

SECOND VIOLINS

Marina Marsden Emily Long A/Assistant Principal

Susan Dobbie Principal Emeritus

Maria Durek Shuti Huang Benjamin Li Nicole Masters Philippa Paige Biyana Rozenblit Emily Qin°Liisa Pallandi*Lucy Warren†Emma West Assistant Principal

Emma Hayes Stan W Kornel Maja Verunica

VIOLAS

Roger Benedict Anne-Louise Comerford Justin Williams*Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Stuart Johnson Justine Marsden Leonid Volovelsky Tara Houghton°David Wickes*Robyn Brookfield

CELLOS

Catherine Hewgill Leah Lynn Assistant Principal

Timothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleChristopher PidcockAdrian Wallis David Wickham Rachael Tobin°Fenella Gill

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees Boersma Alex Henery Steven Larson Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus

David Campbell Richard Lynn David Murray Benjamin Ward

FLUTES

Emma Sholl Carolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo

Janet Webb

OBOES

Diana Doherty David Papp Alexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais

Shefali Pryor

CLARINETS

Francesco Celata Christopher Tingay Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet

Lawrence Dobell

BASSOONS

Nicole Tait °Fiona McNamara Noriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon

Matthew Wilkie Roger Brooke

HORNS

Robert Johnson Geoffrey O’ReillyPrincipal 3rd

Euan HarveyMarnie Sebire Ben Jacks

TRUMPETS

David Elton John FosterAnthony Heinrichs Paul Goodchild

TROMBONES

Scott Kinmont Nick Byrne Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone

Ronald Prussing

TUBA

Duncan Spry*Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Mark Robinson Assistant Principal

Richard Miller PERCUSSION

Rebecca Lagos Colin Piper Brian Nixon*Philip South*

HARP

Louise Johnson PIANO

Susanne Powell*

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.

SYDNEY SYMPHONY 11

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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Sydney Symphony BoardJohn C Conde AO ChairmanTerrey Arcus AM

Ewen CrouchRoss Grant

Jennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew KaldorIrene Lee

David LivingstoneGoetz RichterDavid Smithers AM

12 SYDNEY SYMPHONY

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS

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 AO

Roslyn Packer AO

Penelope Seidler AM

Mr 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 Tony & Fran Meagher Chair

07 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair

08 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews AO Chair

09 Shefali Pryor Associate Principal Oboe Rose Herceg Chair

10 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

Sydney Symphony Leadership EnsembleDavid Livingstone, CEO, Credit Suisse, AustraliaAlan Fang, Chairman, Tianda GroupTony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner PrettyMacquarie Group FoundationJohn Morschel, Chairman, ANZAndrew Kaldor, Chairman, Pelikan Artline

Lynn Kraus, Sydney Office Managing Partner, Ernst & YoungShell Australia Pty LtdJames Stevens, CEO, Roses OnlyStephen Johns, Chairman, Leighton Holdings,and Michele Johns

SYDNEY SYMPHONY 13

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 sydneysymphony.com/patrons

Platinum Patrons$20,000+Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth AM & Vicki Ainsworth

Robert Albert AO & Elizabeth AlbertTerrey Arcus AM & Anne ArcusTom Breen & Rachael KohnSandra & Neil BurnsMr John C Conde AO

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D & I KallinikosJames N Kirby FoundationJustice Jane Mathews AO

Mrs Roslyn Packer AO

Dr John Roarty OAM in memory of Mrs June Roarty

Paul & Sandra SalteriMrs Penelope Seidler AM

Mrs W SteningMr Fred Street AM & Mrs Dorothy Street

Mr Peter Weiss AM & Mrs Doris Weiss

Westfield Group Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson OAM in memory of James Agapitos OAM

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14 SYDNEY SYMPHONY

Matthew McInnesMacquarie Group FoundationMr Robert & Mrs Renee MarkovicAlan & Joy MartinHarry M Miller, Lauren Miller Cilento & Josh Cilento

Miss An NhanMs Jackie O’BrienMrs Rachel O’ConorDrs Keith & Eileen OngMr R A OppenMr Robert OrrellMr & Mrs OrtisMaria PagePiatti Holdings Pty LtdAdrian & Dairneen PiltonRobin PotterDr Raffi QasabianErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R Reed Patricia H Reid Endowment Pty LtdRobin RodgersJohn SaundersIn memory of H St P ScarlettJuliana SchaefferMr & Mrs Jean-Marie SimartCatherine StephenJohn & Alix SullivanThe Hon Brian Sully QC

Mildred TeitlerAlma Toohey & Edward Spicer Andrew & Isolde TornyaGerry & Carolyn TraversJohn E TuckeyMrs M TurkingtonIn memory of Joan & Rupert Vallentine In memory of Dr Reg WalkerHenry & Ruth WeinbergThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesAnn & Brooks Wilson AM

Mr R R WoodwardIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John Yu Anonymous (12)

Bronze Patrons$500–$999Mr Peter J ArmstrongMr & Mrs Garry S AshMr & Mrs Anthony Barlow Mrs Margaret Bell Mrs Baiba B Berzins & Dr Peter Loveday

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Stephen Bryne & Susie GleesonThe Hon. Justice J C & Mrs CampbellMr Percy ChissickMrs Catherine J ClarkR A & M J ClarkeJen CornishMr David Cross Elizabeth DonatiDr Nita & Dr James DurhamGreg Earl & Debbie CameronMr & Mrs FarrellRobert GellingVivienne GoldschmidtMr Robert GreenMr Richard Griffin AM

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Mrs Helen LittleSydney & Airdrie LloydMrs A LohanMrs Panee LowCarolyn & Peter Lowry OAM

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A Willmers & R PalDr A J PalmerMr Andrew C PattersonDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamMr Allan PidgeonRobin PotterLois & Ken RaeMr Donald RichardsonAnna Ro Pamela RogersAgnes RossGarry Scarf & Morgie Blaxill Dr Mark & Mrs Gillian SelikowitzCaroline SharpenMrs Diane Shteinman AM

Dr Agnes E SinclairDoug & Judy SotherenMrs Judith Southam Mrs Elsie StaffordMr Lindsay & Mrs Suzanne StoneMargaret SuthersMr D M SwanMr Norman TaylorMs Wendy ThompsonKevin TroyJudge Robyn TupmanGillian Turner & Rob BishopProf. Gordon E WallRonald WalledgeMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary WalshMr Palmer WangDavid & Katrina WilliamsA Willmers & R PalAudrey & Michael WilsonDr Richard WingMr Robert WoodsMr & Mrs Glenn WyssMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (24)

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY 15

SALUTE

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

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ORCHESTRA NEWS | JUNE–JULY 2012

❝…I’ll be able to do normal things like a normal person!

❞back at school. I was petrifi ed!’ But after about 30 minutes of rehearsal, it was like I’d never left. It was really like getting straight back on the bike.’

Was the accident a blessing in disguise? A lot of people say this after they’ve had some kind of interruption in their career – it felt like a rebirth.’ I felt as though I played much better than before, I thought about things better, and I didn’t take anything for granted any more. In a way, so long as my wrist holds out, it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.’

So does Catherine take any extra precautions now? ‘No! I’m always shocking my husband with the way I chop onions. I love cooking. That’s my favourite place to be – in the kitchen. And he takes one look at me, and then has to look away. But I never really think about it. I’m not precious at all.’

The Principal Cello Chair is sup-ported by Fran & Tony Meagher. Through this support, the Meaghers enjoy a close relationship with Catherine and the orchestra. For more information on Directors’ Chai rs call 8215 4663

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Catherine Hewgill is an elegantly poised presence on stage. Whether it’s the tranquil cello solo from the slow movement of Brahms’s Second Piano Con-certo, or fearlessly leading her troops into the fray of a mighty Bruckner symphony, she takes it all in her stride. Principal Cello with the Sydney Symphony for 22 years, Catherine even managed to overcome a poten-tially career-ending injury when she slipped over after a concert and crushed all the bones in her wrist. ‘The surgeon thought I would never play again.’

Lying in her hospital bed, Catherine initially welcomed

the thought of being able to take time off. ‘Wow! For the next couple of months, I’ll be able to do normal things like a normal person!’ Those feelings quickly wore off. ‘I didn’t feel at all fulfi lled. I felt really strongly that I’d lost my raison d’être.’

It was a diffi cult, frustrating time. ‘My husband said I was horrible to live with, that I wasn’t the same. He used to say that I needed to be “clapped at” about four times a week!

‘I really lost all my self-confi dence. I’ll never forget, after 14 months, when I came back to work, it was like the fi rst day

LUCKY BREAKIn 2001 Principal Cello Catherine Hewgill suffered a potentially career-ending injury. She talks about what it’s like to come through a period of such turmoil.

Proud sponsor of theSydney Symphonyin their 80th yearof timeless entertainment

One concert-goer was intrigued by the ophicleide, which recently appeared in Berlioz’s Harold in Italy. ‘What are they, and why would a composer choose to include them?’ he asked. Our resident ‘ophicleidian’ Nick Byrne was more than happy to respond.

Ask a Musician

The ophicleide was invented in 1817 by Frenchman Jean Hilaire Asté. It’s a lower-pitched exten-sion of the keyed bugle family and came into being at a time when composers were searching for a lower voice to supplement the sound of the trombone. Piston

valves were still in an early (some would say primitive!) stage of their development, but composers like Berlioz (Symphonie fantastique, Harold in Italy), Mendelssohn (Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Elijah) and Wagner (Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman,

Lohengrin) all took advantage of the ophicleide’s special sound. Sweet and versatile in the upper register, open and gruff in its lower tones, the ophicleide is wholly individual in character and temperament compared with its modern generic replacements. Tragically, by 1860–70 the ophicleide had been superseded by the bass tuba and euphonium.

Nick Byrne, Second T rombonewww.ophicleide.com

Have a question about the music, instruments or inner workings of the orchestra? Write to us using the Your Say addresses above.

Your SayOur post-concert surveys always bring a variety of views. The one for Tchaikovsky at the Ballet in April was no exception:

‘We can’t say that we have enjoyed the fi rst half of the concert because of the choice of the music pieces. [Golijov’s Last Round] was poorly composed and poorly rehearsed. The second piece “Spanish Garden” [sic] was something resembling the sound of a graveyard. However, we thoroughly enjoyed the second half of the concert! The brilliant music, the fi ne direction of the conductor and the passion of the orchestra were absolutely heavenly!’

‘Conductor Andrew Grams was a joy to watch – he should have had a whip to conduct with, not to hit the musicians of course, but to swish it above their heads. He was on fi re! The music selection was very interesting – [the Golijov]

was like watching a tennis game – left – right – left – right! A marvellous question-and-answer piece. A big thank you to all musicians of the SSO as well as to the pianist and the conductor.’

And from a star-struck subscriber earlier in the year:

‘Wow! What a night it was! Quite stupendous! Anne Sophie Mutter [March] was just unbelievable and so worth waiting for all these years. The orchestra were wonderful and really shone in the Shostakovich, where Ashkenazy just came alive… How privileged I felt being able to attend this wonderful concert. To many more concerts of this class, and look forward to having Evgeny Kissin and Behzod Abduraimov and Sophie Mutter here again…soon!!’

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

Education NewsMeeting Steve ReichIn May four members of the Sydney Symphony’s emerging artists program – Freya Franzen, Liisa Pallandi (violin), Tara Houghton (viola) and Adam Szabo (cello) – took part in a marathon concert celebrating the works of American minimalist composer Steve Reich. The Sydney Opera House hosted Steve’s residency, which included performances of many of his seminal works. Our musicians gave the Australian premiere of Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings, alongside members of Synergy Percussion, and other young string players, conducted by Roland Peelman.

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Right: Violinist Freya Franzen, rehearsing Reich’s Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings.Below: Wearing his trademark baseball cap, the composer looks on in rehearsal.

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The story goes that at a perform-ance of Szymanowski’s Fourth Symphony by a North American orchestra, the end of the thrilling fi rst movement drew applause from a handful of eager audience members. It was short-lived when exuberance turned to embarrass-ment at clapping in the ‘wrong place’. But the conductor for that occasion quickly turned around with words of reassurance: ‘It’s okay. We’re excited too!’

The conductor was David Robertson, the recently announced Chief Conductor designate of the Sydney Symphony. And this delightful concert vignette illustrates the importance he places on honest and open communication. He’s not afraid to communicate with audiences, introduce new ideas and be a dynamic advocate for the music of our time.

At the announcement of his appointment on 15 May, Principal Cello Catherine Hewgill recalled Robertson’s fi rst visit to the Sydney Symphony in 2003: ‘I had what can only be described as an out-of-body experience during a performance of John Adams’ Harmonielehre. Having David direct us through this incredibly harmonically complex music just took me somewhere else com-pletely.’

Current Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Vladimir Ashkenazy will continue to return annually to the Sydney Symphony. That the orchestra is

able to continue its relationship with Ashkenazy, at the same time as building a new partnership with David Robertson is testa-ment to the mutual respect and admiration the musicians share for both men, and the conductors for each other. Critic Peter McCallum from The Sydney Morning Herald, summed up Ashkenazy’s time with the orchestra beautifully: ‘He has built supportive audiences and international networks and will depart much loved for his deep musical understanding, humil-ity, warmth and charm, and the abiding memory of many insight-ful performances.’

For the incoming Chief Con-ductor, Concertmaster Dene Olding is full of praise: ‘He is an excep-tional musician – highly intel-ligent, articulate and a wonderful communicator. His four previous appearances with the orchestra have shown the breadth of his repertoire and the sophistication of his musical interpretations.’

David Robertson’s plans from 2014 include a series of innovative projects with the orchestra. These include an annual opera-in-con-cert, commissioning partnerships with other orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw, and annual international touring. There’s much to look forward to. As Catherine Hewgill says, ‘This marriage will be a good one!’David Robertson’s tenure as Chief Conductor will begin in 2014, with a fi ve-year contract.

Artistic Focus

DAVID ROBERTSONWe announce David Robertson as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director designate.

The wonders of technology allowed David Robertson to join us by live video feed from New York for the announcement on 15 May. From left: Peter Czornyj, Simon Crean, John Conde, Catherine Hewgill and Rory Jeffes.

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oro Crossover Classics

The blurring of genres is nothing new. These days we tend to associ-ate the term ‘crossover’ with performers – think Katherine Jenkins or Aled Jones – but cross-over might also describe compos-ers’ experimentations with form and genre. Take Brahms’s First Piano Concerto. This ambitious work began life as a fl edgling attempt at a symphony. But the fi gure of Beethoven loomed large for young Brahms, who lost confi dence: ‘You’ve no idea what it’s like to hear the footsteps of a giant like that behind you.’ He re-worked the material, fi rst into a sonata for two pianos and even-tually his First Piano Concerto. Grand in scope, it’s almost a sym-phony for piano and orchestra.

Rachmaninoff ’s Symphonic Dances also borrows from other genres. As the title suggests, each of the three movements is based in dance. Similarly symphonic in scope, the work began life as a prospective ballet score – waltzes and energetic rhythms abound, orchestral colours (including Rachmaninoff ’s only inclusion of the alto saxophone) surround the listener. In the majestic fi nal movement, Rachmaninoff recycles the ‘Dies Irae’, the funereal plainchant used to such great effect in his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Far from being dirge-like, the ‘Dies Irae’ brings the music to a brilliant climax that quotes thrilling ‘Allelujahs’ from Rach-maninoff ’s Vespers, sounding a fi nal, powerful affi rmation of faith.Symphonic DancesBrahms, Dvorák, RachmaninoffAusgrid Master SeriesWed 1 Aug | 8pmFri 3 Aug | 8pmSat 4 Aug | 8pm

The Score

Tugan Sokhiev returns to Sydney to conduct Symphonic Dances.

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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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By arrangement with the Sydney Symphony, this publication is offered free of charge to its patrons subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s consent in writing. It is a further condition that this publication shall not be circulated in any form of binding or cover than that in which it was published, or distributed at any other event than specifi ed on the title page of this publication 16824 — 1/290612 — 19TS S47

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500 YEARS OF TROMBONE: THE CONCERT

On Wednesday 13 June, trombonists Ron Prussing, Scott Kinmont, Nick Byrne and Christopher Harris will present a lunchtime concert at St James’ Church King Street. The program will include original music and transcriptions from composers such as Josquin des Prez, Dowland, Daniel Speer, Beethoven, Bruckner, Tomasi and Elena Kats-Chernin.

ACOUSTIC REFINEMENT

The installation of new acoustic panels in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall is on track, with the work due for completion in early June. Acoustician Larry Kirkegaard will be in Sydney 19–23 June to do further testing during our rehearsals and concerts. Based on these results, and feedback given by the musicians, Larry will be refi ning the angles of the various panels to achieve an optimum sound.

VA NGUARD

Our new philanthropic program Vanguard got off to a strong start on 4 April and its members have already enjoyed a second event. On 23 May the musical program saw a collaboration between double bass, trombone, guitar and voice – mixing classical, jazz and hip-hop. There are more private events scheduled for 2012, all intended to create intimate but surprising experiences of classical music. To fi nd out more and to join, visit sydneysymphony.com/vanguard

ARRIVALS…

We’ve welcomed quite a few recent additions to the Sydney Symphony family: Eloise Anwyl was welcomed by Penny Evans (Senior Marketing Manager) and her husband Ben on 10 February; Hannah Ying-Leng met her parents Felicity (viola) and Thomas Tsai on 10 March; Emma West (Assistant Principal Second Violin) and her husband Andrew welcomed Lila Grace into the world on 20 March; and proud parents Alexandra Mitchell (First Violin) and

husband Charlie announced the arrival of Thomas Ashton on 18 May. Phew! Sydney Symphony crèche anyone?

…AND A FAREWELL

Lee Bracegirdle retired from the Horn section after 32 years of service with the orchestra. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that audiences won’t be hearing from him. Lee is also a composer, and will no doubt retain his connection with the world of music-making through this creative outlet. We wish him all the best into the future.

STRINGS ON STEROIDS

In recent months we’ve seen a number of guest players in the concertmaster and principal cello chairs as we seek to fi ll these positions. Two of our guests – violinist Andrew Haveron and cellist Teije Hylkema – managed to fi nd some time for offstage creativity as well. We’re assured no cellos were harmed in the making of this music video: bit.ly/StringsOnSteroids

CODA

BRAVO EDITOR Genevieve Lang sydneysymphony.com/bravo