London Philharmonic Orchestra 5 February 2016 concert programme

Concert programme2015/16 London Seasonlpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI supported by the Tsukanov Family FoundationPrincipal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADALeader pIETER SChOEMAN supported by Neil WestreichComposer in Residence MAgNUS LINDbERgPatron hRh ThE DUKE OF KENT Kg

Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOThY WALKER AM

Contents

2 Welcome Orchestra news3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman6 Yannick Nézet-Séguin7 Jean-Yves Thibaudet8 Programme notes11 Next concerts12 Shakespeare40013 Recent LPO CD releases14 Sound Futures donors15 Supporters16 LPO administration

The timings shown are not precise and are given only as a guide.

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JTI FRIDAY SERIESSouthbank Centre’s Royal Festival hallFriday 5 February 2016 | 7.30pm

gershwin Piano Concerto in F (29’)

Interval Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 (54’)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor

Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Welcome

2016/17 season now announcedDetails of next season's LPO concerts at Royal Festival Hall are now available. Browse the new season brochure online at lpo.org.uk or look out for your copy in the post in the next few days. Booking opens next Thursday, 11 February (online and via the LPO Box Office only). To take advantage of priority booking (available now), become a Friend of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for as little as £50 a year. Call Helen Yang on 020 7840 4225 or visit lpo.org.uk/support/memberships

New Rachmaninoff release on the LpO Label Just released on the LPO Label is a disc of Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony and 10 Songs, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski and featuring tenor Vsevolod Grivnov (LPO-0088).

These recordings were taken from a live LPO concert performance at Royal Festival Hall on 29 April 2015 as part of last season's Rachmaninoff: Inside Out series. The arrangements of the 10 Songs were made by Jurowski’s grandfather, also called Vladimir (1915–72), whose first experience of Rachmaninoff’s music was in Russia after the Second World War. The disc is priced £9.99: see page 10 for more details.

Latest tour news Later this month a quintet of LPO brass players will be jetting off to the Caribbean, where they have been invited to perform at the Cayman Arts Festival in Grand Cayman. The concert programme on 18 February at the First Baptist Church in the capital, George Town, will include works by Clarke, Gabrieli, Mozart and Horovitz, and British and American folk song arrangements, and will also feature the Cayman National Choir. Earlier in the week our musicians will lead a workshop with young brass players at a local school and will attend a reception at the Governor's House. lpo.org.uk/tours

Welcome to Southbank Centre

We hope you enjoy your visit. We have a Duty Manager available at all times. If you have any queries please ask any member of staff for assistance.

Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shops and restaurants include Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO! Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, ping pong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Feng Sushi and Topolski, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall.

If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact the Visitor Experience Team at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, phone 020 7960 4250, or email [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery are closed for essential refurbishment until 2018. During this period, our resident orchestras are performing in venues including St John's Smith Square. Find out more at southbankcentre.co.uk/sjss

A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment:

phOTOgRAphY is not allowed in the auditorium.

LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium if there is a suitable break in the performance.

RECORDINg is not permitted in the auditorium without the prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centre reserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipment and hold it in safekeeping until the performance has ended.

MObILES, pAgERS AND WATChES should be switched off before the performance begins.

Orchestra news

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

First ViolinsPieter Schoeman* Leader

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Yang XuVesselin Gellev Sub-LeaderIlyoung Chae

Chair supported by an anonymous donor

Ji-Hyun LeeChair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin VarnagyChair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine CraigThomas EisnerMartin Höhmann

Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey LynnChair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert PoolSarah StreatfeildYang ZhangTina Gruenberg Grace LeeRebecca Shorrock

Second ViolinsAndrew Storey PrincipalKate Birchall

Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy ElanLorenzo Gentili-TedeschiFiona HighamNynke HijlkemaJoseph MaherMarie-Anne MairesseAshley StevensHelena NichollsSioni WilliamsHarry KerrElizabeth BaldeyJohn Dickinson

ViolasBenjamin Roskams

Guest PrincipalCyrille Mercier

Co-PrincipalRobert DuncanGregory AronovichKatharine LeekSusanne MartensBenedetto PollaniEmmanuella ReiterLaura VallejoNaomi HoltMichelle BruilDaniel Cornford

CellosKristina Blaumane

PrincipalChair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden

Pei-Jee Ng Co-PrincipalFrancis BucknallLaura DonoghueSantiago Carvalho†David LaleGregory WalmsleyElisabeth Wiklander

Chair supported by The Viney Family

Sue Sutherley Susanna Riddell

Double bassesKevin Rundell* PrincipalGeorge Peniston Laurence LovelleTom WalleyLowri MorganCharlotte KerbegianHelen RowlandsLaura MurphyBen WolstenholmeLachlan Radford

FlutesSue Thomas* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Hannah GraysonStewart McIlwham

piccoloStewart McIlwham*

PrincipalChair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

OboesIan Hardwick* PrincipalAlice MundaySue Böhling*

Cor AnglaisSue Böhling* Principal

ClarinetsRobert Hill* PrincipalThomas Watmough

bass ClarinetPaul Richards Principal

bassoonsGareth Newman PrincipalSimon Estell

hornsDavid Pyatt* Principal

Chair supported by Simon Robey

John Ryan* PrincipalChair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin HobbsMark Vines Co-PrincipalGareth Mollison

TrumpetsPaul Beniston* PrincipalAnne McAneney*

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

David Hilton

TrombonesMark Templeton* Principal

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David Whitehouse

bass TromboneLyndon Meredith Principal

TubaLee Tsarmaklis* Principal

TimpaniSimon Carrington*

Principal

percussionAndrew Barclay* Principal

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Henry BaldwinCo-PrincipalChair supported by Jon Claydon

Keith Millar Jeremy Cornes

harpRachel Masters* Principal * Holds a professorial appointment in London

† Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

On stage tonight


London Philharmonic Orchestra

Recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles. As well as its performances in the concert hall, the Orchestra also records film and video game soundtracks, releases CDs on its own record label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and community groups.

The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932. It has since been headed by many of the world’s greatest conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. Vladimir Jurowski is currently the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, appointed in 2007. Andrés Orozco-Estrada took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor in September 2015. Magnus Lindberg is the Orchestra’s current Composer in Residence.

The Orchestra is resident at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, where it gives over 30 concerts each season. Throughout 2014/15 the Orchestra gave a series of concerts entitled Rachmaninoff: Inside Out, a festival exploring the composer’s major

orchestral masterpieces. 2015/16 is a strong season for singers, with performances by Toby Spence and Anne Sofie von Otter amongst others; Sibelius enjoys 150th anniversary celebrations; distinguished visiting conductors include Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Vasily Petrenko, with Robin Ticciati returning after his debut in 2015; and in 2016 the LPO joins many of London’s other leading cultural institutions in Shakespeare400, celebrating the Bard’s legacy 400 years since his death. The Orchestra continues its commitment to new music with premieres of commissions including Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto and Alexander Raskatov’s Green Mass.

Outside London, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Each summer the Orchestra takes up its annual residency at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra. Touring remains a large part of

‘It was one of those unforgettable evenings where everything and everyone performed beautifully [with] an extraordinary performance by the London Philharmonic ... The ovation should have been standing.’Andrew Collins, The News, March 2015


Pieter Schoemanleader

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Pieter Schoeman was appointed Leader of the LPO in 2008, having previously been Co-Leader since 2002.

Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut aged 10 with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra. He studied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winning

numerous competitions including the 1984 World Youth Concerto Competition in the US. In 1987 he was offered the Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talent was spotted by Pinchas Zukerman, who recommended that he move to New York to study with Sylvia Rosenberg. In 1994 he became her teaching assistant at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Pieter has performed worldwide as a soloist and recitalist in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow's Rachmaninov Hall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chamber musician he regularly performs at London's prestigious Wigmore Hall.

As a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Pieter has performed Arvo Pärt's Double Concerto with Boris Garlitsky, Brahms's Double Concerto with Kristina Blaumane, and Britten's Double Concerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recorded and released on the Orchestra's own record label to great critical acclaim. He has recorded numerous violin solos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos, Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American film and television, and led the Orchestra in its soundtrack recordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In 1995 Pieter became Co-Leader of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he has appeared frequently as Guest Leader with the Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon, Baltimore and BBC symphony orchestras, and the Rotterdam and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. He is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Pieter's chair in the London Philharmonic Orchestra is supported by Neil Westreich.

the Orchestra’s life: highlights of the 2015/16 season include visits to Mexico City as part of the UK Mexico Year of Culture, Spain, Germany, the Canary Islands, Belgium, a return to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and the Orchestra’s debut at La Scala, Milan.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 90 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3 and Ten Songs under Vladimir Jurowski, and archive recordings of Mahler Symphonies and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt.

In summer 2012 the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames, and was also chosen to record all the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics. In 2013 it was the winner of the RPS Music Award for Ensemble.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians through an energetic programme of activities for young people. Highlights include the BrightSparks schools’ concerts and FUNharmonics family concerts; the Young Composers Programme; and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training programme for outstanding young players. Its work at the forefront of digital engagement and social media has enabled the Orchestra to reach even more people worldwide: all its recordings are available to download from iTunes and, as well as a YouTube channel and regular podcast series, the Orchestra has a lively presence on Facebook and Twitter.

lpo.org.uk

facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

twitter.com/LpOrchestra

youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

instagram.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra


Yannick Nézet-Séguinconductor

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He has conducted all the major ensembles in his native Canada and has been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal) since 2000. He continues to enjoy a close collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, of which he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2008–14.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin has worked with many fine ensembles in Europe including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Following his 2009 BBC Proms debut (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), he returned the following year and more recently in 2013 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. He has also appeared at festivals in Edinburgh, San Sebastián, Santander and Grafenegg, as well as in North America at the Lanaudiere Festival, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Saratoga Festival and the Mostly Mozart Festival.

A notable opera conductor, Yannick’s regular engagements at The Metropolitan Opera in New York have seen him conduct Rusalka, La traviata, Faust and Don Carlo in recent seasons. He has also appeared at the Salzburg Festival, Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Netherlands Opera.

Highlights of last season included a North American tour with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a European tour with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Yannick also continued as Artist in Residence at the Konzerthaus Dortmund.

Yannick began 2015/16 conducting the Metropolitan Opera’s season-opener of Otello, followed by Elektra at the Opéra de Montréal. In addition to his commitments with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, further highlights include projects with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic and Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich, and a return to the Salzburg Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Recent additions to Nézet-Séguin’s extensive discography include the complete Schumann symphonies and Così fan tutte with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; The Rite of Spring and Rachmaninoff Variations with Daniil Trifonov and The Philadelphia Orchestra; and a Tchaikovsky disc with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. He also enjoys a fruitful recording relationship with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for its own label, most recently organ works by Poulenc and Saint-Saëns (LPO-0081).

A native of Montreal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Montreal, and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, before going on to study with renowned conductors, most notably the Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. His honours include a Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s National Arts Centre Award; and the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts awarded by the Quebec government. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012.

yannicknezetseguin.com

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Nézet-Séguin may just be the most compelling, most accomplished conductor of his generation.The Financial Times


Atonement, Pride and Prejudice and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. In 2004 he served as president of the prestigious Hospices de Beaune, an annual charity auction in Burgundy, France. He had a cameo in Bruce Beresford's film on Alma Mahler, Bride of the Wind, and his playing is showcased throughout. He wears a concert wardrobe designed by Vivienne Westwood.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, where he began his piano studies aged five and made his first public appearance aged seven. At 12 he entered the Paris Conservatoire to study with Aldo Ciccolini and Lucette Descaves, a friend and collaborator of Ravel. At 15 he won the Premier Prix du Conservatoire and, three years later, the Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York City. In 2010 the Hollywood Bowl honoured Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was promoted to the title of Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012.

jeanyvesthibaudet.com

facebook.com/thibaudet

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has performed around the world for more than 30 years and recorded more than 50 albums. He has an artistic depth and a natural charisma that have made him one of today's most sought-after pianists.

This season he tackles three Artist-in-Residencies: at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles. At Colburn, he fosters the next generation of musicians, teaching masterclasses and performing with students. With the Seattle Symphony, he plays Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F; chairs the jury for the Seattle Symphony Piano Competition; performs Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 with orchestra members, and tours Asia. He opens his residency at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with James MacMillan's Piano Concerto No. 3, which he commissioned and premiered in 2011, and tours Europe with the Orchestra, playing Beethoven's 'Emperor' Concerto. The residency also involves chamber music, a performance at an RCO Club Night, and a masterclass. Thibaudet takes Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor on tour in the spring with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Also this season, he gives a recital tour across the USA, Europe and Asia.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has won the Schallplattenpreis, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, a Gramophone Award, two ECHO awards and the Edison Prize. In 2010 he released Gershwin, featuring big-band orchestrations of Rhapsody in Blue, variations on 'I Got Rhythm', and the Concerto in F live with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Marin Alsop.Thibaudet was the soloist on the award-winning films

Jean-Yves Thibaudetpiano

A master colourist and a great communicator, able to reduce a large concert hall to an intimate chamber of intent listeners.The Seattle Times


Programme notes

In 1906 Rachmaninoff and his family left a politically turbulent Russia behind and escaped to Dresden. Here the composer relaxed, attended concerts and experienced one of the most productive periods of his life. Among its first fruits was his Second Symphony, a work that unlocked a new emotional power within the composer and saw

him master both the orchestra and the symphonic form with flowing themes, vital rhythms and sumptuous textures. Tonight we hear it after a piece by Gershwin pulsating with the vibrance and energy of his New York home: the toe-tapping, dance-infested Piano Concerto.

Speedread

It was immediately after the success of his Rhapsody in Blue, written for the jazz-band leader Paul Whiteman in 1924, that George Gershwin was asked by conductor Walter Damrosch to write a piano concerto for the New York Symphony. Despite the runaway success of the Rhapsody, the pressure was on. Apart from the fact that expectations were high – violinists Jascha Heifetz and Joseph Joachim as well as Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky had all been at the Rhapsody premiere – the new commission would draw Gershwin yet further into the classical firmament. And, while he had been able to leave the scoring of the earlier work to Whiteman’s arranger Ferde Grofé (a common practice for Broadway composers), this time Gershwin would have to produce his own. As a 26-year-old about to take on his first symphonic score, the young composer was uncertain of his classical credentials, but he boned up on form and orchestration and, once he had scored the Concerto, hired New York’s Globe Theatre and a 60-piece band for a run-through. Writing in 1933, though, it was as if Gershwin’s confidence had never been in question: ‘Many persons had thought that the Rhapsody was only a happy accident … I went out to show them that there was plenty more where that came from.’

For sure, the Concerto opens with a bold statement: a chest-thumping percussion fanfare that quickly leads to a snappy Charleston rhythm and then to a skipping rising–falling tune on solo bassoon (followed by bass clarinet). All these motifs will return, as will the slow bluesy theme with which the solo piano first enters. As these ideas rotate, and sometimes ingeniously collide, there’s a wealth of new ideas, styles and moods, plus another unforgettable tune: a warm, sweeping melody first heard on violins and cor anglais. Likewise, the solo pianist negotiates a breathless array of textures, from racing filigree passagework to crashing accompanying chords right out of the warhorse concertos of Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff.

If this first movement, for Gershwin, represented ‘the young, enthusiastic spirit of American life’, the slow central movement is a more intimate nocturne, at least in the languorous solo muted trumpet (then oboe) of its introduction. The piano then enters to brighten the mood; after the distant trumpet sounds again, the piano returns for a moonlit, improvisational cadenza, out of which emerges the movement’s big melody, espressivo con moto, on strings.

Georgegershwin

1898–1937

piano Concerto in F

Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

1 Allegro2 Adagio – Andante con moto3 Allegro agitato


Interval – 20 minutesAn announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.

Gershwin described the finale as ‘an orgy of rhythms’ and it launches with ferocious, motoric movement. There’s almost no let-up over its entire span, except at the end, for a grandiose, technicoloured revival of the first movement’s sweeping theme.

Programme note © Edward Bhesania

SergeRachmaninoff

1873–1943

Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

1 Largo – Allegro moderato2 Allegro molto 3 Adagio4 Allegro vivace

Thanks largely to the concertos, Rachmaninoff is usually thought of primarily as a composer for the piano, but before he left Russia for the last time in 1917 he was more widely recognised as a composer of vocal, chamber and orchestral music and a gifted conductor active both in the concert hall and the opera house. The Third Piano Concerto came well into a period of heartening success that had served to wipe away the creatively crippling depression caused by the disastrous premiere of the First Symphony ten years earlier: 1901 had seen him return to form with the Second Piano Concerto; in 1902 he had married, his wife giving birth to a daughter the following year; and 1904 had brought a conducting post at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, where, early in 1906, he presided over well-received premieres of his operas Francesca da Rimini and The Miserly Knight.

By this time, however, Rachmaninoff was beginning to feel the strain of celebrity, and made the decision to give himself more breathing space by removing himself and his family to Dresden. It was there that he composed his Second Symphony, in such secrecy that even his closest friends were unaware of the fact until they read about it in the press. ‘I have completed a symphony, it’s true!’,

he wrote to one of them in February 1907. ‘It’s only ready in draft. I finished it a month ago and immediately put it aside. It was a severe worry to me and I am not going to think about it any more.’ The score was eventually completed early the following year and the premiere took place in St Petersburg on 8 February 1908, with Rachmaninoff himself conducting.

The Second Symphony is both one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular orchestral compositions and one of his finest, a work of relaxed expansiveness and easy melodic flow, yet also one of great expressive power and sweep. Rachmaninoff’s talent for memorable melody is as present as ever here, but it never descends into facility; like Tchaikovsky (whose influence is unmistakable), he was able to move the listener with a big tune, but also to mould his melodies into great architectural spans with a subtlety that makes them appear totally natural. This Symphony is in fact shot through with motivic connections and links, but so organic do they seem that the listener could be forgiven for hardly noticing.

Three important thematic cells are set out in the Symphony’s opening eight bars. The first, a weighty,


Programme notes continued

undulating figure heard in the cellos and basses, is closely followed by a lightly syncopated stab from the woodwind and horns, and then by a downward-winding line in the violins. All are significant to the work as a whole, but for the moment they serve to initiate a sombre slow introduction which is lengthy enough to include a powerful climax before subsiding on to a cor anglais solo. The main Allegro section of the movement features two themes, the first a dreamy transformation of the opening cello-and-bass figure, and the second (heralded by a brief clarinet solo) a romantic dialogue between wind and strings with links to the syncopated second motif. Reminders of all three motifs then continue to appear as the music drives forward through a Tchaikovskian climax in the central development section (built largely on the first motif), warm restatements of the principal themes, and on to an impassioned finish.

The second movement starts out as a breezily confident scherzo. Simpler in design than its companions, it is in three sections, the third of which is essentially a reprise of the first. The outer sections oppose a striding main theme and a lovingly lyrical second for strings, while the central one introduces a contrasting texture of closely worked, chattering counterpoint. Towards the end of the reprise, the brass interrupt with an apparition of the first movement’s second motif, and the scherzo ends in unexpectedly ominous mood.

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 310 Songs (arr. Jurowski)

Vladimir Jurowski conductor Vsevolod grivnov tenor

£9.99 | LpO-0088

Rachmaninoff: New CD release on the LpO Label

Available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets

Download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and others

The Adagio that forms the third movement is one of Rachmaninoff’s most generous melodic creations, a worthy cousin to the slow movement of the Second Piano Concerto, to which it bears similarities. Strangely, its two main themes are presented almost on top of each other, the initial arpeggio-based string melody being immediately followed by a long and languid solo clarinet tune, but both are given ample space to breathe in the course of the ravishing movement that follows, as Rachmaninoff handles their leisurely juxtaposition with great skill and expressive control, decorating them here and there with glistening remembrances of the by-now familiar motifs.

The Finale announces its intentions in joyously whirling, carnivalesque music whose textural complexities carry numerous thematic references to what has gone before. Rachmaninoff does not intend to let the movement run away with him, however, and before long introduces a noble violin theme to calm things down. It is an uplifting new presence, and proves even more heart-swellingly so when – following a nostalgic reminiscence of the slow movement and a mountingly exciting section built on descending scales – it makes its majestic return as the Symphony’s crowning glory.

Programme note © Lindsay Kemp


Wednesday 24 February | 7.30pm

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony

Vasily petrenko conductor Augustin hadelich violin

Friday 26 February | 7.30pmJTI FRIDAY SERIES

Mendelssohn Overture, A Midsummer Night's Dream*

Khachaturian Violin Concerto R Strauss Macbeth Stravinsky The Firebird Suite (1919

version)*

Andrés Orozco-Estrada conductor Kristóf baráti violin

* Please note a change to the programme from originally advertised

Wednesday 10 February | 7.30pm

Dvořák Piano Concerto Sibelius The Tempest: excerpts from the Incidental Music

Osmo Vänskä conductor Stephen hough piano Lilli paasikivi mezzo soprano Simon Callow narrator

Friday 12 February | 7.30pmJTI FRIDAY SERIES

Nicolai Overture, The Merry Wives of Windsor

Korngold Violin Concerto Elgar Symphony No. 1

Osmo Vänskä conductor hyeyoon park violin

Next concerts at Royal Festival Hall

pLAYINg ThE bARD IN 2016

In collaboration with some of London’s leading cultural, creative and educational institutions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joins Shakespeare400 with a series of concerts this year celebrating the Bard’s love of music.

FIND OUT MORE: LpO AND ShAKESpEARE400lpo.org.uk/shakespeare

Tickets £9–£39 (premium seats £65)

London philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office: 020 7840 4242 Monday–Friday 10.00am–5.00pm lpo.org.uk Transaction fees: £1.75 online, £2.75 telephone.


The centrepiece of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2015/16 concert season at Royal Festival Hall is Shakespeare400, a festival of concerts, talks and exploratory events celebrating the musical legacy of the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.

For four and a half centuries, the most admired playwright and poet in history has inspired music both intimate and grand, devastating and uplifting. Shakespeare’s body of plays and poems has exercised more influence over composers and musicians than anything else in literature bar the Bible, and continues to inspire across the generations of today.

In collaboration with some of London’s leading cultural, creative and educational institutions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joins Shakespeare400 with a celebration of the Bard’s love of music, and his influence on it. Join the LPO at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall this year for a celebration of creativity and collaboration, and dive into a musical world born of the words of the legendary William Shakespeare.

lpo.org.uk/shakespeare

Wednesday 27 January 2016 | 6.00pmHamlet in Russia: Shostakovich’s Hamlet

Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 5.00pmNew Horizons: Inspired by Shakespeare

Saturday 5 March 2016 | 6.00pmFoyle Future Firsts: Ophelia Dances

Saturday 9 April 2016 | 6.00pmLPO Soundworks & Quicksilver:

Inspired by Shakespeare

Saturday 30 April 2016 | post-concert RCM Big Band: Such Sweet Thunder

Wednesday 3 February 2016 | 7.30pm Dvořák | Othello

Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 7.30pm Sibelius | The Tempest

Friday 12 February 2016 | 7.30pm | JTI Friday Series Nicolai | The Merry Wives of Windsor

Friday 26 February 2016 | 7.30pm | JTI Friday Series R Strauss | Macbeth

Mendelssohn | A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Friday 15 April 2016 | 7.30pm | JTI Friday Series Prokofiev | Romeo and Juliet

Saturday 23 April 2016 | 7.30pm Anniversary Gala Concert

featuring very special guests

Sunday 5 June 2016 | 7.30pm FUNharmonics Family Concert | Bottom’s DreamC

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Wednesday 3 February 2016 | 6.00pm Adapting Othello

Wednesday 10 February 2016 | 6.00pmLate works of Shakespeare and others

Friday 12 February 2016 | 6.00pmShakespeare’s Windsor

Friday 26 February 2016 | 6.00pmThe Macbeths

Friday 15 April 2016 | 6.00pmThink you know Romeo & Juliet?Pr

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Recent releases on the LpO label

John Mauceri conductor

£10.99 (2 CDs) | LPO-0086

Klaus Tennstedt conductor

A BBC recording

£6.99 | LPO-0087

The genius of Film Music:hollywood blockbusters 1960s to 1980s

beethoven: Coriolan OvertureSymphony No. 5

browse the catalogue and sign up for updates at lpo.org.uk/recordings

Available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, the LPO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242) and all good CD outlets

Available to download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and others.

Subscription packages

One year CD subscription: £79.9910 CDs (worth at least £100)Exclusive pre-release mailingInclusive of P&P

half year CD subscription: £44.995 CDs (worth at least £50)Exclusive pre-release mailingInclusive of P&P

Treat yourself or someone you know to a subscription to the London Philharmonic Orchestra's CD releases and they will receive all the new releases on the LPO label for a whole year, mailed before the CDs are available in the shops.

Available online at lpo.org.uk/recordings-and-gifts or LpO Ticket Office (020 7840 4242)


Sound FutureS donorS

We are grateful to the following donors for their generous contributions to our Sound Futures campaign. Thanks to their support, we successfully raised £1 million by 30 April 2015 which has now been matched pound for pound by Arts Council England through a Catalyst Endowment grant. This has enabled us to create a £2 million endowment fund supporting special artistic projects, creative programming and education work with key venue partners including our Southbank Centre home. Supporters listed below donated £500 or over. For a full list of those who have given to this campaign please visit lpo.org.uk/soundfutures.

Masur CircleArts Council EnglandDunard FundVictoria Robey OBEEmmanuel & Barrie RomanThe Underwood Trust

Welser-Möst CircleWilliam & Alex de Winton John Ireland Charitable TrustThe Tsukanov Family FoundationNeil Westreich

Tennstedt CircleValentina & Dmitry Aksenov Richard BuxtonThe Candide TrustMichael & Elena KroupeevKirby Laing FoundationMr & Mrs MakharinskyAlexey & Anastasia ReznikovichSimon RobeyBianca & Stuart RodenSimon & Vero TurnerThe late Mr K Twyman

Solti patronsAgeas John & Manon AntoniazziGabor Beyer, through BTO

Management Consulting AGJon ClaydonMrs Mina Goodman & Miss

Suzanne GoodmanRoddy & April GowThe Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris

Charitable Trust Mr James R.D. KornerChristoph Ladanyi & Dr Sophia

Ladanyi-CzerninRobert Markwick & Kasia RobinskiThe Maurice Marks Charitable TrustMr Paris Natar

The Rothschild FoundationTom & Phillis SharpeThe Viney Family

haitink patronsMark & Elizabeth AdamsDr Christopher AldrenMrs Pauline BaumgartnerLady Jane BerrillMr Frederick BrittendenDavid & Yi Yao BuckleyMr Clive ButlerGill & Garf CollinsMr John H CookMr Alistair CorbettBruno de KegelGeorgy DjaparidzeDavid EllenChristopher Fraser OBE & Lisa FraserDavid & Victoria Graham FullerGoldman Sachs InternationalMr Gavin GrahamMoya GreeneMrs Dorothy HambletonTony & Susie HayesMalcolm HerringCatherine Høgel & Ben MardleMrs Philip KanRehmet Kassim-Lakha de MorixeRose & Dudley LeighLady Roslyn Marion LyonsMiss Jeanette MartinDuncan Matthews QCDiana & Allan Morgenthau

Charitable TrustDr Karen MortonMr Roger PhillimoreRuth RattenburyThe Reed FoundationThe Rind FoundationSir Bernard RixDavid Ross & Line Forestier (Canada)

Carolina & Martin SchwabDr Brian SmithLady Valerie SoltiMr & Mrs G SteinDr Peter StephensonMiss Anne StoddartTFS Loans LimitedLady Marina Vaizey Jenny WatsonGuy & Utti Whittaker

pritchard DonorsRalph & Elizabeth Aldwinckle Mrs Arlene BeareMr Patrick & Mrs Joan BennerMr Conrad BlakeyDr Anthony BucklandPaul CollinsAlastair CrawfordMr Derek B. GrayMr Roger GreenwoodThe HA.SH FoundationDarren & Jennifer Holmes Honeymead Arts TrustMr Geoffrey KirkhamDrs Frank & Gek LimPeter MaceMr & Mrs David MalpasDr David McGibneyMichael & Patricia McLaren-TurnerMr & Mrs Andrew NeillMr Christopher QuereeThe Rosalyn & Nicholas Springer

Charitable TrustTimothy Walker AMChristopher WilliamsPeter Wilson SmithMr Anthony Yolland

and all other donors who wish to remain anonymous


We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas beecham group patrons, principal benefactors and benefactors:

Thomas beecham group

The Tsukanov Family Foundation

Neil Westreich

William and Alex de Winton Mrs Philip Kan* Simon Robey Victoria Robey OBE Bianca & Stuart Roden Laurence Watt

Anonymous Jon Claydon Garf & Gill Collins* Andrew Davenport Mrs Sonja Drexler David & Victoria Graham Fuller The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust Mr & Mrs Makharinsky Geoff & Meg Mann Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp Julian & Gill Simmonds* Eric Tomsett The Viney Family

John & Manon Antoniazzi Jane Attias David Goldstone CBE LLB FRICS John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker

* BrightSparks Patrons: instead of supporting a chair in the Orchestra, these donors have chosen to support our series of schools’ concerts.

principal benefactorsMark & Elizabeth AdamsDavid & Yi Yao BuckleyDesmond & Ruth CecilMr John H CookMr Bruno de KegelDavid EllenMr Daniel GoldsteinDrs Frank & Gek LimPeter MacDonald EggersDr Eva Lotta & Mr Thierry SciardMr & Mrs David Malpas Virginia SlaymakerMr & Mrs G SteinMr & Mrs John C TuckerMr & Mrs John & Susi UnderwoodLady Marina VaizeyGrenville & Krysia WilliamsMr Anthony Yolland

benefactorsMr Geoffrey BatemanMrs A BeareMs Molly BorthwickDavid & Patricia BuckMrs Alan CarringtonMr & Mrs Stewart CohenMr Alistair CorbettMr Timothy Fancourt QCMr Richard FernyhoughMr Gavin GrahamWim and Jackie Hautekiet-ClareTony & Susan HayesMr Daniel Heaf and Ms Amanda HillMichael & Christine HenryMalcolm Herring

J. Douglas HomeIvan HurryMr Glenn HurstfieldPer JonssonMr Gerald LevinWg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAFPaul & Brigitta LockMr Peter MaceMs Ulrike ManselMr Robert Markwick and Ms Kasia Robinski Mr Brian MarshAndrew T MillsDr Karen MortonMr & Mrs Andrew Neill Mr James PickfordMr Michael PosenAlexey & Anastasia ReznikovichMr Konstantin SorokinMartin and Cheryl SouthgateMr Peter TausigSimon and Charlotte WarshawHoward & Sheelagh WatsonDes & Maggie WhitelockChristopher WilliamsBill Yoe

and others who wish to remainanonymous

hon. benefactorElliott Bernerd

hon. Life MembersKenneth Goode Carol Colburn Grigor CBE Pehr G GyllenhammarMrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

The generosity of our Sponsors, Corporate Members, supporters and donors is gratefully acknowledged:

Corporate Members

Silver: Accenture BerenbergCarter-Ruck We are AD

bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLPBTO Management Consulting AGCharles Russell SpeechlysLazardRusso-British Chamber of Commerce Willis Towers Watson

preferred partners Corinthia Hotel London Heineken Lindt & Sprüngli LtdSipsmith Steinway Villa Maria

In-kind SponsorGoogle Inc

Trusts and Foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Axis Foundation The Bernarr Rainbow Trust The Boltini TrustBorletti-Buitoni TrustThe Candide Trust Cockayne – Grants for the Arts The D’Oyly Carte Charitable TrustDunard FundThe Equitable Charitable Trust The Foyle FoundationLucille Graham TrustThe Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris

Charitable TrustHelp Musicians UK The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The Leverhulme Trust The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group FoundationLord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian TrustAdam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet Trust

The Ann and Frederick O’BrienCharitable Trust

Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs ofthe Embassy of Spain in London

The Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust The Stanley Picker Trust The Radcliffe TrustRivers Foundation The R K Charitable TrustRVW Trust Schroder Charity TrustSerge Rachmaninoff Foundation The David Solomons Charitable Trust Souter Charitable Trust The John Thaw FoundationThe Tillett Trust UK Friends of the Felix-Mendelssohn-

Bartholdy-Foundation The Viney FamilyGarfield Weston FoundationThe Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust

and all others who wish to remain anonymous


Administration

board of DirectorsVictoria Robey OBE Chairman Stewart McIlwham* President Gareth Newman* Vice-PresidentDr Manon Antoniazzi Roger BarronRichard Brass Desmond Cecil CMG Jonathan Harris CBE FRICS Amanda Hill Dr Catherine C. Høgel Rachel Masters* George Peniston* Kevin Rundell* Natasha Tsukanova Mark Vines*Timothy Walker AM Laurence WattNeil Westreich David Whitehouse** Player-Director

Advisory CouncilVictoria Robey OBE Chairman Christopher Aldren Richard Brass David Buckley Sir Alan Collins KCVO CMG Andrew Davenport Jonathan Dawson William de Winton Cameron Doley Edward Dolman Christopher Fraser OBE Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE Rehmet Kassim-Lakha Jamie Korner Clive Marks OBE FCA Stewart McIlwham Sir Bernard Rix Baroness ShackletonLord Sharman of Redlynch OBE Thomas Sharpe QC Julian Simmonds Barry Smith Martin SouthgateSir Philip Thomas Sir John TooleyChris VineyTimothy Walker AMElizabeth Winter

American Friends of the London philharmonic Orchestra, Inc.Jenny Ireland Co-ChairmanWilliam A. Kerr Co-ChairmanKyung-Wha Chung Xenia HanusiakAlexandra JupinJill Fine MainelliKristina McPhee David Oxenstierna Harvey M. Spear, Esq.Danny Lopez Hon. ChairmanNoel Kilkenny Hon. DirectorVictoria Robey OBE Hon. DirectorRichard Gee, Esq Of Counsel Jenifer L. Keiser, CPA,EisnerAmper LLP

Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Amy SugarmanPA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

Finance

David BurkeGeneral Manager and Finance Director

David GreensladeFinance and IT Manager

Dayse GuilhermeFinance Officer

Concert Management

Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

Graham WoodConcerts and Recordings Manager

Jenny Chadwick Tours Manager

Tamzin Aitken Glyndebourne and UK Engagements Manager

Alison JonesConcerts and Recordings Co-ordinator

Jo CotterTours Co-ordinator Orchestra personnel

Andrew CheneryOrchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah Holmes Sarah ThomasLibrarians ( job-share)

Christopher AldertonStage Manager

Damian Davis Transport Manager

Madeleine Ridout Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Education and Community

Isabella Kernot Education Director (maternity leave)

Clare Lovett Education Director (maternity cover)

Talia LashEducation and Community Project Manager

Lucy SimsEducation and Community Project Manager

Richard MallettEducation and Community Producer

Development

Nick JackmanDevelopment Director

Catherine Faulkner Development Events Manager

Kathryn HagemanIndividual Giving Manager

Laura Luckhurst Corporate Relations Manager

Anna Quillin Trusts and Foundations Manager

Rebecca FoggDevelopment Co-ordinator

Helen Yang Development Assistant

Kirstin PeltonenDevelopment Associate

Marketing

Kath TroutMarketing Director

Libby Northcote-GreenMarketing Manager

Rachel WilliamsPublications Manager

Samantha CleverleyBox Office Manager(Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Anna O’ConnorMarketing Co-ordinator

Natasha Berg Marketing Intern

Digital projects

Alison Atkinson Digital Projects Director

Matthew Freeman Recordings Consultant public Relations

Albion Media (Tel: 020 3077 4930) Archives

Philip StuartDiscographer

Gillian Pole Recordings Archive professional Services

Charles Russell SpeechlysSolicitors

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLPAuditors

Dr Louise MillerHonorary Doctor

London philharmonic Orchestra89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TPTel: 020 7840 4200Box Office: 020 7840 4242Email: [email protected]

The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.

Photograph of Gershwin © ClassicStock/Alamy. Photograph of Rachmaninoff courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London. Front cover photograph: Ilyoung Chae, First Violin © Benjamin Ealovega. Cover design/ art direction: Ross Shaw @ JMG Studio.

Printed by Cantate.

Documents

London Philharmonic Orchestra 5 February 2016 concert programme