LPO Programme notes 18 March 2011

JTI FRIDAY SERIES

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALLFriday 18 March 2011 | 7.30pm

VLADIMIR JUROWSKIconductor

EMANUEL AX piano

PROKOFIEVSuite from ‘The Love for Three Oranges’ (15’)

STRAVINSKYCapriccio for piano and orchestra (17’)

INTERVAL

HAYDNPiano Concerto in D (19’)

SHOSTAKOVICHSymphony No. 6 in B minor (30’)

PROGRAMME £3

CONTENTS

2 List of Players3 Orchestra History4 Leader5 Vladimir Jurowski6 Emanuel Ax7 JTI8 Programme Notes12 Southbank Centre13 Supporters14 Recordings15 Administration16 Future Concerts

The timings shown are not preciseand are given only as a guide.

Principal Conductor VLADIMIR JUROWSKIPrincipal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUINLeader PIETER SCHOEMANComposer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSONPatron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KG

Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM†

† supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

57693 LPO 18 Mar 2011_57693 LPO 18 Mar 2011 11/03/2011 15:24 Page 1

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINSPieter Schoeman* LeaderVesselin Gellev Sub-LeaderChair supported byJohn and Angela Kessler

Katerina MitchellKatalin VarnagyCatherine CraigThomas EisnerTina GruenbergMartin HöhmannChair supported byRichard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey LynnRobert PoolSarah StreatfeildYang ZhangRebecca ShorrockPeter NallGalina TanneyJoanne Chen

SECOND VIOLINSClare Duckworth PrincipalChair supported by Richard and Victoria Sharp

Jeongmin KimJoseph MaherNancy ElanFiona HighamNynke HijlkemaAshley StevensSioni WilliamsHeather BadkePeter GrahamStephen StewartMila MustakovaSheila LawElizabeth Baldey

VIOLASAlexander Zemtsov* PrincipalChair supported by The Tsukanov Family

Robert DuncanJanis LielbardisKatharine LeekSusanne MartensBenedetto PollaniEmmanuella Reiter-BootimanLaura VallejoDaniel CornfordIsabel PereiraMichelle BruilNaomi Holt

CELLOSKristina Blaumane PrincipalSusanne Beer Co-PrincipalFrancis BucknallLaura DonoghueJonathan AylingChair supported by Caroline,Jamie and Zander Sharp

Santiago Sabino Carvalho+

Gregory WalmsleySue SutherleySusanna RiddellTom Roff

DOUBLE BASSESKevin Rundell* PrincipalTim Gibbs Co-PrincipalLaurence LovelleGeorge PenistonRichard LewisKenneth KnussenTom WalleyJoe Melvin

FLUTESSue Thomas* PrincipalEilidh Gillespie

PICCOLOStewart McIlwham* Principal

OBOESIan Hardwick PrincipalTom Barber

COR ANGLAISSue Bohling PrincipalChair supported byJulian and Gill Simmonds

CLARINETSRobert Hill* PrincipalNicholas CarpenterKatie Lockhart

E FLAT CLARINETNicholas Carpenter Principal

BASS CLARINETPaul Richards Principal

BASSOONSJohn Price PrincipalGareth Newman*

CONTRA BASSOONSimon Estell Principal

HORNSAbel Pereira Guest PrincipalMartin HobbsMarcus BatesGareth MollisonAlistair Rycroft

TRUMPETSPaul Beniston* PrincipalDaniel NewellNicholas Betts Co-PrincipalRobin Totterdell

TROMBONESMark Templeton* PrincipalDavid Whitehouse

BASS TROMBONELyndon Meredith Principal

TUBALee Tsarmaklis Principal

TIMPANISimon Carrington* Principal

PERCUSSIONRachel Gledhill PrincipalAndrew Barclay* Co-PrincipalChair supported byAndrew Davenport

Keith Millar Ignacio Mollins

HARPSRachel Masters* PrincipalHelen Sharp

CELESTECatherine Edwards

ASSISTANT CONDUCTORThomas Blunt

* Holds a professorialappointment in London

+ Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Chair SupportersThe London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are notpresent at this concert:

David and Victoria Graham FullerGeoff and Meg Mann


London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3


Patrick Harrison

Seventy-eight years after Sir Thomas Beecham foundedthe London Philharmonic Orchestra, it is recognisedtoday as one of the finest orchestras on the internationalstage. Following Beecham’s influential founding tenurethe Orchestra’s Principal Conductorship has been passedfrom one illustrious musician to another, amongst themSir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, KlausTennstedt and Kurt Masur. This impressive traditioncontinued in September 2007 when Vladimir Jurowskibecame the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor and, in afurther exciting move, the Orchestra appointed YannickNézet-Séguin its new Principal Guest Conductor fromSeptember 2008.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performingat Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it openedin 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It playsthere around 40 times each season with many of theworld’s most sought after conductors and soloists.Concert highlights in 2010/11 include an exploration ofMahler’s symphonies and complete song cycles duringthe composer’s anniversary season; the premières ofworks by Matteo D’Amico, Magnus Lindberg and BrettDean; a rare opportunity to hear Rossini’s opera Aurelianoin Palmira in collaboration with long term partner OperaRara; and works by the Orchestra’s new Composer inResidence, Julian Anderson.

In addition to its London season and a series of concertsat Wigmore Hall, the Orchestra has flourishing

residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performsregularly around the UK. It is unique in combining theseconcert activities with esteemed opera performanceseach summer at Glyndebourne Festival Opera where ithas been the Resident Symphony Orchestra since 1964.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs toenthusiastic audiences all round the world. In 1956 itbecame the first British orchestra to appear in SovietRussia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by aWestern orchestra. Touring continues to form asignificant part of the Orchestra’s schedule and issupported by Aviva, the International Touring Partner ofthe London Philharmonic Orchestra. Tours in 2010/11include visits to Finland, Germany, South Korea, Spain,France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Having long been embraced by the recording,broadcasting and film industries, the LondonPhilharmonic Orchestra broadcasts regularly on domesticand international television and radio. It also works withthe Hollywood and UK film industries, recordingsoundtracks for blockbuster motion pictures includingthe Oscar-winning score for The Lord of the Rings trilogyand scores for Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission,Philadelphia and East is East.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its firstrecordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after itsfirst public performance. It has recorded and broadcast


In 2002, Pieter Schoemanjoined the LondonPhilharmonic Orchestraas Co-Leader. He was appointed Leader in 2008.

Born in South Africa, he made his solo debut with theCape Town Symphony Orchestra at the age of ten. Hestudied with Jack de Wet in South Africa, winningnumerous competitions, including the 1984 World YouthConcerto Competition in America. In 1987 he was offeredthe Heifetz Chair of Music scholarship to study withEduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and in 1991 his talentwas spotted by Pinchas Zukerman who recommendedthat he move to New York to study with SylviaRosenberg. In 1994 he became her teaching assistant atIndiana University, Bloomington.

Pieter Schoeman has performed as a soloist and recitalistthroughout the world in such famous halls as theConcertgebouw in Amsterdam, Moscow’s RachmaninovHall, Capella Hall in St Petersburg, Staatsbibliothek inBerlin, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and SouthbankCentre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. As a chambermusician he regularly performs at London’s prestigiousWigmore Hall. As a soloist with the London PhilharmonicOrchestra, he has performed Arvo Pärt’s Double Concertowith Boris Garlitsky and Benjamin Britten’s DoubleConcerto with Alexander Zemtsov, which was recordedand released on the Orchestra’s own record label to greatcritical acclaim. Last October he performed the BrahmsDouble Concerto with Kristina Blaumane.

In 1995 Pieter Schoeman became Co-Leader of theOrchestre Philharmonique de Nice. Since then he hasperformed frequently as Guest Leader with thesymphony orchestras of Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon andBaltimore as well as the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Thisseason he has been invited to lead the RotterdamPhilharmonic Orchestra on several occasions.

Pieter Schoeman has recorded numerous violin soloswith the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Chandos,Opera Rara, Naxos, X5, the BBC and for American filmand television. He led the Orchestra in its soundtrackrecordings for The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

He teaches at Trinity College of Music in London.


PIETERSCHOEMANLEADER

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regularly ever since, and in 2005 established its ownrecord label. The recordings on its own label are takenmainly from live concerts given with distinguishedconductors over the years including the Orchestra’sPrincipal Conductors from Beecham and Boult, throughHaitink, Solti and Tennstedt, to Masur and Jurowski.

Recent additions to the catalogue have includedacclaimed releases of Christmas choral music conductedby Vladimir Jurowski, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6conducted by Christoph Eschenbach, Verdi’s Requiemconducted by Jesús López-Cobos, Holst’s The Planetsconducted by Vladimir Jurowski and Elgar’s SymphonyNo. 1 and Sea Pictures with Vernon Handley and JanetBaker. The Orchestra’s own-label CDs are also widelyavailable to download. Visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop for thelatest releases.

The Orchestra reaches thousands of Londoners throughits rich programme of community and school-basedactivity in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, whichincludes the offshoot ensembles Renga and The Band, itsFoyle Future Firsts apprenticeship scheme foroutstanding young instrumentalists, and regular familyand schools concerts.

To help maintain its high standards and diverse workload,the Orchestra is committed to the welfare of itsmusicians and in December 2007 received theAssociation of British Orchestras/Musicians BenevolentFund Healthy Orchestra Bronze Charter Mark.

There are many ways to experience and stay in touchwith the Orchestra’s activities: visit www.lpo.org.uk,subscribe to our podcast series, download our iPhoneapplication and join us on Facebook and Twitter.

‘ … a simply tremendous performance ofMahler’s 3rd Symphony … Jurowski and hisplayers plunged us into a winter ofdiscontent so profoundly expectant thateven the inveterate coughers were silenced.’EDWARD SECKERSON, THE INDEPENDENT, 23 SEPTEMBER 2010



VLADIMIR JUROWSKICONDUCTOR

Born in Moscow, the son of conductor Mikhail Jurowski,Vladimir Jurowski completed the first part of hismusical studies at the Music College of the MoscowConservatory. In 1990 he relocated with his family toGermany where he continued his studies in Dresdenand Berlin, studying conducting with Rolf Reuter andvocal coaching with Semion Skigin. In 1995 he made hisinternational debut at the Wexford Festival, where heconducted Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night. The same yearsaw his brilliant debut at the Royal Opera House CoventGarden in Nabucco. In 1996 he joined the ensemble ofKomische Oper Berlin, becoming First Kapellmeister in1997 and continuing to work at the Komische Oper on apermanent basis until 2001.

Since 1997 Vladimir Jurowski has been a guest at someof the world’s leading musical institutions including theRoyal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro La Fenice diVenezia, Opéra Bastille de Paris, Théâtre de la MonnaieBruxelles, Maggio Musicale Festival Florence, RossiniOpera Festival Pesaro, Edinburgh Festival, SemperoperDresden and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (where heserved as Principal Guest Conductor between 2000 and2003). In 1999 he made his debut at the MetropolitanOpera New York with Rigoletto.

In January 2001 Vladimir Jurowski took up the positionof Music Director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera and in2003 was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming theOrchestra’s Principal Conductor in September 2007. Healso holds the title of Principal Artist of the Orchestra ofthe Age of Enlightenment, and from 2005 to 2009served as Principal Guest Conductor of the RussianNational Orchestra with whom he will continue to workin the years ahead.

Vladimir Jurowski is a regular guest with many of theworld’s leading orchestras including the BerlinPhilharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw,Bavarian Radio Symphony, Dresden Staatskapelle, LosAngeles Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras aswell as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Highlights ofthe 2010/11 season and beyond include his debuts withthe Vienna Philharmonic, Cleveland, San FranciscoSymphony and Mahler Chamber Orchestras, and returnvisits to the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra ofEurope, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, StPetersburg Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestras.

His operatic engagements have included Jenůfa, TheQueen of Spades and Hänsel und Gretel at theMetropolitan Opera, Parsifal and Wozzeck at WelshNational Opera, War and Peace at the Opéra National deParis, Eugene Onegin at La Scala Milan, as well as DieZauberflöte, La Cenerentola, Otello, Macbeth, Falstaff,Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, The Rake’s Progress andPeter Eötvös’ Love and Other Demons at GlyndebourneOpera. Future engagements include new productions ofDie Meistersinger and The Cunning Little Vixen atGlyndebourne, Die Frau ohne Schatten at theMetropolitan Opera, Russlan and Ludmila at the BolshoiTheatre, and Iolanta at the Dresden Semperoper.

Jurowski’s discography includes the first ever recordingof Giya Kancheli’s cantata Exil for ECM (1994), L’Étoile duNord by Meyerbeer for Naxos-Marco Polo (1996), andWerther for BMG (1999) as well as live recordings ofworks by Rachmaninov, Turnage, Tchaikovsky, Britten,Brahms and Shostakovich on the London PhilharmonicOrchestra’s own label, and Prokofiev’s Betrothal in aMonastery on Glyndebourne Opera’s own label. He alsorecords for PentaTone with the Russian NationalOrchestra, with releases to date including Tchaikovsky’sSuite No. 3 and Stravinsky’s Divertimento from Le Baiserde la fée, Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 6,Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 and Tchaikovsky’s HamletIncidental Music. Glyndebourne have released DVDrecordings of his performances of La Cenerentola, GianniSchicchi, Die Fledermaus and Rachmaninov’s The MiserlyKnight, and other recent DVD releases include Hänselund Gretel from the Metropolitan Opera New York, andhis first concert as the London Philharmonic Orchestra’sPrincipal Conductor featuring works by Wagner, Bergand Mahler (released by Medici Arts).

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EMANUEL AXPIANO

Emanuel Ax is renowned not only for his poetictemperament and unsurpassed virtuosity, but also forthe exceptional breadth of his performing activity. Eachseason his engagements include appearances withmajor symphony orchestras worldwide, recitals in themost celebrated concert halls, a variety of chambermusic collaborations, the commissioning andperformance of new music, and additions to hisacclaimed discography on Sony Classical.

He first captured public attention in 1974 when, at theage of 25, he won the first Arthur RubinsteinInternational Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. Five yearslater he took the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in New York.He has been an exclusive Sony Classical artist since1987, making his debut on that label with a collectionof Chopin scherzos and mazurkas. His recent releasesinclude Mendelssohn’s piano trios with Itzhak Perlmanand Yo-Yo Ma, period-instrument performances ofChopin’s complete works for piano and orchestra withthe Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under SirCharles Mackerras, and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2with Bernard Haitink and the Boston SymphonyOrchestra. Other notable recordings are the Grammy-award winning albums of Haydn piano sonatas andBeethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano withYo-Yo Ma.

Highlights of the current season include return visits tothe Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, LondonPhilharmonic and Orchestre de Paris and performancesof both Brahms piano concertos with the ChamberOrchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink at theLucerne Piano Festival and BBC Proms. In addition heperforms a number of recitals focussed on the music ofSchubert in London, Germany, Italy and Spain which

culminate in a series of three at Lincoln Center, NewYork.

In recognition of the bicentenaries of Chopin andSchumann in 2010 and in partnership with London’sBarbican, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall,the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San FranciscoSymphony, Emanuel Ax commissioned new works fromcomposers Thomas Adès, Peter Lieberman and StephenPrutsman for three recital programmes presented ineach of those cities with colleagues Yo-Yo Ma and DawnUpshaw.

In addition to this large-scale project, recent tours haveincluded performances in Asia with the New YorkPhilharmonic on their first tour with Music Director AlanGilbert and European tours with the Chamber Orchestraof Europe and James Conlon and the Budapest FestivalOrchestra and Ivan Fischer. Other recent engagementsinclude his collaboration with the Mark Morris DanceGroup, playing Mozart piano concertos in a series ofperformances in New York, London and Vienna.

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg,Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Hisstudies at the Juilliard School were supported bysponsorship from the Epstein Scholarship Program ofthe Boys Clubs of America and he subsequently won theYoung Concert Artists Award. His piano teacher wasMieczylaw Munz. He also attended Columbia Universitywhere he majored in French. In 2007 he was made anHonorary Doctor of Music at Yale University and in 2008he received an Honorary Degree from Columbia.

He lives in New York with his wife, the pianist YokoNozaki. They have two children, Joseph and Sarah.

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The London Philharmonic Orchestra has maintained accessible ticket prices for its Friday concerts for more than half a century. Our support of the ‘JTI Friday Series’ ensures it can continue to do so. JTI is driven by the creativity of 25,000 diverse, enquiring minds made up of 90 nationalities. Imagine the potential.

www.jti.com



Carlo Goldoni, the 18th-century Venetian playwright,had an accomplished rival in Carlo Gozzi (1720-1806),who sought to uphold the commedia dell’arte traditionin opposition to the new French ideas that wereinfluencing the Italian theatre. In one of his dramaticfairy tales, The Love for Three Oranges, Gozzi turned anItalian fable into a witty lampoon against Goldoni. Acentury and a half later, in 1914, a group of Russiandramatists seized on Gozzi’s play as a means ofsatirising the contemporary Russian theatre andpublished an adapted version of it. This appealed to theyoung Prokofiev as a subject for an opera, and he wasworking on it when he arrived in America for the firsttime in 1918. The Chicago Opera agreed to produce thework, which received a delayed first performance on 30 December 1921 with the composer conducting. Setto brilliantly scored music, it is a cheerfully crazyoperatic pantomime about a prince’s search for three

magic oranges. The orchestral suite, which Prokofievarranged in 1924, has six movements.

The Odd Fellows begins with the opening of the operaand continues with the music that accompanies theactivities of ‘Ten Reasonable Spectators’, a motley crewwho occupy a stage box, criticise the show and atcrucial moments invade the stage.

In the next number while Fata Morgana, a witch, plays acard game with the King’s magician, some little devilsperform their dance. The King’s son is a melancholyhypochondriac who can be saved only if he is made tolaugh. Theatrical festivities are arranged for thispurpose, and Truffaldino, the sorrowful Prince’s servant,conducts his master to them. Their eccentric March, theopera’s most famous number, continues as an interludebefore the next scene.

PROGRAMME NOTES

SUITE FROM ‘THE LOVE FOR THREE ORANGES’

The Odd Fellows | Infernal Scene | March | Scherzo | The Prince and Princess | The Flight

SPEEDREAD

Prokofiev made a delightfully crazy opera out of adramatic fable by the 18th-century Italian playwrightCarlo Gozzi. For the concert hall he compiled theorchestral suite that opens this evening’s concert. Theeccentric march, which provides the third of sixmovements, is one of Prokofiev’s most popular andtypical numbers.

Stravinsky was at his most zestful and witty when hecomposed his Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. Beingfond of the Hungarian cimbalom, he wrote some of thepiano part in the middle movement as if for thatinstrument.

Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D quickly became one of hisinternational hits. It was typical of him in sporty vein tomake much of a simple three-note figure in the firstmovement. Another simple theme is the basis of theeloquent slow movement. The lively finale is labelled asHungarian style but is actually based on a Bosnian dance.

Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony starts with a broodingbut not ultimately despairing Largo. A fantastic andperhaps ambiguous scherzo follows. The finale is a high-spirited rondo in the vein that Prokofiev successfullyexploited, and all seems to be boisterous joy at the end.

© Eric Mason

SergeiPROKOFIEV

1891-1953



PROGRAMME NOTES

When the Prince at last bursts into laughter at the sightof the witch’s bloomers, she puts a curse on him. He isto fall in love with three oranges and travel the worlduntil he finds them. Pausing on their journey across adesert, the Prince and Truffaldino encounter Farfarello, alittle devil with a pair of bellows, who wafts them ontheir way to the strains of the Scherzo.

Three giant oranges are discovered and prove to containprincesses. The first two quickly die of thirst, but thethird and most beautiful princess is saved by the‘Reasonable Spectators’, who produce a bucket of water.

Prince and Princess declare their love in a scene fromwhich the fifth movement of the suite is drawn.

Finally, the conspirators who have tried to rob the Princeof his inheritance are unmasked, the ‘ReasonableSpectators’ doing their bit to banish these evilinfluences. But amid the confusion the witch’s magicproduces a trapdoor, through which the miscreantsmake their escape.

© Eric Mason

Stravinsky was no mean pianist, and he composed theCapriccio for himself to play on concert tours. He gavethe first performance on 6 December 1929 in Paris withErnest Ansermet conducting. The score was revised in1949, mainly to correct errors.

In adopting the title Capriccio the composer had in mindits definition by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) assynonymous with the fantasia, a free form, and heconstructed the work by juxtaposing episodes of variouskinds. He thought Weber’s piano sonatas might haveexerted a spell while he was writing it, and althoughone should not expect this music to sound like anythingbut Stravinsky one might recognise Weber’s influence inthe lightness and brilliance of the piano writing.Another influence is that of Bach, and the orchestracontains, as might a baroque concerto grosso, aconcertino quartet of violin, viola, cello and double-bassseparated from the other strings. The violins are notdivided into firsts and seconds. There are no breaksbetween movements.

Quick rising scales on the full strings contrasted with aslow descent by the concertino group make anintroduction and coda to frame the first movement. Themain body of this movement is a sort of moto perpetuo,at least from the pianist’s point of view. Variants of theintroduction’s scales are added, then the key changesfrom G minor to G major for a passage with piano andflutes in partnership. A short episode for clarinet,bassoon, horn and piano marks the mid-point of themovement, after which an elaborated reprise of the G minor music leads to the coda.

Stravinsky was fond of the cimbalom (the dulcimermuch used in Hungary and Romania) and kept one inParis. He gave up writing for it because good playerswere hard to find, but he conceived some of the pianopart in the slow movement of the Capriccio in cimbalomstyle. The principal F minor theme given out by thewoodwind calls Bach’s arias to mind, the pianosupplying an obbligato. The soloist introduces a newtheme in the F major middle section. Then the first is

CAPRICCIO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA

EMANUEL AX piano

Presto – | Andante rapsodico – | Allegro capriccioso matempo giusto

IgorSTRAVINSKY

1882-1971



PROGRAMME NOTES

recapitulated and a cimbalom-type cadenza (Stravinskycalled it ‘a kind of Romanian restaurant music’) leads tothe finale.

This is another moto perpetuo and is remarkable for itszest and wit. The piano succeeds at its third attempt toget the music going, and then leads the orchestra to a

loud chord that launches the G major Allegro proper.The piano’s lively theme is accompanied by and thenexchanged with a closely related one for the orchestra.The development is brilliant, light and rhythmicallypointed, and the playfulness is maintained to the end.

© Eric Mason

INTERVAL 20 minutes

An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.

Returning to the medium of the concerto after a breakof almost twenty years, Haydn composed two in theearly 1780s, the Cello Concerto in D in 1783 and thisone in the same key ‘For the Harpsichord or Fortepiano’.We do not know the exact date of composition, butmodern research has suggested that a Fräulein vonHartenstein played this concerto at a private concert inVienna on 20 February 1780. What is certain is that theconcerto rapidly became popular internationally; in thecomposer’s own lifetime eight publishers in fivecountries issued it. When Haydn wrote to the Londonpublisher William Forster in April 1787, offering him

various recent works including ‘a big pianoforteconcerto’, he did not know that the concerto hadalready been on sale for some time in rival editions.

The soloist is accompanied by an orchestra of twooboes, two horns and strings, which opens thesubstantial 4/4 Vivace with a succinct exposition of themain thematic ideas. The first subject is typical ofHaydn’s sporty style in having its nimble first phraseanswered by emphatic forzati, and much is to be madelater of three simple notes (D-D-A) at the end of thatopening phrase. A gentler second subject for oboes and

PIANO CONCERTO IN D, HOB.XVIII:2

EMANUEL AX piano

Vivace | Un poco Adagio | Rondo all’Ungherese: Allegroassai

JosephHAYDN

1732-1809



PROGRAMME NOTES

Having been officially denounced in 1936 for‘formalistic perversions’ and the ‘raucous cacophony’ ofhis music, Shostakovich restored himself to the Sovietauthorities’ favour the following year with his FifthSymphony. Shortly afterwards he disclosed that he wasstarting work on a symphony inspired by the characterand ideals of Lenin, but there is no evidence that theSixth Symphony, which was completed in 1939 andreceived its first performance the same year in St Petersburg, has any connection with Lenin. OneSoviet interpretation sees this symphony as reflectingfurther on the subjective problems that underlay theFifth Symphony. This seems to be borne out by theposthumously published Testimony, in which thecomposer reportedly confesses to having been near to

suicide after the denunciation. ‘I came out of the crisisstronger than before, more confident of my ownstrength.’ Some of these thoughts, Shostakovich isreported as saying, can be found in the closing pages ofthe Fourth Symphony and were also in his mind whenwriting the first part of the Sixth.

The symphony’s layout is unusual, beginning with whatwould have been the second movement in aconventional four-movement scheme. This broodingLargo consists of two long sections and a brief reprise.Although the home key is B minor, the movement opensin E minor with an aspiring theme that rises from thedepths and is capped by a new phrase containing a trill.These two ideas recur in various parts of the texture,

SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN B MINOR, OP. 54

Largo | Allegro | Presto

DmitriSHOSTAKOVICH

1906-1975

violins, still in D, leads to more treatment of the firstwith syncopations, another prominent feature of themovement. The pianist enters and elaborates theseideas. A large part of the development exploits thepotential of that D-D-A figure in other major and minorkeys. The recapitulation is followed by what is probablyHaydn’s own piano cadenza, and a five-bar coda neatlyrounds the movement off.

A simple theme constructed from the common chord isthe basis of the eloquent slow movement in A.Introduced by the violins, it is taken up and embellishedby the soloist as if freely rhapsodising. Another simpleidea, a triplet violin figure from the fourth bar, is thesubject of a beautiful, poetic dialogue between pianoand strings in the middle section, which is unexpectedlyin E minor. After a reprise of the first theme and a solocadenza the Adagio closes with another treatment of

the triplet figure, enhanced by the oboes and an octavepedal point on the horns.

Despite the title the main theme of the zestful Rondoall’Ungherese finale is not Hungarian but Bosnian; it isthe 2/4 tune of a round dance called the Siri kolo. Thesoloist introduces it in the orthodox key of D and a fewbars later offers an alternative version in alien E minor.The rondo soon develops both forms into a wild danceincorporating features of folk music. A darker episode inD minor with chains of trills from the piano is offset bya burst of the rondo theme in the major, which in turnleads to an episode with a new subject in B minor. Avaried recapitulation follows. Then brisk antiphonalexchanges between soloist and orchestra bring theconcerto to its end.

© Eric Mason



PROGRAMME NOTES

each giving rise to a different continuation. After thefirst climax the arrival in B minor is marked by therecurrence of the trill phrase on first violins,accompanied by running quavers in the lower strings, apattern derived from the symphony’s first two bars.From the same source comes the first phrase of the coranglais solo that opens the second section. Its risingthird shifts uncertainly between minor and major. Thisfigure then appears in various forms in a forlornenvironment that brings Mahler to mind. Eventually itspurs a solo flute into a florid cadenza suggestive of ahopeful outcome. A horn solo against a shimmeringbackground leads into a succinct summary of themovement.

For second movement Shostakovich offers a brilliantlyscored scherzo of fantastic character. This has prompteddivergent interpretations. Is it vivacious and light-

footed, as one commentator would have it, or biting andsardonic as another hears it? There is a proliferation ofthemes, the principal one being given out at the start byan E flat clarinet. When this theme returns in the latterstages, it is given to the bass clarinet while its inversionappears simultaneously on a flute.

The finale is a high-spirited rondo in a vein thatProkofiev successfully exploited. Its main theme of twostrains proves amenable to inventive variation, and atone point Shostakovich invokes the shade of Rossini.After a noisy central episode with contrasting material asolo violin leads back to the rondo theme. Towards theend Shostakovich enters the circus ring with a rowdybrass transformation of this theme. Can there be anydoubt about the B major gaiety at the close?

© Eric Mason

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LATECOMERS will only be admitted to the auditorium ifthere is a suitable break in the performance

RECORDING is not permitted in the auditorium withoutthe prior consent of Southbank Centre. Southbank Centrereserves the right to confiscate video or sound equipmentand hold it in safekeeping until the performance hasended

MOBILES, PAGERS AND WATCHES should be switchedoff before the performance begins



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

Thomas Beecham GroupMr & Mrs Richard & Victoria SharpJulian & Gill SimmondsThe Tsukanov Family

Garf & Gill CollinsAndrew DavenportDavid & Victoria Graham FullerRichard Karl GoeltzJohn & Angela KesslerMr & Mrs MakharinskyGeoff & Meg MannCaroline, Jamie & Zander SharpEric Tomsett

Guy & Utti Whittaker

Principal BenefactorsMark & Elizabeth AdamsJane AttiasLady Jane BerrillDesmond & Ruth CecilMr John H CookMrs Sonja DrexlerMr Charles DumasDavid EllenCommander Vincent Evans

Mr Daniel GoldsteinMrs Barbara GreenOliver HeatonMr & Mrs Jeffrey HerrmannPeter MacDonald EggersMr & Mrs David MalpasAndrew T MillsMr Maxwell MorrisonMr Michael PosenMr & Mrs Thierry SciardMr John Soderquist & Mr Costas

MichaelidesMr & Mrs G SteinMr & Mrs John C TuckerHoward & Sheelagh WatsonMr Laurie WattMr Anthony Yolland

BenefactorsMrs A BeareDr & Mrs Alan Carrington

CBE FRSMarika Cobbold & Michael

Patchett-JoyceMr & Mrs Stewart CohenMr Alistair CorbettMr David Edgecombe

Mr Richard FernyhoughKen FollettMichael & Christine HenryMr Glenn HurstfieldMr R K JehaMr & Mrs Maurice LambertMr Gerald LevinSheila Ashley LewisWg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard

OBE JP RAFMr Frank LimPaul & Brigitta LockMr Brian MarshJohn MontgomeryEdmund PirouetMr Peter TausigMrs Kazue TurnerLady Marina VaizeyMr D Whitelock

Hon. BenefactorElliott Bernerd

Hon. Life MembersKenneth GoodeMrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

We would like to acknowledge the generous support of the following Thomas Beecham Group Patrons, PrincipalBenefactors and Benefactors:

Corporate MembersAppleyard & Trew llpAREVA UKBritish American BusinessBrown Brothers HarrimanCharles RussellDestination Québec – UKDiagonal ConsultingLazardLeventis OverseasMan Group plcQuébec Government Office in London

Corporate DonorLombard Street Research

In-kind SponsorsGoogle IncHeinekenThe Langham LondonLindt & Sprüngli LtdSela / Tilley’s SweetsVilla Maria

Trusts and FoundationsAllianz Cultural FoundationThe Andor Charitable TrustArts and BusinessRuth Berkowitz Charitable TrustThe Boltini TrustBorletti-Buitoni TrustBritten-Pears FoundationThe Candide Charitable TrustThe John S Cohen FoundationThe Coutts Charitable TrustThe Dorset FoundationThe D’Oyly Carte Charitable TrustDunard FundThe Equitable Charitable TrustThe Eranda FoundationThe Ernest Cook TrustThe Fenton Arts TrustThe Foyle FoundationThe Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris

Charitable TrustCapital Radio’s Help a London ChildThe Idlewild TrustThe Emmanuel Kaye FoundationThe Leverhulme TrustLord and Lady Lurgan TrustMaurice Marks Charitable TrustThe Michael Marks Charitable Trust

Marsh Christian TrustUK Friends of the Felix-

Mendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation

The Mercers’ CompanyAdam Mickiewicz InstitutePaul Morgan Charitable TrustMaxwell Morrison Charitable TrustMusicians Benevolent FundThe R K Charitable TrustSerge Rachmaninoff FoundationThe Reed FoundationThe Rubin FoundationThe Seary Charitable TrustThe Samuel Sebba Charitable TrustSound ConnectionsThe Stansfield TrustThe Steel Charitable TrustThe Bernard Sunley Charitable

FoundationThe Swan TrustJohn Thaw FoundationThe Underwood TrustGarfield Weston FoundationYouth Music

and others who wish to remainanonymous.



RECORDINGS ON THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA’S OWN RECORD LABEL

The recordings may be downloaded in high quality MP3 format from www.lpo.org.uk/shop. CDs may alsobe purchased from all good retail outlets or through the London Philharmonic Orchestra: telephone 0207840 4242 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm) or visit the website www.lpo.org.uk

LPO-0001 Kurt Masur conducts Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 5

‘... displays this orchestra’s excellence ... with some superb soloists, serious classin every department.’CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE

LPO-0028 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 withsoloists Tatiana Monogarova and Sergei Leiferkus as part of Volume 3 of theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Box Sets

‘ ... a wonderfully “felt” performance in the way conductor and orchestraarticulate and sustain this intimate, death-ridden song cycle.’ ANDREW CLARK, FINANCIAL TIMES, 27 OCTOBER 2007

This volume features four CDs by the Orchestra’s most recent PrincipalConductors: Klaus Tennstedt (Beethoven Symphony No. 9), Franz Welser-Möst (Strauss, Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner), Kurt Masur (ShostakovichSymphonies Nos 1 and 5) and Vladimir Jurowski (Shostakovich SymphonyNo. 14 as above).

LPO-0034 Bernard Haitink conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10

‘Haitink’s long-term vision of the music’s organic development comes acrosscompellingly in this live recording.’GEOFFREY NORRIS, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, 23 AUGUST 2008

LPO-0051 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of ourSaviour on the Cross with Lisa Milne, Ruxandra Donose, Andrew Kennedy,Christopher Maltman and the London Philharmonic Choir

‘This meld of orchestra, chorus and soloists is moving and magnificent, in bothidea and execution.’MICHAEL CHURCH, THE INDEPENDENT, 28 JANUARY 2011



ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Martin HöhmannChairmanStewart McIlwhamVice-ChairmanSue BohlingSimon CarringtonLord Currie*Jonathan Dawson*Anne McAneneyGeorge PenistonSir Bernard Rix*Kevin RundellSir Philip Thomas*Sir John Tooley*The Rt Hon. Lord Wakeham DL*Timothy Walker AM †*Non-Executive Directors

THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC TRUST

Pehr Gyllenhammar ChairmanDesmond Cecil CMGRichard Karl GoeltzJonathan Harris CBE FRICSDr Catherine C. HøgelMartin HöhmannAngela KesslerClive Marks OBE FCAVictoria SharpJulian SimmondsTimothy Walker AM †Laurence Watt

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THELONDON PHILHARMONICORCHESTRA, INC.

We are very grateful to theBoard of the American Friendsof the London PhilharmonicOrchestra for its support ofthe Orchestra’s activities inthe USA.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Charles RussellSolicitors

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLPAuditors

Dr Louise MillerHonorary Doctor

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Timothy Walker AM †Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Alison AtkinsonDigital Projects Manager

FINANCE

David BurkeGeneral Manager andFinance Director

David GreensladeFinance and IT Manager

CONCERT MANAGEMENT

Roanna ChandlerConcerts Director

Ruth SansomArtistic Administrator

Graham WoodConcerts, Recordings andGlyndebourne Manager

Alison JonesConcerts Co-ordinator

Jenny ChadwickTours and EngagementsManager

Jo OrrPA to the Executive / Concerts Assistant

Matthew FreemanRecordings Consultant

EDUCATION ANDCOMMUNITY PROGRAMME

Patrick BaileyEducation and CommunityDirector

Anne FindlayEducation Officer

Caz ValeCommunity Officer

Richard MallettEducation and Community Producer

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

Andrew CheneryOrchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah ThomasLibrarian

Michael PattisonStage Manager

Camilla BeggAssistant Orchestra PersonnelManager

Ken Graham TruckingInstrument Transportation(Tel: 01737 373305)

DEVELOPMENT

Nick JackmanDevelopment Director

Harriet MesherCharitable Giving Manager

Phoebe RouseCorporate Relations Manager

Melissa Van EmdenEvents Manager

Laura ElliotCorporate Relations and Events Officer

Elisenda AyatsDevelopment and FinanceOfficer

MARKETING

Kath TroutMarketing Director

Ellie DragonettiMarketing Manager

Helen BoddyMarketing Co-ordinator

Frances CookPublications Manager

Samantha KendallBox Office Administrator(Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Ed WestonIntern

Valerie BarberPress Consultant(Tel: 020 7586 8560)

ARCHIVES

Edmund PirouetConsultant

Philip StuartDiscographer

Gillian PoleRecordings Archive


89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TPTel: 020 7840 4200Fax: 020 7840 4201Box Office: 020 7840 4242

www.lpo.org.ukVisit the website for fulldetails of LondonPhilharmonic Orchestraactivities.

The London PhilharmonicOrchestra Limited is aregistered charity No. 238045.

Photographs of Prokofiev,Haydn, Stravinsky andShostakovich courtesy of theRoyal College of Music,London.

Photograph on the front cover by Karen Robinson.

Programmes printed by Cantate.

†Supported by Macquarie Group



FUTURE CONCERTSAT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

THE THOMAS BEECHAM GROUP CONCERTSaturday 19 March 2011 | 7.30pm

Julian Anderson The Crazed MoonBeethoven Violin ConcertoTchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

Vladimir Jurowski conductorChristian Tetzlaff violin

Wednesday 23 March 2011 | 7.30pm

Brett Dean Komarov’s Fall (London première)John Adams Dr Atomic SymphonyHolst The Planets

Marin Alsop conductorLondon Philharmonic Choir

Saturday 26 March 2011 | 7.30pm

Elgar The Dream of Gerontius

Edward Gardner conductorChristine Rice mezzo sopranoPaul Groves tenorAlastair Miles bassLondon Philharmonic ChoirChoir of Clare College, Cambridge

6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert EventRoyal Festival HallEdward Gardner talks about Elgar’s The Dream ofGerontius.

Saturday 16 April 2011 | 7.30pm

Liszt Nocturnal Procession and Mephisto Waltz No. 1Dvořák Cello ConcertoTchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 (Little Russian)

Vladimir Jurowski conductorAlban Gerhardt cello

MAHLER ANNIVERSARYWednesday 20 April 2011 | 7.30pm

Mahler Suite from the Orchestral Works of JS BachShostakovich Violin Concerto No. 2Webern Five Movements, Op. 5Beethoven String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 (arrangedfor string orchestra by Mahler)

Vladimir Jurowski conductorJanine Jansen violin

6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert EventRoyal Festival HallSurrey University music lecturer Jeremy Barhamdiscusses ‘Pasts and Futures: Mahler the arrangerrethinks history’.

Barlines – FREE Post-Concert EventLevel 2 Foyer at Royal Festival HallAn informal discussion with Vladimir Jurowski followingthe evening’s performance.

TO BOOKTickets £9-£38 | Premium seats £55

London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office020 7840 4242 | www.lpo.org.ukMon-Fri 10am-5pm; no booking fee

Southbank Centre Ticket Office | 0844 847 9920www.southbankcentre.co.uk/lpoDaily, 9am-8pm. £2.75 telephone / £1.75 online bookingfees; no fee for Southbank Centre members

Vladimir Jurowskiand ChristianTetzlaff

Marin Alsop andEdward Gardner

Vladimir Jurowskiand Alban Gerhardt


Documents

LPO Programme notes 18 March 2011