ROBERTSON CONDUCTS

SCHUMANN 3 & 4

TEA & SYMPHONY

Friday 20 February 2015

GREAT CLASSICS

Saturday 21 February 2015

concert diary

Discover BeethovenBEETHOVEN Symphony No.2

Richard Gill conductor SSO Sinfonia

DownerTenix Discovery

Tue 24 Feb 6.30pmCity Recital Hall Angel Place

Beethoven NineBRUCKNER Christus factus est – Motet, WAB 11 BERG Act III of Wozzeck BEETHOVEN Symphony No.9 (Choral)

David Robertson conductor

Miriam Gordon-Stewart, Michelle DeYoung, Simon O’Neill, Peter Coleman-WrightSydney Philharmonia Choirs, Gondwana Choir

SEASON OPENING GALASpecial EventPremier Partner Credit Suisse

Fri 27 Feb 8pmSat 28 Feb 8pmSun 1 Mar 2pmPre-concert talk 45 minutes before each performance

An Evening with Ella, Louis and the Duke James Morrison’s A–Z of JazzFrom Armstrong to Zawinul, James Morrison covers the full trajectory of jazz.

Benjamin Northey conductor James Morrison jazz trumpet Hetty Kate vocalist

Meet the Music

Thu 5 Mar 6:30pmKaleidoscope

Fri 6 Mar 8pmSat 7 Mar 8pmPre-concert talk 45 minutes before each performance

Song & DanceRAVEL Valses nobles et sentimentales* CANTELOUBE Songs of the Auvergne: Set 1 FALLA orch. Berio Seven Popular Spanish Songs* R STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier: Suite*

Ward Stare conductor Daniela Mack mezzo-soprano

Thursday Afternoon Symphony

Thu 12 Mar 1.30pm Tea & Symphony

Fri 13 Mar 11am*Complimentary morning tea from 10am

Mondays @ 7

Mon 16 Mar 7pmPre-concert talk 45 minutes before the Thu & Mon concerts

Janine Jansen plays BrahmsBRAHMS Violin Concerto BUTTERLEY Never This Sun, This Watcher SIBELIUS Symphony No.5

Daniel Blendulf conductor Janine Jansen violin

APT Master Series

Wed 18 Mar 8pm Fri 20 Mar 8pm Sat 21 Mar 8pmPre-concert talk at 7.15pm

SSO Presents: The Planets by Gustav HolstA concert for the planet on the evening of Earth Hour. In association with the Global Orchestra project.

David Robertson conductor Ladies of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Tea & Symphony

Fri 27 Mar 11amComplimentary morning tea from 10am

Earth Hour Special Event

Sat 28 Mar 8.30pm

CLASSICAL

Tickets also available atSYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM 9250 7777 Mon–Sat 9am–8.30pm Sun 10am–6pm

CITYRECITALHALL.COM 8256 2222 Mon–Fri 9am–5pm

All concerts at Sydney Opera House unless otherwise statedNO FEES WHEN YOU BOOK THESE CONCERTS ONLINE WITH THE SSO

FOR COMPLETE DETAILS OF THE 2015 SEASON VISIT

SYDNEYSYMPHONY.COM CALL 8215 4600 Mon–Fri 9am–5pm

©In

ga N

iels

en-B

igst

ock.

com

*Booking fees of $5.00–$8.95 may apply.

NO FEES WHEN YOU BOOK THIS CONCERT ONLINE AT

CALL 8215 4600 MON–FRI 9AM–5PM

BOOK NOW TICKETS FROM $39*

TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE AT SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM 9250 7777 MON–SAT 9AM–8.30PM SUN 10AM–6PM

SYMPHONIC VARIATIONSStar French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie returns to Sydney to perform two short, spirited opportunities for virtuoso display by Mozart and Franck. As well, enjoy Mozart’s Paris Symphony and Franck’s grand Symphony in D minor.

THU 9 APR | 1.30PM FRI 10 APR | 8PM SAT 11 APR | 2PM

MOZART Symphony No.31 (Paris) FRANCK Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra MOZART Rondo in D for piano and orchestra, K382 FRANCK Symphony in D minor

Yan-Pascal Tortelier conductor Louis Lortie piano (pictured)

BEST SEATS

2015 concert season

TEA & SYMPHONY

FRIDAY 20 FEBRUARY, 11AM

GREAT CLASSICS

SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY, 2PM

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE CONCERT HALL

SCHUMANN 3 & 4David Robertson conductor

GEORGES LENTZ (born 1965) Jerusalem (after Blake)

ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810–1856) Symphony No.4 in D minor, Op.120

Ziemlich langsam [Rather slow] – Lebhaft [Lively] – Romanze (Ziemlich langsam) – Scherzo (Lebhaft) – Langsam [Slow] – Lebhaft

INTERVAL

SCHUMANN Symphony No.3 in E flat, Op.97, Rhenish

Lebhaft [Lively] Scherzo (Sehr mässig) [Very moderately] Nicht schnell [Not fast] Feierlich [Ceremonially] Lebhaft

The Tea & Symphony concert on Friday will consist of the two Schumann symphonies, performed without interval.

Saturday’s performance will recorded for broadcast by ABC Classic FM on Tuesday 24 February at 8pm.

Pre-concert talk by Scott Davie at 1.15pm on Saturday in the Northern Foyer. For more information visit sydneysymphony.com/speaker-bios

Estimated durations: 22 minutes (Lentz), 28 minutes (Schumann 4), 20-minute interval, 32 minutes (Rhenish) The concert will conclude at approximately 12.10pm (Friday), 4pm (Saturday).

6

YALE

CE

NTE

R F

OR

BR

ITIS

H A

RT

Frontispiece to William Blake’s Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion (1804–1820). This is the first of the one hundred engraved plates that make up Jerusalem. It depicts Los, the personification of creative imagination and, in Blake’s mythology, corresponding to Christ of the New Testament. Carrying a lantern in the form of a miniature sun, he passes through a gothic arch, representing both truth and – at a simpler level – 

the beginning of the poem.

7

YALE

CE

NTE

R F

OR

BR

ITIS

H A

RT

Beginning of Chapter 1 in Blake’s Jerusalem: The Emanation of The Giant Albion.

8

YALE

CE

NTE

R F

OR

BR

ITIS

H A

RT

This is the 100th and final plate in Jerusalem, and one of just three horizontal compositions. It again shows Los, depicted at the centre of the plate with the tools of a blacksmith: hammer and tongs. Blake saw Los crafting objects from molten metal as he himself created poetry and art. The name ‘Los’ may be an allusion to fallen man’s having ‘lost’ Paradise, or it could be a reversal of ‘sol’, the Latin word for sun. The figure to the right of Los is usually thought to be his wife, Enitharmon, who represents, in Blake’s mythology, misguided religion based on chastity and vengeance. The figure to the left holds the globe of the sun on his shoulder and

may be Los’s spectre.

9

PLEASE SHARE

Programs grow on trees – help us be environmentally responsible and keep ticket prices down by sharing your program with your companion.

READ IN ADVANCE

You can also read SSO program books on your computer or mobile device by visiting our online program library in the week leading up to the concert: sydneysymphony.com/program_library

INTRODUCTION

This month at the SSO we’ve been immersing ourselves – and by extension you, our audience – in the Schumann symphonies. This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences: a chance to hear all four of these symphonies in a relatively short space of time and performed by the one orchestra under the direction of a single conductor. It’s something the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has never done before. And to the best of our knowledge, only the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra has done something similar in Australia (in 2010, Schumann’s anniversary year). But if you believe in this music, and our chief conductor certainly does, then you don’t need an anniversary as a pretext.

Last week saw the beginning of our Schumann cycle with the first two symphonies in a program with Mendelssohn’s violin concerto. That pairing of two composers representing the same strand of 19th-century German romanticism had a certain historical inevitability to it. Earlier this week, Schumann sat alongside a relatively new violin concerto by another German composer, Jörg Widmann.

On Saturday, for the final concert in the cycle, David Robertson has combined Robert Schumann with Georges Lentz, one of Australia’s best-regarded composers on the international scene – today represented by music that was heard for the very first time just last month and which received its Australian premiere on Wednesday night. Although Lentz normally performs in the first violin section of the SSO, this week he has been in the audience for Jerusalem (after Blake).

The sound worlds of Schumann and Lentz are vastly different, as you’d expect with nearly two centuries intervening. But each possesses a distinctive musical voice, a tremendous power to evoke emotion and a forward-looking vision. Programming of this kind, with its unexpected but often illuminating juxtapositions, gives us a chance, says Robertson, to ‘contemplate the true stature of Schumann, and to revel in the breadth and depth of his musical thought’. We hope you enjoy the concert!

Schumann Symphonies

Turn to page 31 to read Bravo! – musician profiles, articles and news from the orchestra. Also available at sydneysymphony.com/bravo

10

KeynotesLENTZ

Australian composer Born Luxembourg, 1965

Georges Lentz has been living in Sydney since 1990, playing violin in the SSO – an interpreter of music as well as creator. He grew up in the picturesque town of Echternach with its mediæval abbey, and studied violin and music theory in Luxembourg, Paris and Hannover. Beginning in Luxembourg in 1991, public performances of his music have been given by leading orchestras and musicians, and in major venues all over the world, as well as in Australia.

Garnering much critical and public acclaim, Lentz’s compositions have also won him many awards, including a high commendation in the 1991 International Composers’ Competition in Vienna, the 1997 Paul Lowin Prize for orchestral composition (Australia’s most prestigious composition prize), and the top recommendation at the 2002 UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in Paris (for Guyuhmgan). In 1998 his works were taken on by Universal Edition of Vienna, one of the leading music publishers.

He rarely accepts commissions and tends to work on each of his pieces over a number of years, often on several at the same time. His compositions form part of a larger cycle of works, begun in 1989, called Cæli enarrant… (The heavens are telling…).

Georges Lentz Jerusalem (after Blake)

The composer writes…

Jerusalem (after Blake) was inspired by the poetry and visual art of William Blake (1757–1827), that great visionary of English Romantic literature, who remained completely misunderstood and ignored by his contemporaries and only gained due recognition one hundred years after his death, in no small part owing to the advocacy of such 20th-century writers as WB Yeats and Aldous Huxley. Today of course, Blake is a classic of English literature and widely regarded as one of the strangest, most fascinating writers of his time.

For several years now I have been reading, and trying to understand, Blake’s so-called Prophetic Books. These are difficult works that abound in surreal visions in both words and images. Blake, a trained graphic artist, illustrated his books himself with the help of a special printing technique of his own invention. Blake’s pictorial worlds, with their multitudes of bleak fiery landscapes, their hosts of sinister angels, starry night skies, interwoven muscular bodies, heavenly gates, distorted faces, monsters, ominous cathedrals, wavy robes, hair manes, etc. are stylistically far ahead of the artist’s time – or are at least difficult to anchor within it. Some elements are reminiscent of the dark world of Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, others of Art Nouveau, even early Picasso!

Blake’s accompanying poetry is every bit as overwhelming in its mighty visionary language. Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion (1804–1820), the author’s last, longest and perhaps most extraordinary book is a high point in his œuvre, both literary and visual, and is the book that, above all others, I have been reading and studying for years now. My success in comprehending Blake is still rather limited, but my fascination is undiminished.

(Note: this poem is not to be confused with the hymn ‘And did those feet in ancient time / Walk upon England’s mountains green’, also known as Jerusalem and also by Blake, but unrelated.)

It would be easy of course to dismiss Blake’s Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion as the self-absorbed ravings of a lunatic cut off from the real world – and considered in a purely literal way, it may well be just that! Nonetheless, to my mind nothing would be further from the essence of Blake’s vision and message. Blake writes about the Fall of Man, the End of the World, the Apocalypse. All very old-fashioned concepts, one might think, with no relevance whatsoever to our world today.

But how about our own world? Is it so much more sane?

ABOUT THE MUSIC

11

When planes intentionally crash into skyscrapers, when innocent people are beheaded in front of a camera to avenge a madly twisted conception of God, when, despite the threat of ecological disaster, we keep steering cheerfully towards the abyss – if that is our world, then it might seem reasonable to assert that we too live in somewhat apocalyptic times. For Blake, Jerusalem, like so many things in his work, is a multi-layered concept: it is at once the Heavenly City, man’s final goal, but it is also our own terrestrial world. Considered in the word’s latter meaning, we might do well to heed the poet’s warning when he exclaims: ‘Awake! Awake Jerusalem!’

I dedicate the end of my work to the victims of another plane tragedy – that ill-fated flight MH 370, which in March 2014 disappeared off the radar without a trace. When people in the towers of New York made their final frantic phone calls, the world heard the desperate human side of the apocalypse. There were no phone calls from the passengers of the MH 370. I’d like to think that the final sounds of my piece, produced by seven smartphones held by the brass payers at the back of the hall, might represent those phone calls that never were – a small elegy to those who disappeared. By extension, I’d like to dedicate Jerusalem (after Blake) to the memory of all victims of terrorism, fanaticism, madness and hatred.

GEORGES LENTZ © 2015

Jerusalem (after Blake) calls for three flutes (all doubling piccolo), three

oboes (one doubling cor anglais) and three clarinets (one doubling bass

clarinet) but no bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones

and tuba; timpani and three percussionists; cimbalom, de-tuned piano,

electric guitar and strings. The first and second violin sections are placed

either side of the conductor; the horns, trombones and one of the

percussionists are positioned in the rear of the hall and are also

responsible for the seven smartphones that have a part to play in the

music. The accompanying electronic tracks feature brass sounds

recorded by members of the SSO in October 2014.

Jerusalem (after Blake) was commissioned by the Sydney Symphony

Orchestra in collaboration with the Orchestre Philharmonique du

Luxembourg with the generous support of an anonymous donor. It

received its world premiere on 16 January 2015 with the Orchestre

Philharmonique du Luxembourg conducted by Duncan Ward, and its

Australian premiere on Wednesday 18 February in the SSO’s Meet the

Music series, conducted by David Robertson.

12

Schumann in 1839 (lithograph by Josef Kriehuber)

ABOUT THE MUSIC

Robert Schumann Symphony No.4 in D minor, Op.120Ziemlich langsam [Rather slow] – Lebhaft [Lively] – Romanze (Ziemlich langsam) – Scherzo (Lebhaft) – Langsam [Slow] – Lebhaft

This symphony was composed during the happy first year of Robert Schumann’s marriage to Clara Wieck, which had been resisted with almost legendary fierceness by her father, Friedrich. Robert and Clara were able to marry only after a particularly public and humiliating court challenge. By September 1841, however, Clara was able to write in her diary: ‘My birthday was a day filled from morning to night with enjoyment and happiness. Robert surprised me with so many things, his completed symphony in D minor…’

This D minor symphony was premiered as ‘Symphony No.2’ in 1841 in Leipzig, but Schumann was dissatisfied with the work and put it aside, revising it ten years later. It is this later version that is generally played today.

The revised symphony, first performed in Düsseldorf on 3 March 1853, contains a number of structural alterations, neatening and tightening a work which already possessed considerable drive and momentum. At the same time, Schumann adjusted the

KeynotesSCHUMANN

Born Zwickau, Germany, 1810 Died Endenich Asylum, Bonn, 1856

Schumann’s creations are vividly imaginative and deeply lyrical, and he was aligned with the literary concerns of the Romantic era. It’s no accident that he was a critic as well as a musician. He pursued music under the guise of a law degree, studying piano with Friedrich Wieck in Leipzig. Wieck’s star pupil was his daughter Clara, and she and Robert fell in love, eventually marrying despite Wieck’s objections. Along the way, Schumann injured his hand, thwarting his performing hopes but leaving the way open for him to focus on composition.

SYMPHONY NO.4

This symphony was originally numbered second, composed in the ‘symphonic year’ of 1841 and presented to a delighted Clara on her birthday. (It was substantially reworked in Düsseldorf in 1851 and published as No.4.) It is formally fascinating, unifying its four movements in a web of thematic cross-referencing that owes something to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and something to the conventions – flashback, reminiscence – of literary narrative. In fact Schumann nearly called it a ‘Symphonic Fantasy’. Further supporting the unity of the symphony, the movements are played without pause.

13

orchestration, resulting in over-generous doublings of melodic lines and a consequently thickened texture. He obviously desired to make every entry as safe as possible (perhaps overcompensating for a municipal orchestra less gifted than that of the Leipzig Gewandhaus?), but the excessive doublings tend to take away the personality of a phrase, which, as Hans Gál writes, ‘is what a Schumann phrase cannot do, without damage to its spontaneous expressive directness’. Schumann’s great successor, Brahms, a Schumann champion, resurrected the original 1841 score for his performances, annoying Clara who found it hard to concede that Robert might have revised something without thoroughly improving it. As a conductor, Gustav Mahler, too, made changes. Yet there are arguments in favour of either version.

The work succeeds primarily on the basis of its structural brilliance, especially Schumann’s ingenious – and remarkably successful – attempt at unifying the four movements of the symphony without diluting the distinctive character and structure of each one.

A precedent for a large-scale unified cyclic work of this kind existed in Schubert’s magnificent Wanderer Fantasy for piano. Schumann would have been familiar with Schubert’s piece, and was no doubt at one stage sufficiently conscious of its peculiarity of form to call this symphony a ‘Symphonic Fantasy’. Schumann’s Fourth Symphony is, writes Gál:

…music of irresistible momentum, a marvellous union of continuous improvisation and close construction, and its four movements, linked by thematic threads, are in ideal balance and magnificently contrasted…In Schumann’s symphony, the thematic lay-out progresses from one movement to another, new inventions emerging while the former ones reappear in variation as if it were an act of spontaneous recollection.

The Fourth Symphony begins with a slow introduction, a strongly-phrased motif which extends to a 28-bar paragraph, one of the main pillars of the structure. This introduction moves straight into the main fast section (Lebhaft or Allegro), having anticipated its opening material.

The continuous movement of rapid notes in the Lebhaft motif is hard to stop and therefore Schumann draws his subsidiary motif from the same material. With a limited pool of themes to expound upon, Schumann leaves till later, to the development section, a genuinely contrasting lyrical melody, and the responsibility for providing a huge and impressive climax. Because the opening material has been sufficiently presented in the exposition, the customary recapitulation of themes is unnecessary. There is a pause on a held note and we almost slip into the slow movement.

What’s in a name?

Schumann thought of calling his Symphony No.4 a ‘Symphonic Fantasy’. In the end he didn’t, but the full title on the first published edition is just as revealing: ‘Symphony No.4 in D minor / Introduction, Allegro, Romanze, Scherzo and Finale in one movement.’

Here, spelled out, was his ambition (dating from as early as 1841) to create a grand cyclic structure in which the musical material of the different movements or sections was completely unified.

14

…the sense of inevitable progress and triumphant release…

The main feature of the Romanze is an elegiac oboe melody. With the return of triple metre and a tempo similar to the beginning of the symphony, the opening motif of the first movement sees the opportunity to re-enter, providing an interlude-like passage. A contrasting middle section extends this opening motif into a soft, expressive tune while a solo violin elegantly paraphrases it. The elegiac oboe returns, the music pauses on A major, and without more ado, the Scherzo is launched.

This is vigorously scored with driving imitation in the lower strings. The central trio section turns out to be an old acquaintance: the graceful figuration that the concertmaster’s solo violin had added to the motif of the introduction in the middle section of the Romanze.

The Scherzo returns and then Schumann, following the example of Beethoven in his Fourth, Sixth and Seventh symphonies, lets the trio come back once more, but this time slowed down so that we may move without interruption into the opening section of the finale (Langsam).

With the striking fortissimos of the final Lebhaft section, we have another moment of recognition, for here again is music from the first movement. To cap off the gradual build-up of tension and effect, Schumann has chosen the climactic moment of the first movement to provide the main material which is to be built on in the finale.

It is this sense of inevitable momentum and intense accumulation that provides the listener with so much enjoyment. Critics may praise the unity and balance of its construction, its succinctness – its skilful links put one in mind of Wagner’s observation that all composing is, at the base of it, the art of transition – but it is the sense of inevitable progress and triumphant release that really draws the listener in.

ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS

SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA © 1998/2002

Schumann’s Symphony No.4 calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets

and bassoons; four horns, two trumpets and three trombones (no tuba);

timpani and strings.

The SSO first performed this symphony in 1938, in a Celebrity

Orchestral concert conducted by George Szell. It was the first of the

Schumann symphonies to enter our repertoire, a reflection of its

longstanding popularity, especially with conductors. Our most recent

performance of the symphony was in 2008, conducted by Richard Gill.

15

KeynotesSCHUMANN

As a young composer, Robert Schumann wrote music chiefly on an intimate scale, composing an astonishing wealth of lieder and song cycles. These, and his highly imaginative piano works, place him among the most revered Romantic composers. The depth of his lyricism, however, sought larger means of expression. Clara, a celebrated concert pianist and a composer in her own right, earnestly encouraged Robert in this direction, believing ‘his music is all orchestral in feeling’. An early attempt at symphonic composition, premiered during Robert’s student days, led him to lament: ‘I consider this art so difficult that it will take long years’ study to give me certainty and self control.’

SYMPHONY NO.3

This symphony actively depicts life in the Rhineland, where Schumann had moved to take a post in Düsseldorf. The beginning is full of rhythmic ambiguity before taking off in a joyous triple metre. The second movement is a Ländler (ancestor to the waltz) and the third a songlike interlude. The ‘extra’ movement, with its solemn trombones and stylised solemnity was suggested to Schumann by the ceremonial enthronement of a cardinal in the famously unfinished Cologne Cathedral. It makes for a splendid contrast with the energetic, folk-like character of the finale and the cathedral music recurs briefly toward the conclusion of the symphony.

Robert Schumann Symphony No.3 in E flat, Op.97, RhenishLebhaft [Lively] Scherzo (Sehr mässig) [Very moderately] Nicht schnell [Not fast] Feierlich [Ceremonially] Lebhaft

In September 1850 Robert and Clara Schumann arrived in the Rhineland city of Düsseldorf, where Robert was to take up an appointment as Municipal Music Director, conducting the local chorus and orchestra. It is probable that this symphony was composed in the first flush of enthusiasm for the new job, which promised Schumann a chance to become more closely acquainted with the orchestral medium. It was composed between 2 November and 9 December 1850, and first performed in Düsseldorf on 6 February 1851. Schumann’s conducting experience was to prove disappointing, however. His friend Albert Dietrich later pointed to characteristics in Schumann’s much-criticised orchestration which may have stemmed from an inability to balance the playing strengths of his musicians.

Becoming acquainted with the Rhineland region, the Schumanns visited Cologne before the end of the month and Schumann was particularly struck by the mighty cathedral, with its unfinished towers, vast shadows and spaces. The crane left behind by the mediæval builders on the stump of the southern tower had itself become a feature of the city by this time. Schumann visited the cathedral again before the year was out, and this time witnessed the investiture of the new archbishop, a ceremony which impressed him greatly. These experiences formed the pictorial inspiration behind the striking fourth movement of the Rhenish symphony.

Robert Schumann was steeped in literature – indeed he had for many years been editor of the critical journal the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung. He was often inspired by literary and pictorial topics, and this symphony is the most programmatic of his four. Only vague hints in Clara’s diary indicate the complete program that underlay this piece, but we can guess that it was at least a portrait of life on the Rhine – ‘Morning life on the Rhine’ was the original subtitle of the second movement scherzo, though Schumann seems to have deleted it, perhaps believing that there is a difference between non-musical stimulus for a composer and useful information for the listener to know.

The symphony is cast in five movements, a departure from the usual four, though Beethoven’s Sixth had been a formidable predecessor. It opens with a confident, vital melody in E flat major, containing a striking rhythmic trick. The broad triple beat

16

Portrait of Schumann held in the Vienna History Museum

Schumann’s Third and Fourth SymphoniesSchumann’s symphonies have had their detractors over the years. The German conductor Felix Weingartner (1863–1942) wrote rather disparagingly of the Rhenish, judging its themes as essentially pianistic (therefore inadequate for symphonic development), criticising its orchestration as thick and awkward, and prescribing ‘corrections’ to the score. Attitudes of this nature lingered through much of the 20th century.

Schumann’s Fourth Symphony – begun before the Rhenish in 1841 but withdrawn and then reintroduced in 1853 – experienced both a longer gestation and more assiduous revision. Its somewhat leaner orchestration and greater conciseness contribute to its popularity, particularly with conductors, among Schumann’s four symphonies.

Nonetheless, the Rhenish was a critical turning point in Schumann’s symphonic evolution, a sincere and masterful expression of his musical spirit. To Tchaikovsky, there was ‘no mightier or deeper manifestation of an artist’s creative power’ than in the fourth movement of the Rhenish. Following its premiere, Schumann’s Symphony No.3 quickly received performances in Germany and the Netherlands. More than 160 years later, it enjoys lasting success with modern orchestras and their audiences.

SAMUEL C DIXON

DE

AG

OS

TIN

I PIC

TUR

E LI

BR

AR

Y /

A D

AG

LI O

RTI

/ B

RID

GE

MA

N IM

AG

ES

soon moves imperceptibly into double speed, and we realise that Schumann has simply disguised the basic beat of his opening six bars by holding notes over the giveaway accents – an effect which was to be repeated much later by Schumann’s friend and artistic ally, Brahms, in his own third symphony (it was perhaps intended as a tribute by the younger man). There is a beautifully lyrical second subject, beginning in G minor, but what is also remarkable is the way in which each modulation of the harmony has an inherent tendency to return to the ‘heroic’ key of E flat.

The middle three movements form a group of character pieces much in the manner of Schumann’s piano music. The second movement is like a Ländler, the earthy predecessor to the waltz style later taken up for symphonic movements by Bruckner and Mahler.

The third movement is a lyrical interlude, which according to Jonathan Kramer is too songlike and direct to be a real slow movement, and therefore establishing the need for an additional movement, a true adagio. Other writers, however, see the fourth and fifth movements forming two parts of the one whole.

It is the fourth movement which is the most clearly pictorial. Schumann originally wrote over the music: ‘In the character of the accompaniment to a solemn ceremony’ – clearly recalling the enthroning ceremony he had seen. But he later struck it out,

17

Cologne Cathedral in 1856, showing its unfinished state, including the mediæval crane on the south tower. Detail from an early photograph of the city.

declaring, ‘One should not show his heart to the people, for the general impression of a work of art is more effective.’

The unfinished Cologne Cathedral was a powerful symbol to 19th-century Romantics. They saw it as a moving appeal to continue the work of creation. They were entranced by its majesty, and one writer spoke of its ‘lofty, slender Gothic pillars grouped like trees in an ancient forest, their highest branches crossing and intertwining in a dim vault of pointed arches, where the eye could scarcely follow’.

Schumann achieves a sense of breadth and space in this movement by introducing three trombones to the orchestra. There is an evocation of the mediæval era in the use of polyphony, and as if to emphasise his intention, Schumann changes the basic beat thenceforward from crotchets to minims. The audience can’t necessarily hear the difference, especially in the lively fifth movement, but the conductor is reminded to approach the subject matter with the appropriate air of solemnity.

The final movement opens in the mood of a lively folk festival, but the ‘cathedral’ music reappears near the end, bringing to a close what one writer describes as a viable marriage between the character piece, which was Schumann’s specialty, and the surety of symphonic form for which he strove.

GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS

SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA © 1998

Schumann’s Symphony No.3 calls for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and

bassoons; four horns, two trumpets and three trombones; timpani and

strings.

The SSO was the first ABC orchestra to perform this symphony, in 1948

with conductor Eugene Goossens. Our most recent performance was in

2000 with Edo de Waart.

18

MORE MUSIC

GEORGES LENTZ Georges Lentz’s discography can be viewed at: www.georgeslentz.com/discography.html

In particular, two of the orchestral works from Mysterium in the ‘Caeli enarrant…’ series (Ngangkar and the original version of Guyuhmgan) are available in performances by the SSO and Edo de Waart.ABC CLASSICS ABC 472 397-2

More recently, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg recorded Monh, Guyuhmgan and Ngangkar. Tabea Zimmermann is the viola soloist in Monh and Emilio Pomàrico conducts. (Available on iTunes)TIMPANI 1184

On stage in Jerusalem (after Blake) is electric guitarist Zane Banks. You can hear him playing Ingwe, Lentz’s hour-long work for solo guitar, which has been described as ‘heavy metal meets musical metaphysics’. NAXOS 8.572483

SCHUMANN SYMPHONIESIf you’d like to extend today’s Schumann immersion to include more of his orchestral music, look for the EMI Triple featuring the four symphonies, the Manfred overture, the piano concerto with Christian Zacharias and the cello concerto with Truls Mørk. Hans Vonk conducts the Cologne West German Radio Symphony Orchestra in this 3CD collection.EMI CLASSICS 15310

If you’re curious about the reception of the Schumann symphonies over time, and especially the way conductors have sometimes felt compelled to ‘improve’ on Schumann’s work, look for Decca’s ‘Mahler Edition’ of the Schumann symphonies, in which Riccardo Chailly conducts the Gewandhaus Orchestra using Mahler’s re-orchestrations. Some of the effects are striking and impressive, even if they aren’t Schumann. DECCA 478 0037

DAVID ROBERTSONLast year we released David Robertson’s recording with the SSO of Stravinsky’s complete Firebird ballet music.SSO LIVE 201402

And available any day now, also on our own label: Holst’s suite The Planets. Watch this space!

In 2013 the SSO gave the premiere of John Adams’ Saxophone Concerto with soloist Timothy McAllister and the composer conducting. The work was a co-commission with the St Louis Symphony among the partners, and it’s now available in the Grammy-winning recording they made with David Robertson conducting and McAllister again playing the solo part. The concerto is paired with the very appealing City Noir, which also features saxophone.NONESUCH 541 356

Broadcast Diary

February–March

abc.net.au/classic

Monday 23 February, 8pm SCHUMANN 1 & 2David Robertson conductor Christian Tetzlaff violinSchumann, Mendelssohn

Tuesday 24 February, 8pm SCHUMANN 3 & 4David Robertson conductorLentz, Schumann

Friday 20 March, 8pm BRAHMS & SIBELIUSDaniel Blendulf conductor Janine Jansen violinBrahms, Butterley, Sibelius

Saturday 21 March, 1pm SONG & DANCEWard Stare conductor Daniela Mack mezzo-sopranoRavel, Canteloube, Falla orch. Berio, Richard Strauss

SSO RadioSelected SSO performances, as recorded by the ABC, are available on demand: sydneysymphony.com/SSO_radio

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HOUR

Tuesday 10 March, 6pm

Hosted by Andrew Bukenya and featuring two of our 2015 orchestral Fellows as special guests.

finemusicfm.com

19

SSO Live RecordingsThe Sydney Symphony Orchestra Live label was founded in 2006 and we’ve since released more than two dozen recordings featuring the orchestra in live concert performances with our titled conductors and leading guest artists. To buy, visit sydneysymphony.com/shop

Strauss & SchubertGianluigi Gelmetti conducts Schubert’s Unfinished and R Strauss’s Four Last Songs with Ricarda Merbeth. SSO 200803

Sir Charles MackerrasA 2CD set featuring Sir Charles’s final performances with the orchestra, in October 2007. SSO 200705

Brett DeanTwo discs featuring the music of Brett Dean, including his award-winning violin concerto, The Lost Art of Letter Writing. SSO 200702, SSO 201302

RavelGelmetti conducts music by one of his favourite composers: Maurice Ravel. Includes Bolero. SSO 200801

Rare RachmaninoffRachmaninoff chamber music with Dene Olding, the Goldner Quartet, soprano Joan Rodgers and Vladimir Ashkenazy at the piano. SSO 200901

Prokofiev’s Romeo and JulietVladimir Ashkenazy conducts the complete Romeo and Juliet ballet music of Prokofiev – a fiery and impassioned performance. SSO 201205

Tchaikovsky Violin ConcertoIn 2013 this recording with James Ehnes and Ashkenazy was awarded a Juno (the Canadian Grammy). Lyrical miniatures fill out the disc. SSO 201206

Tchaikovsky Second Piano ConcertoGarrick Ohlsson is the soloist in one of the few recordings of the original version of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.2. Ashkenazy conducts. SSO 201301

Stravinsky’s FirebirdDavid Robertson conducts Stravinsky’s brilliant and colourful Firebird ballet, recorded with the SSO in concert in 2008. SSO 201402

LOOK OUT FOR…Our recording of Holst’s Planets with David Robertson. Due for release early in 2015.

Mahler 1 & Songs of a Wayfarer SSO 201001

Mahler 2 SSO 201203

Mahler 3 SSO 201101

Mahler 4 SSO 201102

Mahler 5 SSO 201003 Mahler 6 SSO 201103

Mahler 7 SSO 201104

Mahler 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) SSO 201002

Mahler 9 SSO 201201

Mahler 10 (Barshai completion) SSO 201202

Song of the Earth SSO 201004

From the archives: Rückert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder, Das Lied von der Erde SSO 201204

MAHLER ODYSSEYThe complete Mahler symphonies (including the Barshai completion of No.10) together with some of the song cycles. Recorded in concert with Vladimir Ashkenazy during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. As a bonus: recordings from our archives of Rückert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder and Das Lied von der Erde. Available in a handsome boxed set of 12 discs or individually.

Join us on Facebook facebook.com/sydneysymphony

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/sydsymph

Watch us on YouTube www.youtube.com/SydneySymphony

Visit sydneysymphony.com for concert information, podcasts, and to read the program book in the week of the concert.

Stay tuned. Sign up to receive our fortnightly e-newsletter sydneysymphony.com/staytuned

Download our free mobile app for iPhone/iPad or Android sydneysymphony.com/mobile_app

SSO Online

MORE MUSIC

21

David Robertson is a compelling and passionate communicator whose stimulating ideas and music-making have captivated audiences and musicians alike. A consummate musician and masterful programmer, he has forged strong relationships with major orchestras throughout Europe and North America.

He made his Australian debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2003 and soon became a regular visitor to Sydney, with projects such as The Colour of Time, a conceptual multimedia concert; the Australian premiere of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphony; and concert performances of The Flying Dutchman with video projections. In 2014, his inaugural season as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, he led the SSO on a seven-city tour of China.

Last year he launched his tenth season as Music Director of the St Louis Symphony. Other titled posts have included Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and resident conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. An expert in 20th- and 21st-century music, he has also been Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris (where composer and conductor Pierre Boulez was an early supporter). He is also a champion of young musicians, devoting time to working with students and young artists.

David Robertson is a frequent guest with major orchestras and opera houses throughout the word and in recent seasons he has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Last year he conducted the controversial but highly acclaimed Metropolitan Opera premiere of John Adams’ Death of Klinghoffer.

His awards and accolades include Musical America Conductor of the Year (2000), Columbia University’s 2006 Ditson Conductor’s Award, and, with the SLSO, the 2005–06 ASCAP Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming. In 2010 he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2011 a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

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 is married to pianist Orli Shaham.

THE POSITION OF CHIEF CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR IS SUPPORTED BY EMIRATES

David Robertson Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

THE ARTIST

MIC

HA

EL

TAM

MA

RO

22

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has evolved into one of the world’s finest 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 SSO also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA – including three visits to China – have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence.

The orchestra’s first 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, Zdenĕk Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. Vladimir Ashkenazy was Principal Conductor from 2009 to 2013. The orchestra’s history also boasts collaborations with legendary figures

such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky.

The SSO’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, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry, Mary Finsterer, Nigel Westlake and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra’s recordings of music by Brett Dean have been released on both the BIS and SSO Live labels.

Other releases on the SSO Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy and David Robertson. In 2010–11 the orchestra made concert recordings of the complete Mahler symphonies with Ashkenazy, and has also released recordings of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on ABC Classics.

This is the second year of David Robertson’s tenure as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director.

DAVID ROBERTSON Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

PATRON Professor The Hon. Dame Marie Bashir ad cvo

23

FIRST VIOLINS Andrew Haveron CONCERTMASTER

Sun Yi ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

Kirsten Williams ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER

Lerida Delbridge ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Fiona Ziegler ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER

Jenny BoothAmber DavisClaire HerrickNicola LewisEmily LongAlexandra MitchellAlexander NortonLéone ZieglerEmily Qin°Dene Olding CONCERTMASTER

Sophie ColeGeorges Lentz

SECOND VIOLINS Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Marianne Broadfoot Emma Jezek ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Emma HayesShuti HuangStan W KornelBenjamin LiNicole MastersPhilippa PaigeMaja VerunicaVictoria Bihun†

Monique Irik°Emma Jardine°Maria DurekBiyana Rozenblit

VIOLASRoger Benedict Justin Williams ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Sandro CostantinoRosemary CurtinJane HazelwoodGraham HenningsStuart JohnsonJustine MarsdenFelicity TsaiAmanda VernerLeonid VolovelskyCharlotte Fetherston†

Tobias Breider Anne-Louise Comerford

CELLOSUmberto ClericiCatherine Hewgill Leah Lynn ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Kristy ConrauFenella GillTimothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleChristopher PidcockAdrian WallisDavid Wickham DOUBLE BASSESKees Boersma Alex Henery Neil Brawley PRINCIPAL EMERITUS

David CampbellSteven LarsonRichard LynnBenjamin WardJosef Bisits°David Murray

FLUTES Janet Webb Emma Sholl Carolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer PRINCIPAL PICCOLO

OBOESDiana Doherty Shefali Pryor David PappAlexandre Oguey PRINCIPAL COR ANGLAIS

CLARINETSLawrence Dobell Francesco Celata Christopher TingayCraig Wernicke PRINCIPAL BASS CLARINET

BASSOONSMatthew Wilkie Fiona McNamaraNoriko Shimada PRINCIPAL CONTRABASSOON

SAXOPHONEChristina Leonard*

HORNSBen Jacks Robert Johnson Geoffrey O’Reilly PRINCIPAL 3RD

Euan HarveyMarnie SebireRachel Silver

TRUMPETSDavid Elton Paul Goodchild Owen Morris†

Anthony Heinrichs

TROMBONESRonald Prussing Scott Kinmont Nick ByrneChristopher Harris PRINCIPAL BASS TROMBONE

TUBASteve Rossé

TIMPANIRichard Miller PERCUSSIONRebecca LagosMark Robinson Timothy Constable

HARP Louise Johnson

CIMBALOMRebecca Lagos

PIANO/CELESTAKate Golla*

ELECTRIC GUITARZane Banks*

BOLD = PRINCIPALITALICS = ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

° = CONTRACT MUSICIAN

* = GUEST MUSICIAN† = SSO FELLOW

GREY = PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA NOT APPEARING IN THIS CONCERT

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

To see photographs of the full roster of permanent musicians and find out more about the orchestra, visit our website: www.sydneysymphony.com/SSO_musicians

If you don’t have access to the internet, ask one of our customer service representatives for a copy of our Musicians flyer.

MUSICIANS

David RobertsonCHIEF CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SUPPORTED BY EMIRATES

Dene OldingCONCERTMASTER

Jessica CottisASSISTANT CONDUCTOR SUPPORTED BY PREMIER PARTNER CREDIT SUISSE

Andrew HaveronCONCERTMASTER

24

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Staff

BEHIND THE SCENES

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Rory Jeffes

EXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT

Lisa Davies-Galli

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING

Benjamin Schwartz

ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Eleasha Mah

ARTIST LIAISON MANAGER

Ilmar Leetberg

RECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER

Philip Powers

LibraryAnna Cernik Victoria Grant Mary-Ann Mead

LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Kim Waldock

EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER

Mark Lawrenson

EDUCATION MANAGER

Rachel McLarin

EDUCATION OFFICER

Amy Walsh

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Aernout Kerbert

ORCHESTRA MANAGER

Rachel Whealy

ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR

Georgia Fryer

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Kerry-Anne Cook

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Laura Daniel

STAGE MANAGER

Courtney Wilson

PRODUCTION COORDINATORS

Ollie TownsendDave Stabback

SALES AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING

Mark J Elliott

MARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES

Simon Crossley-Meates

A/ SENIOR SALES & MARKETING MANAGER

Matthew Rive

MARKETING MANAGER, WEB & DIGITAL MEDIA

Eve Le Gall

MARKETING MANAGER, CRM & DATABASE

Matthew Hodge

A/ SALES & MARKETING MANAGER, SINGLE TICKET CAMPAIGNS

Jonathon Symonds

DATABASE ANALYST

David Patrick

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Christie Brewster

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Tessa Conn

SENIOR ONLINE MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jenny Sargant

MARKETING ASSISTANT

Theres Mayer

Box OfficeMANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS

Lynn McLaughlin

BOX OFFICE SYSTEMS SUPERVISOR

Jennifer Laing

BOX OFFICE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR

John Robertson

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

Karen Wagg – Senior CSRMichael Dowling Tim Walsh

PublicationsPUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER

Yvonne Frindle

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Yvonne Zammit

PhilanthropyHEAD OF PHILANTHROPY

Luke Andrew Gay

PHILANTHROPY MANAGER

Jennifer Drysdale

A/ PATRONS EXECUTIVE

Sarah Morrisby

Corporate RelationsCORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER

Belinda Besson

CORPORATE RELATIONS MANAGER

Janine Harris

CommunicationsCOMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA MANAGER

Bridget Cormack

PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Katherine Stevenson

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Kai Raisbeck

PUBLICITY & EVENTS COORDINATOR

Caitlin Benetatos

BUSINESS SERVICES

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

John Horn

FINANCE MANAGER

Ruth Tolentino

ACCOUNTANT

Minerva Prescott

ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT

Emma Ferrer

PAYROLL OFFICER

Laura Soutter

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

IN-HOUSE COUNSEL

Michel Maree Hryce

John C Conde AO Chairman Terrey Arcus AM

Ewen Crouch AM

Ross GrantCatherine HewgillJennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew Kaldor AM

David LivingstoneThe Hon. Justice AJ Meagher Goetz Richter

Sydney Symphony Orchestra CouncilGeoff Ainsworth AM

Doug BattersbyChristine BishopThe Hon John Della Bosca MLC

Michael J Crouch AO

Alan FangErin FlahertyDr Stephen Freiberg Simon JohnsonGary LinnaneHelen Lynch AM

David Maloney AM Justice Jane Mathews AO Danny MayJane MorschelAndy PlummerDeirdre Plummer Seamus Robert Quick Paul Salteri AM

Sandra SalteriJuliana SchaefferFred Stein OAM

John van OgtropBrian WhiteRosemary White

HONORARY COUNCIL MEMBERSIta Buttrose AO OBE Donald Hazelwood AO OBE The Hon. Paul Keating Yvonne Kenny AM

David Malouf AO

Wendy McCarthy AO

Leo Schofield AM

Peter Weiss AO

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Board

25

CHAIR PATRONS

SSO PATRONS

Roger BenedictPrincipal ViolaKim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey Chair

Kees BoersmaPrincipal Double BassSSO Council Chair

Umberto ClericiPrincipal CelloGarry & Shiva Rich Chair

Timothy ConstablePercussionJustice Jane Mathews AO Chair

Lerida DelbridgeAssistant ConcertmasterSimon Johnson Chair

Lawrence DobellPrincipal ClarinetAnne Arcus & Terrey Arcus AM Chair

Diana DohertyPrincipal OboeAndrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO Chair

Richard Gill oam

Artistic Director, DownerTenix DiscoveryPaul Salteri AM & Sandra Salteri Chair

Chair PatronsJane HazelwoodViolaBob & Julie Clampett Chair in memory of Carolyn Clampett

Catherine HewgillPrincipal CelloThe Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair

Robert JohnsonPrincipal HornJames & Leonie Furber Chair

Elizabeth NevilleCelloRuth & Bob Magid Chair

Shefali PryorAssociate Principal OboeMrs Barbara Murphy Chair

Emma ShollAssociate Principal FluteRobert & Janet Constable Chair

Janet WebbPrincipal FluteHelen Lynch AM & Helen Bauer Chair

Kirsten WilliamsAssociate ConcertmasterI Kallinikos Chair

Maestro’s Circle

David Robertson

Mrs Barbara Murphy (right) first fell in love with Shefali Pryor’s oboe playing during her performances with violinist Nigel Kennedy and the SSO in 2010. After getting to know each other, they bonded over a mutual love of travel and knitting.

Peter Weiss AO Founding President & Doris Weiss

John C Conde AO Chairman

Brian Abel

Tom Breen & Rachel Kohn

The Berg Family Foundation

Andrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO

Vicki Olsson

Roslyn Packer AO

David Robertson

Penelope Seidler AM

Mr Fred Street AM & Dorothy Street

Brian White AO & Rosemary White

Ray Wilson OAM in memory of the late James Agapitos OAM

Supporting the artistic vision of David Robertson, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHAIR PATRONS

PROGRAM, CALL (02) 8215 4625.

n n n n n n n n n n

26

Learning & Engagement

SSO PATRONS

Commissioning CircleSupporting the creation of new works.

ANZAC Centenary Arts and Culture FundGeoff Ainsworth AM

Christine BishopDr John EdmondsAndrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO

Jane Mathews AO

Vicki OlssonCaroline & Tim RogersGeoff StearnDr Richard T WhiteAnonymous

fellowship patronsRobert Albert AO & Elizabeth Albert Flute ChairChristine Bishop Percussion ChairSandra & Neil Burns Clarinet ChairIn Memory of Matthew Krel Violin ChairMrs T Merewether OAM Horn ChairPaul Salteri AM & Sandra Salteri Violin and Viola ChairsMrs W Stening Principal Patron, Cello ChairKim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey Patrons of Roger Benedict,

Artistic Director, FellowshipAnonymous Double Bass Chair

fellowship supporting patronsMr Stephen J BellGary Linnane & Peter BraithwaiteJoan MacKenzie ScholarshipDrs Eileen & Keith OngIn Memory of Geoff WhiteJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

tuned-up!TunED-Up! is made possible with the generous support of Fred Street AM & Dorothy Street

Additional support provided by:Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus AM

Ian & Jennifer Burton Ian Dickson & Reg HollowayTony Strachan

major education donorsBronze Patrons & above

John Augustus & Kim RyrieMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyBob & Julie ClampettHoward & Maureen ConnorsThe Greatorex FoundationThe Ian Potter FoundationJames N Kirby Foundation Mrs & Mr Judith A. McKernanMr & Mrs Nigel Price

Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2014 Fellows

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Through their inspired financial support,

Patrons ensure the SSO’s continued

success, resilience and growth. Join the

SSO Patrons Program today and make a

difference.

sydneysymphony.com/patrons(02) 8215 4674philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com

A U S T R A L I A - K O R E AF O U N D A T I O N

Australia-Korea FoundationCrown FoundationThe Greatorex Foundation

Foundations

James N Kirby FoundationPacker Family FoundationIan Potter Foundation

27

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON

MAKING A BEQUEST TO THE SSO, PLEASE

CONTACT LUKE GAY ON 8215 4625.

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra 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.

Stuart Challender Legacy SocietyCelebrating the vision of donors who are leaving a bequest to the SSO.

Playing Your Part

DIAMOND PATRONS $50,000+The Estate of Dr Lynn JosephMr Andrew Kaldor AM &

Mrs Renata Kaldor AO

In Memory of Matthew KrelRoslyn Packer AO

Ian Potter FoundationPaul Salteri AM & Sandra

SalteriMr Fred Street AM &

Mrs Dorothy Street Mr Peter Weiss AO &

Mrs Doris WeissMr Brian White AO &

Mrs Rosemary White

PLATINUM PATRONS $30,000–$49,999Anne & Terrey Arcus AM

Doug & Alison BattersbyThe Berg Family FoundationTom Breen & Rachael KohnMr John C Conde AO

Robert & Janet ConstableMrs W SteningKim Williams AM &

Catherine Dovey 

GOLD PATRONS $20,000–$29,999Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth AM

Robert Albert AO & Elizabeth Albert

Christine Bishop Sandra & Neil BurnsJames & Leonie FurberI KallinikosHelen Lynch AM & Helen

BauerMrs T Merewether OAM

Mrs Barbara MurphyMr B G O’ConorVicki OlssonAndy & Deirdre PlummerGarry & Shiva RichDavid RobertsonMrs Penelope Seidler AM

G & C Solomon in memory of Joan MacKenzie

Geoff StearnRay Wilson OAM in memory

of James Agapitos OAM

Anonymous (2) 

SILVER PATRONS $10,000–$19,999Bailey Family FoundationAudrey BlundenMr Robert BrakspearIan & Jennifer BurtonMr Robert & Mrs L Alison CarrBob & Julie ClampettMichael Crouch AO &

Shanny CrouchThe Hon. Mrs Ashley

Dawson-Damer AM

Paul EspieEdward & Diane FedermanNora GoodridgeMr Ross GrantIan Dickson & Reg HollowaySimon JohnsonMr Ervin KatzJames N Kirby FoundationRuth & Bob MagidJustice Jane Mathews AO

The Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran Meagher

Mr John MorschelDrs Keith & Eileen OngMr John Symond AM

The Harry Triguboff Foundation

Caroline WilkinsonAnonymous (2)

BRONZE PATRONS $5,000–$9,999John Augustus & Kim RyrieStephen J BellDr & Mrs Hannes BoshoffMr Alexander & Mrs Vera

BoyarskyPeter Braithwaite &

Gary LinnaneMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Howard ConnorsEwen Crouch AM &

Catherine CrouchIn memory of Dr Lee

MacCormick EdwardsDr Stephen Freiberg &

Donald CampbellDr Colin GoldschmidtThe Greatorex FoundationRory & Jane JeffesThe late Mrs Isabelle JosephFrank Lowy AM &

Shirley Lowy OAM

Henri W Aram OAM & Robin Aram

Stephen J BellMr David & Mrs Halina BrettHoward ConnorsGreta DavisBrian GalwayMiss Pauline M Griffin AM

John Lam-Po-Tang

Peter Lazar AM

Daniel LemesleLouise MillerJames & Elsie MooreDouglas PaisleyKate RobertsMary Vallentine AO

Ray Wilson OAM

Anonymous (10)

Stuart Challender, SSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director 1987–1991

bequest donors

We gratefully acknowledge donors who have left a bequest to the SSO.

The late Mrs Lenore AdamsonEstate of Carolyn ClampertEstate Of Jonathan Earl William ClarkEstate of Colin T EnderbyEstate of Mrs E HerrmanEstate of Irwin ImhofThe late Mrs Isabelle JosephThe Estate of Dr Lynn JosephThe Late Greta C RyanJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

n n n n n n n n n n

28

BRONZE PATRONS CONTINUED

J A McKernanDavid Maloney AM &

Erin FlahertyR & S Maple-BrownMora MaxwellWilliam McIlrath Charitable

FoundationTaine MoufarrigeJohn & Akky van OgtropSeamus Robert QuickChris Robertson &

Katharine ShawRodney Rosenblum AM &

Sylvia RosenblumDr Evelyn RoyalManfred & Linda SalamonMrs Joyce Sproat &

Mrs Janet CookeTony StrachanDavid Tudehope & Liz DibbsMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary

WalshWestpac GroupMichael & Mary Whelan TrustIn memory of Geoff WhiteJune & Alan Woods Family

BequestAnonymous (2) 

PRESTO PATRONS $2,500–$4,999Mr Henri W Aram OAM

Ian BradyMr Mark BryantIta Buttrose AO OBE

Mrs Stella ChenDr Rebecca ChinDr Diana Choquette &

Mr Robert MillinerFirehold Pty LtdDr Kim FrumarWarren GreenAnthony GreggJames & Yvonne HochrothMr Roger Hudson & Mrs Claudia

Rossi-HudsonMr John Lam-Po-TangJames & Elsie MooreMs Jackie O’BrienJuliana SchaefferDr Agnes E SinclairEzekiel Solomon AM

Mr Ervin Vidor AM & Mrs Charlotte Vidor

Lang Walker AO & Sue WalkerYim Family Foundation Anonymous (1)

VIVACE PATRONS $1,000–$2,499Mrs Lenore AdamsonMrs Antoinette AlbertRae & David AllenAndrew Andersons AO

Mr Matthew AndrewsThe Hon Justice Michael BallDavid BarnesMr Garry BessonAllan & Julie BlighJan BowenRoslynne BracherMrs R D Bridges OBE

Lenore P BuckleMargaret BulmerIn memory of RW BurleyMrs Rhonda CaddyMr B & Mrs M ColesMs Suzanne CollinsJoan Connery OAM &

Maxwell Connery OAM

Debby Cramer & Bill CaukillMr John Cunningham SCM &

Mrs Margaret CunninghamGreta DavisLisa & Miro DavisElizabeth DonatiColin Draper & Mary Jane

BrodribbProf. & Mrs John EdmondsMalcolm Ellis & Erin O’NeillMrs Margaret EppsMr Matt GarrettVivienne Goldschmidt &

Owen JonesMrs Fay GrearIn Memory of Angelica GreenAkiko GregoryMr & Mrs Harold &

Althea HallidayJanette HamiltonMrs Jennifer HershonAngus HoldenMr Kevin Holland &

Mrs Roslyn AndrewsThe Hon. David Hunt AO QC &

Mrs Margaret HuntDr & Mrs Michael HunterMr Philip Isaacs OAM

Michael & Anna JoelMrs W G KeighleyDr Andrew KennedyJennifer KingAron KleinlehrerMr Andrew Korda &

Ms Susan PearsonMr Justin LamMr Peter Lazar AM

Professor Winston LiauwAirdrie LloydMrs Juliet LockhartPeter Lowry OAM &

Dr Carolyn Lowry OAM

Kevin & Deirdre McCannIan & Pam McGawMatthew McInnesMacquarie Group FoundationBarbara MaidmentJohn Mar

Renee MarkovicMr Danny R MayHelen & Phil MeddingsI MerrickHenry & Ursula MooserMilja & David MorrisMrs J MulveneyMr Darrol NormanE J NuffieldDr Mike O’Connor AM

Mr & Mrs OrtisMr Andrew C PattersonMichael PaulAlmut PiattiIn memory of Sandra Paul

PottingerDr Raffi QasabianMr Patrick Quinn-GrahamErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R ReedPatricia H Reid Endowment

Pty LtdDr Marilyn RichardsonIn memory of Katherine

RobertsonMr David RobinsonTim RogersLesley & Andrew RosenbergIn memory of H St P ScarlettMr Samuel F ShefferDavid & Alison ShilligtonDr Judy SoperMrs Judith SouthamMs Barbara SpencerMrs Elizabeth SquairCatherine StephenThe Hon. Brian Sully QC

Mrs Margaret SwansonThe Taplin FamilyDr & Mrs H K TeyKevin TroyJohn E TuckeyJudge Robyn TupmanDr Alla WaldmanMiss Sherry WangWestpac Banking CorporationHenry & Ruth WeinbergThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyDr Richard T WhiteMrs Leonore WhyteA Willmers & R PalBetty WilkenfeldDr Edward J WillsProf. Neville Wills &

Ian FenwickeAnn & Brooks C Wilson AM

Dr Richard WingDr Peter Wong &

Mrs Emmy K WongGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesSir Robert WoodsMr & Mrs Lindsay WoolveridgeIn memory of Lorna Wright

Dr John YuAnonymous (13)

ALLEGRO PATRONS $500–$999Nikki AbrahamsMs Jenny AllumKatherine AndrewsMr Peter J ArmstrongGarry & Tricia AshMr & Mrs George BallDr Lilon BandlerBarlow Cleaning Pty LtdBarracouta Pty LtdBeauty Point Retirement

ResortMr Michael BeckDr Andrew BellRichard & Margaret BellMrs Jan BiberMinnie BiggsG D BoltonIn memory of Jillian BowersR D & L M BroadfootDr Peter BroughtonDr David BryantArnaldo BuchDr Miles BurgessPat & Jenny BurnettRosemary CampbellMr JC Campbell QC &

Mrs CampbellJudy ChiddyIn memory of Beth HarpleyMr Phillip CornwellDr Peter CraswellMr David CrossPhil Diment AM & Bill

ZafiropoulosDr David DixonSusan DoenauMrs Jane DrexlerDana DupereDr Nita DurhamJohn FavaloroMrs Lesley FinnMs Julie Flynn & Mr Trevor CookMrs Paula FlynnMr John GadenClive & Jenny GoodwinRichard Griffin AM

Dr Jan GroseBenjamin Hasic &

Belinda DavieMr Robert HavardMrs Joan HenleyRoger HenningSue HewittDr Joan-Mary HindsDorothy Hoddinott AO

Bill & Pam HughesMs Cynthia KayeMrs Margaret KeoghDr Henry Kilham

Playing Your Part

SSO PATRONS

29

“Together, we have an ambition to foster a love of orchestral music in school children of all ages, and to equip their teachers with the skills they need to develop this in our young people…”DAVID ROBERTSON SSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TODAY

Dr Joyce KirkMrs Patricia KleinhansAnna-Lisa KlettenbergSonia LalL M B LampratiDr Barry LandaElaine M LangshawDr Leo & Mrs Shirley LeaderMargaret LedermanMrs Erna LevyMrs A LohanMr Gabriel LopataPanee LowMelvyn MadiganMs Jolanta MasojadaMr Guido MayerLouise MillerPatricia MillerKenneth Newton MitchellMrs Judith MortonMr Graham NorthMr Sead NurkicDr A J PalmerDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamDr John PittJohn Porter & Annie

Wesley-SmithMrs Greeba PritchardThe Hon. Dr Rodney Purvis AM

& Mrs Marian PurvisMichael QuaileyMiss Julie RadosavljevicRenaissance ToursJanelle RostronMrs Christine Rowell-MillerMrs Louise RowstonJorie Ryan for Meredith RyanMr Kenneth Ryan

VANGUARD COLLECTIVEJustin Di Lollo ChairBelinda BentleyOscar McMahonTaine Moufarrige

Founding PatronShefali PryorSeamus R Quick

Founding PatronChris Robertson &

Katherine Shaw Founding Patrons

MEMBERSJames ArmstrongPhilip AtkinLuan AtkinsonJoan BallantineJames BaudzusAndrew BaxterAdam BeaupeurtAnthony BeresfordAndrew BotrosPeter BraithwaiteBlake BriggsAndrea BrownMelanie BrownAttila BrungsIan BurtonJennifer BurtonPaul ColganClaire CooperBridget CormackRobbie CranfieldAsha CugatiJuliet CurtinRosalind De SaillyPaul DeschampsCatherine DonnellyAlistair FurnivalAlexandra GibsonSam GiddingsMarina GoJeremy GoffHilary GoodsonTony GriersonLouise HaggertyRose HercegFrancis HicksPeter HowardJennifer HoyKatie HryceVirginia JudgeJonathan Kennedy

Aernout KerbertPatrick KokAlisa LaiJohn Lam-Po-TangTristan LandersJessye LinGary LinnaneDavid LoSaskia LoGabriel LopataRebecca MacFarlingRobert McGroryDavid McKeanNick NichlesKate O’ReillyPeter O’SullivanJonathan PeaseCleo PoserLaurisa PoulosMichael RadovnikovicSudeep RaoMichael ReedeChris RobertsonBenjamin RobinsonAlvaro Rodas FernandezJacqueline RowlandsAnthony Michael SchembriBenjamin SchwartzKatherine ShawCecilia StornioloRandal TameSandra TangIan TaylorMichael TidballMark TimminsMichael TuffyKim WaldockJon WilkieYvonne ZammitAmy Zhou

SSO Vanguard

A membership program for a dynamic group of Gen X & Y SSO fans and future philanthropists

Garry Scarf & Morgie BlaxillPeter & Virginia ShawJudge David S ShillingtonMrs Diane Shteinman AM

Victoria SmythDoug & Judy SotherenColin SpencerJames & Alice SpigelmanAshley & Aveen StephensonMargaret & William SuthersMargaret SwansonDr Jenepher ThomasMrs Caroline ThompsonMrs June ThorntonMs Rhonda TingAlma TooheyMrs M TurkingtonGillian Turner & Rob BishopMr Robert VeelRonald WalledgeIn memory of Denis WallisIn memoriam JBL WattMiss Roslyn WheelerThe Wilkinson FamilyEdward & Yvonne WillsYetty WindtMr Evan WongMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (34)

SSO Patrons pages correct as of 5 January 2015

n n n n n n n n n n

30

SALUTE

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

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

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

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

EDUCATION PARTNERPLATINUM PARTNER

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNER MARKETING PARTNERVANGUARD PARTNER

PREMIER PARTNER

SILVER PARTNERS

s i n f i n i m u s i c . c o m

UNIVERSAL MUSIC AUSTRALIA

MAJOR PARTNERS

GOLD PARTNERS

Salute 2015_21Jan.indd 1 3/02/15 2:42 PM

ORCHESTRA NEWS | FEBRUARY–MARCH 2015

❝You have to find a way in music to grab people…

❞piece, I am always full of doubts and fear. When I write a piece, I quite literally believe it’s the last piece I ever write.’ It’s a torturous path. ‘Every time I think “this is my last piece. I may as well pour everything I’ve got into this one.” It makes it quite an intense thing when I get to rehearsals. I’ve invested all of myself in that and what if, after all that, it’s no good?’

Jerusalem (after Blake) is the most recent work completed in Georges’ magnum opus Caeli enarrant… Based on the poetry and visual art of William Blake, ‘this piece is somewhat psychedelic, even apocalyptic. Blake is a visionary, his poetry and art are very intense and direct. I too would like to grab people, take them by the throat. From a fortissimo darkness, through the most gentle serene moments. You have to find a way in music to grab people, not to leave them uninvolved.’

Georges Lentz’s Jerusalem (after Blake) was commissioned with the assistance of an anonymous donor. It receives its first Australian performances in February.

Robertson conducts La MerWed 18 Feb, 6.30pmSchumann 3 & 4Sat 21 Feb, 2pm

Once upon a time, performing composers were the norm. Sadly, these days they’re the exception. And our very own exception is first violinist Georges Lentz, also an internationally celebrated composer who originally hails from Luxembourg.

How do performing and composing inform each other? ‘I’ve always liked to do both,’ says Georges. ‘It gives a nice balance. When one thing is not going so well, there’s always the other to fall back on. Also, performing gives you insight into the practicalities of writing for musicians: you know what

musicians like to see, you know what annoys them.’

‘It can sometimes be difficult – as a composer who is also an orchestral musician – to play Tchaikovsky all day long and then go home and write your own music. Sure, as musicians we have a responsibility to play the music of Tchaikovsky, or Walton, or even Elton John, in such a way that it is relevant and alive.’ But as a composer, he sighs, ‘it’s not always what you need to hear.’

Of his own music, Georges is extremely self critical. ‘Before a rehearsal process starts on a new

Pho

to: T

obia

s B

ohm

AN EXCEPTIONAL MUSICIANFirst violinist Georges Lentz straddles the complementary professions of composer and performer

SSO Bravo! #1 2015 Insert_2.indd 1 6/02/15 2:14 PM

I noticed in a recent concert that the clarinets seemed to keep swapping instruments, which, to the naked and distant eye, more or less looked exactly the same. What’s the reason for this?

What a great question! Let me first say, it’s not because we’re extremely indecisive! Mostly we’re switching between two clarinets – the ‘B flat’ and ‘A’ clarinets. Physically, they’re about 2 cms different in length, with the A clarinet the longer of the

two, and therefore sounding a semitone lower.

There are subtle, but important differences in tone colour between the two instruments. The B flat is slightly brighter, whereas the A clarinet has a more mellow, rounded tone. Sometimes we have to change between clarinets really quickly, especially in the music of Mahler and Strauss.

The mouthpieces are interchangeable, and we use cork grease to ensure the mouthpiece can come out easily and then be inserted into the other barrel.

There’s a danger in a really quick clarinet change that you might accidentally rip the reed out too.

Clarinets are considered transposing instruments. From a clarinettist’s point of view, using two different clarinets has the advantage of keeping key signatures to just four sharps or flats. Fully explaining transposition would take more space than I have here, but basically, if composers are nice then we don’t have to play in horrible key signatures.Christopher Tingay, clarinet

Ask a Musician

Special EventPlanet EarthComposer Charlie Chan of the Global Orchestra Foundation has ideas. Lots of ideas. For instance, coinciding with this year’s Earth Hour, a performance by the SSO of Holst’s Planets is going to be beamed around the globe.

‘The Global Orchestra team wanted to find a way to encourage musicians to participate and extend the participation of Earth Hour,’ explains Charlie. A plan was hatched to find a soundtrack to Earth Hour. Nathan Waks, former principal cellist with the SSO, suggested The Planets and the idea took flight.

The hope is that schools, universities, individuals and ensembles of all abilities will participate by playing along with the live stream of the concert. ‘We’ll be composing additional music that’s suited to primary school students,’ adds Charlie. ‘They’ll make some junk instruments out of recycled materials, so that kids can make their own instruments and play along.’

With The Planets forming the true heart of this

project, there are a number of satellite ways in which the Global team hope you’ll take part. For more information: www.globalorchestra.com

David Robertson conducts The Planets on Friday 27 March (11am) and for Earth Hour on Saturday 28 March (8.30pm).

Pho

to: K

en B

utti

‘Yes, that’s our concertmaster Andrew Haveron – nine storeys high on the Sydney Opera House!’

If you were near the Sydney Opera House on 4 February you would have seen spectacular

projections, bringing our Greatest Hits from Vienna concert from inside the Concert Hall to viewers, not just on the foreshore, but watching from around the world. The dynamic footage of our musicians in performance was complemented by gorgeous imagery inspired by Vienna’s rich culture. The awe-inspiring result represented a true cross-city cultural collaboration, and we thank the Vienna Tourist Board for presenting the event. Enjoy the webstream via YouTube: bit.ly/VisionsViennaOnDemand

SSO Bravo! #1 2015 Insert_2.indd 2 6/02/15 2:15 PM

Farewell Bravo! – till we meet againSince 2012, we’ve been publishing Bravo! as an in-program magazine. But this has been just one manifestation of our audience newsletters over the years. If you’ve been a subscriber for long enough you’ll probably remember the quarterly Bravo! that was mailed to homes and the various newsletters – Notations, Symphony – that preceded it going back to the 1990s and even earlier.

One of the reasons we moved Bravo! to the program books was a desire to reach everyone in our audience, not just those who were on our subscriber mailing list. And for the past three years Bravo! has functioned as our way of sharing news and insights with anyone who attended a concert.

Recently we’ve found that the news we’d like to share and the musical personalities we want to introduce to you are too much for the few pages available at the back of the program. We’re also realising that printed booklets aren’t the best way to share music, talk or video in an increasingly multimedia world.

So even though this is the final issue of Bravo! as you’ve known it in recent years, stay tuned as we expand the offerings on our website, and continue to bring you a wealth of news and stories from behind the scenes.

Finally, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to Bravo! editor Genevieve Huppert, who has shepherded more than 30 issues of Bravo! into being. We especially admire the grace and imagination she has brought to the musician feature-profiles.

Past issues of Bravo! can be downloaded from sydneysymphony.com/bravo

The Score

teens, early 20s; that’s exactly the age of our singers,’ says Lyn. ‘To me, there’s a power in that.

For the centenary commemorations of the 1915 Gallipoli landing, choristers from Turkey, France and New Zealand will augment the Australian Gondwana Chorale. ‘The idea was to represent many of the nations that were there in Gallipoli.’ Lyn explains. ‘It makes a lot of sense for these choristers to come together – especially with what’s going on in the world,’ says Lyn. ‘While there is conflict in the world, our young choristers can come together to present a positive affirmation of peace.’

Writing the piece also gave James pause for thought about war and conflict. ‘I deliberately chose the title War Music, rather than specifically addressing the Gallipoli landing. I think anybody who has lost their lives through a political decision in the name of their country – not just in 1915 – deserves to be commemorated.’

Gondwana Choirs is looking for host families to billet the visiting international choristers for these performances. If you are able to extend the ANZAC spirit in this way, please contact Tessa Kay at tessa@gondwanachoirs.com.au or call (02) 8274 7003.

‘War is horrible,’ says Australian composer James Ledger. ‘The extent of its casualties goes well beyond the horrific number of people who die on the battlefields.’

On 24 April, the Sydney and New Zealand symphony orchestras are commemorating the centenary of the Gallipoli landings with simultaneous concerts featuring two world premieres by Australian and New Zealand composers. The SSO commissioned James to write War Music, which features words by Australian musician and storyteller Paul Kelly; the NZSO has commissioned Kiwi composer Michael F Williams to write Letters from the Front.

‘Paul’s new text is written from the point of view of the souls and spirits of the diggers who died there,’ explains James. ‘One of the lines in it was: “We died in smoke and noise. We died alone.” That’s the line that really hit me – “We died alone.” That just got me.’

To perform War Music, the SSO will be joined by singers from Gondwana Chorale, whose members are aged 17–25. Lyn Williams, Artistic Director and Founder of Gondwana Choirs, says there is a real impact in using young voices for a work like this. ‘If you think of soldiers at Gallipoli, they would have been in their late

Artistic Focus

ANZAC SPIRITS

Gondwana Chorale will be joined by other young choristers from Turkey, France and New Zealand when they perform James Ledger’s War Music in April.

SSO Bravo! #1 2015 Insert_2.indd 3 6/02/15 2:15 PM

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

All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the editor, publisher or any distributor of the programs. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of statements in this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material prior to printing.

Please address all correspondence to the Publications Editor: Email program.editor@sydneysymphony.com

Sydney Opera House TrustThe Hon. Helen Coonan [Acting Chair]Ms Catherine Brenner, Ms Brenna Hobson, Mr Chris Knoblanche, Mr Peter Mason am, Ms Jillian Segal am, Mr Robert Wannan, Mr Phillip Wolanski am

Executive ManagementChief Executive Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Louise Herron am

Chief Operating Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire SpencerDirector, Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jonathan BielskiDirector, Theatre & Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David ClaringboldDirector, Building Development & Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . .Greg McTaggartDirector, Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anna ReidDirector, External Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brook Turner

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Administration (02) 9250 7111 Bennelong Point Box Office (02) 9250 7777 GPO Box 4274 Facsimile (02) 9250 7666 Sydney NSW 2001 Website sydneyoperahouse.com

PAPER PARTNER

Symphony Services InternationalSuite 2, Level 5, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010PO Box 1145, Darlinghurst NSW 1300Telephone (02) 8622 9400 Facsimile (02) 8622 9422www.symphonyinternational.net

All enquiries for advertising space in this publication should be directed to the above company and address. Entire concept copyright. Reproduction without permission in whole or in part of any material contained herein is prohibited. Title ‘Playbill’ is the registered title of Playbill Proprietary Limited. Title ‘Showbill’ is the registered title of Showbill Proprietary Limited. 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 specified on the title page of this publication 17501 — 1/200215 — 05TS/G S7/8

This is a PLAYBILL / SHOWBILL publication. Playbill Proprietary Limited / Showbill Proprietary Limited ACN 003 311 064 ABN 27 003 311 064

Head Office: Suite A, Level 1, Building 16, Fox Studios Australia, Park Road North, Moore Park NSW 2021 PO Box 410, Paddington NSW 2021Telephone: +61 2 9921 5353 Fax: +61 2 9449 6053 E-mail: admin@playbill.com.au Website: www.playbill.com.auChairman Brian Nebenzahl OAM RFD Managing Director Michael Nebenzahl Editorial Director Jocelyn Nebenzahl Manager—Production—Classical Music Alan ZieglerOperating in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart & Darwin

Playbill runs its own printery where we print all our theatre programs. We also print a variety of jobs from flyers to posters to brochures. Contact us at print@playbill.com.au for a quote on your printing work.

EDITOR Genevieve Huppert sydneysymphony.com/bravo

TunED-Up

Already this year, 50 primary school teachers, many with little or no existing music training, have travelled to Sydney from all over NSW to participate in the SSO’s five-day TunED-Up program. Now in its second year, TunED-Up helps teachers develop their music teaching skills under the guidance of SSO Director of Learning and Engagement Kim Waldock. Last year we calculated we reached about 8,000 children by ‘teaching the teachers’, and that number is set to grow again this year. Our thanks to Fred and Dorothy Street together with the other supporters who make this magical program possible.

OUR BIGGEST FAN

Nothing beats a personal recommendation, and last November Ben Folds was our biggest fan. In concerts with the

SSO featuring his new piano concerto, he told audiences to come back to the concert hall and listen to the music that makes their orchestra shine. ‘My stuff’s not bad,’ he said, but orchestras are the ‘highest form of civilisation’.

TRADE SECRETS

Someone asked us recently if we use real cannons for the performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, which traditionally concludes Symphony in the Domain. As this is the final print issue of Bravo, we’re in the mood to spill a few trade secrets. Each cannon has pyrotechnics attached to the muzzle and is fired via a wireless remote. There are usually two special guests invited to ‘light’ the cannons with sparklers. For best effect, our stage manager cues the VIPs to touch the sparkler to the cannons at the appropriate moment. The pyro technician who is doing the actual ‘firing’ is also cued. Needless to say, after so many years of the 1812 Overture,

the stage manager’s score is starting to look a little dog-eared…

DISCOVERY

If you haven’t yet been to one of our DownerTenix Discovery series concerts, then quite simply you’ve been missing out. Richard Gill, Artistic Director of the series, is communicator par excellence, and unpacks music in such a way that everyone can understand. This is his final year of leading these illuminating and inspiring presentations, so come along and begin by discovering Beethoven’s Second Symphony with Richard and the Sydney Symphony Sinfonia on 24 February.

Discover Mahler Tue 5 May Discover Ravel Tue 25 Aug Discover Richard Strauss Tue 10 Nov City Recital Hall Angel Place

WELCOME

We welcome Jennifer Drysdale, our new Philanthropy Manager.

CODA

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

All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the editor, publisher or any distributor of the programs. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of statements in this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material prior to printing.

Please address all correspondence to the Publications Editor: Email program.editor@sydneysymphony.com

Sydney Opera House TrustMr John Symond am [Chair]Ms Catherine Brenner, The Hon Helen Coonan, Ms Brenna Hobson, Mr Chris Knoblanche, Mr Peter Mason am, Ms Jillian Segal am, Mr Robert Wannan, Mr Phillip Wolanski am

Executive ManagementChief Executive Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Louise Herron am

Chief Operating Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire SpencerDirector, Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jonathan BielskiDirector, Theatre & Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David ClaringboldDirector, Building Development & Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . .Greg McTaggartDirector, Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Anna ReidDirector, External Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brook Turner

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Administration (02) 9250 7111 Bennelong Point Box Office (02) 9250 7777 GPO Box 4274 Facsimile (02) 9250 7666 Sydney NSW 2001 Website sydneyoperahouse.com

PAPER PARTNER

Symphony Services InternationalSuite 2, Level 5, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010PO Box 1145, Darlinghurst NSW 1300Telephone (02) 8622 9400 Facsimile (02) 8622 9422www.symphonyinternational.net

All enquiries for advertising space in this publication should be directed to the above company and address. Entire concept copyright. Reproduction without permission in whole or in part of any material contained herein is prohibited. Title ‘Playbill’ is the registered title of Playbill Proprietary Limited. Title ‘Showbill’ is the registered title of Showbill Proprietary Limited. 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 specified on the title page of this publication 1/110215 — 02 — S2/4

This is a PLAYBILL / SHOWBILL publication. Playbill Proprietary Limited / Showbill Proprietary Limited ACN 003 311 064 ABN 27 003 311 064

Head Office: Suite A, Level 1, Building 16, Fox Studios Australia, Park Road North, Moore Park NSW 2021 PO Box 410, Paddington NSW 2021Telephone: +61 2 9921 5353 Fax: +61 2 9449 6053 E-mail: admin@playbill.com.au Website: www.playbill.com.auChairman Brian Nebenzahl OAM RFD Managing Director Michael Nebenzahl Editorial Director Jocelyn Nebenzahl Manager—Production—Classical Music Alan ZieglerOperating in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart & Darwin

Playbill runs its own printery where we print all our theatre programs. We also print a variety of jobs from flyers to posters to brochures. Contact us at print@playbill.com.au for a quote on your printing work.

SSO Bravo! #1 2015 Insert_2.indd 4 11/02/15 8:12 AM