MEET THE MUSIC PRESENTED BY AIM

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Thursday 31 October 2013

DVORÁK’S NEW WORLD Explorations in Sound

THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY’S MUSIC INDUSTRY

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WELCOME

On behalf of the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), Silver Partner of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, I’d like to welcome you to Dvořák’s New World, the final program in this year’s Meet the Music series.

Composers can ‘say’ things in music that can’t be expressed any other way. And just as learning to speak is the first step towards telling a story, so learning the language of music is crucial to finding your own artistic voice.

In this concert, you’ll hear three thoroughly original compositions, each one with its own distinctive voice, from the New World Symphony with its American inspiration, to a brand new concerto that combines an Eastern palette with a Western one.

Quality music education is key to a vibrant artistic culture. AIM and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra are proud to help young musicians find their creative identities and discover their own ‘new worlds’.

So don’t just Meet the Music this evening – let your mind wander and see where the music meets you!

Prof. Ian BofingerExecutive DeanAustralian Institute of Music

THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY’S MUSIC INDUSTRY

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THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY’S MUSIC INDUSTRY

PRESENTING PARTNER

2013 season meet the musicpresented by australian institute of musicWednesday 30 October | 6.30pmThursday 31 October | 6.30pmSydney Opera House Concert Hall

Dvorák’s New World: Explorations in SoundJessica Cottis CONDUCTOR Wu Man PIPA

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes

Dawn (Act I)Sunday Morning (Act II)Moonlight (Act III)Storm (Act I)

Zhao Jiping (born 1945)Pipa Concerto No.2PREMIERE

INTERVAL

Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904)Symphony No.9 in E minor, Op.95, From the New World

Adagio – Allegro moltoLargoScherzo (Molto vivace)Allegro con fuoco

This concert will be introduced by Andrew Ford, award-winning composer, writer and broadcaster, and presenter of The Music Show on ABC Radio National.

Wednesday’s performance will be recorded for later broadcast by ABC Classic FM.

Pre-concert talk by Kim Waldock at 5.45pm in the Northern Foyer.

Estimated durations: 17 minutes, 20 minutes, 20-minute interval, 45 minutes The concert will conclude at approximately 8.30pm.

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The origins of Peter Grimes

About the composer

BENJAMIN BRITTENEnglish composer(1913–1976)

Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten was born on St Cecilia’s Day (22 November), and whether the connection with the patron saint of music was an omen or not, he showed great promise and talent as a performer and composer. He studied piano and viola, and by the age of 14 had 100 opus numbers to his credit! His fi rst composition teacher was Frank Bridge, from whom Britten said he learnt two cardinal principles: ‘that you should fi nd yourself and be true to what you found. The other...was his scrupulous attention to good technique.’ It wasn’t long before Britten was being hailed as ‘the greatest English composer since Purcell’. Peter Grimes made Britten’s name as a musical dramatist. It was his fi rst full-scale opera, and it turned out a masterpiece.

Britten and his partner Peter Pears were visiting California in 1941 when Pears bought a copy of the works of poet George Crabbe: like Britten, a native of Suff olk. An article on Crabbe by E.M. Forster in The Listener alerted Britten and Pear’s attention to The Borough, the long poem upon which Peter Grimes is based.

With fi nancial assistance from the Koussevitsky Foundation, Britten and Pears began to sketch out a scenario for Peter Grimes before leaving America in 1942. They fl eshed it out aboard ship, and on arrival home in England called in a librettist to write the words. Britten began to compose the music in January 1944. In June the following year, Sadlers Wells decided to reopen their North London theatre with this opera, and it was premiered there on 7 June 1945.

Britten was fascinated by the sea, and particularly his native coast. He once wrote: ‘My parents’ house in Lowestoft directly faced the sea, and my life as a child was coloured by the fi erce storms that sometimes drove ships on our coast and ate away whole stretches of neighbouring cliff s.’

But Crabbe’s Borough didn’t just provide Britten with opportunities for musical portrayal of the forces of nature.

The sea interludes

ABOUT THE MUSIC

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Navigating the interludes

Britten and Pears found something to sympathise with in the human drama of the protagonist Peter Grimes and his isolation from his community.

In Peter Grimes the orchestral writing is particularly substantial. The Four Sea Interludes function as entr’actes or preludes in the opera, but are eff ectively concert pieces. Although they comprise some of the most eff ective portrayals of the sea in all of orchestral literature, they are also riven with the emotion which makes Grimes a very human drama.

Dawn is heard in Act I, after the Prologue’s coronial inquest has established that Grimes cannot be held culpable for the death by drowning of his young apprentice. The high fl utes and violins suggest almost uncannily the cold glassy greyness of the sea, or of a deserted beach; the swirl of harp, clarinets and violas an encroaching wave, while a brass chorale suggests, perhaps, the swell, with even, at one point, a note of menace.

The tolling of Sunday morning church bells is rendered most eff ectively by the overlapping clashing pairs of French horns in Sunday Morning, the beginning of Act II in the opera.

When heard in the context of the opera, the repose of Moonlight is ironic. Another of Grimes’ apprentices has died by misadventure, and already the audience senses that Grimes is steering unavoidably towards tragedy. Arnold Whittall calls this: ‘one of Britten’s most subtle nature scenes, a night-piece shot through with luminous shafts of moonlight.’

Stage directors can founder on attempts to render a visual analogue to Britten’s highly eff ective Act I Storm; it is sometimes best to leave the curtain down. The storm here is also a mental storm, a musical postscript to Peter’s outpouring of anguish and lonely confusion to his friend, Balstrode.

The Sea Interludes call for two fl utes (doubling piccolos), two oboes, two clarinets (one doubling E fl at clarinet), two bassoons and contrabassoon; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion; harp and strings.

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Pipa Concerto No.2

Zhao Jiping is one of the China’s most prominent composers. In Australia he is best known for his soundtracks to fi lms such as Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou) and Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige), and his work has won him awards at the Cannes and Berlin fi lm festivals. His music style is characterised by the combination of traditional Chinese melodic and harmonic gestures with Western orchestral colours, and he has composed widely in Western genres, writing symphonies and symphonic poems as well as concertos.

Zhao studied at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music, and heis the Director of the Institute of Dance and Music Drama of Shaanxi Province. He is also closely associated with the Silk Road Project, led by Yo-Yo Ma, and has completed a number of commissioned works for the project, including Moon Over Guan Mountains, Distant Green Valley, Sacred Cloud Music, Summer in the High Grassland and The Battle Remembered.

The pipa is a lute-like instrument with a history of more than two thousand years. During the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC–220 AD), instruments with long, straight necks and round resonators with snake skin or wooden sound boards were played with a forward and backward plucking motion that sounded like ‘pi’ and ‘pa’ to fanciful ears. Hence, all plucked instruments in ancient times were called ‘pipa’. During the Tang dynasty, by way of Central Asia, the introduction of a crooked neck lute with a pear-shaped body contributed to the pipa’s evolution. Today’s instrument consists of 26 frets and six ledges arranged as stops and its four strings are tuned respectively to A D E A. The pipa’s many left and right hand fi ngering techniques, rich tonal qualities and resonant timbre give its music a lasting and endearing expressiveness and beauty.

ZHAO JIPINGChinese composer (born 1945)

About the composer

Wu Man explains the pipa

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The composer writes…In 2012 I was approached by Wu Man to write a concerto. Having known and admired Wu Man for many years, I was immediately taken by the prospect and, in fact, had been wanting to write something that could feature her incredible artistry. This is my second concerto for pipa, an instrument that resonates so closely to my heart.

Wu Man has a unique perspective on the interpretation of music, particularly on the integration of eastern sounds with western ensembles. I see this piece not so much as a traditional concerto, but more an exploration of poetic expression of thoughts and emotions, able to stimulate many levels of the audience’s imagination. The orchestra and Wu Man are the canvas and I have the privilege to paint the picture.

A few years ago I was fortunate to hear a concert of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (the lead commissioner for this concerto), and was immediately struck by the virtuosity of the musicians. With that sound in mind my goal is to create a pipa concerto with a strong Chinese fl avor combined with global musical language sense. The movements represent various expressions in diff erent textures and tempos, and inspired by the most elegant Chinese traditional music style, Ping Tang ( ), from Wu Man’s hometown in the Su Hang ( ) area. I am confi dent that this powerful collaboration will touch a new light!

Zhao Jiping’s Pipa Concerto No.2 was commissioned for Wu Man and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra by the SSO and a consortium of North American commissioners. It was completed in 2013 in Xi’an, China.

( ) )

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A Bohemian in New York

ANTONÍN DVORÁK Bohemian composer (1841–1904)

Symphony No.9 in E minor, Op.95, From the New World

When he was 37 years old, Dvorák went from being a struggling young artist to a composer with burgeoning international fame. He found a publisher, had his fi rst real success as an opera composer, and his Slavonic Dances for piano duet caused a run on the music shops. Soon he was established as one of the leading composers of the 19th century, and he was the musician of choice when Mrs Jeannette Thurber sought a director for her National Conservatory of Music in New York. There, Mrs Thurber hoped, he would contribute to the creation of an American national style. Dvorák, in turn, drew on the experience, composing two of his most popular works, the Cello Concerto and the New World Symphony.

Dvorák didn’t want to go to New York at fi rst, despite the tempting salary of $15,000 a year, but eventually he signed a two-year contract and on 15 September 1892, he, his wife, and two of their six children left Europe for a nine-day voyage, during which Dvorák reported ‘everyone was sick except me’. On arrival, Dvorák observed ‘the magnifi cent Statue of Liberty, in whose head alone there is room for 60 people’, before being whisked away to a luxury hotel. After paying $55 a week (‘Things are expensive here’), he took cheaper rooms in East 17th Street: ‘Mr Steinway sent me a piano immediately, a lovely instrument and, naturally, free of charge, so that we have at least one good piece of furniture in our living room.’

Dvorák wrote home: ‘The city itself is magnifi cent, lovely buildings and beautiful streets, and everything is so clean.’ Pulitzer’s massive 16-storey skyscraper dominated the horizon, while down on the street he witnessed the festivities marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s ‘discovery’ of the Americas.

From the fi rst, Dvorák was aware that something very

About the composer

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From the New World

special (maybe impossible) was expected of him: ‘What the American papers print about me is simply incredible – they expect me to be some sort of musical saviour!’ Parallels with the earlier European visitor were hard to avoid. The oration at his offi cial welcome in Carnegie Hall was prophetically entitled ‘The New World of Columbus and the New World of Music’.

Dvorák composed his ninth, and last, symphony in New York between January and May 1893. As his American-born secretary, Josef Kovarík, was about to deliver the score to the conductor, Dvorák suddenly wrote on the title page, in Czech, ‘From the New World’, echoing the title of the welcome speech. Kovarík said the inscription was just ‘the Master’s little joke’; but the ‘joke’ has, ever since, prompted the question: how American is the New World Symphony?

Dvorák could have written his ‘New World’ inscription, as in the welcome speech, in English. By writing it in Czech he was seen to be addressing the work, like a picture postcard, to his compatriots back in Europe. At the same time he challenged listeners to identify depictions of America or elements of American music. Either way, the composer was seen to be meeting the desire of his employer, Mrs Jeannette Thurber, for music which might be identifi ed as American.

In fact, Dvorák’s New World Symphony contains no borrowings from American music, although it’s possible to imagine the bustle of the cities, a spirit of simplicity and directness, and perhaps the vast, desolate prairies. But equally, the symphony is infused with a spirit of nostalgia and even homesickness. This is the clue to the famous Largo movement (which only later was turned into the ‘spiritual’ Goin’ home), and explains the appearance of a Czech dance in the middle of the lively third movement.

Goin’ home

SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER — PADDINGTON TOWN HALLBreak out the tux, put on your dancing shoes and join us for a night of revelry and entertainment to help us support Australia’s most talented young musicians at the SSO Roaring 20s Ball!

Tickets are available through the SSO Box Office call 8215 4600.

For more information visit www.sydneysymphony.com/20sball

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Hiawatha

Navigating the symphony

At the time of the première, Dvorák told the New York Herald that the two middle movements of the symphony were inspired by Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, which he’d read in Czech a long time ago and which Mrs Thurber was now suggesting for an opera. The famous slow movement, he said, was inspired by Hiawatha’s wooing of Minnehaha and the Scherzo by dancing at the wedding feast. Without using Native American melodies, he claimed to have given the Scherzo ‘the local colour of Indian music’ – an eff ect probably limited to repetitive rhythms and primitive harmonies.

The structure of the New World Symphony is pulled together by the musical ideas that recur throughout, like familiar faces in a crowd. The two main themes of the fi rst movement are recalled in festive mood in the Largo, at the brassy climax of the famous melody fi rst stated by the cor anglais. They turn up again in the coda of the Scherzo, the fi rst theme (somewhat disguised) also making three appearances earlier in the movement. The main themes of both middle movements recur in the development section of the fi nale, and the main themes of all three preceding movements are reviewed in the fi nal coda. There, a brief dialogue between the themes of the fi rst and last movements is cut short by a conventional cadence, spiced by unexpected wind colouring in the last chord of all.

The symphony calls for two fl utes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets and two bassoons; four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion; and strings.

Adapted in part from program notes by GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS (Britten), and ANTHONY CANE and GRAEME SKINNER (Dvorák).SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA © 2013

Autograph title page of Symphony No.9, From the New World

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Jessica Cottis CONDUCTOR

Jessica Cottis was born in Sale, Victoria and studied organ and musicology at the Australian National University. She continued her organ studies with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris and made her European debut at Westminster Cathedral in 2003. A hand injury halted her playing career and she began studying conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where her teachers were Colin Metters, George Hurst and Colin Davis. On graduating in 2009 she was appointed Assistant Conductor to Donald Runnicles at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Conducting Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as Manson Fellow in Composition at the RAM.

As Assistant Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, she divides her time between Australia and Britain, where she is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor. This season she makes debuts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic and will return to the BBC SSO and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

Jessica Cottis made her BBC Proms debut in 2010 conducting music by James Dillon, later conducting the premiere of his cycle Nine Rivers with the BBC SSO and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. She regularly conducts the Red Note Ensemble, Manson Ensemble and London Sinfonietta; appears in festivals across the UK, and has conducted opera premieres as well as core operatic repertoire in Britain and Europe. This year she has conducted a program in the SSO’s Sydney subscription series and on tour in Canberra and Albury, as well as several sets of SSO schools concerts. In 2014 she will return to the Mozart in the City series.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse and Symphony Services International

Read more in Bravo! bit.ly/Bravo2012-8

We regret that Joana Carneiro was obliged to cancel her appearances in Sydney for health reasons, but are delighted that Jessica Cottis has been able to step in at short notice.

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Wu Man PIPA

Recognised as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and a leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man has carved out a career as a composer, soloist and educator, giving her lute-like instrument a new role in both traditional and contemporary music.

Wu Man was born in Hangzhou, China and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she became the fi rst recipient of a master’s degree in pipa. She was brought up in the Pudong School of pipa playing, one of the most prestigious classical styles of Imperial China, and is recognised as an outstanding exponent of traditional repertoire for the pipa – with its history of more than two thousand years. At the same time she is the artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western world, and is a leading interpreter of music by contemporary composers, such as Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi and the late Lou Harrison.

Her fi rst exposure to Western classical music came in 1979 when she saw Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform in Beijing. In 1980 she participated in an open masterclass with violinist Isaac Stern, and in 1985 made her fi rst visit to the United States as a member of the China Youth Arts Troupe. She moved to the US in 1990 and is the fi rst artist from China to have performed at the White House. She frequently tours with the Silk Road Ensemble and separately as a soloist across North America.

Wu Man has striven to develop a place for the pipa in all art forms, initiating projects that have resulted in the pipa fi nding a place in new solo and quartet works, concertos, opera, chamber, electronic and jazz music as well as in theatre productions, fi lm, dance and collaborations with visual artists including calligraphers and painters. Wu Man’s role has developed beyond pipa performance to encompass singing, dancing, composing and curating projects such a pair of concerts at Carnegie Hall for the Ancient Paths, Modern Voices festival.

www.wumanpipa.org

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MUSICIANS

Vladimir AshkenazyPrincipal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Jessica CottisAssistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse

Andrew HaveronConcertmaster

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

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

FIRST VIOLINS

Andrew Haveron Concertmaster

Kirsten WilliamsAssociate Concertmaster

Lerida Delbridge Assistant Concertmaster

Fiona ZieglerAssistant Concertmaster

Julie BattyJenny BoothBrielle ClapsonSophie ColeGeorges LentzNicola LewisAlexander NortonRebecca Gill†Claire Herrick*Kelly Tang†

Dene Olding Concertmaster

Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster

Marianne BroadfootAmber DavisJennifer HoyAlexandra MitchellLéone Ziegler

SECOND VIOLINS

Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Emma Jezek A/ Associate Principal

Emily Long A/ Assistant Principal

Shuti HuangStan W KornelBenjamin LiNicole MastersPhilippa PaigeBiyana RozenblitMaja VerunicaElizabeth Jones*Maria DurekEmma Hayes

VIOLAS

Roger Benedict Anne-Louise Comerford Justin Williams Assistant Principal

Robyn BrookfieldSandro CostantinoJane HazelwoodGraham HenningsStuart JohnsonJustine MarsdenAmanda VernerTobias Breider Felicity TsaiLeonid Volovelsky

CELLOS

Catherine Hewgill Leah LynnAssistant Principal

Fenella GillTimothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleChristopher PidcockAdrian WallisDavid WickhamKristy Conrau

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees Boersma Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus

David CampbellSteven LarsonRichard LynnDavid MurrayBenjamin WardAlex Henery

FLUTES

Janet Webb Carolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo

Emma Sholl

OBOES

Diana Doherty David PappAlexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais

Shefali Pryor

CLARINETS

Francesco Celata Christopher TingayLawrence Dobell Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet

BASSOONS

Jack Schiller†ºFiona McNamaraNoriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon

Matthew Wilkie

HORNS

Robert Johnson Geoffrey O’Reilly Principal 3rd

Euan HarveyAbbey Edlin*Brendan Parravicini†

Ben Jacks Marnie SebireRachel Silver

TRUMPETS

David Elton Paul Goodchild Anthony Heinrichs TROMBONES

Scott Kinmont Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone

Milo Dodd*Ronald PrussingNick Byrne

TUBA

Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Richard Miller PERCUSSION

Rebecca Lagos Colin PiperMark Robinson Philip South*

HARP

Louise Johnson

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

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAVladimir Ashkenazy Principal Conductor and Artistic AdvisorPATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO

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

Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the SSO also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence, most recently in the 2012 tour to China.

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

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

Other releases on the Sydney Symphony Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vladimir Ashkenazy. 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 the ABC Classics label.

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

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Sydney Symphony Orchestra BoardJohn C Conde ao ChairmanTerrey Arcus amEwen Crouch am

Ross GrantJennifer HoyRory Jeffes

Andrew Kaldor amDavid LivingstoneGoetz Richter

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06 Kirsty Hilton Principal Second Violin Corrs Chambers Westgarth Chair

07 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair

08 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair

09 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair

10 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair

11 Janet Webb Principal Flute Helen Lynch am & Helen Bauer Chair

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PATRONS

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

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

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Corporate AllianceTony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner PrettyInsurance Australia Grou pJohn Morschel, Chairman, ANZ

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

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

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

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

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

Chair Patrons

01 02 03

04 05 06

07 08 09

10 11 For information about the Chair Patrons program, please call (02) 8215 4619.

David BluffKees Boersma Andrew BraggPeter BraithwaiteBlake BriggsAndrea BrownHelen CaldwellHilary CaldwellHahn ChauAlistair ClarkMatthew ClarkBenoît CocheteuxPaul ColganGeorge CondousJuliet CurtinJustin Di Lollo

Alistair FurnivalAlistair GibsonSam GiddingsMarina GoSebastian GoldspinkTony GriersonLouise HaggertyRose HercegPhilip HeuzenroederPaolo HookePeter HowardJennifer HoyScott JacksonJustin JamesonAernout KerbertTristan Landers

Gary LinnanePaul MacdonaldKylie McCaigRebecca MacFarlingDavid McKeanHayden McLeanAmelia Morgan-HunnPhoebe Morgan-HunnTaine MoufarrigeNick NichlesTom O’DonnellKate O’ReillyFiona OslerArchie PaffasJonathan PeaseJingmin Qian

Seamus R QuickLeah RanieMichael ReedePaul ReidyChris RobertsonBenjamin RobinsonEmma RodigariJacqueline RowlandsKatherine ShawRandal TameSandra TangAdam WandJon WilkieJonathan WatkinsonDarren WoolleyMisha Zelinsky

Justin Di Lollo – ChairKees BoersmaMarina GoDavid McKeanAmelia Morgan-HunnJonathan PeaseSeamus R Quick

MembersCentric WealthMatti AlakargasStephen AttfieldDamien BaileyMar BeltranEvonne BennettNicole Billet

Sydney Symphony Orchestra VanguardVanguard Collective

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PLAYING YOUR PART

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. Donations of $50 and above are acknowledged on our website at www.sydneysymphony.com/patrons

Platinum Patrons: $20,000+Brian AbelRobert Albert ao & Elizabeth AlbertGeoff AinsworthTerrey Arcus am & Anne ArcusTom Breen & Rachael KohnSandra & Neil BurnsMr John C Conde aoRobert & Janet ConstableMichael Crouch ao & Shanny CrouchJames & Leonie FurberDr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuff reIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonMr Andrew Kaldor am & Mrs Renata Kaldor aoD & I KallinikosHelen Lynch am & Helen BauerVicki OlssonMrs Roslyn Packer aoPaul & Sandra SalteriMrs Penelope Seidler amG & C Solomon in memory of Joan MacKenzieMrs W SteningMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy StreetPeter William Weiss ao & Doris WeissWestfi eld GroupMr Brian & Mrs Rosemary WhiteKim Williams am & Catherine DoveyRay Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oam

Gold Patrons: $10,000–$19,999Doug & Alison BattersbyAlan & Christine BishopIan & Jennifer BurtonCopyright Agency Cultural Fund Edward & Diane FedermanNora GoodridgeMr Ross GrantMr Ervin KatzJames N Kirby FoundationMs Irene LeeRuth & Bob MagidThe Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran MeagherMrs T Merewether oamMr John MorschelMr John SymondAndy & Deirdre Plummer Caroline WilkinsonAnonymous (1)

Silver Patrons: $5000–$9,999Stephen J BellMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyMr Robert BrakspearMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie ClampettEwen Crouch am & Catherine CrouchIan Dickson & Reg Holloway

Dr C GoldschmidtThe Greatorex Foundation Mr Rory Jeff esJudges of the Supreme Court of NSW J A McKernanR & S Maple-BrownJustice Jane Mathews aoMora MaxwellMrs Barbara MurphyDrs Keith & Eileen OngTimothy & Eva PascoeWilliam McIlrath Charitable FoundationMr B G O’ConorRodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia RosenblumEstate of the late Greta C RyanManfred & Linda SalamonSimpsons SolicitorsMrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet CookeMichael & Mary Whelan TrustJune & Alan Woods Family BequestAnonymous (2)

Bronze Patrons: Presto $2,500–$4,999Mr Henri W Aram oamThe Berg Family Foundation in memory of Hetty GordonMr B & Mrs M ColesMr Howard ConnorsGreta DavisThe Hon. Ashley Dawson-DamerFirehold Pty LtdStephen Freiberg & Donald CampbellVic & Katie FrenchMrs Jennifer HershonGary LinnaneRobert McDougallRenee MarkovicJames & Elsie MooreMs Jackie O’BrienJ F & A van OgtropIn memory of Sandra Paul PottingerIn memory of H St P ScarlettDavid & Isabel SmithersMarliese & Georges TeitlerMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary WalshMr & Mrs T & D YimAnonymous (1)

Bronze Patrons: Vivace $1,000–$2,499Mrs Antoinette AlbertAndrew Andersons aoMr & Mrs Garry S AshDr Francis J AugustusSibilla BaerRichard and Christine Banks David BarnesMark Bethwaite am & Carolyn Bethwaite

Allan & Julie BlighDr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Jan BowenLenore P BuckleM BulmerIn memory of RW BurleyIta Buttrose ao obeMr JC Campbell qc & Mrs CampbellDr Rebecca ChinDr Diana Choquette & Mr Robert MillinerMr Peter ClarkeConstable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill CaukillMr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret CunninghamLisa & Miro DavisMatthew DelaseyMr & Mrs Grant DixonColin Draper & Mary Jane BrodribbMalcolm Ellis & Erin O’NeillMrs Margaret EppsPaul R EspieProfessor Michael Field AMMr Tom FrancisMr James Graham am & Mrs Helen GrahamWarren GreenAnthony GreggAkiko GregoryTony GriersonEdward & Deborah Griffi nRichard Griffi n amIn memory of Dora & Oscar GrynbergJanette HamiltonMrs & Mr HolmesThe Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret HuntDr & Mrs Michael HunterIrwin Imhof in memory of Herta ImhofMichael & Anna JoelIn memory of Bernard M H KhawMr Justin LamMr Luigi LampratiMr Peter Lazar amProfessor Winston LiauwDr David LuisPeter Lowry oam & Dr Carolyn Lowry oamDr David LuisDeirdre & Kevin McCannIan & Pam McGawMatthew McInnesMacquarie Group FoundationMrs Toshiko MericHenry & Ursula MooserMilja & David MorrisMrs J MulveneyOrigin FoundationMr & Mrs OrtisDr A J PalmerMr Andrew C Patterson

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

Dr Natalie E PelhamAlmut PiattiRobin PotterTA & MT Murray-PriorDr Raffi QasabianMichael QuaileyErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R ReedPatricia H Reid Endowment Pty LtdDr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June RoartyRobin RodgersLesley & Andrew RosenbergJulianna Schaeff erCaroline SharpenDr Agnes E SinclairMrs Judith SouthamMrs Karen Spiegal-KeighleyCatherine StephenJohn & Alix SullivanThe Hon. Brian Sully qcMildred TeitlerKevin TroyJohn E TuckeyIn memory of Joan & Rupert VallentineDr Alla WaldmanMiss Sherry WangHenry & Ruth WeinbergThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyMs Kathy White in memory of Mr Geoff WhiteA Willmers & R PalMr & Mrs B C WilsonDr Richard WingMr Robert WoodsIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John YuAnonymous (12)

Bronze Patrons: Allegro $500–$999Mrs Lenore AdamsonDavid & Rae AllenMichael Baume ao & Toni BaumeBeauty Point Retirement ResortRichard & Margaret BellMrs Jan BiberMinnie BiggsMrs Elizabeth BoonMr Colin G BoothDr Margaret BoothMr Peter BraithwaiteMr Harry H BrianR D & L M BroadfootDr Miles Burgess

Pat & Jenny BurnettEric & Rosemary CampbellBarrie CarterMr Jonathan ChissickMrs Sandra ClarkMichael & Natalie CoatesCoff s Airport Security Car ParkJen CornishDom Cottam & Kanako ImamuraDegabriele KitchensPhil Diment am & Bill Zafi ropoulosDr David DixonElizabeth DonatiThe Dowe FamilyMrs Jane DrexlerDr Nita Durham & Dr James DurhamJohn FavaloroMs Julie Flynn & Mr Trevor CookMrs Lesley FinnMr John GadenVivienne GoldschmidtClive & Jenny GoodwinMs Fay GrearIn Memory of Angelica GreenMr Robert GreenMr & Mrs Harold & Althea HallidayMr Robert HavardRoger HenningSue HewittIn memory of Emil HiltonDorothy Hoddinott aoMr Joerg HofmannMr Angus HoldenMr Kevin HollandBill & Pam HughesDr Esther JanssenNiki KallenbergerMrs Margaret KeoghDr Henry KilhamChris J KitchingAron KleinlehrerAnna-Lisa KlettenbergMr & Mrs Giles T KrygerThe Laing FamilySonia LalDr Leo & Mrs Shirley LeaderMargaret LedermanMrs Erna Levy Sydney & Airdrie LloydMrs A LohanMrs Panee LowMelvyn MadiganBarbara MaidmentHelen & Phil MeddingsDavid Mills

Kenneth Newton MitchellMs Margaret Moore oam & Dr Paul Hutchins amHelen MorganChris Morgan-HunnMr Darrol NormanMr Graham NorthDr Margaret ParkerDr Kevin PedemontDr John PittMrs Greeba PritchardMr Patrick Quinn-GrahamMiss Julie RadosavljevicRenaissance ToursDr Marilyn RichardsonAnna RoMr Kenneth RyanMrs Pamela SayersGarry Scarf & Morgie BlaxillPeter & Virginia ShawMr & Mrs ShoreMrs Diane Shteinman amVictoria SmythDoug & Judy SotherenRuth StaplesMr & Mrs Ashley StephensonMargaret SuthersThe Taplin FamilyDr & Mrs H K TeyMrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward SpicerJudge Robyn TupmanMrs M TurkingtonGillian Turner & Rob BishopMr & Mrs Franc VaccherProf Gordon E WallRonald WalledgeIn memory of Denis WallisThe Wilkinson FamilyEvan Williams am & Janet WilliamsAudrey & Michael WilsonDr Richard WingateDr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K WongGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (24)

List correct as of 1 October 2013

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I learnt how to crave a really great orchestral sound.

the Chicago Symphony Orchestra whose string sound is so present, so close to the bridge. All their courage is in the bow.’

Somewhat unusually, Chris’s parents travelled with him on the last SSO tour. ‘It was pretty cool having them there. It wasn’t like “I’m a problem child and I need someone to look after me”. Dad’s a hæmatologist, and plays piano and organ a lot. If ever someone’s had a bad diagnosis, Dad’s two favourite things are gardening and playing piano. Mozart is a salvation. Any frustration you have with people can be dealt with through playing music or gardening.’

‘Music is a vocation, not a job. I’m practising and thinking about music a lot. There’s a great term that Yo Yo Ma uses, of a “citizen musician”, where your role is to share music as a cultural device. Our orchestra is a major part of that. I feel that our schedule allows enough time to do other concerts, to make it a real vocation. There’s so much work to be done, it never really ends.’

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‘Bikram cello.’ That’s what cellist Chris Pidcock suggests he’s engaged in as he practises furiously in a rehearsal room at the Sydney Opera House. It’s warm. It could be the air-conditioning, but equally, when you find out what he’s working on… ‘A bit of Saariaho, some Giacinto Scelsi, a work by Anna Clyne for cello and electronics.’ Um. Perhaps the challenging repertoire better explains his heated condition?

Chris is getting ready for an extracurricular solo concert of contemporary music. ‘The really fun part [of my preparations]

is playing for my colleagues. Suddenly I’ve got a hundred “teachers”. I get really excited when I can play for them because they’re buzzing with ideas.’

‘I always knew I wanted to be part of a great orchestra. I remember walking away from an SSO performance of La Mer, and I couldn’t understand how it was so perfect. I learnt how to crave a really great orchestral sound.’ That craving was fed further by other great orchestras: ‘You go to Vienna and the violins have a flautando [flutelike] sound so perfect that you can’t breathe when you hear it. Then there’s

CITIZEN MUSICIANYoga. Gardening. Music. There’s no limit to cellist Chris Pidcock’s interests.

ORCHESTRA NEWS | SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2013

In July, SSO Chairman John Conde AO welcomed patrons to his home for a special preview of our 2014 concert season. Guests were treated to a lively Q&A session with incoming Chief Conductor and Artistic Director David Robertson and our

Managing Director Rory Jeffes. Diana Doherty, Catherine Hewgill and Kirsty Hilton provided the musical entertainment.For information about the SSO Patrons Program email philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com or call (02) 8215 4674.

I noticed Janet Webb was playing a metal flute when she performed the Liebermann concerto recently. But she used to play on a wooden instrument – it was always a distinctive sight on the concert platform. Why the switch? And what difference does it make? Lapsed Flautist

Well spotted, Lapsed Flautist! Janet has indeed switched from her wooden flute back to a metal one – this time a solid 14-carat gold instrument. As Janet explains, she decided it was time for a change. ‘I’m always looking for different sounds, and different possibilities.’ Her new gold flute sounds more…well…golden. ‘I want to make a mellow, rounded sound. The gold flute allows me to find warmer, darker, deeper, more complex qualities.’ Janet describes the wooden flute as having an earthy sound, ‘just like the material it’s made from.’ A silver flute offers something different again – a brighter, more penetrating sound.

There are some physical differences – Janet’s wooden flute was heavier and fatter than her gold flute. The wooden flute also retained its warmth after being played – ‘I could put it down and then come back to it later and it would still be warm.’ This ensures stability in intonation. The physical properties of the metal mean a gold flute will cool down faster after being played. ‘I just have to pay more attention to the tuning if I come in after a long rest.’ Above all, however, the quality of the sound depends on the flautist. ‘It’s all about how people blow. I still sound like me!’

Have a question about music, instruments or the inner workings of an orchestra? ‘Ask a Musician’ at yoursay@sydneysymphony.com or by writing to Bravo! Reply Paid 4338, Sydney NSW 2001.

Ask a MusicianOrchestra HighlightYour Orchestra’s New Look

Everything old is new again! With the excitement of a new chief conductor and a new season of music on the horizon, we thought it was time to bring back something that in reality never truly went away (although it was effectively sidelined for more than a decade).

In announcing the 2014 season, we officially welcomed back our original name: Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Sometimes you might find it easier to refer to the shortened version of ‘SSO’. Either way, we’re your orchestra.

Perhaps you’ve also noticed our colourful new logo? We think it’s rather joyful – akin to the explosion of colourful sound you can hear from the orchestra.

The graphic is a visual abstraction of both musicians and audience. The new exuberant identity also expresses the wide range of choice we offer audiences and the role we play in our community, with each vibrant square a different shade of a harmonious whole.

We hope you like our new/old name, and that you’ll enjoy our fresh new look as we move into another exciting era of inspirational and first-class music making.

CHINA EXCHANGEInternational Focus

‘These activities, which began last year, will lead to a long-term program of masterclasses, exchanges, orchestral workshops, commissions and tour performances, which will be further enhanced and facilitated through digital technology,’ says Rory. ‘Our relationship with the Conservatory, which is the only higher music education institution in Southern China, is also significant given the sister-city relationship between Sydney and Guangzhou.’

Also in 2012, the SSO signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, also known as ‘The Egg’. This agreement involves our musicians working with the NCPA orchestra, as well as SSO administrative staff passing on their expertise and knowledge about audience development. Our Director of Marketing, Mark Elliott, will soon be visiting the NCPA in this capacity.

Recently, the SSO won the major award at the inaugural Australian Arts in Asia Awards for our work in China. The awards, which attracted 120 entries, celebrate the role of Australian artists and arts organisations working in Asia.

‘It’s impossible to say for certain, but some estimates suggest there are 50 million young people learn-ing the violin in China,’ says our Managing Director Rory Jeffes.

Recently, three of the top young string players visited us from the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou. Violinists Guo Lu and Zhu Siyao and violist Chen Chen, aged between 19 and 23, spent a week with the SSO’s Sinfonia mentoring orchestra. They took part in a busy schedule of schools and family concerts, as well as a read through of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. Violin mentors from the SSO, Shuti Huang and Ben Li, sat with the girls in the orchestra, occasionally translating for the students and generally unravelling the mysteries of professional orchestral etiquette.

‘The pace was faster than they anticipated, but they quickly adjusted,’ said Shuti. ‘By the end of the week, they were all feeling very much a part of the orchestra.’

Before our 2012 China tour, the SSO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Xinghai Conservatory. On that tour, as a first step in building ties, our musicians gave masterclasses to students at the conservatory and Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted a rehearsal of their orchestra.

War RequiemVladimir Ashkenazy admits to not liking everything Benjamin Britten wrote, but the War Requiem, he says, is ‘one of Britten’s best pieces, maybe the best’. In its music, its text and its effect, it is ‘absolutely compelling’.

The War Requiem was composed in response to the horrors of World War II and was dedicated to the memory of four of Britten’s friends. It was an ambitious and daring musical creation, but also deeply symbolic. Perhaps most significant was Britten’s intended casting, and this is something Ashkenazy has set out to replicate for our performances in November, with Russian soprano Dina Kuznetsova, English tenor Andrew Staples and German baritone Dietrich Henschel.

The three nationalities were chosen by Britten to represent three principal countries in the conflict. (The first recording features the soloists he had in mind: Galina Vishnevskaya, Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.) And the symbolism reaches full weight when tenor and baritone, as two dead soldiers, sing the lines from Wilfred Owen’s World War I poem, Strange Meeting: ‘I am the enemy you killed, my friend.’

Britten’s War Requiem uses its multinational cast to issue a call for peace, a call that seems as relevant today as it did in 1961. It’s not merely a protest against war, but music that Britten hoped would make us ‘think a bit’.

War RequiemMaster Series 8 and 9 November | 8pm

The Score

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From left: Zhu Siyao, Guo Lu, Chen Chen

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

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENTChief Executive Offi cer Louise Herron AM

Chief Operating Offi cer Claire SpencerDirector, Programming Jonathan BielskiDirector, Theatre and Events David ClaringboldDirector, Building Development and Maintenance Greg McTaggartDirector, External Affairs Brook TurnerDirector, Commercial David Watson

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LET’S MISBEHAVE!Dust off your tux and shake out the feather boa – it’s time for the SSO Roaring 20s Ball. Taking place on Saturday 23 November at Paddington Town Hall, your fun night out will include a 50-piece orchestra, music from the jazz age and dancing! Tickets may be purchased through our box office 02 8215 4600. More information here: sydneysymphony/20sball

REAL JOBSIt’s not uncommon for friends to ask young musicians about their jobs: What do you do all day? And why do you have to practise so much? Perhaps you’ve occasionally wondered the same. SSO Fellow, flautist Laura van Rijn, has written a blog post answering these questions and others. Read it at: blog.ssofellowship.com/2013/08/what-do-you-do

WELCOME PARTNER

We’re pleased to announce that the Hotel Intercontinental Sydney is a new Gold Partner of the SSO. Keep an eye out for exclusive dining and accommodation packages in Stay Tuned, program books and at sydneysymphony.com

EARLY BIRDSThe winners of our 2013 Season Emirates Early Bird prize, Joyce and Ivan Cribb, returned from their prize trip to Barcelona (and a side trip to France) with glowing reports and memories to cherish. A highlight was hearing the local Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra perform Mahler’s First Symphony.

You could win this year! The 2014 Season Emirates Early Bird prize closes soon. This time the prize is two business class Emirates flights

to Dubai plus five nights’ luxury accommodation Enter the draw by booking your 2014 SSO subscription by 10 September 2013. T&Cs apply.

CONQUERORSThe mighty Team Sydney Symphony Sprint put in a valiant – nay, impressive! – effort in the recent City to Surf. Fastest on the day was double bassist David Campbell, with a time of 59:22. Breathing down his neck was Principal Trumpet David Elton, mere hundredths of a second behind. Go team!

EMIRATES RENEWALWe recently announced the renewal for three years of our principal partner relationship with Emirates, making it one of our longest-standing corporate partnerships. Among the benefits: SSO audiences receive an exclusive 10% online discount on all Emirates flights. How? Visit sydneysymphony.com/emirates

CODA