London Philharmonic Orchestra 4 December concert programme

Concert programme2015/16 London Seasonlpo.org.uk

Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI*Principal Guest Conductor ANDRÉS OROZCO-ESTRADALeader pIETER SChOEMAN†Composer in Residence MAgNUS LINDbERgPatron hRh ThE DUKE OF KENT Kg

Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOThY WALKER AM

Contents

2 Welcome3 On stage tonight 4 About the Orchestra5 Leader: Pieter Schoeman6 Enrique Mazzola7 Maria Luigia Borsi Thiago Arancam 8 Vittorio Vitelli9 Programme notes14 Sound Futures donors15 Supporters16 LPO administration

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

* supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation † supported by Neil Westreich

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JTI Friday Series Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival hallFriday 4 December 2015 | 7.30pm

puccini Tosca (excerpts) (34’)

Interval

Rota

Suite, La Strada (21’)

Respighi

Pines of Rome (36’)

Enrique Mazzola conductor

Maria Luigia borsi Tosca

Thiago Arancam Cavaradossi Vittorio Vitelli Scarpia

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Welcome

'Tis the Season ...... to raise money for charity. As in previous years, members of the Orchestra will be playing all your favourite carols with singers from the London Philharmonic Choir on Thursday 10 December from 5.15pm–7.15pm at Waterloo station, collecting for Save the Children. Last year we managed to raise a total of £2,367 and we would love to beat that in 2015. So, if you are in the vicinity do come and support the players and singers. Toe-tapping guaranteed – that's always good for the circulation on a cold winter's day.

Keep on TruckingSanta may have his sleigh but we have our very own truck and Damian Davis, Transport Manager, both essential as the Orchestra continues its extensive tour schedule over the festive season. They returned from a four-day tour in Germany and the Netherlands on 21 November and after our last concert of the year in London next week they are back to Germany from 14 to 17 December. This time there are visits to Essen, Düsseldorf, Munich and Stuttgart. If you fancy a seasonal short break with a fantastic concert alongside a visit to a quintessential German Christmas market then all tickets for concerts on tour are available. And if you see a mysterious flying object in the sky Christmas Eve, look closely – it might just be Damian and the LPO truck giving Santa a run for his money ... lpo.org.uk/whats-on/whats-on-tickets.html

Classical Live The Orchestra is delighted to be part of Classical Live, a brand new online platform exclusively on Google Play showcasing the great orchestras of the world in recent live performances. It's yet another way the

Orchestra is able to expand its reach to new audiences across the globe. The first release is of a concert performed in March this year featuring excerpts from Prokofiev's Chout ('The Buffoon'), LPO Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Yefim Bronfman as soloist, and Stravinsky's Petrushka. Vladimir Jurowski conducts. classical-live.com

Welcome to Southbank Centre

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

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

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

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery are closed for essential refurbishment until 2017. During this period, our resident orchestras are performing in venues including St John's Smith Square. Find out more at southbankcentre.co.uk/sjss

A few points to note for your comfort and enjoyment:

phOTOgRAphY is not allowed in the auditorium.

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

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

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

Orchestra News

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

On stage tonight

First ViolinsPieter Schoeman* Leader

Chair supported by Neil Westreich

Ilyoung ChaeChair supported by an anonymous donor

Ji-Hyun LeeChair supported by Eric Tomsett

Katalin VarnagyChair supported by Sonja Drexler

Catherine CraigThomas EisnerMartin Höhmann

Chair supported by The Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable Trust

Geoffrey LynnChair supported by Caroline, Jamie & Zander Sharp

Robert PoolSarah StreatfeildYang ZhangTina GruenbergGrace LeeRebecca ShorrockGalina TanneyCaroline Frenkel

Second ViolinsAnnabelle Meare

Guest PrincipalKate Birchall

Chair supported by David & Victoria Graham Fuller

Lorenzo Gentili-TedeschiFiona HighamNynke HijlkemaJoseph MaherMarie-Anne MairesseAshley StevensDean WilliamsonSioni WilliamsAlison StrangeJudith Choi-CastroAlison StrangeEmma WraggStephen Stewart

ViolasCyrille Mercier PrincipalRobert DuncanGregory AronovichKatharine LeekSusanne MartensBenedetto PollaniEmmanuella ReiterLaura VallejoNaomi HoltDaniel CornfordMartin FennRichard Cookson

CellosKristina Blaumane

PrincipalChair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden

Francis Bucknall Laura DonoghueSantiago Carvalho†David LaleElisabeth Wiklander

Chair supported by The Viney Family

Sue Sutherley George HoultDavid BucknallPhilip Taylor

Double bassesKevin Rundell* PrincipalTim Gibbs Co-PrincipalGeorge PenistonLaurence LovelleKenneth KnussenCharlotte KerbegianHelen RowlandsBen Wolstenholme

FlutesSue Thomas* Principal

Chair supported by Victoria Robey OBE

Hannah GraysonStewart McIlwham

piccoloStewart McIlwham*

PrincipalChair supported by Friends of the Orchestra

OboesIan Hardwick* PrincipalAlice Munday

Cor AnglaisSue Böhling* Principal

ClarinetsRobert Hill* PrincipalThomas Watmough

bass ClarinetPaul Richards Principal

bassoonsGareth Newman PrincipalClaire Webster

ContrabassoonSimon Estell Principal

hornsJohn Ryan* Principal

Chair supported by Laurence Watt

Martin HobbsMark Vines Co-PrincipalGareth MollisonDuncan Fuller

TrumpetsPaul Beniston* PrincipalAnne McAneney*

Chair supported by Geoff & Meg Mann

Nicholas Betts Co-Principal

William Roberts

Offstage TrumpetsPaul BenistonToby StreetRobin TotterdellSimon Cox

TrombonesMark Templeton* Principal

Chair supported by William & Alex de Winton

David WhitehouseRoss Learmonth

bass TromboneLyndon Meredith Principal

Offstage TrombonesRoss LearmonthDuncan Wilson

TubaLee Tsarmaklis* Principal

TimpaniSimon Carrington* Principal

percussionAndrew Barclay* Principal

Chair supported by Andrew Davenport

Henry Baldwin Co-PrincipalChair supported by Jon Claydon

Keith MillarKaren HuttJames Bower

harpRachel Masters* Principal

pianoCatherine Edwards

CelesteJohn Alley

OrganCatherine EdwardsIan Tindale

Music StaffAlessandro Amoretti

* Holds a professorial appointment in London

† Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

Meet our members: lpo.org.uk/players

Chair Supporters The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporter whose player is not present at this concert: Simon Robey


London Philharmonic Orchestra

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

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

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

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

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

‘Jurowski and the LPO can stand alongside the top international orchestras with pride’

Richard Fairman, Financial Times, September 2015


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

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has recorded the soundtracks to numerous blockbuster films, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, East is East, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Thor: The Dark World. It also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 80 releases available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Vaughan Williams’s Symphonies Nos. 4 and 6, Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3 conducted by Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Messiaen’s Des Canyons Aux Étoiles.

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

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

Find out more and get involved!

lpo.org.uk

facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

twitter.com/LpOrchestra

youtube.com/londonphilharmonic7

Pieter Schoemanleader

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

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

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

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

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

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


Italian conductor Enrique Mazzola became Music Director of the Orchestre national d’Ile de France (ONDIF) at the beginning of the 2012/13 season. He is an expert interpreter of bel canto opera and specialises in the classical and early romantic periods.

Plans for the 2015/16 season include his debut with the Metropolitan Opera (L’elisir d’amore) and returns to Vienna Symphony (on tour to China and the Bregenz Festival), Deutsche Oper Berlin, Zurich Opera (Don Pasquale) and a new production at Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Barbiere). Projects with ONDIF include Mahler's Symphony No. 1, The Rite of Spring and collaborations with Markus Werba and Cedric Tiberghien. Future plans include re-invitations to Zurich, Deutsche Oper Berlin and his debut with Lyric Opera, Chicago.

Highlights in recent seasons include many highly successful debuts, notably Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Oslo Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He recently conducted the closing concert of Festival de Radio France et Montpellier with the Montpellier National Orchestra.

Recent Opera engagements include Rossini Opera Festival (La gazetta), Glyndeboune Festival (Poliuto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra), Deutsche Oper Berlin (Barber of Seville, Le Vaisseau fantome) Bolshoi Theatre (La sonnambula) and a new production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Glyndebourne Festival. Other productions include Glyndebourne Festival and Tour (La Cenerentola, L’elisir d’amore), Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (L’italiana in

Algeri), New National Theatre Tokyo (Don Giovanni) and Opera du Rhin (Macbeth).

He has conducted major European festivals, including an acclaimed new production of Falstaff at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, La scala di seta at Festival de Saint Denis. Between 1999 and 2003 he was the Artistic and Music Director of the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte in Montepulciano, where he conducted many symphonic concerts and new operatic productions with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra.

An accomplished interpreter of contemporary music he has conducted several premieres with ONDIF, including the world premiere of Colla’s Il processo at La Scala, Il re nudo by Luca Lombardi at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Medusa by Arnaldo De Felice at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Isabella by Azio Corghi at the Rossini Opera Festival, as well as other premieres with major European orchestras. In 2014 he was nominated for a Golden Mask Award for Best Conductor of La sonnambula at the Bolshoi.

enriquemazzola.com/

Enrique Mazzolaconductor

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Superb musical performance, conducted with crisp precision by Enrique Mazzola and played with galvanised conviction by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Performance of Donizetti's Poliuto, Glyndebourne Festival, 2015 Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, May 2015


Italian Brazilian tenor Thiago Arancam studied at Musical University 'Carlos Gomes', where he graduated in 2003. He was invited to attend the 'Accademia di perfezionamento per cantanti lirici' at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the first-ever Brazilian

accepted into the Accademia. In December 2007 he made his debut in Puccini’s opera, Le Villi, (Roberto). His many performances have included Don José (Carmen) at Washington National Opera, Cavaradossi (Tosca) in Frankfurt, Maurizio (Adriana Lecouvreur) in Turin, Radames (Aida) at Sanxay Festival (France) and Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in Valencia.

Recent highlights include his debuts at the Hamburg Staatsoper (Manon Lescaut), in Paris with the Orchestre National de France at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Puccini's Le Villi), and performances of Tosca at the Berlin Staatsoper, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (Carmen), the Budapest Summer Festival (Aida), and Tosca at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen and in Quebec.

On the concert platform he has performed Tabarro at the Verbier Festival conducted by Daniel Harding, Carmen and Madam Butterfly in Washington DC, Tosca and Manon Lescaut in Philadelphia, Carmen and Cyrano de Bergerac in San Francisco alongside Plácido Domingo, Carmen in Vienna, various concerts in Brazil with the Orquestra Bachiana and João Carlos Martins, and a concert performance of Turandot in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia.

In November 2014 Sony Music Brazil released Thiago’s first crossover album Il Mondo.

ilmondo.thiagoarancam.com

facebook.com/thiagoarancam/

Hailed by critics worldwide for her vocal dynamism and interpretive prowess, Italian lyric soprano Maria Luigia Borsi has forged a career that has taken her throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States.

She began her career as Liù in Puccini's Turandot at the Teatro alla Scala. She made her Venetian debut for the historic reopening of the Gran Teatro La Fenice singing the role of Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata, conducted by Lorin Maazel.

Maria Luigia has performed on major international opera stages such as Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona and Cincinnati Opera, and with many international orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker and the Seoul Philharmonic. She has collaborated with leading conductors including Riccardo Muti, Myung-Whun Chung, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Carlo Rizzi, Yves Abel, Andrés Orozco-Estrada and Pablo Heras-Casado.

On 30 April 2015 Maria Luigia Borsi took part in the opening concert of the Milan EXPO together with pianist Lang Lang, tenor Andrea Bocelli, soprano Diana Damrau, the Teatro alla Scala orchestra and chorus conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Her discography includes a live recording of Mozart's Don Giovanni with Zubin Mehta (Helicon), a live DVD of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Lorin Maazel (Kultur), Puccini's Turandot (Fenice), Bizet's Carmen with Franco Zeffirelli, Peter von Winter's Maometto II (Marco Polo) and a new CD entitled Italian Soprano Arias with the London Symphony Orchestra (Naxos).

Maria Luigia Borsi was born in Sora, a small town south of Rome. She studied with Antonietta Stella, Lucia Stanescu, Claudio Desderi, and Renata Scotto.

marialuigiaborsi.com

@MLborsi

Maria Luigia Borsisoprano Tosca

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Thiago Arancamtenor Cavaradossi


Italian baritone Vittorio Vitelli was born in Ascoli Piceno, where he made his debut at a very young age in the role of Enrico in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. His career has taken him to major international opera houses and festivals, and recent highlights include Otello (Jago) at

the Wroclaw Festival, Macbeth in Pisa, Manon Lescaut at the Leipzig Oper, Cavalleria rusticana (Alfio), Pagliacci (Tonio) and a new production of Tosca (Scarpia) at the Liceu in Barcelona, Il trovatore (Conte di Luna) at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, Falstaff (Ford) at Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and Poliuto at the Opéra de Marseille. He also performed in Aida at La Scala, Milan with Riccardo Chailly, in the Zeffirelli production that opened the 2006/07 season.

He has worked with some of the most distinguished conductors and directors today, including Claudio Abbado, Daniele Gatti, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Graham Vick, Liliana Cavani and Giuseppe Bertolucci. His discography includes: Verdi's Simon Boccanegra (first edition 1857) and Giordano's Siberia for Dynamic, Puccini's Turandot on CD and DVD for RCA conducted by Zubin Mehta, Verdi's Aida conducted by Daniel Oren on DVD from Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Bellini's I Puritani conducted by Giuliano Carella from the Opéra Royale de Wallonie, and Verdi's La traviata conducted by Carlo Rizzi from Teatro Regio di Parma. Recent and future engagements include La traviata at Teatro Lirico in Cagliari conducted by Donato Renzetti and at the Opéra de Nice conducted by Philippe Auguin, Andrea Chenier (Carlo Gerard) at the New National Theatre in Tokyo and Simon Boccanegra with Myung-Whun Chung in Beijing.

vittoriovitelli.com

Vittorio Vitellibaritone Scarpia

Wednesday 9 December 2015 | 7.30pm

Wagenaar Overture, Cyrano de BergeracMagnus Lindberg Violin Concerto No. 2 (world premiere)* beethoven Symphony No. 7

Jaap van Zweden conductor Frank peter Zimmermann violin

*Commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with the generous support of Victoria Robey OBE, Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Radio France and New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, Music Director

Our last concert of 2015 at Royal Festival Hall

pLAYINg ThE bARD

In collaboration with some of London’s leading cultural, creative and educational institutions, the London Philharmonic Orchestra joins Shakespeare400 with a series of concerts in 2016

celebrating the Bard’s love of music, culminating in an Anniversary Gala Concert directed by Simon Callow on 23 April. Join the LPO at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall and dive into a musical world born of the words of the legendary William Shakespeare.

FIND OUT MORE: LpO AND ShAKESpEARE400 lpo.org.uk/shakespeare

2016 Highlight

Tickets £9–£39 (premium seats £65)

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


Rome is at the heart of this evening's 'Italian Romance', as is storytelling. Take Giacomo Puccini first, a lifelong Tuscan who was yet able to make us breathe the very air of early 18th-century Rome with Tosca. In order to ensure that his opera did indeed capture Rome's sounds and atmosphere he made a research excursion to the city, analysing exactly how the Castello Sant'Angelo's church bells sounded as they tolled from on high, and checking religious details with a priest. Then there's Nino Rota, the Oscar-winning composer of The Godfather: Part II's film score whose narrative artistry was such that the film director Federico Fellini would work with

no other composer. Rota developed his colourful La Strada Suite from his score for Fellini's 1954 film, which was first inspired by the film's screenwriter seeing travellers on the road to Rome and wondering at the harshness of their existence. Finally, Respighi's extraordinary Pines of Rome presents four snapshots of different areas of the city, in different timezones. Each feels so real as to be almost tangible, but the final movement's thundering climax is so awesome that at the work's premiere even Respighi declared to his wife that he felt ‘something odd in the pit of my stomach’.

Speedread

Tosca (extracts)

Maria Luigia borsi Tosca Thiago Arancam Cavaradossi Vittorio Vitelli Scarpia

Giacomo puccini

1858–1924

From Act ICavaradossi Aria: 'Recondita armonia'

Scarpia and Tosca Duet: 'Tosca? Che non mi veda' – Scarpia Aria: 'Tre sbirri, una carrozza'

From Act IITosca Aria: ' Vissi d'arte'

From Act IIICavaradossi Aria: 'E lucevan le stelle' –Cavaradossi and Tosca Duet: 'Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca …'

Could there be an opera as gripping as Puccini's 'shabby little shocker', Tosca? Adapted from the French playwright Sardou's 1897 play of the same name, the

plot's potent mix of love, lust, treachery, torture, murder and suicide, concluding in a Hamlet-esque bloodbath which sees all three main characters killed off in quick succession, would have been a gift to any operatic composer. However in Puccini's hands it became immortal, containing some of the most emotionally visceral music ever heard on an operatic stage. It also became bloodier, because whilst in Sardou's drama Cavaradossi's execution by firing squad takes place offstage, Puccini enacts it right before our eyes!

For those in need of a quick plot recap, the story is set in Rome and tells of two lovers, an opera singer called Floria Tosca and a painter named Mario Cavaradossi. Tragedy befalls the pair when Cavaradossi helps an escaped political prisoner and thus walks straight into the hands of Scarpia, the Chief of Police, who is fixated

Programme notes


on eliminating the painter and taking Tosca for himself. The fast-moving drama sees Cavaradossi arrested and tortured in the Castello Sant'Angelo, followed by Tosca agreeing to surrender herself to Scarpia in exchange for Cavaradossi's forthcoming execution to be carried out with blank bullets. She then murders Scarpia and excitedly watches the execution, not realising that Scarpia has tricked her and the bullets are in fact real. Upon this discovery, and hearing distant shouts as Scarpia's body is discovered, she hurls herself off the castle battlements.

'Recondita armonia' introduces us to Cavaradossi as he compares Tosca's beauty with that of the Madonna he's painting on the wall of a church. Lyrical and earnest, it shows his ardour for Tosca but also his alarming lack of good sense, as he's modelled his Madonna not on dark-haired Tosca but on the blond Marchesa Attavanti who has been in the church praying for her brother, the escaped political prisoner. It will be Tosca's unfounded jealousy of the Marchesa that will eventually drive them into Scarpia's hands. The next extract takes up the story when Scarpia cunningly persuades Tosca that a fan belonging to the Marchesa, found dropped on the church floor, is proof that Cavaradossi is unfaithful. Tosca runs to confront the painter, followed by Scarpia's henchmen. Then, as the priests and people celebrate a Te Deum in honour of a battle win against Napoleon, Scarpia embarks upon one of the most tingle-inducing arias in the entire operatic canon. Heralded by four emphatic falling brass chords, 'Tre sbirri, una carrozza' begins with solemnly tolling church bells and a majestically undulating triple-time string theme, an organ growling underneath. Over this Scarpia utters plainsong-esque exhortations urging Tosca to lead him to his prey, with occasional brief, menacing string and vocal slides reminding us that this is no holy declaration of faith. As the timpani sound canonfire (the signal of an escaped prisoner), the music builds until finally Scarpia gives up his soul, declaring, 'Tosca, for you I could renounce my hopes of heaven' before joining the chorus in their climactic proclamation, 'We acknowledge thee to be the lord!'.

By contrast, Tosca's tender 'Vissi d'arte' is the despairing prayer of a true believer. Faced with the impossible choice of surrendering herself to Scarpia or watching Cavaradossi die, she asks God why he has repaid her faithfulness to him with desertion.

Cavaradossi's 'E lucevan le stelle' then feels very much like 'Vissi d'arte''s partner. Introduced by a mournful clarinet, it's sung as he awaits execution and mourns the life he could have enjoyed with Tosca. Next, the music momentarily warms in romantic delight as Tosca enters. She explains what has happened and instructs him upon how to convincingly 'play dead'. However to a ticking theme that begins with eery calm, the tragedy of the execution plays itself out. As Tosca hurls herself from the battlements crying, 'O Scarpia, we meet before God!', we hear the opening clarinet motif from 'E lucevan le stelle', reprised by the brass as a tragic final shout.

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

Programme notes continued

Recommended recordings of tonight’s works

puccini: ToscaMaria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi | Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala Milan | Victor de Sabata [Warner Classics 2CDs]

Rota: Suite, La Strada Orquestra Ciudad de Granada | Josef Pons [harmonia mundi: HMC901864]

Respighi: pines of Rome London Philharmonic Orchestra | Carlo Rizzi [Teldec]


1 Nozze in Campagne: E arrivato Zampano ('Night in the countryside: Arrival of Zampano')

2 I Tre Suonatori e Il Matto Sul Filo ('The Three Musicians and the Madman of the High Wire' [The Fool])

3 Il Circo ('The Circus')4 la Rabbia Di Zampano ('The Rage of Zampano')5 Zampano Uccide Il Matto ('Zampano kills The Fool')6 L'ultimo Spettacolo Sulla Neve: Addio Gelsomina

('Finally, the spectacle on the snow: Goodbye Geisomina')

7 Solitudine e Pianto Di Zampano ('Solitude, loneliness and grief of Zampano')

Nino Rota wrote his La Strada Suite in 1966, based on his score for Fellini's Oscar-winning 1954 film of the same name, which starred Giuilietta Masina and Anthony Quinn. Fellini's film told the story of Zampano, a domineering and brutish strongman who buys Gelsomina, a simple young woman, from her mother to take on the road with him. Eager to please him, Gelsomina learns to play trumpet and snare drum, and to clown, but Zampano's treatment of her is always harsh. Gelsomina finds comfort in a friendship with a high wire artist called The Fool (or the Madman of the High Wire), but when Zampano eventually murders him, her spirit is broken. Zampano abandons her, and she dies soon afterwards. However years later, when Zampano learns of Gelsomina's death through the chance overhearing of a tune she used to play, he breaks down in grief.

Milan's La Scala commissioned Fellini and Rota to develop the film into a ballet, and this in turn was received so enthusiastically at its 1966 premiere – it received a 20-minute standing ovation – that Rota swiftly put the ballet's highlights into this symphonic suite of seven interlinked movements. One quality of Rota's that film-makers particularly appreciated was his ability to improvise at the piano when handed a new plot line, and you can hear that quick imagination and narrational dexterity in the Suite's fleet-footed

juxtapositioning of a myriad of different musical styles and characters. Nowhere is this more audible than in the first movement, begun with a trumpet fanfare that tumbles into a rumbustious circus march that segues into a playful Copland-esque pastoral section before a trombone call signals a luxuriously textured, pathos-filled string theme.

A single, unsure oboe above strings leads into the second movement, whose music introduces The Fool on his high wire together with three musicians. The previously heard pathos-ridden string theme reappears after a clownish passage, but the movement's big surprise comes in the form of a swaggering, toe-tapping rhumba, composed especially for the ballet and carrying more than a suggestion of Bernstein about it.

A snare drum opens the third movement, which later presents Gelsomina's romantic theme for the first time, on solo violin. However, this softness is brutally thrust to one side by the fourth movement, with Stravinsky-like staccato chords.

The opening of the murder-themed fifth movement is interesting for its echo back to Tosca, Rota expanding on the effect of downwards-slithering strings that Puccini used to alert us to Scarpia's murderous intent in 'Tre sbirri, una carrozza'.

Then, the sixth movement contains a beautiful surprise in the form of his gorgeous 'Notturno' from Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1961) flowering out from eerie, celeste-coloured tension.

Finally, after a throbbing orchestral climax has subsided to harp plucks, the tragic seventh movement is ushered both in and out by Gelsomina's theme, first in last-post guise on solo trumpet, and then back on solo violin at the work's close, fading to silence as if caught mid-sentence.

Suite, La Strada NinoRota

1911–79


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Programme notes continued

Respighi lived just that little bit too early to have been able to embrace the world of cinema, but instead he was a master of the symphonic poem – music that paints a scene or a narrative – and the closest a late 19th-century classical form got to a film score.

Pines of Rome, written in 1924, was the second of a trio of symphonic poems that Respighi penned, inspired by Italy's capital city. Its central premise is one which will have perhaps occurred to the more whimsically minded – namely that if ancient trees could talk, what stories they could tell. Respighi takes four ancient pine trees situated in four different parts of Rome and does exactly that, conjuring up lives and events that might have taken place beneath their branches by means of an extraordinarily brilliant palette of orchestral colour, the standard symphony orchestra instruments supplemented with celeste, piano, organ, offstage trumpets (in addition to the three onstage), and six buccine (the buccina being an ancient Roman circular brass horn, tonight represented by offstage trombones). Most intriguing of all for Respighi's first audience was the electronically recorded song of a nightingale.

The effect of the first movement's shimmering opening bars is the sonic equivalent of being blinded by Italian sunshine piercing through the pines. The sparkling music then depicts children playing dancing games and soldiers amongst the pine groves of the Villa Borghese.

The dramatic contrast provided by the second movement couldn't be greater, as we find ourselves under pines arching over a catacomb from whose depths is heard a majestic hymn being chanted. A low organ pedal accentuates the impression of deep underground halls, whilst the trombones evoke chanting priests.

Gentle, atmospheric piano figures and chords, followed by a haunting clarinet solo, set the scene for the nocturne-like third movement which is set on the hill of the temple of Janus, the two-faced god of doors and gates, and of the new year. The recorded nightingale is heard as this movement's serene music dies away.

Italy's glorious military past is the subject of the final movement, beginning with a distant army glimpsed dimly through the morning mist as they march towards Rome. Steadily, the volume increases as the troops draw nearer, the bottom registers of the organ simulating the ground shaking beneath the thousands of feet, whilst the sun rises and dazzles in a satisfying full-circle return to the warm rays of the first movement. The army finally ascends the Capitoline Hill to a thundering brass extravaganza awash with the evocative calls of the 'buccine'.

Programme notes © Charlotte Green

piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

Simon Trpčeski piano

1 Allegro ma non tanto2 Intermezzo: Adagio –3 Finale: Alla breve

OttorinoRespighi

1879–1936

pines of Rome

1 Pines of the Villa Borghese: Allegretto vivace2 Pines Near a Catacomb: Lento3 Pines of the Janiculum: Lento4 Pines of the Appian Way: Tempo di marcia


Sound FutureS donorS

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

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

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

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

Solti patronsAgeas John & Manon AntoniazziGabor Beyer, through BTO

Management Consulting AGJon ClaydonMrs Mina Goodman & Miss

Suzanne GoodmanRoddy & April GowThe Jeniffer & Jonathan Harris

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

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

The Rothschild FoundationTom & Phillis SharpeThe Viney Family

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

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

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

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

Charitable TrustTimothy Walker AMChristopher WilliamsPeter Wilson SmithMr Anthony Yolland

And all other donors who wish to remain anonymous


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

Thomas beecham group

The Tsukanov Family Foundation

Neil Westreich

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

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

John & Manon Antoniazzi Jane Attias John & Angela Kessler Guy & Utti Whittaker

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

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

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

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

hon. benefactorElliott Bernerd

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

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

Corporate Members

Silver: Accenture BerenbergCarter-Ruck We are AD

bronze: Appleyard & Trew LLPBTO Management Consulting AGCharles Russell SpeechlysLazardLeventis OverseasRusso-British Chamber of Commerce

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

In-kind SponsorsGoogle Inc

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

Charitable TrustHelp Musicians UK The Idlewild Trust Kirby Laing Foundation The London Community Foundation London Stock Exchange Group FoundationLord and Lady Lurgan Trust Marsh Christian TrustAdam Mickiewicz Institute The Peter Minet TrustThe Ann and Frederick O’Brien

Charitable Trust

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

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

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

and all others who wish to remain anonymous


Administration

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

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

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

Stephanie Yoshida

Chief Executive

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Amy SugarmanPA to the Chief Executive / Administrative Assistant

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David BurkeGeneral Manager and Finance Director

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Roanna Gibson Concerts Director

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London Philharmonic Orchestra 4 December concert programme