LPO Programme notes 24 Nov 10

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALLWednesday 24 November 2010 | 7.30pm

VASILY PETRENKOconductor

OLEG MARSHEVpiano

STRAVINSKYScherzo fantastique (11’)

PROKOFIEVPiano Concerto No. 3 in C (28’)

INTERVAL

SHOSTAKOVICHSymphony No. 11 in G minor ‘The Year 1905’ (60’)

Principal Conductor VLADIMIR JUROWSKIPrincipal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUINLeader PIETER SCHOEMANComposer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSONPatron HRH THE DUKE OF KENT KGChief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOTHY WALKER AM†

† supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

PROGRAMME £3

CONTENTS

2 List of Players3 Orchestra History4 Southbank Centre5 Vasily Petrenko6 Oleg Marshev7 Programme Notes11 Recordings12 Philharmonic News13 Supporters15 Administration16 Future Concerts

The timings shown are notprecise and are given only as a guide.

56302 LPO 24 November 10_56302 LPO 24 November 10 17/11/2010 10:29 Page 1

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINSAlexander Velinzon GuestLeaderVesselin Gellev Sub-LeaderChair supported byJohn and Angela Kessler

Catherine CraigThomas EisnerMartin HöhmannChair supported byRichard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey LynnRobert PoolFlorence SchoemanSarah StreatfeildYang ZhangRebecca ShorrockPeter NallGalina TanneyJoanne ChenKay ChappellAlina Petrenko

SECOND VIOLINSClare Duckworth PrincipalChair supported by Richard and Victoria Sharp

Joseph MaherKate BirchallChair supported by David and Victoria Graham Fuller

Nancy ElanFiona HighamMarie-Anne MairesseAshley StevensAndrew ThurgoodAlison StrangeStephen StewartMila MustakovaElizabeth BaldeyStephen DinwoodieNaomi Anner

VIOLASStephen Burnard GuestPrincipalRobert DuncanKatharine LeekSusanne Martens

Benedetto PollaniEmmanuella Reiter-BootimanLaura VallejoNaomi HoltIsabel PereiraSarah MalcolmClaudio CavallettiMartin Fenn

CELLOSKristina Blaumane PrincipalChair supported bySimon Yates and Kevin Roon

Susanne Beer Co-PrincipalFrancis BucknallLaura DonoghueSantiago Sabino Carvalho+

Jonathan AylingChair supported by Caroline,Jamie and Zander Sharp

Gregory WalmsleySue SutherleySusanna RiddellTom Roff

DOUBLE BASSESKevin Rundell* PrincipalLaurence LovelleGeorge PenistonRichard LewisTom WalleyJoe MelvinHelen RowlandsLouis Garson

FLUTESSusan Thomas* PrincipalJane SpiersStewart McIlwham*Marta Santamaria

PICCOLOSStewart McIlwham* PrincipalMarta Santamaria

ALTO FLUTEJane Spiers

OBOESIan Hardwick PrincipalOwen DennisSue Bohling

COR ANGLAISSue Bohling PrincipalChair supported byJulian and Gill Simmonds

CLARINETSRobert Hill* PrincipalEmily MeredithNicholas CarpenterPaul Richards

E FLAT CLARINETNicholas Carpenter Principal

BASS CLARINETPaul Richards Principal

BASSOONSJohn Price PrincipalGareth Newman*Nicholas Reader

CONTRA BASSOONNicholas Reader

HORNSJohn Ryan PrincipalTimothy Thorpe GuestPrincipalMartin HobbsGrzegorz CurlyaGareth Mollison

TRUMPETSPaul Beniston* PrincipalAnne McAneney*Chair supported byGeoff and Meg Mann

Tom Rainer

TROMBONESMark Templeton* PrincipalDavid Whitehouse

BASS TROMBONELyndon Meredith Principal

TUBALee Tsarmaklis Principal

TIMPANISimon Carrington* Principal

PERCUSSIONRachel Gledhill PrincipalAndrew Barclay* Co-PrincipalChair supported byAndrew Davenport

Keith Millar Jeremy CornesSam Walton

HARPSRachel Masters* PrincipalLucy HaslarRuth Faber

CELESTECatherine Edwards

* Holds a professorialappointment in London

+ Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

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

The Tsukanov Family


London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3


Patrick Harrison

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

Recent additions to the catalogue have includedacclaimed releases of Elgar’s Symphony No. 1 and SeaPictures with Vernon Handley and Janet Baker; Mahler’sSymphony No. 2 conducted by Klaus Tennstedt; Brahms’sSymphonies Nos 1 and 2 conducted by Vladimir Jurowski;and Dvořák’s Requiem under the baton of Neeme Järvi.The Orchestra’s own-label CDs are also widely availableto download. Visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop for the latestreleases.

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

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

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

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

WELCOME TO SOUTHBANK CENTRE

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

Eating, drinking and shopping? Southbank Centre shopsand restaurants include: Foyles, EAT, Giraffe, Strada, YO!Sushi, wagamama, Le Pain Quotidien, Las Iguanas, pingpong, Canteen, Caffè Vergnano 1882, Skylon, Concreteand Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shopsinside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall andHayward Gallery.

If you wish to get in touch with us following your visitplease contact Kenelm Roberts, our Head of CustomerRelations, at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, LondonSE1 8XX or email [email protected] orphone 020 7960 4250.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

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 ifthere is a suitable break in the performance

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

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

SOUTHBANK CENTRE



VASILY PETRENKOCONDUCTOR

Vasily Petrenko was born in 1976 and started his musiceducation at the St Petersburg Capella Boys MusicSchool, the oldest music school in Russia. He thenstudied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire and has alsoparticipated in masterclasses with such major figures asIlya Musin, Mariss Jansons, Yuri Temirkanov and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Between 1994 and 1997, Petrenko wasResident Conductor at the St Petersburg State Operaand Ballet Theatre in the Mussorgsky Memorial Theatre.Following considerable success in a number ofinternational conducting competitions including theFourth Prokofiev Conducting Competition in St Petersburg in 2003, the Shostakovich ChoralConducting Competition in St Petersburg in 1997 andthe Sixth Cadaques International ConductingCompetition in Spain, he was appointed ChiefConductor of the State Academy Orchestra of StPetersburg from 2004 to 2007. During recent seasons hehas conducted many key orchestras in Russia includingthe St Petersburg Philharmonic and the MoscowPhilharmonic.

Vasily Petrenko took up his position as PrincipalConductor of the Royal Liverpool PhilharmonicOrchestra in September 2006 and six months into hisfirst season this contract was extended to 2012. In2009, the contract was again extended to 2015, and healso assumed the title of Chief Conductor. Also in 2009,following his tremendous debut with the NationalYouth Orchestra of Great Britain, he was appointed theirPrincipal Conductor and works with them each season.

In recent seasons, Petrenko has made numerouscritically acclaimed debuts with major orchestrasincluding the London Symphony, Philharmonia, RussianNational, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Oslo

Philharmonic and Budapest Festival Orchestras. He hasappeared at the BBC Proms with both the RoyalLiverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the NationalYouth Orchestra, and toured with the European UnionYouth Orchestra. Highlights of the 2010/11 season andbeyond include his debuts with the LondonPhilharmonic, Orchestre National de France, FinnishRadio Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, NHKSymphony Tokyo, Sydney Symphony and Accademia diSanta Cecilia.

He has made a series of highly successful NorthAmerican debuts with the Los Angeles PhilharmonicOrchestra as well as with the San Francisco, Boston,Atlanta, Dallas, Baltimore, Cincinnati and St LouisSymphony Orchestras. In 2011 he will return to the LosAngeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, andmake his debut with the Philadelphia, Minnesota,National Symphony, Toronto Symphony and MontrealSymphony Orchestras.

Equally at home in the opera house, Petrenko made hisdebut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2010 withVerdi’s Macbeth, and has conducted Puccini’s Le Villi andMessa di Gloria, Verdi’s I due Foscari and Mussorgsky’sBoris Godunov at the Netherlands Reisopera, andTchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades at Hamburg State Opera.Future plans include his debuts at the Opéra de Pariswith Eugene Onegin and at Zurich Opera with Carmen.

His recordings with the Royal Liverpool PhilharmonicOrchestra include a rare double bill of Fleishman’sRothschild’s Violin and Shostakovich’s The Gamblers,Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Isle of the Dead, acritically acclaimed series of recordings for Naxosincluding Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony which wonthe 2009 Gramophone Award for Best OrchestralRecording, Liszt’s Piano Concertos and the first discs ofan ongoing Shostakovich cycle. In October 2007 VasilyPetrenko was named Young Artist of the Year at theannual Gramophone Awards, and in 2010 he won theMale Artist of the Year at the Classical BRIT Awards. In2009 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates by both theUniversity of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University, inrecognition of the immense impact he has had on theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic and the city’s culturalscene.



OLEG MARSHEVPIANO

Following a series of prestigious victories ininternational piano competitions, Oleg Marshev caughtthe attention of the classical music world with hisauthoritative recordings of the complete solo pianomusic of Prokofiev. He has since recorded over thirtycritically-acclaimed CDs and ranks among the mostadmired Russian pianists performing today.

Recent performances have included Rachmaninov’s FirstPiano Concerto with the Bournemouth SymphonyOrchestra in October 2009 as well as recordings andconcerto engagements with the NorrköpingsSymfoniorkester and conductor Mikhail Jurowski andthe Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester with conductorVladimir Ziva. Future concerts include a recital at theWigmore Hall.

Born in Baku, formerly in the USSR, Oleg Marshev is afifth-generation representative of Russian pianoplaying that can be traced directly back to Franz Liszt,through Mikhail Voskresensky, his teacher at theMoscow Conservatory. Resident in Italy since 1991,Marshev has received awards at several internationalpiano competitions in Canada, Italy, Portugal, Spain andthe USA, including four first prizes.

Oleg Marshev made his New York debut at the LincolnCenter with a critically acclaimed recital at Alice TullyHall and has performed on numerous occasions at theAmsterdam Concertgebouw and other concert halls andfestivals throughout the world, including the A.B.Michelangeli Festival of Brescia-Bergamo in Italy, theRuhr Klavier Festival in Germany, and the Roqued’Antheron Festival in France. A review of his recentdebut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestradeclared that: ‘Marshev has a natural gift of idiomatic

involvement that informs every note.’ A frequentperformer in Scandinavia, he regularly plays with theAarhus, Helsingborg, Sønderjyllands and AalborgSymphony Orchestras and works with conductors suchas Mikhail Jurowski, Owain Arwel Hughes, JamesLoughran, Niklas Willen and Vladimir Ziva. Alongside hisconcert engagements, Oleg gives masterclasses in manydifferent countries and is a Professor at the AntonBruckner University in Linz, taking a very active role inthe life of the university both lecturing and teachingindividual pupils.

Oleg Marshev is the first pianist to have recorded thecomplete concertos by the ‘Great Four’ Russiancomposers: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev andShostakovich. His recent recording of concertos byPabst, Rimsky-Korsakov and Scriabin has receivedglowing reviews from BBC Music Magazine andGramophone, with his virtuosic playing described inthe Daily Telegraph as ‘mind boggling’. He has alsorecorded many lesser-known concertos by Schytte,Rubinstein and Balakirev. His interest in rarelyperformed piano works has led to several world-première recordings, including Emil von Sauer’scomplete piano music and concertos by RomanticDanish composers.

His recordings on the Danacord label have all met withunanimous praise in the international classicalmusic press. BBC Music Magazine wrote of hisShostakovich Concertos disc: ‘Marshev is a phenomenon– a master of every mood … but above all a controllingsensibility of intelligence and feeling.’ Gramophonewrote of his Prokofiev recordings: ‘pianistically … all onecould wish for – superb rhythmic impetus, tremendousforce, wonderful phrasing and in the slower, morereflective moments, beautiful tonal control andexpressive nuance’ and of his Oleg Marshev in Recitalrecording: ‘an astonishing, all-stops out release’.



Stravinsky’s big break came in 1909. The formidableRussian ballet impresario, Serge Diaghilev – increasinglydesperate to find a composer for his planned ballet TheFirebird – acted on an inspired hunch and commissionedthe virtually unknown 27 year-old to write the score. Itwas the making of Stravinsky as a composer, andperhaps also as a man. Firebird may be Stravinsky’s firstmasterpiece, but the two works he finished the yearearlier, Fireworks and Scherzo fantastique, are more thaninteresting juvenilia. The Scherzo fantastique containsseveral strong foretastes of the glittering, sensuousorchestral colours of Kashchei’s enchanted garden inFirebird. (In their original versions both scores make

imaginative use of three harps.) Listening to this score itis easy to understand why the ‘fantastic’ fairy-taleimagery of Firebird should have brought out the best inthe young composer. In later years Stravinsky liked toclaim that such things were of no interest to him at thetime; but the older Stravinsky was always keen todistance himself from his earlier late-romantic self. Inany case, when he steeled himself to look over the scoreof Scherzo fantastique again in the 1960s, even theexacting Stravinsky was pleased by what he found. ‘Theorchestra “sounds”, the music is light’, he commentedapprovingly. True genius, we may sense, is only onemore step around the corner.

PROGRAMME NOTES

SCHERZO FANTASTIQUE

SPEEDREAD

The Russian Revolution of 1917 impacted hugely on thethree composers in tonight’s concert. Igor Stravinsky,abroad at the time, publically turned his back on Russia,yet his music shows how strongly memories of hishomeland continued to tug at his heart. His early Scherzofantastique has something of the vividly colourful,sometimes frightening quality one encounters in Russianfolk tales. Stravinsky may have ‘moved’ on from suchmusical exoticism; Sergei Prokofiev never did. His ThirdPiano Concerto has some fabulous ‘fantastic’ writing,and plenty of demonic energy. The piano writing is sochallenging that, after the first performance, Prokofiev’s

friend Nikolai Myaskovsky insisted that ‘only you will beable to play it!’ Fortunately for us, a select few havesucceeded since then. Dmitri Shostakovich was 11 whenthe revolution happened, and he spent the rest of his lifeunder repressive Soviet rule. Throughout his lifeShostakovich trod a delicate balance between placatingthe authorities and giving vent to his true feelings inmusic. The Eleventh Symphony is a powerful example ofhow he achieved that balance. From a Soviet point ofview its subject matter would have seemed ‘politicallycorrect’; but the sense of grief and, finally, outrage burnthrough the carefully chosen titles and revolutionarysongs.

IgorSTRAVINSKY

1882-1971



PROGRAMME NOTES

Prokofiev wrote his Third Piano Concerto during theyears 1916-21 – five years in which the world he knewchanged out of all recognition. At the beginning, Russiawas still home. But the old Tsarist regime wascompletely unprepared for the onset of the First WorldWar and the assault against Germany was poorlymanaged. Appalling losses followed, stoking up theresentment that would lead to the revolution of 1917and the destruction of the old Russia. By the timeProkofiev had finished the Third Piano Concerto, Tsarismhad been replaced by Bolshevism, and Prokofiev (norevolutionary sympathiser) found it advisable to stayabroad. At first he tried to make a living in the USA and,when that failed, he tried Paris instead, with moresuccess. And yet Prokofiev never felt fully at home in theWest. For him, as for Stravinsky, Russian remained ‘theexiled language of my heart’.

Although the unaccompanied clarinet tune that opensthe Third Concerto doesn’t sound quite like anyauthentic folksong, many have found somethingcharacteristically Russian here. The theme seems readyto expand lyrically (strings and flute), but then it isswept away by a racing Allegro full of devilish rapidfiguration for the soloist. In music like this we cangauge something of Prokofiev’s own brilliance as a

pianist: commenting on Prokofiev’s playing not longafter his arrival in America, one journalist dubbed him‘the man with the steel fingers’. Nothing stays the samefor long however: throughout this concerto mood,textures and character keep changing, sometimes withstartling rapidity, and Prokofiev the deft, wicked ironistis rarely far away. The first movement’s second theme(oboe and pizzicato violins) seems jaunty enough, butthe clicking castanets add a slightly macabre touch,which is strongly underlined when the theme returnstowards the end of the movement.

Then in the second movement, Prokofiev seems to takegrim pleasure in subjecting his innocent-soundingAndantino (woodwind) theme to all manner of extremetransformations, through the angular violence ofVariation III, and the eerie stillness of IV to the violentobsessive climax of Variation V. A more good-naturedgrotesquerie seems to emerge in the finale, but beforelong we see the demonic side of the piano again. After awhile the tempo drops and a luscious melody,introduced by cellos, is treated to some fabulousintricate decorative work by the piano – magicalProkofievian night music at its finest. But then thedancing, pounding main theme returns, and theconcerto ends in a whirl of steely sound.

PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 IN C, OP. 26

OLEG MARSHEV piano

Andante – Allegro | Andantino (Theme and Variations) |Allegro ma non troppo

SergeiPROKOFIEV

1891-1953

INTERVAL 20 minutes

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



PROGRAMME NOTES

SYMPHONY NO. 11 IN G MINOR, OP. 103, ‘THEYEAR 1905’

Palace Square (Adagio) | The Ninth of January (Allegro) | Eternal Memory (Adagio) | The Alarm Bell (Allegro nontroppo – Adagio – Allegro)

DmitriSHOSTAKOVICH

1906-1975

To the Soviet authorities, Shostakovich’s EleventhSymphony must have seemed an impeccable piece ofSocialist art when it first appeared in 1957. Written forthe 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, thesymphony’s title invoked a suitably revolutionarytheme: the failed Russian uprising of 1905, brutally putdown by the troops of Tsar Nicholas II. The unmistakablytragic character of the work was apparently balanced byShostakovich’s use of stirring Russian revolutionarysongs. So amid the violence and grief one could find theseeds of hope: and perhaps also the determination thatwould lead to the successful revolution of 1917.

The Soviet powers greeted the new symphony withhymns of praise. In private though, some ofShostakovich’s admirers were bitterly disappointed: hadtheir hero sold out? Had the element of dissidence, ofimpassioned protest, that had sounded out in so manyof his works during the Stalin years finally beensilenced? However others saw beyond the surface. Afterthe Leningrad première, the great Russian poet AnnaAkhmatova found another message in thoserevolutionary songs: for her they are ‘like white birdsflying against a terrible black sky’.

In fact the songs quoted in Shostakovich’s EleventhSymphony are all anguished in tone. They expressdespair, rage against tyranny, grief for sufferings past –but there is no hope, no anticipation of the ‘gloriousrevolutionary dawn’. In private Shostakovich pointed outthat he’d written the symphony in the aftermath of theHungarian Uprising. In 1956, the year before theEleventh Symphony appeared, Soviet troops hadcrushed a genuine popular revolution in Hungary. Bearthat in mind, and the words of the songs, and themanner in which Shostakovich treats them, take on awholly new meaning.

The opening of the Eleventh Symphony is intenselyatmospheric. Hushed, icy strings and harp evoke themood before the uprising – tense, still, expectant. Thefeeling of anticipation intensifies as drums beat a quiet tattoo, and a muted trumpet sounds distant,ominous fanfares. Later, two flutes introduce the first ofthe revolutionary songs, Listen: ‘The autumn night isblack as treason, black as the tyrant’s conscience.Blacker than that night a terrible vision rises from thefog – prison.’

Suddenly, without a break, the tempo increases. Lowerstrings introduce a scurrying figure, which is then sungout in slower note-values by clarinets and bassoons.This is another revolutionary song: ‘Oh Tsar, our dearfather! Look around you; life is impossible for usbecause of the Tsar’s servants, against whom we arehelpless.’ Excitement builds in two great waves, thesecond reaching its peak in an outburst ofunprecedented violence: savage martial rhythms for fullorchestra, with timpani and five percussionists – theuprising is crushed.

Abruptly the violence ceases. Suddenly we aretransported from the thick of the violence to itsaftermath, the vast square filled with the bodies of thevictims. Strings recall the opening of the symphony,now with ghostly trills. A slow, quiet processionalbegins, introducing the elegiac song You fell as heroes onviolas. This builds gradually to a grandly impassionedclimax, with timpani and percussion recalling the recentmassacre. A desolate calm descends, You fell as heroes isheard once more, then the finale erupts, with anotherprotest song on brass and timpani: ‘Rage, you tyrants –mock us, threaten us with prison and chains. We arestrong in spirit, if weak in body! Shame, shame on youtyrants!’



PROGRAMME NOTES

More memories are heard: ‘Oh Tsar, our dear father’ (fullorchestra), the icy strings-harp harmonies from theopening of the symphony, then a solo cor anglais broodsplaintively. Deep bell sounds then ring out from lowwind, percussion, harp and pizzicato bass strings.Shostakovich was almost certainly thinking of the deepbell effect in Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, whichhe had reorchestrated in 1940. In the work that claimsto be his memoirs, Testimony, there’s a very memorabledescription of this bell-sound and what it meant toShostakovich: ‘When the bell tolls, it’s a reminder that

there are powers mightier than man, that you can’tescape the judgement of history.’ The message isunderlined forcefully in the final pages: angry,lamenting wind and brass, more pounding militaristicpercussion, and the drum tattoo-figure from theopening of the symphony transformed threateningly bybells. If ever there was a musical depiction of a raisedfist, this is it.

Programme notes © by Stephen Johnson 2010



RECORDINGS ON THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA’S OWN RECORD LABEL

The recordings may be downloaded in high quality MP3 format from www.lpo.org.uk/shop. CDs may also bepurchased from all good retail outlets or through the London Philharmonic Orchestra: telephone 020 78404242 (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm) or visit the website www.lpo.org.uk

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

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

LPO-0028 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 as partof Volume 3 of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75th Anniversary Box Sets

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

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

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

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

LPO-0039 Vladimir Jurowski conducts Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos 1 and 6

‘Both are exceptional performances, superbly recorded with a breathtaking rangeof dynamics … In both works, the playing of the LPO is world class.ANDREW CLEMENTS, THE GUARDIAN, 4 SEPTEMBER 2009



PHILHARMONICNEWS

On Tour

The London Philharmonic Orchestra and VladimirJurowski have recently returned from a tour in Europewhich started off with two concerts in Madrid and onein Pamplona, the programmes repeating those given inLondon with Vladimir Jurowski and soloists SarahConnolly and Leif Ove Andsnes on 27 and 30 October.

From Spain the Orchestra flew to Germany for concertsin Stuttgart, Friedrichshafen, Düsseldorf, Hannover,Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt. Leif Ove Andsnes wasthe soloist at the first four concerts and the Orchestrawas joined by Julia Fischer for performances ofShostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven’sViolin Concerto at the last three concerts.

On to France for concerts at the Dijon Opera Auditoriumand the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, before thetour ended with a concert at the Palais des Beaux-Artsin Brussels.

Next month the Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski will beoff again, this time for a concert of Mendelssohn,Beethoven and Brahms in Istanbul on 8 Decemberfollowed by concerts of Mendelssohn, Prokofiev andBrahms in Skopje, Macedonia, on 10 December and inSofia, Bulgaria, on 11 December.

Before that tour you can catch the Orchestra in Londonon 26 November and on 1, 4 and 5 December.

Christmas Carols

Another event you may not want to miss is the annualperformance at Waterloo Station at 5.30pm on Monday6 December when members of the brass and percussionsection along with singers from the LondonPhilharmonic Choir will regale passing commuters witha selection of Christmas music. As usual, the event willraise money for Save the Children.

Alternatively, you could relax at home with theOrchestra’s new CD of festive choral music whichfeatures Vaughan Williams’s The First Nowell, Bach’sCantata No. 63 and Mendelssohn’s Vom Himmel Hochtaken from a live performance at the Royal Festival Halllast December. For full details visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop

The Mozart QuestionSunday 5 December 2010 | 3.30pmRoyal Festival HallAn afternoon of music and storytelling,suitable for children aged 8 and over,based on Michael Morpurgo’s well-lovedbook which tells of one family’s experienceof the holocaust and the incrediblehealing power of music.

Vladimir Jurowski conductorDaniel Pioro violinMichael Morpurgo narratorAlison Reid narratorSimon Reade director

Excerpts from:Beethoven Violin ConcertoVivaldi The Four SeasonsStrauss The Blue DanubeBach Violin Sonata No. 1Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik

Running time 75 minutes. No interval.

TicketsUnder 16: £7 £9 Adult: £14 £18For booking details see page 16.

Dedicated by the Dorset Foundation in memory of the lateHarry M. Weinrebe and supported by a syndicate ofindividual donors.



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

Thomas Beecham GroupMr & Mrs Richard & Victoria SharpJulian & Gill SimmondsThe Tsukanov FamilySimon Yates & Kevin Roon

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

Guy & Utti Whittaker

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

Commander Vincent EvansMr Daniel GoldsteinMrs Barbara GreenOliver HeatonPeter MacDonald EggersMr & Mrs David MalpasAndrew T MillsMr Maxwell MorrisonMr Michael PosenMr & Mrs Thierry SciardMr John Soderquist & Mr CostasMichaelides

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

BenefactorsMrs A BeareDr & Mrs Alan CarringtonCBE FRS

Marika Cobbold & Michael Patchett-Joyce

Mr & Mrs Stewart CohenMr Alistair CorbettMr David Edgecombe

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

Mr Frank LimPaul & Brigitta LockMr Brian MarshJohn MontgomeryMr & Mrs Egil OldeideEdmund PirouetMr Peter TausigMrs Kazue TurnerLady Marina VaizeyMr D Whitelock

Hon. BenefactorElliott Bernerd

Hon. Life MembersKenneth GoodeMrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

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

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

Corporate DonorLombard Street Research

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

Trusts and FoundationsAllianz Cultural FoundationThe Andor Charitable TrustRuth Berkowitz Charitable TrustThe Boltini TrustBorletti-Buitoni TrustBritten-Pears FoundationThe Candide Charitable TrustThe John S Cohen FoundationThe Coutts Charitable TrustThe Dorset FoundationThe D’Oyly Carte Charitable TrustDunard FundThe Equitable Charitable TrustThe Eranda FoundationThe Ernest Cook TrustThe Fenton Arts TrustThe Foyle FoundationThe Jonathan & Jeniffer Harris TrustCapital Radio’s Help a London ChildThe Idlewild TrustThe Emmanuel Kaye FoundationMaurice Marks Charitable TrustThe Michael Marks Charitable TrustMarsh Christian Trust

UK Friends of the Felix-Mendelssohn-BartholdyFoundation

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

FoundationThe Swan TrustJohn Thaw FoundationThe Underwood TrustGarfield Weston FoundationYouth Music

and others who wish to remainanonymous.


FREE Pre-Concert Event The Clore Ballroom

Royal Festival Hall FoyerSouthbank Centre

4 December 2010 | 6 pm

THE BAND

The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s youth community fusion ensemble is back!

The Band is a group of 15-19 year olds fromthe south London boroughs of Lambeth,

Lewisham and Southwark. Meeting weeklyat Southbank Centre, these talented youngmusicians work alongside members of the

London Philharmonic Orchestra and theOrchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts to write and

perform their own new compositions.

Under the leadership of animateur PaulGriffiths, this vibrant group has been

working over the past nine weeks to forgetheir own musical style, influenced by rock,classical, funk, jazz and blues. As well as the

usual toe-tapping funky hits, this term’smusic will in part be influenced by the

flavours of Gustav Mahler whose centenarythe Orchestra is celebrating this year.

The Band is kindly supported by The Mercers’ Company.

www.lpo.org.uk/theband


FREE Pre-Concert Event Royal Festival Hall

1 December 2010 | 6 pm

Vladimir Jurowski conductor

FOYLE FUTURE FIRSTSorchestral apprenticeship programme

Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen(with Njabulo Madlala baritone)

Kancheli Exil(with Allison Bell soprano)

The Foyle Future Firsts programme is generously funded by theFoyle Foundation with additional support from The D’Oyly CarteCharitable Trust, The Eranda Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trustand the Musicians Benevolent Fund.



ADMINISTRATION

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC TRUST

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

AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THELONDON PHILHARMONICORCHESTRA, INC.

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

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Charles RussellSolicitors

Crowe Clark Whitehill LLPAuditors

Dr Louise MillerHonorary Doctor

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Timothy Walker AM †Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Alison AtkinsonDigital Projects Manager

FINANCE

David BurkeGeneral Manager andFinance Director

David GreensladeFinance and IT Manager

CONCERT MANAGEMENT

Roanna ChandlerConcerts Director

Ruth SansomArtistic Administrator

Graham WoodConcerts, Recordings andGlyndebourne Manager

Alison JonesConcerts Co-ordinator

Jenny ChadwickTours and EngagementsManager

Jo OrrPA to the Executive / Concerts Assistant

Matthew FreemanRecordings Consultant

EDUCATION ANDCOMMUNITY PROGRAMME

Anne FindlayEducation Officer

Isobel TimmsCommunity Officer

Alec HaylorEducation and Community Assistant

Richard MallettEducation and Community Producer

ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

Andrew CheneryOrchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah ThomasLibrarian

Michael PattisonStage Manager

Camilla BeggAssistant Orchestra PersonnelManager

Ken Graham TruckingInstrument Transportation(Tel: 01737 373305)

DEVELOPMENT

Nick JackmanDevelopment Director

Phoebe RouseCorporate Relations Manager

Sarah TattersallCorporate Relations and Events Manager

Melissa Van EmdenCorporate Relations and Events Officer

Elisenda AyatsDevelopment and FinanceOfficer

MARKETING

Kath TroutMarketing Director

Ellie DragonettiMarketing Manager

Frances CookPublications Manager

Samantha KendallBox Office Administrator(Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Charly Fraser-AnnandIntern

Valerie BarberPress Consultant(Tel: 020 7586 8560)

ARCHIVES

Edmund PirouetConsultant

Philip StuartDiscographer

Gillian PoleRecordings Archive


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

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

The London PhilharmonicOrchestra Limited is aregistered charity No. 238045.

Photographs of Stravinsky,Prokofiev and Shostakovichcourtesy of the Royal Collegeof Music, London.

Photograph on the front cover by Pip Eastop.

Programmes printed by Cantate.

†Supported by Macquarie Group



FUTURE CONCERTSAT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL

JTI FRIDAY SERIESFriday 26 November 2010 | 7.30pm

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25, K503Bruckner Symphony No. 9

Günther Herbig conductorAndreas Haefliger piano

MAHLER ANNIVERSARYWednesday 1 December 2010 | 7.30pm

Debussy (orch. Colin Matthews) Préludes: Des Pas sur laneige; La Cathédrale engloutie; Feux d’artificeBritten Les IlluminationsMahler Symphony No. 4

Vladimir Jurowski conductorChristine Schäfer soprano

6.00pm–7.00pm | FREE Pre-Concert EventRoyal Festival HallA performance of chamber music including GiyaKancheli’s Exil by the Orchestra’s outstanding youngapprentice musicians conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

MAHLER ANNIVERSARYSaturday 4 December 2010 | 7.30pm

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4Mahler Symphony No. 1 (original version includingBlumine)

Vladimir Jurowski conductorHélène Grimaud piano

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

Wednesday 15 December 2010 | 7.30pm

Beethoven Overture, EgmontMartinů Violin Concerto No. 2Julian Anderson The Stations of the SunNielsen Symphony No. 5

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductorFrank Peter Zimmermann violin

Supported by The Boltini Trust

6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert EventRoyal Festival HallThe Orchestra’s new Composer in Residence JulianAnderson discusses his role and looks at the evening’sperformance of The Stations of the Sun.

MAHLER ANNIVERSARYJTI FRIDAY SERIESFriday 14 January 2011 | 7.30pm

Szymanowski Violin Concerto No. 2Mahler Symphony No. 6

Jaap van Zweden conductorLeonidas Kavakos violin

6.15pm–6.45pm | FREE Pre-Concert EventRoyal Festival HallWith the help of the Orchestra’s percussion section wetake a look at Mahler’s growing interest in non-standardinstrumentation.

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

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

Southbank Centre Ticket Office | 0844 847 9920www.southbankcentre.co.uk/lpoDaily, 9am-8pm. £2.50 telephone / £1.45 online bookingfees; no fee for Southbank Centre members

Christine Schäferand HélèneGrimaud

Jukka-Pekka Sarasteand Frank PeterZimmermann

Günther Herbig andAndreas Haefliger


Documents

LPO Programme notes 24 Nov 10