Preston SeriesSeptember 2010 / May 2011

Preston Guild HallBox Office 0845 344 2026liverpoolphil.com

Vasily PetrenkoChief Conductor

Royal LiverpoolPhilharmonicOrchestra

New World SymphonyThursday 16 September 20107.30pm

Everyone loves Dvor̆ák’s ‘New World’symphony. With its epic drama, achingnostalgia and unforgettable tunes (justdon’t mention the Hovis advert), it’sbeen a hit everywhere it’s been playedfor over a century. And nowhere moreso than in Liverpool, where the RLPO’smuch-loved Conductor Laureate LiborPes̆ek brings a uniquely personalCzech flair to this greatest of Czechsymphonies. Typically, Libor’s bringinga surprise gift from Prague: a deliciousminiature by Dvor̆ák’s son-in-law JosefSuk. And he’s joined by violinist PavelŠporcl (who wowed Phil audiencesduring his last visit) for the irresistiblyglamorous Violin Concerto byViennese prodigy-turned-Hollywoodlegend Erich Wolfgang Korngold.Another treat from the New World –and every bit as tuneful!

Tickets £18, £25

SukScherzo Fantastique

KorngoldViolin Concerto

Dvor̆ákSymphony No.9‘From the New World’

Libor Pes̆ek KBE conductorPavel Šporcl violin

Libor Pes̆ek KBE conductor

Catherine Jones reviews MahlerSymphony No.1

‘Much has been said and writtenabout the RLPO’s young conductor,but what has happened at HopeStreet over the past four years isas the result of a real partnershipbetween Phil and Petrenko. Andwhat a partnership it is nowproving. Roll on the Resurrection’.

Royal LiverpoolPhilharmonic OrchestraCritical Acclaim

Tim Ashley gives ***** in hisreview of ShostakovichSymphony No.8

‘In taking up his post as theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic'sPrincipal Conductor in 2006,Vasily Petrenko announced hisintention of turning the orchestrainto an ensemble of internationalstature. If this great concert wasanything to go by, he has, by andlarge, succeeded. Petrenko'sability to sustain such anunremitting emotional pitchwithout straying into incoherencewas remarkable, though he couldnot have done so without anorchestra whose playing is nowformidable in its intensity.’

Editor’s choice December 2009Shostakovich Symphonies Nos. 5 & 9

‘The Russian Revolution continues inLiverpool. There’s a cliché for you butthere’s nothing remotely hackneyedabout Vasily Petrenko’s Shostakovich9. Here again is that string-led SovietSound that he found in his recentTchaikovsky (Manfred Symphony)disc and drama found throughlyricism’.

Cover Vasily Petrenko photographed by Mark McNulty

Heaven SentWednesday 3 November 20107.30pm

Mahler doesn’t have to mean massive –and he never wrote anything morecharming, or more tuneful, than hisFourth Symphony. Melodies straight outof Mozart, jangling sleigh bells, and arapturous finale in which a childimagines a banquet in heaven (sungtonight by the award-winning youngsoprano Sarah-Jane Brandon) - italmost sounds too charming. But this isstill Mahler, after all, and there’s a pitchblack sense of humour lurking behindall that tenderness and joy. Expectsome grown-up surprises as VasilyPetrenko reaches the latest instalmentin the RLPO’s Mahler Edition, andexpect pure, glorious song from thesuperb Canadian violinist James Ehnes(a real Phil favourite in recent seasons)in Mendelssohn’s wonderfully lyricalViolin Concerto.

Tickets £18, £25

MozartOverture: Il Seraglio(the Abduction from the Seraglio)

MendelssohnViolin Concerto

MahlerSymphony No.4

Vasily Petrenko conductorJames Ehnes violinSarah-Jane Brandon soprano

Fairy TalesTuesday 7 December 20107.30pm

Once upon a time ... Maurice Ravel,Sergei Prokofiev and Pyotr Tchaikovskyeach set out to tell a story. The resultwas pure magic. As Christmas drawscloser, get into the spirit of the seasonwith these three beloved musicalfairytales. Ravel’s enchanting MotherGoose and Prokofiev’s tongue-in-cheektake on the story of Cinderella are justthe upbeat to a generous festive helpingof Tchaikovsky – everyone’s favourite bitof The Nutcracker! The Waltz of theFlowers, the Dance of the Mirlitons, andof course the Sugar Plum Fairy ... you’llmeet them all, as Vasily Petrenko andthe RLPO whirl you on a very specialpre-Christmas sleigh-ride through theKingdom of Sweets. Think of it as amusical Selection Box – and go on, spoilyourself!

Tickets £18, £25

RavelMother Goose Suite

ProkofievCinderella Suite

TchaikovskyNutcracker: Act II

Vasily Petrenko conductor

Sarah-Jane Brandon soprano Vasily Petrenko RLPO Chief ConductorMark McNulty photographer

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Surprise SymphonyTuesday 11 January 20117.30pm

Mozart, Haydn and Rossini weren’twriting for critics – they wanted theirmusic to drive audiences wild withenthusiasm. The people of Praguedanced all night to Mozart’s melodies,so he wrote them a symphony thatbursts with energy. Rossini hired thebest singers in the business – andmade them perform jaw-droppingvocal acrobatics. And Haydn stuck ahuge practical joke in the slowmovement of his 94th symphony,“just to make the ladies jump”.Don’t say you weren’t warned!A seriously fun concert, and 18th-century music expert Ottavio Dantoneis just the maestro to make it fizz.Even Rossini, meanwhile, would haveraised his hat to the flamboyant youngItalian soprano Désirée Rancatore.

Tickets £18, £25

MozartSymphony No.38 ‘Prague’

MozartExsultate Jubilate

RossiniOverture, La Gazza Ladra

RossiniFolleville's aria from Il viaggioa Reims

HaydnSymphony No.94 in G major‘Surprise’

Ottavio Dantone conductorDésirée Rancatore soprano

Memorable MelodiesTuesday 1 February 20117.30pm

When a piece makes it into theClassic FM Hall of Fame, you can besure of one thing – it’s got a goodtune. And in this concert, under theentertaining American conductor-pianist Andrew Litton, the tunes justkeep coming! There’s English musicat its most gentle from Finzi andDelius, and Russian music at its mostplayful in Shostakovich’s big-heartedSecond Piano Concerto (to say nothingof the Polka that Stravinsky wrote fora troupe of dancing elephants!).And then, as a grand finale, there’sStravinsky’s gorgeous fairy-tale balletsuite. Hear it as one of the greatorchestral showpieces of the 20thcentury, or hear it as the love scenefrom Shirley Valentine.

Tickets £18, £25

StravinskyCircus Polka

FinziEclogue for piano and strings

ShostakovichPiano Concerto No.2

DeliusOn Hearing the First Cuckooin Spring

StravinskyFirebird Suite (1945)

Andrew Litton conductor/piano

Désirée Rancatore soprano Andrew Litton conductor/pianoJonathan Wilkinson photographer

A German RequiemWednesday 9 March 20117.30pm

Blessed are they that mourn,for they shall be comforted.

They that sow in tears shallreap in joy.

Brahms didn’t believe in God, but hedid believe in human love, and as hestruggled to come to terms with thedeath of his mother he conceived adifferent kind of Requiem – musicmeant to comfort those left behind.Drawing on biblical texts, the traditionof Bach, and Brahms’ own deeplyromantic spirit, the German Requiemis surely the warmest and most tenderof all great choral works. Therespected German conductor ClausPeter Flor has devoted his life to theGerman romantic tradition; along withtwo world-class soloists and thePreston Cecilian Choral Society,there’s no better guide to this radiantand profoundly moving masterpiece.

Tickets £18, £25

Songs by Brahms and Strauss(Inger Dam-Jensen, soprano,with piano)

BrahmsA German Requiem

Claus Peter Flor conductorInger Dam-Jensen sopranoGerd Grochowski baritonePreston Cecilian Choral Society

South American DreamWednesday 11 May 20117.30pm

They say it takes two to tango, but thegreat Argentinean king of nuevotango, Astor Piazzolla, could flood awhole orchestra with its dark,sophisticated and powerfully sensuousrhythms. His haunting concerto forbandoneón – the supersize concertinaheard in the dance halls of BuenosAires – is at the passionate heart ofthis extraordinary concert; a musicaltour through South America in thehands of the dynamic Brazilianmaestro Roberto Minczuk. Villa-Lobos’s sumptuous BachianasBrasiliensis give a flamboyant Latinswing to the spirit of JS Bach; whileGinastera’s earthy ballet suitecelebrates the vast beauty and rough-cut spirit of the Argentineangrasslands. Music from a new world,bursting with colour and pulsing withemotion – in other words, a concertlike nothing else this season.

Tickets £18, £25

Villa-LobosBachianas Brasiliensis No 9

PiazzollaBandoneón Concerto ‘Aconcagua’

Villa LobosBachianas Brasiliensis No.8

GinasteraSuite from Estancia

Roberto Minczuk conductorPer Arne Glorvigen bandoneón

Inger Dam-Jensen soprano Per Arne Glorvigen bandoneón

Ticket Prices£18 Blocks A, B, F, G & H£25 Blocks C, D & E

When to BookTuesday 27 April Booking opens for renewingsubscribers and Friends of the Phil

Monday 24 May Booking opens for allNEW subscribers

Monday 7 June Public booking open –all tickets on sale

How to BookBy post Guild Hall Box Office, Lancaster Rd,Preston, PR1 1HTBy telephone 0845 344 2026By fax 01772 204582Online (for single tickets from 7 June)www.prestonguildhall.com Booking fees may apply

Information also available atwww.liverpoolphil.com

Discounted TicketsConcessionsJSA claimants, students, children and registereddisabled get a discount of £2 per ticket.

GroupsGenerous group discounts are available for mostconcerts depending on the size of your group:

Groups of 10-29 10% offGroups of 30-49 15% offGroups of 50+ 20% off

For more details and to book, call Alison Gainford on01772 903 202 or email a.gainford@preston.gov.uk

£126 £94.50 £31.50 £18.90

£175 £131.25 £43.75 £26.25

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How to get to Guild HallBy RailNearest main line station is Preston.Approximately 10 minutes walk from the towncentre. For further information on trainoperators and times please phone National RailEnquiries on 0845 7484950.

By BusPreston Bus Station, situated on Tithebarn St.Approximately 5 minutes walk from the Guild Hall.

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