Principal Conductor VLADIMIR JUROWSKI*Principal Guest Conductor YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUINLeader pIETER SChOEMANComposer in Residence JULIAN ANDERSONPatron hRh ThE DUKE OF KENT KG

Chief Executive and Artistic Director TIMOThY WALKER AM†

pROGRAMME £3

CONTENTS 2 Southbank Centre / Leader 3 List of players4 About the Orchestra5 James Gaffigan 6 Paul Lewis7 Programme notes10 John Price 11 Supporters 12 LPO administration The timings shown are not precise and

are given only as a guide.

* supported by the Tsukanov Family † supported by Macquarie Group

CONCERT PRESENTED BY THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JTI FRIDAY SERIES SOUThBANK CENTRE’S ROYAL FESTIVAL hALLFriday 28 October 2011 | 7.30pm

JAMES GAFFIGANconductor

pAUL LEWISpiano

R STRAUSSDon Juan (18’)

MOZARTPiano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K488 (26’)

Interval

RAChMANINOFFSymphonic Dances (35’)

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, Concrete and Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery.

If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact Kenelm Robert, our Head of Customer Relations, at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX or phone 020 7960 4250 or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk 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 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.

WELCOME

2 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

© P

atri

ck H

arri

son

Pieter Schoeman joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Co-Leader in 2002, and was appointed Leader in 2008.

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 performed frequently as Guest Leader with the symphony orchestras of Barcelona, Bordeaux, Lyon and Baltimore, as well as with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Pieter is a Professor of Violin at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

pIETER SChOEMANLEADER

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, Concrete and Feng Sushi, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops inside Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Hayward Gallery.

If you wish to get in touch with us following your visit please contact Kenelm Robert, our Head of Customer Relations, at Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX or phone 020 7960 4250 or email customer@southbankcentre.co.uk 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 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.

WELCOME

First ViolinsPieter Schoeman* LeaderVesselin Gellev Sub-Leader

Chair supported by

John and Angela Kessler

Xuan DuShlomy DobrinskyKatalin VarnagyCatherine CraigMartin Höhmann

Chair supported by

Richard Karl Goeltz

Geoffrey LynnRobert PoolYang ZhangRebecca ShorrockPeter NallGalina TanneyJoanne ChenCaroline SharpSarah Buchan

Second ViolinsPhilippe Honoré

Guest PrincipalJoseph MaherKate Birchall

Chair supported by David

and Victoria Graham Fuller

Fiona HighamAshley StevensNynke HijlkemaSioni Williams Heather BadkeAlison StrangePeter GrahamStephen StewartSheila LawElizabeth BaldeyNaomi Anner

ViolasVicci Wardman

Guest PrincipalBarbara GiepnerSusanne MartensLaura VallejoBenedetto PollaniEmmanuella Reiter-BootimanKatharine LeekDaniel CornfordAlistair ScahillIsabel PereiraNaomi HoltPamela Ferriman

CellosAlexander Somov

Guest PrincipalFrancis BucknallLaura DonoghueSantiago Carvalho†Jonathan Ayling

Chair supported by Caroline,

Jamie and Zander Sharp

Gregory WalmsleySusanna RiddellHelen RathboneJonathan KitchenDavid Bucknall

Double BassesKevin Rundell* PrincipalTim Gibbs Co-PrincipalLaurence LovelleGeorge PenistonRichard LewisKenneth KnussenTom WalleyHelen Rowlands

FlutesSusan Thomas PrincipalJoanna MarshStewart McIlwham*

piccolo Stewart McIlwham* Principal

OboesDavid Theodore

Guest PrincipalAngela Tennick

Cor AnglaisSue Bohling Principal

Chair supported by

Julian and Gill Simmonds

ClarinetsRobert Hill* Principal Nicholas Carpenter*

Bass ClarinetPaul Richards Principal

Alto Saxophone Martin Robertson BassoonsGareth Newman* PrincipalSusanna DiasClare Glenister

Contra-bassoonClare Glenister

hornsJohn Ryan PrincipalMartin HobbsMark Vines Co-PrincipalGareth MollisonTimothy Ball

TrumpetsPaul Beniston* PrincipalAnne McAneney*

Chair supported by

Geoff and Meg Mann

Joe Sharp

TrombonesMark Templeton* PrincipalBecky Smith

Bass TromboneLyndon Meredith Principal

TubaLee Tsarmaklis* Principal

TimpaniSimon Carrington* Principal

percussionDavid Jackson

Guest PrincipalAndrew Barclay* Co-Principal

Chair supported by

Andrew Davenport

Keith MillarJeremy CornesSam WaltonIgnacio Molins

harp Rachel Masters* Principal

piano Catherine Edwards

* Holds a professorial appointment in London † Chevalier of the Brazilian Order of Rio Branco

LONDON phILhARMONIC ORChESTRA

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 3

Chair Supporters

The London Philharmonic Orchestra also acknowledges the following chair supporters whose players are not present at this concert:

The Sharp Family

LONDON phILhARMONIC ORChESTRA

4 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world’s finest orchestras, balancing a long and distinguished history with a reputation as one of the UK’s most adventurous and forward-looking orchestras. As well as performing classical concerts, the Orchestra also records film and computer game soundtracks, has its own record label, and reaches thousands of Londoners every year through activities for schools and local communities.

The Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and since then has been headed by many of the great names in the conducting world, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. The current Principal Conductor is Russian Vladimir Jurowski, appointed in 2007, with French-Canadian Yannick Nézet-Séguin as Principal Guest Conductor.

The Orchestra is based at Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre, where it has performed since it opened in 1951 and been Resident Orchestra since 1992. It gives around 40 concerts there each season with many of the world’s top conductors and soloists. Concert highlights in 2011/12 include a three-week festival celebrating the music of Prokofiev, concerts with artists including Sir Mark Elder, Marin Alsop, Renée Fleming, Stephen Hough and Joshua Bell, and several premières of works by living composers including the Orchestra’s Composer in Residence, Julian Anderson. In addition to its London concerts, the Orchestra has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. Every summer, the Orchestra leaves London for four months and takes up its annual residency accompanying the famous Glyndebourne Festival Opera in the Sussex countryside, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra since 1964.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra 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 Western orchestra. Touring remains a big part of the Orchestra’s life: tours in the 2011/12 season include visits to Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the US, Spain, China, Russia, Oman, Brazil and France.

You may well have heard the London Philharmonic Orchestra on film soundtrack recordings: it has recorded many blockbuster scores, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Lawrence of Arabia, The Mission, Philadelphia and East is East. The Orchestra also broadcasts regularly on television and radio, and in 2005 established its own record label. There are now over 50 releases on the label, which are available on CD and to download. Recent additions include Dvořák’s Symphonic Variations and Symphony No. 8 conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras; Holst’s The Planets conducted by Vladimir Jurowski; Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 under Klaus Tennstedt; and Shostakovich Piano Concertos with Martin Helmchen under Vladimir Jurowski. The Orchestra was also recently honoured with the commission to record all 205 of the world’s national anthems for the London 2012 Olympics Team Welcome Ceremonies and Medal Ceremonies.

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

The London Philharmonic Orchestra maintains an energetic programme of activities for young people and local communities. Highlights include the ever-popular family and schools concerts, fusion ensemble The Band, the Leverhulme Young Composers project and the Foyle Future Firsts orchestral training scheme for outstanding young players. Over the last few years, developments in technology and social networks have 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, news blog, iPhone app and regular podcasts, the Orchestra has a thriving presence on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more and get involved!

lpo.org.uk

facebook.com/londonphilharmonicorchestra

twitter.com/LpOrchestra

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 5

© M

arga

rett

a K

Mit

chel

l

JAMES GAFFIGANCONDUCTOR

on Tour in 2009. He returned to Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2010 to share a production of Così fan tutte with Sir Charles Mackerras. He also returned to Aspen to lead performances of The Marriage of Figaro and conducted the same opera at Houston Grand Opera.

Born in New York City in 1979, James Gaffigan studied at the LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and The Juilliard School Preparatory Division. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, he earned his Masters of Music in conducting at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, where he studied with Larry Rachleff. In the summer of 2000 he was one of eight young conductors chosen by David Zinman to participate as an Academy Conductor in the inaugural year of the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. Two years later he received the Academy’s first Robert Harth Conducting Award and the following summer was selected as one of two conducting fellows to study at the Tanglewood Music Center.

James Gaffigan was previously Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, assisting Michael Tilson Thomas, and was Artistic Director of the orchestra’s Summer in the City festival. Prior to that appointment, he was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he worked under Music Director Franz Welser-Möst from 2003 to 2006. James Gaffigan’s international career was launched when he won First Prize at the 2004 Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition.

He lives in Lucerne with his wife, the writer Lee Taylor Gaffigan, and their daughter Sofia.

James Gaffigan is considered by many to be one of the most outstanding young American conductors of his generation. This season he takes up the two positions of Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra

and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a guest conductor he is in high demand, working at the highest level with leading orchestras and opera houses throughout the United States and Europe. In recent seasons, his guest engagements in the US have included The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, St Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore and National symphony orchestras; and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Elsewhere, he has worked with the Dresden Staatskapelle; Camerata Salzburg; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Gürzenich Orchestra, Cologne; Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Berlin; the Munich, Rotterdam and Quatar Philharmonic orchestras; and the City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, São Paulo Symphony, Scottish Chamber, Zurich Tonhalle, Leipzig and Stuttgart Radio orchestras, among others.

Tonight is his début with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and this season he will also make his first appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bucharest Festival, Czech Philharmonic (Dvořák Prague Festival), Atlanta Symphony, Sydney Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras, and enjoy return visits to many orchestras in the US and Europe.

As an opera conductor, James Gaffigan conducts a production of La bohème at the Wiener Staatsoper this season as well as La Cenerentola at Glyndebourne Festival Opera next summer. James has previously conducted Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival and also led a production of Falstaff for Glyndebourne

6 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Paul Lewis is internationally recognised as one of the leading pianists of his generation. His many awards have included the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Instrumentalist of the Year Award, the South Bank Show Classical

Music Award, a Diapason d’or de l’année in France, two successive Edison Awards in Holland, the 25th Premio Internazionale Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and three Gramophone awards, including Record of the Year in 2008.

Between 2005 and 2007, he performed the complete Beethoven sonatas at venues throughout Europe and North America to great critical acclaim, and his recordings of the cycle for Harmonia Mundi have received unanimous praise throughout the world. His 2010 recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with Mark Padmore received a Gramophone award, and his complete set of the Beethoven piano concertos with Jiří Bělohlávek and the BBC Symphony Orchestra was named Recording of the Month in the September 2010 issue of Gramophone, and Record of the Month in the October 2010 issue of Classic FM magazine. In May 2011 his recording of the Beethoven Diabelli Variations was released to huge critical acclaim and was named Disc of the Month by BBC Music Magazine and International Record Review. His most recent CD release is Schubert’s Schwanengesang with Mark Padmore, which marks the completion of their survey of the three song cycles. Future CD releases include a new double CD of Schubert piano works in November 2011.

In summer 2010 Paul Lewis became the first pianist in the history of the BBC Proms to play all the Beethoven piano concertos in a single Proms season. The complete cycle was broadcast on BBC television. In addition to the Proms, he is a regular guest at many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals including the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Roque d’Antheron Piano Festival and the Klavier Festival Ruhr. He has a particularly strong relationship with London’s Wigmore Hall, where he has appeared on more than 40 occasions.

Paul Lewis has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including all of the major UK orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Bamberg Symphony, NDR Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Mahler Chamber, Australian Chamber, Sydney Symphony and Melbourne Symphony orchestras, with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Christoph von Dohnányi, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Charles Mackerras, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Sir Andrew Davis, Marin Alsop, Dmitri Kitajenko, Daniel Harding, Ádám Fischer, Richard Hickox, Emmanuel Krivine and Armin Jordan.

Highlights in recent years have included a complete Beethoven concerto cycle with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia; his début with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra; opening the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York with Beethoven’s Fifth Concerto; concerts in New York, Chicago, Milan and Turin with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis; a European tour with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop; his second recital tour of Australia for Musica Viva; and an extensive tour of the US with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Solo recitals have taken him to venues such as Royal Festival Hall in London, Toppan Hall Tokyo, Symphony Centre Chicago, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Kennedy Center Washington and the Vienna Konzerthaus.

2011 saw Paul Lewis embark upon a two-year Schubert project entitled ‘Schubert and the Piano: 1822–1828’, performing all the mature piano works from the Wandererfantasie onwards, which is being presented in major centres such as London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Rotterdam, Florence, and the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg.

Paul Lewis studied with Ryszard Bakst at Chethams School of Music and Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, before going on to study privately with Alfred Brendel. Together with his wife, the Norwegian cellist Bjørg Lewis, he is artistic director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire.

pAUL LEWISpIANO

© Ja

ck L

iebe

ck

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 7

pROGRAMME NOTES

Richard Strauss made his name internationally at 24 with Don Juan, which shows an astonishingly precocious mastery in composing for a large orchestra. Inspired by Lenau’s poem, the surging, tender and passionate themes portray a romantic idealist engaged in a futile quest for the perfect embodiment of womanhood. In the end he allows himself to be killed in a duel.

The Piano Concerto in A major is among the best loved of all Mozart’s concertos. Predominantly lyrical, it has a kinship of mood with The Marriage of Figaro. The soloist’s cadenza near the end of the first movement is

one of the few that Mozart wrote down. A poignant Adagio with a principal theme in a rocking Siciliano rhythm follows. The finale combines sonata and rondo forms in an irresistible stream of happy tunes.

Rachmaninoff’s ‘last spark’, as he called it, was his set of three Symphonic Dances, which he composed for The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1940. Clearly symphonic in weight and general character, the dances incorporate meaningful self-quotations and repeated references to the Dies irae (Day of Wrath) plainchant, which represented for him a lifelong symbol of fate.

Speedread

The music that Richard Strauss wrote as a student was classical in form and outlook, but in his early 20s he came under the influence of the Russian-born composer Alexander Ritter, who urged him to consider the expressive potential of music exemplified by the works of Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner. In 1886 Strauss composed the fantasy Aus Italien, which he regarded as the link between his earlier and new methods, and in quick succession there followed the series of strikingly original symphonic poems that continued until, early in the 20th century, opera claimed his main attention.

Strauss was only 24 in 1888 when he composed Don Juan, which brought him international fame. It was the first of his tone-poems in today’s standard repertory to reach public performance, and it showed him not only handling a large orchestra with astonishingly precocious mastery but also displaying an individual style and a gift for memorable melody. He conducted the first performance on 11 November 1889 in Weimar, Germany, and reported an overwhelming success to his father. Looking for a suitable romantic subject to put into practice the precepts urged on him by Ritter, he

had found the dramatic poem Don Juan by the Austrian poet Nikolaus Lenau (1802–1850). In this version of the legend the Don is a romantic idealist engaged upon a futile quest for the perfect embodiment of womanhood. Doomed to disillusionment, he allows himself to be killed in a duel with the avenger of one of his victims.

Strauss did not provide a detailed synopsis; this music is as much psychological study as narrative. But a few signposts may be suggested. A brilliant introduction leads straight into the first of two Don Juan themes, suggesting urgent power and restless pursuit. The first feminine theme is encountered and a little later, preceded by a violin solo, this is ardently elaborated by the strings with horn counterpoints. A second passionate lady appears (a sweeping theme on violas and cellos), followed by a third in an episode (oboe solo) filled with tender longing. The Don asserts his masculinity in a splendid new theme for horns. After a moment’s calm, Strauss reviews the themes in a symphonic peroration that comes to a very sudden stop. In the brief coda the Don breathes his last.

DON JUAN, Op. 20RichardSTRAUSS

1864–1949

8 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

Completed on 2nd March 1786 and introduced a week or so later with the composer as soloist, the Piano Concerto in A major still stands today among the best loved of all Mozart’s concertos. In contrast with the turbulent passion of the Concerto in C minor, which he finished only three weeks later, this is a predominantly lyrical conversation piece. It is closely akin in mood to The Marriage of Figaro, which received its first performance a few weeks after the concerto’s première. Oboes are omitted from the orchestra, which consists of one flute, two each of clarinets, bassoons and horns, and strings.

The violins introduce the opening theme and pass it to the wind choir before the full orchestra comes in with a more vigorous subsidiary subject. The second main theme, again entrusted to the violins, appears in the same key instead of the customary dominant. The soloist enters and embellishes these ideas, presenting the second subject now in the dominant key, and when the piano falls silent it is left to the strings to introduce a new and poetic theme for discussion in the following development section. All the themes are in due course recapitulated, leading to the soloist’s cadenza, one of the few that the composer himself wrote down.

Mozart adopts F-sharp minor, the minor key related to A major, for the poignant Adagio, his only movement in this key. The emotional intensity hinted at in some parts of the first movement (but easily missed there) is now plain for all to hear, though the passion is veiled. The principal melody, set to a rocking Siciliano rhythm, is given to the unaccompanied piano and complemented by a sorrowing theme for the orchestra. A new tune for flute and first clarinet briefly lightens the atmosphere, but the initial mood persists to the end.

Shadows are banished by the finale, an irresistible stream of melody and rhythm that pours out one happy tune after another. Cast in a combination of sonata and rondo forms, it begins with the decisive main rondo theme on the piano. The orchestra repeats this and goes into a strings and wind dialogue demanding great agility of the first bassoon. The soloist brings a second principal theme into play. Flute and bassoon introduce the next tune, and so the profusion of ideas continues, incorporating many a harmonic and rhythmic subtlety on the way. Unflagging vitality is maintained to the close.

pROGRAMME NOTES

INTERVAL – 20 minutes An announcement will be made five minutes before the end of the interval.

Wolfgang AmadeusMOZART

1756–1791

pIANO CONCERTO NO. 23 IN A MAJOR, K488

pAUL LEWIS piano

AllegroAdagioAllegro assai

Eric Mason

The Orchestra was saddened to learn of the death of Eric Mason earlier this month. Eric joined the staff of the London Philharmonic Orchestra as Publicity and Public Relations Manager in 1971, leaving in 1981 to enjoy retirement in Suffolk with his wife, Doreen. Part of his duties was writing programme notes for the Orchestra’s concerts and he continued to provide lucid and edifying notes and translations throughout his retirement right up to this evening’s programme. In addition, with his extensive knowledge of classical music and his mastery of German and French, he was a generous and valuable source of information for the Orchestra and its staff over many years. He will be sorely missed. We offer our sincere condolences to his wife and family.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 9

After he left his native Russia for the nomadic life of a celebrity pianist Rachmaninoff composed less and less, and critics suggested that he had written himself out. But the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Third Symphony, both composed in the 1930s, gave the lie to that, and in 1940 he produced the Symphonic Dances, which some now account his masterpiece. The composer called the work ‘my last spark’, and he died in Beverly Hills, California, less than three years later.

He composed the dances for The Philadelphia Orchestra, which gave the first performance on 4 January 1941 under Eugene Ormandy. ‘Symphonic’ is the operative word in the title, since two of the three movements are more symphonic than dance-like in length and character. However, Rachmaninoff did explore the possibility of using the music for a ballet with Fokine shortly before the choreographer died. He abandoned his original intention to entitle the three dances ‘Midday’, ‘Twilight’ and ‘Midnight’. The inclusion of self-quotations gives them a strongly retrospective character, but if there is a programme behind them Rachmaninoff preferred to keep it to himself. The dances are scored for double woodwind (plus piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet, alto saxophone and contra-bassoon), brass, percussion, harp, piano and strings.

Each movement covers a wide tempo range. The first is fundamentally quick, notwithstanding the score’s eccentric Non allegro (Not fast) marking, which has been shown to be an error. Shadowy hints of the principal theme are interrupted by an abrupt pattern of chords suggestive of the medieval Dies irae (Day of Wrath) plainchant, which Rachmaninoff quoted in a number of his works and which to him represented a symbol of inexorable fate. The following main theme is a sequence of descending rhythmic phrases over a chugging accompaniment of the kind that Stravinsky

often employed. In the slower middle section the alto saxophone introduces a sad tune with a strong Russian flavour. Its yearning mood is emphasised when the strings take it up. The tempo quickens and the main theme returns in a more emphatic manner. The movement ends quietly, however, with a major-key transformation of the motto theme from Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony. This held a special personal significance for the composer, who had been deeply hurt by that symphony’s failure at its badly played première in 1897. The symphony was only brought to light again and successfully performed after his death.

The second movement is Rachmaninoff’s Valse triste, a haunted reverie in dance motion. After a brief introduction the cor anglais launches the tune, which passes to the strings and is later surrounded by swirls of woodwind arabesques. There is a still more anxious middle section, after which the original waltz tune returns.

A short, slow introduction leads into the fast main section of the ‘midnight’ finale, which is permeated by the Dies irae plainchant. Masterly scoring, strange harmonies, syncopation and continually changing metres evoke demonic images. The music slows for a lingering recollection of the preceding movement’s haunted ballroom, then bright fanfares signal an end to sighing over what might have been. Although hobgoblins return and the Dies irae forcefully imposes itself, the hopeful fanfares outweigh it, and just before the close Rachmaninoff quotes ‘Blessed be the Lord’ from his All-Night Vigil (Vespers) of 1915. The ending is a resolutely optimistic assertion, a crash on the tam-tam vibrating on beyond the final chord. Programme notes © Eric Mason

SYMphONIC DANCES, Op. 45

Non allegroAndante con moto: Tempo di valseLento assai - Allegro vivace

SergeiRAChMANINOFF

1873–1943

10 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

We bid a fond farewell to John price, who retired from the London philharmonic Orchestra in August after 34 years as principal Bassoon.

John began his musical career playing the clarinet at the age of eight, before changing to the bassoon aged 13. His first orchestral experience was with his local youth orchestra in Leicester. At 16 he began studying with the legendary Gwydion Brooke and in 1964 was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music in London, having been awarded the Ross Bassoon Scholarship.

In 1966 John was appointed Principal Bassoon with the Ulster Orchestra and the following year, aged only 20, was appointed Principal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. During this time he also played extensively with the London Sinfonietta and the Barry Tuckwell Wind Quintet. With several concertos with the RPO and other orchestras under his belt, in 1977 he was appointed Principal Bassoon with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. That same year John was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

As well as the numerous orchestral recordings John made with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under great maestros including Solti, Tennstedt, Masur, Welser-Möst, Haitink and Jurowski, he has also recorded

JOhN pRICE©

Ben

jam

in E

alov

ega

Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante and the Serenade for 13 Winds, and Dvořák’s Serenade for Wind Instruments. He joined the Michael Thompson Wind Quintet in 1974 and also made many recordings with them on the Naxos label.

John regularly holds masterclasses for students at the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music, and with the wealth of experience he holds we hope he will continue to teach.

Bob Hill, Principal Clarinet in the London Philharmonic Orchestra and one of John’s longstanding colleagues, reflects: ‘John and I studied together at the RAM and then sat together for four years in the RPO before we both ended up as Principals in the LPO. We have been friends and colleagues over many years so I am ideally placed to comment on John’s unique sound, style and artistry. His standard was always perfection and he will be greatly missed in this Orchestra and the profession.’

Family and country life are important to John and we hope he will now have more time to enjoy them. He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues in the Orchestra and we wish him every happiness for this next chapter in his life.

London Philharmonic Orchestra | 11

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

Trusts and FoundationsArts and BusinessAllianz Cultural FoundationThe Boltini TrustBritten-Pears FoundationThe Candide Charitable TrustThe Coutts Charitable TrustThe Delius TrustDunard FundThe Equitable Charitable TrustThe Eranda FoundationThe Fenton Arts TrustThe Foyle FoundationThe Jeniffer and Jonathan Harris Charitable TrustHattori Foundation for Music and the ArtsCapital Radio’s Help a London ChildThe Hobson CharityThe Kirby Laing FoundationThe Leverhulme TrustLord and Lady Lurgan TrustMaurice Marks Charitable TrustMarsh Christian Trust

The Mercers’ CompanyAdam Mickiewicz InstitutePaul Morgan Charitable TrustMaxwell Morrison Charitable TrustMusicians Benevolent FundNewcomen Collett Foundation The Serge Prokofiev FoundationSerge Rachmaninoff FoundationThe Reed FoundationThe Seary Charitable TrustThe Samuel Sebba Charitable TrustThe David Solomons Charitable TrustThe Steel Charitable TrustThe Stansfield TrustThe Bernard Sunley Charitable FoundationThe Swan TrustJohn Thaw FoundationThe Thistle TrustThe Underwood TrustGarfield Weston FoundationYouth Music

and others who wish to remain anonymous

Thomas Beecham GroupThe Tsukanov Family

The Sharp FamilyJulian & Gill Simmonds

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

Mrs Sonja Drexler Guy & Utti Whittaker

principal BenefactorsMark & Elizabeth AdamsJane AttiasLady Jane BerrillDesmond & Ruth CecilMr John H CookMr Charles DumasDavid Ellen

Commander Vincent EvansMr & Mrs Jeffrey HerrmannPeter MacDonald EggersMr & Mrs David MalpasAndrew T MillsMr Maxwell MorrisonMr Michael PosenMr & Mrs Thierry SciardMr John Soderquist & Mr Costas MichaelidesMr & Mrs G SteinMr & Mrs John C TuckerMr & Mrs John & Susi UnderwoodHoward & Sheelagh WatsonMr Laurie Watt Mr Anthony Yolland

BenefactorsMrs A BeareDr & Mrs Alan Carrington CBE FRSMr & Mrs Stewart CohenMr Alistair CorbettMr David EdgecombeMr Richard FernyhoughKen FollettPauline & Peter Halliday

Michael & Christine HenryMr Glenn HurstfieldMr R K JehaMr Gerald LevinSheila Ashley LewisWg. Cdr. & Mrs M T Liddiard OBE JP RAFMr Frank LimPaul & Brigitta LockMr Brian MarshJohn MontgomeryEdmund PirouetMr Peter TausigMrs Kazue TurnerLady Marina VaizeyMr D WhitelockBill Yoe

hon. BenefactorElliott Bernerd

hon. Life MembersKenneth GoodeEdmund Pirouet Mrs Jackie Rosenfeld OBE

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

Corporate MembersAppleyard & Trew llpAREVA UKBritish American BusinessCharles RussellDestination Québec – UKLazardLeventis OverseasMan Group plc

Corporate DonorLombard Street Research

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

ADMINISTRATION

12 | London Philharmonic Orchestra

FSC_57678 LPO 14 January 2011 15/09/2011 12:30 Page 1

Board of Directors

Martin Höhmann ChairStewart McIlwham Vice-ChairSue BohlingLord Currie*Jonathan Dawson*Gareth NewmanGeorge PenistonSir Bernard Rix*Kevin RundellSir Philip Thomas*Timothy Walker AM†*Non-Executive Directors

The London philharmonic Trust

Victoria Sharp ChairDesmond Cecil CMGJonathan Harris CBE FRICSDr Catherine C. HøgelMartin HöhmannAngela KesslerClive Marks OBE FCAJulian SimmondsTimothy Walker AM†Laurence Watt

American Friends of the London philharmonic Orchestra, Inc.

We are very grateful to the Board of the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for its support of the Orchestra’s activities in the 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 GibsonConcerts Director

Ruth SansomArtistic Administrator

Graham WoodConcerts, Recordings andGlyndebourne Manager

Alison JonesConcerts Co-ordinator

Jenny ChadwickTours and Engagements Manager

Jo OrrPA to the Executive / Concerts Assistant

Matthew FreemanRecordings Consultant

Education & Community

Patrick BaileyEducation and Community Director

Anne FindlayEducation Manager

Caz ValeCommunity and Young Talent Manager

Richard MallettEducation and Community Producer

Orchestra personnel

Andrew CheneryOrchestra Personnel Manager

Sarah ThomasLibrarian

Michael PattisonStage Manager

Julia BoonAssistant Orchestra Personnel Manager

Ken Graham TruckingInstrument Transportation(Tel: 01737 373305)

Development

Nick JackmanDevelopment Director

Harriet MesherCharitable Giving Manager

Alexandra RowlandsCorporate Relations Manager

Melissa Van EmdenEvents Manager

Laura LuckhurstCorporate Relations and Events Officer

Elisenda AyatsDevelopment and Finance Officer

Marketing

Kath TroutMarketing Director

Ellie DragonettiMarketing Manager

Rachel FryerPublications Manager

Helen BoddyMarketing Co-ordinator

Samantha KendallBox Office Manager(Tel: 020 7840 4242)

Lucy Martin Intern

Valerie BarberPress Consultant(Tel: 020 7586 8560)

Archives

Philip StuartDiscographer

Gillian PoleRecordings Archive

London philharmonic Orchestra89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TPTel: 020 7840 4200Fax: 020 7840 4201Box Office: 020 7840 4242lpo.org.uk

The London Philharmonic Orchestra Limited is a registered charity No. 238045.

Photograph of Strauss © Boosey & Hawkes.

Photograph of Rachmaninoff courtesy of the Royal College of Music, London.

Front cover photograph © Benjamin Ealovega.

Printed by Cantate. †Supported by Macquarie Group