THE BBC PRESENTS THE 115th SEASON OF THE HENRY WOOD PROMENADE CONCERTS

PR OM 39 FRIDAY 14 AUGUST 7.30pm–c9.55pm

Jonny Greenwood Popcorn Superhet Receiver 18’ FIRST PERFORMANCE AT THE PROMS

Stravinsky Apollo 30’

interval: 20 minutes

Sir Harrison Birtwistle The Mask of Orpheus – The Arches* 58’

Orpheus (the man) Alan Oke tenorOrpheus (the myth) Thomas W alker tenorEuridice (the woman) Christine Rice mezzo-sopranoEuridice (the myth)/Persephone Anna Stéphany mezzo-sopranoHecate Claron McFadden sopranoCharon/Caller/Hades XXXXXXX baritoneFury 1/Woman 1 Rachel Nicholls sopranoFury 2/Woman 2 Anna Dennis sopranoFury 3/Woman 3 Louise Poole mezzo-sopranoFirst Judge Christopher Gillett tenorSecond Judge Håkan Vramsmo baritoneThird Judge Tim Mirfin bassIan Dearden sound projectionTim Hopkins director

BBC Singers Stephen Betteridge chorus master

BBC Symphony Orchestra Andrew Haveron leader

Martyn Brabbins conductorRyan W igglesworth 2nd conductor*

This concert is being broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 (repeated on Monday 24 August at 2.00pm) and live on BBC Four. It is audio-streamedlive via the BBC Proms website at bbc.co.uk/proms and available via the BBC iPlayer for on-demand listening for seven days after broadcast.

For Radiohead followers, Jonny Greenwood’s music for classicalperformers is another world. For a traditional Proms audience, it may well sound more accessible than Radiohead. Listeners to a broad spectrum of contemporary music, on the other hand, willbe fascinated to find that Popcorn Superhet Receiver inhabits anexpressive climate that could shade off in either direction, withdue allowance for technique and instrumentation.

The piece emerged from Greenwood’s stint as residentcomposer with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which workshopped it during composition. There was plenty of trial and error, thecomposer reported later, while he researched ways ofapproximating the sounds he imagined. The orchestra premieredit in London on 23 April 2005, conducted by Robert Ziegler, andit went on to win the BBC Radio 3 listeners’ prize at the 2006

British Composer Awards. In 2007 part of itwent into Greenwood’s score for the PaulThomas Anderson film There Will Be Blood,and a revised, slightly shortened version wasplayed across the USA during 2008.

A superheterodyne receiver is a radio orTV that changes the frequency of the signal.One of the experiences forming the music’ssoundscape is white noise, like the blast ofacross-the-frequencies sound that you pickup when tuning a pre-digital radio. Anotheris Krzysztof Penderecki’s dense slidingclusters of sound, a middle ground betweennoise and chords, for the 52 solo strings inhis 1960 classic Threnody for the Victims ofHiroshima. More intriguingly, Greenwoodwrote for a previous performance that on

J O N NY GREEN W O O D (born 1971)

Popcorn Superhet Receiver, for string orchestra (2005, rev. 2007) FIRST PERFORMANCE AT THE PROMS

PROGRAMME NOTES 3

Daniel Day Lewis, the hard-nosed prospector in Paul ThomasAnderson’s 2007 film, There Will Be Blood

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W e continue our celebrations of Sir HarrisonBirtwistle’s 75th birthday, which fell last month. A t its1986 premiere his opera The Mask of Orpheus,exploring a myth that had long obsessed him, washailed as a masterpiece, a view that has only beenconfirmed in the intervening time. Tonight we hear itscentral act, Orpheus’s imagined journey to theunderworld, through 17 arches.

More Greek mythology, this time Stravinsky’s Apollo.This was a seminal piece in many respects – his firstballet not written for D iaghilev and his firstcommission from the USA . Artistically, too, it marked

an unexpected change in direction, swapping hard-edged formalism for string orchestra textures.

The intriguingly titled Popcorn Superhet Receiver givesthe strings of the BBC S O another chance for aworkout. Radiohead frontman Jonny Greenwoodwrote it during his time as the BBC ConcertOrchestra’s Composer-in-Association and it tonightreceives its Proms premiere.

The BBC Proms are broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Please remember that coughing, eating and drinkingcan spoil the concert for both artists and listeners.Please stifle coughing as much as possible, especiallyduring quiet music.

Please turn off all mobile phones, pagers and watch alarms. The use of cameras, video cameras and recording equipment is strictlyprohibited. For reasons of safety and comfort, only small bags are permitted in the Arena. Please note that if you leave the auditorium during the performance you will only be readmitted when there is a suitable break in the music.

He began to return to individual composing and released hisfirst solo album, Bodysong, in 2003 – it was the soundtrack for a documentary film by Simon Pummell. For his first publishedconcert piece, Smear, commissioned by the FuseLeeds festival forthe London Sinfonietta (2004), he used two ondes martenot withstrings. It caught the imagination of those within the BBC, andthe following year he began a three-year appointment asComposer-in-Association with the BBC Concert Orchestra. In2005 he was featured composer at the Southbank’s Ether festival,which premiered Piano for Children with the Sinfonietta and JohnConstable. Popcorn Superhet Receiver, for the BBC CO, was hisnext piece, winning a 2006 British Composer Award and a PRSFoundation commission which is still in progress. A further filmscore, for the Oscar-winning There Will Be Blood, followed whenits director Paul Thomas Anderson was impressed by Bodysong.The score itself was ineligible for an Academy Award as itincluded pre-existing music, from Smear and Popcorn SuperhetReceiver, but it received a Grammy nomination.

Programme note © Robert Maycock

childhood car journeys, when the family had had enough of theavailable tapes, ‘I used to listen to the engine noise, and foundthat if I concentrated hard enough I could hear the music fromthe cassettes still playing somewhere in the background.’

A slow blur of rich, saturated chords starts to let through faintsolo instruments, first tentative and then stronger. Later, thechords fade and wisps of inner detail are left floating. EventuallyGreenwood sets up a rhythm with toneless plucks and slaps whilea pizzicato tune evolves over it. Whatever the workshops mayhave done to fine-tune his acoustic experiments, they left the scorewith an impressive mastery of glissando slides, snapped ‘Bartók’pizzicato, and a steeply shaped ‘exponential’ crescendo. But themusic keeps its essential primacy of feeling over guile, an elusivequality that rock musicians can strive for without success andmany contemporary composers self-consciously shun.

Programme note © Robert MaycockRobert Maycock writes for ‘The Independent’ and ‘BBC MusicMagazine’, among others, and has special interests in French,contemporary and world music. His book on American composer Philip Glass was published in 2002 (Sanctuary).

J O N NY GREEN W O O D

Born in Oxford on 5 November 1971, Jonny Greenwoodattended Abingdon School where he, his brother Colin and threefriends formed the band On a Friday – named for the day theycould use the music room. He played keyboards, later lead guitar.The youngest member, he began a psychology and music degreeat Oxford Brookes University but abandoned it once the bandbegan attracting music business attention. In 1991 it made a six-album deal with EMI, changing its name at the company’srequest. At first more successful abroad, Radiohead achieveddefinitive UK and worldwide fame with its third album OKComputer (1997) and remained at the top of the tree whileevolving towards the Grammy-winning In Rainbows (2007).Studio work on Radiohead’s ninth album began in May this year.

Greenwood, who played the viola and started composingbefore he learned guitar, was always a creative musician withwide contemporary interests. Early on, he formed an affinity witha range of 20th-century classical composers including Penderecki,Ligeti, Dutilleux and Messiaen. Falling under the spell of thelatter’s Turangalîla-Symphonie he relished the writing for ondes martenot, an instrument that he learnt to play. Otherinfluences include Miles Davis, dub reggae and Krautrock. Theseinterests have gone into Radiohead’s music, as well as his flair onseveral instruments in addition to guitar and his ability to scorefor strings.

4 PROGRAMME NOTES PROGRAMME NOTES 5

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Birth of Apollo – Apollo’s Variation – Pas d’action – Calliope’sVariation – Polyhymnia’s Variation – Terpsichore’s Variation –Apollo’s Variation – Pas de deux – Coda – Apotheosis

Composed in 1927 and completed in January 1928, Apollowas the first ballet Stravinsky wrote for a company other thanDiaghilev’s (to the latter’s intense annoyance). It was also the firstwork Stravinsky ever wrote to a commission from the USA. Theinvitation came from the Library of Congress, and specified apantomime for three or four dancers and small orchestra on asubject of the composer’s own choice, to which Stravinskyresponded with what amounts to the first of his abstract (orplotless) ballets, and his first ever work for string orchestra. Whenhe started composing the music, in July 1927, Stravinsky seems tohave envisaged parts for harp and piano as well, and he alreadyknew the subject-matter, if not the details of the scenario – which,indeed, seem never to have assumed great importance for him, ifwe are to believe his remark in a Paris interview of 1935 to theeffect that Apollo contains no ‘argument’ and that ‘this is the keyto the mystery of Terpsichore’.

Those who commission works of art usually have somemental picture of what might result, and no doubt suchpreconceptions are more often disappointed than not. But Apollomust surely have come as one of the biggest artistic surprises inhistory. Here was the great bogeyman of modern music, still best

IG OR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971)

Apollo – ballet in two scenes (1927–8)

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known for the barbarisms of The Rite of Spring but with a recentreputation among the culturally up-to-date for steely formalismbacked up by an arid theoretical anti-expressionism, suddenlycoming up with a melting and graceful score for strings thatsounded suspiciously like an attempt to revive the FrenchRomantic ballet as cultivated by Léon Minkus, Adolphe Adamand Delibes. At the time of the commission Oedipus Rex wasnearing completion but had not yet been played; would thisastonishing mixture of Handel and Verdi have made Apollo anyeasier to predict? No easier, perhaps, than to have predicted The Fairy’s Kiss, a Hans Christian Andersen ballet on themes by Tchaikovsky, after hearing Apollo.

Technically, if not aesthetically, Apollo fits well enough intothe period that began with Mavra (1921–2) and the Octet(1922–3), a period that from the first concerned itself, self-consciously, with the relation between form and expression. The very subject-matter of the ballet, such as it is, amounts to adramatised version of this issue. Apollo, the leader of the Musesand god of formal perfection and ideal classical beauty, is born,grows to maturity, and enters Parnassus at the head of the ninemuses (represented in the ballet by Calliope, Polyhymnia andTerpsichore: the muses of poetry, mime and dance). In between,he and they perform a series of statuesque but vigorous dances,modelled on the general formulae of French Romantic ballet, but plainly arguing the virtues of classical restraint and artifice in the modes of intellectual, emotional and physical expression.

Stravinsky claimed that the rhythms of Apollo were based on the idea of versification. Each dance is supposed to be avariation on an iambic pattern, perhaps in the manner of PaulValéry’s vers donné, where a whole poem may be made out ofminute fluctuations against an unvarying background metre. Suchvariations had always been fundamental to Stravinsky’s rhythmictechnique; but the whole point of Apollo is that they occur

discreetly, without the violent emphasis of his earlier ballets,drawing attention to the subtle refinement of the device ratherthan its strangeness or barbarity. This careful presentation ofmethod is very typical of his synthetic, or neo-Classical, phase. He also claimed that Apollo was important for its sense of longline, which is already a feature of Mavra and the Octet, but isaccentuated here by the sustaining powers of the string orchestra. And while this chiefly has to do with ‘top-line’ melody, it alsobreeds rich counterpoint, notably in the four-part canon of the‘Pas d’action’.

Programme note © Stephen WalshStephen Walsh is the author of a major recent two-volume biography of Stravinsky and holds a Chair in Music at Cardiff University.

PROGRAMME NOTES 7

The Danish-born dancer Peter Martins in the title-role of Stravinsky’s Apollo, Stravinsky’sfirst abstract ballet

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PREVIOUSLY AT THE PROMSSoloist/director Thomas Zehetmair led the most recent account with the Northern Sinfonia at a Late Night Prom in the first full week of the2003 season. Apollo (or Apollon musagète, as Stravinsky preferred to callit) shared the bill with works by J. S. Bach and Berio (featuring the greatSwiss oboist Heinz Holliger in a solo role) and the world premiere ofTableaux by Philip Cashian (b. 1963). Prior to that, there have been justtwo performances. John Lubbock conducted the Orchestra of St John’s,on 30 August 1978, when the ballet was flanked by Beethoven’s TripleConcerto (with a solo line-up of future luminaries in the persons ofShlomo Mintz,Yo-Yo Ma and Yefim Bronfman) and Mozart’s SymphonyNo. 35 in D major (‘Haffner’). Sir John Pritchard gave the Promspremiere on 5 September 1973.The orchestra was the BBC Symphony,and the other works on the programme were Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor and Brahms’s epic Second Piano Concerto (withRafael Orozco the soloist).© Andrew AchenbachAndrew Achenbach is a freelance classical music journalist, annotator, consultant and long-standing reviewer for ‘Gramophone’.

IG OR STRAVINSKY

Igor Stravinsky was brought up in St Petersburg, where his father was principal bass at the Mariinsky Opera. Having shownmusical talent as a child, but little firm evidence that he mightbecome the 20th century’s paramount composer, he enrolled as alaw student. In 1903, however, he also started taking lessons withRimsky-Korsakov. The outcome was an early orchestral styledisplaying, in Scherzo fantastique and Fireworks (both 1908), a shimmering virtuosity that attracted the interest of SergeyDiaghilev, impresario of the Ballets Russes.

Diaghilev needed a new work for his company’s 1910 Paris season, so late in 1909 he approached an apprehensiveStravinsky, who managed to meet the deadline. The Firebird’spremiere brought the young composer instant fame. Petrushka(1911) then announced fully the crisp rhythms, pungentharmonies and ultra-vivid orchestral colours of his mature style.And by the time The Rite of Spring’s 1913 premiere triggered themost famous audience riot in the history of ballet, the composerhad developed from a minor Russian talent to one of the mostbrilliant and advanced composers of his time.

BBC

Marooned in Switzerland during the First World War,Stravinsky concentrated on works for smaller forces – notablyRenard (1916), The Soldier’s Tale (1918) and Les noces(1914–17, orch. 1923). After the Russian Revolution he basedhimself in France. Pulcinella (1920), another ballet written forDiaghilev, drew deftly on Neapolitan keyboard music attributedto Pergolesi. The ensuing period of Stravinsky’s neo-Classicalengagement with the music of the past was in its own way asexploratory as what had come before. Major statements includedOedipus rex (1927), the choral Symphony of Psalms (1930) andPersephone (1934), a fusion of melodrama, ballet and cantata.

In 1939, after his daughter, wife and mother had all diedwithin a few months of one another, Stravinsky moved toAmerica, settling in Hollywood with Vera Sudeikina, the Russianpainter with whom he had led a double life for many years (they married in 1940). A full-length opera, The Rake’s Progress,was completed in 1951. Closer-than-before encounters with theserial works of Schoenberg and Webern brought a temporarycreative crisis, followed by a superb sequence of late works whose impacted, Webern-influenced syntax seemed at the time to contradict Stravinsky’s earlier style: they include Canticum

sacrum (1955), Agon (1953–7), Threni (1958) and Abraham andIsaac (1963). But the differences are less great than the affinities. The technical hallmark of Stravinsky’s last masterpiece, RequiemCanticles (1966), is its composer’s peerlessly inventive way ofworking with self-contained musical cells – as in The Firebird,written over half a century earlier.

Profile © Malcolm HayesMalcolm Hayes lived in the Outer Hebrides for several years beforemoving to London, where since 1982 he has worked as a composer,writer, broadcaster and music journalist.

MORE STRAVINSKY AT THE PROMSSaturday 15 August Prom 40 Orpheus

Friday 28 August Prom 57 Agon

Monday 31 August, 11.00am* PCM 15 The Rite of Spring (two-piano version)

Monday 31 August, 4.30pm* PCM 18 The Soldier’s Tale – suite

* at Cadogan Hall as part of the Proms Chamber Music series

BBC RADIO 3’S TWENTY MINUTES The entrance to the underworld Historian Domhnall UilleamStiubhart and archaeologist Steven Birch explore Skye’s HighPasture Cave (available via the BBC iPlayer)

interval: 20 minutes

8 PROGRAMME NOTES PROGRAMME NOTES 9

correspond to the 17 verses of Orpheus’s immense Song of Magic,each of which is subdivided into a dream (that tends towards themelodic and lyrical) and a nightmare (that tends towards therhythmic and mechanical). As the journey proceeds, so the Song’snightmarish aspects come to predominate.

The representation of the three principal characters in theopera – Orpheus, Euridice and Aristaeus – is complex: each hasthree ‘actors’ (singers or mimes) standing for Man/Woman,Hero/Heroine and Myth. Act 2 opens with a so-called ‘time shift’where the Myth versions of Orpheus and Euridice sing a loveduet. Orpheus’s memory of Euridice’s seductive melismas (to theword ‘come’) seem to haunt him. However, the main part of theact is given over to Orpheus Man, who sings his Song of Magicwhile watching Orpheus Hero descend into (arches 1–9) andreturn from (arches 10–15) theunderworld. As in a nightmare,characters from Act 1 reappear in distorted forms. Orpheus seeshimself as Hades, Euridice asPersephone, Aristaeus as Charonand the Oracle of the Dead asHecate. Musical elements arelayered on top of one anotherwith increasing complexity as theact proceeds. The ‘Ensemble ofHell’, for example, a percussiongroup, violently punctuates thecourse of the Song of Magic;from Arch 11 the Ensembleforms a continuous rhythmic

strand that relentlessly drives the music forwards. We also hearthe (electronic) voice of Orpheus’s father, Apollo, speaking to himin the invented language of Orphic: ‘Ofeius ofoarif’, ‘Orpheus,remember’. This has a double meaning. Orpheus must rememberthe instructions of the Oracle and not turn or else he will loseEuridice; but, as we know, his entire journey is also a dreamed actof remembering.

The music builds in waves to a shattering climax (arch 15)when Orpheus wakes from his dream to the terrible realisationthat he never actually descended into the underworld and that he has lost Euridice for ever. All he is left with is his memory.‘The King stands highest’, he sings, recalling an earlier journeywith Jason and the Argonauts. The savage, visceral, rhythmicmusic of the climax gives way to a much simpler sound world

Peter Zinovieff ’s illustration of The Arches, aseminal concept in Birtwistle’s Orpheus

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SIR HARRIS O N BIRT W ISTLE (born 1934)

The Mask of Orpheus (1973–5, 1981–4) – ‘The Arches’

Alan Oke Orpheus (the man) tenorThomas W alker Orpheus (the myth) tenorChristine Rice Euridice (the woman) mezzo-sopranoAnna Stéphany Euridice (the myth)/Persephonemezzo-sopranoClaron McFadden Hecate sopranoXXXXXX Charon/Caller/Hades baritoneRachel Nicholls Fury 1/Woman 1 sopranoAnna Dennis Fury 2/Woman 2 sopranoLouise Poole Fury 3/Woman 3 mezzo-sopranoChristopher Gillett First Judge tenorHåkan Vramsmo Second Judge baritoneTim Mirfin Third Judge bassTim Hopkins directorIan Dearden sound projection

BBC Singers

‘All opera is Orpheus’, the philosopher Theodor Adorno onceobserved. Certainly the ancient story of the musician Orpheus,whose lamenting for his lost lover Euridice moved even the treesand wild beasts, has been central to the development of operaever since the genre’s inception in the late 16th century. Orpheus’ssong has been continually adapted and reinterpreted on theoperatic stage, from the pleading ‘Possente spirito’ ofMonteverdi’s Orfeo of 1607 to the plaintive cries of ‘Euridice’ atthe end of Birtwistle’s The Corridor, premiered at Aldeburgh thisJune. Orpheus has been a constant obsession for Birtwistle from

the time of his first ‘Orphic’ piece, Nenia: the Death of Orpheus1970), to a text by Peter Zinovieff. While the composer himselfhas been reluctant to address the reasons why he is so possessedby this particular myth, it is clear that the Orpheus story hasproved to be the ideal medium through which to explore widerpreoccupations with memory, melancholy, lament, time and thenature of music itself. These are the central themes of The Maskof Orpheus, in which Birtwistle, together with his librettistZinovieff, remade the Greek myth for the late 20th century.

Pivotal to any retelling of the Orpheus story is the journey tothe underworld to retrieve Euridice. But unlike earlier retellings,in The Mask of Orpheus Orpheus only dreams his journey. Act 2is dominated by the vast, allegorical structure of ‘The Arches’.There are 17 arches of an aqueduct, each of which represents adifferent feature of Orpheus’s world: countryside, crowds,evening, contrast, dying, and so on. (At the beginning of tonight’sperformance, in music taken from the end of Act 1, we hearOrpheus describing these arches over a kind of ceremonial windchorale, while the Oracle of the Dead croaks out the rulesOrpheus must follow in the underworld.) Yet it is never intendedthat we should see this architectural structure: it is a device thatsymbolises and gives order to Orpheus’s dream. The arches,which pass from the mountainside of the living to the dead, arean allegory of time. There is no turning back. We might even say– all too topically – that the arches are a symbol of the declining,late-capitalist world (‘many arches are cracked or broken’, thelibretto tells us). Within the context of this imaginary structure,Orpheus dreams of his journey to find Euridice. The arches also

(arches 16 and 17), dominated by the stark interval of a perfectfifth, suggesting Orpheus’s desperate loneliness. The forwardmomentum of his yearning to be reunited with Euridice has beenreplaced by a desolate timelessness. He can bear the sorrow nolonger and, at the very end of the act, he hangs himself, signalledby five violent strokes on brass and percussion. The closing fivetam-tam strokes – after-shocks of this terrible event – are takenfrom another version of his death in Act 3.

Just before Orpheus’s suicide, the main drama is interrupted to present an ‘Allegorical Flower of Reason’, one of six mimedinterludes in the opera that tell parallel stories of love and death.Its brilliant electronic music, realised at the IRCAM studios inParis by the composer Barry Anderson (1935–87), is formed fromjust a handful of ‘sampled’ harp notes and chords (Orpheus’slyre), transformed by the computer so as to extend outwards intothe audible spectrum and around the entire auditorium. There are

other electronic elements too, the most prominent being thesignals that mark the start of the first nine verses of Orpheus’sSong. These consist of an electronic flourish (transformed harpsounds again), the disembodied voice of Apollo uttering isolatedwords in Orphic, and a burst of the ‘Winter Aura’. This aura isheard periodically throughout the act, a background veil of icysounds that contributes to the overall mood of foreboding andemptiness.

The Mask of Orpheus received its premiere on 21 May 1986at the London Coliseum and was instantly hailed as one of themost important operas of the post-war years. One critic went sofar as to assert that opera would never be the same again.Notwithstanding the paucity of subsequent performances,scholars, critics and composers continue to cite Orpheus as aninfluential landmark. What, then, is its significance? In part, it is the work’s single-minded musical originality. In part, it is its

audacious combination of music, song, drama,myth, mime, dance and electronics. And in part, itis its treatment of the Orphic legacy that stilltouches a deep sensibility in early 21st-centuryminds. In Birtwistle’s tragic Orpheus we find aneloquent spokesman for our alienated, late-modernselves.

Programme note © Jonathan CrossJonathan Cross is Professor of Musicology and Tutor inMusic at Christ Church, Oxford. His study of ‘The Maskof Orpheus’ will be published later this year by Ashgate.

For text, see page 14

SIR HARRIS O N BIRT W ISTLE

Harrison Birtwistle’s formative years were spent as a student ofclarinet and composition at the Royal Manchester College ofMusic in the company of a remarkable group of young Britishtalent: the composers Peter Maxwell Davies and AlexanderGoehr, the pianist John Ogdon, and the trumpeter and conductorElgar Howarth, among others. Their shared interest in the musicalmodernism of both Schoenberg and his Second Viennese Schoolcolleagues and the post-Second World War European avant-gardeled to an unprecedented flowering of new musical thinking inBritain in the 1960s and early 1970s. Birtwistle was at the heartof these developments. With key works such as the opera Punchand Judy (1966–7), Verses for Ensembles (1968–9) and theorchestral The Triumph of Time (1971–2) he established himselfas a unique and exciting voice in British music.

The period from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s wasdominated by his monumental ‘lyric tragedy’ The Mask ofOrpheus, which received its premiere at English National Opera in1986. This was also a time when he worked as Musical Director atthe National Theatre. It is probably true to say that nearly all hissubsequent works have drawn on his experiences at the National.This is most evident in his operas and music-theatre pieces –principally Yan Tan Tethera (1983–4), Gawain (1989–91), TheSecond Mrs Kong (1993–4), The Last Supper (1998–9), The IoPassion (2003) and The Minotaur (2005–7) – but is also true ofmany of his major solo, ensemble and orchestral works, includingSecret Theatre (1984), Earth Dances (1985–6), Pulse Shadows(1989–96), Harrison’s Clocks (1997–8), and a pair of recentorchestral studies, The Shadow of Night (2001) and Night’s BlackBird (2004). A new theatre piece based on the Orpheus story, TheCorridor, was premiered at the Aldeburgh Festival in June, and hismusic will have been heard this year by audiences as far afield as

Austria and Australia, Switzerland and the Far East.When Birtwistle was made a Companion of Honour in 2001,

this was just the latest in a line of awards bestowed on him. He was knighted in 1988, and received the Grawemeyer Award in 1986 and the Siemens Prize in 1995. It would thus appear– in this, his 75th birthday year – that his progress from enfantterrible to establishment figure is complete; yet his identity as a composer has remained relatively unchanged over all thoseyears: individual, single-minded, radical, challenging. His richcontribution to the music of the late-20th and early-21st centuriesis one of the great artistic achievements of our time.

Profile © Jonathan Cross

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Tonight’s main conductor, Martyn Brabbins, with the composer, with whosemusic he is closely associated

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The seventh arch spans the river: it is the arch of Colours.The eighth arch holds Secrets.The ninth arch is smooth and made of Glass.I can see Buildings on the tenth arch, and windows.The high, narrow eleventh arch contains Weather.The twelfth is of Eyes,Then Knives,Animals, Ropes and Order.

The last arch, the narrowest and lowest, is the arch of Fears. It touches the dead.It is the seventeenth arch.

I remember these arches.

ACT 2 SCENE 1The bulk of Act 2 is concerned with Orpheus’s descent and return from the underworld.The story isunravelled as a complex dream which gradually becomes more and more nightmare in quality untilfinally Orpheus awakes.This descent and return form a series of waves of awareness with the dreamsand nightmares.They are all contained in the tight structure of THE ARCHES.

The characters in the underworld are figments of Orpheus’s imagination and are transformations ofreal-life characters. Orpheus sees himself as Hades, Euridice as Persephone,The Oracle of the Dead as Hecate,Aristaeus as Charon, the Troupe of Ceremony as the Judges of the Dead.The only newcharacters are the Furies, which are a preview of the three women that play a large part in the last act.

These characters form obstacles which Orpheus overcomes with his song.The most awesome are thetrio Hades, Persephone and Hecate.These are seen as huge mobile heads that twist and turn aroundOrpheus.The Golden Carriage of Mirrors is used as the vehicle for Orpheus’s descent and return.Other symbolic stage devices are the elevated stage (to separate the real from the imaginary worlds),and the moveable horizontal river (the River Styx) which must be able to appear as if on fire.

The act opens with another representation of Euridice’s death: this time as seen through Orpheus’seyes. He imagines her as a gigantic puppet that is suddenly struck dead by two giant snakes andclatters to the ground.This 2nd Time Shift of about 5 minutes ends with a repeat of the Whisper of Death.The action moves into the sequence of arches and the 2nd Journey of Darkness.The sun gradually sets. Orpheus and Euridice Puppets sing the 2nd Love Duet.

TEXT 15

please turn the page quietly

The libretto reproduced here is laid out as it appears in the Universal score. However, such is the complexity of the musicthat it is intended as a guide to the progress of the story, rather than a text to be slavishly followed.

FIRST SHOUT OF GRATITUDE

OrpheusI remember the arches.I can see a deep valley.Seventeen arches cross it from one mountainside to the other.The side to the east is dead and dry. Cold, quiet, and almost still.But on the other side there are people and it is living.There is movement and laughter.Warmth.

The arches widen to the west and carry, over them, water from the black rocks.This water carries the future.

In the centre of the valley, I can see a dark river flowing through the seventh arch.The river seems deep and rushes towards me from the south.It carries the past, which lies to the other side of the construction.I stand in front of the river: in the present.

Some arches are closed with brick, some have green plants over them.Others are open and contain dreams.

I remember these arches.

The first arch is the widest: it is the arch of Countryside.Through the second arch I can hear Crowds.The third arch is of the Evening,It lies to the west of the three arches of Contrast, Dying and Wings.

The Mask of Orpheus – The Arches

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2ND TIME SHIFT 2ND LOVE DUET(The Reverse Death) (Duet of Distance)

Euridice PuppetCome, come, come, come,Come quickly into the fountain.

Orpheus PuppetAre we alone? Are we alone?

Euridice PuppetI can see mirrors in the water.Golden shapes in the glad water,Spilling over into purple shade.Come.

Euridice PuppetI can hear tinkles in the water,Brazen bells in the deep water,Clanging dumbly into silent shade.Come.

Orpheus Puppet Am I alone?Am I alone?

Euridice PuppetI can touch fingers through the water,Jewelled eyes in the sad water,Staring hard into tomorrow’s shade.Come, come, come, come,Come quickly into the fountain,Orpheus.

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TEXT 17

The time shift leads into Orpheus’s dream that forms the main part of Act 2. Orpheus sings the2nd Song of Magic which, with numerous songs and interjections, weaves into the main structureof the arches. Each character of the underworld is related to a real-life character and usespreviously sung words.

1ST WHISPER OF CHANGE(Whisper of Death)

2ND JOURNEY OF DARKNESS(Journey of Defiance)

The descent of Orpheus in the Golden Carriage of Mirrors to the underworld during Arches I–9

THE 1ST ARCH – THE ARCH OF COUNTRYSIDEOrpheus Singer is gradually revealed in the Golden Carriage of Mirrors. He faces away.Charon is made out as a mask of fire on the other side of the River Styx. He sings, and is interrupted as the Golden Carriage of Mirrors descends.

Orpheus2ND SONG OF MAGIC(The Song of Arches)The first arch is the arch of countryside,Meaning to see.

The first Arch touches the living,It is wide and low,Open. Strong.Water flows over the edge of the arch.Green shoots cover the rock walls.Through the archway, the mountainside sings.

Charon2ND SHOUT OF GRATITUDE(Shout of Victory)

Furies1ST IMMORTAL TRIO(Trio of Tears)Water from the mountainsideCollects into our tears,

Passes through our fingers.Upwards, through the fountains.Mirrors reflect green fields,Sad purple light,Crystal tears form clear mountain streams.White sorrow winds we slowly breathe.

Judges of the Dead

Priests: Cull bright carefully

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KissedKilledClippedSpeak to the waterListen to the dried rocksDark doll stungSpeakRemember the whole snake ...

OrpheusI remember my hands waiting, darkened.Thin in the first light.

Through the first arch I can see the countryside.The rivers: the rocks.The movement of smoke.I can see trees and the clearings.

This is the arch for love.It crumbles.

THE 2ND ARCH – THE ARCH OF CROWDSCharon fades. A static three-headed mask of the Furies is seen on the elevated stage in a pale watery light.They sing sadly.They cry for the first time – moved to tears by Orpheus’s song. Suddenly the noise of Hell starts and is present until the 7th arch.The third action is the unexpected appearance of Orpheus Mime on the lower stage left.

OrpheusThe second arch shows people.It is the arch of crowds,Meaning to hear.

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TEXT 19

Over it water seeps,Dry moss hides the cracks in the mortar Binding the flat bricks together.

I remember the children’s tears.

Through the second arch I can hear people:Pushing forward from the silence.I can hear the crowds, the whispering.

The second arch is the arch for anger:It cracks.

THE 3RD ARCH – THE ARCH OF EVENINGA small puppet of Euridice is illuminated on the lower stage opposite Orpheus Mime. She is near thesymbolic Pool of Memory.The Troupe of Ceremony appear.They represent the Judges of the Dead.The Callerechoes words from previous ceremonies.The Judges of the Dead sing words from the complicated questions.The Furies and Charon are lit up. All the minor characters of the underworld are seen together.

OrpheusThe third arch narrows,It is the arch of evening.

The walls are hidden.The colours slide in the evening light.Through the third arch men laugh among

the burnt trees.There is the smell of sweat and feasting.

Caller: This is the number six!Priests: King-caged.

Caller: This is the fire!Priests: Recognise.Priests: Discovered dead.

Priests: Guide quite hopelessly.Caller: This is the highest tide!

Luckwards turning.Discovered dead.

Euridice Puppet & Singer (off)2ND CRY OF MEMORY(The Sigh)Singer uses same vowels as in 1st Cry. Puppetuses consonants from the following words: Star,Hiss, Rubber, Fear,Wolf, Fire, Show.

FuriesEXTENSION TRIO OF TEARSFrom jewelled eyes glisten tears.From the golden throne, waterChannels mud-rivers in the dust flats;And on the mountainside,The liquid sky darkensInto our first sadnessWater wept in Solitude.

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The wild animals wait.The days wait until the sun is set.

I can hear the cheering.I can hear the laughterThrough the evening mist.

I remember the charred bones.

This is the arch for waiting.

It holds together.

THE 4TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF CONTRASTEuridice Mime appears on the right side of the stage. Her voice is offstage. Orpheus Mime drinksfrom the Pool of Memory and does not drink from the Pool of Forgetfulness. Orpheus Mime seesEuridice Mime on the other side of the stage.

OrpheusThe fourth arch is the arch of contrast,Meaning to hope.

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TEXT 21

The arch is split.Water touches the fire,Clouds of steam obscure the gaps.The arch seems made of flame.

I can see fire through the fourth arch.The light is red with the glow of flame.In the centre of the arch are grass shoots Strange animals stand fearlessShining green in the red light.At the rounded top of the arch are flames.Clouds hang over the river.It rains on the flames and the animals.

This is the arch of elements.

I remember the clapping of hands:Children playing in the sun-meadow.Sea-touched fingers.Mind-flowers.

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THE 5TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF DYING2nd Love Duet is sung by Orpheus and Euridice Puppet offstage. Orpheus Singer is inside the GoldenCarriage of Mirrors. He is surrounded by golden reflections. Orpheus Mime meets the Golden Carriageof Mirrors. Orpheus faces away. Shadows surround him. He moves back into the darkness.There is aperiodical sound of hell.Total darkness.

Orpheus SingerThe fifth arch is the arch of dying.It is narrower still.

There is no water: it is almost closed.

It is dark in the archway.This is the arch for caves.I can hear whispers.They are lies.The burrowing animals are hidden In the chinks in the fifth archway.

The spaces shrink.The noise becomes fainter;I can hardly see the arch,As the sun shines black against the new bricks.

I remember.

This is the arch of dying. It is complete.

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TEXT 23

THE 6TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF WINGSThe underworld. Brightest purple light.The Golden Carriage of Mirrors is on the lower stage, lit.The heads of Hades, Persephone and Hecate terrifyingly appear.The heads face to the front.The heads glide towards the Golden Carriage of Mirrors. Orpheus Singer moves from right,approaches each head facing away in turn without seeing them.

OrpheusThe sixth arch is the arch of wings.It smoulders.

The arch is narrow and high.It almost touches the river.

The sixth arch reaches the damp ground.I can see the arch and the footprints of animals.I can hear breathing and the flapping of wings.

There is fierceness in the black hole.Purple colours.The air is cold on the look.I see ladders,Painted pictures caught on the white tendrils.

I remember falling through the jewelled water.

The sixth arch is the arch for birds,Meaning to notice.It pulls.

Orpheus Puppet (off)1ST EXTENSION(The Duet of Distance)

Can you see mirrors in the water? Golden shapes in the glad water,Spilling red into purple shade?

Euridice Puppet (off)

Orpheus

I am alone! Orpheus

Persephone

FROM IST LOVE DUETMinds, give minds,Thoughts, songs, now.

Sing vows, give hands,Speak speech.

Hands, hearts,

Kisses, songs, now.

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THE 7TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF COLOURSThe Golden Carriage of Mirrors is protected by the giant heads which move and by the characterof the underworld. Hecate screams words from the 1st Hysterical Aria. Hades murmurs likethunder.The general mood is fury.

OrpheusThe seventh arch is the arch of colours.This is the arch of the river.

It is the highest and almost the narrowest.Through the arch thunders the river from

behind to the present.

I can see the brightest colours through the seventh arch.

The shapes move and change,I can see the sun halved.

There are marvellous dreams.Hands reach out, calling.There are sounds of precious stones.The arch is made of colours and movement and white water.

I can see eyes shining.I remember the precious relics clutched in silk.

The seventh arch is the arch of rivers:It cuts.

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TEXT 25

THE 8TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF SECRECYOrpheus experiences his first fear: Persephone sings with Euridice’s voice and words from the 1st Love Duet. Orpheus is surrounded by the three gigantic heads and is hidden.The heads moveapart to reveal him as a miniature Hades.

OrpheusThe eighth arch is the arch of secrecy.This is the arch for heads.

The high narrowest arch touches the river.The ground is dry.The silver water it supports contains the future.It changes.

Through the arch tugs the past through a narrow breach.

I can smell the lost sea-waves.I can see my own eyes staring at my own eyes.My thoughts are hidden in the cold dream-water.I can see the lines where the mud bricks dissolve.I can feel the river forcing my cut body over and over.My painted hands scrape against the sacred rocks.

I remember the crownPiercing through the crystal skull.

Clenched time-petals.

Hecate

1ST SCREAM OF PASSION(Scream of Fury)Dust … stars … dead … Dust … stars … dead … HadesIST DANGEROUS MURMUR(Murmur of Distrust)Stand … clutch … press.Wait … mind … night … Sea … eyes … dawn ... thin … Melt … cold … head ... king … Hide … dark … pierce … hands …

26 TEXT

THE 9TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF GLASSOrpheus is again hidden by the three giant heads.The Conversation of Silence. A huge mobileEuridice Puppet rises up.The second extension of the 2nd Love Duet is sung off-stage by Orpheusand Euridice Puppet.The sound of hell fades into darkness.They start into the Journey of Darkness.

Orpheus2ND CONVERSATION OF SILENCE(The Lost Innuendo)

The ninth arch is the arch of glass.It cannot be seen from the present.It shrinks.

The ninth arch is lost.

Only fingers can feel the curling in the glass stones.

Only I can hear the screaming as I touch the smooth walls.

My sealed eyes see fishes.Dream insects.Some lie bleeding, others twist dead

on the frozen sandbank.The blood light shimmers in the dry heat.

I remember the fifty men:Their parched greetings screamed Against the night – dead whisper.

This is the arch for awareness.Meaning to touch.It hides.

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TEXT 27

ACT 2 SCENE 2THE 10TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF BUILDINGSHell stops to mark the return and the 3rd Journey of Darkness.The three giant heads again release Orpheus.The heads of Hades and Hecate twist round. Persephone and Orpheus Singer face the front. Behind the giant heads all the forms of Euridice are revealed.

OrpheusThe tenth arch is of buildings.To construct.It hides.

3RD SILENT SOLILOQUY(Silence of Guilt) Slate roofs.Balconies.Arches smashed,Broken stairways.

I can see grey smokeThrough tired emptiness.Shallow fires in the flagstoned rooms.For power.

3RD DREAM(The Nightmare)This is the arch of myself.It burns.

On the green shore lie pain-lilies.

3RD JOURNEY OF DARKNESS(Journey of Hope)The return of Orpheus from the underworld during Arches 10–15 in the Golden Carriage of Mirrors.

Orpheus Puppet (off)2ND EXTENSION(Duet of Distance)

Can you hear crashes in the water?

Brazen bells in the thin water Clanging dumbly into silent shade.

Euridice Puppet (off)

Orpheus!

I am alone! Orpheus! …

Hades2ND SCREAM OF PASSION(Scream of Hatre)

Fight. Fire. Lost.HecateStare. Seek. Glance.

PersephoneOrpheus. Orpheus.

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THE 11TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF WEATHEROrpheus Mime leads Orpheus Singer into the area of the Euridices.They dance as in the wedding. Orpheus Mimeand Euridice Mime turn away from each other (2nd Look of Loneliness). Orpheus Singer returns to the GoldenCarriage of Mirrors on its upward journey. He faces forward and has not chosen.

OrpheusThe eleventh arch is of weather.

2ND LOOK OF LONELINESS(Look of Knowing)Of temperament.It flakes.

To control.It destroys the simple hillside.

The arch of terror.It pulls moons into memory.

I see the paper dawn.

Limb flakes.Dry spiders

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TEXT 29

THE 12TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF EYESThe Golden Carriage of Mirrors continues to rise to the right. Underneath and following it oneform of Euridice gradually changes into another (2nd Metamorphosis.) Orpheus follows Euridiceas she becomes more lifelike. At three points the giant heads scream and glide off. (The first of 8terrible screams punctuating the rest of the scene.)

Orpheus

The twelfth arch is of eyes.

Cliff-child.Excreta.Womb-spent visions to kill.Dawn-peep shadows flatten.Lust-arch.

Drawn flash-claws

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THE 13TH ARCH — THE ARCH OF KNIVESThe River of Fire is again lit up with flames.The minor characters of the underworld scream anddisappear.Euridice Mime replaces Euridice Puppet (who falls over). Euridice Mime stumbles. Euridice Singercompletes her metamorphosis.The River of Fire is extinguished.

Orpheus

Thirteen is knives.

Falling tongues

Wood pattern.Machinery.

2ND DEADLY STUMBLE(The Falter)

Turn open the yellow sand.Earth-tooth.

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TEXT 31

THE 14TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF ANIMALSThe sun is suddenly very bright. Apollo is heard in the distance. Euridice Singer stumbles.Orpheus awakes. Euridice screams her 3rd Cry of Memory. Echoes of the scream continue.

OrpheusFourteen is animals.Slime-summer.

Scream learn.

Lost seeds-pain.

Book-terror.Torn-tiger.

2ND IMMORTAL TRIO(Trio of Invective)Furies(I prophesy) Dumb darkness LightSlow speechLaughterWaves breaking

Spilt wine(Riddles)TrumpetsTears frothed(I prophesy dumb darkness)(Movement, whispers) Warmth. Change.Winter darkness.(I prophesy dumb darkness.)

2ND SCREAM OF PASSION(Scream of Hate) Judges/Charon

Answer! Answer!

Answer!

Euridice

3RD DEADLY STUMBLE (The Stumble)

3RD CRY OF MEMORY(The Scream)

Apollo2ND MYSTERY(Ektasis)

2ND CHORUS (Chorus of Awakening) Ouranos anoOuranos kato Astra anoAstra katoPan o touto kato

32 TEXT

THE 15TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF ROPESOrpheus sings hysterically. A five-second silence. He realises that he never descended to the underworld. He screams a wild cry of terror as the lights dim into darkness.

OrpheusFift..een.Ro...p.es

Cl.ou..ds ho..lesTw.J.st..st.a.r.s.Li..ps li.ght.ca..tch.es.Sp..in..sn..ake,Euridice …

3RD SCREAM OF PASSION (Scream of Pain)

The king standshighest.

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TEXT 33

ACT 2 SCENE 3THE 16TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF ORDERA green watery sun reveals the elevated stage halfway down.The River of Fire is subdued.Orpheus Singer is alone. He knows that all that has happened has been a dream. He still wishes to descend to the underworld but cannot. He sings a Song of Failure.The Furies are heard distantly. Orpheus and Euridice Puppet voices sing a remote extension to the 2nd Love Duet. A shadow playillustrates even more archetypically the events of the first 13 arches.Orpheus Puppet’s voice sings the Arch Song offstage and amplified.

Orpheus Puppet (off)3RD EXTENSION(2nd Love Duet)

I can touch fingers throughthe water.

I can see eyes in the jewelled water.

Euridice Puppet (off)

I am alone!Orpheus!

Come, come, come, come.Come quickly to thefountain!Orpheus!

Orpheus Singer2ND SONG OF FAILURE(Failure in Movement)

Through the green leaves

Whispers the Queen.

Through the cloudsWhispers the Queen.

‘I can see you!’‘I can see you!’

No longer stands theKing the highest.Over fifty men.

Furies3RD EXTENSIO(Trio of Tears)Water tearsEyes glisten.Liquid skies.

Water wept.

Water wept.

Solitude.

Sad purple light

Apollo2ND CHORUS(Cont.)

3RD SILENCE(Silence in Mistake)

16TH ARCH SONG SixteenStabs.Trembles.Sails.Creeps.

I know the river.The detritus.

I remember the sun.The nail.

Sword-gut.

THE 17TH ARCH – THE ARCH OF FEARThe immobile puppet of Euridice is revealed below the elevated stage.The shadow story continues with Orpheus’sawakening during arches 14 and 15. Orpheus Singer states two poems of Reminiscence. Euridice Singer calls to Orpheusfrom the distance.

2ND POEM OF REMINISCENCE(Poem of Horror)

Orpheus SingerI dip the cut grassInto cool autumn streams.I have carved out the gold rocksInto frozen masks.And on the hillsideI blunten my flat knifeOn the shadow of her sad memory.

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Did I build this stone shelterOver the dark cave? Above my head is stone.Under my feet is rock.I look into the pale eyes Crisping from the winter ice.I search for the smile Caught on the dead face.

And on the hillsidePilgrims seed the untidy fieldWith the summer grass.I defiled the furrows with the light green shoots.The stagnant animals defecate and sweat.(The whole ground is green with the grass and the steam.)Carefully I shrink into the tiny burrowsWhere the grey worms tangle and scratch into my nightmares.And on the hillsideMy sword stabs into the snarled decayKilling the cries of the old fierce women.

Orpheus Puppet (off)17TH ARCH SONG Seventeen.Fear.Caught.Time.Lost.The crystal.The water.The tremble.The death.The doll.

TEXT 35

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‘I can see you.’Whispers the silence.

3RD POEM OF REMINISCENCE(Poem of Love)

2ND ALLEGORICAL FLOWER OF REASON(The Hyacinth)

1ST TERRIBLE DEATH

(Death by Suicide)

2ND WHISPER OF CHANGE

(Whisper of Birth)

FURTHER LISTENINGJonny Greenwood’s Smear has been issued on the LondonSinfonietta’s own label coupled with Morgan Hayes’s Dark Roomand Dai Fujikura’s Fifth Station; Martyn Brabbins directs (SINF

CD 2-2006). The US premiere of Popcorn Superhet Receiver can bestreamed from www.wnyc.org/shows/wordlessmusic/episodes/

2008/01/16 while a performance featuring the BBC ConcertOrchestra is at www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/newmusic/ram/

bca_2006_greenwood.ram. Material from the score is alsoincorporated into Greenwood’s music for the 2007 film ThereWill Be Blood (Nonesuch 7559-79957-8). In Stravinsky’s Apollo,Igor Markevitch’s vintage LSO version sounds perceptibly lessmodern and springy than some, yet has more sense of gravitas,character and incident (Philips 438 3502). Sir Simon Rattle’s ardentBirmingham alternative is glossier (EMI 206 8762 or 242 7542),Robert Craft’s, with the LSO, more restrained in feeling (Naxos

8.557502). Birtwistle’s ultimate reworking of the Orpheus mythwas immortalised at a concert performance in the Royal FestivalHall in April 1996. Sir Andrew Davis directs the large and expertcast, the BBC Singers and BBC SO with Martyn Brabbins asassistant conductor (NMC D050). The Minotaur, Birtwistle’s mostrecent operatic venture, is already out on DVD (Opus Arte

OA1000D). Regular Promenaders may wish to revisit Panic, thevisceral, which made such an impression at the 1995 Last Night(Decca 468 8042); that all-Birtwistle package, which also takes inChristoph von Dohnányi’s Cleveland account of Earth Dances, isincreasingly elusive but is available for download.

FURTHER READINGThe cultural and artistic impact of Greenwood’s band is exploredin The Music and Art of Radiohead, edited by Joseph Tate(Ashgate) and Radiohead and Philosophy: Fitter Happier MoreDeductive, edited by Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch

(Open Court). The fractious Stravinsky library includes StephenWalsh’s Stravinsky: A Creative Spring – Russia and France1882–1934 (Pimlico) and Stravinsky: The Second Exile (Jonathan

Cape). Robert Craft’s Stravinsky: The Chronicle of a Friendship(Vanderbilt UP) is his own detailed story of their vital association.Michael Oliver’s Stravinsky is a perceptive entry-level read withno axe to grind and plenty of pictures (Phaidon). Charles M.Joseph’s Stravinsky and Balanchine: A Journey of Invention (Yale

UP) looks at one of the greatest artistic collaborations of all time.A key player in studies such as Arnold Whittall’s ExploringTwentieth-Century Music: Tradition and Innovation (CUP),Birtwistle is one of six British composers featured in Aspects ofBritish Music of the 1990s, edited by Peter O’Hagan (Ashgate).Jonathan Cross’s Harrison Birtwistle: Man, Mind, Music (Faber) isalso recent enough to take account of the prolific decades duringwhich the composer moved to the forefront of contemporarymusic. Michael Hall’s more venerable Harrison Birtwistle, aperceptive overview of his output, was in 1998 supplemented byHarrison Birtwistle in Recent Years (both Robson). RobertAdlington’s The Music of Harrison Birtwistle (CUP) provides themost rigorous and comprehensive in-depth study.

SURFINGFor more on Greenwood’s day job see www.radiohead.com; hisconcert works are handled by www.fabermusic.com. There isStravinsky material both at www.chesternovello.com andwww.boosey.com/Stravinsky. Find Birtwistle atwww.boosey.com/birtwistle.

Compiled by David GutmanDavid Gutman has written books on subjects ranging from Prokofiev to John Lennon and is a regular contributor to ‘Gramophone’. He haswritten the Proms Further Listening and Reading notes since 1996.

36 TEXT

Tide moan.

Euridice Singer (off)Orpheus.

END OF THE ARCH SEQUENCESThe act ends without words. Orpheus Mime enters from right, crosses the stage and deliberately hangs himself. OrpheusSinger faces away towards the underworld.With the suicide the elevated stage drops.The sun becomes bright and yellow.The river changes.The three women approach Orpheus and silently ask him three times to marry them.They look likethe Furies and like Euridice. Between the last two movements of the women towards Orpheus the 2nd Allegorical Flowerof Reason crosses the stage from left to right behind a rectangular frame.After it has passed Orpheus is replaced by ashadow of him hanging.

2ND DREAM

(The Wish)

Text by Peter Zinovieff © 1986 Universal Edition Ltd. Reproduced by permission.

FURTHER LISTENING & READING 37

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES 39

Martyn Brabbins conductor

Martyn Brabbins was recently announcedas the next Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic,starting in September. He has been Artistic Director of the CheltenhamInternational Festival of Music (2005–7)

and Associate Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (1994–2005).

Following studies in London and Leningrad (with Ilya Musin)he won first prize at the 1988 Leeds Conductors Competition.Since then he has conducted all the major UK orchestras and ismuch sought after in Europe, notably in Germany, Holland,Belgium and Scandinavia. This season he has appeared with theBBC, BBC Scottish and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestrasand the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia and Royal ScottishNational orchestras. He also made his Japanese and Tokyo debuts with the Nagoya Philharmonic and Tokyo MetropolitanSymphony orchestras respectively, both of whom issued re-invitations for 2011. In Europe he conducted the NetherlandsRadio Chamber Orchestra in the prestigious ‘Matinee’ series, the Residentie Orkest, The Hague, the Salzburg MozarteumOrchestra and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Contemporary music projects this season included a return tothe Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Musica Viva’ series,two projects with the Ensemble Modern and the world premiereof a work written for baritone Matthias Goerne and the LondonSinfonietta by Austrian composer Thomas Larcher.

Martyn Brabbins also has a flourishing opera career, and thisseason conducted Death in Venice for Opéra de Lyon. He has anextensive discography.

38 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Ryan Wigglesworth conductor

Composer, conductor and pianist Ryan Wigglesworth was born in Yorkshirein 1979. Educated at Oxford Universityand the Guildhall School of Music &Drama, he is currently a Lecturer atCambridge University.

He has performed at many of the world’s leading festivals and concert halls with ensembles such as the BBC SymphonyOrchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, EnsembleIntercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta,Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Avanti!, BirminghamOpera Company and Almeida Opera at the Aldeburgh Festival.He has directed over 30 premieres, including works by SirHarrison Birtwistle, Elliott Carter and Oliver Knussen, as well asmany by the younger generation of British composers. Followinghis debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which included thefirst performance of his own Sternenfall, he has now embarked ona series of further collaborations with the orchestra, includingwriting a new orchestral song-cycle for its forthcoming Barbicanseason. At the 2008 Tanglewood Festival he replaced JamesLevine for the US premieres of works by Carter and he recentlyconducted the premiere of Birtwistle’s The Corridor at AldeburghFestival with subsequent performances in London and Bregenz.

As a pianist he has played at the Barbican, Wigmore Hall,Purcell Room, Holywell Music Room and Cheltenham Festival.There have been recent performances of his own works at theAldeburgh, Cheltenham and Northampton festivals and the Park Lane Group series, and his new work Tenebrae waspremiered by Britten Sinfonia under his direction during aEuropean tour in January.

Ian Dearden sound projection

Composer, musician and sound engineer,Ian Dearden made his mark on London’snew music scene in the mid-1980s,collaborating with Barry Anderson on the first performances of Sir HarrisonBirtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus for

English National Opera. A series of scores for contemporarydance followed, including Orfeo, for which he and the LondonContemporary Dance Theatre won an Olivier Award in 1989.

In 1996 he founded Sound Intermedia with David Sheppard.Together they make possible the ideas of composers and artistswho use electronic and digital technology as a part of their work.That year he also realised the electronic soundtrack for The Voluptuous Tango, a radio drama created for the BBC byDominic Muldowney, which won a Sony Award and a Prix Italia.

A principal musician with the London Sinfonietta, he hascollaborated in the realisation and performance of new works by many leading composers and artists, including Steve Reich,John Cage and Stockhausen. Among his many past sound designcredits are Michael Nyman’s Love Counts at the AlmeidaTheatre, a rare performance of Stockhausen’s Mixtur at theQueen Elizabeth Hall, collaborations with visual artist TerrySmith and a recording of Stockhausen’s Stimmung with PaulHillier and the Theatre of Voices.

His sound design projects for next season include acollaboration with choreographer Kim Brandstrup based onBach’s Goldberg Variations for the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden,and with composer Kim Helweg for the Royal Danish Ballet inCopenhagen.

Anna Dennis soprano

Anna Dennis studied at the RoyalAcademy of Music with Noelle Barker,and has since appeared regularly in bothopera and concert.

Notable past performances includeBritten’s War Requiem at the Berlin

Philharmonie, Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Beethoven’s Massin C in New York, Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate in WinchesterCathedral with the London Mozart Players, and the premiere of a new Michael Berkeley work at the Cheltenham Festival.

Her BBC Proms appearances include performances with theOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Britten Sinfonia and theCity of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, while her broadcastsfor BBC Radio 3 have included Berio’s Folk Songs with theBritten Sinfonia, song-cycles by George Crumb with the GalliardEnsemble and Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire with Psappha.

On the opera stage she created the title-roles for the premieresof The Girl of Sand and Ariadne at the Almeida Theatre, bothcomposed by Elena Langer, while other recent operatic roles haveincluded Ilia (Idomeneo) and l’Ingrata (Monteverdi’s Ballo delleingrate) for Birmingham Opera Company; Emira (Handel’s Siroe)for Austria’s Oper der Zeit; Ninfa (Orfeo) for ENO, StrawberrySeller and Strolling Player (Death in Venice) for English NationalOpera and La Monnaie, Brussels; Flora in Jonathan Dove’s TheEnchanted Pig at the Young Vic; Tormentilla in VaughanWilliams’s The Poisoned Kiss for New Sussex Opera; Francesca inEdward Rushton’s The Shops at the Bregenz Festival; and Kyotoin Yannis Kyriakides’s An Ocean of Rain at the Aldeburgh andAlmeida festivals.

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PROMS DEBUT ARTIST

Tim Mirfin bass

Tim Mirfin studied at the Royal Academyof Music and the National Opera Studio.

In the 2001/2 season he joined WelshNational Opera, where his roles includedDon Pedro (Béatrice et Bénédict), Publio(La clemenza di Tito) and Don Fernando

(Leonore). As a guest with WNO he has since sung Angelotti(Tosca), The Parson (The Cunning Little Vixen), Colline (Labohème), Truffaldino (Ariadne auf Naxos) and First Apprentice(Wozzeck). He has also sung Argante (Rinaldo) for Grange ParkOpera, Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) under Sir Colin Davis,Clodmoro (Lotario) for the London Handel Festival, Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at the Aldeburgh Festival,Sarastro (The Magic Flute) with Scottish Opera and OperaHolland Park, and Selim (Il turco in Italia) for the BuxtonFestival. From 2005 to 2008 he sang for Hamburg Opera, where his roles included Selim, Peter Quince (A MidsummerNight’s Dream), Publio, Pietro (Simon Boccanegra), Ribbing (Un ballo in maschera), Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Leporello(Don Giovanni), Timur (Turandot), Colline, Pistola (Falstaff)and Sparafucile (Rigoletto).

In 2001 he made his Edinburgh Festival debut in Les Troyens,has has since returned each year, singing in Enescu’s Oedipe,Rossini’s Petite messe solonnelle, Handel’s Poro, Verdi’s Macbeth,Britten’s Curlew River and Bernstein’s Candide.

Engagements this season have included Pelléas et Mélisandefor the Theater an der Wien; Basilio (The Barber of Seville) forWNO; Haydn’s ‘Nelson’ Mass at the Amsterdam Concertgebouwunder Frans Brüggen and The Creation in Sweden with RobinTicciati. He is currently singing Colline for Opera Holland Park.

Claron McFadden soprano

American-born soprano Claron McFaddenstudied at the Eastman School of Music inRochester, New York. She made herprofessional debut at the Holland Festivalin 1985 in Hasse’s L’eroe cinese,conducted by Ton Koopman. Since then

she has sung at major opera houses in France, Holland, the UK,Italy and Germany.

Appearing at international festivals in Aix-en-Provence,Salzburg, New York and the Far East, she has worked withconductors such as Leopold Hager, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Frans Brüggen, Neeme Järvi, Sir Andrew Davis, Claus Peter Flor,René Jacobs and Sergiu Comissiona. Among the orchestras shehas performed with are the Netherlands, Royal Liverpool andRoyal Philharmonic orchestras. She also works with theMonteverdi Choir and Orchestra, Europa Galante and manyother groups.

In addition to her oratorio work she is in demand for modernand contemporary music, having a close association with theNash Ensemble and Arditti Quartet. Her previous appearances at the BBC Proms include Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire (2001) and Tippett’s The Mask of Time (1999).

Her many recordings include Villa-Lobos’s BachianasBrasileiras, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Purcell’s King Arthur,Haydn’s L’anima del filosofo and Gluck’s Paride ed Elena.

In August 2007 Claron McFadden was awarded theAmsterdam Prize for the Arts in recognition of her wide-rangingrepertoire and stage personality.

40 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES 41

Tim Hopkins director/set designer

Tim Hopkins is noted for his work in the fields of opera direction, set design and multimedia production. In 2001 hewas awarded a NESTA Fellowship, and in 2007 he became AHRC Fellow in theCreative and Performing Arts at the

University of Sussex.As an opera director his past work includes Owen Wingrave

for the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre; Carmen,Iphigénie en Aulide, Radamisto and The Forest Murmurs forOpera North; Così fan tutte and The Yeoman of the Guard forWelsh National Opera; The Golden Cockerel for the RoyalOpera; Blond Eckbert for English National Opera; The Rake’sProgress for Hanover State Opera; Maria Stuarda and EugeneOnegin in Basel; The Tales of Hoffmann for Mid-Wales Opera,and Il trovatore in Graz.

His multimedia work includes the opera Elephant and Castle,which he devised and directed at the 2007 Aldeburgh Festival;The Lost Chord with Opera North; A to Z with BirminghamContemporary Music Group; and Where Next with NorthernSinfonia. For television he collaborated on the film Mozart Lovers,based on music from Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Tim Hopkins has also worked on productions for the Munichand Batignano festivals, Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera, the BBCSymphony Orchestra, and Almeida Opera, among others. Recentset design work includes Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing and Let ’EmEat Cake for Opera North. This season he has also directed DieEntführung aus dem Serail for Opera North, and directed anddesigned Poulenc’s La voix humaine for Bulgaria’s Operosa.

Christopher Gillett tenor

Christopher Gillett studied at King’sCollege, Cambridge, and is a notedinterpreter of Bach and Benjamin Britten.He has worked regularly with majororchestras in the UK and abroad, includingthe Berlin Philharmonic, Cleveland and

Philadelphia orchestras, and in opera has sung many roles for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera andGlyndebourne Festival Opera.

He has sung extensively abroad, particularly for NetherlandsOpera, where he has given over 175 performances. His keyoperatic roles include Arnalta (The Coronation of Poppaea), Flute(A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Basilio (The Marriage of Figaro),Arbace (Idomeneo), Triquet (Eugene Onegin), Vicar (PeterGrimes), Sheperd (Oedipus rex) and Sellem (The Rake’s Progress).

His recordings include the title-roles in Albert Herring andThe Martyrdom of St Magnus, as well as roles in Billy Budd,The Beggar’s Opera, Peter Grimes, and operas by Oliver Knussenand Tan Dun. He has also filmed Britten’s The Journey of theMagi with Pierre Audi.

This season he has sung James Nolan in John Adams’s Doctor Atomic for ENO and Flute under Sir Andrew Davis at La Scala, Milan, as well as in Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s Solsticeof Light at the City of London Festival, Haydn’s The Creationwith Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Bach’s Mass in Bminor with the London Mozart Players.

Christopher Gillett’s future plans include Sinon (Les Troyens)for Netherlands Opera, Don Curzio (The Marriage of Figaro) atCovent Garden, concerts in Utrecht, and a recording with theBBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

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Rachel Nicholls soprano

Rachel Nicholls studied at York Universityand the Royal College of Music, where shewon the President’s Gold Bowl. Sincewinning Second Prize at the KathleenFerrier Awards, she has worked with manyof the world’s renowned conductors, and

for such opera companies as the Royal Opera, Covent Garden,Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, English National Opera andScottish Opera, among others.

She made her BBC Proms debut last year, and has performedwith the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, BBC ConcertOrchestra, Britten Sinfonia, City of Birmingham SymphonyOrchestra, Darmstadt Hofkapelle, Hanover Band, HuddersfieldChoral Society, London Handel Players, London Mozart Players,London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age ofEnlightenment, Orchestra of St John’s, Le Parlement de Musiqueand the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Her discography includes recordings of Bach’s Mass in B minor and Hummel’s Mass in D minor, two discs of music byCecilia McDowall and a volume of Bach cantatas with MasaakiSuzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan.

Rachel Nicholls’s recent and future engagements includeGinevra (Ariodante) and Elisa (Tolomeo) for English TouringOpera; Armida (Rinaldo) at this year’s Edinburgh Festival; Nero (The Coronation of Poppaea) for the New Theatre, Tokyo;Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées;Bach’s Cantata No. 51 and Handel’s Messiah with BachCollegium Japan; Beethoven’s Mass in C with the BochumSymphony Orchestra, and Schumann’s Requiem with the ScottishChamber Orchestra.

42 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES 43

Alan Oke tenor

Alan Oke studied at the Royal ScottishAcademy of Music and Drama and withHans Hotter in Munich.

Following a successful career as abaritone, he made his debut as a tenor in 1992 singing Brighella (Ariadne auf

Naxos) for Garsington Opera. Since then he has sung Rodolfo(La bohème), Alfredo (La traviata), Pinkerton (Madam Butterfly),Steva (Jen≤fa), Boris (Katya Kabanova), Rinuccio (GianniSchicchi), Gonsalves (L’heure espagnole), African Prince/Marquis(Lulu), Prunier (La rondine), Bob Boles (Peter Grimes), DonBasilio (The Marriage of Figaro), Aschenbach (Death in Venice),Florestan (Fidelio), Rodolfo (Luisa Miller), Chekalinsky (TheQueen of Spades) and Monostatos (The Magic Flute).

Companies he has sung for include Scottish Opera, OperaNorth, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera,New Zealand Opera, Opera Zuid, Glyndebourne Festival Operaand the Metropolitan Opera, New York. He has also performedat the Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Bregenz and Ravenna festivals.

His concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Missa solemnisand Symphony No. 9, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s Mass in B minor, Janá∂ek’s Glagolitic Mass, Britten’s War Requiem,Henze’s Voices and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.

Recent roles include Gandhi in Philip Glass’s Satyagrahafor ENO and the Metropolitan Opera, and Aschenbach at theAldeburgh and Bregenz festivals and for Prague State Opera and Opéra de Lyon. Alan Oke’s future engagements includeGianni Schicchi at Covent Garden, The Tales of Hoffmann inNew York, and a return to ENO for performances of Satyagrahaand Idomeneo.

PROMS DEBUT ARTIST

Christine Rice mezzo-soprano

Christine Rice was born and educated inManchester and read Physics at BalliolCollege, Oxford, before studying withRobert Alderson at the Royal NorthernCollege of Music.

For the Royal Opera, Covent Garden,her many roles have included Giulietta (The Tales of Hoffmann),Concepcion (L’heure espagnole), Emilia (Otello), Suzuki (MadamButterfly), the title-role in The Rape of Lucretia, Siebel (Faust),Sonetka (Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District), Judith (DukeBluebeard’s Castle) and two world premieres: Ariadne in SirHarrison Birtwistle’s The Minotaur and Miranda in ThomasAdès’s The Tempest. For English National Opera she has sungNero (Agrippina), Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Olga(Eugene Onegin), Bradamante (Alcina), Arsace (Partenope) andRosina (The Barber of Seville). She has sung Mercédès (Carmen)for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, while for GlyndebourneTouring Opera she has sung the title-roles in Carmen and La Cenerentola and Irene (Theodora). Abroad she has sung for La Monnaie, Brussels, De Vlaamse Opera, Bavarian State Opera,Frankfurt Opera, Seattle Opera and at the Teatro Real, Madrid.

Christine Rice’s concert appearances include Elgar’s SeaPictures and Debussy’s La damoiselle élue with the BBC ScottishSymphony Orchestra; Wagner’s Das Rheingold with theOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Sir Simon Rattle;and La clemenza di Tito at the Edinburgh Festival under SirCharles Mackerras.

Future engagements include Concepcion and Hansel (Hanseland Gretel) for the Royal Opera, Dorabella (Così fan tutte) inMunich and her Paris debut as Béatrice for the Opéra Comique.

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Anna Stéphany mezzo-soprano

Born in England, Anna Stéphany trained at the National Opera Studio in London.Operatic roles include Concepcion(L’heure espagnole), the title-role inMignon, Juno (Semele), Euridice andSperanza (Orfeo) for Opera North,

Proserpina (Orfeo) at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and, mostrecently, Irene (Theodora) and Dorabella (Così fan tutte) forGarsington Opera. She has also sung roles in contemporaryoperas such as the Ghost in Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s The LastSupper and Pélérin in Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin.

Anna Stéphany’s regular activities with the BBC SymphonyOrchestra have included her Proms debut in 2007 as Wellgunde(Götterdämmerung) under Donald Runnicles, a performance ofJaná∂ek’s Glagolitic Mass under Pierre Boulez at the Proms in2008 and a recording of Rodrigo songs conducted by DavidZinman. With the London Symphony Orchestra she has recordedMozart’s Requiem, which she also performed in London and New York under Sir Colin Davis.

Recent highlights include Hermia (A Midsummer Night’sDream) for Garsington Opera, Mercédès (Carmen) with theRussian National Orchestra in Moscow, a concert performance ofMartin≤’s Juliette with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Dusapin’sTo be sung with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and St MatthewPassion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at theAmsterdam Concertgebouw.

Forthcoming engagements include Janá∂ek’s Glagolitic Massconducted by Pierre Boulez in Paris and Ravenna and Theodorawith the Gabrieli Consort & Players in London, Warsaw, Parisand Madrid.

44 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Håkan Vramsmo baritone

Born in Sweden, Håkan Vramsmo won ascholarship to London’s Guildhall Schoolof Music & Drama in 1999, havingpreviously studied in Sweden, Amsterdam,France and Germany. He graduated in2001 and the same year sang at the First

Night of the BBC Proms in Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music.He has given recitals throughout Europe and performed at

such venues as the Wigmore Hall and the Bridgewater Hall, and at the Aldeburgh, Bath, Leamington and Newbury Springfestivals. He has also appeared with the Gothenberg andJerusalem Symphony orchestras, the Gabrieli Consort and theScharoun Ensemble, and performed in recital with pianist RogerVignoles in Santiago de Compostela.

In opera his roles include Papageno (The Magic Flute) forGlyndebourne Festival Opera; Valentin (Faust) for OperaOmnibus; the Count (The Marriage of Figaro) for Idée Fixe inParis, Nantes, Cheverny, Strasbourg and Bruges; the title-role inDon Giovanni for English Touring Opera, Tarquinius (The Rapeof Lucretia) for the European Opera Centre, and Belcore (L’elisird’amore) for Opera South.

He has recorded for BBC Radio 3 and Stockholm Radio, and performed on disc with soprano Louise Poole in IndependentOpera’s production of Elizabeth Maconchy’s The Departure.

This year Håkan Vramsmo has sung Ernesto in Haydn’s Il mondo della luna for Opera East, while forthcomingengagements include programmes of Poulenc and Barber as partof Manchester Pride’s chamber music events, and Berg andMahler at the Nuremberg International Chamber Music Festivalwith pianist Andrew West.

Thomas Walker tenor

Thomas Walker studied at the RoyalScottish Academy of Music and Drama,and the Royal College of Music.

His many performances have includedMessiah with the RIAS Chamber Choir atthe Berlin Philharmonie; Haydn’s ‘Nelson’

Mass with the City of London Sinfonia; Chevalier (Dialogues des Carmélites) at the Edinburgh Festival; Mozart’s La betulialiberata with I Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan; Bach’s St JohnPassion with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment;Evangelist (St Matthew Passion) and Giuliano (Rodrigo) with Al Ayre Espagnol; Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the RoyalPhilharmonic Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis; Handel’s Jephthawith Cappella Amsterdam; and Beethoven’s Mass in C with theCity of London Sinfonia at the BBC Proms.

In opera he has sung Linfea (Calisto) with René Jacobs at La Monnaie, Brussels; Janek (The Makropulos Affair) for EnglishNational Opera under Sir Charles Mackerras; the title-role inPelléas et Mélisande for Opera Theatre Company, Ireland; Fenton(Falstaff) for English Touring Opera; Ferrando (Così fan tutte) forHolland Park Opera; Alessandro (Il rè pastore) at the InnsbruckEarly Music Festival; Italian Tenor (Der Rosenkavalier) forScottish Opera; Letchmere (Owen Wingrave) for the RoyalOpera, Covent Garden; and Zotico in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo forGrange Park Opera.

Thomas Walker’s future plans include Saul with CappellaAmsterdam on tour in Europe: Lindoro (L’italiana in Algeri)for Scottish Opera; Haydn’s The Creation with OrquestraMetropolitana de Lisboa; and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni)for Opera Holland Park.

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PROGRAMMES FOR THE VISUALLYIMPAIREDWe are pleased to offer the following facilities for visuallyimpaired patrons:

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LARGE-PRINT PROGRAMMES,TEXTS & LIBRETTOSLarge-print concert programmes can be made available on thenight (at the same price as the standard programme) if ordered at least five working days in advance. Complimentary large-printtexts and opera librettos (where applicable) can also be madeavailable on the night, if ordered in advance.To order any large-print programmes or texts, please phone 020 7765 3246.They will be left for collection at the Door 6 Information Desk 45 minutes before the start of the concert.

Copies of the BBC Proms Guide 2009 are also available in audio-CD and braille versions.To place orders or for furtherinformation call RNIB Customer Services on 0845 7023 153.(Calls from a BT landline are charged at local rate. Charges frommobiles or other networks may be higher.)

bbc.co.uk/proms

Rebecca Larsen

PiccoloKathleen Stevenson

OboesDavid Powell †Imogen Smith Graham Salter

Cor AnglaisAlison Teale

ClarinetsNele Delafonteyne ‡Peter Davis Katherine Lacy

Bass ClarinetAlan Andrews

SaxophonesMartin RobertsonTimothy HolmesShaun Thompson

BassoonsJulie Price †Dominic MorganSteven Maw

Contra-bassoonClare Glenister

HornsNicholas Korth †Andrew Antcliff Christopher DaviesJohn DurrantRebecca Hill

TrumpetsAndrew Mackie ‡Martin Hurrell Bruce NocklesPaul Mayes

TrombonesRoger Harvey †Dan Jenkins

Bass TrombonesMark FrostPaul LambertDan WestLewis Edney

TubasSam ElliottMartin Knowles

PercussionAlex Neal †Christopher HindJoe CooperTim PalmerIgnacio MolinsAdrian SpillettChris Blundell

HarpsSioned Williams *Louise Martin †Manon Morris

MandolinNigel Woodhouse

Electric GuitarJames Woodrow

Bass GuitarMalcolm Moore

* Principal† Co-Principal‡ Guest Principal

The list of orchestralplayers was correct at thetime of going to press

General ManagerPaul Hughes

Chief ProducerAnn McKay

Orchestra ManagerSusanna Simmons

Assistant OrchestraManagerAlys Jones

Concerts ManagerMarelle McCallum

Tours AdministratorKathryn Aldersea

PlanningAdministratorRebecca Sackman

ChorusAdministratorEmma Cotsell

Contracts ExecutivePenelope Davies

Contracts &Auditions AssistantSarah Pantcheff

Head of Marketing,Learning &PublicationsKate Finch

PublicistVictoria Bevan

Marketing ManagerSarah Hirons

Marketing & PublicityAssistantAdam Cadman

Marketing AssistantAlison Dancer

Learning ManagerEllara Wakely

Learning & AudienceDevelopmentAssistantRebecca Dixon

Business AccountantVeronica Hattingh

Senior LibrarianMoira Webber

LibrariansFiona WilliamsJulia Simpson

Senior StageManagerRupert Casey

Stage ManagerMichael Officer

ORCHESTRA LIST 47

BBC Symphony Orchestra

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has played a central role at theheart of British musical life since its inception in 1930, and itprovides the backbone of the BBC Proms with at least a dozenconcerts each year. The BBC SO has a strong commitment to20th-century and contemporary music – recently it has givenworld premieres of BBC commissions by leading composerssuch as Magnus Lindberg, Giya Kancheli, KarlheinzStockhausen, Stuart MacRae, Judith Weir and Elliott Carter.Next season sees premieres of works by Ian McQueen, BillFrisell/Mike Gibbs, Ryan Wigglesworth and Peter Eötvös.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra is Associate Orchestra ofthe Barbican, where it performs an annual season of concerts.Highlights of the 2008/9 season included a stagedperformance of Martin≤’s Juliette and the launch of ‘TotalImmersion’ – days dedicated to the music of KarlheinzStockhausen, Tristan Murail and Iannis Xenakis.

All concerts are broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a numberare televised, giving the BBC SO the highest broadcast profileof any UK orchestra. Central to its life are studio recordingsfor BBC Radio 3 at the orchestra’s Maida Vale home, some of which are free for the public to attend. In addition theorchestra records for several commercial labels.

The orchestra is committed to innovative education work,including the Family Music Intro scheme, introducing familiesto live classical music, BBC SO Student Zone and the highlysuccessful BBC SO Family Orchestra. Recent projects includea week-long celebration of the music and culture of Turkeylast November and a day of free music for communitiesacross West London as part of Proms Out+About.

Chief Conductor Ji∑í B∆lohlávek

Principal GuestConductorDavid Robertson

Conductor LaureateSir Andrew Davis

Artist-in-AssociationOliver Knussen

First ViolinsAndrew Haveron LeaderAnna Colman Sub-LeaderRichard Aylwin Charles Renwick Ruth Ben Nathan Celia WaterhouseColin HuberEmily Francis Anna Smith Simon BrowneLucy JealClare HoffmanDmitri TorchinskyMaya Bickel Robert BishopEleanor MathiesonDorina MarkoffLynette Wynn

Second ViolinsDawn Beazley †Ruth HudsonHania Gmitruk Mark Walton Patrick Wastnage Danny Fajardo Lucy Curnow Tammy SeCaroline CooperJulian TraffordFilip LipskiHelen Cooper Ruth FunnellCecilia RomeroGwyneth BarkhamJeremy MorrisAlex AfiaFranziska Mattishent

ViolasCaroline Harrison †Nikos ZarbAudrey Henning Natalie Taylor Kate ReadCarol Ella Alex KoustasRose RedgraveAnia UllmanLynn BakerMiranda DavisDorothea Vogel

CellosSusan Monks *Tamsy KanerMarie Strom Charles Martin Michael Atkinson Augusta Harris David LaleBozidar VukoticDaniel HammersleyAnne WaddingtonJane OliverToby Turton

Double BassesPaul Marrion *Richard AlsopMarian Gulbicki Roger McCannAnita LangridgeClare TyackLynda HoughtonStephen Rossell

FlutesDaniel Pailthorpe †Nicholas Bricht

46 ORCHESTRA LIST

BBC Singers

The BBC Singers holds a unique position in British musicallife as a vital resource in the BBC’s music output. Thevirtuosity and versatility of this 24-voice ensemble is reflectedin a wide-ranging repertoire, from Byrd to Birtwistle andTallis to Takemitsu.

The choir’s expertise in performing the latestcontemporary scores has brought about creative relationshipswith some of the most important composers and conductorsof the 20th and 21st centuries – including Poulenc, Brittenand Boulez, to name but a few.

Based at the BBC’s Maida Vale Studios, the BBC Singersperforms all over the UK and abroad, working regularly withthe BBC’s own orchestras, as well as a number of period-instrument and contemporary music ensembles.

Equally at home on the concert platform as in therecording studio, this world-class ensemble is committed to sharing its enthusiasm and creative expertise through itsnationwide outreach programme. This includes regularcollaborations with schoolchildren, youth choirs and theamateur choral community, as well as with the professionalcomposers, singers and conductors of tomorrow.

Chief ConductorDavid Hill

Principal GuestConductorsBob ChilcottAndrew Carwood

Conductor LaureateStephen Cleobury

Associate ComposerJudith Bingham

Chief RepetiteurStephen Betteridge

SopranosMargaret Feaviour Micaela Haslam or AlisonSmartOlivia RobinsonEmma Tring

Altos Margaret CameronJacqueline FoxRebecca Lodge Siân Menna

Tenors Stephen JeffesNeil MacKenzie Andrew Murgatroyd

Basses Stephen CharlesworthCharles GibbsEdward Price or AndrewRupp

General ManagerStephen Ashley-King

Senior ProducerMichael Emery

Co-ordinatorRuth Potter

Learning ManagerGarth McArthur

Broadcast AssistantAmanda Boyle

Publicity AssistantLottie Fenby

Music AssistantHannah Wallace

The list of singers wascorrect at the time ofgoing to press

48 ORCHESTRA LIST

Director Roger WrightPersonal Assistant Yvette Pusey

Artistic Administrator Rosemary Gent Concerts Administrator Helen Heslop Concerts and Events Assistant Helen Lloyd TV Concerts Assistant Rhia Pratsis Concerts Assistant Catherine Langston

Head of Marketing, Publications and Learning Kate Finch

Publications Editor John Bryant Programme Editors Edward Bhesania, Clara Nissen Publications Designer Tania Conrad Publications Officer Lydia Casey Editorial Consultants Mark Pappenheim, Harriet Smith

Publicist Victoria Bevan Assistant Publicist Selina Govan Publicity Assistant Bethan Bide

Marketing Co-ordinator Catherine Cook Marketing & Publicity Assistant, Proms & Proms in the Park Anna Bacciarelli Marketing & Publicity Assistant Chris Ford

Learning Manager Ellara Wakely Learning and Audience Development Co-ordinator Naomi Selwyn Learning and Audience Development Assistant Kirsty Wearmouth

Management Assistant Tricia Twigg Business Assistant Sally Drinkwater

Contracts Executives Naomi Anderson, Penelope Davies, Hilary Dodds,Selena Harvey, John Hunter, Pamela Wise

Editor, BBC Radio 3 Edward Blakeman Editor,TV Classical Music Oliver Macfarlane Editor, Proms and Radio 3 Interactive Roland Taylor

© BBC 2009

Season identity Premm Design Cover illustrations © Andy PottsFoyer exhibition Premm Design; produced by GTMS Advertising Cabbell Publishing Ltd, 020 8971 8450

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Royal Albert Hall Chief Executive Ralph Bernard CBE

Pianos supplied and maintained for the BBC by Steinway & Sons.

TUESDAY 18 AUGUST

PROMS PLUS5.15pm–c6.00pm, Royal College of MusicFamily Music Intro Join Iván Fischer and members of theBudapest Festival O rchestra for a special family concertdesigned to introduce classical music to 5- to 12-year-olds inan entertaining and interactive environment.

PROM 447.00pm–c9.10pm, Royal Albert HallProkofiev Overture on Hebrew ThemesBartók Violin Concerto No. 2Dvo∑ák Symphony No. 7Leonidas Kavakos violinBudapest Festival O rchestraIván Fischer conductor

PROM 4510.00pm–c11.15pm, Royal Albert HallUkulele O rchestra of Great BritainTo include music by Saint-Saëns, Wagner, Eric Coates, Parry,Beethoven, The Who and The Sex Pistols

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 2.00pm Repeat broadcast of Prom 33 (LondonSinfonietta/Gardner)7.30pm Prom 44 live10.00pm Prom 45 liveBBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

WED NESDAY 19 AUGUST

PROMS PLUS5.45pm–c6.30pm, Royal College of MusicProms Intro Andrew McGregor discusses the music ofShostakovich with musicologist David N ice and lecturer inRussian Dr Philip Ross Bullock (University of Oxford).

PROM 467.30pm–c10.00pm, Royal Albert HallDetlev Glanert Shoreless River BBC co-commission: UK premiereRachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of PaganiniShostakovich Symphony No. 11, ‘The Year 1905’Denis Matsuev pianoBBC Symphony O rchestraSemyon Bychkov conductor

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 2.00pm Repeat broadcast of Prom 32 (Britten Sinfonia/Morlot)7.30pm Prom 46 live; edited version of today’s Proms Introduring the interval; 10.00pm edited highlights of the Young Composers’ W innersDay (7 August) and Proms Inspire Day (14 August)BBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

THURSDAY 20 AUGUST

PROMS PLUS4.45pm–c5.30pm, Royal College of MusicProms Intro Join tonight’s conductor Harry Bicket andmusicologist Dr Berta Joncas for an introduction to Handel’soratorio Samson, with Catherine Bott.

PROM 476.30pm–c10.20pm, Royal Albert HallHandel SamsonSusan Gritton DalilaIestyn Davies MicahMark Padmore SamsonNeal Davies ManoaChristopher Purves HaraphaLucy Crowe Israelite Woman/Philistine Woman/VirginBen Johnson Israelite Man/Philistine Man/MessengerThe Choir of The English ConcertThe New CompanyThe English ConcertHarry Bicket conductor

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 2.00pm Repeat broadcast of Prom 34 (BournemouthS O/Karabits)6.30pm Prom 47 live; edited version of today’s Proms Introduring the first intervalBBC Television7.30pm Prom 47 on BBC FourBBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

COMING UP AT THE PROMS 51

All Radio 3 broadcasts are audio-streamed live and available on demand via the BBC iPlayer for seven days after broadcast.CH: Cadogan Hall RAH: Royal Albert Hall PCM: Proms Chamber Music RCM: Royal College of Music

SATURDAY 15 AUGUST

PROMS PLUS2.00pm–c5.00pm, Royal Geographical SocietyFilm Stravinsky: Once, at a Border… (166’, exempt fromclassification). Tony Palmer’s profile of the composer, featuringcontributions from family, colleagues and friends. Introducedby the director.5.45pm–c6.30pm, Royal College of MusicProms Literary Festival Philip Pullman, author of theaward-winning trilogy His Dark Materials, talks to Susan Hitchabout the powerful myth of O rpheus.

PROM 407.30pm–c9.40pm, Royal Albert HallStravinsky OrpheusBeethoven Symphony No. 9, ‘Choral’Rebecca Evans sopranoCaitlin Hulcup mezzo-sopranoAnthony Dean Griffey tenorJames Rutherford bass-baritoneC ity of Birmingham Symphony ChorusBBC Scottish Symphony O rchestraIlan Volkov conductor

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 2.00pm Repeat broadcast of PCM 4 (ScottishEnsemble/Morton)7.30pm Prom 40 live; edited version of today’s Proms LiteraryFestival during the intervalBBC W orld Service8.06pm Prom 32 highlights (Britten Sinfonia/Morlot)BBC Television8.45pm Prom 36 (Handel) on BBC TwoBBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

SUN DAY 16 AUGUSTIN DIAN VO ICES DAY

PROM 4110.30am–c1.30pm, Royal Albert HallIndian Voices 1 – Khyal and KeralaPandit Ram Narayan sarangiManjiri Asnare Kelkar khyal singerPandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra khyal singerswith Aruna Narayan sarangi, Akbar Latif tabla, Babar Latif tabla,Sudhir Nayak harmoniumAsima

PROMS PLUS2.00pm–c6.00pm, Kensington GardensIndian Voices in the Park Free performances of folk musicand dance from Rajasthan (including ghoomer dance) andGujarat (including ras and garba dances). Also featuring thevocal fusion ensemble Asima, and incorporating: PromsFamily Orchestra and Chorus (2.00pm) Participate in theProms Bollywood Family O rchestra and Chorus and learnhow to dance Bollywood style!

5.45pm–c6.30pm, Royal College of MusicProms Literary Festival Prize-winning author Jamila Gavinand ‘Binglish’ theatre director Jatinder Verma join Rana Mitterto explore great Bollywood stories.

PROM 427.30pm–c10.00pm, Royal Albert HallIndian Voices 2 – BollywoodShaan vocalistThe GrooveHoney’s Dance Academy

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 10.30am Prom 41 live7.30pm Prom 42 live; edited version of today’s Proms LiteraryFestival during the intervalBBC W orld Service2.06am & 11.06pm Prom 32 highlights (Britten Sinfonia/Morlot)BBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

MO N DAY 17 AUGUST

PCM 51.00pm–c2.00pm, Cadogan HallMendelssohn Prelude and Fugue, Op. 35 No. 1J. S. Bach, transcr. Busoni Chorale Preludes ‘Wachet auf,ruft uns die Stimme’; ‘Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein’;‘Ich ruf ’ zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ’Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by HandelLlyr W illiams piano

PROMS PLUS5.45pm–c6.30pm, Royal College of MusicProms Composer Portrait Louis Andriessen, inconversation with Andrew McGregor, discusses The HagueHacking and introduces performances of some of his chamberworks.

PROM 437.30pm–c9.30pm, Royal Albert HallFalla El amor brujo – three dancesLouis Andriessen The Hague Hacking UK premiereRavel Mother Goose (ballet); BoléroKatia & Marielle Labèque pianosPhilharmonia O rchestraEsa-Pekka Salonen conductor

BROADCASTS BBC Radio 3 1.00pm PCM 5 live2.00pm Repeat broadcast of Prom 31 (NYO GB/Petrenko)7.30pm Prom 43 live9.45pm edited version of today’s Proms Composer PortraitBBC iPlayer live, and on-demand for seven days

50 COMING UP AT THE PROMS

CATCH EVERY NOTE

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