CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Mozart Symphony No.25, ‘Little G minor’Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.2

Mozart Piano Concerto No.20, K466

Saturday 4 March 2017, 8.00pmWest Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETYwww.cums.org.uk

Principal Guest Conductor Sir Roger Norrington CBECUMS Conductor Laureate Stephen Cleobury CBE

Principal Guest Conductor Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra Peter StarkDirector Cambridge University Chamber Choir Martin Ennis

Associate Directors Cambridge University Chamber Choir David Lowe, Nicholas Mulroy

Peter Donohoe piano, directorAditya Chander leader, director

CUMS is grateful for the support of

TTP Group – Principal Sponsor, Bloom Design, Christ’s College, Churchill College, Corpus Christi College, CUMS Fund, CUMS Supporters’ Circle, Emmanuel College, Jesus College, King’s College, Murray Edwards College,

Newnham College, Peterhouse College, St John’s College, Trinity College, University of Cambridge Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge Societies Syndicate, West Road Concert Hall, Wolfson College

PROGRAMME NOTESWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183I. Allegro con brioII. Andante

III. MenuettoIV. Allegro

Mozart’s lively Symphony in G minor K. 183 was one of nine composed by the 17 year-old between 1773 and 1774. It is one of only two symphonies written in a minor key by Mozart and is known as the ‘Little’ G minor, to distinguish it from the more famous Symphony No. 40, K. 550, in the same key. The Symphony No. 25 was a landmark in Mozart’s development and is regarded as one of his first great works.

Although most of his symphonies are written in major keys, impassioned minor-key music wasn’t new to Mozart at this time. Haydn produced a trio of minor-key symphonies between 1770 and 1773 and, in particular, the latter’s Symphony No. 39 in G minor surely served as a model for Mozart. Many of the tools used to create intensity in the Symphony No. 25 were common in the 1770s (although usually reserved for opera): syncopation; large leaps; trem-olandos; urgently repeated phrases; and forceful

orchestral unison passages. The Symphony is closely associated with the Sturm und Drang movement which dominated music and literature in this period.

The first movement’s rhythmically agitated theme, with its dramatic falling diminished seventh, may be recognisable from its use in the opening scene of Peter Shaffer’s 1984 film adaptation of Amadeus. As well as the use of Sturm und Drang effects, one of the remarkable aspects of this Symphony is the emancipation of wind instruments. In the second movement, a simple Andante with a subtlety recalling Haydn, there is an imaginatively scored dialogue between muted violins and newly- liber-ated bassoons. G minor is given only brief respite in the elegant trio section of the third movement, gracefully scored for wind instruments. The stormy mood of the first movement returns in the finale, with chromatically searching orchestral lines and capped off with an abrupt coda.

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)Piano Concerto No. 2, op. 102I. AllegroII. Andante –

III. Allegro

Dmitri Shostakovich had a torturous relationship with Stalin and the Soviet regime – his work was pro-moted as an emblem of Soviet cultural achievement but the composer often found himself in trouble with the authorities. But with the dictator’s death in 1953, creative restrictions were loosened and the rest of this decade was one of relative prosperity and security for Shostakovich.

The Second Piano Concerto reflects a lighter side in Shostakovich’s musical personality and is one of the few works of his devoid of any ideological baggage.

It was composed in 1957 for his son Maxim’s 19th birthday, who premièred it during his graduation from the Moscow Conservatory on 10 May 1957. 24 years separate the First and Second Piano Concertos and while the First was an experimental score, the Second brims with energy and Neo-Classical vitality.

In a letter to Edison Denisov in February 1957, barely a week after he had finished the Concerto, Shostakovich wrote that the work had ‘no redeeming artistic merits’. Shostakovich most likely wanted to pre-empt any criticism by deprecating the work

WELCOMEThe Cambridge University Musical Society wishes to express its sincere gratitude to Monica Chambers who has sponsored this concert. Peter Donohoe performed Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1 with CUMS Symphony Orchestra in December 2014 and it was a wonderful experience for both the orchestra and the audience. Monica’s kind donation has enabled us to invite Peter back to Cambridge and we very much hope you enjoy tonight’s performance.

Isabel Cocker

Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra President 2016-17

himself – a flippant remark like this was very much in character. Shostakovich had been denounced several times and, although his son’s graduation was a happy occasion, state censure was never far away. He was still remaining covertly dissident – the Tenth Symphony (1953) was ambiguous in its message and the mammoth Eleventh Symphony was just round the corner.

The Second Piano Concerto carries hints of Prokofiev in the first movement, Rachmaninov in the second and Stravinsky throughout. The piano plays almost without pause except at the beginning of the first and second movements. The Concerto opens with a lively bassoon introduction before the soloist enters

unobtrusively with a laconic main theme. As in many of his piano works, Shostakovich shows his love for the instrument’s extremes and writing in octaves.

The Andante is a subdued, tender movement reminiscent of the middle movement of a Grieg or Rachmaninov concerto. It is a melancholic Nocturne simple in character, which almost risks appearing as a caricature of its genre. The slow movement segues into the frenetic rondo finale, whose second theme is in an asymmetrical 7/8. Shostakovich’s sense of irony makes an appearance in the finale as he quotes the didactic exercises – all too familiar to Maxim and piano students alike – of Charles-Louis Hanon towards the end of the movement.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466I. AllegroII. Romance

III. Rondo: Allegro assai

Following his move from provincial Salzburg to cosmopolitan Vienna in 1781, Mozart reached his creative zenith within a few years. Acclaimed as both pianist and composer by the Viennese public, Mozart produced 12 piano concertos between 1784 and 1786 in what he described to his father Leopold as the ‘land of the clavier’.

The Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor is one of Mozart’s most technically advanced and popular concertos; along with the following Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, it was seminal in creating the piano concerto as we now know it. It is one of the few concertos which remained well-known in the years following Mozart’s death – it was championed by Beethoven and Brahms, who both wrote their own cadenzas for the outer movements.

The Concerto was premièred on 11 February 1785 in Vienna, with Mozart playing and directing from the keyboard. It was an important occasion for the composer as his father was there, as well as Haydn. Spending the following evening with the Mozarts, Haydn told Leopold: ‘I tell you before God as an honest man, your son is the greatest among the composers known to me by name and person: he has good taste, and furthermore the greatest knowl-edge of composition’. It was written at remarkable speed – in a letter following the première, Leopold

told Mozart’s sister that ‘the copyist was still copying when we arrived’.

D minor was a significant key for Mozart, the same one he would use for two of his most intense works: Don Giovanni (1787) and the Requiem (1791). The first movement is searching and restless, Beethovenian in its intensity. The Concerto opens with the same dark, brooding sense of foreboding as Don Giovanni and the Requiem; syncopated strings vibrate with a nervous energy before the piano enters with a plaintive theme not heard before.

The second movement is the only one of Mozart’s piano concertos entitled Romance – the two outer sections carry a beautiful melody of the utmost simplicity but an intense central episode disrupts the tranquillity. The third movement is an impassioned Rondo with little respite. The final few pages of the Concerto create one of Mozart’s most curious endings: following the cadenza, there is a seemingly vacuous orchestral coda in D major. As with the ending of Don Giovanni, Mozart pays heed to the eighteenth century aesthetic of giving the audience a happy ending. But as the horns and trumpets interject with their silliness, we see one of the few attempts by Mozart to be deliberately witty in a pure music setting as the hybrid orchestral drama is brought to a grand close.

BIOGRAPHIESPeter DonohoePeter Donohoe was born in Manchester in 1953. He studied at Chetham’s School of Music for seven years, graduated in music at Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique.

In recent seasons Donohoe has appeared with Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonia, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has undertaken a UK tour with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as giv-ing concerts in many South American and European countries, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, and USA. Other engagements include performances of all three MacMillian piano concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, a series of concerts for the Ravel and Rachmaninov Festival at Bridgewater Hall, and numerous performances with The Orchestra of the Swan.

Donohoe is also in high demand as a jury member for international competitions. He has recently served on the juries at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow (2011 and 2015), Busoni International Competition in Bolzano, Italy (2012), the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2016), Georges Enescu Competition in Bucharest (2016), Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2016), and Ricardo Viñes International Competition in Lleida, Spain, along with many national competitions both within the UK and abroad.

Recent discs include a new disc of Scriabin Piano Sonatas (SOMM Records) which was described as ‘magnificent’ by the Sunday Times; a recording of Witold Maliszewski’s Piano Concerto in B flat minor with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Martin Yates (Dutton Vocalion); and three discs of Prokofiev piano sonatas for SOMM Records, the third of which was released at the end of April 2016. The first Prokofiev disc was described by Gramophone as ‘devastatingly effective’, declar-ing Donohoe to be ‘in his element’, and a review in Classical Notes identified Donohoe’s ‘remarkably sensitive approach to even the most virtuosic of repertoire’. His second Prokofiev disc was given 5 stars by BBC Music Magazine, and the third disc was highly praised by The Times, Birmingham Post, and Jessica Duchen. Other recordings include Cyril Scott’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Concert

Orchestra and Martin Yates (Dutton Vocalion), and Malcolm Arnold’s Fantasy on a Theme of John Field with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Martin Yates (also Dutton), for which BBC Music Magazine described him as an ‘excellent soloist’, and Gramophone stated that it ‘compelled from start to finish’.

Donohoe has performed with all the major London orchestras, as well as orchestras from across the world: the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Swedish Radio, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Symphony and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras. He has also played with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Sir Simon Rattle’s opening concerts as Music Director. He made his twenty-second appearance at the BBC Proms in 2012 and has appeared at many other festivals including six consecutive visits to the Edinburgh Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, and at the Ruhr and Schleswig Holstein Festivals in Germany. In the United States, his appearanc-es have included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. Peter Donohoe also performs numerous recitals internationally and continues working with his long standing duo partner Martin Roscoe, as well as more recent collaborations with artists such as Raphael Wallfisch, Elizabeth Watts and Noriko Ogawa.

Donohoe has worked with many of the world’s greatest conductors: Christoph Eschenbach, Neeme Jarvi, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Andrew Davis and Yevgeny Svetlanov. More recently he has appeared as soloist with the next generation of excellent conductors: Gustavo Dudamel, Robin Ticciati and Daniel Harding.

Peter Donohoe is an honorary doctor of music at seven UK universities, and was awarded a CBE for services to classical music in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List.

Aditya ChanderAditya is a third year music student at Magdalene College. He has played the violin since the age of 8, and holds a distinction in DipABRSM violin perfor-mance. He has led the National Schools Symphony Orchestra in 2012, and played violin with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain in 2013. In the National Youth Orchestra, Aditya worked with conductors such as Vasily Petrenko and John Wilson, and his time with the orchestra culminated in a tele-vised performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the BBC Proms. He holds a Lincoln Award from Magdalene in recognition of his violin playing, and leads the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, having previously played co-leader and principal second violin with the ensemble. He has also led the CUMS Symphony Orchestra, and played baroque vi-olin with Cambridge University Collegium Musicum.

As a soloist, Aditya has performed Saint Saëns’ Violin Concerto no. 3 at St John’s Smith Square, hav-ing won the concerto competition at Westminster School, where he was a music and academic scholar. He was also the winner of the string and vocal categories of the inaugural Westminster Musician of the Year competition. In Cambridge, he has performed solo recitals in Magdalene College and King’s College, and was the winner of the CUSO Concerto Competition in 2015, playing the Brahms Double Concerto in November that year. An active chamber musician, Aditya is also a founding member of the Aula Ensemble, a high-profile flexible cham-ber group which has performed in many venues in the university and at a CUMS showcase event at the

residence of Bob Boas in London. He holds one of the university’s prestigious Instrumental Awards for the current academic year, and is the president of Magdalene Music Society.

Aditya studied violin at Westminster School with Rafael Todes, and now learns with Lorraine McAslan, having received guidance from distinguished soloists Thomas Gould (at the Verbier Festival), Alda Dizdari (at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama) and Eszter Haffner (at the International Summer Academy in Bad Leonfelden, Austria). His violin is an Italian instrument attributed to Giovanni Dollenz, from 1832. He is also an accomplished violist, having won a Gold Award from ABRSM for achieving the highest mark in the country for his Grade 8 exam, and an award-winning composer, with successes in competitions such as the BBC Inspire Competition for Young Composers, the NCEM Young Composers Award, and the Music for Youth: New Music Showcase.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRAVIOLIN IAditya Chander, MAngus Bain, CAIKatherine Lee, HHClare Rees-Zimmerman, TNatalie Jones, TJessica Li, REmma Werner, CAIVictor Sun, T

VIOLIN IIPeter Grishin, QLaura Alexander, GLeni Sewart, SEArpan Sharma, CAIKieran Reed, SEAnna Ponek*Mallika Buckle, K

VIOLARoc Fargas-i-Castells, SEDorothy Hoskins, JE

Anna Semple, THIsabel Cocker, F

CELLOWallis Power, PEMSophia Ramnarine, NCatherine Porter, RKai Konishi-Dukes, JN

DOUBLE BASSJoe Cowie, CLMyles Nadarajah, PET

FLUTELeonie Stevenson-Jones, CCJack Mainwaring, CHUChristina Alishaw, SID

OBOEPip Elmer, EMRachel Becker, JN

CLARINETAlex Card, CL

Daniel Malz, T

BASSOONAidan Hilton, MSiobhan Connellan, PET

HORNJames Liley, DARRobert Blyth, JNLouis Wilson, JEMichael Clesham, CTH

TRUMPETKatie Lodge, EMJoe Penaliggon, CL

TIMPANIJack Whitehead, CAI

SNARE DRUMKevin Heffernan, JE

*Guest player

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETYCambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) is one of the oldest and most distinguished university music societies in the world. It offers a world-class musical education for members of the University and local residents, nurturing the great musicians of the future and providing performing opportunities for over 500 Cambridge musicians every year.

The Society has played a pivotal role in British mu-sical life for almost 170 years. It has educated such luminaries as Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Edward Gardner, Christopher Hogwood and Robin Ticciati, has given world or UK premieres of works by Brahms, Holloway, Lutoslawski, Maxwell Davies, Rutter, Saxton and Vaughan Williams, and has given successive gen-erations of Cambridge musicians the experience of visiting conductors and soloists including Britten, Dvořák, Kodály, Menuhin and Tchaikovsky. Since the 1870s, CUMS has enjoyed the leadership of several of Britain’s finest musicians, including Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir David Willcocks, Sir Philip Ledger, and, from 1983 to 2009, Stephen Cleobury.

In 2009 Stephen Cleobury assumed a new role as Principal Conductor of the CUMS Chorus, and Sir Roger Norrington was appointed as Principal Guest Conductor. Martin Yates, ‘one of the most exciting and versatile British conductors of his generation’ in the words of The Times, joined the team as Principal

Conductor of the CUMS Symphony Orchestra; and a Great Conductors series was launched with the objective of exposing CUMS members to a succes-sion of world-class visiting conductors.

In February 2010 CUMS entered another new phase of its development when it merged with the Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra and Cambridge University Music Club. In October 2010 the Society launched the Cambridge University Lunchtime Concerts — a new series of weekly chamber recitals at West Road Concert Hall show-casing the University’s finest musical talent. In 2011 it merged with the Cambridge University Chamber Choir, which is directed by directed by Martin Ennis, David Lowe and Nicholas Mulroy.

CUMS continues to provide opportunities for the University’s finest student soloists and conductors by awarding conducting scholarships and concerto prizes, and it actively encourages new music by running a composition competition and premièring at least one new work each year. Recent highlights have included Wagner’s Parsifal (Act III) conduct-ed by Sir Mark Elder, a recording of The Epic of Everest’s original score for the British Film Institute, a concert of Haydn and Mendelssohn at Kings Place, London conducted by Sir Roger Norrington and Verdi’s Otello (Act I) conducted by Richard Farnes.

Joel Sandelson conducting CUMS Symphony Orchesta in Bonn University Hall, July 2016

CUMS OFFICERS 2016/17Cambridge University Musical Society is a registered charity, limited by guarantee (no.1149534) with a board of trustees chaired by Stuart Laing. The Society also administers The CUMS Fund with its own board of Trustees. The day to day running of the ensembles is undertaken by the student presidents and their committees with professional support.

Advisors to the ensembles Maggie HeywoodChristopher LawrencePaul NicholsonMartin RichardsonJohn Willan

Trustees of CUMS Stuart Laing (chairman)Simon FaircloughJames FurberStephen JohnsDavid PickardJo WhiteheadLiz WinterNigel Yandell

Trustees of the CUMS Fund

Chris FordNicholas ShawAlan FindlayPeter JohnstoneJenny Reavell

Vice Chairman Jo Whitehead

Executive Director Justin Lee

CUMS Senior Treasurer Chris Ford

CUMS Treasurer Nicholas Shaw

CUMS Symphony Chorus Manager

William Bowes

Orchestra and Marketing Manager

Chloe Davidson

Marketing and Fundraising

Coordinator, CUCO Orchestra Manager, CUMS SO Assistant Orchestra Manager

Helen McKeown

Cambridge University Chamber Choir Manager

Rhiannon Randle

CUMS Librarian and Alumni Secretary

Maggie Heywood

Supporters’ Circle Secretary

Christine Skeen

CUMS Instrument Managers

Dave EllisPhilip Howie

CUMS Student President Mathilda Pynegar

Vice Presidents Richard AndrewesNicholas CookSir John Meurig-Thomas

Principal Guest Conductor Sir Roger Norrington CBE

CUMS Conductor Laureate Stephen Cleobury CBE

Principal Guest Conductor, Cambridge University

Chamber Orchestra

Peter Stark

Director, Cambridge University Chamber Choir

Martin Ennis

Associate Directors, Cambridge University Chamber Choir

David Lowe Nicholas Mulroy

President, Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra

Isabel Cocker

President, CUMS Symphony Orchestra

Sacha Lee

President, CUMS Symphony Chorus

Jenny Reavell

President, CUMS Concert Orchestra

Héloïse Lecomte

President, Cambridge University Wind Orchestra

Joseph Curran

President, Cambridge University Lunchtime Concerts

Alice Webster

President, Cambridge University Percussion Ensemble

Jonathan Morell

CUMS Conducting Scholar John Tothill

Assistant Conductors Jack BazalgetteToby Hession

CUMS SUPPORTERS’ CIRCLEJoin the CUMS Supporters’ CircleSince it was founded in 1843, CUMS has provided unique oppor-tunities for successive generations of Cambridge musicians. It has immeasurably enriched the cultural life of the university and city, and, having launched many of the biggest careers in classical music, it has played a pivotal role in the musical world beyond.

CUMS receives no core funding from the University, and income from ticket sales does not meet the full cost of delivering a world-class musical education. The CUMS Supporters’ Circle has been established to address this pressing financial need.

All those who value Cambridge’s splendid musical heritage, and who want the University to provide opportunities for the finest young musicians of the twenty-first century, are invited to join the CUMS Supporters’ Circle. Membership of the Circle is through annual do-nation to CUMS. There are six levels of donation:

Donor: £100-£249 per annum Donors enjoy

• contributing membership of the Society, entitling them to priority booking for performances

• the opportunity to buy a concert season ticket• acknowledgement in CUMS concert programmes and on the

website• invitations to drinks reception each term at West Road• regular updates on key CUMS projects and events

Benefactor: £250-£499 per annumPrincipal Benefactor: £500-£999 per annum

All of the above plus• opportunities to sit in on selected rehearsals

The Stanford Circle: £1,000-£2,499 per annumAll of the above plus

• the opportunity to be recognised as the supporter of a specific activity each season

The Vaughan Williams Circle: £2,500+The Britten Circle: £10,000+To become a Member of the CUMS Supporters’ Circle, please com- plete a membership form and return it to the address shown thereon. To obtain a form please visit our website or email Helen McKeown, Fundraising Co-ordinator, at hlm52@cam.ac.uk. If you pay UK or Capital Gains Tax, CUMS is able to boost your donation by 25 pence per pound through Gift Aid.

In helping us reach our targets, you will become part of an extraordinary musical tradition.

SUPPORTERS’ CIRCLEThe Britten Circle£10,000+Adrian and Jane Frostand an anonymous donor

The Vaughan Williams Circle£2,500+Monica ChambersThe Stanford Circle£1,000-£2,499 per annumSir Keith Stuartand an anonymous donor

Principal Benefactors£500-£999 per annumSimon FaircloughJustin LeeThe New Europe Societyand two anonymous donors

Benefactors£250-£499 per annumAngela and Rod Ashby-JohnsonStuart FfoulkesStuart and Sibella LaingSimon and Lydia LebusR. MoseyDavid MundayHowarth PennyNeil Petersenand four anonymous donors

Donors£100-£249 per annumDr Anne E AllanRichard AndrewesJohn Barber Frank and Genevieve BenfieldPhil and Carol BrownChris CoffinRobert CulshawMartin DarlingProfessor Helen DentDrs I and Z Ellison-WrightAlan FindlayC J B FordCaroline GoulderAndrew and Rachel GraceMichael GwinnellDonald and Rachel HearnPhilip and Lesley Helliar Mr Jonathan Hellyer JonesRuth and Mike HolmesLady JenningsJennie KingTom KohlerChristopher Lawrence Debbie Lowther & John Short John MacInnesSue MarshAndrew MorrisPaul NicholsonVal NortonEdward PowellKathryn PuffettDr Ian Randle and Dr Sharon Gibbs Judith RattenburyRuth RattenburyHugh Salimbeni Catherine SharpDr M. L. SharpPeter ShawdonRobert and Christine SkeenAndrew SoundyVeronica and Alex SutherlandGrahame and Cilla SwanDr Patricia TateSir John Meurig ThomasJo StansfieldMary Stapleton Jo WhiteheadRuth WilliamsMr and Mrs Wittmanand seventeen anonymous donors

Honorary Life MemberMaggie Heywood