WELCOME MESSAGE FROM PAUL FEGAN

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1 WELCOME MESSAGE FROM PAUL FEGAN It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Sydney Symphony Mozart in the City series for We at St.George are delighted to continue our partnership in 2008 after a successful 2007 and the Orchestra s 75th anniversary celebrations. The Sydney Symphony has become an important part of Sydney s cultural calendar, delighting people of all ages with powerful musical experiences. Whether playing for tens of thousands in the Domain, in the concert hall of the Opera House or in the relative intimacy of the City Recital Hall, the Sydney Symphony makes each venue its own, to the enchantment of the audience. In 2008 our involvement will see four wonderful performances at City Recital Hall as part of the Mozart in the City series. We are very excited to play a role in bringing this beautiful music to the Australian public and we sincerely hope you enjoy the experience. St.George is very committed to the arts and we are excited to strengthen that link to this widely acclaimed orchestra. In the same way that the Sydney Symphony offers a breadth of musical talent and commitment to both contemporary and classical music, at St.George we cater to a wide range of financial needs. We are committed to becoming Australia s most respected service company and I encourage you to experience the St.George difference today. We sincerely hope that you enjoy the beautiful experiences that will be part of the Sydney Symphony Mozart in the City series. Chief Executive Officer St.George Bank Ltd.

2 SEASON 2008 MOZART IN THE CITY PRESENTED BY ST.GEORGE MOZART AND GRIEG Thursday 6 March 7pm City Recital Hall Angel Place Michael Dauth violin-director Jasminka Stancul piano EDVARD GRIEG ( ) Suite From Holberg s Time, Op.40 Prelude Sarabande Gavotte Musette Gavotte Air Rigaudon WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART ( ) Piano Concerto No.13 in C, K415 Allegro Andante Allegro This concert will be recorded for broadcast across Australia on ABC Classic FM Pre-concert talk by David Garrett at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception Room. Estimated timings: 21 minutes, 26 minutes, 21 minutes The performance will conclude at approximately 8.20pm FRANK BRIDGE ( ) Suite for string orchestra Prelude Intermezzo Nocturne Finale PRESENTING PARTNER

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4 INTRODUCTION Mozart and Grieg Concert-goers aren t the only people who love Mozart plenty of composers have admired his music too, taking inspiration in many different ways. In the 19th century Mozart had two images: he was popular as the tragic, stormy artist of the minor-key concertos and symphonies and his unfinished requiem, and he was popular as a figure of classical grace and serenity, his music full of sunshine. The first image fed the Romantic spirit, the second offered some respite from it. Grieg was one of those who admired the sunshine, writing: Mozart has the childish, happy Aladdin nature which overcomes all difficulties as in play. He creates as a god, without pain These are qualities that we can recognise in Grieg s own music, and especially in the cheery and graceful Holberg Suite a tribute to the courtly dances of the 18th century. Frank Bridge emerged in 20th-century Britain as a quiet radical armed with a phenomenal technique. The technique came from his immersion in the classical tradition and its values: graceful ideas, clear structures and fine workmanship. Like Mozart, Bridge played viola, and as a chamber musician and founder of the English String Quartet he was exposed to the world of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. But the English Quartet also gave British premieres of the latest French music (something Mozart would have delighted in) and the influence of this is also to be heard in Bridge s beautifully crafted Suite for strings. Free Programs We re delighted to continue bringing you free programs this year. And we want to thank you for helping to make our sharing policy work in If you re new to Sydney Symphony concerts, please remember: We ask patrons who are attending in couples or groups to share one between two. (If there are spare copies at the conclusion of the concert you are welcome to take an extra one then.) If you normally don t keep your program after the concert, please feel free to return it to a table in the foyer when you leave. You can also read the program in advance by downloading it from our website in the week of the concert. Click on the orange Program Library icon at the bottom right corner of any page on sydneysymphony.com. 5 Sydney Symphony

5 ABOUT THE MUSIC Edvard Grieg Suite From Holberg s Time, Op.40 Prelude Sarabande Gavotte Musette Gavotte Air Rigaudon Unlike most composers who receive their accolades posthumously, Grieg achieved great popularity in his own time. Perhaps it is due to the toughest Norwegianness as claimed by his Australian exponent, Percy Grainger, that this widespread acclaim never went to Grieg s head. Even the awarding of a Knighthood and Order of Orange- Nassau only prompted his quip that orders and medals are most useful to me in the top layer of my trunk. The customs officials are always so kind to me at the sight of them. Grieg was a modest man, most comfortable when composing in miniature forms. Great musicians like Bach and Beethoven have erected churches and temples, he once claimed. I have sought as Ibsen has put it in his last dramas to build homes for the people in which they can feel comfortable and happy. Nevertheless, his most famous works, the Peer Gynt music and the Piano Concerto so highly praised by Liszt, suggest that those homes could sometimes be palatial. Grieg found inspiration and pride in the culture, history, natural scenery and traditions of his homeland, Norway, once commenting that it had stamped itself on his creative imagination from his earliest years. In return for his devotion, the town of his birth, Bergen (on the west coast of Norway), has claimed him as their most celebrated son. Grieg, however, was not Bergen s only local hero. More than a century before Grieg s birth, the Bergen writer Ludvig Holberg ( ) became famous as the Molière of the North, a title he earned for the satirical bent of a number of his plays. (In 1906 one of these plays, Maskarade, became an opera in the hands of Carl Nielsen.) Holberg was also known as the Danish Molière because he studied in Denmark and subsequently made his life there, dying in Copenhagen. He set out as a student of theology but his influential writings cover a diverse range of subjects including history, Keynotes GRIEG Born Bergen, 1843 Died Bergen, 1907 Grieg excelled in the art of the musical miniature in an era when there was a huge demand for charming and evocative music that could be played at home sophisticated, yet not too difficult for amateurs. Although he is best known for his incidental music to Ibsen s Peer Gynt and for his Piano Concerto in A minor (championed by Australian Percy Grainger), the most significant part of his output comprises sets of piano pieces and songs deftly characterised and always sparkling and congenial. This is the spirit that permeates his Holberg Suite. HOLBERG SUITE This music takes its name from Ludvig Holberg, the Norwegian-born Danish dramatist whose comedies led him to be known as the Molière of the North. Written for Holberg s bicentenary in 1884, Grieg s suite is a costume piece a skilful and melodious baroque pastiche that uses courtly dance forms to evoke a sense of a gracious and witty past. 6 Sydney Symphony

6 politics, science, philosophy and law. Later, as director of a theatre in Copenhagen, he became the founder of Danish drama. It was as a commemorative work for the celebration of Holberg s bicentennial that Grieg conceived his Holberg Suite. Its full title Suite in the olden style, from Holberg s time, 1884 points to an antique flavour introduced by Grieg s choice of baroque dance forms: sarabande, gavotte, gigue and rigaudon. Grieg s sense of appropriateness led him to restrict himself to the genres and tempos that would have been familiar to Holberg during his lifetime, and yet through these limitations Grieg s characteristic style is unmistakable. Listening Guide This costume piece, as Grieg dubbed the Holberg Suite, begins with a jaunty Prelude. Its vigorous and flamboyant string writing provides a foil for more sustained melodic writing this is music suggestive of baroque keyboard preludes. The Sarabande reflects a late 19th-century understanding of this courtly dance. As happened with so many court dances of the baroque era, the sarabande began life in the 16th century as something energetic, wild even. By Holberg s time its Latin fire surrendered to a more sedate and serious character, and for Grieg s contemporaries the sarabande was almost unrecognisable as dance music. This one is marked Andante (a walking pace), but it takes us on a slow and sombre stroll. Grieg s Gavotte adopts the rhythmic trademark of this lively French dance: its momentum stems from the way each melodic phrase begins halfway through the bar, always tipping the music onto the downbeat of the following full bar. Halfway through the character shifts to something more folk-like with a section of music marked Musette. Here the lower strings have the job of imitating bagpipe drones (in Holberg s time the musette was a kind of bagpipe). The Air, marked Andante religioso, provides a moment of solemnity. The music is reminiscent of a Bach aria, with an intricate melody that sings and sighs over a pulsing accompaniment. A Rigaudon provides the spirited finale of this charming tribute to times gone by. It begins with the concertmaster and a solo viola over the lightest of accompaniments 7 Sydney Symphony

7 (cellos and basses are excluded from the texture at first). Gradually the bass line is thickened and the natural boisterousness of the rigaudon, a leaping dance, is in evidence. In the middle of the movement as in the Gavotte there is a shift of mood, with more lyrical writing and a relaxation of the tempo. **** The Holberg Suite was originally written for piano before Grieg reworked it for string orchestra. Believing that his publishers would reject the work, Grieg told them that the string version came first. This is not so unbelievable since the parts are so beautifully and naturally written for the instruments, and in many ways the music benefits from the sustained and singing sounds not possible on a piano. It has now been accepted into the staple repertoire of string orchestras around the world, and although it is programmed far less frequently by symphony orchestras, Grieg s grateful and idiomatic writing never fails to give orchestral strings an opportunity to demonstrate stylishness and good taste. Grieg restricted himself to the genres that Holberg would have known, yet his own characteristic style is unmistakable. ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY KYLIE BURTLAND SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA 1995/2008 LISTENING GUIDE BY YVONNE FRINDLE SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2008 Grieg s Holberg Suite is scored for string orchestra. The Sydney Symphony first performed the Holberg Suite in a 1943 studio concert conducted by J. Farnsworth Hall. In recent years selected movements have been played in family and schools concerts this is the first performance of the complete suite in a subscription concert since 1987 when John Hopkins conducted it in a Meet the Music concert. 8 Sydney Symphony

8 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No.13 in C, K415 Allegro Andante Allegro Jasminka Stancul piano The sequence of Mozart s piano concertos is so full of marvellous riches that it is difficult to imagine why he was not more successful in Vienna, having got Salzburg behind him. The problem seems to have been that Mozart s invention was simply too much for his audiences too rich, and too demanding. This was recognised by his colleagues: it was Dittersdorf who commented He was so astonishingly rich in ideas I could only wish he had not been so extravagant with them. He gives the listener no time to draw breath; for when one wants to ponder one beautiful idea there is another even finer one to drive the first away Mozart didn t start out that way in Vienna. Writing to his father in December 1782 about the first three concertos he had composed there, Mozart described them as: a happy medium between what is too easy and too difficult; they are brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and natural, without being vapid. There are passages here and there from which connoisseurs alone can derive satisfaction; but these passages are written in such a way that the less learned cannot fail to be pleased, though without knowing why. Mozart offered the three concertos for sale in January 1783, and played them in concerts in March. With an eye on the market, he indicated that these three concertos (K413 in F, K414 in A, and K415 in C) could be played a quattro, that is to say with accompaniment for strings only, single or multiplied. Although the parts for winds can be left out, since they provide extra colour and brilliance rather than having essential parts in the musical discourse, to do so would particularly impoverish the third concerto this one. Here Mozart used the biggest orchestra in his concertos thus far, with trumpets and kettledrums in addition to pairs of oboes, bassoons and horns. Keynotes MOZART Born Salzburg, 1756 Died Vienna, 1791 In 1781 Mozart moved from Salzburg, where he felt stifled, to Vienna. There he found a fresh audience that was eager to hear him as a composer and as a performer, and in his piano concertos the two opportunities were combined a sure fire way to make his name in a new city. Mozart began adding new concertos to the halfdozen he had already completed in Salzburg, beginning with a couple of concert rondos for piano and orchestra and the set of three concertos to which K415 belongs. PIANO CONCERTO K415 This concerto was composed in December 1782, offered for publication the following January and premiered by Mozart himself in March. It was shrewdly offered for sale as a concerto that could be performed with just a small group of strings, but the optional woodwind instruments, brass and timpani add essential brilliance and colour even if they don t add essential notes. Each of the three movements is full of rich and varied ideas, and the finale shows the 26-year-old Mozart, perhaps buoyed by new success, in a particularly whimsical mood. 9 Sydney Symphony

9 This portrait by Mozart s brotherin-law Joseph Lange was begun in the same year as the three piano concertos (K ). It was never completed, but the shape of the empty space on the left of the painting indicates that it was intended to show Mozart sitting at the keyboard. a potential symphony into which a part for piano solo has strayed. PHILIP RADCLIFFE Listening Guide The orchestral opening is very grand, and full of ideas, so much so that when the soloist enters, the impression is given, as Philip Radcliffe suggests, of a potential symphony into which a part for piano solo has strayed. The key of C major and the march rhythm result in what Girdlestone calls an Olympian strain which often comes into Mozart s music in this key. Imitations and canons, not very fully developed, reflect the study of the polyphonic masters, which Mozart had begun in the year This is conspicuous in a passage, after the first tutti, in which violas, first and second violins set up a contrapuntal discourse over a held pedal note. But much of this music will not be heard again; once the piano has entered (with a cadenza leading to a trill), Mozart seems to remember the limitations of his audience, and proceeds along more conventional lines. The orchestra retreats into the background, but in one respect this concerto is prophetic, in giving the soloist a theme which will remain its exclusive property. This is the second subject of the movement. The imitative treatment returns in the development section, bringing one particularly 10 Sydney Symphony

10 attractive passage where the soloist adds a decorative counterpoint to a repetition of the main theme. After another burst of solo virtuosity, there is a brief and striking excursion into the minor mode before the first subject returns. Mozart provided a cadenza for this movement which treats the themes with energy. The second movement has had a bad press from Mozart scholars, Alfred Einstein calling it one of Mozart s least ambitious slow movements, and Girdlestone finding it completely insignificant. Mozart wrote four and a half bars of a movement in C minor, then crossed them out, no doubt abandoning the idea as too serious in character for this work, and instead used C minor in the episodes of the third movement. Since the main theme is repeated so many times, there is pleasure in how Mozart embellishes it on its returns. The rondo (Allegro) is the most interesting movement. It is irregular in structure, and unpredictable, described by Einstein as almost a capriccio, an expression of Mozart s whimsicality and delight in suddenly changing moods. The main idea is a kind of gigue, followed by a couple of contrasting ideas from the orchestra. Then the piano comes in, in the key of C minor, the tempo dropping to Adagio, in 2/4 time, with a poignant expressiveness. Only a brief interruption, this, to the high spirits, as the rondo themes return. The middle section, after a semi-portentous call to attention, brings great bravura from the soloist, then it plays with the orchestra around the rondo theme. After this, the same idea which introduced the middle section unexpectedly brings back instead an elaborated version of the C minor episode, before a coda in which quivering figures from both soloist and orchestra take over completely, as the music waves its farewell, leaving the stage. an expression of Mozart s whimsicality and delight in suddenly changing moods. DAVID GARRETT 2007 Mozart s concerto K415 is scored for strings with optional wind parts pairs of oboes, bassoons, horns and trumpets and timpani. The Sydney Symphony first performed this concerto in 1973 with Willem van Otterloo and soloist Malcolm Frager. This is the Orchestra s first performance of the concerto since then. 11 Sydney Symphony

11 Frank Bridge Suite for string orchestra Prelude Intermezzo Nocturne Finale In 1924 the young Benjamin Britten heard Frank Bridge conduct his orchestral suite The Sea and was, famously, knocked sideways by it. In 1927 he began taking lessons with Bridge, and a decade later paid the highest tribute to his teacher in the masterly Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Bridge knew within minutes of meeting the 14-year old that Britten s was a special talent; Britten was eternally grateful for Bridge s scrupulous attention to good technique, the business of saying clearly what was in one s mind. Bridge was treated with some suspicion by Britten s straight-laced family. As his sister remembered, he resembled the popular idea of the artist in those days. He had long hair, was very excitable, and Keynotes BRIDGE Born Brighton, 1879 Died Eastbourne, 1941 Bridge was a conductor and viola player as well as a masterly composer, but he tends to be remembered as the teacher of Benjamin Britten and the inspiration for Britten s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. His influences include Brahms (via Charles Villiers Stanford, who had taught Bridge at the Royal College of Music) and traces of the French aesthetic (Fauré as well as Debussy). SUITE FOR STRINGS The Suite for string orchestra was composed in 1908, and reveals a violist s sympathy for the idiom and sounds of string instruments. It is in four movements with sharply defined contrasts of mood between them: a lyrical prelude, the buoyant and dance-like Intermezzo, the poetic Nocturne ( night music ) and an energetic finale. Of these the Nocturne represents the profound heart of the suite. 12 Sydney Symphony

12 talked a lot. Our father was very conservative and could not stand anyone who talked as much, thinking it showed an empty mind. Bridge was the quietly radical kind of artist that Britain often produces. He had a fiercely independent mind he was a committed pacifist, for instance and was more interested in finding a unique internationalist voice than in being part of the revival of English folksong and older liturgical music that contemporaries like Vaughan Williams and Holst were pursuing. As a result, he was largely ignored by the establishment and, as Anthony Payne has put it, the isolation of English musical life from far-reaching developments abroad was an obstacle to the recognition of Bridge s later works. After his death his music fell into almost complete neglect, though interest was subsequently revived. Bridge s prodigious technique owes much to his early study of violin and his subsequent move to viola an instrument which many of the greatest composers played. He was a member of several quartets at various times, filling in for the legendary Joachim Quartet s violist at short notice and, as a founding member of the English String Quartet, giving the first British performance of Debussy s String Quartet in In 1913 he performed in Ravel s Introduction and Allegro with the composer directing. Not only, then, was he much more receptive to contemporary European developments than many of his contemporaries, his experience as a performing musician gave him an extremely refined craft. Not surprisingly he was also a fine conductor in some ways too good, as he was often called upon to fill in at the last minute. From the 1920s on his music became more personal, emotive and more inclined to engage with the styles of composers like Berg. This has been attributed to two factors. A pacifist, he was appalled by the First World War and dedicated important works, like his Lament for string orchestra and the Piano Sonata, to people who had lost their lives. It has also been argued that at this time he emerged fully from the shadow of his fearsome Anglo-Irish teacher Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. It was then that Bridge s reputation reached its apogee as far afield as the USA, but the decline in his popularity began in the 1930s. Reviews like one in The Times, which accused Bridge of wanting to uglify his music to keep it up to date can t have helped. Bridge resembled the popular idea of the artist in those days. He had long hair, was very excitable, and talked a lot. 13 Sydney Symphony

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14 The Suite for strings was composed in 1908, shortly after his marriage to Ethel Sinclair, an Australian who was a fellow student at the Royal College of Music. In general genial, and conceived with an insider s knowledge of string instruments, it is largely typical of Bridge s first period. Its overall design four contrasting movements and the harmonic palette that Bridge favours, reflect the prevailing Brahmsian aesthetic which Stanford upheld and taught at the RCM. There are, perhaps inevitably, some echoes of Elgar s lighter music, particularly in certain buoyant passages in the opening movement. But as Norman Lebrecht has noted, Bridge was adept at using chamber music to subvert English convention. As a result even as chaste a work as the Suite has some dangerously French overtones, the influence perhaps of Fauré as much as Debussy. The Nocturne is arguably the kernel of the work it s certainly no surprise that Britten, too, was drawn to night as a subject for some of his best music. Anthony Payne has remarked on the tonal instability of this movement, its tendency like that of Debussy and Berg, in their different ways, to subvert the stability of tonal music. Bridge restores a semblance of order in the Finale, but the Nocturne provides a glimpse of how his music would evolve in the next decades. And as Payne remarks, The poetic insight and consummate technique of his work promise it a permanent place in the repertory. even as chaste a work as the Suite has some dangerously French overtones. GORDON KERRY 2008 This is the Sydney Symphony s first performance of Bridge s Suite for strings. ORCHESTRA NEWS The Sydney Symphony is pleased to announce the formal appointment of two of our violinists to titled positions in the orchestra. Congratulations to Sun Yi, Associate Concertmaster, and Kirsty Hilton, Assistant Concertmaster. 15 Sydney Symphony

15 GLOSSARY AIR another word for aria or song. The word is often applied to an instrumental piece in a singing style. CADENZA a virtuoso passage, traditionally inserted towards the end of a concerto movement and marking the final cadence. CANON music in which a melody is presented by one voice and then repeated by one or more other voices, each entering before the previous voice has finished. Childhood singing rounds are the most common form of canon. (Canon is also a form of polyphony.) COUNTERPOINT two or more different musical lines or melodies played at the same time; also the technique of composing music in this way, often studied as a subject in itself. INTERMEZZO in the middle ; originally an operatic term, in the 19th-century an intermezzo was an independent instrumental work of lyrical character. PEDAL NOTE a single low note sustained or reiterated below ( at the foot of ) changing harmonies in the upper voices. POLYPHONIC a musical texture in which the parts move independently, with their own melodic shapes and rhythms, and vertical harmonies are created almost incidentally through the coming together of the different horizontal lines. This style of composition flourished in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and the POLYPHONIC MASTERS included the great Johann Sebastian Bach. RONDO a musical form in which a main idea (refrain) alternates with a series of musical episodes. Rondo form is a common structure for the finales of concertos and symphonies. SONATA FORM this term was conceived in the 19th century to describe the harmonically based structure most Classical composers had adopted for the first movements of their sonatas and symphonies. It involves the EXPOSITION, or presentation of themes and subjects: the first in the tonic or home key, the second in a contrasting key. The tension between the two keys is intensified in the DEVELOPMENT, where the themes are manipulated and varied as the music moves further and further away from the ultimate goal of the home key. Tension is resolved in the RECAPITULATION, where both subjects are restated in the tonic. Sometimes a CODA ( tail ) is added to enhance the sense of finality. BAROQUE DANCE FORMS GAVOTTE a French dance with a two-note upbeat, which results in the phrases beginning and ending in the middle of a bar. It had a regular rhythm and a strong sense of balance. GIGUE the French word for jig ; a gigue is a lively dance with characteristic skipping rhythms. MUSETTE this term has been given to several musical instruments with a rustic character (a simple bagpipe in the 17th and 18th centuries, a basic oboe in the mid-19th century); it can also refer to an 18th-century dance piece that uses a drone bass to evoke the sound of bagpipes. RIGAUDON a Provençal dance, featuring a characteristic step consisting of a hop, two steps and a jump. SARABANDE a Baroque dance of Spanish origins, in triple time; it is characterised by a distinctive rhythm in which the second of the three beats (which is usually the weakest beat) is accented. In much of the classical repertoire, movement titles are taken from the Italian words that indicate the tempo and mood. A selection of terms from this program is included here. Allegro fast Andante at a walking pace This glossary is intended only as a quick and easy guide, not as a set of comprehensive and absolute definitions. Most of these terms have many subtle shades of meaning which cannot be included for reasons of space. 16 Sydney Symphony

16 MUSICIAN SNAPSHOT Alexandre Oguey my voice For French-Swiss cor anglais player Alexandre Oguey, moving to Australia with his wife, oboist Diana Doherty, was always an attractive prospect. Born in the small town of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, Alexandre always felt that the German part of his country was very foreign. I had much bigger cultural shock going to Zurich than coming to Sydney. Australia and its easygoingness is somehow a bit more closer to my heart I think. Some ten years ago, to stave off Diana s growing homesickness, they decided to look for jobs in Australia. As luck would have it, at that time there were three vacancies in the Sydney Symphony. Although successful in securing both Second Oboe and Cor Anglais positions, the choice was clear. The cor anglais was the instrument I always loved. With the cor, I have my voice. It s just what suits me. Possessing a timbre well-suited to slow, expressive music, Alexandre confesses that his instrument often misses out on playing the difficult fast passages. But I m not a show-off, so I don t do show-off music. More often, I join the slow melodies with the French horns, or violas and celli. I love it. Occupying a unique role within the woodwind section, the cor anglais can claim a substantial collection of orchestral solos. Shostakovich s Eighth Symphony has one of the best cor solos, enthuses Alexandre. It s quite a long solo, and nearly all of it is very free. You practice what you d like to do, but you have to be ready to do exactly the opposite. Flexibility is the key. He recalls the challenge on one occasion of phrasing this solo with Estonian Neeme Järvi conducting He really looked at me in the eyes and didn t let me go at all. He was taking me where he wanted to go, so I couldn t be at all personal in any way. French music is also a favourite, of course. Debussy and Ravel are scrumptious for the woodwinds. They re always very hard, but it s basically the best writing you can find. Alexandre concedes that the focus is not always on his instrument. Strauss s Alpine Symphony doesn t have a great cor anglais part because you can t really hear much of it. But it s so fantastic to play. For me, it s my Alps. It s my mountains. I just absolutely love it. The perfect thing to ward off a bout of homesickness for a Swissie far from his native land. GENEVIEVE LANG Sydney Symphony

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18 MORE MUSIC Selected Discography Broadcast Diary HOLBERG SUITE Grieg s suite receives an invigorating performance by the National Philharmonic Orchestra under Willi Boskovsky. On the same disc Elegiac and Nordic melodies, the Op.54 Lyric Suite, and other pieces. ELOQUENCE MOZART CONCERTOS A QUATTRO Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic have recorded this concerto together with the other two in Mozart s original grouping (K413 and K414) TELDEC For a historical approach, try fortepianist Malcolm Bilson with John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists in a 9-CD set of Mozart piano concertos ARCHIV PRODUKTION (DG) And if you re interested in hearing these concertos with the alternative a quattro chamber accompaniment using single strings, try Susan Tomes and the Gaudier Ensemble. HYPERION CDA FRANK BRIDGE Bridge s Suite for strings and miniatures are presented alongside music by his exact contemporary John Ireland. The London Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. LYRITA 242 The Suite is also included in Volume 5 of the Chandos Frank Bridge Series, with performances by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Richard Hickox. CHANDOS MARCH APRIL 31 March, 1pm THE GOLDEN SPINNING WHEEL (2002) Mark Elder conductor Dvořák 1 April, 6.30pm EXOTICA Matthew Coorey conductor Scott Kinmont euphonium Rameau, Bracegirdle, Ravel, Bartók 11 April, 1pm WALTON VIOLIN CONCERTO (2007) Hugh Wolff conductor Michael Dauth violin 14 April, 7pm BRAHMS FIFTH SYMPHONY Paul Daniel conductor Ralph Kirshbaum cello Dvořák, Bloch, Brahms orch. Schoenberg 16 April, 1.05pm JASMINKA STANCUL IN RECITAL D. Scarlatti, Beethoven, Schumann 19 April, SHOSTAKOVICH 8 Steven Sloane conductor Tabea Zimmermann viola Lentz, Shostakovich 2MBS-FM SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2008 Tue 11 March, 6pm What s on in concerts, with interviews and music. Guest: Roger Benedict Webcast Diary JASMINKA STANCUL Jasminka Stancul s recordings include two Beethoven concertos (Nos.1 and 5) recorded last year with Gustav Kuhn and the Haydn Orchestra of Bozen and Trient and available on the Austrian label col legno ( COL LEGNO WWE 1CD She has also recorded several discs of chamber music by Brahms and Schubert with the Vienna String Quartet, available on Camerata Records. Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are recorded for webcast by BigPond. Visit: sydneysymphony.bigpondmusic.com Available now: RAVEL S ROMANCES (OPENING GALA CONCERT) April webcast: BRAHMS FIFTH SYMPHONY Dvořák, Bloch, Brahms orch. Schoenberg Live webcast on Monday 14 April at 7pm, then On Demand from later in the month. sydneysymphony.com Visit the Sydney Symphony online for concert information, podcasts, and to read the program book in advance of the concert. 19 Sydney Symphony

19 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Michael Dauth violin-director CO-CONCERTMASTER OF THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY Of English-German origin, Michael Dauth began violin studies under the direction of his father, later studying with Franz Josef Maier and the Amadeus Quartet in Cologne, and with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London. Soon after, he became Concertmaster of Hanover s North German Radio Orchestra and successfully auditioned for the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. He was invited to lead the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, Berlin Piano Trio and Chamber Virtuosi. In 1988 he moved to Australia, became Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony, and was a founding member, Special Concertmaster and Artistic Director of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Japan, a position he still holds today. Michael Dauth has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. His chamber music partners include Wenzel Fuchs, Pavel Gillilov, Phillip Moll, Karl Leister, Gerhard Oppitz, Leif Ove Andsnes, Cyprien Katsaris, Hiroku Nakamura, Vadim Sakarov, Geoffrey Tozer and Piers Lane, and he has appeared at all the major festivals including Salzburg, Lucerne, Berlin and Tokyo. He has recorded the Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn violin concertos, the Beethoven Romances, works by Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Kreisler and Drdla, Schnittke s Concerto Grosso (which received the Deutsche Grammophon prize in Japan), and the world premiere recording of Takemitsu s Nostalghia. An all-johann Strauss recording featuring Michael Dauth directing the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, and a recording of the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets with his Japanbased Sunrise String Quartet and Wenzel Fuchs were released in Michael Dauth is frequently a guest professor and a juror at international violin competitions. In 2003 he received the Centenary medal awarded by the Governor- General for service to Australian society and the advancement of music. As Concertmaster, Michael Dauth is sponsored by the Board and Council of the Sydney Symphony as part of the Orchestra s Directors Chairs program. KEITH SAUNDERS 20 Sydney Symphony

20 Jasminka Stancul piano Jasminka Stancul was born in Serbia and is now an Austrian citizen. She studied in her home country as well as at the Music Conservatory in Vienna with Noel Flores. The Swiss Government subsequently awarded her a two-year scholarship, allowing her to study in Maria Tipo s masterclass in Geneva. Since winning the first prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1989, Jasminka Stancul has performed with orchestras throughout Europe. These include the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, and, outside Austria, the Prague and Berlin Symphony Orchestras; Slovenian, Warsaw, Zagreb and Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestras; the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, and the philharmonic orchestras of Luxembourg and Liège. Outside Europe she has appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Her festival appeareances include the Ruhr Piano Festival, Schleswig-Holstein and Rheingau Music Festival, Maggio Musicale (Florence), Settimane Musicale di Stresa, Viennese and Carinthian summer music festivals, Radio France Montpellier, and festivals in Toulouse, Besançon and Bratislava. In 2005 she made her recital debut in the Brahms Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. She also collaborates with the Vienna String Quartet (an ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic), regularly touring Japan. Since December 2006 she has performed with the Vienna Brahms Trio, including performances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria Santander. She has also played chamber music with violinist Christian Altenburger and cellists Boris Pergamenschikov and David Geringas. Recent highlights have included Mozart s Piano Concerto K271 (Jeunehomme) in Linz, Salzburg and Vienna, and in the 2006 anniversary year she frequent performed Mozart throughout Europe, including appearances with the St Petersburg Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Her recordings have included all-beethoven concerts, Schubert trios and the Trout Quintet with Ensemble Wien, as well as recordings for German and Austrian radio. This is Jasminka Stancul s Australian concerto and recital debut. 21 Sydney Symphony

21 THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales JOHN MARMARAS Founded in 1932, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world s great cities. Last year the Orchestra celebrated its 75th anniversary and the milestone achievements during its distinguished history. Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the Sydney Symphony also performs concerts in a variety of venues around Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the Orchestra world-wide recognition for artistic excellence. Critical to the success of the Sydney Symphony has been the leadership given by its former Chief Conductors including: Sir Eugene Goossens, Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon,Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Stuart Challender and Edo de Waart. Also contributing to the outstanding success of the Orchestra have been collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky. Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, whose appointment followed a ten-year relationship with the Orchestra as Guest Conductor, is now in his fifth and final year as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony, a position he holds in tandem with that of Music Director at Rome Opera. Maestro Gelmetti s particularly strong rapport with French and German repertoire is complemented by his innovative programming in the Shock of the New concerts. The Sydney Symphony s award-winning Education Program is central to the Orchestra s commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The Sydney Symphony also maintains an active commissioning program promoting the work of Australian composers, and recent premieres have included major works by Ross Edwards and Brett Dean, as well as Liza Lim, who was composer-in-residence from 2004 to In 2009 Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy will begin his three-year tenure as Conductor and Artistic Advisor. 22 Sydney Symphony

22 MUSICIANS Gianluigi Gelmetti Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Michael Dauth Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council Dene Olding Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council First Violins Second Violins First Violins 01 Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster 02 Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster Kirsty Hilton Assistant Concertmaster 03 Fiona Ziegler 04 Julie Batty 05 Gu Chen 06 Amber Gunther 07 Rosalind Horton 08 Jennifer Hoy 09 Jennifer Johnson 10 Georges Lentz 11 Nicola Lewis 12 Alexandra Mitchell Moon Design Chair of Violin 13 Léone Ziegler Sophie Cole Second Violins 01 Marina Marsden 02 Emma West Associate 02 Susan Dobbie Emeritus 04 Pieter Bersée 05 Maria Durek 06 Emma Hayes 07 Shuti Huang 08 Stan Kornel 09 Benjamin Li 10 Nicole Masters 11 Philippa Paige 12 Biyana Rozenblit 13 Maja Verunica Guest Musicians Alexander Norton Second Violin# Leigh Middenway Second Violin Robert Llewellyn Bassoon# # = Contract Musician 23 Sydney Symphony

23 MUSICIANS Violas Cellos Double Basses Harp Flutes Piccolo Violas 01 Roger Benedict Andrew Turner and Vivian Chang Chair of Viola 02 Anne Louise Comerford Associate 03 Yvette Goodchild Assistant 04 Robyn Brookfield 05 Sandro Costantino 06 Jane Hazelwood 07 Graham Hennings 08 Mary McVarish 09 Justine Marsden 10 Leonid Volovelsky 11 Felicity Wyithe Cellos 01 Catherine Hewgill 02 Nathan Waks 03 Leah Lynn Assistant 04 Kristy Conrau 05 Fenella Gill 06 Timothy Nankervis 07 Elizabeth Neville 08 Adrian Wallis 09 David Wickham Double Basses 01 Kees Boersma Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Double Bass 02 Alex Henery 03 Neil Brawley Emeritus 04 David Campbell 05 Steven Larson 06 Richard Lynn 07 David Murray Gordon Hill (contract, courtesy Auckland Philharmonic) Harp Louise Johnson Mulpha Australia Chair of Harp Flutes 01 Janet Webb 02 Emma Sholl Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Flute 03 Carolyn Harris Piccolo Rosamund Plummer 24 Sydney Symphony

24 MUSICIANS Oboes 01 Cor Anglais Clarinets Bass Clarinet Bassoons Contrabassoon Horns Trumpets Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani 01 Percussion Piano Oboes 01 Diana Doherty Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Oboe 02 Shefali Pryor Associate Cor Anglais Alexandre Oguey Clarinets 01 Lawrence Dobell 02 Francesco Celata Associate 03 Christopher Tingay Bass Clarinet Craig Wernicke Bassoons 01 Matthew Wilkie 02 Roger Brooke Associate 03 Fiona McNamara Contrabassoon Noriko Shimada Horns 01 Robert Johnson 02 Ben Jacks 03 Geoff O Reilly 3rd 04 Lee Bracegirdle Euan Harvey 05 Marnie Sebire Trumpets 01 Daniel Mendelow 02 Paul Goodchild The Hansen Family Chair of Associate Trumpet 03 John Foster 04 Anthony Heinrichs Trombone 01 Ronald Prussing NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Trombone 02 Scott Kinmont Associate 03 Nick Byrne Rogen International Chair of Trombone Bass Trombone Christopher Harris Trust Foundation Chair of Bass Trombone Tuba Steve Rossé Timpani 01 Richard Miller Adam Jeffrey Assistant Timpani/Tutti Percussion Percussion 01 Rebecca Lagos 02 Colin Piper Piano Josephine Allan (contract) 25 Sydney Symphony

25 SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Company is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW PLATINUM PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS 26 Sydney Symphony

26 SILVER PARTNERS REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS BRONZE PARTNERS MARKETING PARTNERS PATRONS Australia Post Austrian National Tourist Office Beyond Technology Consulting Bimbadgen Estate Wines J. Boag & Son Vittoria Coffee Avant Card Blue Arc Group Lindsay Yates and Partners 2MBS Sydney s Fine Music Station The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the many music lovers who contribute to the Orchestra by becoming Symphony Patrons. Every donation plays an important part in the success of the Sydney Symphony s wide ranging programs. The Sydney Symphony applauds the leadership role our Partners play and their commitment to excellence, innovation and creativity. 27 Sydney Symphony

27 DIRECTORS CHAIRS A leadership program which links Australia s top performers in the executive and musical worlds. For information about the Directors Chairs program, please contact Alan Watt on (02) GREG BARRETT KEITH SAUNDERS 01 Mulpha Australia Chair of Harp, Louise Johnson 02 Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Flute, Emma Sholl 03 Sandra and Paul Salteri Chair of Artistic Director Education, Richard Gill OAM 04 Jonathan Sweeney, Managing Director Trust with Trust Foundation Chair of Bass Trombone, Christopher Harris 05 NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Trombone, Ronald Prussing 06 Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Double Bass, Kees Boersma 07 Board and Council of the Sydney Symphony supports Chairs of Concertmaster Michael Dauth and Dene Olding 08 Gerald Tapper, Managing Director Rogen International with Rogen International Chair of Trombone, Nick Byrne 09 Stuart O Brien, Managing Director Moon Design with Moon Design Chair of Violin, Alexandra Mitchell 10 Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Oboe, Diana Doherty 11 Andrew Turner and Vivian Chang Chair of Viola and Artistic Director, Fellowship Program, Roger Benedict 12 The Hansen Family Chair of Associate Trumpet, Paul Goodchild 28 Sydney Symphony

28 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the Orchestra each year. Every gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Because we are now offering free programs and space is limited we are unable to list donors who give between $100 and $499 please visit sydneysymphony.com for a list of all our patrons. Patron Annual Donations Levels Maestri $10,000 and above Virtuosi $5000 to $9999 Soli $2500 to $4999 Tutti $1000 to $2499 Supporters $500 to $999 To discuss giving opportunities, please call Alan Watt on (02) Maestri Brian Abel & the late Ben Gannon AO Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth * Mr Robert O Albert AO * Alan & Christine Bishop Sandra & Neil Burns * Mr Ian & Mrs Jennifer Burton Libby Christie & Peter James The Clitheroe Foundation * Mr John C Conde AO Mr John Curtis Penny Edwards * Mr J O Fairfax AO * Fred P Archer Charitable Trust Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre* Mr Harcourt Gough Mr David Greatorex AO & Mrs Deirdre Greatorex The Hansen Family Mr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor AO H Kallinikos Pty Ltd Mrs Joan MacKenzie Mr E J Merewether & Mrs T Merewether OAM * Mr B G O Conor The Paramor Family * The Ian Potter Foundation Dr John Roarty in memory of Mrs June Roarty Mr Paul & Mrs Sandra Salteri Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet Cooke Andrew Turner & Vivian Chang Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White Anonymous (2) * Virtuosi Mrs Antoinette Albert Mr Roger Allen & Mrs Maggie Gray Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Mr Greg Daniel Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway Mr & Mrs Paul Hoult Irwin Imhof in memory of Herta Imhof Mr Stephen Johns Mr & Mrs Gilles T Kryger Ms Ann Lewis AM Helen Lynch AM & Helen Bauer Mr & Mrs David Milman Miss Rosemary Pryor * Bruce & Joy Reid Foundation* Rodney Rosenblum AM & Sylvia Rosenblum * Mrs Helen Selle David Smithers AM & Family Ms Gabrielle Trainor In memory of Dr William & Mrs Helen Webb Michael & Mary Whelan Trust Anonymous (1) Soli Mr Anthony Berg AM Ms Jan Bowen Hilmer Family Trust Ms Ann Hoban Mr Paul Hotz Mrs Judith McKernan Miss Margaret N MacLaren * Mr David Maloney Mrs Mora Maxwell Mr James & Mrs Elsie Moore Mr Geoff Wood & Ms Melissa Waites Ray Wilson OAM & the late James Agapitos OAM* Anonymous (4) Tutti Mr C R Adamson Mr Henri W Aram OAM Mr Terrey & Mrs Anne Arcus Mr David Barnes Mrs Joan Barnes Mr Stephen J Bell * Mr Alexander & Mrs Vera Boyarsky Mr David S Brett * Mr Maximo Buch * Mrs Lenore P Buckle Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill Mr Bob & Mrs Julie Clampett Mr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret Cunningham Lisa & Miro Davis * Mrs Ashley Dawson-Damer Mr Peter & Mrs Mary Doyle * Mr & Mrs J B Fairfax AM Mr Ian Fenwicke & Prof Neville Wills Mrs Dorit & Mr William Franken Mr Arshak & Ms Sophie Galstaun In memory of Hetty Gordon Mrs Akiko Gregory Miss Janette Hamilton Mr A & Mrs L Heyko-Porebski Mr Philip Isaacs OAM Mr & Mrs E Katz Miss Anna-Lisa Klettenberg Mr Andrew Korda & Ms Susan Pearson Mr Justin Lam Dr Paul A L Lancaster & Dr Raema Prowse Dr Garth Leslie * Mrs Belinda Lim & Mr Arti Ortis Mr Gary Linnane Ms Karen Loblay Mr Bob Longwell Mr Andrew & Mrs Amanda Love Mrs Carolyn A Lowry OAM Mr & Mrs R Maple-Brown Mr Robert & Mrs Renee Markovic Mrs Alexandra Martin & the Late Mr Lloyd Martin AM Wendy McCarthy AO Mrs Barbara McNulty OBE Ms Margaret Moore & Dr Paul Hutchins * Mr Robert Orrell Timothy & Eva Pascoe Ms Patricia Payn Mr Adrian & Mrs Dairneen Pilton Ms Robin Potter Mr Ernest & Mrs Judith Rapee Dr K D Reeve AM Mrs Patricia H Reid Ms Juliana Schaeffer Derek & Patricia Smith Catherine Stephen Mr Fred & Mrs Dorothy Street Mr Georges & Mrs Marliese Teitler Mr Ken Tribe AC & Mrs Joan Tribe Mr John E Tuckey Mrs Kathleen Tutton Ms Mary Vallentine AO Henry & Ruth Weinberg Audrey & Michael Wilson Anonymous (10) Supporters over $500 Richard Ackland PTW Architects Mr Chris & Mrs Mary Barrett Doug & Alison Battersby Mr Phil Bennett Gabrielle Blackstock Mr G D Bolton Dr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff A I Butchart * Marty Cameron Mr B & Mrs M Coles Mrs Catherine Gaskin Cornberg Mr Stan Costigan AO & Mrs Mary Costigan * Mrs M A Coventry Mr Michael Crouch AO * M Danos Mr Russell Farr Mr and Mrs David Feetham Mr Steve Gillett In memory of Angelica Green Anthony Gregg & Deanne Whittleston Dr & Mrs C Goldschmidt Beth Harpley * Rev H & Mrs M Herbert * Dr & Mrs Michael Hunter Intertravel Lindfield Mrs Greta James * Mr Stephen Jenkins * Dr Michael Joel AM & Mrs Anna Joel Professor Faith M Jones Ms Judy Joye Mr Noel Keen * Mrs Margaret Keogh * Iven & Sylvia Klineberg * Dr Barry Landa Mrs Joan Langley Dr & Mrs Leo Leader Mrs Margaret Lederman Ms A Le Marchant * Mr & Mrs Ezzelino Leonardi Barbara & Bernard Leser Erna & Gerry Levy AM Mr & Mrs S C Lloyd Mr James McCarthy * Mr Ian & Mrs Pam McGaw * Mr Matthew McInnes Ms Julie Manfredi-Hughes Kate & Peter Mason Justice Jane Matthews Ms J Millard * Mr Walter B Norris Miss C O Connor * Mrs Rachel O Conor Mr R A Oppen Mrs Roslyn Packer AO Mrs Jill Pain Dr Kevin Pedemont * Mr & Mrs Michael Potts Mr L T & Mrs L M Priddle * Mrs B Raghavan Mr John Reid AO Catherine Remond Mr John & Mrs Lynn Carol Reid Mr Brian Russell & Mrs Irina Singleman Mr M D Salamon In memory of H St P Scarlett * Mr John Scott Ms Ann Sherry AO Dr Agnes E Sinclair Dr John Sivewright & Ms Kerrie Kemp Dr Heng & Mrs Cilla Tey Mrs Elizabeth F Tocque * Mrs Merle Turkington Ronald Walledge Louise Walsh & David Jordan Mrs Christine Wenkart Dr Richard Wing Mr Robert Woods * Jill Wran Mrs Lucille Wrath Mrs R Yabsley Anonymous (14) Allegro Program supporter * Emerging Artist Fund supporter Stuart Challender Fund supporter Orchestra Fund supporter 29 Sydney Symphony