OCTOBER 2015 JULY

Transcription

1 OCTOBER 2015 JULY

2 Conductor s Introduction I am delighted to introduce the season, my tenth as principal conductor and artistic director of the Cambridge Philharmonic. Over the past decade, we have performed more than 70 concerts together in repertoire that has encompassed a whole musical alphabet of composers from Adams to Zimmermann. This season we offer a similarly rich mix of music, starting with Mozart s Requiem and the opportunity for you to join us in a performance of this celebrated masterwork. Scandinavia is the focus for our first West Road concert of the season with works by Sibelius, Grieg and the contemporary Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, whose Clarinet Concerto was such a success when we performed it with Mark Simpson a few years ago. Our annual opera performances have become something of a fixture in the Cambridge calendar, regularly attracting both a capacity audience and a star-studded cast. Having performed so much of Jonathan Dove s concert music in recent years, we are thrilled that this year s opera-in-concert will be Dove s The Adventures of Pinocchio, a piece that has delighted audiences worldwide. There will be the chance to hear a musical fairy tale of a very different kind when we perform Bluebeard s Castle in May. A brilliant young cast of singers from the Guildhall School in London will join us for this rare opportunity to hear Bartók s one-act opera. Other soloists this season include the inspirational young Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu, our very own leader, violinist Steve Bingham, and some of Britain s finest singers, including Rebecca Bottone, Mary Plazas, Jonathan Summers and Stephen Richardson, whose work takes them from Covent Garden to Salzburg and from La Scala to the Met. With choral works by Duruflé and Arvo Pärt, orchestral gems by Janác ek and Rachmaninov, much-loved pieces by Vaughan Williams and Walton not to mention our children s concert, which is part of the Dahl 100 celebrations there is plenty for music lovers young and old. Principal Conductor The world renowned Cambridge Philharmonic one of Cambridge s great city institutions. Local Secrets Season Summary Saturday 10 October 2015 Come and Sing: Mozart Requiem Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Cambridge Sunday 25 October 2015 Sibelius En Saga Grieg Piano Concerto Lindberg Chorale Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Saturday 19 December 2015 Dove The Adventures of Pinocchio Saturday 23 January 2016 Family Concert: Roald Dahl at 100 Saturday 5 March 2016 Arvo Pärt Te Deum Duruflé Requiem Saturday 21 May 2016 Janáček Jealousy Rachmaninov Spring Bartók Bluebeard s Castle Saturday 9 July 2016 Walton Te Deum Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony Ely Cathedral

3 Saturday 10 October 2015 Rehearsal 2-5pm Performance 6pm Come & Sing! Mozart Requiem Conductor Soprano Holly Czolacz Mezzo soprano Beth Moxon Tenor Will Blake Bass Michael Mofidian Cambridge Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra Tickets (unreserved): 15 participants (scores provided), 10 audience (Students and under-18s 10 on the door) Tickets from or on the door Powerful, radiant singing from the Phil chorus. Cambridge News Mozart combines serenity, melancholy, and tragic intensity into one great lyric improvisation. Over it all hovers the greater spirit that is Mozart s the spirit of compassion, of universal love, even of suffering a spirit that knows no age, that belongs to all ages. Leonard Bernstein The season begins with an invitation to join us not just as audience members, but as members of the chorus! Mozart s Requiem is one of the great masterpieces of all time and the chance to sing it with full orchestra, chorus and four exciting young soloists is not to be missed. Mozart received the commission to compose what would prove to be his final work from a mysterious figure acting on behalf of an anonymous patron. As his health began to fail, the ever-superstitious Mozart feared that he was writing his own requiem and left the work incomplete at the time of his premature death in 1791, aged only 35. Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Cambridge Sunday 25 October 2015 at 6.30pm Sibelius & Grieg Sibelius En Saga Grieg Piano Concerto Lindberg Chorale Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Conductor Piano Alexandra Dariescu Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra Alexandra Dariescu comes to the Cambridge Philharmonic for Grieg s Piano Concerto directly from New York. Named by BBC Music Magazine as a rising star, she featured in Forbes Magazine s 30 under 30, won the Prix Maurice Ravel in France and has received outstanding reviews around the world. Framing the programme are two contrasting works by the Finnish master, Jean Sibelius. En Saga is the expression of a state of mind In no other work have I revealed myself so completely, said Sibelius of his early tone poem. Tickets (reserved): 12, 16, 20, 25 (Students and under-18s 10 on the door) Alexandra Dariescu Alexandra Dariescu blew their minds sheer quality. Financial Times Music begins where the possibilities of language end. Jean Sibelius

4 Saturday 19 December 2015 at 6.30pm Jonathan Dove s The Adventures of Pinocchio An opera for all the family Saturday 23 January 2016 at 2.00pm and 4.00pm FamilyConcert Conductor Pinocchio Victoria Simmonds Geppetto Jonathan Summers Cricket Rebecca Bottone Fire-eater Stephen Richardson Blue Fairy Mary Plazas Cat Mark Wilde Jonathan Dove s brilliant, captivating and profoundly moving music has delighted audiences throughout the world. Now, for the first time in Cambridge, the Philharmonic is proud to present one of the most successful operas of recent times, The Adventures of Pinocchio an opera for all the family. Dove s retelling of the Pinocchio story is as exciting, witty and poignant as you would expect from one of today s most prolific and popular composers. This perfect introduction for all ages to the world of opera is led by members of the original award-winning Opera North cast and promises to be yet another unforgettable Cambridge Philharmonic production. Not since Benjamin Britten has a British composer succeeded in writing operas which communicate with such clarity and coherence to their audience as those by Jonathan Dove. The Gramophone Conductor Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra This year s family concerts are part of the Roald Dahl 100 celebrations, so you can be sure of some amazing musical adventures at West Road: there will be music to excite, to surprise and to inspire. As the BFG once put it, sometimes human beans is very overcome when they is hearing wonderous music. They is getting shivers down their spindels. We promise that, in the words of Willy Wonka, Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you! But like all the best surprises, you ll have to wait and see what they are! We loved the concert the whole performance was absolutely fantastic! Audience member Matilda said, Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it s unbelievable Roald Dahl, Matilda Tickets (reserved): 10 (under-18s), 15, 20, 25, 30 (Students 10 on the door) Tickets (reserved): 12 Box Office: (Cambridge Corn Exchange)

5 Saturday 5 March 2016 at 7.30pm Pärt & Duruflé Pärt Te Deum Duruflé Requiem Saturday 21 May 2016 at 7.30pm Conductor Mezzo soprano Baritone Bethan Langford Josep-Ramon Olivé Bluebeard s Castle Janác ek Z árlivost (Jealousy) Rachmaninov Spring Bartók Bluebeard s Castle Conductor Baritone (Spring) Christopher Cull Judith, Mezzo soprano Katarzyna Zielinska Bluebeard, Bass baritone Milan Siljanov The Society s concerts are always interestingly planned, always technically highgrade, regularly well-attended and always good value for money. Cambridge News Arvo Pärt and Maurice Duruflé were both profoundly inspired by the evocative sound of Gregorian plainchant. In the case of Duruflé, his whole life was infused with the music of the church: first as a chorister and then as one of France s foremost organists. The Requiem, his most celebrated work, was written as a memorial to his father and, like Fauré s Requiem, on which it is based, offers tranquillity, comfort and peace to the listener. Estonian composer Arvo Pärt began his career as a modernist, but a radical reappraisal of his style came about when he discovered the austere beauty of early church music. Now one of the most successful of all living composers, he has inspired countless others from Keith Jarrett to Björk. From his extraordinary and mystical sound world emerges music that is at the same time ancient and modern, sacred and secular. The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all. Arvo Pärt Marshalled to perfection by conductor. Time Out Based on the Perrault fairy tale Bluebeard, Bartók s one-act opera is a sinister and gripping psychological thriller. Judith, newly married to Bluebeard, arrives at her husband s castle for the first time. Finding seven locked doors she insists, against Bluebeard s wishes, that they be opened to let light into the gloomy and forbidding interior. Are you afraid?, asks Bluebeard as one by one, six of his dark secrets are revealed. Judith insists that despite the rumours about him, her love for her husband outweighs the fear she feels. But then comes the seventh door Rachmaninov s cantata Spring was written immediately after the Second Piano Concerto. Its lush romantic sound world underscores a tale of jealousy, a cuckolded husband s wish for murderous revenge and the redemptive power of spring. A nation creates music the composer only arranges it. Belá Bartók Tickets (reserved): 12, 16, 20, 25 (Students and under-18s 10 on the door) Tickets (reserved): 12, 16, 20, 25 (Students and under-18s 10 on the door)

6 Saturday 9 July 2016 at 7.30pm Cambridge Philharmonic Supporters Scheme The Lark Ascending Walton Vaughan Williams Conductor Violin Soprano Baritone Coronation Te Deum The Lark Ascending A Sea Symphony Steve Bingham Eleanor Dennis Mark Stone The season ends with the great choral masterpiece, A Sea Symphony. Setting poetry by Walt Whitman, Vaughan Williams paints a symphonic picture on a vast Turneresque canvas. His orchestration, inspired by lessons with Ravel, bursts with colour and invention and his writing for voices is rooted in the English choral tradition from which he was so proud to spring. Vaughan Williams violin concerto in miniature, The Lark Ascending regularly voted to be the nation s favourite piece of music by Classic FM listeners evokes tranquility, natural beauty and nostalgia for a world that no longer exists. The soloist is Steve Bingham, distinguished leader of the Cambridge Philharmonic and Artistic Director of the Ely Sinfonia. Tickets (reserved): 15, 20, 25 / (unreserved): 10 (Students and under-18s 10 on the door) Box Office: (Ely Cathedral) Online: tickets.elycathedral.org Parry once said to me: Write choral music as befits an Englishman and a democrat. We pupils of Parry have, if we have been wise, inherited from him the great English choral tradition... He has passed on the torch to us and is our duty to keep it alight. Vaughan Williams Steve Bingham this extraordinary performer. The Independent The Cambridge Philharmonic is a charitable organisation and has to be fully selfsupporting. Our main sources of revenue are ticket sales, membership fees and the generosity of Cambridge Philharmonic Supporters, which include businesses, trusts and individuals who share our vision, and whose support we gratefully acknowledge. The Cambridge Philharmonic Supporters Scheme (CPSS) is open to all and is intended to give music lovers an opportunity to become more closely involved with the Cambridge Philharmonic and its objectives. We cater for various levels of support and in return offer a range of benefits. These include an advance copy of our season brochure allowing preferential booking, acknowledgement on the Cambridge Philharmonic website and in newsletters, invitations to open rehearsals and the opportunity to sponsor a concert. The funding we receive through the Supporters Scheme is vitally important. It allows us to be more ambitious with our programmes, to engage leading musicians to work alongside our largely non-professional membership, and to continue to attract the enviable roster of world class soloists who perform with the Cambridge Philharmonic every season. For information on becoming a Cambridge Philharmonic Supporter please write to: friendssec@cam-phil.org.uk For information about concert sponsorship write to: chairman@cam-phil.org.uk For their continuing support we would especially like to thank: Patrons total eye care Principal Benefactors John Short and Debbie Lowther The Pye Foundation Benefactors Gillian and Edward Coe Rob and Janet Hook Donors David and Jackie Ball Gerard and Margaret Chadwick Churchill College Trinity College Friends Emmanuel College Pembroke College St John s College Ely Cathedral Cambridge Philharmonic Society, Registered Charity No Design & artwork: John Williams. Cambridge Philharmonic photos Bill Hiskett. Alexandra Dariescu photo London Studios. Other images: page 4 courtesy pixabay.com/peter Kraayvanger; page 8 courtesy pixabay.com/kismoslek; pages 5, 6, & 9 Dreamstime; page 7 courtesy Pixabay.com/WikiImages & Wikimedia Commons; page 10 Skylark Mikelane45 Dreamstime.com.

7 How to book Tickets for Saturday 9 July available from: Ely Cathedral Box Office: tickets.elycathedral.org Tickets for all other concerts available from: Corn Exchange Box Office, 3 Parsons Court, Cambridge CB2 3QE: or book online at West Road Concert Hall tickets & prices West Balcony S S T D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Stage S D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S E E 19 E S T Wheelchairs East Balcony Price 1 Balcony: Lowest price Price 2 Second price seats Price 3 Third price seats Price 4 Highest price seats Family Concert: all tickets 12 Please note: some seats in the balcony have a partially restricted view Wheelchair + companion Further information To join the Cambridge Philharmonic as a performer please chorus@cam-phil.org.uk or orchestra@cam-phil.org.uk For information on becoming a Cambridge Philharmonic Supporter please friendssec@cam-phil.org.uk To receive our newsletter about forthcoming concerts info@cam-phil.org.uk For information about concert sponsorship chairman@cam-phil.org.uk For all other enquiries, please secretary@cam-phil.org.uk

8 Jonathan Dove s The Adventures of Pinocchio An opera for all the family Castle Not since Benjamin Britten has a British composer succeeded in writing operas which communicate with such clarity and coherence to their audience as those by Jonathan Dove. The Gramophone Janác ek Z árlivost (Jealousy) Conductor Pinocchio Victoria Simmonds Geppetto Jonathan Summers Cricket Rebecca Bottone Fire-eater Stephen Richardson Blue Fairy Mary Plazas Cat Mark Wilde Jonathan Dove s brilliant, captivating and profoundly moving music has delighted audiences throughout the world. Now, for the first time in Cambridge, the Philharmonic is proud to present one of the most successful operas of recent times, The Adventures of Pinocchio an opera for all the family. Dove s retelling of the Pinocchio story is as exciting, witty and poignant as you would expect from one of today s most prolific and popular composers. This perfect introduction for all ages to the world of opera is led by members of the original award-winning Opera North cast and promises to be yet another unforgettable Cambridge Philharmonic production. Tickets (reserved): 10 (under-18s), 15, 20, 25, 30 (Students 10 on the door) Bluebeard s Rachmaninov Spring Bartók Bluebeard s Castle Conductor Baritone (Spring) Christopher Cull Judith, Mezzo soprano Katarzyna Zielinska Bluebeard, Bass baritone Milan Siljanov Based on the Perrault fairy tale Bluebeard, Bartók s one-act opera is a sinister and gripping psychological thriller. Judith, newly married to Bluebeard, arrives at her husband s castle for the first time. Finding seven locked doors she insists, against Bluebeard s wishes, that they be opened to let light into the gloomy and forbidding interior. Are you afraid?, asks Bluebeard as one by one, six of his dark secrets are revealed. Judith insists that despite the rumours about him, her love for her husband outweighs the fear she feels. But then comes the seventh door Rachmaninov s cantata Spring was written immediately after the Second Piano Concerto. Its lush romantic sound world underscores a tale of jealousy, a cuckolded husband s wish for murderous revenge and the redemptive power of spring. Tickets (reserved): 12, 16, 20, 25 (Students and under-18s 10 on the door) The Society s concerts are always interestingly planned, always technically high-grade, regularly well-attended and always good value for money. Cambridge News A nation creates music the composer only arranges it. Belá Bartók