PROGRAM AUGUST PERTH CONCERT HALL BRAHMS FESTIVAL * THE CONCERTOS & SYMPHONIES

Transcription

1 PROGRAM AUGUST PERTH CONCERT HALL BRAHMS FESTIVAL * THE CONCERTOS & SYMPHONIES

2 Photo: Caitlin Worthington Design: BronWYnrogers.CoM WesF1341

3 3 UPCOMING CONCERTS NOVEMBER CONCERTS WITH PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR ASHER FISH MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES Mahler s Titan Thurs 19 November 11am Perth Concert Hall Photo: Sussie Ahlburg Photo: Emma Van Dordrecht Mahler s First is a spectacular symphonic journey which traverses a vast and varied musical landscape before concluding in a blaze of triumphant, transcendent ecstasy. MAHLER Symphony No.1 Titan Asher Fisch conductor (pictured) Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts ALCOHOL.THINK AGAIN MASTERS SERIES Beethoven & Mahler Fri 20 & Sat 21 November 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Tickets from $27* This concert features masterpieces by two musical titans. Beethoven s Piano Concerto No.1 is the jubilant creation of a youthful genius. Mahler s astonishingly original First Symphony forever changed symphonic music. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.1 MAHLER Symphony No.1 Titan Asher Fisch conductor Ingrid Fliter piano (pictured) Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts Ingrid Fliter appears courtesy of Singapore Airlines Tickets from $30* Photo: James Campbell MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES Ravel s Bolero Thu 26, Fri, 27 & Sat 28 November 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Ravel s mesmerising Bolero features in this dazzling Spanish-inspired program conducted by Principal Conductor Asher Fisch. Be swept away by the infectious rhythms and sultry melodies of Spain in this intoxicating concert. TURINA Danzas fantásticas RAVEL Alborada del gracioso VILLA-LOBOS Choros No.10 Rasga o coração FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain RAVEL Bolero Asher Fisch conductor (pictured) Ingrid Fliter piano WASO Chorus Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts Ingrid Fliter appears courtesy of Singapore Airlines Tickets from $50* Book Now Call visit waso.com.au or ticketek.com.au *Transaction fees may apply.

4 4 Welcome It is my great pleasure to welcome you to WASO s Brahms Festival. Over two weekends, WASO will explore and celebrate the music of Johannes Brahms, one of the most celebrated and influential composers of the Romantic era with his symphonies and concertos. From the poetic Third Symphony to his impassioned Violin Concerto, this festival will be a journey through music of immense expressive power and emotional depth. Under the baton of Principal Conductor, Asher Fisch, and with three of the world s finest soloists, this festival promises to be an unforgettable musical experience. Pinchas Zukerman, one of the world s greatest violinists, will be joined by his wife, cellist Amanda Forsyth, for our first weekend, while acclaimed pianist, Garrick Ohlsson, performs two concerts on our second weekend. The festival provides a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of Brahms, who was hailed as Beethoven s successor. Each of the four musical experiences will be enriched by pre and post-concert talks that provide an opportunity to learn about this remarkable composer, as well as the soloists who will bring his music to life with WASO. Thanks to all who have supported our Brahms Festival, including our Principal Partner, Wesfarmers Arts, our funding partners, the Department of Culture and the Arts and the Australia Council and our World Artist partners, Stott Hoare and Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd. Your ongoing support is vital to enable WASO to bring these very special events to Western Australia. I hope you enjoy the Festival and the opportunity to hear the talented musicians of your orchestra at their finest. Janet Holmes à Court AC WASO Chairman

5 5 why brahms? When Johannes Brahms finally presented his First Symphony to the world it was labelled by his fans as Beethoven s Tenth, and the composer was hailed as the real successor of the great master. But labour pains of this late in life birth were long and excruciating. Brahms had a real dilemma: everyone expected him to compose a symphony in the old classical tradition, but the task seemed too daunting for him under the long shadow cast over the first half of the 19th century by the symphonic oeuvre of Beethoven. So Brahms composed everything but symphonies, experimenting with the complex ideal of pouring his new romantic language and style into the rigid form of the Classical era. He composed piano, violin and cello sonatas, piano trios, string quartets and sextets, other chamber works, instrumental concertos and even minisymphonies he named Serenades. When he finally felt ready, he gave the world four great symphonies, diverse in colour and character, united in their adherence to the traditional form. They form a quartet of masterworks which are both old and new, and as such have become a central pillar of the concert repertoire. After playing the Beethoven symphony cycle with WASO last season it seemed that a Brahms cycle was the natural follow up. Coupling the symphonies with a concerto in each evening, featuring the great soloists who will join us for the journey, make this cycle a highlight of this this season both for the musicians and our audience. Thank you for joining us on this rare occasion to hear Brahms greatest works in four concerts given over two weekends. Photo: Chris Gonz Asher Fisch Principal Conductor & Artistic Adviser Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts

6 6 PINCHAS ZUKERMAN PLAYS BRAHMS Friday 21 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall BRAHMS Violin Concerto (36 mins) Allegro non troppo Adagio Allegro giocoso Interval (25 mins) BRAHMS Symphony No.1 (45 mins) Un poco sostenuto Allegro Andante sostenuto Un poco allegretto e grazioso Adagio Più andante Allegro non troppo, ma con brio Asher Fisch conductor Pinchas Zukerman violin Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with speaker Prue Ashurst. Pre-concert talks take place at 6.45pm in the Terrace Level foyer. Post-concert Conversation Enjoy a post-concert conversation with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch and Pinchas Zukerman with host Alan Dodge AM in the Terrace Level foyer.

7 7 Brahms double concerto Saturday 22 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello (31 mins) Allegro Andante Vivace non troppo Interval (25 mins) BRAHMS Symphony No.2 (39 mins) Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) Presto ma non assai Allegro con spirito Asher Fisch conductor Pinchas Zukerman violin Amanda Forsyth cello Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with speaker Dr Alan Lourens. Pre-concert talks take place at 6.45pm in the Terrace Level foyer. Post-concert Conversation Enjoy a post-concert conversation with Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsyth and Alan Dodge AM in the Terrace Level foyer.

8 8 GARRICK OHLSSON PLAYS BRAHMS FIRST Friday 28 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1 (42 mins) Maestoso Adagio Rondo (Allegro non troppo) Interval (25 mins) BRAHMS Symphony No.3 (33 mins) Allegro con brio Andante Poco allegretto Allegro Asher Fisch conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with WASO Chorus Director Christopher van Tuinen. Pre-concert talks take place at 6.45pm in the Terrace Level foyer. Post-concert Conversation Enjoy a post-concert conversation with Garrick Ohlsson and WASO Board Member Mark Coughlan in the Terrace Level foyer.

9 GARRICK OHLSSON PLAYS BRAHMS SECOND 9 Saturday 29 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.2 (50 mins) Allegro non troppo Allegro appassionato Andante Allegretto grazioso Un poco più presto Interval (25 mins) BRAHMS Symphony No.4 (40 mins) Allegro non troppo Andante moderato Allegro giocoso Allegro energico e passionato Asher Fisch conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with speaker James Ledger. Pre-concert talks take place at 6.45pm in the Terrace Level foyer. Post-concert Conversation Enjoy a post-concert conversation with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch, Garrick Ohlsson and WASO Board Member Mark Coughlan in the Terrace Level foyer.

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11 11 WASO IN THE COMMUNITY WASO Assistant Conductor appointed to Colorado Following a comprehensive international search the Colorado Symphony has appointed WASO Assistant Conductor, Christopher Dragon, as its Associate Conductor. Christopher has spent the last two and a half years working with WASO and the last eighteen months being mentored by Principal Conductor Asher Fisch. His appointment to the Colorado Symphony is another significant step in the career of this rising young Western Australian conductor. Working with and learning from Western Australia s only professional orchestra has been a dream come true for me, said Christopher. I feel so fortunate to have been given this opportunity and know that without the support of WASO, Symphony Services International and the Simon Lee Foundation I would not be where I am today without it. Christopher made his official debut with the Colorado Symphony on August 7. He will continue in the role of Assistant Conductor with WASO until the end of December WASO wins at 2015 Art Music Awards WASO was thrilled to receive two awards at the 2015 Art Music Awards announced on August 11 in Sydney. The first was State Award for Western Australia in the category of Excellence in a Regional Area, which WASO won for the WASO on the Road touring program and Onslow Kids Music Education (OK ME!) program in West Pilbara. The second award was a national award for Performance of the Year for the world premiere performance of Lachlan Skipworth s (pictured left) Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, performed last year by Ashley William Smith (pictured right) under the baton of Baldur Brönnimann. The yearly gala event, organised by the Australian Music Centre and APRA AMCOS, celebrates the achievement and creative success of composers, performers and practitioners in the genres of contemporary art music, jazz and experimental music. The Onslow Kids Music Education Program is presented in partnership with the Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project. WASO on the Road Pilbara is supported by Chevron.

12 12 ABOUT BRAHMS Johannes Brahms Born 1833, Hamburg Died 1897, Vienna You can t miss the Brahms monument in Vienna. Opposite the Musikverein, the gilded concert hall in which much of his music was performed, the composer is enthroned on a pedestal, but he looks down pensively, and not at the Muse, clutching Apollo s lyre, who lies at his feet. Brahms career was in many respects unique: he died neither young, nor insane; he was never a liveried servant like the classical Viennese masters, Haydn and Mozart, nor dependent on aristocratic or royal patronage like Beethoven or even Wagner; he held several music directorships, but never for long, and, while a performer of distinction, became increasingly able to support himself on composition. Johannes Brahms, 1853 He did write certain frankly populist works, and grew relatively wealthy on the sale and performances of his published music, but in Vienna he lived with his piano and collection of music manuscripts and books in a three-room flat for 25 years. The bulk of his career was concerned with writing major instrumental works, and in this his goal was, as he put it to one young composer, perfection. He was born, in 1833, in the north German city of Hamburg, in modest circumstances to a mismatched couple: Christiane and Johann Jakob Brahms (17 years her junior), a local session-musician who played violin and occasionally the valveless Waldhorn (which Brahms enshrined in his Horn Trio, Op.40.) His early promise as a pianist was used to augment the family finances by having the 15-year-old play dance music in the dockside taverns (read: brothels) of his home town at night while studying by day. Brahms health suffered appallingly, and, fortunately, a wealthy acquaintance of his father invited him for the summer in the town of Winsen, south of Hamburg. There, Brahms read voraciously, practised piano and conducted the local men s choir.

13 13 Joseph Joachim Back in Hamburg he was able to earn his keep teaching unpromising students and performing occasionally slipping a new work composed by the pianist into the program. And there he made one of the first musical friendships that would kickstart his career. Brahms and friends A young violinist, Eduard Reményi, invited Brahms to accompany him at a concert in Hamburg in 1850, forming a duo with the young pianist that toured extensively to various German cities. Reményi had been Joseph Joachim s classmate, though not friend, in Vienna many years before, and when the duo hit Hannover they paid the famous virtuoso a visit. Joachim soon realised that this taciturn pianist was an extremely interesting musician. Thus began a lifelong, if uneasy, friendship between him and the young Brahms. (The two fell out seriously in the 1880s over Joachim s divorce, but were, eventually, reconciled.) Joachim encouraged Brahms to seek out Liszt not a happy event for either, and as the years went on Joachim and Brahms maintained and strengthened their opposition to Liszt s music of the future. Joachim also encouraged Brahms, in September 1853, to meet two of the most important influences on his life: Robert and Clara Schumann. Robert (not for the first time, but this time correctly) hailed the appearance of a major talent, and as Schumann slipped into madness, Brahms grew closer to Clara. They too had their difficult times, but it would be a relationship crucial to both of them for the rest of their lives. Brahms also had an unerring sense of who would be helpful to him musically, entering into often stormy relationships with critic Eduard Hanslick and conductors Hans Richter, Hans von Bülow and Hermann Levi. To these, and trusted amateur friends like surgeon Theodor Billroth or pianist Elisabeth von Herzogenberg, Brahms would play new works and expect frank criticism. He never taught, but was instrumental in the state stipend given to Antonín Dvořák in the latter s early maturity. He never married. Robert & Clara Schumann, 1847

14 14 Eduard Hanslick...and enemies Brahms decided to settle in Vienna around 1869, living in hotels for some years before taking an apartment. He was briefly the Music Director of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, giving concerts often featuring Bach and Viennese classicists in the Musikverein, which opened in 1870 as part of the development of the Ringstrasse. If Brahms hadn t existed it would have been necessary to invent him, at least as far as Eduard Hanslick was concerned. For Hanslick, the dominance of Wagner and Liszt and their self-styled New German music was anathema, and in Brahms, who eschewed descriptive program music, Hanslick felt he had found the embodiment of the classical tradition of abstract (or absolute) music. In that he was mostly right, of course: Brahms toyed with the idea of opera but perhaps wisely left it alone; more importantly, though, he more or less resurrected those classical Viennese genres of symphony and concerto, string quartet and piano trio. The symphonies of, say, Mendelssohn and Schumann had not quite established themselves as repertoire pieces when the composers died in the mid-century; something similar can be said for their chamber music. Liszt had pioneered the symphonic poem (as, in a sense, had Berlioz) in which the music describes a narrative or dramatic situation, and in doing so treats symphonic formal conventions freely. Wagner had commandeered the symphonic principle of development where a theme or motif is manipulated in various ways as an analogue of his operas stage action, and had clothed that in sumptuous orchestration. With his preference for established forms, his quest for perfection (which for him was about structure not surface, architecture, not colour) Brahms seemed the obvious and most prominent anti- Wagnerian, but in fact insisted that he was an admirer of Wagner as a composer even if he found the self-mythologising and cant insufferable. If Brahms did have an enemy and his behaviour in this case doesn t reflect well on Brahms it was Anton Bruckner, whose massive symphonies ( flailing around ) are unlike anything Brahms could countenance, and whose adulation of Wagner amounted to idolatry.

15 15 The music Naturally, Brahms earliest works are for piano, some for public performance (though with an eye firmly on his posterity, Brahms destroyed a great many pieces in all genres) and some as studies in form or counterpoint. On his first visit to the Schumanns household he played sonatas and scherzos, as Clara noted in her diary, rich in fantasy, depth of feeling and mastery of form. Only in the Schumanns orbit did Brahms begin to work on chamber music, with a scherzo (his contribution to a collaborative Violin Sonata, nicknamed FAE, for Joachim) and his first Piano Trio, which he revised extensively decades later. He also worked on a sonata for two pianos, which the Schumanns encouraged him to orchestrate as a symphony. In what would become typical for Brahms, some of the work ended up in the First Piano Concerto. The period around the end of the 1850s and into the new decade saw Brahms first official attempts at orchestral music, notably the First Piano Concerto and the First Serenade both of which were panned mercilessly. In the 1860s, Brahms focused on chamber music, notably his first Cello Sonata, the two string sextets, two piano quartets and, a turning-point, his Piano Quintet in F minor. The Horn Trio, written, perhaps, in response to the death of his mother in 1865, was the last chamber work for seven years, and only then did Brahms finally produce his first two String Quartets (having, he said, written and destroyed 20). His mother s death seems also to have catalysed a work that had been forming at the time of Robert Schumann s: A German Requiem. Brahms famously suffered stage fright when it came to the symphony, and it was only in 1876 that the First, a work that had been gestating for many, many years, appeared, and only after winning the Viennese audience around with his Variations on a theme by Haydn (the St Anthony Chorale ). Brahms major orchestral works the symphonies, Second Piano Concerto and the two string concertos all date from the period , as do his three Violin Sonatas. The Viennese weren t always receptive to Brahms, and after the lukewarm response to the Double Concerto he wrote no more orchestral music. The String Quintet, Op.111, dating from 1890, was to have been his last chamber work, but fortunately he made the acquaintance of clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld soon after, inspiring the Clarinet Trio and Quintet. His final works were Bachian chorale preludes, including two based on the chorale, O world, I must leave thee. He died of liver cancer on 3 April Gordon Kerry 2015

16 16 johannes brahms 1859 The first performance of Brahms First Piano Concerto, with the composer at the keyboard, was given by the Hanover Court Orchestra under Joseph Joachim on 22 January Born in Hamburg Germany on 7 May Piano lessons with Edward Marxsen, who had studied with a friend of Schubert, and a pupil of Mozart October, meets Robert Schumann and his wife Clara. Schumann wrote articles praising Brahms and arranged the publication of his first works First trip to Vienna where he was quickly accepted into the best musical circles First piano lessons with Otto Cossel, having previously had some music tuition from his father First piano recital performing a program of Beethoven and Bach Appointed Director of Court Concerts to Prince of Lippe-Detmold Brahms mother dies, prompting him to start writing his German Requiem.

17 Popularity growing, he was made President of the Society of Music Friends in Vienna (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde) Brahms moved to Vienna The first performance of Brahms Second Symphony was given in Vienna on 30 December under Hans Richter The premiere of Brahms Violin Concerto was given in Leipzig by Joseph Joachim under the direction of the composer, on 1 January The first public performance of Brahms Second Piano Concerto took place on 9 November in Budapest with the composer as soloist Made a Freeman of Hamburg April, Brahms dies from liver cancer, he was buried in Vienna next to Beethoven and Schubert Completes his first major orchestral work, Variations on a Theme by Haydn Receives honorary doctorate from University of Breslau 1887 The premiere of Brahms Double Concerto was given by Joseph Joachim and Robert Hausmann in Cologne on 18 October; Brahms conducted the Gürzenich Orchestra Clara Schumann dies, Brahms reflects on his career and writes his Four Serious Songs Brahms First Symphony was first performed on 4 November in Karlsruhe under conductor Otto Dessoff The first performance of Brahms Symphony No.4 was given under the direction of the composer in Meiningen on 25 October The premiere of Brahms Symphony No.3 was given in Vienna on 2 December under Hans Richter.

18 18 ABOUT THE MUSIC PINCHAS ZUKERMAN PLAYS BRAHMS Friday 21 August 7.30pm Violin Concerto in D, Op.77 Allegro non troppo Adagio Allegro giocoso Brahms spent the summers of in the lakeside village of Pörtschach in Carinthia, producing his first Motet, Op.74, the Ballades for two voices and piano Op.75, the Symphony No.2 and his Violin Sonata in G, Op.78 all works which share an atmosphere of pastoral beauty shot through with nostalgia. But as Brahms scholar Karl Geiringer notes, the crowning masterpiece of this time is the Violin Concerto. The Concerto, like the G major Sonata, was composed for the great virtuoso Joseph Joachim, whom an ecstatic 15-yearold Brahms had heard play the Beethoven Concerto. After being introduced by Brahms then duo partner Eduard Reményi in 1853, their friendship began in earnest, with Joachim later writing to Brahms parents of how Johannes has stimulated my work as an artist to an extent beyond my hopes my friendship is always at his disposal. Brahms similarly admired Joachim, significantly as the composer of the Hungarian Concerto as much as performer, saying that there is more in Joachim than in all the other young composers put together. While Joachim was intimately involved with the creation of early works of Brahms chamber music, it was not, strangely enough, until those summers in the 1870s when Brahms was in his 40s the same time he finally emerged as a symphonist that he wrote solo music for the violinist. Geiringer notes that, in the case of both Concerto and Sonata, Brahms conscientiously asked his friend s advice on all technical questions and then hardly ever followed it, but in fact at crucial points Joachim s advice on technical matters was invaluable. This consisted mainly of tinkering with certain figurations to make them more gratifying to play. With the Concerto the process was, however, intensely annoying for both and Brahms prevarications and avoidance strategies for finishing the piece had their effects, ultimately, on its first performance and subsequent reception. But Joachim was also a profoundly serious artist like Brahms and out of their collaboration came works in which the element of virtuosity never overshadows the musical argument, despite the work s many technical challenges.

19 19 The Concerto has some of the expansive dimensions of Brahms First Piano Concerto. This is especially true of the spacious first movement which, like that of Beethoven s Violin Concerto, takes up more than half the work s playing time, and which begins with a long, symphonic exposition of its main themes. Like its companion, the Second Symphony, the Concerto is in D, a key which composers like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius used for violin concertos as it makes use of the natural resonance of the instrument s open D, A and G strings; like the Symphony it has something of a visionary Romantic tone cast in impeccably classical form. Brahms originally thought to write the piece in four movements, making the central pair a scherzo and contrasting slow movement. But he wrote to Joachim that the middle movements naturally the best ones have fallen through. So I have substituted a feeble [or wretched ] adagio. (In fact the proposed scherzo made it into the Second Piano Concerto.) Feeble is of course hardly the word for this sublime Adagio, though one violinist notoriously complained that the oboe got the only good tune! Derived from the simplest of musical figures the falling broken chord with which the violin begins it evolves into one of Brahms most soulful but restrained movements. As such it provides a wonderful contrast to the gypsy-style finale, with its pyrotechnic solo line and exciting use of displaced accents. Joachim premiered the piece in Leipzig in 1879, but the response was tepid, partly because of the wrangling over revisions and improvements that went on until very near the performance date: Joachim was not entirely at ease and Brahms, frequently erratic on the podium, was not at his best while conducting the work. In fact, only through Joachim s persistence did the concerto gradually gain its rightful place in the standard repertoire. Joachim continued to advocate for Brahms music even when the two men fell out over the violinist s divorce in That rift lasted until Brahms wrote the Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in But that s another story. Gordon Kerry 2006/15 The premiere of Brahms Violin Concerto was given in Leipzig by Joseph Joachim under the direction of the composer, on 1 January The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed it on 6 January 1951 with conductor Rudolf Pekárek and soloist Robert Pikler. WASO last performed this work on 29 March 2014, performed by Alina Pogostkina and conducted by Jahja Ling.

20 20 Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op.68 Un poco sostenuto Allegro Andante sostenuto Un poco allegretto e grazioso Adagio Più andante Allegro non troppo, ma con brio The first symphony was a long time coming, largely as a result of Brahms paralysing stage-fright when contemplating genres in which the giants especially Beethoven had produced their masterpieces. That is not to say that Brahms had not wanted to compose symphonies, and in the early 1850s was persuaded by Robert and Clara Schumann to turn a D minor sonata for two pianos into such a work; the results have not survived. It was at this time, though, that he began making sketches for what would, eventually, become the first movement of the First Symphony. In 1862, Clara Schumann was surprised to receive a package from Brahms containing the first movement of a symphony. She wrote to Joseph Joachim that it was rather strong but full of wonderful beauties and noted that the themes are treated with a mastery that is becoming more and more characteristic of him. Despite the enthusiasm of such colleagues, however, the movement (at this stage it was only the Allegro section) remained an unfinished torso for well over a decade. The Symphony was only completed and first performed in 1876 the same year as the first production of the completed Ring cycle. Robert & Clara Schumann, 1847 Its impact was such that conductor Hans von Bülow only half-jokingly referred to it as Beethoven s Tenth. It is certainly Beethovenian in scale, and follows the blueprint of such works as Beethoven s Third, Fifth and Ninth Symphonies in tracing an epic journey from a state of turbulent conflict to one of triumphant resolution. Clara Schumann may have found the ideas in the 1862 sketch strong, but they were immeasurably strengthened when Brahms added the overwhelming slow introduction where, over the implacable pounding of the timpani, the full orchestra sounds a harmony that threatens to come apart under the force of its internal tension. That tension is not resolved by a contrasting chirpy Allegro: the remainder of the movement continues to depict a compelling, but abstract, drama of musical processes in Brahms now fully-formed orchestral sound.

21 21 The Andante shows an equally Brahmsian, if completely different, sound world. After the confused alarms of the previous movement, the rhetoric is much more subdued, and the scoring lighter, allowing for brief, sylvan wind solos and passages of lush string writing. But the retreat from the Romantic Sturm und Drang of the previous movement is by no means complete, and the music is occasionally taken over in an impassioned outburst. The closing section of the movement, though, is quietly gleaming, with a violin solo and the soft wind chords with which Brahms often concludes a piece. Brahms scholar Karl Geiringer writes that that the Allegretto (not a conventional scherzo) seems to smile through its tears, though it too has moments of frank emotionalism. Conductor Hermann Levi felt that the inner movements were serenadelike, but as such they provide respite between the two, titanic outer movements. Following the Beethovenian model meant that Brahms had to create a finale that balanced if not outweighed the opening movement. Brahms solution was essentially that of Beethoven in the finale of the Ninth Symphony though not, of course, using voices: both begin with seemingly unrelated passages that return to a state of uncertainty and move through various musical fields before discovering the thematic centre of the piece. Brahms begins with a sombre Adagio introduction that, like the first movement s, features harmony that moves almost painfully from chord to nearby chord. This gives rise to fragmentary, more troubled music, which in turn is interrupted by a long horn melody; this tune had personal significance for Brahms, in that he wrote it out, with some home-made verse, on a card sent to Clara Schumann when they were estranged. It is joined by the trombones (making their first appearance in the work), that suggests a sudden view of a spacious landscape. Only now does Brahms bring in his theme, a piece of pure and simple diatonicism. Brahms, who never suffered fools, would snap at people who noted the similarity of the theme to Beethoven s Freude tune: Any jackass can see that! And of course it may be a Beethovenian tune but its scoring, and the development to which it is subjected, are purely and masterfully Brahmsian. Gordon Kerry 2015 Brahms First Symphony was first performed on 4 November 1876 in Karlsruhe under conductor Otto Dessoff. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed it on 11 August 1944 under Ernest J. Roberts. WASO last performed this work on 19 April 2008 conducted by Paul Daniel.

22 22 ABOUT THE MUSIC BRAHMS DOUBLE CONCERTO Saturday 22 August 7.30pm Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra in A minor, Op.102 Allegro Andante Vivace non troppo As we have seen, Brahms could be difficult, as several friends found to their cost. His relationships with Clara Schumann, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg and others to whom he entrusted his music for criticism were often punctuated by frosty periods, and his friendship with the great violinist Joseph Joachim, first interpreter of the Violin Concerto and Violin Sonata in G major, was fraught with misunderstandings: in 1884, when Joachim and his wife divorced and Brahms, believing her to have been wronged, took Amalie s side, the friendship ruptured completely. In the early 1880s Brahms frequently collaborated with the conductor Hans von Bülow, touring extensively as soloist in both of his Piano Concertos and conducting a number of his orchestral works. But then in 1885 a misunderstanding arose between them and the two were estranged for a year. Partly as a showpiece for Robert Hausmann, the cellist for whom Brahms wrote his sonatas, but largely to heal the rift with Joachim, Brahms composed the Double Concerto in 1887; at the same time, his olive branch to Bülow was the dedication of his Violin Sonata in D minor. Hans von Bülow and Johannes Brahms Both, along with a number of other significant late works, were composed during summer vacations on Lake Thun in Switzerland, the Double Concerto dating from The rift with Joachim was most definitely healed when he and Hausmann played through the piece with the composer at Baden-Baden later that year, in the presence of perhaps the one friend with whom Brahms never completely fell out: Clara Schumann. It is Brahms last orchestral work, and not surprisingly exhibits a number of features of Brahms (and indeed many composers ) late style. Unlike, say, the Violin Concerto, this is a work that underplays its virtuosity; in fact, after that first rehearsal the solo parts were revised, three or so times in the case of the violin part, to make them more, not less, difficult.

23 23 Joachim and Brahms both had strong views on how that might be achieved, though in a letter to Clara Schumann he admitted, with needless modesty, that he needed the advice of someone better acquainted with fiddles than he was. She in turn noted the work was one of reconciliation, but felt that it lacked warmth and freshness. In this she was hardly alone, if more polite than one friend who mocked it as a senile production, and even Joachim took some time to properly love it. More recent scholars have been marginally more generous. It is easy to criticise it for not being something else; it is fairer to see it as an experiment in a new kind of work that lacks grandiose pretentions. The unusual combination of soloists Brahms own idea presented some problems of balance which Brahms, naturally, solved: the orchestra provides strong rhetorical statements of major thematic material, but is then deployed in textures of great delicacy when accompanying the soloists. The work s opening, for instance, offers an arresting orchestral gesture that sets up the typically Brahmsian tension between duple and triple metres, before leaving the stage to a lengthy passage for the cello, a second orchestral flourish (containing a reminiscence of a Viotti concerto which was a favourite of Joachim s) and then the violin joined by the cello. This alternation between strenuous orchestral textures and the ornate writing for the soloists continues throughout the movement. The serene beauty of the Andante derives partly from Brahms exquisite use of the wind section, often in the simplest of harmonies, to create a cool backdrop for the restrained but still expressive themes, stated first in octaves by the two soloists, that move, via hymnal woodwind writing and antiphony for the violin and cello, to a generous, lyrical climax. The late style character here is music that makes its effect with the simplest means, though which remains alive to the possibilities of formal intricacies like counterpoint. The finale is, naturally, an example of Brahms gypsy-rondo style, which plays on sudden contrast between perky and lyrical, duple and triple metres, and solo writing which features ornate passage-work and hefty double-stopped chords. By way of a coda there is an exquisite, slightly slower passage of delicate tracery before the rondo theme brings the piece to a close. Gordon Kerry 2014/15 The premiere of Brahms Double Concerto was given by Joseph Joachim and Robert Hausmann in Cologne on 18 October 1887; Brahms conducted the Gürzenich Orchestra. This is the first performance of the work by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra.

24 24 Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73 Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) Presto ma non assai Allegro con spirito Defending Brahms against a common charge, American composer Charles Ives observed that to think hard and deeply and say what is thought, regardless of consequences, may produce a first impression either of great translucence or of great muddiness, but in the latter there may be hidden possibilities The mud may be a form of sincerity. In fact, Brahms music sounds muddy only where we move too far from the original disposition of the orchestra he used. Brahms wrote for a modest band of two of each wind and brass instrument (using the latter sparingly), though with four horns and a matching compliment of strings. He uses forceful orchestral effects to be sure, but if ever proof were needed that Brahms orchestration could be of the most refined, we need go no further than the Second Symphony. Brahms took a long time to produce his First Symphony, and to have it described as Beethoven s Tenth, as conductor Hans Richter called it, might well have been a recipe for crippling stage fright; nonetheless the Second followed almost immediately. The relationship between the two offered another irresistible comparison with Beethoven, one which the great British writer Donald Tovey and others have seized upon: in the case of Beethoven s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and Brahms First and Second we have pairs of works where the first is a strenuous, dramatic, maybe even tragic, work in the key of C minor whose trajectory traces a metaphorical journey from darkness to light, whereas the second is a contrastingly serene, happy, Apollonian work in a major key with certain elements that we might describe as pastoral. Brahms sneered at such suggestions (which is not to say they have no merit), and it is true that his orchestration in this work relies more than usually heavily on wind solos particularly the bucolic sounds of oboe and horn, and that in the third movement, in particular, there is that reliance on vernacular music which reminds us of the peasants merry-making in Beethoven s Sixth. But as Brahms well knew, et in Arcadia ego : he joked to his publisher that this was the saddest piece he had ever written, and it is significant that the symphony begins, and ends, with the sound of trombones, instruments only dragged out of the church by Mozart (in Don Giovanni) and into the concert hall by Beethoven.

25 25 The scoring at the start is, naturally, dark thanks to the trombones, creating a slightly ominous atmosphere that is swept away by the more high-spirited material, with its hint of the famous Brahms lullaby stated first by the lower strings. The overall vector of the movement is upwards to the high wind scoring at its centre, which gives way to some intensely Brahmsian counterpoint, two-against-three rhythmic figures and veiled warnings from the trombones. The movement ends introspectively, paving the way for one of Brahms most beautiful Adagios. The lovely, endless opening melody is stated in the low strings and answered by simple falling scale passages from the higher instruments. (Paradoxically, in this movement there are moments that sound like Brahms rival Bruckner.) But again, there is no serenity without the possibility of conflict, and the pastoral calm is more than once challenged by emotionally charged outbursts, particularly as the movement reaches its final moments. Here as elsewhere Brahms replaces the traditional scherzo with a lighter dancemovement. The Allegretto grazioso consists of three statements of a genial dance with two faster, possibly Slavic or Hungarianinspired, episodes. The finale returns us to a purely Arcadian world, with the memory of the darker implications that have surfaced earlier, and an electrifying conclusion. It is formally straightforward, notionally a sonata design but with no especially rigorous development. Brahms balances the impulse to Lisztian Romantic rhapsody with a strong sense of formal design. Johannes Brahms and Joseph Joachim The Second Symphony is conceived on a large scale, within classical norms; but Brahms never allows an idea to stand, or to be simplistically repeated. His technique of developing variation made him an unlikely hero to Schoenberg, and therefore a kind of grandfather to modern music. But Brahms doesn t just transform his themes: his treatment of forms transforms them. As such it is one solution to the problem of late Romanticism. Gordon Kerry 2015 The first performance of Brahms Second Symphony was given in Vienna on 30 December 1877 under Hans Richter. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed it on 17 May 1947 with Warwick Braithwaite. WASO last performed this work on 16 November 2013 conducted by Michal Dworzynski.

26 26 ABOUT THE MUSIC GARRICK OHLSSON PLAYS BRAHMS FIRST Friday 28 August 7.30pm Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, Op.15 Maestoso Adagio Rondo (Allegro non troppo) Robert Schumann had been the Romantic composer par excellence, cultivating the fragmentary, the poetic and the allusive while also contributing to those genres established by composers in the classical tradition. After his death in 1856 two roads diverged in German music: the New German composers, led by Franz Liszt and in turn by Richard Wagner, composed the music of the future, avoiding or at least subverting the conventions of symphony and sonata with narrative or philosophical programs ; in due course Brahms would come to occupy the position of antipope, breathing new life into the forms and genres of abstract music. When Brahms First Piano Concerto appeared in January 1859 it shocked traditionalists in its scale and ferocity, but also because it blurred the distinction between symphony and concerto, and because of suspicions that it contained a program. The premiere in Hannover was received with polite confusion, one critic finding it dry and difficult to understand, but the performance in Leipzig a day or two later engendered frank hostility, and it is fair to say that Brahms was still less than confident in handling orchestration. The work grew out of the Sonata for two pianos that Brahms worked on in the mid-1850s, which the Schumanns had encouraged him to orchestrate. Not surprisingly, Brahms, still in his early 20s, was influenced by the prevailing currents of Romanticism and his music from this time contains more than its share of Sturm und Drang (storm and stress), which was carried over into the Concerto. Thanks partly to Joachim, though, a story grew up that the first movement of the Concerto enacted and registered Brahms reaction to Robert Schumann s attempt to commit suicide by flinging himself into the Rhine at Düsseldorf. Be that as may, the concerto has one of the most excoriating openings of any work by Brahms or anyone else with its powerful pedal note D that only just supports a massive superstructure of unstable harmony and arresting rhetorical motifs.

27 27 This provides an introduction of some minutes duration as in Beethoven s Third Piano Concerto, there is the danger that listeners will forget that they are to hear a piano concerto before the appearance of the soloist who, as Karl Geiringer has noted, is repeatedly given music only remotely, if at all, connected to the material of the orchestral part. Geiringer goes on to point out how this may derive from Brahms study of Baroque music, but the effect here is of titanic, and arch-romantic, struggle and fight between angst and brilliance. The original two-piano sonata followed the first movement with a minor-key scherzo that Brahms omitted from the Concerto, though he did, some years later, use it as the basis for the sombre dance-like second movement of his German Requiem, Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras (for all flesh is as grass). The remainder of the Concerto is all new material, and the manuscript of the Adagio originally bore the inscription Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini (Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord); as Charles Rosen has noted, the juncture of religion and music affects even the piano concertos of Brahms. The inscription was not included in the published score, but, writing to Clara Schumann about it in 1856, Brahms said, I am also painting a lovely portrait of you; it is to be the adagio. This suggests that the blessed person is Clara, and the Lord is Robert (whom Brahms occasionally referred to jokingly as Mynheer Domine ) and his legacy. This is no less Romantic than the opening movement, though of a quite different tenor and mood. The piano, perhaps representing Clara, has a more conventionally prominent role, though the movement is by no means a vehicle for bravura display. If there is an accidental similarity to Beethoven s Third Concerto at the outset, there is a more conscious one in the third movement, where Brahms seems to have used the form and proportions, and even, according to Jan Swafford, certain phrase structures of Beethoven s finale to shape his own. Brahms was wounded by the negative response to the piece, though aware of the role his orchestral inexperience played in its reception. It would be another 15 years before the next try. Gordon Kerry 2015 The first performance of Brahms First Piano Concerto, with the composer at the keyboard, was given by the Hanover Court Orchestra under Joseph Joachim on 22 January The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed the work on 19 May 1951 with conductor Michael Bowles and soloist Richard Farrell. WASO last performed this work on 11 October 2008, performed by Kirill Gerstein and conducted by Alexander Briger.

28 28 Symphony No.3 in F major, Op.90 Allegro con brio Andante Poco allegretto Allegro Brahms spent the summer of 1883 in the German spa town of Wiesbaden, where he produced his Third Symphony in a mere four months. It is the shortest of Brahms symphonies, but for this obsessively selfcritical composer that was almost miraculous. Hans Richter, who conducted the first performance in Vienna, was perhaps a little over the top in calling it Brahms Eroica (it was Richter, after, who dubbed the First Symphony Beethoven s Tenth ) and yet it is a work that essays many emotional states in a highly dramatic fashion, and leads to a conclusion of great peace. Thirty years earlier, Brahms had contributed to the F-A-E Sonata, a work jointly composed with Albert Dietrich and Robert Schumann in honour of violinist Joseph Joachim. The letters stand for Joachim s personal motto frei aber einsam (free but lonely) and provide a musical motif that unites the work. Brahms responded that his own motto was frei aber froh (free but happy). The musical version of this, F-A-F, dominates the Third Symphony, which was written partly as a proffered hand or gesture of reconciliation by Brahms, who had fallen out with Joachim over the latter s divorce some years earlier. But the theme which the motto introduces evokes Schumann, someone dear to both Brahms and Joachim s hearts. The motto-motif provides the assertive opening gesture, where it is spelled F-A flat-f: in F major, the A flat is chromatic, thus providing a dramatic dissonance at the work s outset. This pattern the first, third and eighth degrees of the scale can be found throughout the whole work, as melodic feature, at first then immediately as an accompanying figure in the bass, or seemingly inconsequential detail. But the major-minor tension pervades the work, giving it its moments of heroic drama. The work s dramatic unity is also effected by its overall tonal plan: the outer movements are, naturally, centred on the home key of F, while the inner movements focus on its polar opposite, C. This simple architecture is decorated at the more local level by much more surprising key relations. The F major/a flat opening is a case in point; the first subject, or thematic group, is a surging music in F major that derives from the opening theme of Robert Schumann s Third Symphony, the Rhenish. Wiesbaden, where Brahms composed the piece, is on the Rhine; Brahms may have been unconscious of the resemblance, though the model of the First Symphony s finale, which almost and quite deliberately quotes Beethoven s Ninth, comes to mind. But the second subject, a serene tune sounded by clarinet and bassoon, is in the distant key of A major. A short development leads to the expected recapitulation of the opening material; more important, though, is Brahms gradual lowering of the temperature to conclude the movement as he does with all four in this work softly and calmly.

29 29 The Andante takes up the pastoral sounds of clarinet and bassoon, alternating wind textures with quiet lower-string passages at first, and such textures moderate any impassioned outbursts during the course of its sonata-design unfolding. The delicate textures at the end of the movement might support Jan Swafford s view that Brahms was not unaffected by the recent death of Wagner, his rival, his respected enemy, his shadow, whose sound-world they resemble. The third movement is effectively a minuet, though in 3/8 not 3/4. Its main theme, characterised by gentle dissonance on the downbeats and a wave-like ebb and flow, is sung first by the cellos against a diaphanous string texture and then moves upward through the score to the winds. After a contrasting central section introduced by pulsing chords that alternate with rich string scoring, the opening material is recapitulated but in completely different instrumentation, featuring the horn and other winds. The dramatic focus of the symphony, however, is the finale where, Beethovenstyle, assertive, often terse, rhythmic ideas contend with athletic, long-breathed melodies, notably one that has the classic Brahmsian tension between duplet and triplet motifs. After boisterous heroics that feature a three-beat rhythm derived from the work s opening motto, the music reaches a state of repose where, against rippling strings, the winds build in intensity to restate the opening F-A flat-f moment, now purged of any angst. Gordon Kerry 2014/15 The premiere of Brahms Symphony No.3 was given in Vienna on 2 December 1883 under Hans Richter. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra gave its first complete performance of the work on 19 September 1952 with Eugene Goossens. WASO last performed this work on 7 September 2013 conducted by Asher Fisch.

30 30 ABOUT THE MUSIC GARRICK OHLSSON PLAYS BRAHMS SECOND Saturday 29 August 7.30pm Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat, Op.83 Allegro non troppo Allegro appassionato Andante Allegretto grazioso Un poco più presto I beg you to forgive my delay in thanking you for so kindly sending me your concerto. Frankly speaking, at the first reading this work seemed to me a little grey in tone; I have, however, gradually come to understand it. It possesses the pregnant character of a distinguished work of art, in which thought and feeling move in noble harmony. So Liszt wrote to Brahms after hearing, and then studying the score of, the latter s Second Piano Concerto. The wording suggests that he was not entirely convinced and he certainly never played a note of Brahms music in public but his choice of pregnant as a description is interesting, carrying connotations both of something unfinished and of over-abundance. There is, of course, nothing unfinished about this piece, but its magnitude, its vast scale, often solid scoring and fearsomely difficult though never bravura piano writing is evidence of great generosity. In 1881 Brahms had written to his friend and musical confidante Elisabeth von Herzogenberg that he was writing a tiny, tiny piano concerto with a tiny, tiny wisp of a scherzo. What he produced, however, is one of the most expansive works in the genre; not only are the movements all of considerable weight and duration, there are four of them the tiny scherzo probably based on the one that Brahms had discarded while writing his Violin Concerto. The piece helped forge a relationship with conductor Hans von Bülow, who defected from the Wagner camp when the latter began an affair with Bülow s wife, Liszt s daughter Cosima, who left him for the composer. Bülow offered to play through the work with his excellently trained orchestra at Meiningen, and soon became one of Brahms principal interpreters.

31 31 Opening a massive work with a solo horn call might have reminded some of Brahms listeners of the romantic forest world of Weber s Oberon or Freischütz. Elaborating that with an improvisatory piano flourish certainly recalls the Beethoven of his Fourth Piano Concerto very unclassical, but a very dramatic gambit. As the movement gets under way, though, it becomes clear that this is a work of great rigour, and while the piano part is as demanding as they come, it forms part of a symphonic musical argument. Despite its commanding rhetoric, the work never hectors, and the transformation of the opening theme, especially its first, rising three-note motif at the climax of the first movement, is magical, and rather Lisztian. The tiny minor-key scherzo demonstrates the mature Brahms mastery of metrical displacement, creating the infectious, initial dance rhythm that can be light and careless or, when fully scored as later in the movement, carry hints of passion and tragedy, all of which is offset by the optimistic major-key trio. The endless, beautiful cello solo in the third movement almost makes us forget that we are listening to a piano concerto; the cello gathers a warm orchestral tutti to itself, that dies away with Brahms trademark sound of soft, high woodwinds as the piano selfeffacingly enters. The tone remains lyrical throughout the movement, even when indulging in almost Tchaikovskian excesses, and the plangent cello returns later in the movement to support gently ornamental figures from the piano. Brahms music frequently transforms thematic material from the outside world. The rhythms of the scherzo and the opening of the fourth movement are cases in point. The opening theme of the finale could almost be a relative of the second movement of Beethoven s Eighth Symphony but is followed in abrupt succession by Brahms at his most gypsylike. Brahms first came across Hungarian music in Hamburg when he was a teenage tavern pianist, as many Hungarians took ship there for the New World; and in teaming up with Hungarian violinists like Eduard Reményi and Joseph Joachim, Brahms played ethnic music in concerts. This of course was never the actual peasant folk music collected by Bartók some decades later, but nevertheless popular gypsy music suffuses Brahms work, even if it found no great favour with the Hungarian Liszt. Fittingly, the Second Concerto received its official premiere in Budapest in 1881, and then enjoyed a triumphant series of performances in German, Swiss and Dutch cities. Brahms was at the height of his success. Gordon Kerry 2015 The first public performance of Brahms Second Piano Concerto took place on 9 November 1881 in Budapest with the composer as soloist. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed it on 29 March 1957 with Joseph Post and soloist Julius Katchen. WASO last performed this work on 2 September 2009, performed by Marc-André Hamelin and conducted by Paul Daniel.

32 32 Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op.98 Allegro non troppo Andante moderato Allegro giocoso Allegro energico e passionato In 1885 Brahms, as was his wont, convened a group of trusted friends to listen to a play-through of the Fourth Symphony, with the composer and his friend Ignaz Brüll at the piano. Feedback from knowledgeable people had been invaluable throughout his career, and on this occasion the listeners included the conductor Hans Richter and the critic Eduard Hanslick. But this time the response was a baffled silence. Even Hanslick, Brahms greatest supporter in print, tried to joke that he felt like he had been beaten up by two intelligent people at the end of the first movement. Later, after the work s politely-received Viennese premiere, a less well-disposed wit composed a verse to the theme of the first movement to the effect that Brahms had run out of ideas. The Third Symphony had, of course, enjoyed an unqualified success and it says much for Brahms artistic integrity that he was prepared to take a quite different approach in the new work; that the Fourth was written over not one but two summers suggests that Brahms had to work hard at it. So, what baffled the listeners in the first movement? In fact the run out of ideas guy was wrong, but nevertheless onto something, in that a large chunk of Brahms first theme consists of practically no material: two chains of thirds (and sixths, their inversion) are sounded in a rhythm that consists entirely of a repeated short-long pattern. Eventually a more elaborate motif is sounded, but then immediately repeated in sequence. The thirds provide the basis for a fanfare-like transition into the second theme, and here again Brahms goes against convention with a melody that is not, as expected, lyrical but is much more assertive, sounded in the orchestra s tenor register, and again based on sequences of a repeated rhythmic cell (long, long, short, short, short). Fragmentary patterns of thirds provide the accompaniment. All of which is to say that Brahms was writing in, to the Viennese, a disturbingly abstract and modern way. Haydn, of course, and Beethoven especially in the Fifth Symphony had worked in just this way, and it is no accident that such rigorous design attracted the approval of Schoenberg in his 1933 lecture, Brahms the Progressive. But it put Brahms out of step with current musical fashion in Vienna.

33 33 The piece is frequently intensely contrapuntal (and thus requires a classical orchestra), reflecting Brahms lifelong love of the Baroque, but there are profoundly poetic moments. The recapitulation of the first movement s main theme should, by convention, be a rhetorically powerful moment of arrival; Brahms instead dwells on a distant but radiant C major chord and then, radically, continues to develop his themes. The second movement is in what has sometimes been called Brahms bardic manner. The young Richard Strauss, who regarded the gigantic work as new and original in its greatness of conception and invention, its genius in treatment of form, captured the slow movement s essence in his image of a funeral procession moving across moonlit heights. This movement, which relies heavily on mysterious wind scoring and the occasional archaic inflections of the Phrygian mode, could not offer a greater contrast to the scherzo, with what Karl Geiringer calls its sturdy gaiety. In two, rather than three, beats to a bar, it has a rustic air, but its most curious feature is the way in which Brahms, again creating music out of nothing, offers a serious of monolithic chords, octaves apart, that interrupt the rhythmic drive of the movement towards its end. These chords, however, also pave the way for the finale, in which Brahms abandons any vestige of classical precedent, instead using the Baroque form of the passacaglia, in which a repeated harmonic pattern, or ground, serves as a vehicle for variations. Brahms ground is a series of rhythmically equal chords (adumbrated at the end of the scherzo) over which he elaborates a movement unlike anything heard in symphonic music before. In 1886, Vienna s response was tepid, partly as Hans Richter s rehearsals were inadequate. But by then the work had enjoyed triumphant success in 14 German and Dutch cities under Hans von Bülow. Vienna finally embraced it, and the mortally ill Brahms, at the last concert the composer was able attend before his death in Gordon Kerry 2015 The first performance of Brahms Symphony No.4 was given under the direction of the composer in Meiningen on 25 October The West Australian Symphony Orchestra first performed it on 14 July 1951 with Rudolf Pekárek. WASO last performed this work on 11 August 2008 conducted by Paul Daniel.

34 34 YOUR brahms festival EXPERIENCE PLEASE SHARE OR DOWNLOAD Help us to be environmentally responsible by sharing your printed programs. You can also read WASO s programs on your computer or mobile device by visiting waso.com.au WHEN TO APPLAUD Musicians love applause. As a guide, audience members normally applaud: When the conductor or soloist walks onto the stage After the completion of each piece and at the end of the performance WHEN YOU NEED TO COUGH Please try to muffle your cough in a handkerchief during a louder section of the music. Cough lozenges are available from the WASO Customer Service Desk before each performance and at the interval. TOILets Male and female toilets are located on each of the four foyer levels of Perth Concert Hall. The largest number of toilets are available on the ground floor of the venue, with further toilets on the Terrace Level, Lower Gallery and Upper Gallery levels. A universal accessible toilet is available on the ground floor of the venue. First Aid There are St John Ambulance officers present at every concert so please speak to them if you require any first aid assistance. FEEDBACK Please send your feedback to PO Box 3041, East Perth WA 6892, call , waso@waso.com.au or leave us a message on Facebook or Twitter. CONNECT WITH WASO Join us on Facebook facebook.com/ WestAustralianSymphonyOrchestra Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/_waso_ Tag your photos #WASO on Instagram instagram.com/_waso_ Watch us on YouTube youtube.com/westaustsymorchestra E-News Stay up to date and sign-up to our SymphonE-news at waso.com.au WASO On The Go Download WASO s free app on itunes or Google Play. Visit waso.com.au For concert information and to listen to concert playlists. WASO on 720 ABC Perth Tune in to 720 ABC Perth on Friday mornings when Prue Ashurst joins Eoin Cameron to provide the latest on classical music and WASO s upcoming concerts. WASO on ABC classic FM These performances are being recorded for delayed broadcast on ABC Classic FM. The broadcast schedule is: - Pinchas Zuckerman Plays Brahms Friday 28 Aug 8pm (or 6pm online) - Brahms Double Concerto Sat 29 Aug 1pm (or 11am online) - Garrick Ohlsson Plays Brahms First Sat 29 Aug 8pm (or 6pm online) - Garrick Ohlsson Plays Brahms Second Sun 30 Aug 1pm (or 11am online)

35 35 Perth Concert Hall Meet Our Executive Chef! When WASO took over the management of Perth Concert Hall at the beginning of this year, leading West Australian catering consultancy service Heyder & Shears were awarded the food and beverage contract for the venue. Now, Heyder & Shears Executive Chef Jerome Durham is in charge of the kitchens at Perth Concert Hall. Where did your career as a chef take you before you started working for Heyder & Shears? I ran a restaurant in Claremont called Al Picchio. What is your biggest culinary influence? My mum. What is your favourite ingredient? It depends on what I am cooking. For Japanese, it s tuna, in Chinese dishes, it s pork, for French cuisine, it s truffles. My favourite West Australian ingredient is marron. What is your most memorable meal? A dinner at Vue de Monde in Melbourne. What is the most embarrassing item in your pantry at home? Gravox. What s the next big food trend you see coming up? Caribbean. Caribbean food is already becoming more and more popular in the UK. It s real soul food, a blend of African, Amerindian, European, East Indian, Arab and Chinese influences. Each Caribbean island has its own style, but Jamaican cooking with its jerks, marinades and ingredients like Scotch bonnet peppers, spring onions and fresh thyme is probably most popular. What s the most popular dish at the Café at Perth Concert Hall? Barramundi. The fish is fresh, local and farmed sustainably. How seriously are you taking the German theme for the buffet and grab and go menus during the Brahms Festival? The Sauerkraut recipe we are using was given to us by the mother of our German Pastry Chef! We are serving the Sauerkraut with Kassler (lean and lightly cured and smoked pork) supplied by Elmar s Smallgoods. And of course Bratwurst is included on the menu! CONNECT with PERTH CONCERT HALL Join us on Facebook facebook.com/perthconcerthallwa Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/perthconcerthal Visit perthconcerthall.com.au Tag your photos #perthconcerthall instagram.com/perthconcerthall

36 36 about The Artists Asher Fisch Principal Conductor Asher Fisch s first season with the WASO included a range of classical repertoire, as well as a West Australian first; Beethoven s nine symphonies performed over two weekends. A seasoned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, he is known best for his interpretative command of German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post-romantic era, in particular Wagner, Brahms, Strauss and Verdi. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Opera, where he conducted its quadrennial Wagner Ring cycle in 2013, and his former posts include Music Director of the New Israeli Opera ( ) and the Vienna Volksoper ( ). He first worked with WASO in He has long maintained strong ties to the Bavarian State Opera, and in the season conducted a new production by Martin Kušej of The Force of Destiny, plus revival performances of Parsifal, Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos, La bohème and Turandot. Other highlights of the season included concerts with the Munich Philharmonic; Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; National Orchestra of Belgium; Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (Denmark); a tour in Italy with the Orchestra della Toscana; and a visit to the Melbourne Festival in October 2013, where he conducted an all-wagner program with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the State Opera of South Australia s Wagner Ring cycle in 2005, which won ten Helpmann Awards. Asher Fisch began his conducting career as Daniel Barenboim s assistant and kapellmeister at the Berlin State Opera. He is an accomplished pianist and released his first solo disc of Wagner piano transcriptions in Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts Photo: Chris Gonz

37 37 Pinchas Zukerman Violin Pinchas Zukerman has remained a phenomenon in the world of music for over four decades. The season includes over 100 worldwide performances, bringing him to multiple destinations in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He completes his 16th and final season as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa. In his sixth season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he leads the ensemble in concerts in the United Kingdom and on a tour of Florida. Additional orchestral engagements include the Budapest Festival Orchestra; Camerata Salzburg; Staatskapelle Berlin; Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Korean Chamber Orchestra; Bamberg Symphony; Hamburg Philharmonic; Tucson Symphony Orchestra; the Colorado, San Diego and Kansas City Symphonies; and a return to Australia for appearances with the Queensland and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. Recital appearances in Berlin, Istanbul, Seattle, San Diego and Ottawa, and tours with the Zukerman Trio to Italy, Spain, Australia, China, Japan and Korea round out the season. Pinchas Zukerman s enthusiasm for teaching has resulted in innovative programs in London, New York, China, Israel and Ottawa. He chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, and in Canada he has established the NAC Institute for Orchestra Studies and the Summer Music Institute encompassing the Young Artists, Conductors and Composers Programs. Born in Tel Aviv in 1948, Pinchas Zukerman came to America in 1962 where he studied at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian. His extensive discography contains over 100 titles, and has earned him two Grammy Awards and twenty one nominations. Pinchas Zuckerman appears courtesy of Stott Hoare Photo: Charles Waugh

38 38 about The Artists Amanda Forsyth Cello Juno Award-winning Amanda Forsyth is considered one of North America s most dynamic cellists. She has achieved her international reputation as soloist, chamber musician and Principal Cello of Canada s National Arts Centre Orchestra since She has performed on tour with the Royal Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, and has appeared with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Gulbenkian Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In the U.S. she has performed with the San Diego, Colorado, Oregon and Grand Rapids Symphonies, and with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Texas and on tour. Recent tours to Australia and South Africa have included recitals and major orchestral concerts, and in 2014 she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a founding member of the Zukerman Chamber Players. Amanda Forsyth began the season with a homecoming tour of South Africa performing Malcolm Forsyth s concerto Electra Rising. She also tours the United Kingdom with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Returning to Australia, she performs with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in addition to a chamber appearance in Sydney. Tours with the Zukerman Trio bring her to Italy, Spain, China, Korea and the Miyazaki Festival in Japan. Born in South Africa, Amanda Forsyth moved to Canada as a child and began playing cello at age three. She became a protégé of William Pleeth in London, and later studied with Harvey Shapiro at The Juilliard School. She performs on a rare 1699 cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore. Photo: Dwayne Brown

39 39 Garrick Ohlsson Piano Garrick Ohlsson commands an enormous repertoire ranging over the entire piano literature, and is regarded as one of the leading exponents of the music of Frédéric Chopin. To date he has at his command more than 80 concertos. Highlights of 2014/15 include performances of Busoni s Piano Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and return engagements with the San Francisco, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Baltimore, Minnesota, BBC Scottish and Prague Symphony Orchestras. A native of White Plains, New York, Garrick Ohlsson began his piano studies at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, and at age 13 he entered The Juilliard School. His musical development has been influenced in completely different ways by a succession of distinguished teachers, most notably Claudio Arrau, Olga Barabini, Tom Lishman, Sascha Gorodnitzki, Rosina Lhévinne and Irma Wolpe. Although he won First Prize at the 1966 Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the 1968 Montréal Piano Competition, it was his 1970 triumph at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw that brought him worldwide recognition as one of the finest pianists of his generation, and he remains the only American to have won First Prize. He is the 2014 recipient of the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music. Garrick Ohlsson s recordings include Brahms Piano Concertos Nos.1 and 2 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky s Piano Concerto No.2 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. He makes his home in San Francisco. Garrick Ohlsson appears courtesy of Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd Photo: Paul Body

40 40 speakers & hosts Prue Ashurst Prue is a graduate from the University of Western Australia with a Masters in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) and Bachelor degrees of Music Education and Performance. Prue s choirs have sung in Geneva, London, Singapore and Wales. She has conducted for PIAF, WA Opera, UWA Choral Society, WASO Chorus and Gondwana Choirs. She was Director of Music at Penrhos College for seven years and in 2008 conducted the Penrhos Chorale to 4th place at the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod. Prue is currently Director of the UWA School of Music Extension Program and has been a regular music presenter on ABC 720 with Eoin Cameron. In 2013 she was named a Paul Harris Fellow, by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for her lifetime work in music education. Mark Coughlan For many years Mark Coughlan has held leadership roles in the performing arts and higher education sectors. He is Artistic Director of the Government House Ballroom concert series as well as the annual New Year s Eve concert in the Perth Concert Hall. He is engaged in a wide range of arts activities as a pianist, musical director, lecturer and music critic for The Australian newspaper. Mark is a member of the Board of Directors of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the West Australian Youth Orchestra, Chairman of the Government House Foundation of WA, Chairman of Lost and Found Opera and a committee member of the St George s Cathedral Arts Foundation.

41 41 Photo: Frances Andrijich Alan Dodge AM Alan Dodge served in the art museum world for over 40 years. 21 years were devoted to the National Gallery of Australia where he held a number of positions culminating in the role of Senior Advisor, Special Exhibitions and Development. Subsequently, Alan was appointed Director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, a position he held from the beginning of 1997 until the end of Currently he is on the boards of the National Portrait Gallery, John Curtin Art Gallery, the Cultural Collections Board of UWA and is Chairman of the Murdoch University Art Board. Alan is an author and contributor to a wide range of publications and projects. James Ledger James Ledger s orchestral music is well known to Australian concertgoers. His first work for orchestra, Indian Pacific from 1996, is still regularly performed around the country. Ledger has been resident with the Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras and the Australian National Academy of Music. He has received commissions from Australia s leading ensembles including the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Australian String Quartet. Ledger co-composed the ARIA award-winning song-cycle Conversations with Ghosts with singer-songwriter Paul Kelly. In 2015 he premiered a new work for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for the ANZAC centenary commemorations.

42 42 speakers & hosts Dr Alan Lourens Dr. Alan Lourens is Head of the School of Music at the University of Western Australia. He also directs the Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Brass Ensemble, as well as teaching conducting, pedagogy and courses in music education. Dr. Lourens holds a Doctorate in Conducting and Masters degree in Euphonium Performance from Indiana University. Publications include contributions to the Teaching Music Through Performance in Band series of books and recently the MBM Times. Cimarron Publishing has released his compositions and arrangements for both band and orchestra. Christopher van Tuinen Christopher graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in In 2005 he completed a Masters in Conducting at the VCA. Experienced in both vocal and instrumental music he was awarded the John Williams Conducting Scholarship for He also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, a Bachelor of Laws from Queensland University of Technology and an Associate Diploma in Music from the Australian Music Examinations Board. In 2006 he received a Green Room Award nomination in the Best Conductor category. In addition to his work as Chorus Director for WASO, Christopher is also Conductor of The University of Western Australia Choral Society, Musical Director of Fremantle Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of Lost and Found Opera.

43 43 WASO Philanthropy Philanthropy Partner WASO Excellence Circle Alongside the Patrons and Friends who support our Annual Giving campaign, WASO has growing community of Patrons, including long-term subscribers and business and community leaders, who make up our Excellence Circle. WASO s Excellence Circle Patrons support our ability to be excellent. By that we mean always striving to be better across all that we do. Whether on stage at our magnificent Perth Concert Hall, or at a school in Kwinana, we engage the finest performers, artists and educators and our wonderful WASO musicians are led by Principal Conductor, Asher Fisch. Behind the scenes, our musicians are supported by a hard-working team that constantly seeks to engage audiences and create new opportunities to help us touch souls and enrich lives through music. We work to innovate, to inspire, to be audacious. We strive to be excellent in all we do. Our wonderful Brahms Festival, that lifts the artistic bar and engages new audiences, is an exciting example of the initiatives supported by our Excellence Circle Patrons. We thank our Excellence Circle Patrons who, as ambassadors for WASO, support us financially and value and understand WASO and the leadership role it plays in the Western Australian community. To learn more about our Excellence Circle, please contact Alecia Benzie, Executive Manager, Philanthropy on or benziea@waso.com.au. Excellence Circle Patrons Jean Arkley Bob & Gay Branchi Janet Holmes à Court AC Torsten & Mona Ketelsen Andrew Marsden

44 44 West Australian Symphony Orchestra CONDUCTOR LAUREATE Vladimir Verbitsky Principal Conductor Asher Fisch Partnered by Wesfarmers Arts ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Christopher Dragon CHORUS DIRECTOR Christopher van Tuinen CHORUS VOCAL COACH Andrew Foote VIOLIN Laurence Jackson Concertmaster Graeme Norris Associate Concertmaster Semra Lee-Smith Assistant Concertmaster Ji Won Kim Principal 1st Violin Zak Rowntree* Principal 2nd Violin Akiko Miyazawa Assoc Principal 2nd Violin Kylie Liang Assistant Principal 2nd Violin Sarah Blackman Fleur Challen Stephanie Dean Sara Duhig Rebecca Glorie Beth Hebert Alexandra Isted^ Jane Johnston^ Sunmi Jung^ Ellie Lawrence Shaun Lee-Chen* Eliza McCracken Anna O Hagan Melanie Pearn Ken Peeler Elena Phatak Graham Pyatt Louise Sandercock Jolanta Schenk Kathryn Shinnick Jane Serrangeli Jacek Slawomirski Bao Di Tang Cerys Tooby Teresa Vinci^ David Yeh VIOLA Caleb Wright Principal Alex Brogan Assoc Principal Kierstan Arkleysmith Nik Babic George Batey^ Katherine Drake Alison Hall Rachael Kirk Allan McLean Helen Tuckey Aaron Wyatt^ CELLO Rod McGrath Principal Louise McKay Assoc Principal Chair partnered by Penrhos College Shigeru Komatsu Oliver McAslan Nicholas Metcalfe Eve Silver* Fotis Skordas Tim South Jon Tooby^ Xiao Le Wu DOUBLE BASS Andrew Sinclair* Principal Joan Wright Assoc Principal Elizabeth Browning^ Christine Reitzenstein Louise Ross Andrew Tait Mark Tooby FLUTE Andrew Nicholson Principal Chair partnered by Quadrant Energy Mary-Anne Blades Assoc Principal PICCOLO Michael Waye Principal OBOE Peter Facer Principal Elizabeth Chee Assoc Principal COR ANGLAIS Leanne Glover Principal CLARINET Allan Meyer Principal Lorna Cook BASS CLARINET Alexander Millier Principal Chair partnered by Altegra Property Group BASSOON Jane Kircher-Lindner Principal Chair partnered by Ron & Sue Wooller Adam Mikulicz Assoc Principal CONTRABASSOON Chloe Turner Principal *Instruments used by these musicians are on loan from Janet Holmes à Court AC. ^ Guest Musician HORN David Evans Principal Sharn McIver Assoc Principal Robert Gladstones Principal 3rd Horn Julia Brooke Francesco Lo Surdo TRUMPET Brent Grapes Principal Chair partnered by ConocoPhillips Evan Cromie Assoc Principal Peter Miller TROMBONE Joshua Davis Principal Liam O Malley Assoc Principal BASS TROMBONE Philip Holdsworth Principal TUBA Cameron Brook Principal TIMPANI Alex Timcke Principal Richard Gleeson Assoc Principal Percussion and Timpani PERCUSSION Troy Greatz A/Principal HARP Sarah Bowman Principal

45 45 Board of Directors Janet Holmes à Court AC Chairman Anne Nolan Mark Coughlan Keith Kessell Barrie Lepley Deputy Chairman Paul Shannon Julian Sher Michael Utsler Executive Craig Whitehead Chief Executive Rebecca Smith Executive Assistant Anthony Pickburn Executive Manager, Human Resources Rachael Taylor Human Resources Assistant Narelle Coghill Human Resources Assistant Svetlana Williams Payroll Officer Artistic Planning Evan Kennea Executive Manager, Artistic Planning Alan Tyrrell Program Manager Natalie De Biasi Program Coordinator Maya Kraj-Krajewski Artist Liaison/Chorus Administrator Community Engagement Cassandra Lake Executive Manager, Community Engagement Fiona Taylor Education Coordinator Orchestral Management Keith McGowan Executive Manager, Orchestral Management Jenna Boston Orchestral Operations Manager David Cotgreave Production & Technical Manager Alistair Cox Orchestral Manager Breanna Evangelista Orchestral Management Assistant Wee Ming Khoo Music Librarian Business Services Peter Freemantle Chief Financial Officer Andrew Chew Systems Administrator Alex Spartalis IT Support Angela Miller Accountant Sushila Bhudia Accounts Officer Renu Kara Accounts Assistant PHILANTHROPY Alecia Benzie Executive Manager, Philanthropy Jane Clare Fundraising & Philanthropy Manager Corporate Development Marina Woodhouse Executive Manager, Corporate Development Luci Steinhardt Corporate Partnerships Executive Cliona Hayes Corporate Partnerships Coordinator Ginny Luff Corporate Partnerships & Events Coordinator Marketing Kelli Carnachan Executive Manager, Marketing Kirsty Chisholm Marketing Coordinator Nancy Hackett Marketing Manager Gina Beers Graphic Designer Marc Missiaen Relationship Marketing Manager Paula Schibeci Public Relations Manager Zoe Lawrence Marketing Officer Courtney Walsh Marketing Assistant Caris Pong Marketing Intern Josie Aitchison A/Customer Service Manager Beverley Trolio Customer Service Coordinator Alana Arnold Leticia Cannell Margaret Daws Vicki Prince Robyn Westbrook Customer Service Officers Perth Concert Hall Brendon Ellmer General Manager Lorraine Rice Deputy General Manager Brad Matthews Operations Coordinator Penelope Briffa Events Manager Bruce Gaw Maintenance Officer Nancy Hackett Marketing Manager Ryan Sandilands Marketing Assistant Simon Keen Customer Relationship & Operations Manager Megan Lo Surdo Reception & Administration Sarah Salleo Reception & Administration Sushila Bhudia Accounts Officer perthconcerthall.com.au WASO programs are printed by Pilpel Print who are proud to be Green Stamp Accredited. This certification acknowledges Pilpel Print s commitment to minimising environmental impacts associated with producing printed material. All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of statements in this publication we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers error. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material prior to printing. Please address all correspondence to the Executive Manager, Marketing, West Australian Symphony Orchestra, PO Box 3041, East Perth. WA waso@waso.com.au

46 46 MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES Soaring Russian melodies and passionate French flair featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Saint-Saëns. Fri 2 & Sat 3 Oct 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall CHOPIN orch. STRAVINSKY Nocturne Op.32 No.2 CHOPIN orch. STRAVINSKY Grande valse brillante SAINT-SAENS Piano Concerto No.2 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.1 Winter Dreams Alexander Lazarev conductor Kathryn Stott piano BOOK NOW Tickets from $30* Call quoting 1258 Visit waso.com.au or ticketek.com.au *Transaction fees may apply

47 CORPORATE PARTNERS We encourage you to support these partners for generously supporting your Orchestra PARTNERS OF EXCELLENCE PLATINUM PARTNERS CONCERTO PARTNERS OVERTURE PARTNERS SONATA PARTNERS KEYNOTE PARTNERS ORCHESTRA SUPPORTERS MEDIA PARTNERS FUNDING PARTNERS The West Australian Symphony Orchestra is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. To share in our vision and discuss the many opportunities available through corporate partnerships please contact Corporate Development on

48 ASHER FISCH CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES Thurs 3 September 11am ALCOHOL.THINK AGAIN MASTERS SERIES Fri 4 & Sat 5 September 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Be moved by the overwhelming emotion and power of Tchaikovsky s most popular symphony. BOOK NOW Tickets from $30* Call quoting 1258 Visit waso.com.au or ticketek.com.au *Transaction fees may apply. Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts.