PROGRAM SCHUBERT S THE GREAT. Asher Fisch Conducts. MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES Thursday 17 August 2017, 11am

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1 PROGRAM MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES Thursday 17 August 2017, 11am MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES Friday 18 & Saturday 19 August 2017, 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Asher Fisch Conducts SCHUBERT S THE GREAT

2 We Care We are Flexible We Deliver MACA is proud to be a leader in supporting a wide range of community initiatives, small and large. We value our position as a platinum sponsor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and their vision to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Established in 2002 MACA delivers a range of solutions in: Mining Crushing and Screening Civil works With over 850 experienced professionals in Australia and Brazil. Environment ISO Health & Safety Quality AS 4801 ISO Ph: (08) MACA Ltd 45 Division Street, Welshpool WA 6106

3 WELCOME This week marks the start of an exciting month of concerts for WASO. With our Principal Conductor Asher Fisch at the helm, we ll hear the Orchestra perform some great Romantic and twentiethcentury masterpieces, from Schubert s Ninth Symphony to Mahler s Sixth, from the grandeur and drama of Wagner to Strauss exhilarating tone poem Don Juan. Schubert referred in his own letters to his Great C Major as a grand symphony and it is a profound and glorious work, almost an hour of majestic music, full of fresh and invigorating musical ideas. Joining Asher and the Orchestra this week is the young Australian pianist Jayson Gillham. Jayson and Asher previously performed together to critical acclaim in Nashville and we are thrilled that they once again join forces in Jayson s debut performances with WASO. For his first concerts with the Orchestra, Jayson has selected Schumann s Piano Concerto a beautiful work that brims with joy and melody from start to finish. I hope you enjoy this concert of music by Schubert and Schumann and that you will join us over the next few weeks as we journey through some of the greatest music in the orchestral repertoire. Alan Tyrrell Program Manager TIMELINE OF COMPOSERS & WORKS FRANZ SCHUBERT Born 1797, Vienna, Austria Died 1828, Vienna, Austria ROBERT SCHUMANN Born 1810, Zwickau, Germany Died 1856, Endenich, Germany Schubert's Symphony No Schumann's Piano Concerto 1845 Schumann's Genoveva Overture

4 MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES ASHER FISCH CONDUCTS SCHUBERT'S THE GREAT SCHUBERT Symphony No.9 The Great (50 mins) Andante Allegro ma non troppo Andante con moto Scherzo (Allegro vivace Trio) Allegro vivace Asher Fisch conductor Wesfarmers Arts Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with this week s speaker, John Shepherd. The Pre-concert Talk takes place at 9.40am in the Auditorium. 4

5 MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES ASHER FISCH CONDUCTS SCHUBERT'S THE GREAT SCHUMANN Genoveva: Overture (9 mins) SCHUMANN Piano Concerto (31 mins) Allegro affettuoso Intermezzo (Andantino grazioso) Allegro vivace Interval (25 mins) SCHUBERT Symphony No.9 The Great (50 mins) Andante Allegro ma non troppo Andante con moto Scherzo (Allegro vivace Trio) Allegro vivace Asher Fisch conductor Jayson Gillham piano Wesfarmers Arts Pre-concert Talks Find out more about the music in the concert with this week s speaker, John Shepherd. The Pre-concert Talk takes place at 6:45pm in the Terrace Level Foyer. Wesfarmers Arts Meet the Artist Talks Enjoy a conversation with Jayson Gillham post-concert Friday night in the Terrace Level Foyer. 5

6 2017 UPCOMING CONCERTS Photo: Matt Black MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES KARIN SCHAUPP PLAYS RODRIGO FRI 6 & SAT 7 OCTOBER 7.30PM Perth Concert Hall Former WASO Assistant Conductor Christopher Dragon is joined by acclaimed Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp in this enchanting concert. Ravel s Pavane evokes the courtly world of Renaissance Spain with as much perfumed nostalgia as Rodrigo s popular guitar concerto does. Rodrigo described his glorious concerto as capturing the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains. RAVEL Pavane pour une infante défunte RODRIGO Concierto de Aranjuez RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade Christopher Dragon conductor Karin Schaupp guitar (pictured) TICKETS FROM $32 * MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES LI-WEI QIN PLAYS SAINT-SAENS THURS 12 OCTOBER 11AM Perth Concert Hall Chinese-born Australian cello virtuoso Li-Wei Qin and conductor Douglas Boyd make a welcome return to WASO. Saint-Saëns stormy, mercurial First Cello Concerto is an audience favourite, a virtuosic showpiece that positively erupts with melodic invention. SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No.1 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No.5 Douglas Boyd conductor Li-Wei Qin cello (pictured) MASTERS SERIES FRENCH CONNECTIONS FRI 13 & SAT 14 OCTOBER 7.30PM Perth Concert Hall Vaughan Williams Fifth Symphony is imbued with the delicate handling of lyricism and orchestral colour evident in Ravel s Mother Goose ballet. By contrast, musical prodigy Saint-Saëns stormy, mercurial First Cello Concerto positively erupts with melodic invention. RAVEL Ma Mère L Oye (Mother Goose) Suite SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No.1 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No.5 Douglas Boyd conductor Li-Wei Qin cello (pictured) TICKETS FROM $29 * TICKETS FROM $32 * BOOK NOW CALL VISIT WASO.COM.AU *A one-off handling fee of $5.50 per transaction applies to all purchases on our website. A fee of $6.60 applies to phone and mail bookings. A fee of $3.85 applies to all over the counter bookings.an additional fee of $4.40 per transaction applies for delivery via Registered Post.

7 WASO IN THE COMMUNITY Education Week June 2017 Bravo WASO! The excitement and enthusiasm generated with the young audience at one of [the] concerts at the Perth Concert Hall had to be experienced to be believed. Thank you and well done WASO, its players and musicians. B.Lillis, Letter to the Editor, published in The West Australian 26 June 2017 WASO s Community Engagement Department were delighted to reach 6,355 audience members across 15 performances in seven different locations during Education Week + this year. We welcomed UK composer and educationalist Paul Rissmann as our Artist- In-Residence. We presented a selection of his programs for children for full orchestra as well as chamber programs with our newly formed EChO9 and EChO11 ensembles, and our first ever education programs in Mandurah to a capacity audience at the gorgeous Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. Across the eight days, we delivered performances for primary school students and families at Perth Concert Hall and Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Composition Project Final Showing as part of our flagship Young and Emerging Artists program, a 90+ member Rusty Orchestra performance that concluded with the world premiere of The Rusties! - March and confetti canons exploding to Tchaikovsky s 1812 Overture, Kids' Cushion Concerts with EChO11, Hospital Orchestra Project at Princess Margaret Children s Hospital, Harmony Music and a Conducting Masterclass with Benjamin Northey. In addition, we also gave six free music education classes in our El Sistema Inspired Music Education Program, Crescendo, teaching more than 100 students in Kwinana. Education Week takes place during Community Support Month, and we were delighted that Paul Rissmann was able to meet a number of Patrons and guests at the annual Judy Sienkiewicz Lecture. Paul spoke animatedly about the importance and value of education and outreach programming for a modern 21st century orchestra. Sincere thanks to our corporate partners and individual donors who help us reach diverse audiences throughout this special week in our calendar. Young and Emerging Artists programs are supported by The James Galvin Foundation. Kids' Cushion Concerts are supported by Water Corporation. Harmony Music at Moorditj Noongar Community College was supported by Perth Airport. WASO s Community Outreach Program is proudly presented by Healthway, promoting the Act-Belong- Commit message. The Conducting Masterclass was presented with support from ABODA (WA) and Churchlands Concert Hall. 7

8 ABOUT THE ARTIST Asher Fisch Principal Conductor & Artistic Adviser A renowned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, Asher Fisch is especially celebrated for his interpretative command of core German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post- Romantic era. He conducts a wide variety of repertoire from Gluck to contemporary works by living composers. In 2014, Fisch became the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO). His former posts include Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Opera ( ), Music Director of the New Israeli Opera ( ), and Music Director of the Wiener Volksoper ( ). Highlights of the season include debuts with the Sydney Symphony and the New Japan Philharmonic, and a tour to China with WASO. In addition, Fisch returns to the Stuttgart Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. Guest opera engagements include Tristan und Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera, Die Zauberflöte at Teatro Regio di Torino, and five titles including La forza del destino and Falstaff at the Bayerische Staatsoper where he has long maintained enduring ties. Born in Israel, Fisch began his conducting career as Daniel Barenboim s assistant and kappellmeister at the Berlin Staatsoper. He has built his versatile repertoire at the major opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and Semperoper Dresden. Fisch is also a regular guest conductor at leading American symphony orchestras including those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia. In Europe he has appeared at the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France, among others. Asher Fisch recently recorded the complete Brahms symphonies with WASO, released in September 2016 on ABC Classics. Last year, his 2013 recording of Wagner s Ring Cycle with the Seattle Opera was released on the Avie label. His first Ring Cycle recording, with the State Opera of South Australia, won ten Helpmann Awards, including best opera and best music direction. Fisch is also an accomplished pianist and has a solo disc of Wagner piano transcriptions on the Melba label. Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts 8

9 ABOUT THE ARTIST Jayson Gillham Piano Winner of the 2014 Montreal International Musical Competition, London-based Australian pianist Jayson Gillham performs with the world s leading orchestras and conductors. On this current Australian tour, Jayson Gillham has performed also at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville. Future concerts include recitals in the UK, among which is a Wagner concert with Stuart Skelton in which he will perform Liszt transcriptions. At the end of last year Jayson Gillham toured Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane, including concerts with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the late Sir Jeffrey Tate also included concerts in Montreal and Germany and with the London Philharmonic. Chamber music forms an important part of Jayson s career with highlights including performances with the Jerusalem, Carducci, Tinalley, Brentano, Ruysdael and Flinders String Quartets. In May 2015 Jayson Gillham signed a three-album recording deal with ABC Classics saw the release of his debut recital album featuring works by Bach, Schubert and Chopin has seen the recording of a concerto album with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where he studied with Leah Horwitz, Jayson relocated to London in 2007 to pursue a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton. He is grateful to the Australian Music Foundation, the Tait Memorial Trust and The Keyboard Trust for their steadfast support over several years. In 2012 Jayson was named Commonwealth Musician of the Year and Gold Medallist of the Royal Over-Seas League 60th Annual Music Competition. 9

10 WEST AUSTRALIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is Western Australia s largest and busiest performing arts organisation. With a reputation for excellence, engagement and innovation, WASO s resident company of full-time, professional musicians plays a central role in creating a culturally vibrant Western Australia. WASO is a not for profit company, funded through government, ticket revenue and the generous support of the community through corporate and philanthropic partnerships. WASO s mission is to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Each year the Orchestra entertains and inspires the people of Western Australia through its concert performances, regional tours, innovative education and community programs, and its artistic partnerships with West Australian Opera and West Australian Ballet. The Orchestra is led by Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser Asher Fisch. The Israeli-born conductor is widely acclaimed for his command of the Romantic German repertoire and is a frequent guest at the world s great opera houses. Each year the Orchestra performs over 175 concerts with some of the world s most talented conductors and soloists to an audience in excess of 190,000. An integral part of the Orchestra is the WASO Chorus, a highly skilled ensemble of auditioned singers who volunteer their time and talent. waso.com.au CONNECT WITH WASO facebook.com/ WestAustralianSymphonyOrchestra twitter.com/_waso_ instagram.com/_waso_ youtube.com/westaustsymorchestra Stay up to date and sign-up to our SymphonE-news at waso.com.au Download WASO s free app on itunes or Google Play 10

11 ON STAGE TONIGHT VIOLIN Laurence Jackson Concertmaster Semra Lee-Smith A/Assoc Concertmaster Graeme Norris A/Assistant Concertmaster Rebecca Glorie A/Principal 1st Violin Zak Rowntree* Principal 2nd Violin Kylie Liang Assoc Principal 2nd Violin Sarah Blackman Fleur Challen Stephanie Dean John Ford^ Beth Hebert Jane Johnston Christina Katsimbardis Andrea Menham^ Melanie Pearn Jasmine Parkinson- Stewart^ Lucas O Brien Ken Peeler Louise Sandercock Jane Serrangeli Kathryn Shinnick Jacek Slawomirski Kate Sullivan Bao Di Tang Cerys Tooby Teresa Vinci^ Pascale Whiting^ Susannah Williams VIOLA Alex Brogan A/Principal Viola Sally Bond Kierstan Arkleysmith Nik Babic Chair partnered by Lesley & Peter Davies Benjamin Caddy Alison Hall Rachael Kirk Allan McLean Elliot O Brien Kathy Potter^ Helen Tuckey CELLO Louise McKay Chair partnered by Penrhos College Shigeru Komatsu Oliver McAslan Nicholas Metcalfe Eve Silver* Fotis Skordas Tim South Jon Tooby^ Xiaole Wu DOUBLE BASS Andrew Sinclair* Joan Wright Elizabeth Browning^ Louise Elaerts Christine Reitzenstein Andrew Tait Mark Tooby FLUTE Andrew Nicholson Mary-Anne Blades PICCOLO Michael Waye OBOE Peter Facer Liz Chee COR ANGLAIS Leanne Glover CLARINET Allan Meyer Lorna Cook BASS CLARINET Alexander Millier BASSOON Adam Mikulicz A/Principal Bassoon Chair partnered by Sue & Ron Wooller Colin Forbes-Abrams CONTRABASSOON Chloe Turner HORN David Evans Jessica Armstrong^ Julia Brooke Francesco Lo Surdo TRUMPET Brent Grapes Matthew Dempsey Peter Miller TROMBONE Joshua Davis Liam O Malley BASS TROMBONE Philip Holdsworth TIMPANI Alex Timcke *Instruments used by these musicians are on loan from Janet Holmes à Court AC. Principal Associate Principal Guest Musician^ Contract Playerº 11

12 ASHER FISCH CONDUCTS MOZART & MAHLER FRI 25 & SAT 26 AUGUST 7.30PM PERTH CONCERT HALL MOZART Violin Concerto No.3 MAHLER Symphony No.6 Asher Fisch conductor Karen Gomyo violin BOOK NOW WASO.COM.AU TICKETS FROM $32 * 12 Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts. *A one-off handling fee of $5.50 per transaction applies to all purchases on our website. A fee of $6.60 applies to phone and mail bookings. An additional fee of $4.40 per transaction applies for delivery via Registered Post.

13 YOUR CONCERT EXPERIENCE FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF ALL When to applaud? Musicians love applause. Audience members normally applaud: When the concertmaster (violin) walks onto the stage When the conductor walks onto the stage After the completion of each piece and at the end of the performance When you need to cough, try to muffle or bury your cough in a handkerchief or during a louder section of the music. Cough lozenges are available from the WASO Ticket Collection Desk before each performance and at the interval. Hearing aids that are incorrectly adjusted may disturb other patrons, please be mindful of those around you. Mobile phones and other electronic devices need to be switched off throughout the performance. Photography, sound and video recordings are permitted prior to the start of the performance. Latecomers and patrons who leave the auditorium will be seated only after the completion of a work. Moving to empty seats. Please do not move to empty seats prior to the performance as this may affect seating for latecomers when they are admitted during a suitable break. LISTEN TO WASO This performance is being recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Sunday 3 September at 2pm (or 12pm online). For further details visit abc.net.au/classic 720 ABC PERTH Tune in to 720 ABC Perth on Friday morning at 6.15am when Peter Bell provides the latest on classical music and WASO s upcoming concerts. FOOD & BEVERAGES Visit perthconcerthall.com.au for information on food and beverage offerings at the venue. Foyer bars are open for drinks and coffee two hours before, during interval and after the concert. To save time we recommend you pre-order your interval drinks. FREE WATER STATIONS Level 1 Ground Floor across from box office Wardle Room western side of bar Terrace Level Corner Bar one water station on either side of the bar Lower & Upper Gallery level FIRST AID There are St John Ambulance officers present at every concert so please speak to them if you require any first aid assistance ACCESSIBILITY A universal accessible toilet is available on the ground floor (Level 1) The Sennheiser MobileConnect Personal Hearing Assistance system is available for every seat in the auditorium. Visit perthconcerthall.com.au/your-visit/ accessibility/ for further information. WASO BOX OFFICE Buy your WASO tickets and subscriptions, exchange tickets, or make a donation at the Box Office on the ground floor (Level 1) prior to each performance and at interval. Tickets for other performances at Perth Concert Hall will be available for purchase only at interval. The Box Office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and contactable on DONATE YOUR TICKET Can t attend a concert? Contact the WASO Box Office on to donate your ticket for re-sale and you will receive a tax deductible receipt. 13

14 ABOUT THE MUSIC Robert Schumann ( ) Genoveva, Op.81: Overture Genoveva, Schumann s only opera, was composed in a white-heat between 1847 and It was intended to be the first truly German opera: Schumann had been praying from morning to evening for the creation of a unique national school, one free of the French and Italian influences that tainted the operas of composers like Meyerbeer. Genoveva was based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant as filtered through the Romantic sensibilities of 19thcentury poets Hebbel and Tieck: Siegfried leaves for the crusades, entrusting his wife to the care of his retainer Golo. Golo nurses an obsessive passion for Genoveva and sets out to destroy Siegfried Eventually, Genoveva is exiled to the forest, wrongly accused of infidelity when she rejects Golo s advances. Years pass, Golo s plot is revealed and Genoveva is reunited with Siegfried. Schumann dressed this rather predictable story with music that is at least equal to his symphonies. Eschewing crowd-pleasing vocal fireworks and show-stopping ensembles, Schumann pre-empts Wagner with a through-composed drama complete with a tightly organised motivic structure. Unfortunately, after only a few performances the opera subsided into obscurity, to be revived every now and then. The overture is cast in two parts, a slow introduction in C minor followed by a sonata-form allegro in C major. A minor ninth chord emerges out of silence and is stabbed by the violin melody, only resolving in the third bar harmony that would have been quite surprising to 19th-century ears. Key themes are introduced, and the kaleidoscopic juxtaposition of motives and harmonies doesn t abate until the end, when the piece gallops to a thunderous climax. Adapted from a note by Robert Murray Symphony Australia 2004 First performance: Premiere of overture: 25 February 1850, Leipzig, composer conducting. Opera first performed on 25 June 1850, Leipzig. First WASO performance: This is the first performance of the Overture from Genoveva by WASO. Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings. Glossary Minor ninth chord a dominant seventh chord (chord V, built on the fifth degree of the scale) containing an additional, slightly dissonant note which creates a heightened tension until it resolves to the home key. Motif/motivic a short, distinctive melodic or rhythmic figure, often part of or derived from a theme. In dramatic or descriptive music, motifs may be associated with people, places or ideas. Sonata form a term conceived in the 19th century to describe the way most Classical composers structured at least the first movement of a symphonic work or a sonata. It involves the exposition or presentation of themes: the first subject is in the home key, the second in a contrasting key. The resulting tension between keys is intensified in the development, where recognisable melodic and rhythmic aspects of the themes are manipulated as the music moves further and further away from the ultimate goal of the home key. Tension is resolved at the recapitulation where both themes are fully restated in the home key. 14

15 ABOUT THE MUSIC Robert Schumann ( ) Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54 Allegro affettuoso Intermezzo (Andantino grazioso) Allegro vivace Following their wedding in September 1840, composer Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck, a prominent piano virtuoso, set up house in Leipzig. The couple soon had children, and finding money to support a growing family was a constant worry. Clara had no intention of abandoning her successful musical life. She took pride in earning money from her performances; she also helped popularise Robert s piano works by including them in her concert programs. Robert revered his wife s extraordinary musicianship, but his pride struggled with the greater fame accorded Clara, especially when they travelled on concert tours together. Though a respected music journalist and an acclaimed composer of piano works, songs and chamber music, he had yet to write the symphonies and large-scale works that would later enhance his artistic reputation. A piano concerto by Robert that Clara could perform would thus serve several purposes. Before marrying, Robert had experimented with various ideas for piano concertos, none of which evolved beyond sketches. But during the newlyweds first year, he completed a Phantasie for Piano and Orchestra, conceived and orchestrated during 16 days in May A private performance led to the first of several revisions, but Robert could not find a publisher for his single-movement work. He set it aside for four years, during which time he wrote more chamber music (including his popular Piano Quintet and Piano Quartet) as well as the Spring Symphony, and moved his family to Dresden. From there he undertook a tour to Russia with Clara that left him exhausted and ill, triggering a severe nervous breakdown. He sought therapy by studying the works of Bach and writing fugues. Taking a break from counterpoint exercises, he added two movements a final rondo and a connecting Intermezzo to the reworked Phantasie, and thus created his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. Ferdinand Hiller, a conductor to whom Robert dedicated the concerto (hoping to heal a rift in their friendship), led the premiere in his Dresden subscription concert of 4 December 1845 with Clara as soloist. But the true dedicatee is Clara, for whom Robert characterised his devotion in the opening movement s tempo indication of Allegro affettuoso, the Phantasie s original title. Clara took pleasure in the results; she had long wanted a more brilliant vehicle for display of her virtuosity than the Phantasie. Felix Mendelssohn, the Schumanns great friend, who expressed highest regard for Clara s playing and supported (with occasional private misgivings) Schumann s work as a composer, organised and conducted the 15

16 Leipzig premiere on New Year s Day Thereafter, the concerto was performed in important cities, often with Robert conducting; it remained a central work in Clara s repertoire, and is a lasting testament to the couple s remarkable personal and artistic partnership, cut short by Robert s death at age 46 in the Endenich asylum, where he recalled, in a letter to Clara, the concerto that you played so splendidly. With an abrupt, chromatic cascade of chords, the soloist s opening entrance commands immediate attention, heralding the oboe s statement of the primary theme, echoed by the piano. The theme s three-note descending motif dominates deliberations between the orchestra and soloist. The opening key of A minor yields, via the second theme, to triumphant C major, then to an expressive reverie in A flat major, showcasing the piano accompanied by radiant strings and plaintive woodwind. A return to earlier debates interrupts this dream, restores the opening theme and launches the soloist into an extended cadenza, capped by a quick coda that ends emphatically. The second-movement Intermezzo (Andantino grazioso), hosts a more congenial but equally passionate dialogue. Short musical ideas are exchanged politely between soloist and orchestra, but as they warm to their topic, an eloquent contrasting theme sings out richly from the cellos, ornamented expansively by the piano. As the conversation fades, clarinets and bassoons recall the opening movement s three-note motif, first in A minor, then in A major. Without pause, the piano seizes the major motif and launches into a robust, triple-metre rondo marked Allegro vivace, driven by the soloist s extensive bravura passagework. The third-movement theme (itself a transformation of the primary firstmovement theme, subtly strengthening the concerto s structural unity) surfaces buoyantly through harmonic sequences that build to an exhilarating conclusion. Samuel C. Dixon 2003 First performance: 4 December 1845, Dresden. Ferdinand Hiller, conductor; Clara Schumann, soloist. First WASO performance: 24 June 1944, War Funds Concert. Ernest J. Roberts, conductor; Trixie Shephard, piano. Most recent WASO performance: October Brad Cohen, conductor; Ronald Brautigam, piano. Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings. YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.2 featured in Rachmaninov s 2nd Piano Concerto Fri 24 & Sat 25 November Glossary Cadenza a showy passage by a solo instrument, usually towards the end of a concerto movement. Originally, cadenzas were improvised by the soloist to show off their brilliant technique. Chromatic use of notes that are not part of the key. Coda a concluding section added to the basic structure of a piece or movement to emphasise the sense of finality. Counterpoint/contrapuntal two or more lines of music or melodies that are played at the same time. Music which uses counterpoint is said to be contrapuntal. Fugue a contrapuntal style of composition in which a short melody is sounded by one voice or part and subsequently taken up by others. Intermezzo a light, reasonably short movement which goes in between two weightier ones. Rondo a musical form where a main idea (refrain) alternates with a series of musical episodes. Classical composers often wrote the final movement of their symphonic works in rondo form. 16

17 ABOUT THE MUSIC Franz Schubert ( ) Symphony No.9 in C, D.944, Great C major Andante Allegro ma non troppo Andante con moto Scherzo (Allegro vivace Trio) Allegro vivace Among papers found after Schubert s death was a score of his Great Symphony in C, which the composer s brother showed to Robert Schumann in Fired with enthusiasm, Schumann sent it to Mendelssohn in Leipzig, and in 1839 the work was performed there by the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Schumann s enthusiasm was generated in part by the heavenly length of the piece, which he compared to a novel in four volumes; Schubert had, clearly, hit on a new way of structuring large spans of symphonic time, and this would have radical implications for the form as cultivated by composers from Schumann to Mahler. The magic number nine, the fact of Schubert s tragically early death, and existence of at least one Unfinished Symphony in Schubert s oeuvre have conspired to create a number of myths about the Great C major symphony. First, far from being Schubert s last word in the medium, it was completed in 1826 well before his death and indeed was at one time numbered seven in the Schubert canon. Second, while the Leipzig performance was the work s public premiere, Schubert had in fact sent a copy to Vienna s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1826; the orchestra, which paid Schubert a small gratuity, had read through the work but decided it was too long and difficult for players and audiences alike. (This remained a stumbling-block for the work well into the 19th and early 20th centuries: Mendelssohn had to withdraw it from a performance in London owing to a player rebellion, and Hans von Bülow found aspects of it as baffling as the music of his erstwhile disciple, Mahler.) Finally, the nickname refers in part to the work s generous dimensions, but also distinguishes it from the earlier symphony D.589 (the sixth ), also in C major. The symphony s challenges and joys both stem from its balance of classical principles and, for want of a better term, Romantic aspirations it is, after all, roughly contemporary with Beethoven s Ninth and Berlioz s Symphonie fantastique. The work is cast in the conventional four-movement layout of the classical Viennese symphony, and Schubert uses some kind of sonata design in three of the movements; his orchestration, with its use of horn calls and distant, soft trombones, evokes the Romanticism of Mendelssohn and Weber. 17

18 The first movement begins with a slow introduction that creates tension before the outbreak of the faster material in the main body of the movement. So far, so classical, but in addition, the theme (on unison horns) which begins the work also contains the seeds of much of the symphony s subsequent material especially the dotted rhythm in the theme s second bar, which pervades the whole work. This elaboration of material from a small cell recalls the examples of Haydn and Beethoven, though Schubert balances this concentration with his characteristic spinning of apparently endlessly new melodies. But from Beethoven, too, he learned the rhetorical power of reiteration, and at various points in the piece creates long stretches of increasingly exciting music out of the forceful repetition of short, strongly profiled motives. The tremendous tension built up during the first movement is resolved in a way uncharacteristic of Schubert: he brings back the opening horn theme, now transformed into something much less dreamy in character. The slow movement begins in A minor and its main theme, characterised by the pervasive dotted rhythm, has been described by Donald Tovey as a heartbreaking show of spirit in adversity. Certainly Schubert s health was, at this time, deteriorating due to syphilis and the then common treatments for the disease, but the work is in no way a document of self-pity. Using a device common in his songs, Schubert takes his music into the major mode for dramatic, and possibly optimistic, contrast. The Scherzo maintains the large-scale thinking of the rest of the work, and in this regard anticipates the massive structures of Bruckner s symphonic scherzos. Like Bruckner, Schubert generates great energy by the use of inexorably buoyant rhythms and a string of beautiful themes. The finale is likewise of a proportion to match the previous movements and is as full of thematic invention. It encompasses material and emotional states as different as what Tovey identifies as fairy music and gestures as terrible as anything in Beethoven or Michelangelo. Gordon Kerry 2009 First performance: 21 March 1839, Leipzig Gewandhaus. Felix Mendelssohn, conductor. First WASO performance: 8 May Henry Krips, conductor. Most recent WASO performance: March Oleg Caetani, conductor. Instrumentation: two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings. YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY SCHUMANN Symphony No.4 featured in Asher Fisch Conducts Schumann Fri 17 & Sat 18 November Glossary Dotted rhythm a pattern of alternating long and short notes. Sonata design/form a term conceived in the 19th century to describe the way most Classical composers structured at least the first movement of a symphonic work or a sonata. It involves the exposition or presentation of themes: the first subject is in the home key, the second in a contrasting key. The resulting tension between keys is intensified in the development, where recognisable melodic and rhythmic aspects of the themes are manipulated as the music moves further and further away from the ultimate goal of the home key. Tension is resolved at the recapitulation where both themes are fully restated in the tonic. There is sometimes a coda (literally, tail ) to enhance the sense of finality. 18

19 MEET THE MUSICIAN Semra Lee-Smith A/Assoc Concertmaster What s your earliest memory of playing music? My mother is a violin teacher and I started playing (or copying her) at the age of three. One of my first playing memories is of a duet we played at my school when I was about four. Do you have any stand out concerts or performances in your time with WASO? The Brahms Festival in 2015 was incredible and so was the concert in Shanghai during the recent China tour. Messiaen s Turangalîlasymphonie and Mahler s Ninth Symphony with Simone Young were also pretty amazing. What piece of music would you play to convince someone of the power of music? I ve often thought about this and I do really think it depends on the person. For instance, on Mother s Day this year, I played a string quartet concert comprising pieces by Haydn, Webern and Shostakovich. Initially, I thought the Webern and Shostakovich might be a little challenging for our audience. To my surprise, the Shostakovich was overwhelmingly the crowd favourite. People commented on how they loved the power and energy in the music and its expressive quality. And then there was the one lady who told me she d come to the conclusion that Shostakovich must have hated his mother! I absolutely loved that response! How do you feel after a concert? Exhilarated, relieved and exhausted! When no one s watching, what music do you listen to? I don t really have any current guilty secret listening pleasures but when I was 14, I listened to a LOT of New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson. Who is your favourite violin soloist? I think Leonidas Kavakos is an absolute god of the violin. I got to play with him a number of times when I was a member of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He never disappointed and I always came offstage totally gobsmacked by his mastery of the instrument. I also love listening to historic recordings of violinists like Fritz Kreisler and Arthur Grumiaux. When I was a teenager, I had a photo of Jascha Heifetz on my bedroom wall. Next to a poster of New Kids on the Block... If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would choose to have with you? A comfy chair, my dog and Netflix. I really dislike pineapple on pizza. 19

20 WASO PHILANTHROPY Orchestral Partnerships Supporting a Chair in the Orchestra Patrons who feel a close connection to WASO s commitment to excellence are invited to support a Chair in the Orchestra. Orchestral Partnerships are a unique way to develop a closer relationship with the Orchestra and deepen your knowledge of a particular instrument. Funding a Chair in the Orchestra supports the salaries of our orchestral players and plays a critical role in covering our core operating costs. Government funding no longer fully covers orchestral salaries and ticket income, whilst substantial, is not enough to cover all expenditure. Funding such as this Orchestral Partnerships program, enables us to utilise other sources of funding to seek excellence across all we do and to build our community engagement and education programs. Meet the Percussion Section Sunday 15 October 2017, 2 4pm Perth Concert Hall Stage Join us when we venture onto the Perth Concert Hall stage to meet the members and instruments of the self-proclaimed noisy section of the Orchestra! Often relegated to the back of the Orchestra, our talented percussionists will be showcased centre stage, framed by a backdrop of the beautiful Perth Concert Hall auditorium. The evening will conclude with wine, refreshments and a raffle on Terrace level. Tickets are $45 for Patrons & Friends ($55 for guests) and include wine and light refreshments. To book, please call the WASO Box Office on These partnerships often last for many years and can be deeply gratifying experiences for both Patrons and musicians. For further details or to arrange a partnership, please contact Jacinta Sirr on (08) or sirrj@waso.com.au. Ticket sales from all Patrons and Friends events support the Friends of WASO Scholarship. Principal Percussion Chair, Brian Maloney (pictured) is partnered by Stott Hoare. Photo: Nik Babic Photo: Emma Van Dordrecht 20

21 OUR SUPPORTERS Philanthropic partnerships come in all shapes and sizes Whatever the shape or size, your donation helps WASO make a difference and we thank you for your support. WASO s philanthropy program continues to grow, supporting our vision now and into the future. It is an exciting time to be a part of this community, to meet our musicians and to know you have helped your Orchestra to touch souls and enrich lives through music. Together we can do amazing things. Symphony Circle Recognising Patrons who have made a provision in their Will to the Orchestra Ms Davilia Bleckly Mr John Bonny Dr G Campbell-Evans Deirdre Carlin Anita & James Clayton Dr Michael Flacks Judith Gedero Robyn Glindemann Gwenyth Greenwood The Guy Family Liz Harrison Emi & Warren Jones Colin & Jo King Rachael Kirk & Tim White Paul Lee Wolfgang Lehmkuhl Deborah Marsh Suzanne Nash Tosi Nottage in memory of Edgar Nottage Nigel & Dr Heather Rogers Gavin Toovey & Jaehan Lee Sheila Wileman Sagitte Yom-Tov Fund Anonymous (30) Endowment Fund for the Orchestra This fund includes major donations and bequests Tom & Jean Arkley Janet Holmes à Court AC Minderoo Foundation Sagitte Yom-Tov Fund Estates WASO is extremely grateful for the bequests received from Estates Rachel Mabel Chapman Mrs Roslyn Warrick Judy Sienkiewicz Anonymous (5) Excellence Circle Supporting excellence across all we do Jean Arkley Bob & Gay Branchi Janet Holmes à Court AC Dr Patricia Kailis Torsten & Mona Ketelsen Rod & Margaret Marston Michael Utsler Leanne & Sam Walsh WASO & Wagner Constance Chapman Stephen Davis & Linda Savage Mr M Hawkins Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert Dr John Meyer John Overton Joshua & Pamela Pitt The Richard Wagner Society of WA Joyce Westrip OAM Anonymous (2) The WASO Song Book We are grateful to those who have supported new works commissioned for the Orchestra Janet Holmes à Court AC Peter Dawson Jude and Barrie Lepley Geoff Stearn Instrument Fund John Albright & Susan Lorimer - EChO Double Bass Deborah Marsh - Cor Anglais Peggy & Tom Stacy - Cor Anglais Jean & Peter Stokes - Cello & Tuba Reach Out Supporting our Education & Community Engagement programs Jean Arkley Ron & Penny Crittall Ann Darby Robyn Glindemann Barrie & Jude Lepley Rosalind Lilley Mrs Morrell Peter & Jean Stokes Ruth Stratton Anonymous (1) Crescendo Giving Circle AOT Consulting Pty Ltd Jean Arkley Kaylene Cousins Euroz Charitable Foundation Madeleine King MP, Federal Member for Brand Rosalind Lilley Pamela Pitt Deborah & Miles Protter The Spivakovsky Jubilee Valerie Vicich Anonymous (1) Trusts & Foundations Crown Resorts Foundation & Packer Family Foundation The Ionian Club Perth '81 The James Galvin Foundation Simon Lee Foundation 21

22 OUR SUPPORTERS Annual Giving We are proud to acknowledge the following Patrons for their generous contribution to WASO in the last 12 months through our Annual Giving program. Principal Conductor s Circle Gifts $20,000+ Janet Holmes à Court AC John Albright & Susan Lorimer Patricia New Peter & Jean Stokes Impresario Patron Gifts $10,000 - $19,999 Gay & Bob Branchi Gavin Bunning Peter & Lesley Davies (Orchestral Chair Partners - Tutti Viola) Tony & Gwenyth Lennon Margaret & Rod Marston Joshua & Pamela Pitt Trish Williams Strategic Interactions Maestro Patron Gifts $5,000 - $9,999 Jean Arkley in memory of Tom Arkley Bill Bloking Dr Roland & Therese Brand Ian & Elizabeth Constable Moira & John Dobson Tim & Lexie Elliott Bridget Faye AM E & EA Fraunschiel Gilbert George Dr Patricia Kailis Kelly Family Alison Kennedy Keith & Gaye Kessell Dr Ronny Low & Dr Emma Richardson Bryant & Louise Macfie Robert May Paula & John Phillips Richard Tarala & Lyn Beazley AO Ros Thomson Alan Whitham Sue & Ron Wooller (Orchestral Chair Partners - Principal Bassoon) Anonymous (2) Virtuoso Patron Gifts $2,500 - $4,999 Dr Fred Affleck AO & Mrs Margaret Affleck Neil Archibald & Alan R Dodge AM Tony & Mary Beeley David & Suzanne Biddles Peter & Marjorie Bird Alan & Anne Blanckensee Dr G Campbell-Evans Prof Jonathan Carapetis & Prof Sue Skull Mark Coughlan & Dr Pei-Yin Hsu Diane Coxon Stephen Davis & Linda Savage Bev East Richard Farago Robyn Glindemann Brian & Romola Haggerty Warwick Hemsley & Melissa Parke Sue Hovell Sylvia & Wally Hyams Jim & Freda Irenic Eleanor John & Finn Barrett Michael & Dale Kitney Stephanie & John Kobelke Dr Richard & Patricia Lyon Mrs Morrell Anne Nolan Tim Pavy & Cathy Cole Dr Lance Risbey & Ms Elizabeth Sachse G. J. Seach Melanie & Paul Shannon Gail & Tony Sutherland Gene Tilbrook Michael & Helen Tuite Stan & Valerie Vicich Joyce Westrip OAM Andrew & Marie Yuncken Anonymous (2) Principal Patron Gifts $1,000 - $2,499 Caroline Allen & Sandy Dunn Prue Ashurst in memory of Eoin Cameron Margaret Atkins Betty Barker Noelle Beasley Colin and Sarah Beckett Kevin Blake Matthew J C Blampey Namy Bodinner Susy Bogle Peter & Eve Boland Dr & Mrs P Breidahl Jean Brodie-Hall AM Marilyn & Ian Burton Rev Dr John Cardell-Oliver Dr Anne Chester Peter & Sue Clifton David Cooke Arthur & Nerina Coopes Hon June Craig AM Maree Creighton & Kevin Davis Brian Cresswell Gay & John Cruickshank Rai & Erika Dolinschek Julian Dowse Megan Edwards Lorraine Ellard Dane Etheridge & Brooke Fowles Annette Finn P & J Fisher Don & Marie Forrest Dr Andrew Gardner Roger & Ann Gillbanks Graham & Barbara Goulden Jannette Gray Deidre Greenfeld Grussgott Family Trust Richard B Hammond Pauline & Peter Handford Dr Harry Hansen-Knarhoi In memory of Eileen Hayes Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert Jacoba Hohnen & Stuart Cooksey Michael Hollingdale Helen Hollingshead John & Katrina Hopkins J & S Huan Judith Hugo Cynthia Jee Lilian & Roger Jennings 22

23 OUR SUPPORTERS Warren & Emi Jones Anthony Kane in memory of Jane Leahy-Kane Bill Kean David Keast & Victoria Mizen Noelle & Anthony Keller AM Irving Lane Meg Lewis Teresa & Jemima Loveland Graham & Muriel Mahony Gregg & Sue Marshman S. McWhirter Betty & Con Michael AO Mrs Carolyn Milton-Smith in loving memory of Emeritus Prof John Milton-Smith Hon Justice S R Moncrieff Geoffrey & Valmae Morris Jane & Jock Morrison Lyn Murray Val & Barry Neubecker Delys & Alan Newman Dr Phil and Mrs Erlene Noble John Overton Ron & Philippa Packer Michael & Lesley Page Athena Paton Rosemary Peek Charmian Phillips in memory of Colin Craft Pamela Platt Thomas & Diana Potter Barry & Dot Price Dr Leon Prindiville Joan Reyland John & Alison Rigg Bryan & Jan Rodgers Nigel & Dr Heather Rogers Gerry & Maurice Rousset OAM Roger Sandercock Dr R & J Schwenger Margaret & Roger Seares Glenice Shephard Julian & Noreen Sher Laurel & Ross Smith Paul Smith & Denham Harry Michael Snell & Vicki Stewart Geoff and Christine Soutar Ruth Thomas Gavin Toovey & Jaehan Lee Mary Townsend James & Rosemary Trotter Maggie Venerys Adrienne & Max Walters AM Watering Concepts Ian Watson Dr Chris & Mrs Vimala Whitaker Dai and Anne Williams Ian Williams AO & Jean Williams Jim & Gill Williams Judith Wilton & David Turner Hilary & Peter Winterton AM Sara Wordsworth In memory of youth concerts at the Capital Theatre in the 1950s Anonymous (21) Tutti Patron Gifts $500 - $999 Geoff & Joan Airey Catherine Bagster Bernard & Jackie Barnwell Shirley Barraclough Mrs Berwine Barrett-Lennard Pamela M Bennet Michael & Nadia Berkeley-Hill John & Sue Bird in memory of Penny Bird Dermot & Jennifer Blackweir Elaine Bonds Diane & Ron Bowyer James & Gay Brown Alison Bunker & Myles Harmer Lucia Buralli Ann Butcher & Dean R Kubank Michelle Candy Prof Rachel Cardell-Oliver Nanette Carnachan Claire Chambers & Dr Andrea Shoebridge Fred & Angela Chaney Dr Sarah Cherian Lyn & Harvey Coates AO Agatha & Alex Cohen AO Helen Cook Brian Cresswell Gina & Neil Davidson Professor Wayne Iwan Lee Davies FRSB Jop & Hanneke Delfos Judy Dolan Simon & Pamela Douglas Mrs G Ewen In memory of Arbutus Beaver Falatko Maxine & Bill Farrell AM Gavin & Susan Fielding Joan Gagliardi Jennifer & Stephen Gardiner George Gavranic Elaine Gimson Isobel Glencross Pitsamai & Kevin Green David & Valerie Gulland Paul & Barbara Harris Alan Harvey & Dr Paulien de Boer Eric & Elizabeth Heenan John Hill Rosemary Howarth Christopher, Julie, Rosemary & Bronwyn Hudson Peter Ingram Peter S Jones B M Kent Dorothy Kingston Nelly Kleyn Ulrich & Gloria Kunzmann John Kusinski & Annie Motherway Trevor & Ane Marie Lacy Louis & Miriam Landau Paul Lee Martin & Ruth Levit Ann Lewis Megan Lowe The Lucas Family Ian and Judith Lunt Mary Ellen in memory of Kerensa Geoff Massey Jennifer & Arthur McComb James Meneghello & Mabel Chew Tony & Gillian Milne S B Monger-Hay André & Barbara Morkel Dr Peter Moss Phuong Nguyen Marianne Nilsson Peter O Sullivan Dr Walter Ong & Graeme Marshall Marjan Oxley Bev Penny Adrian & Ruth Phelps Alpha & Richard Pilpel OAM Dr Brad Power Alison & John Price Tony & Val Ramshaw Rosie Reeman James & Nicola Ridsdill-Smith Paul Roberts Leigh Robinson 23

24 OUR SUPPORTERS Chris & Serge Rtshiladze Her Excellency the Hon. Kerry Sanderson, AC Carole Sexton The Sherwood Family In memory of Judith Sienkiewicz Jacinta Sirr Paul & Margaret Skerritt Hendrik Smit Dr L Sparrow & Family Peggy & Tom Stacy Eleanor Steinhardt In Memoriam of Mr Andrew David Stewart Lisa & Andrew Telford Rhondda Tilbrook Ruth E Thorn Gwen Treasure Dr Robert Turnbull Patricia Turner S R Vogt Margaret Wallace John & Nita Walshe Diana Warnock Anne Watson Joy Wearne Patricia Weston Margaret Whitter Mrs Barbara Wilcox Geoff Wilkinson Violette William Janet Williams Chris Ziatis Anonymous (25) Friend Gifts $40 - $499 Thank you to all our Friends who support WASO through their gift. If you are interested in becoming a Patron or learning more about WASO Philanthropy please contact Sarah Tompkin, Acting Executive Manager, Philanthropy, on (08) or tompkins@waso.com.au. WASO Philanthropy brochures are available from the WASO Programs & Information Desk located in the main foyer of Perth Concert Hall, or you can visit waso.com.au. All donations over $2 are fully tax deductible. 24

25 Supporting WASO and the local community Proudly sponsored by 25

26 2017 CORPORATE PARTNERS We encourage you to support these partners for generously supporting your Orchestra PARTNER OF EXCELLENCE PLATINUM PARTNERS CONCERTO PARTNERS OVERTURE PARTNERS SONATA PARTNERS KEYNOTE PARTNERS AQUINAS COLLEGE 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

27 Photo: Caitlin Worthington Design: BronWYnrogers.CoM WesF1341

28 WAGNER & BEYOND WASO s Principal Conductor Asher Fisch, one of today s finest Wagnerians, takes you on a thrilling journey of discovery through Wagner s music, the composers Wagner influenced and those who inspired him. INSPIRING WAGNER WED 6 SEPTEMBER 7.30PM Perth Concert Hall WAGNER S WORLD SAT 9 SEPTEMBER 7.30PM Perth Concert Hall INTRODUCED ON STAGE BY ASHER FISCH BOOK NOW WASO.COM.AU TICKETS FROM $32 * Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts. *A one-off handling fee of $5.50 per transaction applies to all purchases on our website. A fee of $6.60 applies to phone and mail bookings. An additional fee of $4.40 per transaction applies for delivery via Registered Post.