ASHKENAZY S FAVOURITES. Tchaikovsky, Strauss & Walton. Wed 15 May 8pm Fri 17 May 8pm Sat 18 May 8pm MASTER SERIES

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1 ASHKENAZY S FAVOURITES Tchaikovsky, Strauss & Walton MASTER SERIES Wed 15 May 8pm Fri 17 May 8pm Sat 18 May 8pm

2 MAY JUNE WITH THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2012 SEASON ASHKENAZY S FAVOURITES TCHAIKOVSKY, STRAUSS & WALTON TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture R STRAUSS Oboe Concerto WALTON Symphony No.1 Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Hansjörg Schellenberger oboe MOZART S GRAN PARTITA HINDEMITH Concerto for winds and harp MOZART Gran Partita Serenade in B flat, K361 Hansjörg Schellenberger conductor ORGAN SYMPHONY DUTOIT AND THE ORCHESTRA MOZART Symphony No.29 MARTIN Concerto for 7 winds SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No.3 (Organ Symphony) Charles Dutoit conductor with musicians of the Sydney Symphony and guest organist David Drury SPELLBOUND MENDELSSOHN S VIOLIN CONCERTO STRAVINSKY The Song of the Nightingale MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring Charles Dutoit conductor Arabella Steinbacher violin ALL STOPS OUT! DAVID DRURY AT THE ORGAN JS BACH Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 BRAHMS Ave Maria KARG-ELERT Fugue, Canzona and Epilogue VIERNE Organ Symphony No.3: Adagio MOZART Fantasia in F minor, K608 KARG-ELERT Marche triomphale (Nun danket alle Gott) MASTER SERIES Wed 15 May 8pm Fri 17 May 8pm Sat 18 May 8pm Pre-concert talk by Scott Davie MOZART IN THE CITY Thu 30 May 7pm City Recital Hall Angel Place Pre-concert talk by David Garrett MASTER SERIES Wed 5 Jun 8pm Fri 7 Jun 8pm Sat 8 Jun 8pm Pre-concert talk by David Garrett THURSDAY AFTERNOON SYMPHONY Thu 13 Jun 1.30pm EMIRATES METRO SERIES Fri 14 Jun 8pm GREAT CLASSICS Sat 15 Jun 2pm Pre-concert talk by Yvonne Frindle David Drury organ Female voices of VOX (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs) Elizabeth Scott chorus director TEA & SYMPHONY Fri 14 Jun 11am Book Now! Tickets from $35* sydneysymphony.com or call Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Tickets also available at sydneyoperahouse.com Mon-Sat 9am-8.30pm Sun 10am-6pm cityrecitalhall.comˇ Mon-Fri 9am-5pm * Selected performances. Booking fees of $7.50 $8.95 may apply. ˇAdditional fees may apply.

3 Photo: Brendan Read CONDUCT A SYMPHONY AT YOUR PLACE You can enjoy six selected live performances of the Sydney Symphony during its 2013 season in the comfort of your own home, only at BigPond Music online or on T-Box. Visit bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony The spectrum device is a trade mark of Telstra Corporation Limited. Registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN

4 2013 season master series Wednesday 15 May 8pm Friday 17 May 8pm Saturday 18 May 8pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Ashkenazy s Favourites Vladimir Ashkenazy CONDUCTOR Hansjörg Schellenberger OBOE Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ) Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Richard Strauss ( ) Concerto for oboe and small orchestra Allegro moderato Andante Vivace INTERVAL Friday night s performance will be broadcast live across Australia on ABC Classic FM. Pre-concert talk by Scott Davie at 7.15pm in the Northern Foyer. Visit bit.ly/ssospeakerbios for speaker biographies. Estimated durations: 19 minutes, 28 minutes, 20-minute interval, 43 minutes The concert will conclude at approximately 10pm. William Walton ( ) Symphony No.1 in B flat minor Allegro assai Presto con malizia Andante con malinconia Maestoso Brioso ed ardentemente Vivacissimo Maestoso

5 BRENDAN READ 6 sydney symphony

6 INTRODUCTION Ashkenazy s Favourites I love Walton 1, says Vladimir Ashkenazy, it s an absolute favourite. This is no small statement from a musician who, more often than not, declines to nominate favourite composers or works. But there s something special about William Walton s music that appeals: it s full of life, thematic rigour and some highly idiomatic writing for the orchestra. You could say that it goes beyond being English instead there is a distinctive style that combines a powerful nostalgia and occasional melancholy with great spirit, colour and energy. In the First Symphony the effect is brilliant and unashamedly emotional. And as a fellow composer wrote to Walton after the premiere of the complete symphony, it established him as the most vital and original genius in Europe. The crucial word there is vital this is music of tremendous vitality. On this program, the Walton symphony is joined by Richard Strauss s Concerto for oboe and small orchestra, with one of Ashkenazy s absolutely favourite oboists taking the solo part. He is Hansjörg Schellenberger, who made his name as a the principal oboe of the Berlin Philharmonic. (On this, his Sydney debut visit, there s a chance to hear Schellenberger as both soloist and conductor.) And finally, but first, there is music from Ashkenazy s native Russia Tchaikovsky s masterpiece of musical scenesetting in the form of the Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture. This is, he says, possibly the very best musical reflection of Shakespeare s tragedy ever composed. This program is varied there s the emotional drama and long melodic lines of Tchaikovsky; the clean transparent sounds of the Strauss concerto, influenced by Classical composers such as Mozart; and the brilliance of Walton s symphony. When the orchestral repertoire is this varied in style and character, no wonder it s a challenge to name favourites. Tonight we can only offer three, a very personal choice, but we hope they ll become favourites for you too. Vladimir Ashkenazy shares his favourite Walton 1 anecdote in our Favourite Things series. Watch it on the Sydney Symphony YouTube channel: Turn to page 27 to read Bravo! musician profi les, articles and news from the orchestra. There are nine issues through the year, also available at sydneysymphony.com/bravo sydney symphony 7

7 ABOUT THE MUSIC Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture Among the sketches found after Tchaikovsky s death was a love-duet for singers, a scene from Romeo and Juliet in which Romeo sings the words Oh tarry, night of ecstasy! Oh night of love, stretch thy dark veil over us! to a musical phrase from the Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture. This duet, which was orchestrated by Taneyev and has been recorded, is all that exists of a Romeo and Juliet opera that Tchaikovsky contemplated writing in 1878, after reading the play for the first time. Since I read Romeo and Juliet, he wrote to his brother in a flush of enthusiasm, Undine, Berthalda, Huldbrand [characters in his other operatic endeavours] seem to me the most childish nonsense. Of course I ll compose Romeo and Juliet It will be my most monumental work. It now seems to be absurd that I couldn t see earlier that I was predestined, as it were, to set this drama to music. What might seem absurd to us is that Tchaikovsky had set the drama to music after a fashion, in his fantasy overture, composed nearly ten years earlier, and that he had done so without reading or seeing the play! The motivation if not the inspiration for the overture had been the composer and conductor Balakirev. At 28, Tchaikovsky was young, and Balakirev s influence was apparently strong. He not only advised Tchaikovsky that he should adopt a Shakespearean subject for his next orchestral work, but Keynotes TCHAIKOVSKY Born Kamsko-Votkinsk, 1840 Died St Petersburg, 1893 Tchaikovsky represented a new direction for Russian music in the 19th century: fully professional and cosmopolitan in outlook. He embraced the genres and forms of Western European tradition, bringing to them his extraordinary dramatic sense his ballets count among his masterpieces and an unrivalled gift for melody. FANTASY OVERTURE Tchaikovsky called his Romeo and Juliet music a fantasyoverture but it is really a symphonic poem, smelling as sweet as it would by any other name. The music adopts a conservative symphonic structure and does not follow a strict narrative. At the same time, the structure dovetails with the dramatic elements of the play: the kindly optimism of Friar Laurence in a choralelike introduction; the brawling feud of the Montagues and Capulets, fiery and tumultuous; and the ill-fated passion of Romeo and Juliet portrayed with muted and intertwining melodies. The traditional development section combines and opposes these elements creating musical tensions to mirror those of the play before bringing the music to a tragic climax. 8 sydney symphony

8 provided him with a detailed program and musical outline (going so far as to indicate what keys Tchaikovsky should adopt) and offered critiques on the work in progress. In particular, Balakirev had objected to Tchaikovsky s original introduction he said it lacked beauty or power and that it needed to introduce the character of Friar Laurence: Here ought to be something like Liszt s chorales with an ancient Catholic character resembling that of Orthodox [church music]. In his reworking Tchaikovsky created the sombre introduction with its prayerful mood and the organ-like effect created by the woodwinds. This leads to what is essentially a sonata-form movement for orchestra. At this point it s worth observing that the fantasy overture is not program music in the sense of following a strict narrative in this respect it s quite different from Berlioz s Symphonie fantastique, for example. All the same, the conservative form dovetails with the various elements of the play, the important characters and the overall dramatic arc. After the slow introduction, Tchaikovsky presents a fiery Allegro the feuding Montagues and Capulets providing the first subject and then the lyrical music for the two lovers as the second subject. This second theme had received Balakirev s near-complete endorsement: the D flat tune is simply delightful. I play it often, and I want very much to kiss you for it. Here is tenderness and the sweetness of love There s just one thing I ll say against this theme; there s little in it of inner, spiritual love, and only a passionate physical languor (with even a slightly Italian hue) whereas Romeo and Juliet were decidedly not Persian lovers, but Europeans. The passionate melodies for the lovers are memorable even by Tchaikovsky s standards: one for cor anglais and muted violas to an accompaniment of horns and bassoons; another for muted strings, suggesting, perhaps, the garden beneath the balcony at night. The development of the overture then amplifies the lovers music, struggling with the brawling families and Friar Laurence s theme. The furious climax may be the death of Tybalt at the hand of Romeo, but the love music dominates the ending, turning gradually to lament and tragic despair. Oh tarry, night of ecstasy! Oh night of love, stretch thy dark veil over us! SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2007 Tchaikovsky s Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, cor anglais and two bassoons; four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (cymbals, bass drum); harp and strings. The Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture was first performed in Moscow on 16 March 1870, conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein. The Sydney Symphony first performed it in 1940 under Thomas Beecham, and most recently in 2007 under Tugan Sokhiev. sydney symphony 9

9 Richard Strauss Concerto for oboe and small orchestra Allegro moderato Andante Vivace Hansjörg Schellenberger oboe As the Allied forces gained control of Germany in 1945, a group of American GIs entered the Bavarian town of Garmisch and began requisitioning villas to accommodate the troops. A US officer, Milton Weiss, knocked on one door and was greeted with the famous line, I am the composer of Der Rosenkavalier and Salome. Leave me alone. Weiss responded by placing Strauss house off-limits to the troops, and even went so far as to provide the household with a number of staples that had been in short supply. Other visitors at this time were less respectful. A Germanspeaking journalist, Mr Brown (who turned out to be Klaus Mann, son of the novelist Thomas Mann), wrote an article for the American press which accused Strauss of ongoing complicity with the Nazis. In fact, Strauss had fallen from favour years before, when his covert attempts to work with the exiled Jewish playwright Stefan Zweig were discovered; it has been suggested that only Strauss s international eminence saved him and his family (which included his Jewish daughter-in-law) from a fate worse than disgrace. Among Milton Weiss s GIs, however, there was one man with whom Strauss became friendly. In peacetime John de Richard Strauss: a drawing by Leonhard Fanto Keynotes R STRAUSS Born Munich, 1864 Died Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 1949 Richard Strauss was 82 when he composed this concerto. It was part of a series of pieces featuring wind instruments: solo concertos for horn and oboe, two sonatinas for wind instruments, and his final instrumental work, a duettconcertino for clarinet and bassoon. He described them as splinters from an old man s workshop written perhaps only with the desire to amuse. Strauss was the son of one of Europe s leading horn players, and as a young man he d been strongly influenced by his father s Classical tastes. Late in life he rekindled his interest in the great Classical composers Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven studying their music and adopting some of their gestures: good cheer, elegance, delicacy of texture. OBOE CONCERTO This oboe concerto is in three movements, played without pause. They are easily distinguished by the shifts in tempo, which follow the Classical trajectory of fast and serious, slower and lyrical, and finally fast and lively. The orchestra is small by Strauss s standards: where a Strauss tone poem might require more than a hundred musicians on stage, this ensemble is closer to something Haydn or Mozart might have recognised just 49 musicians plus soloist and conductor. The effect is poised and lucid. 10 sydney symphony

10 Lancie was solo oboist with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and he later became Principal Oboe with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Director of the Curtis Institute. De Lancie asked whether Strauss might compose a concerto for him, to be met with a curt refusal. But, as Strauss s biographer Michael Kennedy puts it, a seed had been sown. Strauss began sketching his oboe concerto not long after. He completed the first draft shortly before he left Garmisch to spend the winter in the relative comfort of Switzerland, and in February 1946 the piece was premiered in Zurich with Marcel Saillet as soloist. John de Lancie, as Norman Del Mar reports, had to be content with a nice letter giving him permission to perform the work in America whenever he liked before it was published. The concerto was written in the same period as Strauss s Metamorphosen, in which a fragment from Beethoven s Eroica Symphony becomes the protagonist in a heart-rending drama of dissolution. The concerto, by contrast, in some respects revisits a mythical Mozartean world (and it was the works of Classical masters which had the first profound influence on the young Strauss). The work is worlds away from the real or imagined bombast of Strauss tone-poems. Laid out in the three conventional movements it has a Classical poise and economically uses the resources of the small orchestra. But it s not easy: the oboe is required to play for 56 bars straight in the first movement, and is often included in the passages with the full orchestra. The slow movement reminds us of Strauss the song writer though, interestingly, a supremely lyrical passage then becomes the basis for the first cadenza, which in turn takes the music immediately into the rondo-style finale, dominated by a terse two-note figure and running semiquavers. Behind the apparent serenity of this work its composer was old, ill and depressed. Kennedy quotes from a letter Strauss wrote to his grandsons a few months after the premiere of the Oboe Concerto. Art, he says, is the finest gift of God that exalts over all earthly suffering and our beloved music is the most delightful. Richard Strauss in 1945 The concerto revisits a mythical Mozartean world GORDON KERRY 2004 The small orchestra for Richard Strauss s oboe concerto comprises two flutes, cor anglais, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns and strings. (Note how there is no orchestral oboe to compete with the solo part, and Strauss omits the trumpets and low brass instruments.) The Sydney Symphony first performed Strauss s oboe concerto in a 1951 Youth Concert conducted by Joseph Post, with oboist Ian Wilson. The orchestra s most recent performance of the concerto was in 1999, with Diana Doherty as soloist and Edo de Waart conducting. sydney symphony 11

11 William Walton Symphony No.1 in B flat minor Allegro assai Presto con malizia Andante con malinconia Maestoso Brioso ed ardentemente Vivacissimo Maestoso Why does Walton s First Symphony still impress us? Ruth Gipps, who took part in the early performances of the symphony said: To those of us who played the work in the early days, when it was regarded as modern, dissonant and appallingly difficult, it was the angriest and most defiant symphony ever written; it is still one of the most tiring to perform. But as she went on to say, Now that the odd rhythms of the scherzo [Presto con malizia] are no longer considered a feat of virtuosity for conductor and orchestra, the tragic beauty of the slow movement has become more apparent, and it takes its place as the emotional centrepiece of the symphony. And yet we are still impressed by the first movement, no longer perhaps because of its violence, but by its intellectual rigour, the grim determination of its working out of the opening ideas. How does it begin? In the words of Walton s official biographer, Michael Kennedy: a drumroll on B flat, the harmony on the horns, a rhythmic and throbbing crescendo in the strings and the oboes repeatednote melody, broadening into the main thematic cell of the movement. It precipitates a passionate drama in which there is little lyrical respite. Though Ruth Gipps says that the first movement s organic growth from a two-note germ on the oboe might well be thought reminiscent of Sibelius, Walton began this symphony, in 1932, as a conscious essay in the Beethovenian ideal of symphonic construction tight argument, rather than undisciplined outpouring of emotion. Walton was already famous for the oratorio Belshazzar s Feast when he went to Manchester to hear Lionel Tertis play his Viola Concerto with the Hallé Orchestra under Hamilton Harty. Harty has asked me to write a symphony for him, he wrote to Siegfried Sassoon on 28 January A rather portentous undertaking, but the Hallé is such a good orchestra and Harty such a magnificent conductor, besides being very encouraging, that I may be able to knock Bax off the map. Keynotes WALTON Born Oldham, 1902 Died Ischia, an island near Naples, 1983 William Walton was the major English composer to emerge between Vaughan Williams and Britten. Born into a family of singers, his early influence was the Anglican choral tradition. He left Oxford without a degree in 1920 having failed to pass an obligatory exam, but the Sitwell family gave him a lively cultural education as well as introducing him to the delights of Italy. By 1936 he had composed his first symphony, an entertainment called Façade, a viola concerto and the cantata Belshazzar s Feast, and was regarded as a composer of some stature. SYMPHONY NO.1 Walton was daunted by the weight of symphonic tradition, in particular the music of Sibelius, which was enjoying enormous popularity in England during the 1930s. After an agonised genesis, the first three movements of his Symphony No.1 were premiered in 1934, at the impatient insistence of conductor Hamilton Harty. The last movement was finally completed in August 1935 and premiered again in November that year. Walton s innovative use of repeated patterns and complex driving rhythms gave the symphony an early reputation as a feat of virtuosity for conductor and orchestra. 12 sydney symphony

12 LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS William Walton, photo by Howard Coster taken in 1935, the year the First Symphony was completed. A portentous undertaking indeed. In February he wrote to Dora and Hubert Foss from Quidhampton: I am here for some weeks, trying to start on a symphony. What a fool I am, treading where so many angels have come a cropper. The work was scheduled for performance in March By then Harty hoped to be able to perform the work as the culmination of his first season as Chief Conductor of the London Symphony, but Walton had only completed the first two movements. The hold-up was the slow movement. Some notion of the difficult genesis of this work may be gained when one realises that the ravishing idea which begins the slow movement was originally intended as the opening of the symphony. It was only with the gradual substitution of a much slower tempo that the latent sadness of the flute theme was revealed; and it was only with the continuation of the flute theme that the haunting, rhythmically distinctive theme of the opening movement had emerged! It was Walton s friend Hubert Foss who convinced the composer, when he was blocked on the third movement, to go back to this flute theme for his Andante. What a fool I am, treading where so many angels have come a cropper. WALTON sydney symphony 13

13 Organ Symphony DUTOIT AND THE ORCHESTRA Hear the Grand Organ of the Sydney Opera House in action as part of the fabric of the orchestra in Saint-Saëns symphony with organ. MOZART Symphony No.29 MARTIN Concerto for 7 winds SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No.3 (Organ Symphony) Sold out in 2009! Charles Dutoit conductor with musicians of the Sydney Symphony and guest organist David Drury Wed 5 Jun 8pm Fri 7 Jun 8pm & Sat 8 Jun 8pm Tickets from $35* Book Now! sydneysymphony.com or call Mon-Fri 9am-5pm * Booking fees of $7.50-$8.95 may apply. YOU CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE Help us bring world-class artists to Sydney and the joy of music to thousands of kids. Consider a gift to the Sydney Symphony s Orchestra Fund or Allegro Education Fund before 30 June Your precious and invaluable support makes it happen. Thank you! FIONA ZIEGLER, ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER & PATRON AMBASSADOR Any amount over $2 is tax deductible. Gifts over $500 are acknowledged in programs. Call (02) Select Option 2

14 The third movement complete, Harty announced the work for performance even though the finale was still incomplete. Rather than postpone the work further the interest in it was intense: Adrian Boult had also wanted to perform it in the London Music Festival in May 1934 Walton agreed to a performance of the first three movements, which took place at Queen s Hall on 3 December The first three movements reflect a certain darkness in Walton s temperament at the time. As he wrote to Harty, apologising for his slowness: I must say I think it almost hopeless for anyone to produce anything in any of the arts these days. It is practically impossible to get away from the general feeling of hopelessness and chaos which exists everywhere. In the first movement, as Michael Kennedy says, Strings and brass tear the heart out of the themes. Walton described it as the end of a love affair and start of a new one. Walton was caught up in a tempestuous affair at the time: as Harty wrote in despair while waiting for the work, Why [can t WW] stop making overtures to [the Baroness] and do a symphony for me instead! The scherzo is, in Kennedy s words, a whirlpool of rhythms and stinging motivic fragments, its malice complemented by the deep melancholy of the Andante. The finale, however, takes us to Walton in Crown Imperial mode. The beginning and coda of the finale had been written by December 1934, but the middle section eluded Walton until he came up with a fugue idea in mid The symphony was finally finished at the end of August and the first complete performance was given on 6 November that year. Truly marvellous, said Sir Henry Wood, in a letter to Walton s publisher. No new orchestral work has ever carried me away so much. This really was one of those great young man s works. We should all have such croppers. the end of a love affair and start of a new one WALTON GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS SYMPHONY AUSTRALIA 1999 Walton s First Symphony calls for an orchestra of two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets and two bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; two timpanists and percussion; and strings. The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of Walton s Symphony No.1 in 1939, conducted by George Szell. In 1964 the orchestra performed the work under William Walton himself, appearing in the Adelaide Festival. The most recent Sydney Symphony performance of the symphony was in 2009, conducted by Hugh Wolff. sydney symphony 15

15 MORE MUSIC ROMEO AND JULIET If you re curious to hear the vocal music mentioned in the Romeo and Juliet program note, look for the recording by the Moscow Radio and Television Orchestra, conducted by Peter Tiboris. The Romeo and Juliet music for two sopranos, tenor and orchestra was discovered in draft form on Tchaikovsky s death and completed by Sergei Taneyev. Appropriately, the main work on the recording is Taneyev s Symphony No.4 in C minor. BRIDGE 9034 The Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture is included in the recently released set Vladimir Ashkenazy 50 Years on Decca in a recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. See the entry to the right for more details. DECCA And for a comprehensive collection of Tchaikovsky s shorter orchestral works there is Mikhail Pletnev with the Russian National Orchestra on a 3-CD set that includes Romeo and Juliet alongside other Shakespeare-inspired music: The Tempest and Hamlet. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON TRIO SCHELLENBERGER PLAYS RICHARD STRAUSS During his time as solo oboist with the Berlin Philharmonic, Hansjörg Schellenberger recorded a trio of oboe concertos: Mozart Concerto in C, K314, Bellini s Concerto in E flat and the Strauss Concerto for oboe and small orchestra. It s a program that shows the oboe at its classical and lyrical best and these performances with the Berlin Philharmonic and James Levine rightfully continue to hold a place in the catalogue. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON WALTON SYMPHONY NO.1 Vladimir Ashkenazy has a special fondness for the music of Walton and you can hear his interpretations of both the symphonies in a 2CD set that also includes the violin, viola and cello concertos. Ashkenazy conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the symphonies. DECCA William Walton was regarded as a first-rate conductor of his own music. EMI Classics Walton Edition includes a 2CD set that brings together the First Symphony with Belshazzar s Feast (featuring baritone Donald Bell) and the concertos for violin and viola (both with Yehudi Menuhin as soloist). Walton s Partita for orchestra rounds out the program of this recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra. EMI CLASSICS VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY Also recently released is a limited edition 50-CD boxed set celebrating Ashkenazy s recorded legacy in his 50 Years on Decca since It s an original jacket collection, with LP artwork, booklet notes, a complete discography of Ashkenazy s recordings on Decca, a composer index and a specially commissioned article by his long-time producer Andrew Cornall. The program is too long to list in full, but it includes most of the famous piano concertos, a generous selection of solo music from Beethoven and Chopin to the great Russian composers, and chamber music highlights. Ashkenazy s work as a conductor is also represented. DECCA Broadcast Diary June abc.net.au/classic Saturday 8 June, 8pm organ symphony Charles Dutoit conductor Musicians of the Sydney Symphony and guest organist David Drury Mozart, Martin, Saint-Saëns Tuesday 11 June, 1.05pm handel s water music Reinhard Goebel conductor Mirijam Contzen violin Bach, Telemann, Handel, Berton Saturday 22 June, 8pm barry humphries, dame edna & other marsupials Benjamin Northey conductor Barry Humphries Dame Edna Everage Dukas, Saint-Saëns, Falla, Prokofiev, Haslam Webcasts Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are webcast live on BigPond and Telstra T-box and made available for later viewing On Demand. Our most recent webcast: cirque de la symphonie Visit: bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony Live webcasts can also be viewed on our free mobile app, now optimised for the ipad. 16 sydney symphony

16 Sydney Symphony Live The Sydney Symphony Live label was founded in 2006 and we ve since released more than a dozen recordings featuring the orchestra in live concert performances with our titled conductors and leading guest artists, including the Mahler Odyssey cycle, begun in To purchase, visit sydneysymphony.com/shop Glazunov & Shostakovich Alexander Lazarev conducts a thrilling performance of Shostakovich 9 and Glazunov s Seasons. SSO 2 Strauss & Schubert Gianluigi Gelmetti conducts Schubert s Unfinished and R Strauss s Four Last Songs with Ricarda Merbeth. SSO Sir Charles Mackerras A 2CD set featuring Sir Charles s fi nal performances with the orchestra, in October SSO Brett Dean Brett Dean performs his own viola concerto, conducted by Simone Young, in this all-dean release. SSO MAHLER ODYSSEY During the 2010 and 2011 concert seasons, the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy set out to perform all the Mahler symphonies, together with some of the song cycles. These concerts were recorded for CD and the set is now complete, together with a special disc of historical SSO Mahler performances. Available individually or as a handsome boxed set. Mahler 1 & Songs of a Wayfarer SSO Mahler 2 SSO Mahler 3 SSO Mahler 4 SSO Mahler 5 SSO Mahler 6 SSO Mahler 7 SSO Mahler 8 (Symphony of a Thousand) SSO Mahler 9 SSO Mahler 10 (Barshai completion) SSO Song of the Earth SSO From the archives: Rückert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder, Das Lied von der Erde SSO LOOK OUT FOR Forthcoming releases featuring music by Brett Dean and Garrick Ohlsson playing Tchaikovsky. Ravel Gelmetti conducts music by one of his favourite composers: Maurice Ravel. Includes Bolero. SSO Rare Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff chamber music with Dene Olding, the Goldner Quartet, soprano Joan Rodgers and Vladimir Ashkenazy at the piano. SSO Sydney Symphony Online Join us on Facebook facebook.com/sydneysymphony Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/sydsymph Watch us on YouTube Prokofiev s Romeo and Juliet Vladimir Ashkenazy conducts the complete Romeo and Juliet ballet music of Prokofi ev a fi ery and impassioned performance. SSO Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto In May this recording with James Ehnes and Ashkenazy was awarded a Juno (the Canadian Grammy). Lyrical miniatures fi ll out the disc. SSO Visit sydneysymphony.com for concert information, podcasts, and to read the program book in the week of the concert. Stay tuned. Sign up to receive our fortnightly e-newsletter sydneysymphony.com/staytuned Download our free mobile app for iphone/ipad or Android sydneysymphony.com/mobile_app sydney symphony 17

17 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Vladimir Ashkenazy PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC ADVISOR Vladimir Ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw and as winner of the 1956 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Since then he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most outstanding pianists of the 20th century, but as a revered and inspiring artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities. Conducting has formed the largest part of his musicmaking for the past 20 years, and this is his fifth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Sydney Symphony. He has also been Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic ( ) and Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo ( ), and he is Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he has developed landmark projects such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich Under Stalin and Rachmaninoff Revisited. He also holds the positions of Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He maintains strong links with a number of other major orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra (where he was formerly Principal Guest Conductor) and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Chief Conductor and Music Director, ), as well as making guest appearances with major orchestras around the world. Vladimir Ashkenazy continues to devote himself to the piano, building his comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as the 1999 Grammy award-winning Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, Rautavaara s Piano Concerto No.3 (which he commissioned), Rachmaninoff transcriptions, Bach s Wohltemperierte Klavier and Beethoven s Diabelli Variations. His most recent solo releases feature the music of Rachmaninoff. A regular visitor to Sydney since his Australian debut in 1969, he has conducted subscription concerts and composer festivals for the Sydney Symphony, with highlights including the acclaimed Sibelius festival of 2004 and his Rachmaninoff festival of In he conducted the Mahler Odyssey concerts and live recordings, and his artistic role with the orchestra includes annual international touring. Russian-born Vladimir Ashkenazy inherited his musical gift from both sides of his family: his father David Ashkenazy was a professional light music pianist and his mother Evstolia (née Plotnova) was daughter of a chorusmaster in the Russian Orthodox church. KEITH SAUNDERS 18 sydney symphony

18 Hansjörg Schellenberger OBOE In the course of a long international career, Hansjörg Schellenberger has earned respect as solo oboist with the Berlin Philharmonic, as founder of the Berlin Haydn Ensemble, as a committed teacher, and as a conductor with wide orchestral experience. He was never just an oboist. He played recorder as a child (leading to his enthusiasm for baroque music) and composed, and within four years of taking up the oboe he won a German youth competition and was named best conductor at the Interlochen Music Camp. At 17 he began studying oboe with Manfred Clement and conducting with Jan Koetsier, while pursuing academic study in mathematics. After a period as solo oboist with the Cologne Radio Orchestra, he joined the Berlin Philharmonic and from 1980 to 2001 played under conductors such as Herbert von Karajan, Erich Leinsdorf, Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado. He also played chamber music as a member of the Wind Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna-Berlin Ensemble. Decades of observing, scrutinising scores and comparing interpretations at first hand (whether on the podium or from within the orchestra), have formed the basis of a second career that has now extended into the international sphere. In addition to German radio orchestras and orchestras in Spain and Italy, he regularly conducts and tours with the Camerata Salzburg. After one such tour, to Japan, the Okayama Philharmonic Orchestra nominated him its chief conductor. In addition to conducting, he runs a select oboe class and teaches woodwind chamber music in Madrid at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. He also performs in a duo with his wife, harpist Margit-Anna Süß, appearing throughout Germany and as far afield as Japan, where they have made two concerto tours. A discography of more than 50 recordings documents his work as a musician. In 1997 he founded his own label, Campanella Musica, to record the music of composers such as CPE Bach, Haydn and Beethoven, as well as French baroque music and contemporary works. In his most recent release, featuring music by Weber, he appears as both conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra and oboe soloist. This is Hansjörg Schellenberger s first appearance with the Sydney Symphony. Hansjörg Schellenberger will conduct the orchestra in the Mozart in the City series at City Recital Hall Angel Place on Thursday 30 May. GERHARD WINKLER sydney symphony 19

19 MUSICIANS Vladimir Ashkenazy Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates Dene Olding Concertmaster Andrew Haveron Concertmaster Jessica Cottis Assistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse FIRST VIOLINS Andrew Haveron Concertmaster Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster Fiona Ziegler Assistant Concertmaster Julie Batty Jennifer Booth Marianne Broadfoot Brielle Clapson Sophie Cole Amber Davis Georges Lentz Nicola Lewis Alexandra Mitchell Alexander Norton Léone Ziegler Claire Herrick Dene Olding Concertmaster Jennifer Hoy SECOND VIOLINS Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Emma Jezek A/ Associate Principal Emily Long A/ Assistant Principal Susan Dobbie Principal Emeritus Maria Durek Emma Hayes Shuti Huang Stan W Kornel Nicole Masters Philippa Paige Biyana Rozenblit Maja Verunica Alexandra D Elia* Benjamin Li VIOLAS Roger Benedict Tobias Breider Justin Williams Assistant Principal Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Stuart Johnson Justine Marsden Amanda Verner Leonid Volovelsky Jacqueline Cronin* Tara Houghton* Anne-Louise Comerford Robyn Brookfield Felicity Tsai CELLOS Catherine Hewgill Leah Lynn Assistant Principal Kristy Conrau Fenella Gill Timothy Nankervis Elizabeth Neville Christopher Pidcock Adrian Wallis David Wickham James sang-oh Yoo DOUBLE BASSES Kees Boersma Alex Henery Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus David Campbell Steven Larson Richard Lynn David Murray Hugh Kluger* Benjamin Ward FLUTES Emma Sholl Carolyn Harris Rosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo Janet Webb OBOES Diana Doherty Shefali Pryor Alexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais David Papp CLARINETS Francesco Celata Christopher Tingay Lawrence Dobell Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet BASSOONS Matthew Wilkie Fiona McNamara Roger Brooke Noriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon HORNS Ben Jacks Geoffrey O Reilly Principal 3rd Marnie Sebire Euan Harvey Rachel Silver Robert Johnson TRUMPETS David Elton Anthony Heinrichs Timothy Keenihan* Paul Goodchild TROMBONES Ronald Prussing Nick Byrne Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone Scott Kinmont TUBA Steve Rossé TIMPANI Richard Miller Mark Robinson Assistant Principal PERCUSSION Rebecca Lagos Colin Piper HARP Genevieve Lang* Louise Johnson Bold = Principal Italics = Associate Principal = Contract Musician * = Guest Musician = Sydney Symphony Fellow Grey = Permanent member of the Sydney Symphony not appearing in this concert To see photographs of the full roster of permanent musicians and find out more about the orchestra, visit our website: If you don t have access to the internet, ask one of our customer service representatives for a copy of our Musicians flyer. The men of the Sydney Symphony are proudly outfitted by Van Heusen. 20 sydney symphony

20 SYDNEY SYMPHONY Vladimir Ashkenazy, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor PATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO JOHN MARMARAS Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world s great cities. Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the Sydney Symphony also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence, most recently in the 2012 tour to China. The Sydney Symphony s first Chief Conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in 1947; he was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdeněk Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. David Robertson will take up the post of Chief Conductor in The orchestra s history also boasts collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky. The Sydney Symphony s award-winning education program is central to its commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The orchestra promotes the work of Australian composers through performances, recordings and its commissioning program. Recent premieres have included major works by Ross Edwards, Liza Lim, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra s recording of works by Brett Dean was released on both the BIS and Sydney Symphony Live labels. Other releases on the Sydney Symphony Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vladimir Ashkenazy. In the orchestra made concert recordings of the complete Mahler symphonies with Ashkenazy, and has also released recordings of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on the ABC Classics label. This is the fifth year of Ashkenazy s tenure as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor. sydney symphony 21

21 BEHIND THE SCENES Sydney Symphony Board John C Conde ao Chairman Terrey Arcus am Ewen Crouch am Ross Grant Jennifer Hoy Rory Jeffes Andrew Kaldor am Irene Lee David Livingstone Goetz Richter Sydney Symphony Council Geoff Ainsworth am Andrew Andersons ao Michael Baume ao Christine Bishop Ita Buttrose ao obe Peter Cudlipp John Curtis am Greg Daniel am John Della Bosca Alan Fang Erin Flaherty Dr Stephen Freiberg Donald Hazelwood ao obe Dr Michael Joel am Simon Johnson Yvonne Kenny am Gary Linnane Amanda Love Helen Lynch am David Maloney David Malouf ao Julie Manfredi-Hughes Deborah Marr The Hon. Justice Jane Mathews ao Danny May Wendy McCarthy ao Jane Morschel Greg Paramor Dr Timothy Pascoe am Prof. Ron Penny ao Jerome Rowley Paul Salteri Sandra Salteri Juliana Schaeffer Leo Schofield am Fred Stein oam Gabrielle Trainor Ivan Ungar John van Ogtrop Peter Weiss ao HonDLitt Mary Whelan Rosemary White Sydney Symphony Staff MANAGING DIRECTOR Rory Jeffes EXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT Lisa Davies-Galli ARTISTIC OPERATIONS DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING Peter Czornyj Artistic Administration ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Eleasha Mah ARTIST LIAISON MANAGER Ilmar Leetberg RECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER Philip Powers Education Programs HEAD OF EDUCATION Kim Waldock EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER Mark Lawrenson EDUCATION COORDINATOR Rachel McLarin CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER Derek Reed Library Anna Cernik Victoria Grant Mary-Ann Mead ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Aernout Kerbert ORCHESTRA MANAGER Chris Lewis ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR Georgia Stamatopoulos OPERATIONS MANAGER Kerry-Anne Cook PRODUCTION MANAGER Laura Daniel PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Tim Dayman PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Ian Spence STAGE MANAGER Elise Beggs SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Mark J Elliott SENIOR SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Penny Evans MARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES Simon Crossley-Meates MARKETING MANAGER, CLASSICAL SALES Matthew Rive MARKETING MANAGER, WEB & DIGITAL MEDIA Eve Le Gall MARKETING MANAGER, DATABASE & CRM Matthew Hodge DATA ANALYST Varsha Karnik GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lucy McCullough CREATIVE ARTWORKER Nathanael van der Reyden MARKETING COORDINATOR Jonathon Symonds ONLINE MARKETING COORDINATOR Jenny Sargant Box Office MANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS Lynn McLaughlin BOX OFFICE SYSTEMS SUPERVISOR Jacqueline Tooley BOX OFFICE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR John Robertson CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Steve Clarke Senior CSR Michael Dowling Sarah Morrisby Amy Walsh COMMUNICATIONS HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS & SPONSOR RELATIONS Yvonne Zammit PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER Katherine Stevenson COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Janine Harris DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER Kai Raisbeck FELLOWSHIP SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICER Caitlin Benetatos Publications PUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER Yvonne Frindle DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Caroline Sharpen EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER Stephen Attfield PHILANTHROPY, PATRONS PROGRAM Ivana Jirasek DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Amelia Morgan-Hunn BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE John Horn FINANCE MANAGER Ruth Tolentino ACCOUNTANT Minerva Prescott ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT Emma Ferrer PAYROLL OFFICER Laura Soutter HUMAN RESOURCES HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES Michel Maree Hryce 22 sydney symphony

22 SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS Maestro s Circle Peter William Weiss ao Founding President & Doris Weiss John C Conde ao Chairman Geoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn In memory of Hetty & Egon Gordon Andrew Kaldor am & Renata Kaldor ao Roslyn Packer ao Penelope Seidler am Mr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy Street Westfield Group Brian & Rosemary White Ray Wilson oam in memory of the late James Agapitos oam Sydney Symphony Corporate Alliance Tony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner Pretty Insurance Australia Grou p John Morschel, Chairman, ANZ Directors Chairs Roger Benedict Principal Viola Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Chair 02 Lawrence Dobell Principal Clarinet Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus am Chair 03 Diana Doherty Principal Oboe Andrew Kaldor am & Renata Kaldor ao Chair 04 Richard Gill oam Artistic Director Education Sandra & Paul Salteri Chair 05 Catherine Hewgill Principal Cello The Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair 06 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair For information about the Directors Chairs program, please call (02) Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair 08 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair 09 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair Sydney Symphony Vanguard Vanguard Collective Justin Di Lollo Chair Kees Boersma Marina Go David McKean Amelia Morgan-Hunn Jonathan Pease Seamus R Quick Members Centric Wealth Matti Alakargas James Armstrong Stephen Attfield Damien Bailey Andrew Baxter Mar Beltran Kees Boersma Andrew Bragg Peter Braithwaite Andrea Brown Ian Burton Jennifer Burton Hahn Chau Alistair Clark Matthew Clark Benoît Cocheteux George Condous Michael Cook Paul Cousins Justin Di Lollo Rose Gallo Alistair Gibson Sam Giddings Marina Go Sebastian Goldspink Rose Herceg Paolo Hooke Peter Howard Jennifer Hoy Scott Jackson Damian Kassagbi Aernout Kerbert Antony Lighten Gary Linnane Paul Macdonald David McKean Hayden McLean Amelia Morgan-Hunn Phoebe Morgan-Hunn Tom O Donnell Taine Moufarrige Hugh Munro Fiona Osler Julia Owens Archie Paffas Jonathan Pease Jingmin Qian Seamus R Quick Leah Ranie Michael Reede Chris Robertson Emma Rodigari Jacqueline Rowlands Bernard Ryan Katherine Shaw Randal Tame Adam Wand Jon Wilkie Jonathan Watkinson Darren Woolley Misha Zelinsky sydney symphony 23

23 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the orchestra each year. Each gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Donations of $50 and above are acknowledged on our website at Platinum Patrons $20,000+ Brian Abel Robert Albert ao & Elizabeth Albert Geoff Ainsworth Terrey Arcus am & Anne Arcus Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn Sandra & Neil Burns Mr John C Conde ao Robert & Janet Constable Michael Crouch ao & Shanny Crouch James & Leonie Furber Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre In memory of Hetty & Egon Gordon Mr Andrew Kaldor am & Mrs Renata Kaldor ao D & I Kallinikos James N Kirby Foundation The late Joan MacKenzie Vicki Olsson Mrs Roslyn Packer ao Paul & Sandra Salteri Mrs Penelope Seidler am G & C Solomon in memory of Joan MacKenzie Mrs W Stening Mr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy Street Peter William Weiss ao & Doris Weiss Westfield Group Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Ray Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oam Gold Patrons $10,000 $19,999 Stephen J Bell Alan & Christine Bishop Ian & Jennifer Burton Howard Connors Copyright Agency Cutlural Fund Edward Federman Nora Goodridge Mr Ross Grant The Estate of the late Ida Gugger Helen Lynch am & Helen Bauer Ruth & Bob Magid Justice Jane Mathews ao The Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran Meagher Mrs T Merewether oam Mr B G O Conor Henry & Ruth Weinberg Caroline Wilkinson June & Alan Woods Family Bequest Silver Patrons $5000 $9,999 Doug & Alison Battersby Mr Robert Brakspear Mr David & Mrs Halina Brett Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie Clampett Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway Dr C Goldschmidt The Greatorex Foundation Mr Rory Jeffes Judges of the Supreme Court of NSW Mr Ervin Katz The Estate of the late Patricia Lance Timothy & Eva Pascoe William McIlrath Charitable Foundation Rodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia Rosenblum Manfred & Linda Salamon Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Anna Cooke Michael & Mary Whelan Trust Anonymous (1) Bronze Patrons $2,500 $4,999 Ewen Crouch am & Catherine Crouch The Hon. Ashley Dawson-Damer Firehold Pty Ltd Stephen Freiberg & Donald Campbell Vic & Katie French Mrs Jennifer Hershon Michael & Anna Joel Gary Linnane Matthew McInnes J A McKernan R & S Maple-Brown Renee Markovic Mora Maxwell James & Elsie Moore Drs Keith & Eileen Ong In memory of Sandra Paul Pottinger Dr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June Roarty In memory of H St P Scarlett Julianna Schaeffer David & Isabel Smithers Marliese & Georges Teitler Mr & Mrs T & D Yim Anonymous (2) Bronze Patrons $1,000 $2,499 Mrs Antoinette Albert Andrew Andersons ao Mr Henri W Aram oam Dr Francis J Augustus Richard and Christine Banks David Barnes Nicole Berger Allan & Julie Bligh Dr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Jan Bowen Lenore P Buckle M Bulmer In memory of RW Burley Ita Buttrose ao obe Joan Connery oam & Maxwell Connery oam Constable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill Mr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret Cunningham Greta Davis Lisa & Miro Davis Matthew Delasey Mr & Mrs Grant Dixon Colin Draper & Mary Jane Brodribb Mrs Margaret Epps Mr Ian Fenwicke & Prof. Neville Wills Mr James Graham am & Mrs Helen Graham Warren Green Anthony Gregg & Deanne Whittleston Akiko Gregory Tony Grierson Edward & Deborah Griffin Richard Griffin am In memory of Dora & Oscar Grynberg Janette Hamilton Michelle Hilton The Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret Hunt Dr & Mrs Michael Hunter In memory of Bernard M H Khaw Mr Justin Lam Mr Peter Lazar am Irene Lee Associate Professor Winston Liauw Dr David Luis Carolyn & Peter Lowry oam Deirdre & Kevin McCann Ian & Pam McGaw Macquarie Group Foundation 24 sydney symphony

24 Ms Jackie O Brien JF & A van Ogtrop Mr & Mrs Ortis smr Andrew C Patterson Piatti Holdings Pty Ltd Andy & Deirdre Plummer Robin Potter Ernest & Judith Rapee Kenneth R Reed Patricia H Reid Endowment Pty Ltd Caroline Sharpen Dr Agnes E Sinclair Catherine Stephen John & Alix Sullivan The Hon. Brian Sully qc Mildred Teitler John E Tuckey Mrs M Turkington In memory of Joan & Rupert Vallentine Dr Alla Waldman Mr Robert & Mrs Rosemary Walsh Ann & Brooks Wilson am Dr Richard Wing Mr R R Woodward In memory of Lorna Wright Dr John Yu Anonymous (9) Bronze Patrons $500 $999 Mrs Lenore Adamson Mr & Mrs Garry S Ash Barlow Cleaning Pty Ltd Beauty Point Retirement Resort Mrs Margaret Bell Minnie Biggs Mrs Jan Biber Dr Anthony Bookallil R D & L M Broadfoot Arnaldo Buch Ann & Miles Burgess Pat & Jenny Burnett The Hon. Justice JC & Mrs Campbell Dr Rebecca Chin Mrs Sarah Chissick Mrs Catherine J Clark R A & M J Clarke Mr & Mrs Coates Coffs Airport Security Car Park Mr B & Mrs M Coles Mrs Joan Connery oam Jen Cornish Mr David Cross Phil Diment am & Bill Zafiropoulos Elizabeth Donati The Dowe Family John Favaloro Malcolm Ellis & Erin O Neill In memory of Peter Everett Mr Tom Francis Mr John Gaden Vivienne Goldschmidt Clive & Jenny Goodwin Harry & Meg Herbert Sue Hewitt Dorothy Hoddinott ao Mr Joerg Hofmann Mrs Kimberley Holden Mr Gregory Hosking Niki Kallenberger Mrs Margaret Keogh Dr Henry Kilham Chris J Kitching Anna-Lisa Klettenberg Sonia Lal Mr Luigi Lamprati Dr & Mrs Leo Leader Margaret Lederman Erna & Gerry Levy am Sydney & Airdrie Lloyd Mrs A Lohan Mrs Panee Low Dr David Luis Philip & Catherine McClelland Melvyn Madigan Alan & Joy Martin Mrs Toshiko Meric Ms Irene Miller & Ms Kim Harding P J Miller David Mills Kenneth N Mitchell Ms Margaret Moore oam & Dr Paul Hutchins am Chris Morgan-Hunn Mrs Milja Morris A Nhan Mr Graham North Dr Mike O Connor am Mr R A Oppen Origin Foundation Dr A J Palmer Dr Kevin Pedemont Dr Natalie E Pelham Michael Quailey Renaissance Tours Anna Ro Lesley & Andrew Rosenberg Mrs Pamela Sayers Garry Scarf & Morgie Blaxill Peter & Virginia Shaw Mrs Diane Shteinman am Ms Stephanie Smee Ms Tatiana Sokolova Doug & Judy Sotheren Mrs Judith Southam Mrs Karen Spiegal-Keighley Margaret Suthers Norman & Lydia Taylor Dr Heng Tey & Mrs Cilla Tey Mrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward Spicer Kevin Troy Gillian Turner & Rob Bishop Prof Gordon E Wall Mrs Margaret Wallis Ronald Walledge Ms Elizabeth Wilkinson Audrey & Michael Wilson A Willmers & R Pal Dr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K Wong Geoff Wood & Melissa Waites Glen & Everly Wyss Mrs Robin Yabsley Anonymous (22) List correct as of 1 May 2013 To find out more about becoming a Sydney Symphony Patron, please contact the Philanthropy Office on (02) or philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL? Learn how, with the people who know books and writing best. Faber Academy at ALLEN & UNWIN T (02) W allenandunwin.com/faberacademy sydney symphony 25

25 SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body The Sydney Symphony is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW PREMIER PARTNER PLATINUM PARTNERS EDUCATION PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY S MUSIC INDUSTRY executive search REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS MARKETING PARTNER Fine Music sydney symphony

26 ORCHESTRA NEWS MAY 2013 Photo: Paul Muir INTRODUCING ANDREW This month we welcome co-concertmaster Andrew Haveron to the Sydney Symphony. Here s your chance to get to know the guy sitting at the pointy end. I really didn t see that one coming. Andrew Haveron, our newly appointed co-concertmaster, is talking about the phone call some 14 years ago inviting him to join the Brodsky Quartet. They were an established quartet of 25 years, who suddenly rang up out of the blue. There followed eight fabulous years. I would have played 250 to 300 different quartets. I could bore the back legs off a donkey talking about rare and obscure quartets! But when he made the switch to the world of orchestral music, Andrew recognised there was a huge gap in his knowledge. I hadn t even played Beethoven 5! Living in London, Andrew found those gaps were filled pretty quickly. Given the speed with which that city operates, I ve got several Beethoven cycles under my belt now. His music is always rewarding to play. Brahms too, though he didn t bend to string players techniques much. Andrew sees little difference between making music on an intimate chamber scale and that of larger orchestral playing. On a recent tour with the Academy of taking responsibility, passing around the inspiration. St Martin in the Fields, performing Haydn symphonies without conductor, he enjoyed observing the responsibility taken by each of the musicians. In a symphonic situation, we all too easily give up responsibility and hand it all over to the conductor. I find that a little frustrating at times. If everyone takes responsibility, the results can be electrifying. When accompanying an orchestral oboe solo, for example, Andrew will try to have direct contact with the oboist, keeping the conductor only in his peripheral view. That s where the truth of the music is coming from. I think conductors enjoy seeing people take that responsibility for themselves, passing around the inspiration. Having made the transition from pure chamber music to leading orchestras, Andrew says it took a little while to appreciate the role of a concertmaster. I know that different orchestras require different things. One thing I m not is a dictator. I just don t see the point. My leadership style is to spread confidence and freedom for people to enjoy playing to their best. An enthusiastic orchestra always sounds better than an uninspired one.

27 Philanthropy Highlight Education Highlight Photo: Ken Butti Inspiring Teachers Trombonist Nick Byrne and actress Lia Reutens doing it Vanguard style Sydney Symphony Vanguard celebrated its first birthday in style, transporting members back to 1920s New Orleans with smoky jazz, foot-stomping brass, and even a New Orleans funeral processional! The event, held in The Tea Room at the QVB, was the first member event for 2013 and there are three more to follow. Vanguard a membership program for Gen X and Y movers and shakers takes our music out of the concert hall and into different spaces around the city. No two events are the same and there s always an element of surprise. Vanguard members enjoy a close relationship with the orchestra and our musicians, while helping support the activity of the SSO through membership fees. For more information contact Amelia Morgan- Hunn on (02) or amelia.morgan-hunn@ sydneysymphony.com If you could describe music in words, you wouldn t need music. So says conductor Benjamin Northey, who will conduct our Stage 3 Schools Concerts in August. Nevertheless, as a teacher, that s your challenge. You need to find a way to engage young people s minds so that they can find their own way to the music. Enter the Sydney Symphony s accredited professional learning workshops for teachers. We help them become familiar with the music their children will hear when they come to the schools concerts later in the year, says Kim Waldock, our Head of Education. We do a number of crazy activities and frolicking around, and learning ways of introducing children to orchestral music. The most daunting thing for non-music specialists is reading music. It can be like reading another language, says workshop presenter Vanessa South. We re giving them strategies: learning the rhythms, learning the rhymes. Harriet Muston of Neutral Bay Public School offers the teacher s perspective: It s nice to be able to be a student for a change and participate in the activities. Interested in finding out more about schools concerts and teacher training? Call Kim Waldock on (02) or watch the video: bit.ly/ssoschoolsconcerts CONDUCT A SYMPHONY AT YOUR PLACE You can enjoy six selected live performances of the Sydney Symphony during its 2013 season in the comfort of your own home, only at BigPond Music online or on T-Box. Visit bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony The spectrum device is a trade mark of Telstra Corporation Limited. Registered trade marks of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN Photo: Brendan Read

28 Photo: Keith Saunders Artistic Focus STUDY BREAKS Most enlightened workplaces offer opportunities for professional development, right? So too the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Recently, two SSO musicians Marina Marsden (Principal Second Violin) and Marnie Sebire (Horn) packed their bags and headed off overseas for a study break. In crafting her schedule, Marina Marsden reflected on the needs of her section and identified some areas where she could benefit from mentoring. There s a certain amount of training we receive, but besides mentoring young people in our Sinfonia [the Sydney Symphony s training orchestra], as leaders we also need to motivate and support the people in our own section. Marina s jam-packed international trip included everything from instrumental lessons with violin guru David Takeno in London to study with flow technique specialist Andreas Burzik in Bremen. Flow is a way of playing where you become totally inside the music. I ll use the method to improve my performing, mentoring and teaching skills. Marina also met with several mediation and orchestral leadership experts. Marnie Sebire s trip was about refocusing and regaining her inspiration for the French horn, and included lessons with Marina Marsden Marnie Sebire living legend Hector McDonald in Vienna and Sarah Willis in Berlin. Sarah was the first female brass musician accepted into the Berlin Phil, says Marnie. We were fortunate to have her join the SSO horn section last year for performances of Bruckner 8 and she blew me away! Also on her schedule were lessons on Wagner tuba. Describing it as an unwieldy instrument, Marnie explains that Wagner designed it with the sound of a horn crossed with trombone in mind. Unfortunately it s a bit of a devil to play. I m hoping to gain some insights from those musicians in Berlin who play the thing relatively regularly. Both Marina and Marnie were supported in their study travel by the Symphony Friends and Michael & Mary Whelan Trust scholarships. Any musician who has been a member of the Sydney Symphony for more than two years is eligible to apply for assistance with airfares, tuition fees and living expenses for a period of study, usually overseas. It s so great to know that the opportunity exists in the orchestra to be supported and encouraged to go and gain inspiration, says Marina. The Score What s in a name? In English-speaking countries, Saint-Saëns most popular symphony goes by the nickname Organ Symphony. Reading that, you might think it was some kind of organ concerto. So it s ironic that, until it enters with the big tune in the finale, the organ has relatively little to do or rather, it doesn t take a soloistic or concerto-like role in the symphony, despite its importance in the overall orchestral sound. As far as Saint-Saëns was concerned, this work was simply his Third Symphony. In his native France it became known as the Symphonie avec orgue, or Symphony with organ. That was a way of distinguishing it from Saint-Saëns other symphonies by drawing attention to a distinctive aspect of its orchestration, the inclusion of organ. Transferred to English, Symphonie avec orgue becomes Organ Symphony, and we ve lost subtlety of meaning along the way. What we haven t lost, however, is one of the great highlights of the orchestral repertoire with organ. If Saint-Saëns wisely keeps his orchestral organist in reserve for much of the symphony, it s so he can make an even more impressive effect when the organ s grandly powerful sound is added to the mix. Organ Symphony Charles Dutoit conducts Mozart, Martin and Saint-Saëns. David Drury will play the grand organ. Master Series 5, 7, 8 June 8pm