DVOŘÁK S NEW WORLD. Explorations in Sound. Wednesday 30 October 2013 Thursday 31 October 2013 MEET THE MUSIC PRESENTED BY AIM

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1 DVOŘÁK S NEW WORLD Explorations in Sound MEET THE MUSIC PRESENTED BY AIM Wednesday 30 October 2013 Thursday 31 October 2013 THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY S MUSIC INDUSTRY

2 WELCOME THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY S MUSIC INDUSTRY On behalf of the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), Silver Partner of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, I d like to welcome you to Dvořák s New World, the final program in this year s Meet the Music series. Composers can say things in music that can t be expressed any other way. And just as learning to speak is the first step towards telling a story, so learning the language of music is crucial to finding your own artistic voice. In this concert, you ll hear three thoroughly original compositions, each one with its own distinctive voice, from the New World Symphony with its American inspiration, to a brand new concerto that combines an Eastern palette with a Western one. Quality music education is key to a vibrant artistic culture. AIM and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra are proud to help young musicians find their creative identities and discover their own new worlds. So don t just Meet the Music this evening let your mind wander and see where the music meets you! 2 sydney symphony Prof. Ian Bofinger Executive Dean Australian Institute of Music

3 2013 season meet the music presented by australian institute of music Wednesday 30 October 6.30pm Thursday 31 October 6.30pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Dvořák s New World: Explorations in Sound Jessica Cottis CONDUCTOR Wu Man PIPA Benjamin Britten ( ) Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Dawn (Act I) Sunday Morning (Act II) Moonlight (Act III) Storm (Act I) Zhao Jiping (born 1945) Pipa Concerto No.2 PREMIERE Wednesday s performance will be recorded for later broadcast by ABC Classic FM. Pre-concert talk by Kim Waldock at 5.45pm in the Northern Foyer. Estimated durations: 17 minutes, 20 minutes, 20-minute interval, 45 minutes The concert will conclude at approximately 8.30pm. INTERVAL Antonín Dvořák ( ) Symphony No.9 in E minor, Op.95, From the New World Adagio Allegro molto Largo Scherzo (Molto vivace) Allegro con fuoco This concert will be introduced by Andrew Ford, award-winning composer, writer and broadcaster, and presenter of The Music Show on ABC Radio National. PRESENTING PARTNER THE LEADING SCHOOL FOR TODAY S MUSIC INDUSTRY sydney symphony 3

4 ABOUT THE MUSIC BENJAMIN BRITTEN English composer ( ) Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Benjamin Britten was born on St Cecilia s Day (22 November), and whether the connection with the patron saint of music was an omen or not, he showed great promise and talent as a performer and composer. He studied piano and viola, and by the age of 14 had 100 opus numbers to his credit! His first composition teacher was Frank Bridge, from whom Britten said he learnt two cardinal principles: that you should find yourself and be true to what you found. The other...was his scrupulous attention to good technique. It wasn t long before Britten was being hailed as the greatest English composer since Purcell. Peter Grimes made Britten s name as a musical dramatist. It was his first full-scale opera, and it turned out a masterpiece. Britten and his partner Peter Pears were visiting California in 1941 when Pears bought a copy of the works of poet George Crabbe: like Britten, a native of Suffolk. An article on Crabbe by E.M. Forster in The Listener alerted Britten and Pear s attention to The Borough, the long poem upon which Peter Grimes is based. With financial assistance from the Koussevitsky Foundation, Britten and Pears began to sketch out a scenario for Peter Grimes before leaving America in They fleshed it out aboard ship, and on arrival home in England called in a librettist to write the words. Britten began to compose the music in January In June the following year, Sadlers Wells decided to reopen their North London theatre with this opera, and it was premiered there on 7 June Britten was fascinated by the sea, and particularly his native coast. He once wrote: My parents house in Lowestoft directly faced the sea, and my life as a child was coloured by the fierce storms that sometimes drove ships on our coast and ate away whole stretches of neighbouring cliffs. But Crabbe s Borough didn t just provide Britten with opportunities for musical portrayal of the forces of nature. About the composer The origins of Peter Grimes The sea interludes 4 sydney symphony

5 Britten and Pears found something to sympathise with in the human drama of the protagonist Peter Grimes and his isolation from his community. In Peter Grimes the orchestral writing is particularly substantial. The Four Sea Interludes function as entr actes or preludes in the opera, but are effectively concert pieces. Although they comprise some of the most effective portrayals of the sea in all of orchestral literature, they are also riven with the emotion which makes Grimes a very human drama. Dawn is heard in Act I, after the Prologue s coronial inquest has established that Grimes cannot be held culpable for the death by drowning of his young apprentice. The high flutes and violins suggest almost uncannily the cold glassy greyness of the sea, or of a deserted beach; the swirl of harp, clarinets and violas an encroaching wave, while a brass chorale suggests, perhaps, the swell, with even, at one point, a note of menace. The tolling of Sunday morning church bells is rendered most effectively by the overlapping clashing pairs of French horns in Sunday Morning, the beginning of Act II in the opera. When heard in the context of the opera, the repose of Moonlight is ironic. Another of Grimes apprentices has died by misadventure, and already the audience senses that Grimes is steering unavoidably towards tragedy. Arnold Whittall calls this: one of Britten s most subtle nature scenes, a night-piece shot through with luminous shafts of moonlight. Stage directors can founder on attempts to render a visual analogue to Britten s highly effective Act I Storm; it is sometimes best to leave the curtain down. The storm here is also a mental storm, a musical postscript to Peter s outpouring of anguish and lonely confusion to his friend, Balstrode. The Sea Interludes call for two flutes (doubling piccolos), two oboes, two clarinets (one doubling E flat clarinet), two bassoons and contrabassoon; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion; harp and strings. Navigating the interludes sydney symphony 5

6 ZHAO JIPING Chinese composer (born 1945) Pipa Concerto No.2 Zhao Jiping is one of the China s most prominent composers. In Australia he is best known for his soundtracks to films such as Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou) and Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige), and his work has won him awards at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. His music style is characterised by the combination of traditional Chinese melodic and harmonic gestures with Western orchestral colours, and he has composed widely in Western genres, writing symphonies and symphonic poems as well as concertos. Zhao studied at the Xi an Conservatory of Music, and he is the Director of the Institute of Dance and Music Drama of Shaanxi Province. He is also closely associated with the Silk Road Project, led by Yo-Yo Ma, and has completed a number of commissioned works for the project, including Moon Over Guan Mountains, Distant Green Valley, Sacred Cloud Music, Summer in the High Grassland and The Battle Remembered. The pipa is a lute-like instrument with a history of more than two thousand years. During the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC 220 AD), instruments with long, straight necks and round resonators with snake skin or wooden sound boards were played with a forward and backward plucking motion that sounded like pi and pa to fanciful ears. Hence, all plucked instruments in ancient times were called pipa. During the Tang dynasty, by way of Central Asia, the introduction of a crooked neck lute with a pearshaped body contributed to the pipa s evolution. Today s instrument consists of 26 frets and six ledges arranged as stops and its four strings are tuned respectively to A D E A. The pipa s many left and right hand fingering techniques, rich tonal qualities and resonant timbre give its music a lasting and endearing expressiveness and beauty. About the composer Wu Man explains the pipa 6 sydney symphony

7 STEPHEN KAHN In 2012 I was approached by Wu Man to write a concerto. Having known and admired Wu Man for many years, I was immediately taken by the prospect and, in fact, had been wanting to write something that could feature her incredible artistry. This is my second concerto for pipa, an instrument that resonates so closely to my heart. Wu Man has a unique perspective on the interpretation of music, particularly on the integration of eastern sounds with western ensembles. I see this piece not so much as a traditional concerto, but more an exploration of poetic expression of thoughts and emotions, able to stimulate many levels of the audience s imagination. The orchestra and Wu Man are the canvas and I have the privilege to paint the picture. A few years ago I was fortunate to hear a concert of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (the lead commissioner for this concerto), and was immediately struck by the virtuosity of the musicians. With that sound in mind my goal is to create a pipa concerto with a strong Chinese flavor combined with global musical language sense. The movements represent various expressions in different textures and tempos, and inspired by the most elegant Chinese traditional music style, Ping Tang ( ), from Wu Man s hometown in the Su Hang ( ) area. I am confident that this powerful collaboration will touch a new light! Zhao Jiping s Pipa Concerto No.2 was commissioned for Wu Man and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra by the SSO and a consortium of North American commissioners. It was completed in 2013 in Xi an, China. The composer writes sydney symphony 7

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9 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Bohemian composer ( ) Symphony No.9 in E minor, Op.95, From the New World When he was 37 years old, Dvořák went from being a struggling young artist to a composer with burgeoning international fame. He found a publisher, had his first real success as an opera composer, and his Slavonic Dances for piano duet caused a run on the music shops. Soon he was established as one of the leading composers of the 19th century, and he was the musician of choice when Mrs Jeannette Thurber sought a director for her National Conservatory of Music in New York. There, Mrs Thurber hoped, he would contribute to the creation of an American national style. Dvořák, in turn, drew on the experience, composing two of his most popular works, the Cello Concerto and the New World Symphony. Dvořák didn t want to go to New York at first, despite the tempting salary of $15,000 a year, but eventually he signed a two-year contract and on 15 September 1892, he, his wife, and two of their six children left Europe for a nine-day voyage, during which Dvořák reported everyone was sick except me. On arrival, Dvořák observed the magnificent Statue of Liberty, in whose head alone there is room for 60 people, before being whisked away to a luxury hotel. After paying $55 a week ( Things are expensive here ), he took cheaper rooms in East 17th Street: Mr Steinway sent me a piano immediately, a lovely instrument and, naturally, free of charge, so that we have at least one good piece of furniture in our living room. Dvořák wrote home: The city itself is magnificent, lovely buildings and beautiful streets, and everything is so clean. Pulitzer s massive 16-storey skyscraper dominated the horizon, while down on the street he witnessed the festivities marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus s discovery of the Americas. From the first, Dvořák was aware that something very About the composer A Bohemian in New York sydney symphony 9

10 special (maybe impossible) was expected of him: What the American papers print about me is simply incredible they expect me to be some sort of musical saviour! Parallels with the earlier European visitor were hard to avoid. The oration at his official welcome in Carnegie Hall was prophetically entitled The New World of Columbus and the New World of Music. Dvořák composed his ninth, and last, symphony in New York between January and May As his American-born secretary, Josef Kovařík, was about to deliver the score to the conductor, Dvořák suddenly wrote on the title page, in Czech, From the New World, echoing the title of the welcome speech. Kovařík said the inscription was just the Master s little joke ; but the joke has, ever since, prompted the question: how American is the New World Symphony? Dvořák could have written his New World inscription, as in the welcome speech, in English. By writing it in Czech he was seen to be addressing the work, like a picture postcard, to his compatriots back in Europe. At the same time he challenged listeners to identify depictions of America or elements of American music. Either way, the composer was seen to be meeting the desire of his employer, Mrs Jeannette Thurber, for music which might be identified as American. In fact, Dvořák s New World Symphony contains no borrowings from American music, although it s possible to imagine the bustle of the cities, a spirit of simplicity and directness, and perhaps the vast, desolate prairies. But equally, the symphony is infused with a spirit of nostalgia and even homesickness. This is the clue to the famous Largo movement (which only later was turned into the spiritual Goin home), and explains the appearance of a Czech dance in the middle of the lively third movement. From the New World Goin home SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER PADDINGTON TOWN HALL Break out the tux, put on your dancing shoes and join us for a night of revelry and entertainment to help us support Australia s most talented young musicians at the SSO Roaring 20s Ball! Tickets are available through the SSO Box Office call For more information visit 10 sydney symphony

11 Autograph title page of Symphony No.9, From the New World At the time of the première, Dvořák told the New York Herald that the two middle movements of the symphony were inspired by Longfellow s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha, which he d read in Czech a long time ago and which Mrs Thurber was now suggesting for an opera. The famous slow movement, he said, was inspired by Hiawatha s wooing of Minnehaha and the Scherzo by dancing at the wedding feast. Without using Native American melodies, he claimed to have given the Scherzo the local colour of Indian music an effect probably limited to repetitive rhythms and primitive harmonies. The structure of the New World Symphony is pulled together by the musical ideas that recur throughout, like familiar faces in a crowd. The two main themes of the first movement are recalled in festive mood in the Largo, at the brassy climax of the famous melody first stated by the cor anglais. They turn up again in the coda of the Scherzo, the first theme (somewhat disguised) also making three appearances earlier in the movement. The main themes of both middle movements recur in the development section of the finale, and the main themes of all three preceding movements are reviewed in the final coda. There, a brief dialogue between the themes of the first and last movements is cut short by a conventional cadence, spiced by unexpected wind colouring in the last chord of all. The symphony calls for two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets and two bassoons; four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion; and strings. Hiawatha Navigating the symphony Adapted in part from program notes by GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS (Britten), and ANTHONY CANE and GRAEME SKINNER (Dvořák). SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2013 sydney symphony 11

12 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Jessica Cottis CONDUCTOR Jessica Cottis was born in Sale, Victoria and studied organ and musicology at the Australian National University. She continued her organ studies with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris and made her European debut at Westminster Cathedral in A hand injury halted her playing career and she began studying conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where her teachers were Colin Metters, George Hurst and Colin Davis. On graduating in 2009 she was appointed Assistant Conductor to Donald Runnicles at the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Conducting Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as Manson Fellow in Composition at the RAM. As Assistant Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, she divides her time between Australia and Britain, where she is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor. This season she makes debuts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic and will return to the BBC SSO and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera. Jessica Cottis made her BBC Proms debut in 2010 conducting music by James Dillon, later conducting the premiere of his cycle Nine Rivers with the BBC SSO and Les Percussions de Strasbourg. She regularly conducts the Red Note Ensemble, Manson Ensemble and London Sinfonietta; appears in festivals across the UK, and has conducted opera premieres as well as core operatic repertoire in Britain and Europe. This year she has conducted a program in the SSO s Sydney subscription series and on tour in Canberra and Albury, as well as several sets of SSO schools concerts. In 2014 she will return to the Mozart in the City series. ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse and Symphony Services International Read more in Bravo! bit.ly/bravo We regret that Joana Carneiro was obliged to cancel her appearances in Sydney for health reasons, but are delighted that Jessica Cottis has been able to step in at short notice. 12 sydney symphony

13 Wu Man PIPA Recognised as the world s premier pipa virtuoso and a leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man has carved out a career as a composer, soloist and educator, giving her lute-like instrument a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. Wu Man was born in Hangzhou, China and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she became the first recipient of a master s degree in pipa. She was brought up in the Pudong School of pipa playing, one of the most prestigious classical styles of Imperial China, and is recognised as an outstanding exponent of traditional repertoire for the pipa with its history of more than two thousand years. At the same time she is the artist most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western world, and is a leading interpreter of music by contemporary composers, such as Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Bright Sheng, Chen Yi and the late Lou Harrison. Her first exposure to Western classical music came in 1979 when she saw Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform in Beijing. In 1980 she participated in an open masterclass with violinist Isaac Stern, and in 1985 made her first visit to the United States as a member of the China Youth Arts Troupe. She moved to the US in 1990 and is the first artist from China to have performed at the White House. She frequently tours with the Silk Road Ensemble and separately as a soloist across North America. Wu Man has striven to develop a place for the pipa in all art forms, initiating projects that have resulted in the pipa finding a place in new solo and quartet works, concertos, opera, chamber, electronic and jazz music as well as in theatre productions, film, dance and collaborations with visual artists including calligraphers and painters. Wu Man s role has developed beyond pipa performance to encompass singing, dancing, composing and curating projects such a pair of concerts at Carnegie Hall for the Ancient Paths, Modern Voices festival. sydney symphony 13

14 MUSICIANS Vladimir Ashkenazy Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates Andrew Haveron Concertmaster Dene Olding Concertmaster Jessica Cottis Assistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse FIRST VIOLINS Andrew Haveron Concertmaster Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster Lerida Delbridge Assistant Concertmaster Fiona Ziegler Assistant Concertmaster Julie Batty Jenny Booth Brielle Clapson Sophie Cole Georges Lentz Nicola Lewis Alexander Norton Rebecca Gill Claire Herrick* Kelly Tang Dene Olding Concertmaster Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster Marianne Broadfoot Amber Davis Jennifer Hoy Alexandra Mitchell Léone Ziegler VIOLAS Roger Benedict Anne-Louise Comerford Justin Williams Assistant Principal Robyn Brookfield Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Stuart Johnson Justine Marsden Amanda Verner Tobias Breider Felicity Tsai Leonid Volovelsky CELLOS Catherine Hewgill Leah Lynn Assistant Principal Fenella Gill Timothy Nankervis Elizabeth Neville Christopher Pidcock Adrian Wallis David Wickham Kristy Conrau FLUTES Janet Webb Carolyn Harris Rosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo Emma Sholl OBOES Diana Doherty David Papp Alexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais Shefali Pryor CLARINETS Francesco Celata Christopher Tingay Lawrence Dobell Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet BASSOONS Jack Schiller º Fiona McNamara Noriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon Matthew Wilkie TRUMPETS David Elton Paul Goodchild Anthony Heinrichs TROMBONES Scott Kinmont Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone Milo Dodd* Ronald Prussing Nick Byrne TUBA Steve Rossé TIMPANI Richard Miller PERCUSSION Rebecca Lagos Colin Piper Mark Robinson Philip South* HARP Louise Johnson SECOND VIOLINS Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Emma Jezek A/ Associate Principal Emily Long A/ Assistant Principal Shuti Huang Stan W Kornel Benjamin Li Nicole Masters Philippa Paige Biyana Rozenblit Maja Verunica Elizabeth Jones* Maria Durek Emma Hayes DOUBLE BASSES Kees Boersma Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus David Campbell Steven Larson Richard Lynn David Murray Benjamin Ward Alex Henery HORNS Robert Johnson Geoffrey O Reilly Principal 3rd Euan Harvey Abbey Edlin* Brendan Parravicini Ben Jacks Marnie Sebire Rachel Silver Bold = Principal Italics = Associate Principal = Contract Musician * = Guest Musician = SSO Fellow Grey = Permanent member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra 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 Orchestra are proudly outfitted by Van Heusen. 14 sydney symphony

15 SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 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 Orchestra 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 SSO 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 Orchestra 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 Orchestra s awardwinning 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 recordings of works by Brett Dean have been released on both BIS and Sydney Symphony Live. 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 Orchestra Board John C Conde ao Chairman Terrey Arcus am Ewen Crouch am Ross Grant Jennifer Hoy Rory Jeffes Andrew Kaldor am David Livingstone Goetz Richter sydney symphony 15

16 SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 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 Orchestra Corporate Alliance Tony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner Pretty Insurance Australia Grou p John Morschel, Chairman, ANZ Chair Patrons Roger Benedict Principal Viola Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Chair 02 Lawrence Dobell Principal Clarinet Terrey Arcus am & Anne Arcus 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 Kirsty Hilton Principal Second Violin Corrs Chambers Westgarth Chair 07 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair 08 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair 09 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair 10 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair 11 Janet Webb Principal Flute Helen Lynch am & Helen Bauer Chair For information about the Chair Patrons program, please call (02) Sydney Symphony Orchestra 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 Stephen Attfield Damien Bailey Mar Beltran Evonne Bennett Nicole Billet David Bluff Kees Boersma Andrew Bragg Peter Braithwaite Blake Briggs Andrea Brown Helen Caldwell Hilary Caldwell Hahn Chau Alistair Clark Matthew Clark Benoît Cocheteux Paul Colgan George Condous Juliet Curtin Justin Di Lollo Alistair Furnival Alistair Gibson Sam Giddings Marina Go Sebastian Goldspink Tony Grierson Louise Haggerty Rose Herceg Philip Heuzenroeder Paolo Hooke Peter Howard Jennifer Hoy Scott Jackson Justin Jameson Aernout Kerbert Tristan Landers Gary Linnane Paul Macdonald Kylie McCaig Rebecca MacFarling David McKean Hayden McLean Amelia Morgan-Hunn Phoebe Morgan-Hunn Taine Moufarrige Nick Nichles Tom O Donnell Kate O Reilly Fiona Osler Archie Paffas Jonathan Pease Jingmin Qian Seamus R Quick Leah Ranie Michael Reede Paul Reidy Chris Robertson Benjamin Robinson Emma Rodigari Jacqueline Rowlands Katherine Shaw Randal Tame Sandra Tang Adam Wand Jon Wilkie Jonathan Watkinson Darren Woolley Misha Zelinsky 16 sydney symphony

17 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony Orchestra 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 Helen Lynch am & Helen Bauer 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 Doug & Alison Battersby Alan & Christine Bishop Ian & Jennifer Burton Copyright Agency Cultural Fund Edward & Diane Federman Nora Goodridge Mr Ross Grant Mr Ervin Katz James N Kirby Foundation Ms Irene Lee Ruth & Bob Magid The Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran Meagher Mrs T Merewether oam Mr John Morschel Mr John Symond Andy & Deirdre Plummer Caroline Wilkinson Anonymous (1) Silver Patrons: $5000 $9,999 Stephen J Bell Mr Alexander & Mrs Vera Boyarsky Mr Robert Brakspear Mr David & Mrs Halina Brett Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie Clampett Ewen Crouch am & Catherine Crouch Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway Dr C Goldschmidt The Greatorex Foundation Mr Rory Jeffes Judges of the Supreme Court of NSW J A McKernan R & S Maple-Brown Justice Jane Mathews ao Mora Maxwell Mrs Barbara Murphy Drs Keith & Eileen Ong Timothy & Eva Pascoe William McIlrath Charitable Foundation Mr B G O Conor Rodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia Rosenblum Estate of the late Greta C Ryan Manfred & Linda Salamon Simpsons Solicitors Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet Cooke Michael & Mary Whelan Trust June & Alan Woods Family Bequest Anonymous (2) Bronze Patrons: Presto $2,500 $4,999 Mr Henri W Aram oam The Berg Family Foundation in memory of Hetty Gordon Mr B & Mrs M Coles Mr Howard Connors Greta Davis The Hon. Ashley Dawson-Damer Firehold Pty Ltd Stephen Freiberg & Donald Campbell Vic & Katie French Mrs Jennifer Hershon Gary Linnane Robert McDougall Renee Markovic James & Elsie Moore Ms Jackie O Brien J F & A van Ogtrop In memory of Sandra Paul Pottinger In memory of H St P Scarlett David & Isabel Smithers Marliese & Georges Teitler Mr Robert & Mrs Rosemary Walsh Mr & Mrs T & D Yim Anonymous (1) Bronze Patrons: Vivace $1,000 $2,499 Mrs Antoinette Albert Andrew Andersons ao Mr & Mrs Garry S Ash Dr Francis J Augustus Sibilla Baer Richard and Christine Banks David Barnes Mark Bethwaite am & Carolyn Bethwaite Allan & Julie Bligh Dr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Jan Bowen Lenore P Buckle M Bulmer In memory of RW Burley Ita Buttrose ao obe Mr JC Campbell qc & Mrs Campbell Dr Rebecca Chin Dr Diana Choquette & Mr Robert Milliner Mr Peter Clarke Constable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill Mr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret Cunningham Lisa & Miro Davis Matthew Delasey Mr & Mrs Grant Dixon Colin Draper & Mary Jane Brodribb Malcolm Ellis & Erin O Neill Mrs Margaret Epps Paul R Espie Professor Michael Field AM Mr Tom Francis Mr James Graham am & Mrs Helen Graham Warren Green Anthony Gregg Akiko Gregory Tony Grierson Edward & Deborah Griffin Richard Griffin am In memory of Dora & Oscar Grynberg Janette Hamilton Mrs & Mr Holmes The Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret Hunt Dr & Mrs Michael Hunter Irwin Imhof in memory of Herta Imhof Michael & Anna Joel In memory of Bernard M H Khaw Mr Justin Lam Mr Luigi Lamprati Mr Peter Lazar am Professor Winston Liauw Dr David Luis Peter Lowry oam & Dr Carolyn Lowry oam Dr David Luis Deirdre & Kevin McCann Ian & Pam McGaw Matthew McInnes Macquarie Group Foundation Mrs Toshiko Meric Henry & Ursula Mooser Milja & David Morris Mrs J Mulveney Origin Foundation Mr & Mrs Ortis Dr A J Palmer Mr Andrew C Patterson sydney symphony 17

18 Dr Natalie E Pelham Almut Piatti Robin Potter TA & MT Murray-Prior Dr Raffi Qasabian Michael Quailey Ernest & Judith Rapee Kenneth R Reed Patricia H Reid Endowment Pty Ltd Dr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June Roarty Robin Rodgers Lesley & Andrew Rosenberg Julianna Schaeffer Caroline Sharpen Dr Agnes E Sinclair Mrs Judith Southam Mrs Karen Spiegal-Keighley Catherine Stephen John & Alix Sullivan The Hon. Brian Sully qc Mildred Teitler Kevin Troy John E Tuckey In memory of Joan & Rupert Vallentine Dr Alla Waldman Miss Sherry Wang Henry & Ruth Weinberg The Hon. Justice A G Whealy Ms Kathy White in memory of Mr Geoff White A Willmers & R Pal Mr & Mrs B C Wilson Dr Richard Wing Mr Robert Woods In memory of Lorna Wright Dr John Yu Anonymous (12) Bronze Patrons: Allegro $500 $999 Mrs Lenore Adamson David & Rae Allen Michael Baume ao & Toni Baume Beauty Point Retirement Resort Richard & Margaret Bell Mrs Jan Biber Minnie Biggs Mrs Elizabeth Boon Mr Colin G Booth Dr Margaret Booth Mr Peter Braithwaite Mr Harry H Brian R D & L M Broadfoot Dr Miles Burgess Pat & Jenny Burnett Eric & Rosemary Campbell Barrie Carter Mr Jonathan Chissick Mrs Sandra Clark Michael & Natalie Coates Coffs Airport Security Car Park Jen Cornish Dom Cottam & Kanako Imamura Degabriele Kitchens Phil Diment am & Bill Zafiropoulos Dr David Dixon Elizabeth Donati The Dowe Family Mrs Jane Drexler Dr Nita Durham & Dr James Durham John Favaloro Ms Julie Flynn & Mr Trevor Cook Mrs Lesley Finn Mr John Gaden Vivienne Goldschmidt Clive & Jenny Goodwin Ms Fay Grear In Memory of Angelica Green Mr Robert Green Mr & Mrs Harold & Althea Halliday Mr Robert Havard Roger Henning Sue Hewitt In memory of Emil Hilton Dorothy Hoddinott ao Mr Joerg Hofmann Mr Angus Holden Mr Kevin Holland Bill & Pam Hughes Dr Esther Janssen Niki Kallenberger Mrs Margaret Keogh Dr Henry Kilham Chris J Kitching Aron Kleinlehrer Anna-Lisa Klettenberg Mr & Mrs Giles T Kryger The Laing Family Sonia Lal Dr Leo & Mrs Shirley Leader Margaret Lederman Mrs Erna Levy Sydney & Airdrie Lloyd Mrs A Lohan Mrs Panee Low Melvyn Madigan Barbara Maidment Helen & Phil Meddings David Mills Kenneth Newton Mitchell Ms Margaret Moore oam & Dr Paul Hutchins am Helen Morgan Chris Morgan-Hunn Mr Darrol Norman Mr Graham North Dr Margaret Parker Dr Kevin Pedemont Dr John Pitt Mrs Greeba Pritchard Mr Patrick Quinn-Graham Miss Julie Radosavljevic Renaissance Tours Dr Marilyn Richardson Anna Ro Mr Kenneth Ryan Mrs Pamela Sayers Garry Scarf & Morgie Blaxill Peter & Virginia Shaw Mr & Mrs Shore Mrs Diane Shteinman am Victoria Smyth Doug & Judy Sotheren Ruth Staples Mr & Mrs Ashley Stephenson Margaret Suthers The Taplin Family Dr & Mrs H K Tey Mrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward Spicer Judge Robyn Tupman Mrs M Turkington Gillian Turner & Rob Bishop Mr & Mrs Franc Vaccher Prof Gordon E Wall Ronald Walledge In memory of Denis Wallis The Wilkinson Family Evan Williams am & Janet Williams Audrey & Michael Wilson Dr Richard Wingate Dr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K Wong Geoff Wood & Melissa Waites Mrs Robin Yabsley Anonymous (24) List correct as of 1 October 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 18 sydney symphony

19 SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body The Sydney Symphony Orchestra 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 19

20 ORCHESTRA NEWS SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2013 Photo: Richard Barlow CITIZEN MUSICIAN Yoga. Gardening. Music. There s no limit to cellist Chris Pidcock s interests. Bikram cello. That s what cellist Chris Pidcock suggests he s engaged in as he practises furiously in a rehearsal room at the Sydney Opera House. It s warm. It could be the airconditioning, but equally, when you find out what he s working on A bit of Saariaho, some Giacinto Scelsi, a work by Anna Clyne for cello and electronics. Um. Perhaps the challenging repertoire better explains his heated condition? Chris is getting ready for an extracurricular solo concert of contemporary music. The really fun part [of my preparations] is playing for my colleagues. Suddenly I ve got a hundred teachers. I get really excited when I can play for them because they re buzzing with ideas. I always knew I wanted to be part of a great orchestra. I remember walking away from an SSO performance of La Mer, and I couldn t understand how it was so perfect. I learnt how to crave a really great orchestral sound. That craving was fed further by other great orchestras: You go to Vienna and the violins have a flautando [flutelike] sound so perfect that you can t breathe when you hear it. Then there s I learnt how to crave a really great orchestral sound. the Chicago Symphony Orchestra whose string sound is so present, so close to the bridge. All their courage is in the bow. Somewhat unusually, Chris s parents travelled with him on the last SSO tour. It was pretty cool having them there. It wasn t like I m a problem child and I need someone to look after me. Dad s a hæmatologist, and plays piano and organ a lot. If ever someone s had a bad diagnosis, Dad s two favourite things are gardening and playing piano. Mozart is a salvation. Any frustration you have with people can be dealt with through playing music or gardening. Music is a vocation, not a job. I m practising and thinking about music a lot. There s a great term that Yo Yo Ma uses, of a citizen musician, where your role is to share music as a cultural device. Our orchestra is a major part of that. I feel that our schedule allows enough time to do other concerts, to make it a real vocation. There s so much work to be done, it never really ends.

21 Orchestra Highlight Your Orchestra s New Look Everything old is new again! With the excitement of a new chief conductor and a new season of music on the horizon, we thought it was time to bring back something that in reality never truly went away (although it was effectively sidelined for more than a decade). In announcing the 2014 season, we officially welcomed back our original name: Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Sometimes you might find it easier to refer to the shortened version of SSO. Either way, we re your orchestra. Perhaps you ve also noticed our colourful new logo? We think it s rather joyful akin to the explosion of colourful sound you can hear from the orchestra. The graphic is a visual abstraction of both musicians and audience. The new exuberant identity also expresses the wide range of choice we offer audiences and the role we play in our community, with each vibrant square a different shade of a harmonious whole. We hope you like our new/old name, and that you ll enjoy our fresh new look as we move into another exciting era of inspirational and first-class music making. Ask a Musician I noticed Janet Webb was playing a metal flute when she performed the Liebermann concerto recently. But she used to play on a wooden instrument it was always a distinctive sight on the concert platform. Why the switch? And what difference does it make? Lapsed Flautist Well spotted, Lapsed Flautist! Janet has indeed switched from her wooden flute back to a metal one this time a solid 14-carat gold instrument. As Janet explains, she decided it was time for a change. I m always looking for different sounds, and different possibilities. Her new gold flute sounds more well golden. I want to make a mellow, rounded sound. The gold flute allows me to find warmer, darker, deeper, more complex qualities. Janet describes the wooden flute as having an earthy sound, just like the material it s made from. A silver flute offers something different again a brighter, more penetrating sound. There are some physical differences Janet s wooden flute was heavier and fatter than her gold flute. The wooden flute also retained its warmth after being played I could put it down and then come back to it later and it would still be warm. This ensures stability in intonation. The physical properties of the metal mean a gold flute will cool down faster after being played. I just have to pay more attention to the tuning if I come in after a long rest. Above all, however, the quality of the sound depends on the flautist. It s all about how people blow. I still sound like me! Have a question about music, instruments or the inner workings of an orchestra? Ask a Musician at yoursay@sydneysymphony.com or by writing to Bravo! Reply Paid 4338, Sydney NSW In July, SSO Chairman John Conde AO welcomed patrons to his home for a special preview of our 2014 concert season. Guests were treated to a lively Q&A session with incoming Chief Conductor and Artistic Director David Robertson and our Managing Director Rory Jeffes. Diana Doherty, Catherine Hewgill and Kirsty Hilton provided the musical entertainment. For information about the SSO Patrons Program philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com or call (02)

22 International Focus CHINA EXCHANGE From left: Zhu Siyao, Guo Lu, Chen Chen It s impossible to say for certain, but some estimates suggest there are 50 million young people learning the violin in China, says our Managing Director Rory Jeffes. Recently, three of the top young string players visited us from the Xinghai Conservatory in Guangzhou. Violinists Guo Lu and Zhu Siyao and violist Chen Chen, aged between 19 and 23, spent a week with the SSO s Sinfonia mentoring orchestra. They took part in a busy schedule of schools and family concerts, as well as a read through of Prokofiev s Fifth Symphony. Violin mentors from the SSO, Shuti Huang and Ben Li, sat with the girls in the orchestra, occasionally translating for the students and generally unravelling the mysteries of professional orchestral etiquette. The pace was faster than they anticipated, but they quickly adjusted, said Shuti. By the end of the week, they were all feeling very much a part of the orchestra. Before our 2012 China tour, the SSO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Xinghai Conservatory. On that tour, as a first step in building ties, our musicians gave masterclasses to students at the conservatory and Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted a rehearsal of their orchestra. These activities, which began last year, will lead to a longterm program of masterclasses, exchanges, orchestral workshops, commissions and tour performances, which will be further enhanced and facilitated through digital technology, says Rory. Our relationship with the Conservatory, which is the only higher music education institution in Southern China, is also significant given the sistercity relationship between Sydney and Guangzhou. Also in 2012, the SSO signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding with the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, also known as The Egg. This agreement involves our musicians working with the NCPA orchestra, as well as SSO administrative staff passing on their expertise and knowledge about audience development. Our Director of Marketing, Mark Elliott, will soon be visiting the NCPA in this capacity. Recently, the SSO won the major award at the inaugural Australian Arts in Asia Awards for our work in China. The awards, which attracted 120 entries, celebrate the role of Australian artists and arts organisations working in Asia. The Score War Requiem Vladimir Ashkenazy admits to not liking everything Benjamin Britten wrote, but the War Requiem, he says, is one of Britten s best pieces, maybe the best. In its music, its text and its effect, it is absolutely compelling. The War Requiem was composed in response to the horrors of World War II and was dedicated to the memory of four of Britten s friends. It was an ambitious and daring musical creation, but also deeply symbolic. Perhaps most significant was Britten s intended casting, and this is something Ashkenazy has set out to replicate for our performances in November, with Russian soprano Dina Kuznetsova, English tenor Andrew Staples and German baritone Dietrich Henschel. The three nationalities were chosen by Britten to represent three principal countries in the conflict. (The first recording features the soloists he had in mind: Galina Vishnevskaya, Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau.) And the symbolism reaches full weight when tenor and baritone, as two dead soldiers, sing the lines from Wilfred Owen s World War I poem, Strange Meeting: I am the enemy you killed, my friend. Britten s War Requiem uses its multinational cast to issue a call for peace, a call that seems as relevant today as it did in It s not merely a protest against war, but music that Britten hoped would make us think a bit. War Requiem Master Series 8 and 9 November 8pm Photo: Keith Saunders

23 CODA LET S MISBEHAVE! Dust off your tux and shake out the feather boa it s time for the SSO Roaring 20s Ball. Taking place on Saturday 23 November at Paddington Town Hall, your fun night out will include a 50-piece orchestra, music from the jazz age and dancing! Tickets may be purchased through our box office More information here: sydneysymphony/20sball REAL JOBS It s not uncommon for friends to ask young musicians about their jobs: What do you do all day? And why do you have to practise so much? Perhaps you ve occasionally wondered the same. SSO Fellow, flautist Laura van Rijn, has written a blog post answering these questions and others. Read it at: blog.ssofellowship.com/2013/08/ what-do-you-do WELCOME PARTNER We re pleased to announce that the Hotel Intercontinental Sydney is a new Gold Partner of the SSO. Keep an eye out for exclusive dining and accommodation packages in Stay Tuned, program books and at sydneysymphony.com EARLY BIRDS The winners of our 2013 Season Emirates Early Bird prize, Joyce and Ivan Cribb, returned from their prize trip to Barcelona (and a side trip to France) with glowing reports and memories to cherish. A highlight was hearing the local Barcelona Symphony and Catalonia National Orchestra perform Mahler s First Symphony. You could win this year! The 2014 Season Emirates Early Bird prize closes soon. This time the prize is two business class Emirates flights to Dubai plus five nights luxury accommodation Enter the draw by booking your 2014 SSO subscription by 10 September T&Cs apply. CONQUERORS The mighty Team Sydney Symphony Sprint put in a valiant nay, impressive! effort in the recent City to Surf. Fastest on the day was double bassist David Campbell, with a time of 59:22. Breathing down his neck was Principal Trumpet David Elton, mere hundredths of a second behind. Go team! EMIRATES RENEWAL We recently announced the renewal for three years of our principal partner relationship with Emirates, making it one of our longest-standing corporate partnerships. Among the benefits: SSO audiences receive an exclusive 10% online discount on all Emirates flights. How? Visit sydneysymphony.com/emirates BRAVO EDITOR Genevieve Lang Huppert sydneysymphony.com/bravo SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TRUST Mr Kim Williams AM [Chair] Mr Wayne Blair, Ms Catherine Brenner, The Hon Helen Coonan, Ms Renata Kaldor AO, Mr Robert Leece AM RFD, Mr Peter Mason AM, Mr Leo Schofield AM, Mr John Symond AM, Mr Robert Wannan EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT Clocktower Square, Argyle Street, The Rocks NSW 2000 GPO Box 4972, Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone (02) Box Office (02) Facsimile (02) All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the editor, publisher or any distributor of the programs. 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