WELCOME MESSAGE FROM GAIL KELLY

Transcription

1 WELCOME MESSAGE FROM GAIL KELLY It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Sydney Symphony Mozart in the City series for I would also like to congratulate the Sydney Symphony, with this year marking the Orchestra s 75th anniversary. The Sydney Symphony has become an important part of Sydney s cultural calendar, delighting people of all ages with a powerful musical experience. Whether playing for tens of thousands in the Domain, at the concert hall of the Opera House, or in the relative intimacy of the City Recital Hall, the Sydney Symphony makes each venue its own, to the enchantment of the audience. At St.George Bank, we are proud to continue our partnership with the Sydney Symphony, Australia s flagship orchestra, especially in the 75th anniversary year. In 2007 our involvement will see four wonderful performances as part of the Mozart in the City series. We are very excited to play a role in bringing this beautiful music to the Australian public and we hope you enjoy the experience. St.George is very committed to the arts and we are excited to strengthen that link to this widely acclaimed orchestra. In the same way that the Sydney Symphony offers a breadth of musical talent and commitment to both contemporary and classical music, at St.George we cater to a wide range of both financial needs. We sincerely hope that you enjoy the beautiful experiences that will be part of the Sydney Symphony Mozart in the City series. CEO and Managing Director St.George Bank Ltd.

2 SEASON 2007 MOZART IN THE CITY PRESENTED BY ST GEORGE MOZART S SERENADE Thursday 5 April 7pm City Recital Hall Angel Place Sydney Symphony Wind Ensemble RICHARD STRAUSS ( ) Serenade in E flat for 13 wind instruments, Op.7 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART ( ) Serenade in C minor, K388 Allegro Andante Menuetto in canone Trio in canone al rovescio Allegro (Tema con variazioni) ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK ( ) Serenade in D minor, B77 (Op.44) Moderato quasi marcia Menuetto (Tempo di minuetto Presto) Andante con moto Finale (Allegro molto) Tonight s concert will be introduced from the stage by Co-Concertmaster Dene Olding This concert will be recorded for broadcast across Australia on ABC Classic FM Pre-concert talk by David Garrett at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception Room. Estimated timings: 9 minutes, 21 minutes, 24 minutes The performance will conclude at approximately 8.05pm. Cover images: see page 30 for captions Program notes begin on page 5 Tonight s Musicians are listed on page 21 PRESENTING PARTNER

3 FREE PROGRAMS AT SYDNEY SYMPHONY CONCERTS Welcome to tonight s concert and to our first year of free programs. Following the enthusiastic response to our free concert flyers in 2006, the Sydney Symphony is delighted to be able to offer free program books at all our subscription and gala concerts. If you ve purchased programs in the past you ll find familiar features and the same high quality music journalism from some of Australia s leading writers on music. If you re new to programs we hope they ll give you a deeper insight into the music we play as well as providing a convenient guide to what s happening on the stage. Free programs are our gift to you. We do ask that you help us a little in return. Over a single season, printed programs could devour half a million sheets of paper. So, in a bid to be environmentally responsible, we ask patrons who are attending in couples or groups to share programs, one between two. Please help the ushers and fellow concertgoers by not taking additional programs. And if you normally don t keep your program after the concert, we invite you to return it to one of the boxes in the foyer as you leave. We can reuse the programs for subsequent performances or arrange for them to be recycled. NEW FEATURES KEYNOTES A brief introduction to read while the orchestra tunes up; look for Keynotes in the margin at the beginning of each program note. HISTORICAL SNAPSHOTS Celebrating our 75th anniversary season, a series of illustrated articles by historian and concert programmer David Garrett. EXPANDED CONCERT INTRODUCTION This popular overview of the concert hasn t gone, we ve simply moved it off the title page to the beginning of the program notes. If you d like to read the program in advance of the concert, you ll be able to find it on our website as a downloadable pdf file, available in the week of the concert. Visit for more information. And if you have comments or questions about the programs, please write to program.editor@sydneysymphony.com Programs grow on trees please share them with your companion If you normally don t keep your program after the concert, please leave it in one of the boxes in the foyer You can read programs online beforehand at sydneysymphony.com

4 INTRODUCTION Mozart s Serenade In tonight s concert the strings are represented by just two players (in just one work), and it is the woodwinds and horns who take the spotlight. This is the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, not in symphonic guise but presenting itself as a different kind of orchestra, one for serenades. The tradition evoked by tonight s ensemble is an 18th-century one. It is the tradition of outdoor evening entertainments, social gatherings and, quite literally, background music. Were serenades meant to be listened to attentively? Perhaps not. Mozart might well have been surprised by modern programming that puts his serenade music in sit down concerts such as this one. But tonight s Mozart serenade (for wind octet) is a serious affair and in some ways out of character for the genre if not for Mozart. Its minor key and sophisticated musical devices suggest that close listening will be rewarded. It is right that this concert is called Mozart s Serenade, even though there are serenades by other composers, because it is this serenade, K388, that forms the substance of the program the meat if you like and it is on the shoulders of Mozart s serenades that Dvořák and Richard Strauss stand in their own works. Dvořák and Strauss both loved Mozart s music, drawn to its sunshine and its perfect beauty, and they were probably familiar with the model of Mozart s famous Gran Partita for 13 winds (performed in this series last year). In this program they provide a frame: Strauss youthful aperitif, also for 13 instruments; and Dvořák s Wind Serenade, bringing a dancing, folk-inspired vigour to a classical form. Silhouette depicting a wind band in the establishment of the Prince of Oettingen- Wallenstein (1791). 5 Sydney Symphony

5 ABOUT THE MUSIC Richard Strauss Serenade in E flat for 13 wind instruments, Op.7 Late in life Richard Strauss would occasionally conduct his Opus 7 Serenade, muttering that it wasn t too bad for a music student. He was only 17 at the time he composed this work, but he had been a music student of one sort or another for well over a decade: he began piano lessons at the age of four and violin at eight. He began composing at the age of six and when he was 11 began taking formal lessons. And of course he had grown up in the household of one of Germany s most eminent musicians, his father Franz Strauss. Franz had overcome the social stigma of illegitimacy to become the leading horn player in the German-speaking world, and had married into a wealthy brewing family in Munich, where he was principal horn in the Court Orchestra. He was, therefore, well connected both socially and musically, a situation which was of undeniable help to the career of his son. Like Leopold Mozart, perhaps, Franz sought to influence Richard s musical development, and in particular to keep him from being contaminated by the music of Wagner. As Richard later wrote, Franz s musical trinity was Mozart (above all), Haydn and Beethoven. To these were added Schubert, as a song-writer, Weber and, at some distance, Mendelssohn and Spohr. In other words Franz was an unapologetic classicist and Wagner s music was anathema to him. But not Wagner s money; Franz was a frequent member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, playing in the premiere performances of such works as Parsifal and losing no opportunity to bag Wagner s music in public. Wagner, for his part, was uncharacteristically tolerant, knowing that it was one way to have a great virtuoso playing music in which the horn is indispensable. Listening Guide Franz s aesthetic influence is clear in the early Serenade Op.7, though the work is by no means faux-mozart. The scoring for winds is in accordance with the classical serenade; it was, after all, a form developed for outdoor performance. Here Strauss uses two flutes, oboes and clarinets, four horns, two bassoons, with the bass provided by contrabassoon or bass tuba (there is an optional double bass part in the last two bars!). Unlike the classical serenade always a multi-movement work this is in a single movement, though it might be likened to the andante movements of some of Mozart s. Like Mozart s, Strauss s sonata design doesn t spend much time developing themes Keynotes R STRAUSS Born Munich, 1864 Died Garmisch- Partenkirchen, 1949 The son of one of Europe s leading horn players, Richard Strauss could be expected to have strong sympathies for wind instruments. Recently the Sydney Symphony performed his Duett- Concertino for clarinet and bassoon that was a late work, tonight s serenade is a very early one. As a young man, Richard was still strongly influenced by his father s classical tastes: Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, with no hint of Wagnerian bluster. WIND SERENADE, OP.7 Strauss Wind Serenade Op.7 is modelled on the classical serenades of Mozart; in fact the number of instruments 13 matches that in Mozart s exquisite Gran Partita (performed in this series last year). But unlike the Gran Partita, which is a long work in many movements, this serenade is a brief single-movement work. It was first performed in Dresden in 1882, when Strauss was 18 years old. 6 Sydney Symphony

6 in the symphonic sense, but rather takes great pleasure in generating beautiful melodies. The piece had great consequences for young Strauss. It was the first of his works to have its premiere outside of Munich, being launched by the Dresden Tonkünstlerverein under Franz Wüllner in Wüllner had conducted the world premieres of two Wagner operas, and would introduce several new works of Strauss over the next few years. More importantly, the piece found its way into the repertoire of the Meiningen Orchestra, conducted by the legendary Hans von Bülow. A publisher who had brought out two of Strauss early works had been fobbed off by Bülow who wrote that Strauss was not a genius, at best a talent, 60 percent calculated to shock. As a one time intimate of Wagner s, Bülow had himself come in for some tongue-lashings from Strauss father so may have been understandably prejudiced, but he did like the Serenade and performed it widely. The Meiningen Orchestra included some extremely fine players: horn-player Gustav Leinhos must have enjoyed playing a part written with the expertise that Franz had taught his son; the principal clarinettist was Richard Mühlfeld, for whom Brahms wrote his late clarinet-based masterpieces. In addition, Bülow commissioned a new piece, the Suite Op.4 for the same combination, which he arranged for Strauss to conduct in the younger man s podium debut. Bülow also brought Strauss to a deeper understanding of contemporary music, notably that of Brahms. The Serenade, then, was a pivotal work in many ways for the young Strauss. And as we ve seen, it was a work that Strauss kept in his own repertoire. But the composer often felt that he had failed to get the balance of instrumental sounds quite right. In 1943 he wrote more wind ensemble music, this time for 16 players, producing the First Sonatina for winds, which like many of the works of his final years, harks back to the Mozartian world of the Serenade. It was performed as part of Strauss 80th birthday celebrations by the Dresden Tonkünstlerverein, 62 years after the Serenade did so much to launch his career. Richard Strauss, a few years after the completion of his Serenade Op.7 GORDON KERRY 2007 Richard Strauss Wind Serenade Op.7 calls for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons and contrabassoon, and four horns. The Sydney Symphony first performed the Serenade in 1949 in a concert conducted by Eugene Goossens. The most recent performance was in the 2002 Metro and Great Classics series with conductor Bruno Weil. 7 Sydney Symphony

7 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Serenade in C minor, K388 Allegro Andante Menuetto in canone Trio in canone al rovescio Allegro (Tema con variazioni) Mozart referred to this piece as a Nachtmusik (night music); this was an alternative word for a Serenade, and probably indicates that the music was written for outdoor entertainment in the evening. Aristocrats who could afford a wind band favoured this form of social music, and wind instruments, with their great carrying power, were preferred for the out-of-doors. Mozart had recently completed a wind serenade for young Prince Liechtenstein, who would like to collect a wind-band (though he does not yet want it known) for which I should write the music, as Mozart wrote to his father from Vienna in January Six months later Mozart explained in another letter to his father how he had dropped the work on the Haffner Symphony: I have had to compose in a great hurry a Nachtmusik, but only for wind instruments. So far, all is clear now the mystery begins: who commissioned the piece, and for what occasion? We do not know, but perhaps that does not matter. What we would dearly like to know is why the music, far from showing any signs of hurry, turned out to be one of Mozart s most deeply considered and intricately composed works. It is almost entirely written in the sombre, challenging key of C minor, the only time Mozart uses this key in his social music. But is it social music? A random collection of adjectives used by writers about this serenade includes extremely emotional, tempestuous, impassioned, gloomy, grim, intense and magnificent. Was such music intended as background for social conversation? This piece has fewer movements than were usual in serenades, which were made to fit the leisurely length of a social gathering. (Even the famous A Little Night Music, or Eine kleine Nachtmusik, originally had at least one extra movement.) The character of this piece, then, remains a mystery to explain, but at least some suggestions can be made as to what was in Mozart s creative mind. The power and ingenuity of the writing for the eight-part ensemble Keynotes MOZART Born Salzburg, 1756 Died Vienna, 1791 Mozart grew up in Salzburg, where his father held a post at the Archbishop s court. Salzburg enjoyed balmy summer weather and as a result outdoor entertainments in the evening were especially popular. The young Mozart received many commissions for serenades, cassations and divertimenti, to accompany these functions. When he moved to Vienna in 1781 he found that wind ensembles were all the rage. And so he was stimulated to write serenades for sextets and octets of wind instruments. SERENADE, K388 Most serenade music was functional intended to provide a background for social events and therefore light in tone, simple and melodious. So this serenade stands out for its serious demeanour. The key is C minor, giving a sombre mood, and there are moments that show a newfound fascination with the old-fashioned music of JS Bach, especially in the clever third movement. The colour acquires a richness through the use of a pair of clarinets, then a relatively new instrument. The Serenade K388 was composed in Vienna some time around July 1782 or in late Sydney Symphony

8 owes something to the influence of the music of J.S. Bach, whose greatness Mozart had just discovered, and the decision to put some of his most searching thoughts into music for wind octet must have had something to do with his developing love-affair with the newly invented clarinet, whose sound seemed to him to add great new possibilities to the traditional sextet. (Mozart s works for wind sextet up to then had been for pairs of oboes, horns and bassoons.) Listening Guide The opening Allegro is powerful and nervy; the Andante second movement brings some relief with a theme of heavenly and easeful meditation. The Menuetto is an astonishing display of the composer s cleverness and learning: it is written as a canon (or round), and the middle section (Trio) is a four-part upside-down canon (what goes up in the melody goes down in the imitation and vice-versa). Even more cleverly, Mozart makes all this attractively tuneful. The last movement is a theme and variations on a folk-like melody, but deeply serious in tone, until the sixth variation, where the horns make the first of two attempts to turn the music to a more cheerful mood once only to be interrupted by a return to the original feeling, but finally ensuring the cheerful ending expected in a serenade. Mozart, in a 19th-century portrait by Barbara Kraft DAVID GARRETT 1995 Mozart s Serenade K388 is scored for a wind octet of two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons and two horns. The Sydney Symphony first performed the Serenade K388 in 1995, directed by Lawrence Foster, and most recently in 2004 in a concert conducted by Ola Rudner. 9 Sydney Symphony

9 Antonín Dvořák Serenade in D minor, B.77 (Op.44) Moderato quasi marcia Menuetto (Tempo di minuetto Presto) Andante con moto Finale (Allegro molto) January 1878 for Antonín Dvořák was more than the beginning of a new year: it was the beginning, in effect, of a new life. Now 36, he was a composer who had still not fully arrived ; and while his family now got by on an Austrian State Grant (for young, poor and talented artists ), that world had recently collapsed through the deaths within weeks of each other of his 11-month-old daughter R užena and first-born son Otakar. He and his stalwart wife Anna had now lost all three of their children in a space of two years. In January 1878, thanks to Anna s steadfast support, Dvořák was able to press on with his professional life. He completed a set of choral songs and then, within a fortnight, composed the entire D minor Serenade. Dvořák also made time to visit Vienna to meet Johannes Brahms, one of the adjudicators of the Austrian State Grant, who had just recommended him warmly to his own publisher in Berlin (which proved a passport to international recognition). Though Dvořák missed Brahms, who was giving concerts in Germany, he left manuscripts for the latter s perusal (which was enthusiastic); and he did have a cordial meeting with the powerful, and much feared, critic Eduard Hanslick. Back in Prague, Dvořák s new opera, The Cunning Peasant, was deep in rehearsal for an opening on the 27th of the month. After previous operatic failures, this was to give Dvořák his first unequivocal theatrical success and, subsequently, his first opera performances abroad. Mozart (Dvořák would later drum into his students at the Prague Conservatory) was sunshine. Perhaps it was a little reflected Mozartian sunshine, in the Figaro-like comings and goings of The Cunning Peasant and his adoption of ostensibly Mozartian form for the new Wind Serenade in D minor, that sustained Dvořák through difficult times. While his serenade does not precisely emulate any of Mozart s in using ten wind instruments plus cello and double bass, nor was it intended for al fresco performance in the manner of Keynotes DVOŘÁK Born Nelahozeves, 1841 Died Prague, 1904 In 1878 Dvořák went from a struggling young artist getting by on a state grant 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. By the end of the year his music could be heard in international concert halls and he was well on the way to becoming known as one of the great Czech composers of the 19th century. WIND SERENADE Like Richard Strauss, Dvořák loved Mozart. And in writing a wind serenade, Dvořák is making a direct tribute to Mozart, in particular the Gran Partita. He learns from Mozart, too: supporting the ensemble of ten wind instruments with cello and double bass. But the old wineskin of the classical serenade is filled with hearty Bohemian wine. The three fast movements have a vigorous rustic character and dancelike origins. The third movement is a gentle lover s serenade the oboe and clarinet singing above soft horn chords. The Wind Serenade was first performed in Prague in November Sydney Symphony

10 18th-century serenades, nevertheless this is a traditional bottle filled with young, new wine and hearty Bohemian wine at that. Listening Guide The rustic-sounding first movement evokes the march with which serenaders typically announced their arrival (and which returns at the end of the finale for their self-important exit). The so-called Menuetto is actually a Czech sousedská or neighbours dance, with a furiant (presto) as the central trio section. The nocturnal slow movement grows out of a tender, drawn-out melody shared by oboe and clarinet and, like a lover, delays the moment of parting as long as possible. There are hints of the polka in the high-spirited Finale until, with great hilarity, the return of the opening march sends everyone packing. Dvořák conducted the first performance of the serenade to open a concert of his own compositions on 17 November It was his fifth wedding anniversary. Can the serenade, with its beguiling Andante, then have seemed anything other (like Wagner s Siegfried Idyll) than an affirmation of the composer s love for his Anna, who, but a few months previously, had borne him the daughter, Otilka, who would be the beginning of their new, and happier, family? Dvořák in the late 1870s, enjoying newfound international fame ANTHONY CANE 2003 The Dvořák Wind Serenade is scored for two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, three horns, cello and double bass. The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of this work with Walter Susskind in The most recent performance was in the 1993 Meet the Music series with Christopher Hogwood. 11 Sydney Symphony

11

12 INTERLUDE Mozart s Children Gordon Kerry surveys the composers who were attracted to Mozart s sunny classicism and their musical tributes. Gustav Mahler was dying. According to his widow Alma s memoirs, before he lost consciousness for the last time, he lay with dazed eyes; one finger was conducting on the quilt. There was a smile on his lips and twice he said: Mozart! Mozart s operas were an abiding passion of Mahler s; his insistence on fidelity to the works and uncompromising artistic standards were largely responsible for the 20th century s renewal of interest in them. Mahler s friend and colleague Richard Strauss similarly adored Mozart, and frequently conducted the operas, producing in 1930 an edition of Idomeneo which rescued that piece from oblivion. Neither Mahler nor Strauss would, of course, have cut any mustard with the original instruments movement of the late 20th century; their interest was not in short bows and gut strings, but in presenting Mozart s vision as faithfully as they could with the musical means available to them at the time. Strauss never lost his love for Mozart: his earliest works show his affinity with Mozart, and in Der Rosenkavalier, Strauss lovingly set out to create a mythical, Mozartean Vienna. In 1944, nearing the end of his long life, Strauss talked of Mozart in almost mystical terms: Mozartean melody is detached from every earthly form the thing in itself, like Plato s Eros, poised between heaven and Mozart is sunshine DVOŘÁK LEBRECHT MUSIC AND ARTS In Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss lovingly set out to create a mythical, Mozartean Vienna. This silhouette by Bithorn shows the German composer and conductor costumed as the Rose Cavalier. 13 Sydney Symphony

13 earth, between the mortal and the immortal liberated from the will, it embodies the deepest penetration of artistic imagination, of the unconscious, into the final mysteries, into the realm of the archetypes. Elsewhere, he said that Mozart s G minor quintet comes directly from above! Even allowing for Strauss lifelong love of the soprano voice (which he shared with Mozart), we might wonder what these two composers of gargantuan, often descriptive, late Romantic works, found so attractive in Mozart. One reason might be the way in which Mozart s dramaturgy was so very nearly flawless. As Charles Gounod wrote of Don Giovanni, to the gratification deriving from the purely musical and sensuous, [Mozart] added the profound and penetrating influence of truth of expression combined with perfect beauty. To Strauss, seeing the world he knew destroyed by fascism and war, disturbed by having been co-opted and then disgraced by the Nazis, the Platonic Mozart offered a state of grace for such late masterpieces as the Oboe Concerto, or the Sonatina for winds (dedicated to Mozart s memory). Mozart s apparent serenity offered composers in the 19th century an alternative to Romantic bombast and egotism. Mozart is sunshine, said Dvořák. Grieg believed that Mozart has the childish, happy, Aladdin nature which overcomes all difficulties as in play. He creates as a god, without pain Camille Saint-Saëns cultivated an elegant classicism throughout his career, and noted in 1907 that Bach and Mozart never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient. His younger colleague, Maurice Ravel, once claimed that his aim was technical perfection, adding that this was a goal he could pursue endlessly, as he would never attain it. For Ravel, Mozart was an ideal model: the slow movement of his G major Piano Concerto has been described as the sort of music Mozart would have written had he been truly childlike. Incidentally, the divine Mozart with its childish, happy, Aladdin side could also be a spoilt, scatological brat. In the play which Rimsky-Korsakov used for his opera Mozart and Salieri (and which inspired Peter Shaffer s Amadeus), Pushkin has Mozart s rival Salieri wondering: Where is justice, when the holy gift of immortal genius is Mozartean melody is detached from every earthly form poised between heaven and earth, between the mortal and the immortal R. STRAUSS 14 Sydney Symphony

14 bestowed not as a reward for fervent love of art, self-sacrificing labour, prayer and zeal, but lights upon the head of a dunce, an idle gadabout? Saint-Saëns and Ravel were not, however, typical in their love of Mozart. Berlioz, of all people, regarded Mozart s music as flawed by lapses of taste, especially Donna Anna s aria Non mi dir from Don Giovanni. He excoriates her final ridiculous, unseemly phrase Donna Anna seems to have suddenly dried her tears and broken out into coarse buffoonery an incredible run, in execrable taste. Later 19th-century French music was dominated by Wagner, leading Debussy to raise an eyebrow and scoff, What a pity Mozart was not French. He would have been really worth imitating! In fact Mozart is one of the least imitated composers, even by his students Süssmayr and Hummel. Beethoven was to have received the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn, but ended up learning far more from Haydn s structural principles than Mozart s. Tchaikovsky s Suite No.4 (Mozartiana) tells us much more about the 19th-century St Petersburg cult of the rococo than about Mozart; Alfred Schnittke s Moz-Art pieces leave us with an abiding sense of Mozart s absence. Mozart is perhaps most present in the works of two 20th-century composers. Like Mozart, Benjamin Britten uses a basically conservative language to clearly denote differences in character and situation in his operas; more self-consciously, Stravinsky s The Rake s Progress resurrects the Mozartean number opera to recreate a sense of 18th-century London. According to Maynard Solomon, Brahms posed the question of how to pay homage to Mozart without surrendering one s own individuality in his Clarinet Quintet, written in the centenary year of Mozart s death. The theme of the slow movement: appropriates the opening three notes of Mozart s Clarinet Quintet, blocking the theme, and refusing to let it continue, let alone to come to rest. In the end, Brahms knew, we cannot reach Mozart, we can only hope to come nearer to him. truth of expression combined with perfect beauty GOUNOD GORDON KERRY Sydney Symphony

15 GLOSSARY CANONE canon, music in which a melody is presented by one voice and then repeated by one or more other voices, each entering before the previous voice has finished. Childhood singing rounds are the most common form of canon. CANONE AL ROVESCIO canon in reverse, a particular type of canon in which an upward step in the original melody becomes a downward step of the same distance in the imitating voice and vice versa. FURIANT a lively Czech couple dance in triple time, traditionally characterised by changing rhythms (nothing to do with fury, in Czech the word refers to a proud, swaggering, conceited man ). NACHTMUSIK literally night music, and sometimes seen in the German-French hybrid form Nacht-musique ; another name for a serenade. POLKA a lively couple dance in duple time (two beats to the bar). It originated in 19th-century Bohemia. SIEGFRIED IDYLL a work by Wagner, composed in 1870 as a symphonic birthday greeting for his wife, Cosima, as well as a celebration of the birth of their son and the completion of Act III of Siegfried the year before. The first performance was on the staircase outside Cosima s bedroom, with 15 musicians, but it was later performed with an ensemble of about 30. SERENADE the Classical serenade was a multi-movement work intended for outdoor performance in the evening or as incidental entertainment for private functions. SOUSEDSKÁ literally neighbourly, a slow Czech dance in triple time (like a slow waltz, but heavier); original forms were common as ceremonial wedding dances. TEMA CON VARIAZIONI theme with variations, a musical structure in which a theme is introduced and then developed in successive variations by means of ornamentation and elaboration of the melody, as well as harmonic and rhythmic changes. TRIO in a minuet or scherzo movement, the trio is the contrasting middle section of the movement. Originally (in ensemble music) it was performed by an actual trio of instruments, contrasting with the larger group, but later composers opted for less literal contrasts of colour and texture. WIND BAND (HARMONIE) in Austria, southern Germany and Bohemia, Harmonie referred to a band of wind instruments, typically comprising pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons and horns, often with a double bass or contrabassoon as well. Operas and popular concert works by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Rossini were frequently arranged as Harmoniemusik, either by the composer or by enterprising wind players. In much of the classical repertoire, movement titles are taken from the Italian words that indicate the tempo and mood. Many have English cognates (e.g. moderato moderately); a selection of other terms from this program is included here. Allegro fast Allegro molto very fast Andante at a walking pace Andante con moto, with motion Quasi marcia like a march Presto as fast as possible Tempo di minuetto in the tempo of a minuet (a lively but graceful dance) This glossary is intended only as a quick and easy guide, not as a set of comprehensive and absolute definitions. Most of these terms have many subtle shades of meaning which cannot be included for reasons of space. 16 Sydney Symphony

16 75 YEARS: HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT Accident or inevitability? Look at the picture of a forerunner of today s Sydney Symphony, and contrast it with what you see on the stage in front of you. Then use your aural imagination: could that small group of players have sounded anything like what we think of as an orchestra? Probably not. But an anniversary stimulates the historical imagination. Celebrating 75 years of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra stresses continuity. It s arbitrary, in a way. The name goes back further, to the group that rehearsed over a fish shop in George St, between 1908 and One of its organisers was George Plummer, and it was not until 1937 that the name Sydney Symphony Orchestra was bought from him, by Charles Moses, General Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The real history of the Sydney Symphony might be said to begin when the ABC committed itself to providing Sydney with a permanent orchestra of a size adequate for the symphonic repertoire. That was later in the 1930s. So our historical photo really belongs to the prehistory of Sydney s symphony orchestra. Nevertheless, the establishment of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, in 1932, is a milestone. As Phillip Sametz writes in his 1992 history of the orchestra, Play On!, There is no story of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra that is not a story of the ABC. When that photo was taken, the new medium of radio had a voracious appetite for live music. Symphonic music? Some, but not much. In 1932 the new ABC enlarged the studio ensembles it had taken over in Sydney and Melbourne from 15 to 24 players. Was this the beginning of a commitment to an ABC Sydney Symphony Orchestra? Only hindsight gives a sense of inevitability to the story. Some saw in broadcasting a possibility of raising public taste and awareness of the best, including music. And they longed for Sydney to have a permanent orchestra that could represent that best. It was an accident, in many ways, that these aspirations combined to make public concerts, as well as broadcast music, a dominant activity of the ABC. So the story of the Sydney Symphony begins David Garrett, a historian and former programmer for Australia s symphony orchestras, is studying the history of the ABC as a musical organisation. This is the first of a series of glimpses of the Sydney Symphony s history to appear in concert programs through The Australian Broadcasting Commission s first studio orchestra, dressed formally for an evening broadcast the done thing in the early days of radio 17 Sydney Symphony

17 Music Practice Ad

18 MORE MUSIC Selected Discography Broadcast Diary WIND SERENADES Matthew Wilkie, Bassoon of the Sydney Symphony, recommends R. STRAUSS Serenade Op.7 Heinz Holliger and the wind soloists of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe PHILIPS Netherlands Wind Ensemble with Edo de Waart PHILIPS MOZART K388 Winds from the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées with Philippe Herrewegghe (also including the Gran Partita, K361) HARMONIA MUNDI Chamber Orchestra of Europe 5-CD set: Gran Partita, other serenades and divertimenti WARNER CLASSICS K388 with Serenade in E flat, K375 COE RECORDS 802 DVOŘÁK Wind Serenade Wind Ensemble Sabine Meyer with octets by 18th-century Bohemian composer Josef Myslivecek EMI CDC English Chamber Orchestra Wind Ensemble with the String Serenade, Op.22 conducted by Charles Mackerras EMI CLASSICS FOR PLEASURE Both the Mozart and Dvořák serenades can be heard on Netherlands Wind Ensemble Greatest Hits PHILIPS SYDNEY SYMPHONY: LIVE RECORDINGS FROM THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Strauss and Schubert R. Strauss Four Last Songs; Schubert Symphony No.8 (Unfinished); J. Strauss II Blue Danube Waltz Gianluigi Gelmetti (conductor), Ricarda Merbeth (soprano) SSO1 Glazunov and Shostakovich Glazunov The Seasons; Shostakovich Symphony No.9 Alexander Lazarev (conductor) SSO2 ABC CLASSIC FM 92.9 APRIL Sat 7 April 12.05pm RUSSIAN FIRE AND FURY (2006) Jaap van Zweden conductor Julian Rachlin violin Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov Mon 9 April 1pm BEETHOVEN S PASTORAL (2001) Osmo Vänskä conductor Mon 16 April 1pm AN ALPINE SYMPHONY (2000) Donald Runnicles conducts R. Strauss Wed 18 April 8pm ASHKENAZY CONDUCTS RACHMANINOV (2006) Merlyn Quaife soprano, Steve Davislim baritone Alexey Yemtsov piano, Cantillation Fri 20 April 1pm GRIEG S PIANO CONCERTO (2006) David Porcelijn conductor David Tong piano Mon 23 April 1pm MOZART PIANO CONCERTO, K491 (2005) Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Stephen Kovacevich piano Mon 30 April 1pm SCHEHERAZADE (2005) Tugan Sokhiev conductor Rimsky-Korsakov Webcast Diary In 2006 selected Sydney Symphony concerts were recorded for webcast by Telstra BigPond. These can be viewed at: sydneysymphony.com Visit the Sydney Symphony online for concert information, podcasts, and to read your program book in advance of the concert. 19 Sydney Symphony

19

20 TONIGHT S MUSICIANS Sydney Symphony Wind Ensemble Flutes 01 Emma Sholl Julia Sharratt Oboes 02 Diana Doherty (Mozart, Dvořák) 03 Shefali Pryor (Strauss, Dvořák) 04 Alexandre Oguey (Strauss, Mozart) # Contract musician Guest musician Clarinets 05 Lawrence Dobell 06 Christopher Tingay Bassoons 07 Matthew Wilkie 08 Fiona McNamara Contrabassoon 09 Noriko Shimada Horns 10 Robert Johnson (Mozart, Dvořák) 11 Ben Jacks (Strauss) Casey Rippon (Strauss, Mozart) 12 Geoff O Reilly (Strauss, Dvořák) Lisa Wynne-Allen# (Strauss, Dvořák) 13 Cello Nathan Waks 14 Double Bass Kees Boersma 21 Sydney Symphony

21 THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CBO, Governor of New South Wales JOHN MARMARAS Founded in 1932, 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 the Sydney Symphony gives more than 100 performances each year, the Orchestra also performs concerts in a variety of venues around Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the Orchestra world-wide recognition for artistic excellence. Critical to the success of the Sydney Symphony has been the leadership given by its former Chief Conductors including: Sir Eugene Goossens, Nikolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Stuart Challender and Edo de Waart. Also contributing to the outstanding success of the Orchestra have been collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky. Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, whose appointment followed a ten year relationship with the Orchestra as Guest Conductor, is now in his fourth year as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony, a position he holds in tandem with that of Music Director at the prestigious Rome Opera. The Sydney Symphony is reaping the rewards of Maestro Gelmetti s directorship through the quality of sound, intensity of playing and flexibility between styles. His particularly strong rapport with French and German repertoire is complemented by his innovative programming in the Shock of the New concerts and performances of contemporary Australian music. The Sydney Symphony s award-winning Education Program is central to the Orchestra s commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The Sydney Symphony maintains an active commissioning program promoting the work of Australian composers and in 2005 Liza Lim was appointed Composer-in-Residence for three years. In 2007, the Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary and the milestone achievements during its distinguished history. 22 Sydney Symphony

22 MUSICIANS Gianluigi Gelmetti Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Michael Dauth Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council Dene Olding Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council First Violins Second Violins First Violins 01 Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster 02 Fiona Ziegler Ian & Jennifer Burton Chair of Assistant Concertmaster 03 Julie Batty 04 Gu Chen 05 Amber Davis 06 Rosalind Horton 07 Jennifer Hoy 08 Jennifer Johnson 09 Georges Lentz 10 Nicola Lewis 11 Alexandra Mitchell Moon Design Chair of Violin 12 Léone Ziegler Sophie Cole Second Violins 01 Marina Marsden 02 Susan Dobbie Associate 03 Emma West Assistant 04 Pieter Bersée 05 Maria Durek 06 Emma Hayes 07 Shuti Huang 08 Stan Kornel 09 Benjamin Li 10 Nicole Masters 11 Philippa Paige 12 Biyana Rozenblit 13 Maja Verunica 23 Sydney Symphony

23 MUSICIANS Violas Cellos Double Basses Harp Flutes Piccolo Violas 01 Roger Benedict 02 Anne Louise Comerford Associate 03 Yvette Goodchild Assistant 04 Robyn Brookfield 05 Sandro Costantino 06 Jane Hazelwood 07 Graham Hennings 08 Mary McVarish 09 Justine Marsden 10 Leonid Volovelsky 11 Felicity Wyithe Cellos 01 Catherine Hewgill 02 Nathan Waks 03 Kristy Conrau 04 Fenella Gill 05 Leah Lynn 06 Timothy Nankervis 07 Elizabeth Neville 08 Adrian Wallis 09 David Wickham Double Basses 01 Kees Boersma Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Double Bass 02 Alex Henery 03 Andrew Raciti Associate 04 Neil Brawley Emeritus 05 David Campbell 06 Steven Larson 07 Richard Lynn 08 David Murray Harp Louise Johnson Mulpha Australia Chair of Harp Flutes 01 Janet Webb 02 Emma Sholl Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Flute 03 Carolyn Harris Piccolo Rosamund Plummer 24 Sydney Symphony

24 MUSICIANS Oboes 01 Cor Anglais Clarinets Bass Clarinet Bassoons Contrabassoon Horns Trumpets Trombones Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani Percussion Piano Oboes 01 Diana Doherty Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Oboe 02 Shefali Pryor Associate Cor Anglais Alexandre Oguey Clarinets 01 Lawrence Dobell 02 Francesco Celata Associate 03 Christopher Tingay Bass Clarinet Craig Wernicke Bassoons 01 Matthew Wilkie 02 Roger Brooke Associate 03 Fiona McNamara Contrabassoon 01 Noriko Shimada Horns 01 Robert Johnson 02 Ben Jacks 03 Geoff O Reilly 3rd 04 Lee Bracegirdle 05 Marnie Sebire Trumpets 01 Daniel Mendelow 02 Paul Goodchild Associate 03 John Foster 04 Anthony Heinrichs Trombone 01 Ronald Prussing NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Trombone 02 Scott Kinmont Associate 03 Nick Byrne Rogen International Chair of Trombone Bass Trombone Christopher Harris Trust Foundation Chair of Bass Trombone Tuba Steve Rossé Timpani 01 Richard Miller 02 Brian Nixon Assistant Timpani (contract) Percussion 01 Rebecca Lagos 02 Colin Piper Piano Josephine Allan (contract) 25 Sydney Symphony

25 SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Company is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW PLATINUM PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS GOLD PARTNERS 26 Sydney Symphony

26 SILVER PARTNERS REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS BRONZE PARTNERS MARKETING PARTNERS PATRONS Australia Post Beyond Technology Consulting Bimbadgen Estate Wines Goldman Sachs JBWere J. Boag & Son Q-Med (Sweden) Australia Pty Ltd. Vittoria Coffee Avant Card Blue Arc Group Digital Eskimo Lindsay Yates and Partners 2MBS Sydney s Fine Music Station The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the many music lovers who contribute to the Orchestra by becoming Symphony Patrons. Every donation plays an important part in the success of the Sydney Symphony s wide ranging programs. The Sydney Symphony applauds the leadership role our Partners play and their commitment to excellence, innovation and creativity. 27 Sydney Symphony

27 DIRECTORS CHAIRS A leadership program which links Australia s top performers in the executive and musical worlds. For information about the Directors Chairs program, please contact Corporate Relations on (02) Alan Jones, Managing Director Mulpha Australia with Mulpha Australia Chair of Harp, Louise Johnson 02 Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Flute, Emma Sholl 03 Sandra and Paul Salteri Chair of Artistic Director Education, Richard Gill OAM 04 Jonathan Sweeney, Managing Director Trust with Trust Foundation Chair of Bass Trombone, Christopher Harris 05 NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Trombone, Ronald Prussing 06 Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Double Bass, Kees Boersma 07 Board and Council of the Sydney Symphony supports Chairs of Concertmaster Michael Dauth and Dene Olding 08 Gerald Tapper, Managing Director Rogen International with Rogen International Chair of Trombone, Nick Byrne 09 Stuart O Brien, Managing Director Moon Design with Moon Design Chair of Violin, Alexandra Mitchell 10 Ian and Jennifer Burton Chair of Assistant Concertmaster, Fiona Ziegler 11 Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Oboe, Diana Doherty 28 Sydney Symphony

28 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the Orchestra each year. Every gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Because we are now offering free programs and space is limited we are unable to list donors who give between $100 and $499 please visit sydneysymphony.com for a list of all our patrons. Patron Annual Donations Levels Maestri $10,000 and above Virtuosi $5000 to $9999 Soli $2500 to $4999 Tutti $1000 to $2499 Supporters $500 to $999 To discuss giving opportunities, please call Caroline Mark on (02) Maestri Brian Abel & the late Ben Gannon AO Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth * Mr Robert O Albert AO * Alan & Christine Bishop Sandra & Neil Burns * Mr Ian & Mrs Jennifer Burton The Clitheroe Foundation * Patricia M. Dixson * Penny Edwards * Mr J O Fairfax AO * Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre * Mr Harcourt Gough Mr David Greatorex AO & Mrs Deirdre Greatorex Mr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor AO H. Kallinikos Pty Ltd Mr David Maloney Mr B G O Conor The Paramor Family * Mr Paul & Mrs Sandra Salteri Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White Anonymous (1) * Virtuosi Mrs Antoinette Albert Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Mr John C Conde AO Mr John Curtis Irwin Imhof in Memory of Herta Imhof Mr Stephen Johns Mr & Mrs Gilles T Kryger Helen Lynch AM Mr E J Merewether & Mrs T Merewether OAM * Miss Rosemary Pryor * Bruce & Joy Reid Foundation * John Roarty in memory of June Roarty Rodney Rosenblum AM & Sylvia Rosenblum Mrs Helen Selle Dr James Smith David Smithers AM & family Michael & Mary Whelan Trust Anonymous (2) Soli Ms Jan Bowen * Mr Chum Darvall Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway * Hilmer Family Trust Mr Paul & Mrs Susan Hotz Mr Rory Jeffes Paul Lancaster & Raema Prowse Mrs Joan MacKenzie Mr James & Mrs Elsie Moore Ms Kathleen Parer Ms Gabrielle Trainor Mr R Wingate Anonymous (2) Tutti Mr C R Adamson Mr Henry W Aram Mr David Barnes Mrs F M Buckle Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill Mr Bob & Mrs Julie Clampett Mr & Mrs J B Fairfax AM Mr Ian Fenwicke & Prof Neville Wills Mrs Dorit & Mr William Franken Mr & Mrs J R W Furber Mr Arshak & Ms Sophie Galstaun In Memory of Hetty Gordon Mrs Akiko Gregory Miss Janette Hamilton Mr A & Mrs L Heyko-Porebski Dr Paul Hutchins & Ms Margaret Moore Mrs Margaret Jack Mr John W Kaldor AM Mr & Mrs E Katz Mr Andrew Korda & Ms Susan Pearson Mr Justin Lam Mr Gary Linnane Ms Karen Loblay Mr & Mrs R. Maple-Brown Mrs Alexandra Martin & the late Mr Lloyd Martin AM Justice Jane Mathews Mrs Mora Maxwell Judith McKernan Mrs Barbara McNulty OBE Mr & Mrs John Morschel Mr R A Oppen Mr Robert Orrell Dr Timothy Pascoe Ms Robin Potter Mr Nigel Price Mr & Mrs Ernest Rapee Mrs Patricia H Reid Mr Brian Russell & Ms Irina Singleman Gordon & Jacqueline Samuels Ms Juliana Schaeffer Robyn Smiles Derek & Patricia Smith Catherine Stephen Mr Fred & Mrs Dorothy Street Mr Georges & Mrs Marliese Teitler Mr Stephen Thatcher Mr Ken Tribe AC & Mrs Joan Tribe Mr John E Tuckey Mrs Kathleen Tutton Ms Mary Vallentine AO Henry & Ruth Weinberg Mr & Mrs Bruce West Jill Wran Mrs R Yabsley Anonymous (10) Supporters over $500 Mr Roger Allen & Ms Maggie Gray Mr Lachlan Astle John Augustus Mr Warwick Bailey Mr Marco Belgiorno-Zegna AM Mr G D Bolton Pat & Jenny Burnett Hon. Justice J.C. & Mrs Campbell * Mr & Mrs Michel-Henri Carriol Mrs B E Cary Mr Leo Christie & Ms Marion Borgelt Mr Peter Coates Mr B & Mrs M Coles Mrs Catherine Gaskin Cornberg Stan & Mary Costigan * Mrs M A Coventry Ms Rowena Danziger Mr & Mrs Michael Darling Lisa & Miro Davis * Mrs Patricia Davis Mrs Ashley Dawson-Damer Mr Paul Espie Mr Russell Farr Mr & Mrs David Feetham Mr Richard & Mrs Diana Fisher Rev H & Mrs M Herbert * Ms Michelle Hilton-Vernon Mr and Mrs Paul Holt Mr Eric C Howie Mr & Mrs P Huthnance Ms Judy Joye Mrs Jeannette King * Mrs J Lam-Po-Tang Dr Barry Landa Mrs Joan Langley Ms Jan Lee Martin & Mr Peter Lazar Mr David & Mrs Skye Leckie Margaret Lederman Mr & Mrs Ezzelino Leonardi Mr Bernard & Mrs Barbara Leser Erna & Gerry Levy AM * Mr and Mrs S C Lloyd Mr Andrew & Mrs Amanda Love Mr Matthew McInnes Mr Tony & Mrs Fran Meagher Mr Andrew Nobbs Moon Design Mrs R H O Conor Ms Patricia Payn Mr Adrian & Mrs Dairneen Pilton Mr & Mrs Michael Potts Mrs B Raghavan Mrs Caroline Ralphsmith Dr K D Reeve AM * Mr & Mrs A Rogers Dr Jane & Mr Neville Rowden Mrs Margaret Sammut In memory of H. St.P Scarlett * Blue Mountain Concert Society Inc Mr Ezekiel Solomon Mr Andrew & Mrs Isolde Tornya Miss Amelia Trott Mrs Merle Turkington The Hon M. Turnbull MP & Mrs L. Hughes Turnbull Mr & Mrs Franc Vaccher Ronald Walledge Louise Walsh & David Jordon Mr Geoff Wood and Ms Melissa Waites Miss Jenny Wu Mr Michael Skinner & Ms Sandra Yates AO Anonymous (12) Allegro Program supporter * Emerging Artist Fund supporter Stuart Challender Fund supporter Orchestra Fund supporter 29 Sydney Symphony

29 BEHIND THE SCENES Sydney Symphony Board CHAIRMAN David Maloney Libby Christie John Conde AO John Curtis Stephen Johns Andrew Kaldor Goetz Richter David Smithers AM Gabrielle Trainor What s on the cover? During the 2007 season Sydney Symphony program covers will feature photos that celebrate the Orchestra s history over the past 75 years. The photographs on the covers will change approximately once a month, and if you subscribe to one of our concert series you will be able to collect a set over the course of the year. Foyer displays at our concerts will also feature photographs from our recent and early history. COVER PHOTOGRAPHS (clockwise from top left): 2006 Sydney Symphony Fellows (Martin Penicka, Alexis Kenny, Lauren Brigden, Alex Norton, Victoria Jacono and Damien Eckersley); Pinchas Zukerman with Willem van Otterloo, 1970s; SSO Children s concert, 1965; SSO Family Concert Sandy Scott sings from the stalls of the Sydney Opera House, 1981; painting from the Education Program s 2005 art competition; Alfred Brendel gives a piano masterclass, 1960s. 30 Sydney Symphony