Dvořák Cello Concerto

Transcription

1 CONCERT PROGRAM Dvořák Cello Concerto Friday 11 November at 8pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Presented by Emirates Monday 14 November at 6.30pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall

2 WHAT S ON NOVEMBER 2016 FEBRUARY 2017 SIBELIUS & SHOSTAKOVICH Thursday 17 November Friday 18 November Saturday 19 November MSO Concertmaster Dale Barltrop directs members of the Orchestra in two Sibelius works: the intimate Rakastava (The Lover), and the sweeping Impromptu. Completing the program is one of Shostakovich s anguished Chamber Symphonies, and Ian Munro s new Flute Concerto. SIMONE YOUNG CONDUCTS WAGNER & BRUCKNER Thursday 1 December Saturday 3 December The MSO plays two majestic final works Wagner s Parsifal and Bruckner s unfinished Symphony No.9 conducted by Simone Young. Excerpts from Act II of Parsifal are sung by Australian tenor Stuart Skelton and American mezzosoprano Michelle DeYoung. MESSIAH Saturday 10 December Sunday 11 December Hallelujah! Where would the joyous season be without the MSO s year-end performance of Handel s Messiah? This lifeaffirming spiritual masterpiece with its exquisite choral writing offers many treasured musical moments including the exultant Hallelujah chorus, one of the most popular refrains in Western music. MSO + THE IDEA OF NORTH: A WORLD OF CHRISTMAS Saturday 17 December Celebrate Christmas with song as renowned vocal quartet The Idea of North share the stage with the MSO in an evening of festive music from around the world. EAST MEETS WEST: CHINESE NEW YEAR CONCERT Saturday 4 February 2017 World-renowned composer and conductor Tan Dun returns to Melbourne to conduct an unmissable Chinese New Year celebration with the MSO! SIDNEY MYER FREE CONCERTS Wednesday 8 February 2017 Saturday 11 February 2017 Wednesday 15 February 2017 It wouldn't be summer without a picnic with your beloved to watch the sun dip behind the city's skyline, and listen to the magical sounds of the Orchestra. 2

3 ARTISTS Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Andrew Litton conductor Alban Gerhardt cello REPERTOIRE Rezniček Donna Diana: Overture Dvořák Cello Concerto Interval Prokofiev Symphony No.6 This concert has a duration of approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. This performance will be recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Sunday 20 November at 1pm. This information is correct at time of print, however please visit mso.com.au/broadcast for the most current information about upcoming concert broadcasts. Pre-Concert Talk/Post-Concert Talk 7pm Friday 11 November, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall Megan Burslem will present a talk on the artists and works featured in the program. 8.30pm Monday 14 November, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall Join MSO Director of Artistic Planning Ronald Vermeulen for a post-concert conversation. 3

4 MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) was established in 1906 and is Australia s oldest orchestra. It currently performs live to more than 250,000 people annually, in concerts ranging from subscription performances at its home, Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne, to its annual free concerts at Melbourne s largest outdoor venue, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The Orchestra also delivers innovative and engaging programs to audiences of all ages through its Education and Outreach initiatives. Sir Andrew Davis gave his inaugural concerts as the MSO s Chief Conductor in 2013, having made his debut with the Orchestra in Highlights of his tenure have included collaborations with artists such as Bryn Terfel, Emanuel Ax, Truls Mørk and Renée Fleming, and the Orchestra s European Tour in 2014 which included appearances at the Edinburgh Festival, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and Copenhagen s Tivoli Concert Hall. Further current and future highlights with Sir Andrew Davis include a complete cycle of the Mahler symphonies. Sir Andrew will maintain the role of Chief Conductor until the end of The MSO also works with Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, as well as with such eminent recent guest conductors as Thomas Adès, John Adams, Tan Dun, Charles Dutoit, Jakub Hrůša, Mark Wigglesworth, Markus Stenz and Simone Young. It has also collaborated with non-classical musicians including Burt Bacharach, Nick Cave, Sting, Tim Minchin, Ben Folds, DJ Jeff Mills and Flight Facilities. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra reaches a wider audience through regular radio broadcasts, recordings and CD releases, including a Strauss cycle on ABC Classics which includes Four Last Songs, Don Juan and Also sprach Zarathustra, as well as Ein Heldenleben and Four Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo, both led by Sir Andrew Davis. The MSO is also featured on Australian soprano Emma Matthews recently released third album, Agony and Ecstasy. On the Chandos label the MSO has recently released Berlioz Harold en Italie with James Ehnes and music by Charles Ives which includes Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, as well as a range of orchestral works including Three Places in New England, again led by Sir Andrew Davis. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is funded principally by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and is generously supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources. The MSO is also funded by the City of Melbourne, its Partner, Emirates, corporate sponsors and individual donors, trusts and foundations. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we perform The Kulin Nation and would like to pay our respects to their Elders and Community both past and present. 4

5 ANDREW LITTON CONDUCTOR ALBAN GERHARDT CELLO Music Director of the New York City Ballet, Andrew Litton is Bergen Philharmonic s Music Director Laureate, having completed a 12-year term as their Music Director, and continues to serve as Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra s Sommerfest. Andrew Litton guest conducts the world s leading orchestras and opera companies, and has a discography of over 120 recordings with awards including France s Diapason d Or. His recording of Sondheim s Sweeney Todd with the New York Philharmonic and Patti Lupone was nominated for a Grammy. Litton was Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony ( ) and Music Director of the Dallas Symphony ( ). As an opera conductor, Litton recently conducted the Deutsche Oper s revival of their 2008 production of Richard Strauss s Egyptian Helen, as well as Opera Australia s production of Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier in He helped found the Bergen National Opera. An accomplished pianist, he often conducts from the keyboard and enjoys performing chamber music. His first solo piano album, A Tribute to Oscar Peterson, was released in Since his early competition successes and his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, Alban Gerhardt has performed with more than 250 different orchestras worldwide and with conductors such as Kurt Masur, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Gerhardt s repertoire of over 70 concertos includes lesser-known works rescued from obscurity as well as collaborations with contemporary composers. In 2009, he gave the world premiere of Unsuk Chin s Cello Concerto, specially composed for him. He has won three ECHO Classic Awards for his recordings and his double CD of the complete works for cello by Benjamin Britten was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in Gerhardt is particularly committed to helping audiences break with old listening and concert habits and to attract younger audiences through projects such as his collaboration with Deutsche Bahn on the main commuter routes in Germany. Gerhardt plays a unique instrument from the renowned maker Matteo Goffriller. 5

6 Distinguished virtuosity Meet Alban Gerhardt, one of the greatest cellists of our time. I will be playing my favourite concerto with the wonderful Melbourne Symphony Orchestra during this performance, conducted by the unique Andrew Litton. Aside from my performances with the MSO, I am very much looking forward to the wonderful coffee in Melbourne, as well as my stay at my old friends, Heather and Brett Dean (who is about to write a cello concerto for me so there will be some musical brainstorming going on in their gorgeous warehouseapartment). The Dvořák Cello Concerto may be the greatest concerto for any instrument and orchestra. But the work feels very close to me, because my grandfather, whom I never met, was also a Czech conductor and composer, and whenever I hear or play the piece, I feel like I m coming to a spiritual home in a way. It is always a thrill to perform the piece with a great orchestra such as the Melbourne Symphony I am sure together we will discover new things in this often played work. The concerto is a very personal story of Dvořák, actually the story of homesickness, unanswered love and loss of a loved one. Dvořák wrote it whilst in the USA, missing his home country immensely and thinking of all of these gorgeous bohemian tunes. The reason why I think this is not a show piece whatsoever is his secret dedication of the concerto to his secret and unanswered love, Josefina. In the second movement he quotes her favourite song, Leave me alone (she didn t love him back so he married her sister instead!), and when finding out about her death he re-wrote the entire ending of the 3rd movement, quoting again this beautiful song. My cello was made by the great Venetian maker Matteo Goffriller cellists love his instruments as they are very reliable (more so than Stradivari), have a warm and often big sound, not as beautiful as a Stradivari or Guarneri, but therefore they are more affordable! I m not too sure of the history behind the instrument except that the person who sold it to me claimed that it belonged once to Mussolini, but I refuse to believe that! Once during a dress rehearsal, I broke both my bows during identical passages I don t think this has ever happened to anybody, and when turning my head in search for another bow, the principal cellist just shook his head in denial! When I m not performing on the stage, I like to bring music to places where people least expect it, like performing at train stations and making a point that any space could be turned into a performance venue when there is a performer and an intensely listening audience. I want to show the unique experience of a live performance since so much music is being consumed through headphones or speakers. At the moment I am a bit distracted by the entire refugee crisis, so I am now dedicating my free time to not only housing refugees in our home, but mentoring them. Right now we are taking care of a young Afghan lady, and we are trying to show this young Muslim woman the benefits of gender equality, tolerance and an open society while being able to be as much of a believer as you like. I believe that this crisis all over the world can only be solved when people like us try to give orientation to these many lost souls, guided by misunderstood belief systems. I have performed this concerto more than 200 times! Alban Gerhardt 6

7 Photo by Kaupo Kikkas 7

8 EMIL NIKOLAUS VON REZNIČEK ( ) Donna Diana: Overture Like a surprising number of composers, Rezniček was destined for the law, but abandoned his studies in favour of music, enrolling at the Leipzig Conservatory as a pupil of Reinecke. His career followed a fairly common path, beginning as a repetiteur at Graz and graduating to conducting in theatres in various cities in the German-speaking world. He held a military Kapellmeister position in Prague, where his best-known opera, Donna Diana, premiered in 1894, and later taught in Berlin. A colleague of Richard Strauss, he resisted being co-opted by the Nazi regime and had his musical manuscripts confiscated for safe keeping as a result. He died shortly after the end of the War in 1945, and, sadly, only a few of the stolen manuscripts were ever recovered. A prolific composer, Rezniček wrote several operas, and Donna Diana was his fourth. It is based on the highly influential 17th century comedy El desdén con el desdén by priest and poet Agustín Moreto y Cavana, which Reznicek knew from a German version by Josef Schreyvogel. The story, much imitated by the likes of Molière and Carlo Gozzi, will be familiar: Donna Diana is the daughter of Don Diego, the sovereign count of Barcelona, and she, claiming love to be a poison, refuses to wed any of the three eligible princes. In scenes that take place against the backdrops of tournaments and ballrooms, Diana s resolve is gradually weakened. She finally acknowledges her love for Don Cesar, when he announces his betrothal to one of Diana s two cousins; it is a ruse, of course, with Diana and Cesar, who has loved her all along, becoming engaged, and the two other princes marrying the cousins. The opera, for which Rezniček also wrote the libretto, was highly regarded in its time Mahler, for instance, conducted the Vienna premiere in 1898 but while it has had some revivals more recently, the overture remains by far the most frequently heard of its music. Further, the overture s popularity in the mid-20th century was enhanced by its use in radio and television: in the United States, the popular 1950s radio dramas The Lone Ranger (which, of course, also featured Rossini s William Tell Overture) and Challenge of the Yukon used it as incidental music, as did the version of the latter made for television, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. The sonata-form Overture, which seems rather more suited to an Iberian comedy than the trackless wastes of North America, introduces music that occurs later in the work. Written, according to the composer, the night before the premiere, it begins with a selfconsciously Beethovenian gesture (from an Entr acte in Act II) that quickly sends itself up, and launches a buoyant, dancing music taken from an Act I ensemble in 3/8. A contrasting strain of long-breathed melody comes from the show s final moments. The music explores a series of short woodwind solos, including a plangent one for oboe, but the driving rhythm of the opening is never extinguished, and soon returns full of extrovert joy. Gordon Kerry 2016 The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed this overture in a concert in Yallourn in 1957 under conductor Kurt Woess, who conducted the first Melbourne performance in May The Orchestra most recently performed it in February 2007 with Oleg Caetani. 8

9 ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK ( ) Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104 Allegro Adagio ma non troppo Allegro moderato Alban Gerhardt cello Brahms was impressed. If only I d known, he said, that one could write a cello concerto like that, I d have written one long ago! And he wasn t just being polite. Brahms had recognised Dvořák s talents early on, ensuring that the young composer received from the Imperial Government in Vienna the Austrian State Stipendium, an annual grant, for five years, and persuading his own publisher, Simrock of Berlin, to publish Dvořák s music. But Brahms admiration aside, the composition of what Dvořák scholar John Clapham has called simply the greatest of all cello concertos was no easy matter. In fact, it was his second attempt at the medium the first, in A major, was composed in 1865, but appears only to have been written out in a cello and piano score. That Dvořák left the work unorchestrated suggests that he was dissatisfied with this first effort. Despite the urgings of his friend, the cellist Hanuš Wihan, Dvořák thought no more about writing such a piece until many years later. In New York in March 1894, whilst serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music, Dvořák attended a performance by Victor Herbert of his Second Cello Concerto. The Irish-born American composer and cellist is now best remembered for shows like Naughty Marietta and Babes in Toyland, but his concerto, modelled on Saint-Saëns first, made a huge impact on Dvořák, who re-examined the idea of such a work for Wihan. The work was sketched between 8 November 1894 and New Year s Day 1895, and Dvořák completed the full score early in February. Much to Dvořák s annoyance, the first performance of the concerto was not given by its dedicatee, Wihan. The London Philharmonic Society, who premiered it at the Queen s Hall in March 1896, mistakenly believed Wihan to be unavailable, and engaged Leo Stern instead. Despite Dvořák s embarrassment, Stern must have delivered the goods, as Dvořák engaged him for the subsequent New York, Prague and Vienna premieres of the work. Wihan did, however, perform the work often, and insisted on making some improvements to Dvořák s score so that the cello part would be more virtuosic. Wihan also insisted on interpolating a cadenza in the third movement, which the composer vehemently opposed. For some reason, Simrock was on the point of publishing the work with Wihan s amendments, and only a stiff letter from Dvořák persuaded the publisher to leave out the cadenza. Despite being an American work, the concerto is much more a reflection of Dvořák s nostalgia for his native Bohemia, and perhaps for the composer s father who died in As scholar Robert Battey has noted, two characteristic Bohemian traits can be found throughout the work, namely pentatonic [ black note ] scales and an AAB phrase pattern, where a melody begins with a repeated phrase followed by a two bar answer. The work is full of some of Dvořák s most inspired moments, such as the heroic first theme in the first movement, and the complementary melody for horn which adds immeasurably to its Romantic ambience. The Bohemian connection became even stronger and more personal when Dvořák, working on the piece in December 1894, heard that his sister-in-law Josefina (with whom he had been in love during their youth) was seriously, perhaps mortally ill. Dvořák was sketching the slow movement at the time. The outer sections of this movement are calm and serene, but Dvořák expresses his distress in an impassioned gesture that ushers in an emotionally unstable central section in G minor, based on his song Kéž duch můj sám Leave me alone which was one of Josefina s favourites. Josefina died in the spring of 1895, and Dvořák, by this time back in Bohemia, made significant alterations to the concluding coda of the third movement, adding some 60 bars of music. The movement begins almost ominously with contrasting lyrical writing for the soloist. Dvořák s additions to the movement, and his determination not to diffuse its emotional power with a cadenza, allowed him, as Battey notes, to re-visit not only the first movement s main theme, but also a hidden reference to Josefina s song in the slow movement. Thus, the concerto becomes something of a shrine, or memorial. Gordon Kerry Symphony Australia 2004 The first performance of this work by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took place on 3 June 1950 with soloist Edmund Kurtz and conductor Alceo Galliera. The Orchestra s most recent performance was in September 2012 under Louis Langrée. The soloist was Jian Wang. 9

10 SERGEI PROKOFIEV ( ) Symphony No.6 in E flat minor, Op.111 Allegro molto Largo Vivace Several writers have commented on the striking contrast between Prokofiev s final two symphonies. While the Seventh is ostensibly meant to charm and entertain, the Sixth is one of Prokofiev s most sombre and concentrated compositions. The first ideas for the Symphony No.6 occurred to Prokofiev during World War II when the Soviet Union was at war with Nazi Germany and the outcome was by no means clear. Its genesis actually predates the Fifth, whose optimistic tone is often taken as prophetic of the victorious outcome of the war. Prokofiev sketched the symphony in short score during a summer spent at Ivanovo, a country house run by the Union of Composers not far from Moscow. For a number of reasons, including ill health (he had recently suffered a concussion that limited him to a two-hour working day), the orchestration was not finished until 18 months later. The first performance was given by the Leningrad Philharmonic under Yevgeny Mravinsky on 10 October 1947, and the new symphony was hailed as one of the most beautiful, most exalted of his works. The first Moscow performance took place in December, but barely a month later Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Khachaturian were condemned by the Communist Party for writing music that did not adhere to the dictates of Soviet Social Realism in other words, for atonalism, contempt for melody, neuropathic discords. Prokofiev told his biographer Israel Nestyev that Symphony No.6 was inspired to some degree by the war years: Now we are rejoicing in our great victory, but each of us has wounds which cannot be healed. One has lost those dear to him, another his health. This must not be forgotten. Such sombre stern thoughts can be heard from the outset in a first movement that is by turns austere, lyrical and agitated, but with a wealth of imaginatively wrought yet well-integrated thematic material. It is not for nothing that this symphony has been described as Beethovenian [in its] sense of musical purpose and direction. The emotional core of the work is the Largo, which begins with an almost heartbreakingly intense harmonisation of a long melody. Shrill woodwinds give way to a repeat of the melody scored more conventionally on violins. The music settles in A flat and is then answered by a poignant theme from trumpet and violin which contains an unmistakable, though passing, suggestion of the Spear motif from Wagner s Parsifal. The poignant theme is extended. The almost excessive beating of a cymbal underneath the orchestra betrays Prokofiev s desire to wring every drop of suffering and intensity from this music. A lyrical theme, molto espressivo, is soon begun by the cellos before being interwoven with the preceding material. Music of particular peacefulness contains twists of anguish, which rise to the surface before a brutal clock-like beating gives way to a beautiful serenade-like passage for horns. This seems to begin its own selfcontained section, returning later accompanied by harp. Softly, out of the higher reaches, the violins bring back the poignant theme, eventually enriched by the trumpet, and then the opening material returns, having gained in emotional significance. The oboe introduces an elegiac epilogue and the movement ends almost celestially. The finale opens in very high spirits. It is effectively a rondo whose episodes maintain the initially cheerful opening mood. The first of these is a comical dialogue between high woodwinds and tuba. A lumbering rhythm first sounded in low instruments and timpani, however, has already inserted a threatening note and this seems to gather strength later in the movement. Though its influence is temporarily suspended by a quieter, more reflective passage, including a reminiscence of the oboes theme from the first movement, the rhythm rears up again and the symphony ends in sobering dissonance. There are wounds. Do not forget. Gordon Kalton Williams Symphony Australia The only previous performance of this symphony by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took place in May 1991 under the direction of Edward Downes. 10

11 ORCHESTRA First Violins Violas Flutes Trumpets Dale Barltrop Concertmaster Eoin Andersen Concertmaster Sophie Rowell Associate Concertmaster (The Ullmer Family Foundation 0 ) Peter Edwards Assistant Kirsty Bremner Sarah Curro Peter Fellin Deborah Goodall Lorraine Hook Kirstin Kenny Ji Won Kim Eleanor Mancini Mark Mogilevski Michelle Ruffolo Kathryn Taylor (Michael Aquilina 0 ) Robert John* Oksana Thompson* Second Violins Matthew Tomkins (The Gross Foundation 0 ) Robert Macindoe Associate Monica Curro Assistant (Danny Gorog & Lindy Susskind 0 ) Mary Allison Isin Cakmakcioglu Freya Franzen (Anonymous 0 ) Cong Gu Andrew Hall Francesca Hiew Rachel Homburg Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young Amy Brookman* Jacqueline Edwards* Christopher Moore (Di Jameson 0 ) Fiona Sargeant Associate Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Christopher Cartlidge Gabrielle Halloran Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Caleb Wright Merewyn Bramble* William Clark* Isabel Morse* Katie Yap* Cellos David Berlin (MS Newman Family 0 ) Rachael Tobin Associate Nicholas Bochner Assistant Miranda Brockman Rohan de Korte Keith Johnson Sarah Morse Angela Sargeant Michelle Wood (Andrew & Theresa Dyer 0 ) Eliza Sdraulig* Double Basses Steve Reeves Andrew Moon Associate Sylvia Hosking Assistant Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton (Sophie Galaise 0 ) Stuart Riley* Esther Toh* Prudence Davis Flute (Anonymous 0 ) Wendy Clarke Associate Sarah Beggs Piccolo Andrew Macleod Oboes Jeffrey Crellin Thomas Hutchinson Associate Ann Blackburn Cor Anglais Michael Pisani Clarinets David Thomas Philip Arkinstall Associate Craig Hill Bass Clarinet Jon Craven Bassoons Jack Schiller Elise Millman Associate Natasha Thomas Contrabassoon Brock Imison Horns David Evans* # Guest Saul Lewis Third Geoffrey Payne Shane Hooton Associate William Evans Julie Payne Trombones Brett Kelly Iain Faragher* Bass Trombone Mike Szabo Tuba Timothy Buzbee Timpani Christine Turpin Percussion Robert Clarke John Arcaro Robert Cossom Brent Miller* Evan Pritchard* Harp Yinuo Mu Piano Louisa Breen* * Guest Musician # Courtesy of West Australian Symphony Orchestra 0 Position supported by Jenna Breen Abbey Edlin Trinette McClimont Robert Shirley* BOARD Managing Director Board Members Company Secretary Sophie Galaise Chairman Michael Ullmer Andrew Dyer Danny Gorog Margaret Jackson AC Brett Kelly David Krasnostein David Li Helen Silver AO Kee Wong Oliver Carton 11

12 SUPPORTERS MSO Patron The Honourable Linda Dessau AM, Governor of Victoria Artist Chair Benefactors Anonymous Flute Chair Di Jameson Viola Chair Joy Selby Smith Orchestral Leadership Chair Patricia Riordan Associate Conductor Chair The Gross Foundation Second Violin Chair The MS Newman Family Cello Chair The Ullmer Family Foundation Associate Concertmaster Chair Program Benefactors Meet The Orchestra The Ullmer Family Foundation East Meets West Li Family Trust The Pizzicato Effect (Anonymous) Schapper Family Foundation Marian & EH Flack Trust MSO Education Mrs Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross MSO Audience Access Betty Amsden AO DSJ Crown Resorts Foundation Packer Family Foundation MSO International Touring Harold Mitchell AC Satan Jawa Australia Indonesia Institute (DFAT) MSO Regional Touring Erica Foundation Pty Ltd Robert Salzer Foundation Creative Victoria Benefactor Patrons $50,000+ Betty Amsden AO DSJ Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO The Gross Foundation 0 Di Jameson 0 David and Angela Li Harold Mitchell AC MS Newman Family 0 Joy Selby Smith Ullmer Family Foundation 0 Anonymous (1) Impresario Patrons $20,000+ Michael Aquilina 0 The John and Jennifer Brukner Foundation Perri Cutten and Jo Daniell Rachel and the late Hon. Alan Goldberg AO QC Hilary Hall, in memory of Wilma Collie Margaret Jackson AC David Krasnostein and Pat Stragalinos Mimie MacLaren John and Lois McKay Anonymous (1) Maestro Patrons $10,000+ John and Mary Barlow Kaye and David Birks Paul and Wendy Carter Mitchell Chipman Sir Andrew and Lady Davis Future Kids Pty Ltd Gandel Philanthropy Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind 0 Robert & Jan Green Dr Geraldine Lazarus and Mr Greig Gailey The Cuming Bequest Ian and Jeannie Paterson Lady Potter AC 0 Elizabeth Proust AO Rae Rothfield Glenn Sedgwick Helen Silver AO and Harrison Young Maria Solà Profs. G & G Stephenson. In honour of the great Romanian musicians George Enescu and Dinu Lipatti Onbass Foundation Juliet Tootell Alice Vaughan Kee Wong and Wai Tang Jason Yeap OAM Anonymous (1) Patrons $5,000+ Linda Britten David and Emma Capponi Mary and Frederick Davidson AM Andrew and Theresa Dyer 0 Tim and Lyn Edward Mr Bill Fleming John and Diana Frew Susan Fry and Don Fry AO Sophie Galaise 0 Jennifer Gorog Louis Hamon OAM Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM 0 Hans and Petra Henkell Hartmut and Ruth Hofmann Jenny and Peter Hordern Jenkins Family Foundation Suzanne Kirkham Vivien and Graham Knowles Dr Elizabeth A Lewis AM Peter Lovell Annette Maluish Lesley McMullin Foundation Mr and Mrs D R Meagher Marie Morton FRSA Dr Paul Nisselle AM James and Frances Pfeiffer Pzena Investment Charitable Fund Stephen Shanasy HMA Foundation D & CS Kipen on behalf of Israel Kipen Gai and David Taylor The Hon. Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall Lyn Williams AM Anonymous (5) 0 Signifies Adopt an MSO Musician supporter Associate Patrons $2,500+ Dandolo Partners, Will and Dorothy Bailey Bequest, Barbara Bell in memory of Elsa Bell, Mrs S Bignell, Bill Bowness, Stephen and Caroline Brain, Dr Mark and Mrs Ann Bryce, Bill and Sandra Burdett, Oliver Carton, John and Lyn Coppock, Miss Ann Darby in memory of Leslie J. Darby, Natasha Davies, for the Trikojus Education Fund, Beryl Dean, Sandra Dent, Peter and Leila Doyle, Lisa Dwyer and Dr Ian Dickson, Jane Edmanson OAM, Dr Helen M Ferguson, Mr Peter Gallagher and Dr Karen Morley, Dina and Ron Goldschlager, Colin Golvan QC and Dr Deborah Golvan, Charles and Cornelia Goode, Louise Gourlay OAM, Susan and Gary Hearst, Colin Heggen in memory of Marjorie Drysdale Heggen, Gillian and Michael Hund, Rosemary and James Jacoby, John Jones, George and Grace Kass, Irene Kearsey, Kloeden Foundation, Sylvia Lavelle, Bryan Lawrence, H E McKenzie, Allan and Evelyn McLaren, Don and Anne Meadows, Andrew and Sarah Newbold, Ann Peacock with Andrew and Woody Kroger, Sue and Barry Peake, Mrs W Peart, Graham and Christine Peirson, Ruth and Ralph Renard, S M Richards AM and M R Richards, Joan P Robinson, Tom and Elizabeth Romanowski, Max and Jill Schultz, Jeffrey Sher QC and Diana Sher OAM, Diana and Brian Snape AM, Geoff and Judy Steinicke, Mr Tam Vu and Dr Cherilyn Tillman, William and Jenny Ullmer, Bert and Ila Vanrenen, Kate and Blaise Vinot, Elisabeth Wagner, Barbara and Donald Weir, Athalie Williams, Brian and Helena Worsfold, Anonymous (13) Player Patrons $1,000+ Anita and Graham Anderson, Christine and Mark Armour, Philip Bacon AM, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Marlyn and Peter Bancroft OAM, Adrienne Basser, Prof Weston Bate and Janice Bate, Timothy and Margaret Best, David Blackwell, Michael F Boyt, Philip and Vivien Brass Charitable Foundation, M Ward Breheny, Lino and Di Bresciani OAM, The Late Mr John Brockman OAM and Mrs Pat Brockman, Suzie and Harvey Brown, Jill and Christopher Buckley, 12

13 SUPPORTERS Lynne Burgess, Peter Caldwell, Dr Lynda Campbell, Andrew and Pamela Crockett, Jennifer Cunich, Pat and Bruce Davis, Merrowyn Deacon, Wendy Dimmick, Dominic and Natalie Dirupo, Marie Dowling, John and Anne Duncan, Ruth Eggleston, Kay Ehrenberg, Gabrielle Eisen, Jaan Enden, Grant Fisher and Helen Bird, Barry Fradkin OAM and Dr Pam Fradkin, Applebay Pty Ltd, David Frenkiel and Esther Frenkiel OAM, Carrillo and Ziyin Gantner, David Gibbs and Susie O'Neill, Merwyn and Greta Goldblatt, George Golvan QC and Naomi Golvan, Dr Marged Goode, Philip and Raie Goodwach, Max Gulbin, Dr Sandra Hacker AO and Mr Ian Kennedy AM, Jean Hadges, Paula Hansky OAM, Merv Keehn & Sue Harlow, Tilda and Brian Haughney, Julian and Gisela Heinze, Penelope Hughes, Dr Alastair Jackson, Basil and Rita Jenkins, Stuart Jennings, Brett Kelly and Cindy Watkin, Dr Anne Kennedy, George and Patricia Kline, William and Magdalena Leadston, Andrew Lee, Norman Lewis in memory of Dr Phyllis Lewis, Dr Anne Lierse, Ann and George Littlewood, Andrew Lockwood, Violet and Jeff Loewenstein, Elizabeth H Loftus, The Hon Ian Macphee AO and Mrs Julie Macphee, Vivienne Hadj and Rosemary Madden, Eleanor & Phillip Mancini, Dr Julianne Bayliss, In memory of Leigh Masel, John and Margaret Mason, Matsarol Foundation, In honour of Norma and Lloyd Rees, Ruth Maxwell, Trevor and Moyra McAllister, Glenda McNaught, David Menzies, Wayne and Penny Morgan, Ian Morrey and Geoffrey Minter, Patricia Nilsson, Laurence O'Keefe and Christopher James, Alan and Dorothy Pattison, Margaret Plant, John Pollaers, Kerryn Pratchett, Peter Priest, Eli Raskin, Bobbie Renard, Peter and Carolyn Rendit, Dr Rosemary Ayton and Dr Sam Ricketson, Zelda Rosenbaum OAM, Antler Ltd, Doug and Elisabeth Scott, Dr Sam Smorgon AO and Mrs Minnie Smorgon, John So, Dr Norman and Dr Sue Sonenberg, Dr Michael Soon, Pauline Speedy, State Music Camp, Jennifer Steinicke, Dr Peter Strickland, Mrs Suzy and Dr Mark Suss, Pamela Swansson, Tennis Cares- Tennis Australia, Frank Tisher OAM and Dr Miriam Tisher, Margaret Tritsch, Judy Turner and Neil Adam, P & E Turner, Mary Vallentine AO, The Hon. Rosemary Varty, Leon and Sandra Velik, Sue Walker AM, Elaine Walters OAM and Gregory Walters, Edward and Paddy White, Janet Whiting and Phil Lukies, Nic and Ann Willcock, Marian and Terry Wills Cooke, Pamela F Wilson, Joanne Wolff, Lorraine Woolley, Peter and Susan Yates, Mark Young, Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das, YMF Australia, Anonymous (18) The Mahler Syndicate David and Kaye Birks, Mary and Frederick Davidson AM, Tim and Lyn Edward, John and Diana Frew, Francis and Robyn Hofmann, The Hon Dr Barry Jones AC, Dr Paul Nisselle AM, Maria Solà, The Hon Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall, Anonymous (1) MSO Roses Founding Rose Jenny Brukner Roses Mary Barlow, Linda Britten, Wendy Carter, Annette Maluish, Lois McKay, Pat Stragalinos, Jenny Ullmer Rosebuds Maggie Best, Penny Barlow, Lynne Damman, Francie Doolan, Lyn Edward, Penny Hutchinson, Elizabeth A Lewis AM, Sophie Rowell, Dr Cherilyn Tillman Trusts and Foundations AL Lane Foundation, Crown Resorts Foundation and the Packer Family Foundation, The Cybec Foundation, The Erica Foundation, Ivor Ronald Evans Foundation, managed by Equity Trustees Limited, The Gall Foundation, The Harold Mitchell Foundation, The Pratt Foundation, The Robert Salzer Foundation, The Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust Conductor s Circle Jenny Anderson, David Angelovich, G C Bawden and L de Kievit, Lesley Bawden, Joyce Bown, Mrs Jenny Brukner and the late Mr John Brukner, Ken Bullen, Luci and Ron Chambers, Beryl Dean, Sandra Dent, Lyn Edward, Alan Egan JP, Gunta Eglite, Marguerite Garnon-Williams, Louis Hamon OAM, Carol Hay, Tony Howe, Laurence O'Keefe and Christopher James, Audrey M Jenkins, John and Joan Jones, George and Grace Kass, Mrs Sylvia Lavelle, Pauline and David Lawton, Lorraine Meldrum, Cameron Mowat, Rosia Pasteur, Elizabeth Proust AO, Penny Rawlins, Joan P Robinson, Neil Roussac, Anne Roussac-Hoyne, Ann and Andrew Serpell, Jennifer Shepherd, Profs. Gabriela and George Stephenson, Pamela Swansson, Lillian Tarry, Dr Cherilyn Tillman, Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock, Michael Ullmer, Ila Vanrenen, The Hon. Rosemary Varty, Mr Tam Vu, Marian and Terry Wills Cooke, Mark Young, Anonymous (23) The MSO gratefully acknowledges support received from the Estates of: Angela Beagley, Gwen Hunt, Pauline Marie Johnston, C P Kemp, Peter Forbes MacLaren, Prof Andrew McCredie, Miss Sheila Scotter AM MBE, Molly Stephens, Jean Tweedie, Herta and Fred B Vogel, Dorothy Wood Honorary Appointments Sir Elton John CBE Life Member The Late Alan Goldberg AO QC Life Member Geoffrey Rush AC Ambassador The Late John Brockman AO Life Member The Honourable Linda Dessau AM Patron The MSO relies on your ongoing philanthropic support to sustain access, artists, education, community engagement and more. We invite our supporters to get close to the MSO through a range of special events. The MSO welcomes your support at any level. Donations of $2 and over are tax deductible, and supporters are recognised as follows: $1,000 (Player), $2,500 (Associate), $5,000 (), $10,000 (Maestro), $20,000 (Impresario), $50,000 (Benefactor). The MSO Conductor s Circle is our bequest program for members who have notified of a planned gift in their Will. Enquiries: Ph: +61 (3) philanthropy@ mso.com.au 13

14 SUPPORTERS Maestro Partners Official Car Partner Associate Partners Venue Partner Red Emperor Fitzroys Li Family Trust Quest Southbank Supporting Partners The CEO Institute Feature Alpha Investment Beautiful Flowers Government Partners Media Partners The Idea of North A world of Christmas This December, celebrate the songs of Christmas when renowned vocal quartet The Idea of North join the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for an evening of fun-filled, feel-good festive music from around the world. Saturday 17 December, Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Book now mso.com.au

15 Simone Young conducts Wagner & Bruckner Bruckner's unfinished Ninth Symphony is one of the greatest symphonic achievements of the nineteenth century Simone Young Australian conductor Simone Young, devoted Wagnerian and Brucknerian, returns to the MSO this December to conduct the final works by each of these great composers. From Wagner s Parsifal comes a generous portion of Act II, with Australian tenor Stuart Skelton as Parsifal, and American mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Kundry, the cursed temptress of the evil Klingsor s magic flower garden. This is followed by Bruckner s Symphony No.9. Although Bruckner died before he could complete the fourth and final movement, the remaining movements stand as a monument to Bruckner s genius. 1 & 3 December, Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Book now mso.com.au

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