EnergyAustralia is one of Australia s leading energy companies, George Maltabarow Managing Director

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1 It is my great pleasure to welcome you to tonight s concert in which we celebrate the work of the great Russian pianist and composer, Sergei Rachmaninov. In this final festival in the Sydney Symphony s 75th anniversary season it is fitting that we will hear the orchestra perform under the baton of Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, who is regarded as one of the world s foremost interpreters of the music of Rachmaninov. During the festival we will be privileged to hear some of Rachmaninov s major symphonic works and his brilliant music for piano and orchestra. EnergyAustralia is one of Australia s leading energy companies, with more than 1.4 million energy customers in NSW, the ACT and Queensland. With one of the most recognised brands in the energy industry, we are proud to be associated with the Sydney Symphony, and we re very excited to be linked to the Orchestra s flagship Master Series. I hope you enjoy tonight s performance and will join us again for the final concerts in the EnergyAustralia Master Series this year. George Maltabarow Managing Director

2 SEASON 2007 ENERGYAUSTRALIA MASTER SERIES RACHMANINOV S FOURTH PIANO CONCERTO AND SECOND SYMPHONY Wednesday 7 November 8pm Saturday 10 November 8pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Kazune Shimizu piano SERGEI RACHMANINOV ( ) The Rock Symphonic Poem, Op.7 Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40 (1941 version) Allegro vivace Largo Allegro vivace INTERVAL Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op.27 Largo Allegro moderato Allegro molto Adagio Allegro vivace This concert will be broadcast across Australia on ABC Classic FM 92.9 on Thursday 15 November at 8pm. Pre-concert talk by Roger Smalley at 7.15pm in the Northern Foyer. Visit talk-bios for biographies of preconcert speakers. Estimated timings: 18 minutes, 24 minutes 20-minute interval, 60 minutes The performance will conclude at approximately 10pm. Cover images: see page 30 for captions Program notes begin on page 5 Artist biographies begin on page 20 PRESENTING PARTNER

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4 INTRODUCTION Rachmaninov Revitalised Tonight s program continues a series of firsts for Sydney Symphony audiences, with the orchestra s first performance of The Rock, a symphonic poem or fantasy from the 20-year-old Rachmaninov, newly graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. The inspiration for The Rock began as an abstract, allegorical image from the poet Lermontov, was translated into human terms by Chekhov, and in this form fired the musical imagination of Rachmaninov. In many ways it is Rachmaninov s human side that moves audiences and musicians too. In conversation last week Maestro Ashkenazy spoke with touching affection about Rachmaninov the man often deeply insecure, apparently melancholy on the surface, and unbelievably modest. The great pianist Horowitz had told the maestro of the time Rachmaninov had advised him he could make cuts to the Second Piano Sonata if he wanted: Maybe it s too long. The Second Symphony was another work in which Rachmaninov allowed cuts often disfiguring ones. It is now recognised that his agreement to these cuts was reluctant, motivated in many cases by the hope of securing performances, and nowadays the work is nearly always performed complete. One thing that is less often done is the repeat of the exposition section of the first movement. For this week s performances linked as they are to a recording project Maestro Ashkenazy has been contemplating taking the repeat in one of the concerts, although as we go to print we don t know which concert this will be. (We hope you will forgive any discrepancy in our estimated time for the conclusion!) Although Rachmaninov may have been anxious about performances, the Second Symphony has never really been out of favour with audiences. The Fourth Piano Concerto, on the other hand, is heard much less frequently than the Second (No.2 in the recent ABC s Top 100 Concertos ) or the Third (of Shine fame). It may have suffered because it seems less overtly romantic than its predecessor but it is in this concerto that we can hear revitalisation of Rachmaninov s musical rhetoric. 5 Sydney Symphony

5 ABOUT THE MUSIC Sergei Rachmaninov The Rock Symphonic Poem, Op.7 In 1893 the 20-year-old Sergei Rachmaninov had just graduated from the Moscow Conservatory where he had shone both as aspiring piano virtuoso and incipient composer. This is despite the fact that, at the age of nine, he had been sent to the St Petersburg Conservatory where he had spectacularly failed to distinguish himself, partly because his parents were in the process of bankrupting the family and splitting up. Now, however, he was immediately taken up by a publisher, and composed his First Piano Concerto and the Prelude in C sharp minor (the latter of which he came in later life to regret!). Rachmaninov s standing among more senior composer colleagues was high. Tchaikovsky, for one, attended the rehearsals and performances of Rachmaninov s final-year project, the opera Aleko, based on a poem by Pushkin. So impressed was Tchaikovsky that he offered to conduct Rachmaninov s new symphonic poem, The Rock, in the 1893 season. Sadly, Tchaikovsky s death intervened, but the work was premiered in It attracted much attention in 1896, however, after a performance in St Petersburg under the direction of another major Russian composer, Alexander Glazunov. The following year a drunken Glazunov would conduct Rachmaninov s First Symphony with predictable results, plunging Rachmaninov into the serious depression which changed his life and music forever. The title of Rachmaninov s symphonic poem refers in the first instance to a simple and charming lyric by the 19th-century Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov. In two short verses Lermontov describes how A golden cloud rested one night/ on the breast of a giant rock. When morning comes, the cloud floats upwards, leaving the rock forever alone quietly crying. Rachmaninov used Lermontov s opening two lines as an epigraph to the work. When The Rock was published, however, in 1898, the composer alluded to another literary antecedent: the short story On the Road by Anton Chekhov, which is prefaced by the same opening couplet of Lermontov s poem. Chekhov and the composer became firm friends, with Rachmaninov a frequent visitor at the Crimean villa where Chekhov tried to stave off his chronic tuberculosis. In Chekhov s story two people find themselves sheltering in an inn on Christmas Eve while a storm rages. Keynotes RACHMANINOV Born Oneg (Novgorod region), 1873 Died Beverly Hills CA, 1943 In 1892 Rachmaninov graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with the Great Gold Medal. His future as a pianist and a composer promised to be equally golden, and tonight s concert traces the outlines of his career, from his first orchestral work after graduating (The Rock, 1893) and the Second Symphony (1907) to the Fourth Piano Concerto, which didn t reach its final form until THE ROCK The Rock (Utyos, sometimes translated The Crag ) was completed in Its inspiration was twofold: a poem by Lermentov, which began A golden cloud rested one night / on the breast of a giant rock, and a short story by Chekhov, On the Road, which had realised the allegory of Lermontov s poem in human terms. The scenario of Rachmaninov s symphonic poem or fantasy suggests the relationship between two apparently incompatible people, who are thrown together during a storm and then part forever. The recurring use of two contrasting themes suggests a kind of musical characterisation: the cloud/ young woman is represented by a gracious flute melody, the rock/lonely man by a mournful bassoon theme. 6 Sydney Symphony

6 Something frantic and wrathful, but profoundly unhappy, seemed to be flinging itself about the tavern with the ferocity of a wild beast and trying to break in. The two people are Grigory Liharev, a 40-year-old bankrupt landowner (shades of Rachmaninov s father?) travelling to the steppes to supervise a coal mine, and a beautiful young woman, Marya Ilovaisky, on the way to her family estate nearby. They converse about life and the spirit, and despite seeming to have little in common at first, it becomes clear that they could fall in love. She sees such beauty in the fire of his eyes, but it is only after they have parted forever in the morning that Liharev understands that with another touch or two that girl would have forgiven him his failures, his age, his desolate position, and would have followed him without question or reasonings. Liharev stands quietly crying as the snow falls on him; he began to look like a white rock, but still his eyes kept seeking something in the clouds of snow. Listening Guide The story clearly appealed to Rachmaninov s late-romantic sensibility. His musical response stands firmly in the tradition of works like Tchaikovsky s Romeo and Juliet or Francesca da Rimini, which likewise deal with unrequited or forbidden love, and which transform aspects of the erotic chromaticism of Wagner. Rachmaninov s orchestral acumen absorbed from Tchaikovsky and other master orchestrators like Rimsky-Korsakov is immediately evident in the evocative use of low strings which opens the work. Themes on bassoon and flute may refer to Liharev and Marya, leading into a slightly faster tempo. The central section of the work seems to reflect Liharev s meditations on the nature of the universe. From there the piece builds, Tchaikovsky-like, through impassioned string writing that creates both a sense of the menace of the storm (which Chekhov describes as this wild, inhuman music ) and the growing feelings of the two protagonists. The piece reaches a powerful but somehow unresolved climax, before falling back into a mood of quiet despair. Liharev stands quietly crying as the snow falls on him; he began to look like a white rock, but still his eyes kept seeking something in the clouds of snow. FROM CHEKHOV S ON THE ROAD GORDON KERRY 2006 The Rock calls for piccolo and pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons; four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (triangle, tambourine, cymbal, bass drum, tam-tam); harp and strings. This is the Sydney Symphony s first performance of The Rock. 7 Sydney Symphony

7 Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor, Op.40 (1941 version) Allegro vivace Largo Allegro vivace Kazune Shimizu piano Rachmaninov s fourth concerto was a troubled work: between the earliest sketches and its final form, its composition covered a period of 27 years. While not enjoying quite the fame they have today, his previous compositions for piano and orchestra had all been successful, and the Russian press had reported the composer at work on a new concerto as early as However, the turbulent events of 1917 drove Rachmaninov and his young family away from Russia. He took few things when he left, but included among his possessions were sketchbooks containing a substantial amount of material for the new work. In need of financial stability, he was fortunate to arrive in the United States at a time of immense interest in Russian culture, and his subsequent phenomenal success as a concert pianist a career he saw as preferable to conducting meant there was little time for composition. He also felt an intense sadness on being separated from his homeland, alluding to a lack of inspiration for writing new works when he said to his friend, Nikolai Medtner, how can I compose without melody? More settled and financially secure by the summer of 1925, however, Rachmaninov dramatically reduced his performance schedule to allow a return to composition, producing two new works the following year: the Three Russian Songs, for orchestra and chorus, and the Fourth Piano Concerto. Completed in Dresden, the concerto was premiered in Philadelphia in March 1927 with Leopold Stokowski conducting. Reviews of the new work, however, were unkind and Rachmaninov immediately set about making revisions: in all, 114 bars were removed, most of them from the final movement. A second version was performed in London in 1928 with Sir Henry Wood at the podium, and subsequently published. However it again failed to find success and eventually disappeared from the composer s repertoire. Perhaps disheartened by the lack of success generated by his return to composition, he wrote only a few (yet Keynotes PIANO CONCERTO NO.4 This is Rachmaninov s final piano concerto, and the longest to reach completion. There was an announcement that he was working on a fourth concerto in 1914, before he left Russia, but most of the work took place in 1926, in New York and Dresden. The first premiere was in 1927, but the concerto went through several revisions before the 1941 version that we hear in this concert. The Fourth Piano Concerto has never been as popular in the concert hall as the Second and Third or the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and yet the music represents a revitalisation of Rachmaninov s musical rhetoric, and a clarity of expression that seems stark only in the shadow of the Third Concerto s extravagance. 8 Sydney Symphony

8 significant) new works in the years before the final version of the fourth concerto. In 1938, following the unexpected success of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninov again revisited the concerto, but it was not until the summer of 1941 when holidaying in Long Island that the final version took shape. Again, the work was shortened: this time a further 78 bars were removed. The new version was performed on 17 October in Philadelphia with Eugene Ormandy conducting, and a recording was made in December, just one and a half years before the composer s death. The composition of this concerto had covered more than a third of his life. Listening Guide With the soloist playing the soaring opening theme in double-octave chords, the concerto seems to set out from where the Third Piano Concerto ended. The musical mood soon changes, however, as the intensely lyrical second subject is introduced in the key of the relative major. As is typical of Rachmaninov s large-scale works, a motif links the various movements, and in the development section this motif a leaping minor ninth figure is first heard. A more substantial build-up ensues, with melodic material derived from the opening theme sustaining the gradual accelerando. Uniquely for Rachmaninov, the recapitulation states the first and second themes in reverse order: the second is heard in the woodwinds over an arpeggiated piano accompaniment; and the first theme, formerly triumphal and exuberant, is treated gently and scored for high strings. The music dies to a murmur before ending abruptly. A short piano introduction begins the second movement before the theme, marked misterioso, is introduced in the strings. Perhaps as a conscious nod toward the times, the use of melodic material here is tightly controlled: in place of a longer, more structured melody Rachmaninov presents a two-bar theme, interest being sustained throughout by its richly varied harmonisation. A sudden fortissimo heralds what seems to be a new section but is, in fact, a chromatic transformation of the main theme. A sense of calm gradually returns before a new, more expansive melody borrowed from an Étude-tableau held over from inclusion in the opus 33 set of 1913 acts as an apotheosis for the movement, in which the strings are accompanied by repeated piano chords. The composition of this concerto had covered more than a third of his life. 9 Sydney Symphony

9 The final movement begins suddenly, with the first subject closely related to the leaping motif heard first in the opening movement appearing almost immediately. The thematic material is presented twice before a short, whimsical passage so typical of Rachmaninov s later style leads to the second subject. Fanfare-like motifs form much of the first part of the theme, while a more extended second section shows Rachmaninov in a lyrical vein. A complete state of rest, however, is not reached until a series of descending thirds (reminiscent of a passage from the Second Piano Sonata) leads to a quiet cadenza. The development section, substantially based on the rising minor ninth motif, continues amid hints of a recapitulation, before Rachmaninov setting on a solution that he believed had evaded him in the earlier versions of the work recalls material from the climax of the first movement, bringing the concerto to a thrilling close. ****** Rachmaninov setting on a solution that he believed had evaded him in the earlier versions of the work recalls material from the climax of the first movement While his other works for piano and orchestra may have achieved a greater level of fame, the Fourth Piano Concerto heralded a notable shift in Rachmaninov s approach to piano writing and a revitalisation of his musical rhetoric. It has been suggested that the tendency of some listeners to have less enthusiasm for works of the composer s later maturity follows directly from their love of the more overtly romantic earlier works, and the musical indulgences that a bygone age had allowed. Yet, along with other later works such as the Symphonic Dances, the fourth concerto is a testament to the composer s refusal to let such attitudes stifle his creativity. SCOTT DAVIE 2007 Scott Davie is a pianist and scholar of Russian music, with a particular focus on the music of Rachmaninoff, also the subject of his postgraduate research. The orchestra for the Fourth Piano Concerto comprises piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets and two bassoons; four horns, two trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (triangle, tambourine, snare drum, cymbal, bass drum); and strings. In 1963 the Sydney Symphony gave the first complete performance of the concerto in Australia in concerts in Newcastle and Sydney, with Henry Krips conducting and soloist Igor Hmelnitsky. The most recent performance was in 1985 with John Hopkins and Geoffrey Douglas Madge as soloist. 10 Sydney Symphony

10 Rachmaninov Symphony No.2 in E minor, Op.27 Largo Allegro moderato Allegro molto Adagio Allegro vivace This fervent, warm-hearted symphony has never been out of fashion with the public that loves Rachmaninov s music, but between the two world wars, perhaps until the 1970s, its emotional grandeur was mistrusted by many critics. It was also, for many years, the usual practice to perform it with disfiguring cuts, which the composer had reluctantly approved in the hope of securing further performances. (Nowadays it is nearly always performed complete, though usually without the repeat of the exposition in the first movement.) The symphony is now established as one of the most popular of all Russian orchestral works. Max Harrison s words about musical fashion seem particularly apt: Composers great and less great win their place in music history through having ideas of their own, and as time passes it counts for little whether these were cast in an advanced or traditional language. The circumstances of the symphony s composition are unremarkable: between 1906 and 1909 Rachmaninov and his family spent much of each year in Dresden, where there was time to compose in peace, where he could hear fine performances in the city s opera house, and where the concerts of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra were only a short journey away. These Dresden years were his most consistently fruitful as a composer: his First Piano Sonata, the tone poem The Isle of the Dead, and his initial work on the Third Piano Concerto all date from this productive period. A secretive composer at the best of times, he was particularly reluctant to discuss his work on this symphony with colleagues. The premiere of his Symphony No.1 in 1897 was a fiasco so shattering to Rachmaninov that he composed almost nothing for three years. He was now cautious about its successor, and before he had finished orchestrating it in the first months of 1907 he told friends that it was a repulsive work, that he was already sick of it, and that he did not know how to write symphonies anyway. But its first performances, which Rachmaninov conducted himself, were great successes, and the work was awarded a major Russian composition prize in Keynotes SYMPHONY NO.2 The premiere of Rachmaninov s First Symphony had been a debacle; the Second Symphony, ten years later in 1907, was warmly greeted in both St Petersburg and Moscow. It remains the best-loved of Rachmaninov s symphonies, and it would be so even if its most gorgeous melody hadn t been appropriated for a pop song. As Rachmaninov s first symphony after the creative hiatus that followed Symphony No.1, the Second Symphony reflects a newfound confidence of style and above all a powerful new lyricism. The Adagio third movement is the clearest example of heart-wrenching melody, but the whole symphony sings. It is imbued with the spirit of Romanticism: expansive, intense, and direct in its emotions. At the same time Rachmaninov retained the unifying strategies he d adopted for his First Symphony, and the proportions and orchestration are classically inclined. What tune is that? The opening gesture of the Adagio of the Second Symphony was borrowed by songwriter Eric Carmen for his 1975 hit Never Gonna Fall in Love Again it made it to No.11 in the charts. 11 Sydney Symphony

11 The Second is Rachmaninov s only symphony to date from the years of his full-blown Romantic style, the period which might be said to end with the growing astringency evident in the Etude-Tableaux, Op.39, and with his flight from Russia shortly thereafter. At roughly 65 minutes, Rachmaninov s Second is as expansive as the symphonies of his contemporaries Mahler and Elgar, but it is not of their kin it is more direct in its expressive ambitions, throwing itself without reservation into each successive emotion. Although it has the emotional extravagance of the big Richard Strauss tone poems, this symphony declares no interest in their contrapuntal virtuosity. Rachmaninov s counterpoint is concerned primarily with establishing a fitting context for a wealth of melodic writing; and formally, there is none of the radical compression with which Sibelius was experimenting at this time. In the boldness of its profile and intensity of feeling, this symphony is the work of a profoundly original mind. In one important characteristic, the Second is typical of its time it is, like the symphonies of Bruckner, Mahler and Elgar, post-wagnerian in its time-scale and ambitions, particularly in its frequent changes of key within movements, the long span of its melodies, the way Rachmaninov creates harmonic tension by refusing to return to established keys at expected moments, and the use of motto themes to bind the individual movements together. Yet, structurally, the symphony is quite conventional: a first movement in sonata form (complete with a slow introduction); a scherzo and trio; and, following the Adagio, a vigorous finale of well-bred Classical proportions. Its orchestration, too, is classically inclined. The weight of the argument is given to the strings is a phrase used repeatedly by annotators to describe Rachmaninov s scoring of the Second Symphony, but this remark disguises the sensitivity with which the string voicings are placed. There is much expressive, high writing for the violas, particularly in the first movement; the wealth of warm divisi writing for the violins is one of the symphony s hallmarks; and the colours of the low strings vary with remarkable sensitivity. Listening Guide It is the cellos and basses we hear first, in the quiet opening bars of the Largo introduction. This is our initial encounter with the symphony s three inter-related motto themes, and when the Allegro proper begins, we see that the movement s main theme a yearning, winding idea given to the violins 12 Sydney Symphony

12 has been derived from the third of these. There is also a short, suave second subject for oboes and clarinets, which is answered and extended by the strings. The development begins with brief solos for violin and clarinet reminiscences of the movement s main theme that emerge between fragmentary orchestral quotations and transformations of the other themes we have already heard. The atmosphere becomes seriously tempestuous before we reach the recapitulation, which is based largely on the suave second subject. The movement ends with a force and power very different from the dark brooding with which it began. The physical energy of the scherzo is a bright light after the shifting orchestral perspectives of the opening movement. In the middle of its festivities, a clarinet solo leads us to one of Rachmaninov s glowing Romantic melodies, written in characteristic step-wise fashion, and stretching itself luxuriantly across 23 bars of music before we return to the scherzo music proper. Rachmaninov then pauses before announcing the beginning of the trio with a startling tutti exclamation. A vivid fugue, in which the movement s main theme is passed fleetingly around the whole orchestra, leads to a restatement of all the major scherzo material until, in the coda, the jaunty atmosphere is interrupted by solemn brass chantings of the symphony s second motto theme, after which the movement seems to slither off into its own dark corner. The glorious Adagio is the most overtly Wagnerian movement in the work, sounding at times like a Russian meditation on the world of Tristan und Isolde. This is Rachmaninov the composer and conductor of operas, and here is perhaps the greatest love duet never written for the stage. The movement begins mid-phrase, almost as if we are eavesdropping, with the violins playing what we think will be the movement s main tune. It is, in fact, the last phrase of the melody we are about to hear: one of Rachmaninov s greatest creations, a long, sinuous clarinet solo, captivating in its ingenuity and length, floating on a bed of shifting, weaving harmonies. The violins then take up the theme we overheard at the Adagio s opening, before the cor anglais and oboe adopt an equally vocal, interrogative theme. At this point we are engulfed in a richly ambiguous, Tristan-esque world, with floating harmonies and key relationships. After a passionate climax, the dream continues with beautiful solos for violin, horn, flute, oboe and clarinet. The movement ends tranquilly. Rachmaninov s Second is more direct in its expressive ambitions, throwing itself without reservation into each successive emotion. 13 Sydney Symphony

13 The finale immediately establishes an atmosphere of frenetic jollity; indeed, the fizzing triplets given to bassoons, flutes, clarinets and strings seem to mimic the sound of laughter. Was Rachmaninov ever again this unbuttoned? The mood soon becomes conspiratorial, however, as a march theme is announced by the brass. Then the main theme returns, before ascending stratospherically in preparation for a new melody of great lyrical beauty, given to the strings (minus the double basses) to play as a kind of impassioned chorale against throbbing triplets by the wind and brass. Then themes from previous movements are recalled before we reach a remarkable passage in which, gradually, the whole orchestra creates a vortex of scales, evoking the bell sounds so beloved of this composer. The exhilarating conclusion gives great and embracing prominence to the finale s second theme, before racing to its shining, emphatic coda. When this symphony was new, music critic Philip Hale declared that its early popularity revealed a weakness in its composition, and that one day the work would be buried snugly in the great cemetery of orchestral compositions. The increasing popularity of Rachmaninov s Symphony No.2 since the 1970s is a victory for the broad commonwealth of music-lovers over the small, influential critical fraternity who once declared it obvious and naïve. It might even be a signal that a concern for human feeling is the primary value most audiences seek in music old and new. The glorious Adagio is perhaps the greatest love duet never written for the stage. PHILLIP SAMETZ 1996/2007 The Second Symphony calls for three flutes (one doubling piccolo), three oboes (one doubling cor anglais), two clarinets, bass clarinet and two bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (bass drum, cymbal, snare drum, glockenspiel); and strings. The Sydney Symphony first performed Rachmaninov s Second Symphony in 1939 with Bernard Heinze, and most recently in 2002 with Alexander Lazarev. Lost and Found Rachmaninov s manuscript score for the Second Symphony was long thought lost, but in 2004 it turned up in a Swiss cellar missing its binding, title page and the opening pages of the music as well as the last page, but otherwise a complete score in the composer s hand. The manuscript was authenticated by Geoffrey Norris Rachmaninov specialist and music critic for the London Telegraph and is now on display at the British Library. 14 Sydney Symphony

14 Rachmaninov? Rachmaninoff a spelling history Would Rachmaninoff care how we spell his name? The young Sergei Vasil yevich had already lost the final letter of his name (a hard symbol) in a reform of Cyrillic early in the 20th century when it changed from to. Transliteration to European languages creates a number of different spellings, and a scan of early editions of the English Musical Times provides an interesting compendium. The first reference to the young composer occurred in 1893, where the Rachmaninow spelling was used, while an announcement of the publication of his earliest piano pieces in 1894 heralded the first use of Rachmaninoff. In 1899, when the 26 year old gave his first performance in London, his name was spelt Rachmaninov, a spelling that gained increasing currency in England after the composer s death (and which was adopted by the ABC and other cultural institutions here). Variations continued, with Rakhmaninov in 1913, Rakhmaninof in 1915, and in 1920, Rachmaninof. However, it is interesting that the variant spellings have persisted, since the composer spent over a third of his life in the West. Indeed, a decision may have been made as early as 1892, when S. Rachmaninoff appeared on one of his early manuscripts. The original publications of his music most frequently used this spelling (the exception appears to be the use of Rachmaninow ), and it was also seen on the records he released and on his concert programs. Rachmaninoff was how his name appeared on his identification papers, and the spelling can be noted on his tombstone in New York state. It is also used by his heirs to this day. While the respected Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians for years used the authoritative Library of Congress Transliteration System spelling Rakhmaninov, the composer s preferred orthography as seen in his characteristically elegant signature is now more generally found in biographies and other academic literature. A longer discussion on this topic can be found at: sydneysymphony.com/ Rachmaninov SCOTT DAVIE 2007 LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS The composer s characteristically elegant signature 15 Sydney Symphony

15 GLOSSARY ARPEGGIATED an arpeggio is a musical gesture in which the notes of a chord are spread, or played one after the other instead of simultaneously. Many arpeggios in succession create an arpeggiated texture. CHROMATICISM in tonal music, the use of foreign notes and harmonies that do not belong to the key, together with a tendency to frequent modulation to other keys. The impression is one of harmonic richness. CONTRAPUNTAL a style of music in which two or more different musical lines or melodies are played at the same time (COUNTERPOINT).. DIVISI divided, used when a string group, such as the First Violins, splits into two or more smaller groups, each with their own notes to play. DOUBLE OCTAVES a technique in piano writing where the two hands play four notes simultaneously, each the same note of the scale, but in different octaves or registers. Playing a complete melody in double octaves gives great power to the melodic line. FUGUE a musical form in which a short melody, the subject, is first sounded by one part or instrument alone, and is then taken up in imitation by other parts or instruments one after the other. The Latin fuga is related to the idea of both fleeing and chasing. INTERVAL the distance between two notes, as counted in steps of the scale. Two adjacent notes (e.g. C D) would make the interval of a second; a THIRD is three steps (e.g. C E); a NINTH is nine steps (e.g. C to the D in the next octave higher). ORCHESTRATION the way in which an orchestral work employs the different instruments and sections of the ensemble. RELATIVE MAJOR when a major and a minor key share the same key signature they are known as relatives. For example, E flat major is the relative major of C minor (and C minor is the relative minor of E flat) since both keys have three flats (B flat, E flat and A flat) in their key signatures. Harmonically, the two keys are literally close or related. SCHERZO literally, a joke; generally referring to a movement in a fast, light triple time, with whimsical, startling or playful elements and a contrasting central section called a TRIO. SONATA FORM this term was conceived in the 19th century to describe the harmonically based structure most classical composers had adopted for the first movements of their sonatas and symphonies. It involves the EXPOSITION, or presentation of themes and subjects: the first in the tonic or home key, the second in a contrasting key. The tension between the two keys is intensified in the DEVELOPMENT, where the themes are manipulated and varied as the music moves further and further away from the ultimate goal of the home key. Tension is resolved in the RECAPITULATION, where both subjects are restated in the tonic. Sometimes a CODA ( tail ) is added to enhance the sense of finality. SYMPHONIC POEM a genre of orchestral music that is symphonic in scope but adopts a freer structure in service of an extra-musical program that provides the narrative or scene. Liszt was the first to use the term and Richard Strauss also championed the symphonic poem in preference to writing regular symphonies. TRIPLET a rhythmic gesture, in which three notes are played in the time of two. Continuous use of triplets, especially at a fast tempo, can create an exhilarating skipping effect, because each beat is effectively divided into three. In much of the classical repertoire, movement titles are taken from the Italian words that indicate the tempo and mood. A selection of terms from this program is included here. Adagio slow Allegro moderato fast, moderately Allegro molto very fast Allegro vivace fast and lively Largo broadly 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 At Home The Sydney Symphony spends more of its time than any other Australian orchestra in the public eye, giving concerts, but this is still only a fraction of its time together, the bulk of which is spent rehearsing. Where? Edo de Waart insisted, early in his time as the orchestra s chief conductor, that more than just the final rehearsal should be in the Concert Hall. The SSO s management persuaded the NSW Government and the Sydney Opera House Trust that the Sydney Opera House should truly become as Eugene Goossens had imagined the orchestra s home, and so it has been since Immediately before, the SSO had rehearsed in the purpose-built Eugene Goossens Hall in the ABC s new Ultimo Centre, but spent only a few years there the over-generous acoustic and the players difficulty in hearing each other were problems obvious from the first. As a broadcasting organisation growing like topsy, the ABC had trouble over the years finding where best to put its orchestra. The first venue, in 1932, was in the now demolished Arts Club, in Pitt Street. It was small, but close to ABC management, and to the Sydney Town Hall, where the orchestra performed. War anxiety about central Sydney prompted a move in late 1941 to another Arts Club building, in Burwood. It was too far from the Town Hall, uncomfortable, and not designed for broadcasts. So in 1946 the SSO took up residence in a studio in Darlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross (occupied years later by the Australian Chamber Orchestra). Too small and in insalubrious surroundings, it was also no good for television, so in 1964 the SSO moved to a converted cinema in Chatswood, the Arcadia. Still further from the Town Hall, but close to a railway station, shopping and (desideratum of increasingly affluent musicians) on-site parking, this was to be the orchestra s rehearsal home until Many of the musicians bought homes in nearby suburbs. In 1973 the Opera House opened and the orchestra moved in, rehearsing in the Recording Hall (now The Studio), which had similar problems to those later experienced in Ultimo. By 1974 the SSO was back in Chatswood, but by 1989 the Arcadia had been sold and demolished. While waiting for the ABC Ultimo Centre to be finished, the orchestra spent a couple of years at the Sydney Town Hall, ironically long after it had ceased being their main performance venue. Spare a thought, as you grumble about the traffic and the parking on your way to and from the concert, for the musicians of the Sydney Symphony, who often do it twice, on a performance day! But they can hear the point, that this Concert Hall is where they should be for rehearsal and performance and you re hearing the benefits of their having found, at last, the right home. David Garrett, a historian and former programmer for Australia s symphony orchestras, is studying the history of the ABC as a musical organisation. The Arts Club in Pitt Street was big enough to accommodate the 70-piece orchestra for Sir Hamilton Harty, which was the ABC s first major orchestral venture, in Sydney Symphony

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18 MORE MUSIC Selected Discography VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY Ashkenazy s Rachmaninov discography is extensive and includes recordings of the symphonies and other orchestral works with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and The Bells with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Chorus. He has recorded the piano concertos and the Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini with the London Symphony Orchestra and André Previn. These performances are available on a variety of Decca releases, including a souvenir 6-CD set with all the symphonies, the concertos, Symphonic Variations, the Rhapsody, The Bells and the Isle of the Dead, together with two solo piano works: the Corelli Variations and Piano Sonata No.2 DECCA For smaller selections of the repertoire: Rachmaninov: Symphonies 1 3 DECCA DOUBLE DECKER Rachmaninov: The Symphonies With the Symphonic Dances, Isle of the Dead and The Bells in a 3-CD set. DECCA Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos DECCA KAZUNE SHIMIZU Kazune Shimizu s recording of the Beethoven sonatas for Sony Classical is no longer in print. However, he is currently recording the complete works of Chopin for the Japanese label Octavia Triton, with five releases: Ballades and Scherzos OVCT Preludes and Impromptus OVCT Barcarolle and other piano pieces OVCT Waltzes OVCT Nocturnes OVCT His recording of Tchaikovsky s Piano Concerto No.1 and Grieg s Piano Concerto with the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra and Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi is also available on Triton. OVCT Broadcast Diary NOVEMBER 10 November, 8pm DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA Alexander Briger conductor Cheryl Barker, Sally-Anne Russell, Steve Davislim, Grant Doyle, Paul Whelan vocal soloists Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers The first opera to be composed and performed in Australia, by Isaac Nathan 14 November, 1.05pm CONCERTO FOR ORCHESTRA Hugh Wolff conductor Michael Dauth violin Dean, Walton, Lutoslawski RACHMANINOV FESTIVAL Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor Mon 12 November, 7pm LIVE Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini; Symphony No.3 Lukáš Vondráček piano Tue 13 November, 8pm Piano Concerto No.2, Symphony No.1 Cristina Ortiz piano Thu 15 November, 8pm Piano Concerto No.4, Symphony No.2 Kazune Shimizu piano Fri 16 November, 8pm LIVE Symphonic Dances, Piano Concerto No.3 Garrick Ohlsson piano 2MBS-FM SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2007 Tue 13 November, 6pm What s on in concerts, with interviews and music, with Sydney Symphony Trumpet John Foster as guest. SERGEI RACHMANINOV Those interested in hearing Rachmaninov s own interpretations should seek out: Rachmaninoff Plays Rachmaninoff the four piano concertos and the Rhapsody with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductors Eugene Ormandy and Leopold Stokowski. RCA VICTOR GOLD SEAL These performances are also available on the excellent Naxos Historical label: Piano Concertos No.2 (1929) and 3 (1940) NAXOS HISTORICAL Piano Concertos No.1 ( ) and 4 (1941), and the Rhapsody (1934) NAXOS HISTORICAL Webcast Diary Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are recorded for webcast by BigPond and are available On Demand. Recent webcasts include Sir Charles Mackerras Returns and Mozart s Great C Minor Mass as well as our 75th Anniversary concert in Tamworth. Visit: 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 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor In the years since Vladimir Ashkenazy first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, he has built an extraordinary career not only as one of the most renowned and revered pianists of our times, but as an inspiring artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities. Conducting has formed the largest part of his musicmaking for the past 20 years. He was Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic from 1998 to 2003, and took up the position of Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo in He will take up the new position of Conductor and Artistic Advisor to the Sydney Symphony in Alongside these roles, Vladimir Ashkenazy is also Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he has developed landmark projects such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich Under Stalin (a project which he also took to Cologne, New York, Vienna and Moscow and later developed into a TV documentary) and Rachmaninoff Revisited at the Lincoln Center, New York. He also holds the positions of Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and he maintains strong links with a number of other major orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra (of whom he is a former Guest Conductor), San Francisco Symphony, and Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (Chief Conductor and Music Director ). He continues to devote himself to the piano, building his comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as the 1999 Grammy award-winning Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, Rautavaara s Piano Concerto No.3 (which he commissioned), and Rachmaninov transcriptions. His latest releases are recordings of Bach s Wohltemperierte Klavier and Beethoven s Diabelli Variations. A regular visitor to Sydney over many years, Vladimir Ashkenazy s most recent appearances with the Sydney Symphony were in 2006, when he conducted an all- Rachmaninov concert featuring The Bells. His future artistic role with the Orchestra will include collaborations on composer festivals, major recording projects and international touring activities. DECCA: VIVIANNE PURDOM 20 Sydney Symphony

20 Kazune Shimizu piano Born in Tokyo in 1960, Kazune Shimizu first studied at the Toho Gakuken School of Music, and as a teenager took third place in the 47th Japan Music Competition. In 1980 he studied under Louis Hiltbrandt at the Geneva Conservatorium of Music, and the following year he won first prize in the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition. In 1982 he performed with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and in 1983 with the Prague Philharmonia at the Prague Spring Festival. Following this success, he was invited to Czechoslovakia to perform as a soloist with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra at the Musikfestspiele Bratislava. This was followed by a debut recital in Munich. In 1986 he made his London debut, performing with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gennady Rozhdestvensky. He also recorded piano concertos by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Liszt with the LSO and Michael Tilson Thomas. Between 1995 and 1997, he performed all the Beethoven piano sonatas in Tokyo, in concerts that were recorded for commercial release. In 2004 he began to record the complete Chopin piano works, and five discs have been released to date. Kazune Shimizu has performed with many of the world s orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Maryinsky Orchestra, Maryinsky Young Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, and he has performed with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gianandrea Noseda, Michael Tilson Thomas and Valery Gergiev. This is his Sydney Symphony debut. 21 Sydney Symphony

21 THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, 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, Nicolai 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 Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster 02 Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster Kirsty Hilton Assistant Concertmaster 03 Fiona Ziegler Ian & Jennifer Burton Chair of Assistant Concertmaster 04 Julie Batty 05 Gu Chen 06 Amber Gunther 07 Rosalind Horton 08 Jennifer Hoy 09 Jennifer Johnson 10 Georges Lentz 11 Nicola Lewis 12 Alexandra Mitchell Moon Design Chair of Violin 13 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 Guest Musicians Carl Pini First Violin Emily Long First Violin# Alexander Norton First Violin# Emily Qin First Violin# Martin Silverton First Violin# Alexandra D Elia Second Violin# Anthea Hetherington Second Violin Leigh Middenway Second Violin Jacqueline Cronin Viola# Jennifer Curl Viola# Joanna Tobin Viola Rosemary Curtin Viola Nicole Forsyth Viola Rowena Crouch Cello# Martin Penicka Cello Janine Ryan Cello Jennifer Druery Double Bass# Jill Griffiths Double Bass Ngaire de Korte Oboe Casey Rippon Horn# Saul Lewis Horn Joshua Davis Trombone# Ian Cleworth Percussion Brian Nixon Percussion Key: # Contract Musician Sydney Symphony Fellow Courtesy of the Tasmnian Symphony Orchesatra 23 Sydney Symphony

23 MUSICIANS Violas Cellos Double Basses Harp Flutes Piccolo Violas 01 Roger Benedict Andrew Turner and Vivian Chang Chair of Viola 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 Leah Lynn Assistant 04 Kristy Conrau 05 Fenella Gill 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