THIBAUDET PLAYS GERSHWIN 2015/16 SEASON

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1 THIBAUDET PLAYS GERSHWIN 2015/16 SEASON

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3 Fri 16 Oct 2015, 8.30 p.m. Sat 17 Oct 2015, 8.30 p.m. Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra Ramón Tebar, conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano PROGRAMME BARBER Overture to The School for Scandal 8 mins GERSHWIN Concerto in F 29 mins Interval 20 mins COPLAND RESPIGHI Appalachian Spring 24 mins Church Windows 25 mins

4 BIOGRAPHIES Acclaimed for his musical versatility, compelling interpretations and orchestra building skills, Ramón Tebar s international reputation in both the orchestral and opera arenas continues to expand. He became the first Spanish conductor to be appointed Music Director for an American opera company, the Florida Grand Opera (FGO). Tebar began his tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of Spain s Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia in 2015, continues his relationship with FGO as Principal Conductor, serves as Artistic Director of Florida s Palm Beach Symphony and Opera Naples, and as Music Director of the Dominican Republic s Festival Musical de Santo Domingo. Recent highlights include in productions of Madama Butterfly, Così fan Tutte, Mourning Becomes Electra, Nabucco, Tosca and Thaïs with FGO, and La Bohème, Tango, Maria de Buenos Aires and Bizet/Brook s La tragédie de Carmen with Opera Naples, and conducting the UK s Philharmonia Orchestra at Buckingham Palace in the presence of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. Tebar has led operatic repertoire for such distinguished organizations as Italy's Teatro Regio di Torino, Martina Franca Festival and Teatro Lirico di Cagliari; Germany's Kolner Philharmonie; Russia's Kremlin Palace; the Netherlands' Het Concertgebouw and Argentina's Teatro Colon. Acclaimed artists with whom he has worked include Roberto Alagna, Joshua Bell, Montserrat Caballe, Joseph Calleja, Gautier Capucon, Placido Domingo, Angela Gheorghiu, Maria Guleghina, Ben Heppner, Gregory Kunde and Renata Scotto. Born in Valencia, Tebar became Assistant Conductor with the Youth National Orchestra of Spain at 15 and graduated in his hometown Conservatory. Since he came to the USA in 2005, he has been the staff of Palm Beach Opera and Cincinnati Opera. He was honoured twice with the Henry C. Clark Conductor of the Year Award by FGO. In 2014, he was featured by the Miami Herald as Top 20 under 40, the ABC Spanish journal among Ten International Spanish Conductors and the Marca Espana among 100 espanoles. That same year, he received his highest honour to date; the Cross of Office of the Order of Mérito Civil by His Majesty, the King of Spain Felipe VI. RAMÓN TEBAR Conductor

5 Jean-Yves Thibaudet has performed around the world for more than 30 years and recorded more than 50 albums. He has an artistic depth and natural charisma that have made him one of today's most sought-after pianists. Jean-Yves Thibaudet tackles three artist-in-residencies in the 2015/16 season: at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony and the Colburn School of Music. At Colburn, he fosters the next generation of musicians, teaching master classes and performing with students. With the Seattle Symphony, he plays Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No.5, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F; chairs the jury for the Seattle Symphony Piano Competition 2015; performs Dvořák's Piano Quintet No.2 with symphony musicians and tours Asia. He opens his residency at the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with James MacMillan's Piano Concerto No.3, which he commissioned and premiered in 2011, and tours Europe with the orchestra, playing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. The residency also involves chamber music, a performance at RCO Club Night and a master class. Thibaudet takes Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor on tour in the spring with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. Also this season, he gives a recital tour across the United States, Europe and Asia. He was the soloist on the award-winning and critically acclaimed films Atonement, Pride and Prejudice and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. He wears a concert wardrobe designed by Vivienne Westwood. In 2010, the Hollywood Bowl honored Thibaudet for his musical achievements by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Previously a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in Mr. Thibaudet's worldwide representation: Harrison Parrot Ltd. Mr. Thibaudet records exclusively for Decca Records. BIOGRAPHIES JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET Piano

6 PROGRAMME NOTES Compositions by three of America s most famous composers from the early twentieth century are joined by one from Italy. All four works come from the short span of barely two decades ( ). The Italian Respighi might seem to be odd man out here but he visited America in 1932, within the time frame of the four compositions we hear tonight, so let s warmly welcome him into the company of the three Americans! SAMUEL BARBER ( ) Overture to The School for Scandal (1931) The Background Barber was only 26 when he wrote his Adagio for Strings, his best known work, but the Overture to The School for Scandal precedes the famous Adagio by five years. Barber was still studying composition at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia with Rosario Scalero when he wrote this fresh, effervescent work. It also became his first orchestral composition to be published and performed. The premiere was given on 30 August, 1933 by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Alexander Smallens. The Music As noted in the score, the music was suggested by Sheridan s comedy, meaning that it intends only to capture the spirit of mirth, wit and laughter of Richard Sheridan s Restoration play (1777) and not to portray any particular characters or scenes. The overture conforms to the sonata-allegro design that would have been found in most symphonic movements in Sheridan s (also Mozart s) time. fanart.tv

7 PROGRAMME NOTES GEORGE GERSHWIN ( ) Concerto in F (1925) I. Allegro II. Adagio Andante con moto III. Allegro agitato The Background Gershwin s first major orchestral work was Rhapsody in Blue, premiered at a historic concert in New York s Aeolian Hall in At that concert, among many other dignitaries from the worlds of both jazz and classical music, was Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Symphony (which merged with the Philharmonic in 1928). Damrosch was sufficiently impressed with the young Gershwin (just 25 at the time), both as composer and as performer, to ask the Symphony Society of New York to commission Gershwin to write a full-length concerto for piano and orchestra. Unlike the Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin did his own orchestration for the Concerto in F; also unlike Rhapsody, the Concerto was scored for full symphony orchestra right from the start (Rhapsody was originally for a 22-piece jazz band). The first performance was given on 3 December 1925 in New York with Gershwin as soloist. The Music The first movement is in freely modified classical sonata form, with a restless and energetic first theme announced first in the bassoon (immediately following the percussion introduction), then in turn by bass clarinet, trumpet and strings. A second theme poignant and lyrical is introduced by the piano in a long solo passage. The lively Charleston dance rhythm pervades the movement, which is infused with the young enthusiastic spirit of American life, in Gershwin s words. The slow movement has a poetic, nocturnal atmosphere which has come to be referred to as the American blues but in a purer form than that in which they are usually treated (Gershwin). The brilliant, highly energetic finale is an orgy of rhythms, starting violently and keeping to the same pace throughout (again quoting the composer) and employs the rondo form. Themes from the earlier movements are recalled.

8 PROGRAMME NOTES AARON COPLAND ( ) Appalachian Spring (1944) The Background Although Copland wrote music in many styles and in virtually all categories symphonies, theater works, chamber music, choral pieces, piano music, radio and film scores and even books the orchestral portraits of rural America continue to be the music the public most closely associates with this composer. These works, written mostly during the late 1930s and early 1940s, include Billy the Kid, Our Town, Lincoln Portrait, Rodeo, The Tender Land and the ballet score Appalachian Spring. This was composed in 1944 for the dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. Graham and her troupe gave the first performance at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on 30 October Later that year Copland expanded the original instrumentation from thirteen players to full symphony orchestra and reduced the work s length by about a third, resulting in the well-known suite. The Music The published score bears the following description of the action: a pioneer celebration in spring around a newly-built farmhouse in the Pennsylvania hills in the early part of the [nineteenth] century. The bride-to-be and the young farmer-husband enact the emotions, joyful and apprehensive, that their new domestic partnership invites. An older neighbor suggests now and then the rocky confidence of experience. A revivalist and his followers remind the new householders of the strange and terrible aspects of human fate. At the end the couple are left quiet and strong in their new house. aaronc0pland.tumblr.com

9 PROGRAMME NOTES OTTORINO RESPIGHI ( ) Church Windows (1925) I. The Flight into Egypt (La Fuga in Egitto) II. St. Michael Archangel (S. Michele Arcangelo) III. The Matin of St. Clare (Il Mattutino di Santa Chiara) IV. St. Gregory the Great (S. Gregorio Magno) The Background Concertgoers familiar with Respighi s famous Roman trilogy (The Pines of Rome, The Fountains of Rome, Roman Festivals), his Botticellian Triptych and The Birds know well this composer s penchant for writing vividly conceived programme music. Church Windows, by its very title, would seem to belong in this company as well. But unlike the aforementioned works, Church Windows was originally conceived as purely abstract music. In 1919 Respighi married one of his former composition students, Elsa Olivieri Sangiacomo. One of the fruits of this marriage was a love for medieval music, especially the austere beauty of Gregorian chant, instilled in the composer by his wife. The first of many works Respighi created based on this body of ancient music was Three Piano Preludes on Gregorian Melodies. In 1925, the composer decided to orchestrate the piano preludes, adding a fourth in the process to make a suite of Four Impressions. Only afterwards did Respighi affix programmatic titles to the music. For each piece, the composer attached an appropriate biblical image such as might be depicted in an Italian church window. The Music The story of the opening movement is self-explanatory. The second suggests the sounds of battle, specifically Michael and his angels fighting the dragon and its evil forces. The third impression concerns St. Clare, who founded the Franciscan Order of Nuns. As she lay dying, Jesus caused her to be borne by angels to the Church of St. Francis so that she could attend the entire Holy Service of Matins. The final movement is a musical tribute to the very figure who is indelibly associated with Gregorian chant itself, Pope Gregory I ( ). Gregory was a zealous missionary who sent men out from Rome across Europe to found churches and schools. He did not write chants himself but he categorized the thousands of melodies and rendered this repertory the fundamental music of the Roman Catholic Church for centuries.

10 MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Fabio Mechetti RESIDENT CONDUCTOR Ciarán McAuley first violin Co-Concertmaster Peter Daniš Principal Ming Goh Zhenzhen Liang Vira Nyezhentseva Runa Baagöe Maho Daniš Miroslav Daniš Evgeny Kaplan Ergys Koni Martijn Noomen Sherwin Thia Marcel Andriesii Tan Ka Ming *Petia Atanasova *Ooi Khai Ern *Roxana Tudorache *Ikuko Takashi *Marit Vligenthart SECOND VIOLIN Timothy Peters Assistant Principal Luisa Hyams Catalina Alvarez Chia-Nan Hung Anastasia Kiseleva Stefan Kocsis Ling Yunzhi Ionut Mazareanu Tan Poh Kim Yanbo Zhao Ai Jin *Ahin Lee *Liu Yi Retallick VIOLA Gábor Mokány Assistant Principal Ayako Oya Fumiko Dobrinov Ong Lin Kern Carol Pendlebury Sun Yuan Thian Aiwen Fan Ran Eliza Fluder Julia Park Mahmoud Hussein *Ida Kovacs *Emil Csonka CELLO Csaba Kőrös Assistant Principal Steven Retallick Attila Pasztor Gerald Davis Julie Dessureault Laurentiu Gherman Tan Poh Joo Elizabeth Tan Suyin Sejla Simon Mátyás Major DOUBLE BASS Wolfgang Steike Joseph Pruessner Raffael Bietenhader Jun-Hee Chae Naohisa Furusawa John Kennedy Foo Yin Hong Andreas Dehner FLUTE Hristo Dobrinov Yukako Yamamoto Rachel Jenkyns PICCOLO Principal Sonia Croucher OBOE Simon Emes Niels Dittmann COR ANGLAIS Principal Denis Simonnet CLARINET *Gonzalo Esteban s Matthew Larsen *Juan Luis Puelles BASS CLARINET Principal Chris Bosco BASSOON Alexandar Lenkov *Adolfo Martinez Orsolya Juhasz CONTRABASSOON Principal Vladimir Stoyanov HORN s Grzegorz Curyla *Cem Akcora James Schumacher s Laurence Davies Todor Popstoyanov Assistant Principal Sim Chee Ghee TRUMPET *Matthew Dempsey William Theis William Day Assistant Principal John Bourque TROMBONE *Jamie Williams Marques Young Anthony Wise Bass Trombone Principals Zachary Bond *Martin McCain TUBA Brett Stemple TIMPANI Matthew Thomas PERCUSSION Matthew Prendergast s Darryl Littman Matthew Kantorski *Chun Yu Tsai HARP Principal Tan Keng Hong Piano *Akiko Danis CELESTE *Shuen Da Wong ORGAN *Margaret Chen CORPORATE SUITE CLUB MEMBERS Note: Sectional string players are listed alphabetically and rotate within their sections. *Substitute / extra musician.

11 Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Nor Raina Yeong Abdullah CEO S OFFICE Hanis Abdul Halim business & marketing management Carl Selvarajah BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT At Ziafrizani Chek Pa Fadzleen Fathy Nurartikah Ilyas Kartini Ratna Sari Ahmat Adam Nik Sara Hanis Mohd Sani MARKETING Yazmin Lim Abdullah Hisham Abdul Jalil Nurul Hidayah Abas Farah Diyana Ismail Natrah Omar CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Asmahan Abdullah Faizol Ramli Music TALENT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT Soraya Mansor PLANNING, FINANCE & IT Azwin Sofia Md. Yusup Mohd Hakimi Mohd Rosli Norhisham Abd Rahman Siti Nur Illyani Ahmad Fadzillah PROCUREMENT & CONTRACT Logiswary Raman Norhaszilawati Zainudin HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION Sharhida Saad Muknoazlida Mukhadzim Wan Intan Shahfinas Abas Zatil Ismah Azmi Nor Afidah Nordin TECHNICAL OPERATIONS Firoz Khan Mohd Zamir Mohd Isa Yasheera Ishak Shahrul Rizal M Ali Dayan Erwan Maharal Zolkarnain Sarman Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Nor Raina Yeong Abdullah general manager Timothy Tsukamoto general manager S OFFICE Ahmad Faris Ahmad Khairi ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Shannon Ho Amy Yu Mei Ling Tham Ying Hui ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION Gan Hui Wan MUSIC LIBRARY Khor Chin Yang Sharon Francis Lihan Ong Li-Huey EDUCATION & OUTREACH Shafrin Sabri Shireen Jasin Mokhtar MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC YOUTH ORCHESTRA Ahmad Muriz Che Rose Fadilah Kamal Francis

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