CONCERT PROGRAM Mendelssohn s Italian Symphony Thursday 11 August at 8pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Presented by Emirates Friday 12 August at 8pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Presented by Emirates Saturday 13 August at 8pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Presented by BMW
WHAT S ON AUGUST OCTOBER 2016 TOGNETTI AND THE LARK ASCENDING Friday 19 August Saturday 20 August Monday 22 August Richard Tognetti returns to the MSO, under Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, to perform two very different works: the Partita for Violin and Orchestra, by Lutosławski, and Vaughan Williams soaring, summery The Lark Ascending. BEETHOVEN S MISSA SOLEMNIS Friday 26 August Saturday 27 August This performance marks a milestone in MSO Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis long and illustrious career: the first time he will conduct Beethoven s Missa solemnis. To do it justice are four outstanding international soloists and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus. HRŮŠA CONDUCTS SUK S ASRAEL SYMPHONY Thursday 1 September Friday 2 September Jakub Hrůša continues his close partnership with the MSO, with a too-rarely performed masterwork by his compatriot Josef Suk s powerful, passionate Symphony No.2 Asrael. It is preceded by Mozart s dramatic Symphony No.25, featured so powerfully in the film Amadeus. BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL Wednesday 7 September Saturday 10 September Wednesday 14 September Saturday 17 September Beethoven s five Piano Concertos, as with his nine Symphonies, represent classical music s greatest monuments. Given their formidable technical requirements, the concertos are rarely performed as a series, but English virtuoso Paul Lewis will tackle the challenge in this series of four concerts. RESPIGHI S FOUNTAINS OF ROME Friday 30 September Saturday 1 October Monday 3 October A rare concert appearance from the great Brazilian virtuoso Nelson Freire. Long renowned for his dazzling technique and absolute fidelity to the music, Freire is soloist in Schumann s Piano Concerto. Also on this program is Respighi s splendorous Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome. HOLST S THE PLANETS Friday 21 October Two English masterworks feature in this concert: Vaughan Williams Overture to The Wasps is abuzz with activity, while Gustav Holst s suite The Planets is indeed out of this world. Australian pianist Andrea Lam is soloist in Chopin s Piano Concerto No.2. 2
ARTISTS Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis conductor James Ehnes violin REPERTOIRE Elgar In the South (Alassio) Strauss Violin Concerto Interval Mendelssohn Symphony No.4 Italian This concert has a duration of approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. This performance will be recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Tuesday 16 August 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 Thursday 11 August, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall 7pm Friday 12 August, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall 7pm Saturday 13 August, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall MSO Orchestra Librarian Alastair McKean will present a talk on the artists and works featured in the program. Series Presenters 3
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 2009. 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 2019. 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. 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
SIR ANDREW DAVIS CONDUCTOR JAMES EHNES VIOLIN Sir Andrew Davis is Music Director and Conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chief Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. In a career spanning over 40 years, he has been the musical and artistic leader at several of the world s most distinguished opera and symphonic institutions, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1991 2004), Glyndebourne Festival Opera (1988 2000), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1975 1988). He recently received the honorary title of Conductor Emeritus from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. One of today s most recognised and acclaimed conductors, Sir Andrew has conducted virtually all the world s major orchestras, opera companies, and festivals. This year he celebrates his 40-year association with the Toronto Symphony, and aside from performances with the Melbourne Symphony, he will conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Proms, Philharmonia Orchestra at the Three Choirs Festival, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival. Born in 1944 in Hertfordshire, England, Sir Andrew studied at King s College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up conducting. His wide-ranging repertoire encompasses the Baroque to contemporary, and his vast conducting credits span the symphonic, operatic and choral worlds. Sir Andrew was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1992, and a Knight Bachelor in 1999. James Ehnes has performed with many of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors. This year s appearances have included the Philadelphia Orchestra (in Pennsylvania and Florida), in quartet with Leif Ove Andsnes, Tabea Zimmermann and Clemens Hagen at Carnegie Hall and in Chicago, and, to mark his 40th birthday, a major tour of every province and territory of his homeland, Canada. Ehnes is Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. His recordings reflect a repertoire ranging from Adams to Bach, and have been honoured with many international awards and prizes, including a Grammy. James Ehnes began violin studies at the age of four, and at nine became a protégé of Francis Chaplin. At the Juilliard School (1993 97), he won the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership. At 13, he made his orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In 2010 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. Ehnes plays the Marsick Stradivarius of 1715. 5
Flawless Musicality Meet James Ehnes, one of the most revered violinists of his generation Photo by Ben Ealovega 6
What are you looking forward to most about returning to Melbourne? I m looking forward to everything! Melbourne was the first place I went to in Australia and I m just in love with your city! Of course, I also love the Orchestra and I ve done a lot of programs with MSO, so I ve gotten really close with people in the Orchestra too. But Melbourne is special for me and my wife: we re going to be here over my wife s birthday and we re bringing our children this time too. Every time I m here, I love it and I look forward to the next visit. It s really a great joy for me to be here. Are you excited to be performing Strauss Violin Concerto? I love working with Sir Andrew Davis he is a passionate advocate of Strauss music and the Strauss Violin Concerto, it s a piece that doesn t come around that often so it s a real luxury to get to perform it with someone who feels so passionately about the music. Speaking of Sir Andrew you have known him for some time now, how did you first meet? We met when he was at Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The man who had bought Sir Andrew to Toronto was Walter Homburger, who had also taken me under his wing, managed me and introduced me to some of the most important musical figures of my life. Sir Andrew and I played the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and it was a real joy. It was the first of many, many performances together: he bought me to the BBC Proms for my first UK performance and a lot of the most special musical moments in my career have been with him. What do you love most about your instrument? It s a Stradivarius, made in 1715. I ve known it for a long long time I first saw it almost 20 years ago and I ve been playing regularly on it for nearly 17 of those. It s like a family member! I think the best thing about it is that it is very adaptable: I can play all sorts of different styles and repertoire and find what I think is the appropriate style and sound on it. It has such variety, although that isn t to say it s easy to play! What advice would you give to an aspiring musician? When I speak to people who are interested in pursuing a career in music, I always try to gauge what their motivation is and if they really want to do it. Music is such a fun, social activity particularly when you re young, that sometimes I think young musicians don t pay attention to all the work that it can take to make it a career. If you have some hesitations then think very seriously about whether you re willing to put in the hours, but if you are willing to work hard then it can be the most rewarding job in the world, you don t think of it as work. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I pretty much always wanted to be a violinist. When I was very little I remember asking my dad if it might be possible to play the violin in the winter and be a professional baseball player in the summer he told me he didn t think so! My father was a musician so I was always surrounded by them and that was a huge influence on me it seemed only natural for me to follow that path. Do you have a little-known skill? I know quite a bit about piano maintenance and piano technician stuff a friend of mine is a really excellent piano technician and he got me interested in it. I can take apart a piano and regulate a piano and all that stuff. What do you like to do when you visit Melbourne? I m really looking forward to going to Movida I m going to take my wife on her birthday. I love, love, love the Botanical Gardens, it s my favourite place in Melbourne, so I m looking forward to spending some time there. What is on your to do list for the rest of the year? There are some big musical projects: I turned 40 this year and I think I got ambitious! I m doing 27 recitals during my Canadian tour [which runs throughout 2016]. We re going to every province in every territory, which is pretty cool. My quartet is doing a cycle of Beethoven quartets in Seoul next month too which I m looking forward to, and I m recording the Beethoven Concerto on Onyx in October a piece I ve played my whole life but never recorded. What s the best advice you ve been given? It was from my father when I was young and it has that kind of parental logic that s really wise but also really irritating because it s so wise. He said Do you want to play the violin? Me: Yes Dad, I want to. Dad: Do you want to be good? Well then, you have to practice. It s so ironclad you can t fault it, but I also think you can apply it to so many facets of life: if you want to be good or successful at something, you have to work. Certainly as I have my own children now, it is advice I m thinking about a lot! 7
SIR EDWARD ELGAR (1857 1934) In the South (Alassio) Overture, Op.50 Elgar called this a concert overture, suggesting affinities with the overtures of Mendelssohn, Brahms and Dvořák. But In the South is closer to being a symphonic poem of the Richard Strauss kind, if not in story-telling then in musical language and treatment. This shows why, in his early years, Elgar was more appreciated in Germany, where Strauss called him the first English progressivist composer, than in England. The misleading title alone hardly explains why this fine piece is not more often played. Written in 1903-04 when Elgar was travelling in Italy and settled for a while at Alassio on the Riviera, In the South absorbed the music which the composer found in the air in Italy you have only to take as much of it as you need, he observed. The brilliant opening, and the languorous second episode, carry inscriptions in the manuscript, one from Byron s Childe Harold: a land Which was the mightiest in its old command And is the loveliest Wherein were cast the men of Rome! Thou art the garden of the world. The other inscription is from Tennyson s The Daisy, summing up Elgar s impressions of the Vale of Andora: What hours were thine and mine In lands of palm and southern pine In lands of palm, of orange-blossom, Of olive, aloe, and maize and vine. An extraordinary variety of mood is firmly held together in this work by an expanded sonata structure. The middle episode is grandiose, prompted by the sight of an ancient Roman viaduct. In bold harmonies, Elgar tells us, he endeavoured to paint the relentless and domineering onward force of the ancient day, and to give a sound picture of the strife and wars, the drums and tramplings of a later time. Elgar s identification with Byron s Italian traveller merges, in the lyrical canto popolare given to the solo viola, with a tribute to Berlioz s Byronic Harold in Italy. This tender episode was later detached as a separate piece called In Moonlight. In context it is far more effective just giving the signal for the recapitulation. This includes a new treatment of a slow, gentle melody from the introduction, nobilmente, combined with the other themes to reach a thrilling climax. David Garrett The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed this overture on 24 June 1950 under conductor Sir Charles Groves, and most recently in September 2007 under Martyn Brabbins. 8
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864 1949) Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8 Allegro Lento ma non troppo Rondo: Prestissimo James Ehnes violin In December 1882, Strauss wrote to his parents about a concert in which he had performed in Vienna. The hall was reasonably full thanks to the complimentary tickets. My concerto was very well received: applause after the first F major trill, applause after each movement, two bows at the end. Media-savvy from the start, Strauss had organised for an article publicising the work in the Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung. He was 18 years old and had completed his schooling earlier that year, but was already composing works that were being premiered outside his native Munich. His wind Serenade, Op.7 was first performed in Dresden in November. The following month, the Violin Concerto, which had been largely composed (as an exercise) the previous year, had its first performance at the Bösendorfer Rooms in Vienna. It was a recital program given by violinist Benno Walter, who had taught the eight-year-old Strauss the violin; Walter s accompanist stood aside to let Strauss play the piano reduction. The orchestral version of the concerto had to wait until 1890 for its premiere in Cologne. Strauss had been brought up in a musical environment: his father, Franz, was also a composer, but more importantly was one of the finest horn players of his day, in which capacity he frequently played the music of Wagner, while making no secret to the composer s face of his loathing of the man and his music. Young Richard had accepted Franz s view that only the classical symphonic tradition of Beethoven and Brahms was valid, but by the early 1880s he was beginning to study Wagner s scores in secret, and there are a few hints of this in the concerto. (Walter had close connections to Wagner.) It is not, of course, recognisable yet as music by the composer of, say, Macbeth, but shows Strauss excellent schooling in form and orchestration (he wrote his first orchestral work at 12) and his knowledge of violin technique. The piece is in D a key that exploits the natural resonance of the instrument; the notion of resonance is also captured in the orchestra s initial material, an idea built of ringing fifths and octaves that give it a familial relationship to similar gestures in Also sprach Zarathustra, Eine Alpensinfonie and elsewhere. This arresting opening, answered by some urgently Wagnerian harmony, leads to the first appearance of the violin, which launches straight into virtuosic displays of double-stopping and speeded-up octave leaps that recall the same point in Beethoven s concerto. After more introductory rhetoric, the first true theme appears, a long melody that begins low in the violin s range but soon spans its whole compass. The second theme, announced by a quiet horn call based on the octave leap, is a more lyrical tune in F major. Much of the movement is dominated by virtuoso passage-work, lightly or sparsely accompanied, but there are numerous moments of orchestral heft, and examples of Strauss sensitivity to colour, with sudden shifts of timbre in repeated figures, diaphanous backgrounds and one brief glowing brass moment that presages the tone poems to come. The slow movement, in 3/8, reminds us of another thread that runs through Strauss work: the amazing gift for melody that underpins his songs and operas. The violin offers what Norman Del Mar describes as a pleasingly asymmetrical ten-bar tune in G minor (thus able to make emotive use of the instrument s open lowest string) which also features the octave leap. Its gentle melancholy is slightly assuaged by the central section in E flat major. The finale follows classical precedent in being cast as a rondo whose material frames episodes of wildly different character. Its theme contains a subtle tension: the violin, accompanied by only strong-beat chords, plays a mercurial tune seemingly in 6/8, only to be answered by a more four-square 2/4 from the orchestra. This tension provides considerable momentum, while the episodes alternately develop the music symphonically or provide moments of simple repose and lyricism. At a climactic moment, Strauss quietly restates a fragment of the first movement, helping to unify an exuberantly sprawling work. At least he added laconically in his letter home, I didn t make a mess of the accompaniment. Gordon Kerry 2016 The only previous performances of this work by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra were given by Galina Solodchin in 1964 during the finals of the Concerto and Vocal Competition. John Hopkins and Bernard Krips were the conductors. 9
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809 1847) Symphony No.4 in A, Op.90 Italian Allegro vivace Andante con moto Con moto moderato Saltarello (Presto) For once a subtitle seems apt: Mendelssohn s Italian Symphony expresses a northern European s love of the sun-drenched south. The ideas for it came to him as he spent the winter of 1830 31 in Italy, and he wrote to his parents about the symphony that Naples must play a part in it. Indeed it did, in the leaping dance of the Saltarello finale. Fresh and youthful, this symphony is at the same time one of Mendelssohn s supreme achievements. He himself considered it the most mature thing I have ever done. For some reason, he was dissatisfied with it, and always intended to revise it. Mendelssohn had submitted this symphony in response to a request from the London Philharmonic Society for a symphony, an overture, and a vocal piece, and it was performed in a concert of the Society in London on 13 May 1833. Mendelssohn s anxiety about his symphonies had a lot to do with his sense of responsibility imposed by what Beethoven had done. An energetic symphony in A major was bound to put listeners in mind of Beethoven s Seventh, and the processional character of Mendelssohn s second movement inevitably recalls the same movement in Beethoven s symphony. Perhaps also Mendelssohn was bothered by the challenge which faces interpreters of his Italian Symphony: how to avoid making each of the four movements sound like a moto perpetuo. The great English musicologist Sir Donald Tovey thought that if he wanted to change anything, Mendelssohn could have wished to broaden the design of the last movement towards the end. That is what he did in the symphony he was working on concurrently, the Scottish Symphony (No.3). Posterity considers that Mendelssohn should have remained satisfied with a masterpiece in which, far from being a pale reflection of Beethoven, he was entirely himself in the lightness of touch, the polished elegance of scoring, and the sureness of form which mark every movement of the Italian Symphony. Mendelssohn sometimes spoke convincingly of weightier things, but it is no accident that along with the Violin Concerto, the Midsummer Night s Dream music, several overtures and the Octet for Strings, the Italian Symphony is among those works of his which have never gone out of fashion. The opening of the symphony, like much of what follows, is notable for its brilliant and imaginative scoring. Here the bounding theme for the violins is presented to the accompaniment of repeated chords for the woodwinds, which at least doubles its effect of almost breathless energy. The second subject is a rocking figure for clarinets and bassoons, which, as Tovey says, is obviously in no hurry. The development presents a fugato on a wholly new theme, then the two main subjects are elaborately worked out, and the recapitulation is approached through a long crescendo beginning under a long-held tonic A for the first oboe another memorably original idea. The second movement may have been suggested by a religious procession Mendelssohn is known to have seen in Naples (though Moscheles claimed that it was based on a Czech pilgrims song). It begins with plainchant-like intonation, then the marching starts in the cellos and basses, over which the cantus firmus is sounded by oboes, bassoons and violas. Although not called a minuet and trio, this is in effect what the third movement is. There is little suggestion of the dance in this graceful music, which is more like a song without words, and the trio, with its solemn horns and bassoons, sounds a deeply Romantic, poetic note. Pedants point out that one of the rhythms of the movement Mendelssohn calls Saltarello is that of the even more furious tarantella. The energy here is even more irresistible than in the first movement, so much so that it may pass unnoticed that the movement remains in A minor until the end. Mendelssohn said this symphony was composed at one of the bitterest moments of his life, when he was most troubled by his hypercritical attitude towards his own music. It is good to be reminded of this artistic struggle by a driven personality, because his art so transcends the struggle that we can hardly guess that it ever existed. Abridged from a note by David Garrett 2003 The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed this symphony on 18 January 1941 under Joseph Post, and most recently in October 2013 with Nicholas Carter. 10
ORCHESTRA First Violins Violas Piccolo Trumpets Dale Barltrop Concertmaster Eoin Andersen Concertmaster Sophie Rowell Associate Concertmaster (The Ullmer Family Foundation 0 ) Glenn Christensen* Guest 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 Second Violin (The Gross Foundation 0 ) Robert Macindoe Associate Monica Curro Assistant (Danny Gorog & Lindy Suskind 0 ) Mary Allison Isin Cakmakcioglu Freya Franzen Cong Gu Andrew Hall Francesca Hiew Rachel Homburg Christine Johnson Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young Aaron Barnden* Amy Brookman* Christopher Moore (Di Jameson 0 ) Fiona Sargeant Associate Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Christopher Cartlidge Gabrielle Halloran Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Caleb Wright Ceridwen Davies* Isabel Morse* James Munro Cellos David Berlin Cello (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 ) Molly Kadarauch* Double Basses Steve Reeves Andrew Moon Associate Sylvia Hosking Assistant Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton Ester Toh* Flutes Prudence Davis Flute (Anonymous 0 ) Wendy Clarke Associate Sarah Beggs 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 Peter Luff* Guest Geoff Lierse Associate Saul Lewis Third Jenna Breen Abbey Edlin Trinette McClimont Robert Shirley* 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 Harp Yinuo Mu Julie Raines* Guest Yi-Yun Loei* * Guest Musician Courtesy of Australian Chamber Orchestra Courtesy of Queensland Symphony Orchestra 0 Position supported by 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
SUPPORTERS Artist Chair Benefactors Harold Mitchell AC Chief Conductor Chair Patricia Riordan Associate Conductor Chair Joy Selby Smith Orchestral Leadership Chair The Gross Foundation Second Violin Chair Sophie Rowell, The Ullmer Family Foundation Associate Concertmaster Chair MS Newman Family Cello Chair Flute Chair Anonymous Program Benefactors Meet The Orchestra Made possible by The Ullmer Family Foundation East meets West Supported by the Li Family Trust The Pizzicato Effect (Anonymous) MSO Education Supported by Mrs Margaret Ross AM and Dr Ian Ross MSO UPBEAT Supported by Betty Amsden AO DSJ MSO CONNECT Supported by Jason Yeap OAM Benefactor Patrons $50,000+ Betty Amsden AO DSJ Philip Bacon AM Marc Besen AC and Eva Besen AO John and Jenny Brukner Rachel and the Hon. Alan Goldberg AO QC The Gross Foundation David and Angela Li Harold Mitchell AC MS Newman Family Joy Selby Smith Ullmer Family Foundation Anonymous (1) Impresario Patrons $20,000+ Michael Aquilina Perri Cutten and Jo Daniell Margaret Jackson AC Mimie MacLaren John McKay and Lois McKay Maestro Patrons $10,000+ John and Mary Barlow Kaye and David Birks Paul and Wendy Carter Mitchell Chipman Jan and Peter Clark Sir Andrew and Lady Davis Future Kids Pty Ltd Gandel Philanthropy Robert & Jan Green In memory of Wilma Collie David Krasnostein and Pat Stragalinos Mr Greig Gailey and Dr Geraldine Lazarus The Cuming Bequest Ian and Jeannie Paterson Onbass Foundation Elizabeth Proust AO Rae Rothfield Glenn Sedgwick Maria Solà, in memory of Malcolm Douglas Drs G & G Stephenson. In honour of the great Romanian musicians George Enescu and Dinu Lipatti Lyn Williams AM Kee Wong and Wai Tang Anonymous (1) Patrons $5,000+ Linda Britten David and Emma Capponi Tim and Lyn Edward John and Diana Frew Susan Fry and Don Fry AO Danny Gorog and Lindy Susskind Lou Hamon OAM Nereda Hanlon and Michael Hanlon AM Hans and Petra Henkell Hartmut and Ruth Hofmann HMA Foundation Jenny and Peter Hordern Jenkins Family Foundation Suzanne Kirkham Vivien and Graham Knowles Dr Elizabeth A Lewis AM Peter Lovell Annette Maluish Matsarol Foundation Mr and Mrs D R Meagher Wayne and Penny Morgan Marie Morton FRSA Dr Paul Nisselle AM James and Frances Pfeiffer Lady Potter AC Stephen Shanasy Gai and David Taylor The Hon. Michael Watt QC and Cecilie Hall Jason Yeap OAM Anonymous (6) 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 Leith and Mike Brooke Bill and Sandra Burdett Oliver Carton John and Lyn Coppock Miss Ann Darby in memory of Leslie J. Darby Mary and Frederick Davidson AM Natasha Davies Peter and Leila Doyle Lisa Dwyer and Dr Ian Dickson Jane Edmanson OAM Dr Helen M Ferguson Mr Bill Fleming Mr Peter Gallagher and Dr Karen Morley Colin Golvan QC and Dr Deborah Golvan Charles and Cornelia Goode Susan and Gary Hearst Colin Heggen in memory of Marjorie Heggen Gillian and Michael Hund Rosemary and James Jacoby John and Joan Jones Kloeden Foundation Sylvia Lavelle 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 Pzena Investment Charitable Fund Ruth and Ralph Renard S M Richards AM and M R Richards Tom and Elizabeth Romanowski Max and Jill Schultz Jeffrey Sher 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 Barbara and Donald Weir Brian and Helena Worsfold Anonymous (12) Player Patrons $1,000+ Anita and Graham Anderson, Christine and Mark Armour, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Marlyn and Peter Bancroft OAM, Adrienne Basser, Prof Weston Bate and Janice Bate, Dr Julianne Bayliss, Timothy and Margaret Best, David and Helen Blackwell, Michael F Boyt, Philip and Vivien Brass Charitable Foundation, M Ward Breheny, Lino and Di Bresciani OAM, Mr John Brockman OAM and Mrs Pat Brockman, Suzie Brown, Jill and Christopher Buckley, Lynne Burgess, Dr Lynda Campbell, Andrew and Pamela Crockett, Jennifer Cunich, Pat and Bruce Davis, Merrowyn Deacon, Sandra Dent, Dominic and Natalie Dirupo, Marie Dowling, John and Anne Duncan, Kay Ehrenberg, Gabrielle Eisen, Vivien and Jack Fajgenbaum, 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, Dina and Ron Goldschlager, George Golvan QC and Naomi Golvan, 12
SUPPORTERS Dr Marged Goode, Philip and Raie Goodwach, Louise Gourlay OAM, Ginette and André Gremillet, Max Gulbin, Dr Sandra Hacker AO and Mr Ian Kennedy AM, Jean Hadges, Paula Hansky OAM, Tilda and Brian Haughney, Julian and Gisela Heinze, Penelope Hughes, Dr Alastair Jackson, Basil and Rita Jenkins, Stuart Jennings, George and Grace Kass, Irene Kearsey, Brett Kelly and Cindy Watkin, Ilma Kelson Music Foundation, Dr Anne Kennedy, George and Patricia Kline, Bryan Lawrence, William and Magdalena Leadston, Norman Lewis in memory of Dr Phyllis Lewis, Dr Anne Lierse, Ann and George Littlewood, Violet and Jeff Loewenstein, The Hon Ian Macphee AO and Mrs Julie Macphee, Elizabeth H Loftus, Vivienne Hadj and Rosemary Madden, In memory of Leigh Masel, John and Margaret Mason, In honour of Norma and Lloyd Rees, Ruth Maxwell, Trevor and Moyra McAllister, David Menzies, Ian Morrey, Laurence O Keefe and Christopher James, Graham and Christine Peirson, Margaret Plant, Kerryn Pratchett, Peter Priest, Eli Raskin, Bobbie Renard, Peter and Carolyn Rendit, Dr Rosemary Ayton and Dr Sam Ricketson, Joan P Robinson, 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, 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, Elizabeth Wagner, 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, Peter and Susan Yates, Mark Young, Panch Das and Laurel Young-Das, YMF Australia, Anonymous (17) The Mahler Syndicate David and Kaye Birks, John and Jenny Brukner, 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 in memory of Malcolm Douglas, 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, Leith Brooke, Lynne Damman, Francie Doolan, Lyn Edward, Penny Hutchinson, Elizabeth A Lewis AM, Sophie Rowell, Dr Cherilyn Tillman Foundations and Trusts Creative Partnerships Australia Crown Resorts Foundation and the Packer Family Foundation The Cybec Foundation The Harold Mitchell Foundation Ivor Ronald Evans Foundation, managed by Equity Trustees Limited The Marian and EH Flack Trust The Perpetual Foundation Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment, managed by Perpetual The Pratt Foundation The Robert Salzer Foundation The Schapper Family Foundation The Scobie and Claire Mackinnon Trust Conductor s Circle Current Conductor s Circle Members 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, Sandra Dent, Lyn Edward, Alan Egan JP, Gunta Eglite, Louis Hamon OAM, Carol Hay, Tony Howe, Audrey M Jenkins, John and Joan Jones, George and Grace Kass, Mrs Sylvia Lavelle, Pauline and David Lawton, Lorraine Meldrum, Cameron Mowat, Laurence O Keefe and Christopher James, Rosia Pasteur, Elizabeth Proust AO, Penny Rawlins, Joan P Robinson, Neil Roussac, Anne Roussac-Hoyne, Jennifer Shepherd, Drs Gabriela and George Stephenson, Pamela Swansson, Lillian Tarry, Dr Cherilyn Tillman, Mr and Mrs R P Trebilcock, Michael Ullmer, Ila Vanrenen, Mr Tam Vu, Marian and Terry Wills Cooke, Mark Young, Anonymous (23) The MSO gratefully acknowledges the 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 Mrs Elizabeth Chernov Education and Community Engagement Patron Sir Elton John CBE Life Member The Honourable Alan Goldberg AO QC Life Member Geoffrey Rush AC Ambassador John Brockman AO Life Member 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 and supporter newsletter The Full Score. 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) 9626 1248 Email: philanthropy@ mso.com.au 13
SUPPORTERS MAESTRO PARTNERS OFFICIAL CAR PARTNER ASSOCIATE PARTNERS SUPPORTING PARTNERS Linda Britten Naomi Milgrom Foundation Hardy Amies Fitzroys Alpha Feature Investment Red Emperor Beautiful Flowers MEDIA PARTNERS GOVERNMENT PARTNERS Few pianists alive convey the sheer joy and exhilaration of being masters of their craft more vividly and uncomplicatedly than Nelson Freire. The Guardian 30 September & 1 October Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Respighi s Fountains of Rome Book now mso.com.au
A work of towering proportions Missa solemnis breaks the bounds of classicism and speaks to us with great humanity Sir Andrew Davis Demanding an extraordinarily high standard of performance, Beethoven s magnificent Missa solemnis is his most visionary and spiritual work. After pouring his heart and soul into this piece for almost four years, Beethoven himself believed that Missa solemnis was his greatest achievement. Scored for orchestra, chorus and solo voices, the work is not only ambitious, but resplendently inspiring. The piece stands alone in Beethoven s output, both in terms of its spirituality and its scale, with performances of the Mass all too rare. This August, Melbourne audiences are in for a treat as Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis conducts Missa solemnis for the first time in his career. With a lifetime of music behind him, Davis is ready to tackle this superb vocal work as he leads the Orchestra and Chorus in what are sure to be monumental performances. Davis is joined by forces fit to do the work justice: four international soloists soprano Emily Birsan, mezzo-soprano Michèle Losier, tenor Andrew Staples and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Missa Solemnis 26 & 27 August at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Book now mso.com.au
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