CONCERT PROGRAM Richard Tognetti and The Lark Ascending Friday 19 August at 8pm Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University Saturday 20 August at 2pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall Monday 22 August at 6.30pm Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall
WHAT S ON AUGUST NOVEMBER 2016 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. INDIANA JONES IN CONCERT Thursday 3 November Friday 4 November Saturday 5 November The film that gave the world one of its greatest movie heroes, Indiana Jones, is back and better than ever before! Relive the magic on the silver screen with the original great adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark with John Williams epic score performed live to picture by the MSO! 2
ARTISTS Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis conductor Richard Tognetti violin REPERTOIRE Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes Lutosławski Partita Interval Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances 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 Sunday 28 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. Broadcast Partner Pre-Concert Talk 7pm Friday 19 August, Foyer, Robert Blackwood Hall 1pm Saturday 20 August, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall Lucy Rash will present a talk on the artists and works featured in the program. Post-Concert Conversation 8.30pm Monday 22 August, Stalls Foyer, Hamer Hall Join MSO Director of Artistic Planning Ronald Vermeulen for a post-concert conversation. 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 RICHARD TOGNETTI 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. Richard Tognetti is the Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. After studying both in Australia and overseas at the Bern Conservatory with Igor Ozim, Richard returned home in 1989 to lead several performances with the ACO. In November that year, he was appointed the Orchestra s lead violin and, subsequently, Artistic Director. He is also Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia. As director or soloist, Richard has appeared with many of the world s leading orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Academy of Ancient Music. Richard is also an acclaimed composer. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010. He holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. He performs on a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, lent to him by an anonymous Australian private benefactor. 5
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Classical Pairings On the stage, double bassist Stephen Newton and violinist Francesca Hiew, otherwise known as Stevie and Franny, are classical stars engrossed in the music they perform together with the MSO. Away from the stage, life for this terrific twosome is centred around their gorgeous greyhound Duke and their inner-city jungle balcony. In every orchestra there are couples; it s only natural that two people performing, rehearsing and practicing together might find they want to spend their time outside of the concert hall together too. Franny was drawn to Stevie s enthusiasm and energy. He s a very popular guy! MSO patrons know him, our neighbours know him, butchers, baristas, Melbourne s dog owners they all know him! It says a lot about his character, that he always has time for other people. It's hard not to be drawn to Stevie - he's often the person on stage that looks like he's having the most fun. His driving force is always the music, never anything else, and that inspires me a lot. Stevie was attracted to Franny s positivity, calmness and her unpretentious musicality. The best part about working with Franny is that it makes every moment, even when times are low, fantastic. We quite often play for each other and give each other feedback or discuss our orchestra parts. We look at each other on stage all the time, not only because musicians need to communicate musical information to one another but sometimes she will arrive to a concert and I haven't see her until then, so we will use our eyes to say hello from across the stage. Franny s mother discovered classical music too late to learn properly so she decided to give her children the opportunity to learn from a young age. Playing a musical instrument was like a rite of passage in my family, says Franny. I am down the bottom end of a fairly large family, so I was pretty fiercely keen to follow in the footsteps of my older brothers and sisters. While Stevie s parents also encouraged his musical development from a young age, it was singing that eventually led him to play the double bass. I started singing in a choir when I was very young and learnt to read music and written English at the same time. I was so drawn to music s power to bring a story to life. Outside the busy schedule of an orchestral musician, Franny also plays with the Australian String Quartet, sometimes spending weeks away from Stevie and their beloved greyhound Duke. So how do they spend their spare time together? We take Duke out for long walks together. We travel a lot, sometimes to the country, interstate or overseas and we're big on food, so we eat out - probably too often - and cook for friends. When we are at home together we tend to our garden on our tiny, tiny balcony which we're slowly working on turning into an unruly jungle. As well as these pastimes, the pair find inspiration in each other and the wider community. I find a lot of inspiration sharing music with people, especially people who don't normally listen to classical music and discover something in it that speaks to them. I do believe it feeds the soul, for lack of a less corny phrase! commented Franny. I think all people who have a loving and happy relationship would be similarly inspired by their partner. Although Franny is very focused and motivated without my help, I like to think that I occasionally inspire her too, says Stevie. The two also find plenty of musical inspiration sifting through their CD collection, mainly listening to classical music as well as jazz greats. Franny has even managed to find a few surprises in Stevie s old cassette tape collection. I once found a 90 s funk version of Handel s Messiah in the tape deck. Seriously! 7
BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913 1976) Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op.33a Dawn (Act I) Sunday Morning (Act II) Moonlight (Act III) Storm (Act I) It was Peter Grimes which first made Britten s name as a musical dramatist of the highest order. In this, his first full-scale opera, the young composer turned out a masterpiece. Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were visiting California in 1941 when Pears bought a copy of the works of poet George Crabbe a native of Suffolk like Britten. However it was an article in The Listener by E.M. Forster, George Crabbe: the Poet and the Man, with its evocations of Aldeburgh and England s east coast, which first prompted the pair s interest in the subject matter of The Borough, the poem by Crabbe upon which Peter Grimes is based. With financial assistance from the Koussevitzky Foundation, Britten and Pears began to sketch out a scenario for Peter Grimes before leaving America in 1942. They fleshed it out aboard ship, and on arrival home in England called in a librettist to write the words. Britten began to compose the music in January 1944. In June 1945, Sadlers Wells decided to reopen their North London theatre with the work, and it was premiered there on 7 June that year. Serge Koussevitzky relinquished his right to conduct the US premiere, which was conducted by Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood in 1946. Britten was fascinated by the sea, and particularly his native coast. He once wrote: My parents house in Lowestoft directly faced the sea, and my life as a child was coloured by the fierce storms that sometimes drove ships on our coast and ate away whole stretches of neighbouring cliffs. But The Borough didn t just provide Britten with opportunities for musical portrayal of the forces of nature. Britten and Pears found something to sympathise with in the human drama of the protagonist Peter Grimes and his isolation from his community. In Peter Grimes, Britten gave primacy to the voice, but his orchestral writing is particularly substantial. This can be seen in the Four Sea Interludes, which, taken from the opera, where they form interludes or introductions to scenes, stand as concert pieces. Although they comprise some of the most effective portrayals of the sea in all of orchestral literature, they are also riven with the emotion which makes Grimes a very human drama. Dawn appears in Act I, after the Prologue s coronial inquest which has established that Peter Grimes cannot be held culpable for the death by drowning of his young apprentice. The high flutes and violins suggest almost uncannily the cold, glassy greyness of the sea, or of a deserted beach; the swirl of harp, clarinets and violas an encroaching wave; while a brass chorale suggests the swell, with even, at one point, a note of menace. The tolling of Sunday morning church bells is rendered most effectively by the overlapping clashing pairs of French Horns in Sunday Morning. Violas and cellos sing the melody which accompanies the words of Peter s friend Ellen Orford ( Glitter of waves and glitter of sunlight ) as the curtain rises, and the interlude extends into what is the beginning of Act II in the opera. Onstage, the repose of Moonlight is ironic. Another of Grimes apprentices has died by misadventure, and already the audience senses that Grimes is steering unavoidably towards tragedy. Stage directors can flounder on attempts to render a visual analogue to Britten s highly effective Act I Storm; it is sometimes best to leave the curtain down. The storm here is also a mental storm, a musical postscript to Peter s outpouring of anguish and lonely confusion in his account of events to one of his few friends, Balstrode. A minute or so of respite is granted by the violins recollection of the melody which in the opera accompanied Peter s words: What harbour shelters peace? What harbour can embrace terrors and tragedies? but the return of the storm snuffs out any hope of peace or happiness. Gordon Kalton Williams Symphony Australia Warwick Braithwaite conducted the Storm from Peter Grimes with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on 19 April 1947. The Orchestra s first complete performance of the Four Sea Interludes took place on 27 July 1950, when the conductor was Henry Krips. The MSO s most recent performances, conducted by Tan Dun, took place in February 2016. 8
WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI (1913 1994) Partita for violin and orchestra Allegro giusto Ad libitum Largo Ad libitum Presto Richard Tognetti violin Born into a distinguished Polish family, Lutosławski was marked out for extermination by the Nazis during World War II and then denounced as formalist (the catch-all Soviet-era criticism) by the postwar Communist government. But his Concerto for Orchestra, developing his love of both folk-based material and rich orchestral sound, earned him rehabilitation at home and contributed to his growing reputation elsewhere. By the 1960s that international reputation was assured; he went on to compose major works for soloists and orchestras around the world. Lutosławski believed that the twelve-note serial method which had launched the work of the post-war avant-garde removes music from the realm of human sensibility, by its erasure of contrasting emotional states. In his mature music the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are in fairly constant circulation, but the harmony is based on chords which each have a restricted number of intervals, and therefore a very distinctive character. Thus, the composer can create sudden changes of tension and emotion by moving from dissonant to consonant chords just as a composer working in traditional diatonic harmony can. Each of the horizontal strands is derived from the intervals of the prevailing chord, but allows the composer to use any note freely not in a fixed sequence. Thus, Lutosławski creates infinitely extensible, rhapsodic tunes at will. Lutosławski also developed the principle of limited aleatoricism : at certain points he allows rhythmic freedom and independence to the various instrumental parts. (Marked ad libitum, the material is notated as a fragment, with a repeat sign, followed by a line that indicates roughly how it should be played, and for how long.) This can cause effects of sudden fluidity, wildly busy textures, or a sense of weightlessness. Around 1979 Lutosławski refined these techniques further and at the same time explored aspects of Baroque form, notably in his Double Concerto for oboe and harp, which affectionately distorts 18th-century formal manners. The title of the Partita for violin and orchestra is, as the composer put it, to suggest a few allusions to Baroque music, for example at the beginning of the first movement, in the main theme of the Largo and in the finale, which resembles a gigue. The original version of the work was for violin and piano, and was composed in 1984 for Pinchas Zukerman and Marc Neikrug. At around the same time he composed Chain 2 for violin and orchestra to a commission from Paul Sacher, who engaged Anne- Sophie Mutter to premiere it. In 1988, Lutosławski made this orchestral version (including a piano part) of the Partita for Mutter, and composed a short Interlude for the same forces to bridge the two works and create a kind of mega-concerto. The Partita is in five symmetrically arranged movements, of which the second and fourth are short Ad libitum interludes that provide a certain lowering of the temperature and bring the contrast between the main movements into sharper relief. Lutosławski noted that the three major movements follow, rhythmically at least, the tradition of pre-classical, 18th-century keyboard music. This, however, is no more than an allusion. Harmonically and melodically, Partita clearly belongs to the same group of recent compositions as the Symphony No.3 and Chain 1. The Allegro giusto begins with a brusque drumstroke, with a strong impetus fuelled by repeated motifs that often consist of repeated single notes. These are passed restlessly between the soloist and various sections of the orchestra, before the violin announces a broad theme. Later, momentum is interrupted by a ghostly interlude featuring soft tuned percussion that leads to a passage of vigorous counterpoint. After the first Ad libitum, which features violin and piano, the Largo follows, its Baroque theme developing an expansive lyricism, interrupted by motifs that suggest birdcalls, that becomes highly impassioned before the major climax of the work. The second Ad libitum, again a kind of recitative with piano, ruminates gently as insistent bells lead into the finale, where repeatednote patterns, sometimes rhythmically crosshatched to provide metrical ambiguity, reappear. Here the inexorably increasing frenetic energy, punctuated only briefly by lyrical passages, surges to a conclusion not unlike that of the Third Symphony, where strongly accented chords cut across a febrile texture before an emphatic closing gesture. Gordon Kerry 2016 This is the first performance of this work by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. 9
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872 1958) The Lark Ascending Romance for violin and orchestra Richard Tognetti violin Surely one of Vaughan Williams most loved and bestknown works is the miniature masterpiece The Lark Ascending. A magical opening and a serene simplicity transport the listener to an unmistakably English landscape, perhaps to the Cotswolds where Vaughan Williams grew up. Inspiration for the work came from a poem of the same name by George Meredith (1828 1909), one of the most admired literary figures of his day. Vaughan Williams precedes the score with lines from Meredith s poem: He rises and begins to round, He drops the silver chain of sound, Of many links without a break, In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake. For singing till his heaven fills, Tis love of earth that he instils, And ever winging up and up, Our valley is his golden cup And he the wine which overflows To lift us with him as he goes. Till lost on his aerial rings In light, and then the fancy sings. Vaughan Williams composed The Lark Ascending in 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I when birdsong was gradually to be replaced by the horrifying sounds of conflict and destruction; but he put the score aside until 1920. It was dedicated to Marie Hall, a brilliant violinist who had, at one time, been given lessons by Elgar. She gave the first performance with Geoffrey Mendham in December 1920 in an arrangement for violin and piano. The first performance of the orchestral version took place at the Queen s Hall in a British Music Society concert held on 14 June 1921 with Marie Hall as soloist, and the British Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult. The Times reported that it showed serene disregard of the fashions of today or yesterday. It dreams its way along. The brevity of The Lark Ascending belies its significance in the emergence of what came to be referred to as English Pastoralism. Alarmed at the spread of industrialism over the English landscape and expressing a nostalgia for rural traditions, writers such as George Meredith, Edward Thomas, W.H. Hudson and Thomas Hardy sought to promote and preserve a quintessentially English landscape through the literary medium. Until The Lark Ascending was performed, few musical equivalents existed. Following its first public performance, English critics described The Lark Ascending as a musical evocation of the English landscape and the pre-eminent example of English Pastoralism in music. Wilfrid Mellers comments that the ramifications of this magical piece haunted Vaughan Williams throughout the rest of his creative life, and its presence is at least latent in the finest music of his successors But by no other composer is the interdependence of man and Nature more movingly expressed. The Romance of Vaughan Williams subtitle is unlikely to mean the common idea of romantic ; rather, it may refer to the 18th century musical term for an instrumental slow movement in ABA form. He also used the term for other slow movements, including those of his Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony. The ethereal opening establishes the tone and also provides the main thematic material of the entire piece. Above pianissimo sustained muted strings, the solo violin emerges, trilling, swooping, rising in emulation of Meredith s lark soaring above the English countryside. Vaughan Williams lark sings a pentatonic melody (a five-note phrase equivalent to playing just the black notes on the piano). James Day observes that, unlike Messiaen in his treatment of birdsong, Vaughan Williams makes no attempt to replicate the lark s microtonal call. The harmonic background, which is essentially modal, shifts subtly so that orchestral colours and textures provide a changing musical landscape. The Lark Ascending is in a simple ternary form with the outer lifting sections framing a middle section in 2/4 time. While the rhapsodising violin soars far above the countryside in the first section, it is drawn earthward in the central section which features a simple folk-like theme introduced initially by the flute and clarinet. The nature of the folk-song theme constrains even the lark as the solo violin s melismas become separate and marked notes which are forced into duple patterns. In the last section the main theme is fully orchestrated and the tempo more animated but in the final ethereal moments the soloist s lyrical melody is heard alone as the lark flies beyond our vision of this tranquil idyll. Catherine Hocking 2001 The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed The Lark Ascending at a Vaughan Williams Festival on 24 May 1950 with conductor Colin Campbell Ross and soloist Bertha Jorgensen. The Orchestra most recently performed it in September 2011 with Sir Andrew Davis and Wilma Smith. 10
SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1873 1943) Symphonic Dances, Op.45 Non Allegro Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) Lento assai Allegro vivace After Rachmaninov left Russia in 1917, the seizure of his Russian income by the Soviets meant he had to earn a living as a performing musician and so he set about establishing his career as a concert pianist. Although famous for interpreting his own music, he had never been called upon to perform music by other composers in public, and now, at the age of 44, he began building up a soloist s repertoire. This left little time for composition, and he wrote no original work for another nine years. Then the urge to compose began to reassert itself. A fitful procession of Indian summer pieces emerged between 1926 and 1940, many of which are now regarded as among his finest compositions. But at the time most of these works met with indifference from audiences and hostility from critics. His success as a pianist far outstripped that of his music. Among the first fruits of his period in the West were the Fourth Piano Concerto (1926) and the Variations on a theme of Corelli (1931). Neither was successful. The public and critical acclaim for his Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini (1934) gave him the confidence to write his Third Symphony (1936), to which, in the composer s words, audiences and critics responded sourly. This indifference to his music sapped his confidence once again. The orchestral style Rachmaninov cultivated in his later years was marked by great clarity of texture, a freer and more independent approach to brass and woodwind writing, and a tendency to express ideas more concisely than in his earlier large-scale pieces. Harmonically and rhythmically, his music of the 1930s bears the influence of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, but very much on Rachmaninov s own terms. His melodies still move, on the whole, in stepwise fashion, in the manner of Russian Orthodox chant, and although he clothes his melodies in lighter textures, he is not ashamed to write tunes that could be called vintage Rachmaninov. The result was too modern and lean-sounding for audiences who wanted him to keep rewriting the Second Piano Concerto, and too conservative for critics, whose twin gods were Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Collectively, the Symphonic Dances represent perhaps the richest results of Rachmaninov s new approach to the orchestra. They were also his last original composition. The idea of a score for a programmatic ballet had been at the back of Rachmaninov s mind since 1915, and when Michel Fokine successfully choreographed the Paganini Rhapsody in 1939 the opportunity presented itself again. He wrote the Dances the following year, giving the three movements the titles Midday, Twilight and Midnight respectively. At this point the work was called Fantastic Dances. Fokine was enthusiastic about the music but non-committal about its balletic possibilities. His death a short time later cooled Rachmaninov s interest in the ballet idea. He deleted his descriptive titles, substituted the word Symphonic for Fantastic, and dedicated the triptych to his favourite orchestra, the Philadelphia, and its chief conductor Eugene Ormandy. It is a work full of enigmas which Rachmaninov, surely one of the most secretive of composers, does nothing to clarify. In the coda of the first movement, for example, there is a transformation from minor to major of a prominent theme from his first symphony, which at that time Rachmaninov thought he had destroyed (it was reconstructed from orchestral parts after his death). The premiere of that work in 1897 had been such a fiasco that Rachmaninov could not compose at all for another three years. The reference in this new piece had a meaning that was entirely private. There is also the curious paradox that the word dance, with its suggestion of life-enhancing, joyous activity, is here put at the service of a work that is essentially concerned for all its vigour and sinew with endings, with a chromaticism that darkens the colour of every musical step. The sense of foreboding and finality is particularly strong in the second movement, with its evocations of a spectral ballroom, and in the bell-tolling and chant-intoning that pervade the finale. Here the extensive use of the Dies irae (Day of Wrath) theme from the Mass for the Dead (a regular source for Rachmaninov) and the curious inscription Alliluya, written in the score above the last motif in the work to be derived from Orthodox chant, suggest the most final of endings mingled with a sense of thanksgiving. Abridged from a note by Phillip Sametz 1999 The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra first performed Rachmaninov s Symphonic Dances on 20 August 1983 under conductor Werner Andreas Albert, and most recently under Simon Hewett at a Sidney Myer Free Concert in February 2012. 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
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ORCHESTRA First Violins Violas Piccolo Trumpets Dale Barltrop Concertmaster Eoin Andersen Concertmaster Sophie Rowell Associate Concertmaster (The Ullmer Family Foundation 0 ) Peter Edwards Assistant Kirsty Bremner Sarah Curro Peter Fellin Deborah Goodall Lorraine Hook Kirstin Kenny Ji Won Kim Eleanor Mancini Mark Mogilevski Michelle Ruffolo Kathryn Taylor (Michael Aquilina 0 ) Robert John* Oksana Thompson* Second Violins Matthew Tomkins 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 Isy Wasserman Philippa West Patrick Wong Roger Young Christopher Moore (Di Jameson 0 ) Fiona Sargeant Associate Lauren Brigden Katharine Brockman Christopher Cartlidge Gabrielle Halloran Trevor Jones Cindy Watkin Caleb Wright 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 ) Simon Svoboda* Double Basses Steve Reeves Andrew Moon Associate Sylvia Hosking Assistant Damien Eckersley Benjamin Hanlon Suzanne Lee Stephen Newton Hugh Kluger* Flutes Prudence Davis Flute (Anonymous 0 ) 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 Jeff Garza* Guest Geoff Lierse Associate Saul Lewis Third Jenna Breen Abbey Edlin Trinette McClimont 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 Timothy Hook* Evan Pritchard* Harp Yinuo Mu Julie Raines* Guest Piano Louisa Breen* Celeste Peter de Jager* Saxophone Justin Kenealy * Guest Musician Wendy Clarke Associate 0 Position supported by Sarah Beggs 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 14
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