CONCERT PROGRAMME2017/18 SEASON

All details are correct at time of printing. Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS reserves the right to vary without notice the artists and/or repertoire as necessary. Copyright © 2018 by Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (Co. No. 462692-X). All rights reserved. No part of this programme may be

reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners.

Fri 2 Feb 2018 at 8.30 pmSat 3 Feb 2018 at 8.30 pmSun 4 Feb 2018 at 3.00 pm

Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraKaren Durgaryan, conductor

Ballet of ArmeniaArmen Grigoryan, choreographer

PROGRAMME

TCHAIKOVSKY Excerpts from The Nutcracker

INTERVAl 20 mins

TCHAIKOVSKY Excerpts from Swan Lake

Fri 9 Feb 2018 at 8.30 pmSat 10 Feb 2018 at 8.30 pmSun 11 Feb 2018 at 3.00 pm

Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraKaren Durgaryan, conductor

Ballet of ArmeniaArmen Grigoryan, choreographer

PROGRAMME

KHACHATURIAN Excerpts from Gayané

INTERVAl 20 mins

KHACHATURIAN Excerpts from Spartacus

The concert will last approximately 100 minutes with a 20-minute interval

MAS AD

ARMEN GRIGORYANchoreographer

Armen Grigoryan is an Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia. He graduated from the Yerevan Dancing Art State College and Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. From 1984 to 2004, he danced as soloist at the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan. Numerous tours have taken him to, amongst others, the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Egypt, Syria, Turkey and the UAE. He has interpreted roles such as Basil in Don Quixote, Albert (Giselle), the prince (The Nutcracker and Cinderella), Frantz (Coppélia) and many others.

From 1984 to 2013, he worked in the Yerevan Dancing Art State College as a teacher of classical and duet dances. His pupils are laureates of international competitions and soloists of theatres in Europe and America.

Grigoryan staged Carmen and many productions at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater in Yerevan. Outside Armenia, he has worked as a ballet soloist in Israel and Canada.

He was chief ballet master of the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater (2005 to 2007). He worked as teacher-tutor at the Rostov State Musical Theater (2007 to 2009) and director of the Yerevan Dancing Art State College (2009 to 2013). In 2013, he was the chairman of the jury of the Delphic Games of the CIS on classical dance in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Grigoryan is director of the Zvartnots Dance Ensemble of the Diamond Ensemble and the SRORS children’s choreographic ensemble. Since 2017, he has again been working as chief ballet master of the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theater in Yerevan.

KAREN DURGARYANconductor

Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Karen Durgaryan is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the Opera House in Novosibirsk, Russia. From 2001 to 2015, he was Principal Conductor of the Armenian National State Opera and Ballet Theatre. He graduated from the Yerevan State Conservatory in 1996 and studied with Prof. Mousin at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1997. In 1995, he was appointed Associate Conductor of the Armenian State Philharmonic Orchestra and the following year, became Music Director of Britten and Armenia International Music Festival in Yerevan.

Durgaryan regularly conducts in renowned opera houses in Russia. Between 2008 and 2010, he was guest of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and on tour, then collaborated with the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. At the invitation of maestro Valery Gergiev, he conducted the new production of Khachaturian's ballet Spartacus which he still regularly conducts both in St. Petersburg and on tour. He was also invited for the White Nights Festival 2013, celebrating the opening of the new Mariinsky Two and the 60th birthday of Valery Gergiev. He also regularly appears at the Kazan State Opera and Ballet Theatre, both in Kazan and on tour.

His international conducting engagements has a special focus in Italy where he has conducted the Teatro Lirico, Cagliari, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova, a new production of Evgeni Onegin by Tchaikovsky at the Teatro Verdi, Sassari in addition to concerts with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, and with the Luigi Cherubini Orchestra and the Toradze Piano Studio’s soloists including its internationally famous leader at the Ravenna Festival. He also appeared regularly with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo.

Durgaryan has also conducted at the Leipzig Opera, the Opéra National de Lyon and made his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 2016 conducting a new production of Khachaturian's Spartacus. The same production was also presented by the Royal Ballet of Wallonia in 2017 led by Durgaryan.

Durgaryan holds the title of Honored Artist of Republic of Armenia, and in 2010 was awarded the highest medal of Armenia in the field of arts and culture.

BAllET OF ARMENIAThe Ballet Troupe of Armenia was founded in 1933. The first ballet it performed was Swan Lake in 1935, followed by La Fille mal gardée. The first nationally-themed ballet it offered was Khachaturian’s Gayané to choreography by I. Arbatov, premiered in 1939.

The company has developed over the years, thanks to the work of such renowned choreographers as Lavrovsky, Anisimova, Sergeev, Vinogradov, Changa and Martirosyan. It is considered to be one of the best in the former Soviet Union, and has toured Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia. Its repertoire is solidly grounded in classical and contemporary full-length, one-act, and short ballets, with many works created specifically for the company. Its current repertoire includes Masquerade, Spartacus, Gayané, Don Quixote, Giselle, Chopiniana, La Revancha del Tango, Vartanank, Bach’s Passion, Stabat Mater, Romeo and Juliet, Ode to Eternity, Bolero, and excerpts from classical and contemporary works by renowned choreographers.

ARMAN GRIGORYANsoloist

Arman Grigoryan was born in Yerevan, Armenia. From 1994 to 2001, he studied at the Armenian Ballet School. In 1997, he won the gold medal of the Armenian Ballet Competition Amadeus. He was a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in 2011 and the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki in 2005. He also won the gold medal in the Maia Arbatova International Ballet Competition in 2002 and International Ballet Competition in Varna in 2004. In 2005, he was awarded the jury prize at the International Ballet Competition in Nagoya, Japan, the Heinz Spoerli Foundation prize in 2008 and Les Étoiles prix, Magazin Ballet.

From 2002 to 2015, he worked with Zürich Ballet. Since 2015, he has been working in Staatsballett Berlin. His repertory includes Spoerli´s Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck), Peer Gynt (Bergkönig; “Wäre Heute Morgen und Gestern Jetzt”; “In den Winden im Nichts” und “Goldberg Variationen”, Forsythe´s Artifact and The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Spuck´s Anna Karenina (Stiwa); Romeo and Juliet (Mercuztio) and Leonce and Lena (Valerio), Bournonville´s La Sylphide (James) and Flower Festival in Genzano, Bubenicek´s Le Soufflede l´esprir, Ek´s Dornröschen, Scholtz´s Oktett, Kylián´s Wings of Wax, van Manen´s Solo, Balanchine´s Allegro Brillante, Bigonzetti´s Kazimir´s Colours, Christe´s Before Nightfall, Schläpfer´s Forellenquintett, Tharp´s In the Upper Room, Bart´s Giselle and Galili´s The Sofa.

His repertory in Berlin includes Duato´s Castrati (Duato | Kylián | Naharin) and Herrumbre, Medvedev’s and Burlakas’ The Nutcracker (Mouse King), Bart´s Giselle (Peasant-Pas-de-deux) and Balanchine´s Jewels (Emeralds Pas de trois).

RAzMIK MARUKYANsoloist

Razmik Marukyan was born in 2000 in Echmiadzin, Armenia. He received his training at the Yerevan Choreographic College and High School of Dancing Art and Plastique from 2009 to 2016 in the department of Ballet Artist.

In 2017, he became a soloist in A. Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre in Armenia. That same year, he became a member of the Dance for Evolution Foundation. In 2017, he won first prize at the

Concours Prix Arabesque International Competition in the young professional category and for the most artistic participant. Also that year, he was awarded with the diploma of XIII International Ballet Competition and Contest of Choreographers. His repertory includes Masquerade, Gayané and Giselle.

RUBEN MURADYANsoloist

Ruben Muradyan was born in 1989 in Yerevan, Armenia. He received his training at the Yerevan State Choreography College from 1999 to 2007. From 2006 to 2011, he studied at the Yerevan State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography in the faculty of Dancing And Directing. Since 2004, he has been working at the A. Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre as a leading dancer.

In 2007, he participated at Brazil’s Joinville City’s Competition where he won third place and was awarded a bronze medal. In 2008, he participated in the 2nd international competition named after Y. Grigorovich in Sochi

where he won first place and was awarded a gold medal. In 2010, he was awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal of the Republic of Armenia, and in 2016, the Honored Artist of RA.

He was invited to the USA with Moscow’s Great Theatre, where he danced the title role in Spartacus. He also toured in Spain, Italy and France. In 2013, he collaborated with Tbilisi Z. Pavliashvili National Academic Theatre. His repertory includes Chopin’s Chopiniana, Adam’s Giselle, Khachaturian’s Gayané, Spartacus, Masquarade, Minkus’ Don Quixote, Hovhannisyan’s Vardanank, Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Shelkunchik, Kilian’s Small Death, and Liza and Colen’s Raymonda ballet.

Andranik Abovyan Anna Grigoryan Armen Nazaryan Armine Hakobyan Arshaluys MargaryanArtur Kartshikyan Ashkhen Gevorgyan David Shahoyan Davit Grigoryan

Emil Nersisyan Grigor Grigoryan Kristina HarutyunyanMaria Aghababova Mariam AslanyanMariam Garajyan Mariam Kerobyan Marina Baghdasaryan Meri Hovhannisyan

Meri Vardanyan Ruben Pirumyan Sevak Avetisyan Shmavon Grigoryan Tatevik Bolshikyan Tatevik Grigoryan Vahagn Margaryan Zhanna Tevosyan

Ballet of Armenia – Dancers

SYUzANNA PIRUMYANsoloist

Syuzanna Pirumyan was born in 1983 in Yerevan, Armenia. She started her training in 1992 at the State Dance Art College, Yerevan. During her study, she performed at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre in Adam’s Giselle (Giselle Pas de Deux). After her graduation in 2001, she joined A. Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre as a soloist before being promoted as principal dancer in 2007.

In 2012, she presented contemporary works such as Scorpion’s Still Loving You and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at the Evening of Young Choreographers.

She has collaborated with choreographers such as Maxim Martirosyan, Yuri Grigorovich, Roudolf Kharatyan, Vilen Galstyan, Hovhannes Divanyan and Armen Grigoryan. She has performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Qatar and the UAE.

Her repertory includes Giselle, Don Quixote, Spartacus, Gayané, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen Suite, Eternity, Violin Concerto by Khachaturian, Saint Hripsime And Trdat, Vardananq, Stabat Mater, La Revancha Del Tango, La Primavera, Le Corsaire, Chopiniana, and Diana and Acteon.

The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) gave its inaugural performance at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) on 17th August 1998. The MPO today comprises musicians from 24 countries, including 7 from Malaysia, a remarkable example of harmony among different cultures and nationalities.

A host of internationally-acclaimed musicians has worked with the MPO, including Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Yehudi Menuhin, Joshua Bell, Harry Connick Jr., José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli and Branford Marsalis, many of whom have praised the MPO for its fine musical qualities and vitality.

With each new season, the MPO continues to present a varied programme of orchestral music drawn from over three centuries, as well as the crowd-pleasing concert series. Its versatility transcends genres, from classical masterpieces to film music, pop, jazz, contemporary and commissioned works.

The MPO regularly performs at major cities of Malaysia. Internationally, it has showcased its virtuosity to audiences in Singapore (1999, 2001 and 2005), Korea (2001), Australia (2004), China (2006), Taiwan (2007), Japan (2001, 2009 and 2017) and Vietnam (2013). Its Education and Outreach Programme, ENCOUNTER, reaches beyond the concert platform to develop musical awareness, appreciation and skills through dedicated activities that include instrumental lessons, workshops and school concerts. ENCOUNTER also presents memorable events in such diverse venues as orphanages, hospitals, rehabilitation centres and community centres.

The MPO’s commitment to furthering musical interest in the nation led to the creation of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO). It gave its inaugural concert at DFP on 25 August 2007, followed by a tour in Peninsular Malaysia. It has performed in Sabah and Sarawak (2008), Singapore (2009) and Brisbane, Australia (2012).

As it celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2018, the MPO remains steadfast in its mission to share the depth, power and beauty of great music.

The MPO’s main benefactor is PETRONAS and its patron is Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Haji Mohd Ali.

PROGRAMME NOTES: 2, 3 & 4 FEB 2018

Beginning with Swan Lake in 1875-1876, and continuing through Sleeping Beauty (1890) and The Nutcracker (1892), Tchaikovsky immensely elevated the genre of Russian ballet scores, hitherto mostly weak and forgettable patchworks, through deep musical characterization, symphonic scope, leitmotivic construction and some of the best music by any standards, balletic or otherwise. Strangely enough, neither The Nutcracker nor Swan Lake was a success in its initial presentation but today both hold honours at the very pinnacle of the world’s favourite ballets, with Sleeping Beauty not far behind.

PIOTYR IlYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)Excerpts from The Nutcracker, Op.71 (1891)

Clara and the Prince Spanish Dance: Chocolate Arabian Dance: Coffee Chinese Dance: Tea Dance of the Mirlitons (Candy Canes) Waltz of the Flowers Pas de deux Final Waltz

The Background

Through countless productions over the years, The Nutcracker has captivated and enchanted millions of children and adults alike, weaving a magical spell in the collective consciousness of nearly the entire civilized world. The commission to write this ballet came in 1891 at the height of Tchaikovsky’s fame and popularity. His Sleeping Beauty had had a big success the year before, and now the director of the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, wanted another ballet from Tchaikovsky, specifically one based on Alexandre Dumas père’s French adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale Nussknacker und Mausekönig (The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King) - hence, the oft-quoted French title Casse-noisette, even in Russia. Vsevolozhsky drew up the scenario himself. Tchaikovsky worked closely with the great choreographer Marius Petipa, whose instructions to the composer resembled the demands of film scores today with their precise timings in the creation of moods and representation of events.

The Music

Act II takes place at the court of the Sugar Plum Fairy, ruler of the Kingdom of Sweets. Clara and her Nutcracker Prince arrive after a magical, nighttime journey through a snow-covered forest. Entertainment is presented to the accompaniment of a lavish banquet in honour of Clara’s visit. Dances from strange and distant lands are seen, some of them representing food and drink. These include chocolate from Spain, portrayed as a brilliant bolero with virtuosic trumpet solos; coffee from Arabia, set to a languid, sensuous theme in the clarinets that unfolds over a rocking accompaniment figure while muted violins

suggest sultry breezes; tea from China, in which shrill flutes and piccolo contrast with humourous “um-pah”s in the bassoons; and Candy Canes (sugar sticks masquerading as reed pipes).

Then follows what is probably Tchaikovsky’s most famous waltz, the “Waltz of the Flowers,” which may well be the world’s second most popular after The Blue Danube. Tchaikovsky pays fitting tribute to Johann Strauss II, the “Waltz King,” in this graceful, elegant music that is as evocative as it is colourfully scored.

For many connoisseurs, the musical highlight of the entire ballet is the Pas de deux for Clara and her Prince. (In some productions, the Sugar Plum Fairy dances instead of Clara). Petipa had asked that this number be “colossal in effect,” and Tchaikovsky obliged with some of his most rapturous music. A descending theme of passionate intensity in the cellos is heard against a background of harp arpeggios, and the music builds to ever more powerful climaxes with truly opulent orchestration.

To a final waltz and an apotheosis of symphonic proportions, farewells are made all around as Clara and her Prince prepare to leave the Magic Kingdom, her fairytale dream now about to end. But the memory of this event, we feel sure, will stay with Clara forever, just as Tchaikovsky’s music keeps eternally alive the spirit of fantasy all of us harbour for the childlike wonder of life in never-never land where impossible dreams come true.

Excerpts from Swan Lake, Op.20 (1875-1876)

Dances of the Swans (Andante) Dance of the Little Swans (Allegro moderato) Dance with the Cups Pas de Trois Spanish Dance Neapolitan Dance Hungarian Dance (Csárdás) Pas de Deux

The Background

Swan Lake, composed in 1875 and 1876, was the first of Tchaikovsky’s three great, full-length (a complete evening’s entertainment) ballet scores. It is a fairy tale pure and simple, with a prince who falls in love with a beautiful creature from another realm, an evil sorcerer, a magic spell, a castle, lavish court entertainment, love unwittingly betrayed, and more. The ballet takes its title from a mythical woodland setting where enchanted creatures, held under the spell of the evil sorcerer Rothbart, live as swans by day but return to their original form as girls by night. Their queen is Odette. When she and Prince Siegfried meet during a hunting expedition, she tells him that the spell can be broken only by a man who will promise her eternal love. In true fairy-tale fashion they fall immediately in love, but Rothbart contrives to thwart that love; only in the death of both Siegfried and Odette is the spell finally broken. The Music

The music that opens the sequence at this concert (not in original order) is the famous Andante that concludes the sequence “Dances of the Swans” in Act II. Here the Prince and Odette declare their love while a solo violin and later a solo cello spin out some of Tchaikovsky’s most ravishing melodies. The “Dance of the Little Swans” is a short, perky number in F-sharp minor that features pairs of woodwind instruments artfully characterizing the subject. “Dance with the Cups” is an ensemble number near the end of Act I, set to the polonaise rhythm. Guests at the party dance with goblets in hand. Next comes the “Pas de Trois” from Act I. We are in Prince Siegfried’s garden, where a grand party in honour of his twenty-first birthday is in progress. Included in the entertainment is a dance in several continuous short sections for two girls and a boy in various solos and combinations. Act III takes place in a grand ballroom on the day the Prince is to choose a bride. Guests from various lands present their national dances, including those of Spain, Italy (the Neapolitan Dance) and Hungary (the Csárdás). Our Swan Lake selections conclude with the celebrated “Pas de Deux.” It is usually danced in Act III as the “Black Swan Pas de Deux” by Prince Siegfried and Odile (a fraudulent stand-in for Odette), but it was originally part of Act I where, to the same music but different choreography, it is performed by an anonymous couple.

Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

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PROGRAMME NOTES: 9, 10 & 11 FEB 2018

Aram Khachaturian remains one of the most brilliant composers to come out of the former Soviet Union. His “Sabre Dance,” Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, incidental music for the play Masquerade and music for the spectacular ballet Spartacus ensure his continuing popularity in the concert hall. His Second Symphony, a work seldom heard outside of Russia, glows with patriotic fervour, folk influences of Armenia, and dazzling orchestration. The programme put together by the Ballet of Armenia offers a selection of numbers from two of his most sensational and enduring scores, Gayané and Spartacus.

ARAM KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978)Excerpts from Gayané (1942/1952/1957)

Dance of the Men Dance of an Old Man Nune’s Variation Monologue of Georgy Lullaby Dance of the Armenian Kurds Armen’s Variation Kurdish Dance Dance of the Rose Maidens Lezginka Shalakho Uzundara Sabre Dance

The Background

Khachaturian described his native Tbilisi (formerly Tiflis, in Georgia) as “a city rich in a music tradition of its own. From boyhood I was steeped in an atmosphere of folk music. As far back as I can remember there were always Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijanian folk tunes played and sung.… The original substance of these impressions, formed in an early childhood in close communion with the people, has always remained the natural soil nourishing my work”. With these words in mind, it is not surprising to find that most of Khachaturian’s music is suffused with modal melodies, driving rhythms, exhilarating dance patterns and instrumental combinations reminiscent of folk orchestras of his Armenian heritage. The ballet scores for Gayané and Spartacus are no exceptions.

Gayané (also variously spelled Gayane, Gayaneh or Gayne) was first seen on 9 December 1942 in Molotov (today Perm) in the course of a visit of the Kirov Theatre from Leningrad. Khachaturian revised the score twice. The original story revolved around a patriotic Armenian peasant girl, Gayané, and her brutal husband Giko. Giko turns traitor, nearly kills Gayané and their daughter, and is eventually destroyed. Gayané is saved by Kazakov, Commander of a Red Army patrol. In subsequent years the plot went through various modifications that focused more on romance than on patriotism. These include the production by the Ballet of Armenia, where a love triangle consisting of the girl Aysha and two men, Georgy and Armen, serves as the basic material for an extensively developed storyline.

The Music

From the nearly two-and-a-half hour, three-act complete ballet, we hear at this concert a suite of twelve excerpts including the score’s two most popular numbers, the “Lullaby” and the “Sabre Dance”. The sultry, hauntingly beautiful “Lullaby”, somewhat surprisingly for a lullaby, rises to an intense climax (“more suggestive of nocturnal desire than a cradle song,” as Noël Goodwin slyly put it). No Gayané Suite would be complete without that blazing, two-and-a-half-minute “Sabre Dance,” Khachaturian’s single best-known piece. The composer dashed it off in

a single evening and was greatly surprised by the enormous popularity it achieved. It is now commonly used by figure skaters, at circus performances, and in numerous films, animated films, TV series, video games and commercials. It exists in almost countless arrangements, including for concert band, several for solo piano, and one for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz. Other numbers we hear in the production by the Ballet of Armenia include the “Dance of the Rose Maidens,” characterized by its catchy tune in the woodwinds; the fiery “Lezghinka”; the “Shalakho,” with its constantly shifting, irregular metrical patterns; and the gentle, exotically-tinged “Uzundara”.

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Excerpts from Spartacus (1950-1954/1958/1968)

Variation of Aegina and Bacchanalia (with Coda) Scene and Dance with Crotales Dance of a Greek Slave Dance of an Egyptian Girl Martial Dance of Three of Spartacus’ Warriors Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia Adagio of Aegina and Crassus Dance of the Gaditanian Maidens and Victory of Spartacus

The Background

Khachaturian completed the score for Spartacus in 1954, but in this form it was never produced. The first production was finally given on 27 December 1956 in Leningrad in the first of Spartacus’ several revisions. It was again presented in 1958 in a further revision. But the production that brought it worldwide fame was that of 1968 by the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, in a completely new version with choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. In this form it has become one of the most successful Russian ballets of recent times. The score won Khachaturian the Lenin Prize in 1959; only two other composers (Prokofiev and Shostakovich) had been granted such an honour. Concertgoers today are more likely to be familiar with Spartacus through the epic film starring Kirk Douglas (1960) with a score by Alex North, but the storyline is essentially the same. It revolves around the title character, a Thracian brought to Rome as a slave and trained as a gladiator by the cruel and corrupt Roman general Marcus Crassus in the first century before Christ. Spartacus instigates revolt among the slaves and presents a formidable challenge to the Roman legions before his forces are finally overwhelmed.

The Music

Even before the first staged production in 1956 Khachaturian had begun arranging numbers from the complete score into orchestral suites. Over the course of several years he created four suites totaling twenty numbers. Six of the eight numbers danced for us by the Ballet of Armenia are contained within these suites. The first introduces us to Aegina, the power-hungry, conniving, nefarious concubine of Crassus. She dances alone, seductively, alluringly, to the waltz rhythm; the number closes with a bit of a general dance (Bacchanalia) for the crowd at one of Crassus’ many feasts and orgies. The next dance is accompanied by crotalums, which are a kind of clapper or castanet used in religious dances in Ancient Greece and other Mediterranean cultures. A pair of highly contrasting dances follows – the first for a Greek Slave, fiery and dramatic (somewhat akin to Gayané’s “Sabre Dance”), the second for an Egyptian Girl, languid and sensual. After another spirited dance of martial character, we settle in for two

extended Adagios. The first of these is the most famous passage in the whole score. Here, the romantic heart of the ballet, Spartacus and his beautiful wife Phrygia, also a slave, enjoy a rare moment together. The music – alternately tender, warmly fervent and languorously beautiful – glistens in a thousand colours as it rises to a passionate climax. Another Adagio portrays the ballet’s other couple, Crassus and Aegina, whose lustful relationship stands in stark contrast to the true love of Spartacus and Phrygia. The “Dance of the Gaditanian Maidens” is set to to a gently swaying rhythm, then, for the “Victory of Spartacus,” turns into music that thrillingly portrays ancient Rome in all its decadent, barbaric splendour in the “Victory of Spartacus”.

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Formerly a horn player in the Montreal Symphony, Robert Markow now writes programme notes for that orchestra and for many other musical organizations in North America and Asia. He taught at Montreal’s McGill University for many years, has led music tours abroad, and writes for many leading classical music journals, including American Record Guide, Fanfare, Opera, Opera News, The Strad and Symphony. He travels regularly to Europe, Asia and Australia in search of musical stimulation.

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Note: Sectional string players are rotated within their sections. *Extra musician.

RESIDENT CONDUCTORNaohisa Furusawa

FIRST VIOLINCo-ConcertmasterPeter DanišPrincipalMing GohCo-PrincipalZhenzhen Liang

Runa BaagöeMaho DanišMiroslav DanišEvgeny KaplanMartijn NoomenSherwin ThiaMarcel AndriesiiTan Ka MingPetia AtanasovaIkuko Takahashi*Marco Roosink

SECOND VIOLINSection PrincipalTimothy PetersAssistant PrincipalLuisa Hyams

Catalina AlvarezChia-Nan HungAnastasia KiselevaStefan KocsisLing YunzhiIonut MazareanuYanbo ZhaoAi JinRobert Kopelman

VIOLACo-PrincipalGábor Mokány

Ong Lin KernSun YuanThian Ai WenFan RanEmil Csonka*Ian Psegodschi*Nicholas Tomkin

CELLOCo-PrincipalCsaba KörösAssistant PrincipalSteven RetallickSub-PrincipalMátyás Major

Gerald DavisJulie DessureaultLaurentiu GhermanElizabeth Tan SuyinSejla Simon

DOUBLE BASSSection PrincipalWolfgang Steike

Raffael BietenhaderJun-Hee ChaeNaohisa FurusawaJohn KennedyFoo Yin HongAndreas Dehner

FLUTESection Principal*Jessica Jade HanCo-PrincipalYukako YamamotoSub-PrincipalRachel Jenkyns

PICCOLOPrincipalSonia Croucher

OBOESection PrincipalSimon EmesCo-Principal*Joshua OatesSub-PrincipalNiels Dittmann

CLARINETSection PrincipalGonzalo EstebanCo-PrincipalDavid Dias da SilvaSub-PrincipalMatthew Larsen

BASS CLARINETPrincipalChris Bosco

ALTO SAXOPHONEMatthew Styles

BASSOONSection PrincipalAlexandar LenkovSub-Principal*Denis Plangger

CONTRABASSOONPrincipalVladimir Stoyanov

HORNSection PrincipalsGrzegorz Curyla*Anton SchroederCo-PrincipalJames SchumacherSub-PrincipalsLaurence Davies*Barkin SönmezerAssistant PrincipalSim Chee Ghee

TRUMPETSection Principal*Douglas CarlsenCo-PrincipalWilliam TheisSub-PrincipalJeffrey MissalAssistant Principal*Matthew Dampsey

TROMBONESection Principal*Alejandro Diaz PinedaCo-PrincipalFernando BorjaSub-Principal*Ian Maser

BASS TROMBONEPrincipal*Elijah Cornish

TUBASection Principal*Caleb Adams

TIMPANISection PrincipalMatthew Thomas

PERCUSSIONSection PrincipalMatthew PrendergastSub-PrincipalsJoshua Vonderheide*Sabela Caridad Garcia* Tan Su Yin

HARPPrincipalTan Keng Hong

PIANOAkiko Daniš

Dewan Filharmonik PeTronaS

ChieF eXeCUTiVe oFFiCerNor Raina Yeong Abdullah

BUSineSS DeVeloPmenTWan Yuzaini Wan Yahya At Ziafrizani Chek PaNurartikah IlyasKartini Ratna Sari Ahmat AdamAishah Sarah Ismail Affendee

markeTinG Yazmin Lim AbdullahHisham Abdul JalilMunshi Ariff Abu HassanFarah Diyana IsmailNoor Sarul Intan SalimMuhammad Shahrir AizatAhmad Kusolehin Adha Kamaruddin

CUSTomer relaTionShiPmanaGemenTAsmahan AbdullahJalwati Mohd Noor

mUSiC TalenT DeVeloPmenT &manaGemenTSoraya Mansor

PlanninG, FinanCe & iTMohd Hakimi Mohd RosliNorhisham Abd RahmanSiti Nur Ilyani Ahmad FadzillahNurfharah Farhana Hashimi

ProCUremenT & ConTraCTLogiswary RamanNorhaszilawati Zainudin

hUman reSoUrCe manaGemenT & aDminiSTraTionSharhida SaadMuknoazlida MukhadzimNor Afidah NordinNik Nurul Nadia Nik Abdullah

TeChniCal oPeraTionSFiroz KhanMohd Zamir Mohd IsaShahrul Rizal Mohd AliDayan Erwan MaharalZolkarnain Sarman

malaySian PhilharmoniC orCheSTra

ChieF eXeCUTiVe oFFiCerNor Raina Yeong Abdullah

General manaGerKhor Chin YangSoraya Mansor

General manaGer'S oFFiCeTimmy Ong

arTiSTiC aDminiSTraTion/ orCheSTra manaGemenT/ malaySian PhilharmoniC yoUThorCheSTraAhmad Muriz Che RoseSharon Francis LihanFadilah Kamal FrancisShireen Jasin Mokhtar

mUSiC liBraryOng Li-HueyWong Seong Seong

eDUCaTion & oUTreaChShafrin SabriShireen Jasin Mokhtar

MAKE-UP SPONSORPARTNER HOTELSCORPORATE SUITE CLUB MEMBERS

CORPORATE SUITE PREMIUM MEMBERS

PRINCIPAL DONOR

Box Office:Ground Floor, Tower 2,

PETRONAS Twin TowersKuala Lumpur City Centre

50088 Kuala Lumpur

Email: boxoffice@dfp.com.my

Telephone: 603 - 2331 7007

Online Tickets & Info: mpo.com.my

malaysianphilharmonicorchestra

DEWAN FILHARMONIK PETRONAS – 462692-XMALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – 463127-H