INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITALLOUIS LORTIE IN RECITALMonday 13 April

PETER SERKIN IN RECITALMonday 18 May

YUJA WANG IN RECITALMonday 13 July

KIRILL GERSTEIN IN RECITALMonday 17 August

2015 SEASON

PRESENTED BY THEME & VARIATIONS PIANO SERVICES

LOUIS LORTIEplays Fauré, Scriabin and Chopin Monday 13 April PAGE 5

PETER SERKINplays early keyboard music and music by Nielsen, Reger, Mozart and Beethoven Monday 18 May PAGE 13

YUJA WANGplays Chopin, Scriabin and Balakirev Monday 13 July PAGE 21

KIRILL GERSTEINplays Bartók, Bach and Liszt Monday 17 August PAGE 29

2015 concert season

Program Contents

INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITALpresented by theme & variations piano services at city recital hall angel place

This program book for International Pianists in Recital contains notes for all four recitals in the 2015 series. Copies will be available at every performance, but we invite you to keep your program and bring it with you to each recital. Please share with your companion.

PRESENTING PARTNER

WELCOME

Dear Music Lovers

We are proud to present the SSO’s International Pianists in Recital series for

2015 with another impressive variety of pianists. It is with pride and delight

that we welcome these fine musicians to the City Recital Hall Stage.

At Theme & Variations Piano Services, we believe that to access all the

possibilities of tone, colour and dynamics, a top-quality well-prepared

instrument is paramount. Specialising in tuning, servicing and restoration

for 30 years, we are well practised in what is required to make these

possibilities a reality. It is a privilege for us to help make this happen with

a Steinway & Sons Model D-274 concert grand piano.

This year marks the 131st anniversary of the Steinway Model D-274 concert

grand. This has been the chosen vehicle in which many of the great piano

virtuosos of the past have made their legendary recordings, so it is no

surprise that it continues to be the instrument of choice for the majority

of the world’s concert pianists.

Three decades on, 2015 also marks the 30th anniversary for Theme &

Variations in servicing, restoring and piano sales. With an experienced and

highly qualified team dedicated to bringing the best out of every piano,

we are honoured to be the technicians of choice for many major schools,

venues and institutions.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty that can emerge from the Steinway

in the hands of great pianists. I look forward to enjoying these performances

with you and congratulate the Sydney Symphony Orchestra once again for

bringing together such fine, inspirational musicians.

Ara Vartoukian Director and Concert Technician

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2015 concert season

INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITAL PRESENTED BY THEME & VARIATIONS MONDAY 13 APRIL, 7PM

CITY RECITAL HALL ANGEL PLACE

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LOUIS LORTIE IN RECITALGABRIEL FAURÉ (1845–1924) Préludes, Op.103

ALEXANDER SCRIABIN (1872–1915) 24 Preludes, Op.11

INTERVAL

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–1849) 24 Préludes, Op.28

ABC Classic FM will record the Melbourne presentation of this recital for broadcast on Sunday 26 April at 5pm.

Pre-concert talk by Scott Davie at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception Room. Visit sydneysymphony.com/talk-bios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 26 minutes, 29 minutes, 20-minute interval, 33 minutes The recital will conclude at approximately 9pm.

PRESENTING PARTNER

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

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French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie studied in Montreal with Yvonne Hubert (a pupil of Alfred Cortot), and later with Beethoven specialist Dieter Weber in Vienna and with Schnabel disciple Leon Fleisher. He made his debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra at the age of 13. Three years later, his first appearance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra led to an historic tour of the People’s Republic of China and Japan. In 1984 he won First Prize in the Busoni Competition and was a prizewinner at the Leeds Competition. In 1992 he was named Officer of the Order of Canada, and received both the Order of Quebec and an honorary doctorate from Université Laval.

He has performed with such conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Sanderling, Neeme Järvi, Andrew Davis, Wolfgang Sawallisch and Mark Elder. As pianist and conductor with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, he has performed all the Beethoven and Mozart piano concertos. He is also actively involved in chamber music projects, including upcoming tours with Augustin Dumay, and with his regular piano-duo partner Hélène Mercier.

As a solo recitalist he has performed complete Beethoven sonata cycles at London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and the Sala Grande in Milan. He presented the complete piano works of Ravel in London and Montreal for the BBC and CBC, and is renowned for his performances of the complete Chopin etudes. He marked the bicentenary of Liszt’s birth in 2011 with performances of the complete Years of Pilgrimage, and returned to Carnegie Hall last year to perform the cycle there.

This season he appears with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, with Charles Dutoit and the Chicago Symphony, the Krakow Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and San Diego Symphony. He also performs recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and in Vienna, Berlin, Calgary and Brussels as well as in Melbourne. Several of these recitals feature preludes of Scriabin, the centenary of whose death occurs in 2015.

Louis Lortie’s most recent recital appearance for the SSO was in 2005, when he played an all-Chopin program. Last week he performed Franck and Mozart with Yan Pascal Tortelier.

Louis Lortiepiano

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

As the word ‘prelude’ denotes something that comes before, tonight’s program may appear like an eternal introduction, one perhaps never arriving at that being introduced. This perpetual preluding draws our attention to the form and its divergent meanings. ‘Preluding’ was the artful means of improvising a short introduction to a composition, whether to subtly change tonalities, prepare a new mood, or to become acquainted with an unfamiliar instrument. This ad libitum approach to performance lasted into the 20th century, and would have been known to the three composers whose music we hear tonight.

Yet the word also refers to a fully composed work, perhaps best exemplified in the ‘attached’ models of JS Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues, works which were, coincidentally, well known to Frédéric Chopin. While Chopin was not the first 19th-century composer to revive the notion of a cycle of preludes in all major and minor keys – that credit goes to Hummel – his exceptional contribution has stood as a model for composers as diverse as Alkan, Busoni, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. As a form, it has been especially attractive to pianist-composers, offering the broadest range of musical narratives while favouring simple, quasi-improvisatory structures. The only restriction appears to be brevity yet, as this program demonstrates, the possibilities are endless.

Unlike his more famous collections of piano works – his Nocturnes and Barcarolles – Gabriel Faure’s composition of the Nine Preludes, Op.103 did not traverse his long career; they were rather written late in life and within a short period. As in his youth – when time for composing was compromised by the necessity of menial work – restrictions again arose after his elevation to the directorship of the Paris Conservatoire in 1905. As a countermeasure, from 1909 he travelled each year to Lake Lugano, in the Swiss Canton of Ticino, for a three-month summer break, where the initial priority was the completion of an opera, Pénélope. But he was also contractually obliged to compose short piano works for his publisher, and in 1910 he set about completing his set of preludes, three of which had been performed earlier that year. Like much of his later music, dark themes pervade, offering glimpses of what Bryce Morrison refers to as ‘private passion and isolation, alternating anger and resignation, volatility and introspection’. Fauré’s letters to his wife indicate that he was tormented by the realisation of a worsening hearing disorder, noting that after completing the

PreludesNote by Scott Davie

FAURÉ Préludes, Op.103

1. Andante molto moderato, D flat major 2. Allegro, C sharp minor 3. Andante, G minor 4. Allegretto moderato, F major 5. Allegro, D minor 6. Andante, E flat minor 7. Andante moderato, A major 8. Allegro, C minor 9. Adagio, E minor

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fifth prelude the sound from the middle register of the piano came to him as if from far away, while the extremes of the keyboard were an ‘unintelligible racket’.

The opening prelude is lyrically beguiling and, despite the harmonic surge of a central episode, it is tranquilly resolved. Through torrents of leggierissimo semiquavers, a 5/4 time signature gives an unsteady momentum to the second prelude, yet after descending into deep murmurings it fades gently away. The third begins with ominous insistence, its simple motif restated in diverse keys; the music at times builds into a passionate refrain, yet is drawn back to its meditation. The folk-like melody of the fourth prelude exudes light and freedom, while in the subsequent work an initial restlessness is resolved through an unexpected transformation at the end. Reflecting the composer’s academic training in counterpoint, the sixth prelude contains three simple voices, moving with complete independence until the final, wide-spaced chords. The seventh prelude forms a welcome pianistic contrast, despite numerous abrupt turns of harmony and melody, while the staccato moto perpetuo of the penultimate prelude momentarily conjures a waltz in its gentle lilt, a favoured form of the composer’s most successful student, Maurice Ravel. The collection closes with a desolate work, its increasingly insistent counterpoint falling achingly short of its goal, yet finding peace in the warm sonority of the final bars.

Portrait of Fauré by John Singer Sargent, 1889.

‘I am working constantly on my preludes and am almost at the end of number five (the second one here). …My health seems to improve with the effects of the climate, but I still have some most unpleasant sensations of deafness at times. It comes and goes for no apparent reason!’FAURÉ TO MARIE FAURÉ, LUGANO, 27 JULY 1910

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If Fauré’s preludes may be seen as mature reflections on life, the 24 Preludes, Op.11 by Alexander Scriabin are brilliant flashes of youth. The set owes its existence to a fortuitous friendship between the composer and the wealthy timber merchant and publisher, Mitrofan Belyayev, who acquired exclusive rights to Scriabin’s music in 1894. To encourage and increase Scriabin’s output, the following year he wagered the composer to produce a set of 48 preludes. Yet the period also witnessed Scriabin’s first excursions to Europe and, perhaps unsurprisingly for a young man, their letters reveal growing tensions, which took the form of stubbornness and an unwillingness to submit to a deadline. Accordingly, Belyayev was left to publish this initial group of 24. Despite lengthy correspondence regarding their potential ordering, they follow the pattern of related major and minor keys established by Chopin, cycling up through tonalities with sharps and down through those with flats.

The opening prelude dates from 1893, and is one of only four which predate Belyayev’s involvement, the others being the remarkably assured fourth (written in 1888 at age 16), the virtuosic sixth (1889) and the tenth, which was completed early in 1894. By far, the majority date from 1895 and cover a striking range of styles, such as a sad mazurka (No.2), displays of extrovert pianism (Nos. 7, 11 and 20), or exploration of more lyrical forms (Nos. 9 and 13). Even at this early stage, Scriabin’s innovative streak is evident, whether through the stating of an entire accompaniment passage before introducing a theme (No.15), or the rapid alternation between five and four beats per bar (No.16). Similarly, in the forlorn B flat major prelude (No.21), almost every bar is assigned a different time signature.

Those preludes composed during the European adventure of 1895 are vibrant postcards of travel, three being from Heidelberg (Nos. 3, 19 and 24), four from Vitznau in Switzerland (Nos. 12, 17, 18 and 24), while in Dresden the sight of a turbulent river inspired the furious prelude in E flat minor (No.14), written in the unusual time signature of 15/8. Only three date from 1896: the prelude in D major (No.5), written in Amsterdam, and two (Nos. 8 and 22) composed in Paris, a city where the composer discovered full independence for the first time.

As with the works of Fauré and Scriabin, Chopin’s set of 24 Preludes, Op.28 are the product of travel. In late 1838, the composer was persuaded to join Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin (better known by her penname, George Sand) and her children on a winter vacation in Majorca, the warmer Mediterranean clime better suiting her rheumatic son, Maurice. However, the three-month sojourn proved disastrous: it rained much of the time, further straining Chopin’s already frail health, and – for

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SCRIABIN 24 Preludes, Op.11

1. Vivace, C major 2. Allegretto, A minor 3. Vivo, G major 4. Lento, E minor 5. Andante cantabile, D major 6. Allegro, B minor 7. Allegro assai, A major 8. Allegro agitato, F sharp minor 9. Andantino, E major 10. Andante, C sharp minor 11. Allegro assai, B major 12. Andante, G flat minor 13. Lento, G flat major 14. Presto, E flat minor 15. Lento, D flat major 16. Misterioso, B flat minor 17. Allegretto, A flat major 18. Allegro agitato, F minor 19. Affettuoso, E flat major 20. Appassionato, C minor 21. Andante, B flat minor 22. Lento, G minor 23. Vivo, F major 24. Presto, D minor

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an artist renowned for his refined taste – poor planning resulted in exceptionally inadequate accommodation.

Initially, Chopin’s spirits had been high – he wrote to Julian Fontana of the joy of ‘palms, cedars, cacti, olives and pomegranates’, indicating to his friend that he would ‘soon receive some Preludes’. While the early date of the letter has been construed as evidence the pieces were previously sketched, most believe they owe their existence to this Iberian foray. After various lodgings around the capital, Palma, they found refuge in a deconsecrated monastery in the mountain village of Valldemossa. There, in sparsely furnished, unheated rooms, Chopin worked on a crude upright pianino, all the while anticipating the arrival of a fine grand piano from Paris. Ironically, it would arrive only days before his departure.

The first prelude, in C major, is a study in simplicity, taking the form of a succinct, single phrase, while the second is darkly complex, its dissonance a curious example of early modernism. The pairing of related keys reflects contrast on a deeper emotional level, as with the bright, nimble G major prelude and the plaintive melody of the subsequent piece, its slow melodic

CHOPIN 24 Préludes, Op.28

1. Agitato, C major 2. Lento, A minor 3. Vivace, G major 4. Largo, E minor 5. Molto allegro, D major 6. Lento assai, B minor 7. Andantino, A major 8. Molto agitato, F sharp minor 9. Largo, E major 10. Molto allegro, C sharp minor 11. Vivace, B major 12. Presto, G sharp minor 13. Lento, F sharp major 14. Allegro, E flat minor 15. Sostenuto (Raindrop), D flat major 16. Presto con fuoco, B flat minor 17. Allegretto, A flat major 18. Molto allegro, C minor 19. Vivace, E flat major 20. Largo, C minor 21. Cantabile, B flat major 22. Molto agitato, G minor 23. Moderato, F major 24. Allegro appassionato, D minor

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A portrait by George Sand, said by Chopin to be the most accurate likeness of him ever done.

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descent shadowed by rich harmonisation. The fifth prelude is epigrammatically brief, yet balanced by the brooding left-hand melody of the B minor prelude (the repeated notes in the accompaniment perhaps suggesting rain). Similarly, the apothegmatic seventh prelude contrasts with its pair, a work of extended dynamic passion. The ninth prelude is characterised by a duet of melodies, while its C sharp minor counterpart consists of a short series of descending right-hand arabesques. While not the briefest on paper – Nos. 7 and 20 stretch only to a few bars – this and the following B major prelude typically require the least time to play. With patterns of slurred duplets, the virtuosic prelude in G sharp minor creates an air of agitation, the restive mood calmed by the nocturne-like 13th. Given the similarity to the final movement of Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’ Sonata (completed in 1839), its counterpart prelude in E flat minor could be seen as a preliminary sketch.

Despite comparable patterns in other preludes, No.15 is famously regarded as the ‘raindrop’, illustrating Sand’s account of returning with her children to the monastery after an evening stroll, a fierce storm having delayed them. Chopin, convinced of their demise, was found at the piano with a new work, its repeated notes echoing the mesmerising fall of rain. The following prelude immediately dispels the scene; marked con fuoco (with fire), it is a bravura show of pianism.

As the cycle progresses, extended forms are more frequently encountered, as with the prelude in A flat major, its agreeable mood unremarkable save for insistent bass notes on the final page. The volatile drama of the brief F minor prelude is operatic in its tone, while the following prelude can be a challenge for pianists, the upper melody picked out by constant, fast-moving leaps. Its jovial spirit is broken by a stern work of simple construction, the repeated phrases of the C minor prelude stated at ever decreasing volume. The prelude in B flat major is again nocturne-like in form, while its mood is dispelled by furious double octaves in the subsequent work. The penultimate prelude again adheres to the pattern of corresponding light and dark, its final F major sonority containing a seemingly misplaced E flat. The note teases the ear, but any expectation of pleasant resolution is dashed by the most powerful prelude of the set, a stormy evocation which is ultimately overwhelmed by cascading scales that push at the limit of the keyboard. Whatever Chopin planned for the final moments we cannot know, as the bars are firmly crossed out in the manuscript, yet the three implacable low Ds which stand in their place bring the cycle to a powerfully resolute, yet simultaneously disquieting, close.

SCOTT DAVIE © 2015

‘I am in Palma, among palms, cedars, cacti, olives, pomegranates, etc. Everything the Jardins des Plantes has in its greenhouses. A sky like turquoise, a sea like lapis lazuli, mountains like emerald, air like heaven…’CHOPIN TO JULIAN FONTANA, MAJORCA, 19 NOVEMBER 1838

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2015 concert season

INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITAL PRESENTED BY THEME & VARIATIONS MONDAY 18 MAY, 7PM

CITY RECITAL HALL ANGEL PLACE

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PETER SERKIN IN RECITALCHARLES WUORINEN (born 1938) after Josquin (died 1521) Ave Christe – recast for solo piano

JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK (1562–1621) Capriccio

Four pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book:

JOHN BULL (1562/63–1628) Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la A Gigge

JOHN DOWLAND (1563–1626) set by Byrd Pavana Lachrymæ

WILLIAM BYRD (died 1623) La Volta

CARL NIELSEN (1865–1931) Theme with Variations, Op.40

INTERVAL

MAX REGER (1873–1916) Three Pieces Aus meinem Tagebuch, Op.82

Book I No.5 Moderato Book I No.2 Adagio Book II No.10 Scherzando e vivace

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791) Rondo in A minor, K511

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109

This recital will be recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic FM on Friday 22 May. Check daily listings on www.abc.net.au/classic for the exact time.

Pre-concert talk by David Garrett at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception  Room. Visit sydneysymphony.com/talk-bios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 22 minutes, 18 minutes, 20-minute interval, 9 minutes, 11 minutes, 20 minutes The recital will conclude at approximately 9pm.

PRESENTING PARTNER

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Recognised as an artist of passion and integrity, distinguished American pianist Peter Serkin has successfully conveyed the essence of five centuries of repertoire in inspired performances with symphony orchestras, recital appearances, chamber music collaborations and recordings.

His rich musical heritage extends back several generations: his grandfather was violinist and composer Adolf Busch and his father pianist Rudolf Serkin. He has performed with the world’s major symphony orchestras with such eminent conductors as Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, Alexander Schneider, Daniel Barenboim, George Szell, Claudio Abbado, Eugene Ormandy, Simon Rattle, James Levine, Herbert Blomstedt, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and George Cleve. Also a dedicated chamber musician, he has collaborated with Alexander Schneider, Pamela Frank, Yo-Yo Ma, the Budapest, Guarneri, Orion and Shanghai string quartets and TASHI, of which he was a founding member.

An avid exponent of many 20th-century and contemporary composers, Peter Serkin has been instrumental in bringing to life the music of Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Wolpe, Messiaen, Takemitsu, Henze, Berio, Wuorinen, Goehr, Knussen and Lieberson to audiences around the world, and he has premiered many important works that were written specifically for him.

In the 2014–15 season his concerto appearances include Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.19 with the San Francisco, Chicago and Dallas symphony orchestras and Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 with the Florida Orchestra. In April 2015, he gives the premiere of a new piano concerto from Pulitzer Prize- and MacArthur Fellowship-winning composer Charles Wuorinen, with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Mattias Pintscher. In addition to Sydney, he gives solo recitals in Brisbane, New York and New Haven at Yale University, joins the Orion String Quartet in music by Brahms, Dvořák, Reger and Schoenberg (arranged by Webern) at the Ravinia and Toronto Summer Music Festivals and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and enjoys collaborations with cellist Fred Sherry and pianist Julia Hsu. Recent summer festival appearances have included the BBC Proms, Tanglewood, Aldeburgh, Chautauqua and Denmark’s Oremandsgaard Festival. Last week he performed Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto with the SSO and Matthias Pintscher.

Peter Serkin currently teaches at Bard College Conservatory of Music and the Longy School of Music.

Peter Serkinpiano

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Early Keyboard PiecesThe music of Johann Sebastian Bach has an unassailable place in the modern recital repertoire. Occasionally the harpsichord music of his Baroque contemporaries finds its way onto a program. But tonight Peter Serkin delves further into the past than concert pianists are usually inclined to go, mining the riches of the late Renaissance and ingeniously adapting this music to the sound of the modern Steinway.

The first adaptation comes from American composer Charles Wuorinen. He has taken the four-voice motet, ‘Ave Christe, immolate’, generally attributed to Josquin, and recast it for piano. This is not a virtuoso showpiece in the tradition of Busoni’s Bach transcriptions; Wuorinen deftly presents the music with simple octave doublings and changes of register for a chorale-like effect.

The following piece, a Capriccio attributed to Dutch organist Sweelinck, raises the stakes with what would have been astonishing chromaticism. The piece begins by stepping down in the right hand, semitone by semitone, then up in the left hand and down again in the right, providing the starting point for an elaborate fugue in three voices.

The remaining pieces in this group come from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, a massive volume of Elizabethan keyboard music containing nearly 300 pieces covering the period 1550–1620. This collection ranges from fantasias and sets of variations to dance pieces and arrangements of madrigals, demonstrating an impressive level of musical invention and technical skill.

John Bull follows Sweelinck’s Capriccio with a fantasia on a hexachord (Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la), outlined in the sustained opening notes of the right hand. The notes themselves are the first six notes of what we would think of as a major scale. Bull’s approach surpasses Sweelinck’s chromaticism in its boldness. He begins his hexachord on the note G, then on A, B, C sharp (or rather D flat) and so on, stepping up a full tone each time. By the time he reaches B, he has already entered a tonal realm that would have been considered highly eccentric, with four of the six notes being played on ‘black keys’. And eventually he must bring this musical experiment home!

Doctor Bull then provides relief from his harmonic windings with a straightforward, skipping Gigge. You may tap your toes.

Possibly the most famous of the numbers in this selection is William Byrd’s elaborate set of variations on John Dowland’s Pavana Lachrymæ, an instrumental version of his song ‘Flow my tears’. It was a hit tune of the day, not only did Dowland make versions of it for lute, viol consort and so on, there are three settings in the Fitzwilliam book. Musically it is a pavan, a dance that advances and retires with utmost simplicity and

WUORINEN after Josquin Ave Christe – recast for solo piano

SWEELINCK Capriccio

BULL Ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la A Gigge

DOWLAND set by Byrd Pavana Lachrymæ

BYRD La Volta

Vermeer: A young woman seated at the Virginals, 1670–72

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

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Charles Wuorinen

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gravity – all the better to show off elaborate gowns and robes.The set ends with Byrd’s La Volta, a variant on the galliard

featuring high leaps and whirling steps for couples in close embrace. According to one story the dance acquired respectability but lost none of its notoriety after Queen Elizabeth I danced it with the Earl of Leicester.

Nielsen’s Theme with VariationsCarl Nielsen (1865–1931) is Denmark’s most famous composer. But during his lifetime he was little-known outside Scandinavia and it wasn’t until the 1950s that his extraordinary symphonies began to attract interest in English-speaking countries. As for his piano works, some of these were still receiving country premieres in the 1970s.

The Theme with Variations (Op.40, premiered in 1917) counts among Nielsen’s most important piano works, together with the Suite (Op.45) and Chaconne (Op.32). He was accomplished at the piano but it was not his main instrument – perhaps as a result the interest in his piano writing lies not in idiomatic virtuosity but in the distinctive treatment of texture and harmony.

The original theme emerged as Nielsen was improvising around piano pieces by Brahms. It has a chorale-like character, devotional in mood. But in one respect the theme is not like Brahms: it begins in B minor and ends in G minor. Although a modulation like this has all the signs of aimless noodling, it was a deliberate ploy on the part of the composer: ‘so it follows that whenever a new variation begins, one is refreshed even by the new key (B minor). Variation works can, I think, often seem

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monotonous in tonal respects, something avoided in this manner.’

There are 15 variations in total. At first they show the influence of Nielsen’s historical models such as Brahms’s great sets of variations and the contrapuntal techniques of Bach. But there are also parallels with Max Reger’s music, which Nielsen admired very much. Nielsen recognised that Reger sought, as he did himself, ‘a strong and confident form’ and that he handled tonal relationships entirely freely.

Nielsen’s attitude towards the emerging modernist style of the 20th century was ambivalent. He once told a friend: ‘We should once and for all see about getting away from keys, but still remain diatonically convincing.’ The ancient principles of counterpoint – the weaving of melodic lines through horizontal musical space – allowed him to distance himself from younger modernists. At the same time, contrapuntal writing gave him the means for often dramatically dissonant combinations of voices. In the final minutes of the Theme with Variations, at the climax, the music threatens to break apart and collapse, a fate just avoided as Nielsen brings the music to ‘an ordinary ending’ in keeping with the theme and its simple structure.

Musical discoveriesPeter Serkin points out that new discoveries don’t always have to be recent music…

‘I’ve always been very interested in music that’s being written today and in recent music. That was true even as a child, when that was somewhat discouraged.…Now I think I’m more inclined to be open to all kinds of music that I might have dismissed as a younger snob. I don’t feel as snobbish anymore…’

Nielsen’s Theme with Variations from this program is an example of such a discovery. ‘It just happened. Maybe it was in Denmark, actually, hearing some Nielsen, and speaking with maestro [Herbert] Blomstedt, who’s very keen on Nielsen and began telling me about the piano works. And then I just sent out for it.’ It turned out to be ‘a beautiful work, well worth doing’ and yet it’s not very often played.

Along the same lines: ‘there’s a set of variations by Bizet, Variations chromatiques, that’s also very bold and fascinating to me, though I don’t have plans to perform it.…And there are some Stravinsky etudes, early works, which are brilliant – and not often played, which I don’t understand. I thought I’d take those on, as well as some pieces by Max Reger that I like very much. So not recent pieces in those cases, but ones that are a little bit lesser known, and that I’m very keen to play for people.’

Quotes from an interview with Richard Scheinin (2012)

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From Reger’s DiaryAs with the Nielsen Theme with Variations, these pieces by Max Reger (1873–1916) represent a part of the repertoire that’s neglected in modern recital programming but which Peter Serkin takes delight in sharing with audiences. In the case of Reger’s music there is also something of a family tradition: both Serkin’s father Rudolf and his grandfather, violinist Adolf Busch, championed Reger’s music in their concerts (Busch had known the composer personally). Among the programs, for example, that Rudolf Serkin offered to American promoters for the 1937–38 season is one with three pieces from Reger’s collection Aus meinem Tagebuch, a gesture that Rudolf’s biographer characterises as ‘wholly Serkin’.

The first book in the collection dates from 1904 and was composed as respite following Reger’s work on the magnificent Bach Variations (Op.81), allowing him to pour his ‘other musical soul’ into 12 character pieces of tremendous eloquence as well as popular appeal.

Despite the enthusiasm of his advocates, Reger tends to be known primarily as an organist and as a composer with a ‘heavy’ Germanic style. (The New Oxford Companion to Music quotes the phrase ‘turgid contrapuntist’ while also suggesting that it is beginning to lose currency.) If that’s the picture you have of Reger – or if you know him only for his quip about sitting in the smallest room of the house with a critic’s review in hand – From My Diary goes a long way to counter it.

An admirer of Bach and Brahms, Reger believed in ‘absolute’, non-narrative musical genres, and it’s worth noting that the pieces in Op.82 aren’t given picturesque titles. They shift between lyrical and tender ‘mood’ pieces and more energetic or dance-like numbers (such as Book I No.5, which has at times been dubbed ‘Gavotte’), but they aren’t overburdened with meaning. Reger avoids extremes and excess. Instead the music is concise, balanced and transparent. And Helmut Brauss in his study of Reger’s solo piano music claims: ‘The increasing economy in his compositional technique is certainly a result of his intensified encounter with Mozart’s music.’

Mozart’s Rondo in A minor, K511 The standalone rondo of the Classical period was, more often than not, a substitute finale for a sonata or concerto. Mozart’s spirited Rondo in D for piano and orchestra (K382) is one such piece, calculated for popular appeal. But not this rondo: K511 is a ruminative Andante, languid and introspective. It adopts a gently rocking siciliano rhythm for its principal theme and even as the tension mounts with increasingly rhapsodic

REGER Aus meinem Tagebuch (From my Diary)

I/5 Moderato I/2 Adagio II/10 Scherzando e vivace

Reger at the organ, 1913

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embellishments and contrasts of minor and major, there is a always sense of restraint.

When Artur Schnabel, one of its 20th-century champions, recorded K511 in 1946, The Record Guide characterised it as ‘one of the most mysterious and personal of all Mozart’s works, the most forward-looking and romantic’. It was, by 18th-century standards, a ‘difficult’ piece, the kind of music that caused publishers to hesitate. But its emotional range – that Romantic spirit suggestive of Chopin – is precisely what gives it contemporary appeal.

The Rondo in A minor was completed on 11 March 1787. Earlier in the year Mozart had enjoyed tremendous success in Prague, leaving him euphoric and with 1000 gulden and a contract for a new opera (Don Giovanni) in hand. By February he was back in Vienna and, although he had no concerts of his own planned, he was busily composing. Over the course of the next six months he also completed two string quintets, a sonata for piano duet, a violin sonata (K526, another ‘difficult’ work), scenes and arias for friends, A Musical Joke and the all-too-famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik serenade.

There’s no record of why Mozart composed this unusual rondo, or any of the other instrumental works from that time. So it’s tempting, given its deeply personal quality, to attribute a circumstantial motivation to the music. One famous conductor has even floated a theory about Mozart only writing in A minor after the deaths of his parents or in anticipation of his own, although in the case of K511 his chronology is off. If anything in Mozart’s personal life influenced the mood of this Rondo, it was illness and receding finances: despite the 1000 gulden, by April the family had moved to a cheaper apartment.

YVONNE FRINDLE

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA © 2015

Beethoven’s Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109In the last years of Beethoven’s life from 1820 he wrote the Ninth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis, the Diabelli Variations and the five last string quartets. And for his beloved piano, he composed the three last sonatas, of which this Sonata in E major was the first to be completed. The themes of the principal melodies of its three movements are subtly linked, a process he was also to follow in the next sonata, Op.110.

The first movement is an interesting exploration of sonata form: the first melody in the vivace tempo suggests more than one voice at the same time, and doesn’t last long enough for us to puzzle it out, before coming up against a brick wall marked Adagio espressivo. The shock is so great that we are almost

BEETHOVEN Sonata No.30

Vivace, ma non troppo –  Adagio espressivo – Tempo I Prestissimo Andante, molto cantabile ed espressivo. Gesangwoll mit innigster Empfindung [Songlike with deepest emotion]

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unable to follow the changes of both tempo and mood, and Beethoven continues into a cadenza of rhapsodic feeling, before returning to the relative sobriety of the first rhythm.

Relative it is, however, as Beethoven develops his first idea to lead to the climax of this movement, with widely spaced hands at either end of the keyboard. The second adagio is even more shocking because it rolls back the E major sonority of the previous section, and takes us far away. At the close, his melodic design actually crystallises into chords, before a last reference to the split notation of the opening.

The second movement is marked Prestissimo, but this does not prevent Beethoven from giving the pianist a great variety of dynamic instructions, some of which are difficult to carry out at great speed. There is no mistaking the vehemence of the main theme or its E minor key.

The theme of the third movement sets the stage for a series of variations. Beethoven asks us to play with innermost feeling, even using two languages to make his point. He also asks for mezza voce for the melody, which suggests he may have the sonority of a string quartet in mind, as is often the case in these last sonatas.

The variations themselves present a complex and satisfying analysis of the theme, sometimes enriching its melodic design (Variation 1), sometimes dividing the four parts into string pizzicati (Variation 2). Variation 3 is a two-part presto, and Variation 4 a three-part combination of theme and variation. There is also a fugal variation, where the voices make a canon, and finally in Variation 6 a return to the original theme, where Beethoven subjects it to mathematical progression in the accompaniment, from crotchets, to quavers, to triplets, to semiquavers, to demi-semi quavers, and finally to two pages of trills, which whirl us off into the ether while following the harmonic contours of the theme.

The movement ends with a re-statement of the theme, which, after such a wondrous voyage, no longer sounds the same as at the beginning of the movement.

The musical press reported on this sonata, saying that the new paths of the composer had now led him far above the hostility of the common herd, into a place where none could touch his superior spirit.

© STEPHEN McINTYRE

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2015 concert season

INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITAL PRESENTED BY THEME & VARIATIONS MONDAY 13 JULY, 7PM

CITY RECITAL HALL ANGEL PLACE

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YUJA WANG IN RECITALFRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810–1849) Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.35 (Funeral March)Grave – Doppio movimento. Agitato Scherzo Marche (Lento) Finale (Presto)

Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58Allegro maestoso Scherzo (molto vivace) Largo Finale (Presto non tanto)

INTERVAL

ALEXANDER SCRIABIN (1872–1915)

Prelude for the left hand, Op.9 No.1

Prelude in F sharp minor, Op.11 No.8

Fantasy in B minor, Op.28

Prelude in B flat minor, Op.37 No.1

2 Poèmes, Op.63No.2 Étrangeté (Strangeness) No.1 Masque (Mask)

Sonata No.9, Op.68, Black Mass

MILY BALAKIREV (1837–1910) Islamey – Oriental Fantasy, Op.18

This recital will be recorded for later broadcast on ABC Classic FM.

Pre-concert talk at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception Room. Visit sydneysymphony.com/talk-bios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 25 minutes, 24 minutes, 20-minute interval, 30 minutes, 9 minutes The recital will conclude at approximately 9.05pm.

PRESENTING PARTNER

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She performs Prokofiev’s Second Concerto with both the Berlin and Munich philharmonic orchestras, and returns to the Concertgebouw to work with Mariss Jansons. In March she was the featured soloist in the London Symphony Orchestra’s United States tour with Michael Tilson Thomas.

Her discography includes three sonata recordings, a Rachmaninoff concerto recording with Claudio Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and an album of Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff with Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Most recently she recorded the Brahms violin sonatas with Leonidas Kavakos.

Yuja Wang studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Ling Yuan and Zhou Guangren, the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Gary Graffman. In 2010 she received an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Yuja Wang first performed in Australia as a child, giving a recital in Perth. This week in Sydney she returns to makes her Australian concerto debut and Sydney recital debut.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Yuja Wangpiano

Yuja Wang is widely recognised as one of the most important artists of her generation. She has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras including those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, as well as the Berlin Staatskapelle, China Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orquesta Nacional de España, Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the NHK Symphony in Tokyo, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Santa Cecilia. She has collaborated with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Mikko Franck, Pietari Inkinen, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, Antonio Pappano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov and Michael Tilson Thomas. She regularly gives recitals throughout Asia, Europe and North America, and appears at summer chamber music festivals.

In the 2014–15 season Yuja Wang is artist- in-residence with Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, appearing in two weeks with conductor Lionel Bringuier and a final week with Dudamel. She will also be featured in a two-week residency with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Yuja Wang plays Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto with the SSO and conductor Lionel Bringuier. APT Master Series – 15, 17, 18 July at 8pm, Sydney Opera House sydneysymphony.com

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Chopin, Scriabin and Balakirev

Chopin SonatasAs a pianist and composer, Chopin was something of a phenomenon. While great piano music had been written before his time – most notably by Beethoven – Chopin transformed the piano repertoire, creating a substantial body of work (more than 160 pieces in all) in which new depths of expression and new structural horizons were opened up for pianists and composers alike. But – unlike Beethoven’s 32 – there are just three Chopin piano sonatas, of which the first (composed when he was 18) is almost never heard, usually dismissed as unworthy of the composer. The remaining two are notable exceptions to Chopin’s tendency to adopt miniature or more poetical forms.

The sonata – a Classical and largely Germanic form – was not native to Chopin, and for a long time his sonatas were criticised for their perceived inferiority to earlier models. (Schumann cast one of the first stones by describing the Second Sonata as ‘four of Chopin’s most unruly children under the same roof’; in 1843 a critic in Musical World complained that ‘the entire work is not a consequence of the first idea…therefore Chopin is not capable of a large and profound work of art’.) But Chopin scholar Jim Samson characterises the sonatas as approaching the genre from a distance, suggesting we regard the differences from earlier models as motivated by a desire to make a well-established genre more spontaneous and less predictable. It’s as if Chopin’s sonatas present a ‘dialogue’ between the lines of thinking that emerge in his other works and the principles of German sonata form.

Despite the supposed waywardness of the Second Sonata – or Sonata funèbre, as Chopin allowed it to be called – Chopin’s composition is structurally rigorous and thematically dense. His usually rich harmonic language is far more understated than in his shorter forms. He saves his most daring progressions for the short developmental sections, for the most part choosing chords that are striking in their simplicity, and by turns subtle, bold, charming and seductive. The brief but extraordinary final movement, marked sotto voce e legato, stands out: an unharmonised line of racing triplets doubled in octaves seems unbound by key relationships as it races through all manner of distant keys, before leaving the listener breathless on a B flat minor chord in first inversion. Chopin has returned to the home key, but ended on a question mark.

The famous Funeral March – with its austere dotted rhythms – was composed two years before the other movements. The

CHOPIN (1810–1849)Frédéric Chopin grew up in Warsaw, where he was acclaimed as a teenage piano virtuoso, before heading to Vienna and then Paris in pursuit of a career. His delicate constitution did not lend itself to concert hall success or life as a touring virtuoso, but his innate elegance gave him entry to the fashionable salons of Paris, and his fame grew on the back of performances for intimate circles and his many publications.

Sonata No.2 (Funeral March)

Grave – Doppio movimento. Agitato Scherzo Marche (Lento) Finale (Presto)

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delicate contrasting central section with its long, cantabile melody only heightens the pathos of the march. This is effectively the slow movement of the sonata and yet it sits in third spot instead of the customary second. It’s likely that the model was Beethoven’s Op.26 sonata, which also has a Marcia funèbre as one of its movements and was a favourite of Chopin’s – he played and taught it more often than any other Beethoven sonata.

Listeners seeking to follow the conventions of sonata principle in this work might be disappointed. Chopin largely avoids the traditional procedures of exposition of ideas, development and recapitulation; he prefers, for example, to delay the return of his main ideas until close to the end of the movement – a dramatic and striking device. But as Samson observes, the Second Sonata is better regarded as a ‘synthesis of Chopin’s earlier achievements within the framework of the four-movement sonata’. In other words, the form provides a context in which the figurative patterns of the etudes (as in the finale), the singing qualities of the nocturnes and the periodicity of the dance forms may come together.

Portrait of Chopin by Delacroix

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The Third Sonata, like the earlier two, has been criticised for Chopin’s handling of form, for his inability to make of the whole work a unity in the expected manner. But there is inspiration on every page and the glorious melodies make one forgive everything – witness the wonderful transition from B minor to D major in the first movement and the beautiful singing line suddenly emerging from the turbulent opening; this kind of sudden sunlight effect is present throughout the work. Chopin’s departure from the Classical sonata form may have been criticised in its day as adding an untidiness to the form, but now, the word ‘sonata’ has become so flexible in its meaning that we should not be troubled in any way, even if it is true that the shadow of the nocturne is ever-present in Chopin’s larger structures.

This sonata was composed in 1844 during a summer at Nohant, the rural retreat where, with his lover George Sand, Chopin found a haven and an ideal setting for composing. Although he was increasingly frail, the Third Sonata, along with other works of Chopin’s final period is among Chopin’s crowning and most epic achievements.

Five years after the Second Sonata, Samson suggests, Chopin is now ready to tackle the genre ‘on its own terms’, having approached it ‘obliquely’ via the achievements of his etudes, nocturnes and dances. With great ingenuity he shifts from adapting the sonata principle to his own requirements to more closely accommodating his ideas to the Classical archetype, especially in the first movement. Even so, there is a abundance of thematic material, pointing to Chopin’s lyrical instincts. The scherzo in this later sonata is in marked contrast to the transformed, and slightly wild, mazurka of the Second Sonata. Instead it ripples with genuine playfulness and charm. The slow movement, again in third spot, has the character of a barcarolle. The finale – a masterly sonata-rondo – returns to the German sonata traditions even as it soars and storms to the conclusion.

Scriabin at the PianoIf you know Scriabin from his orchestral music then you’ll know a composer with a reputation for extravagance: of scale, of colour and of vision. And yet Scriabin completed just seven orchestral works and a piano concerto. Virtually all his other music – more than 200 pieces – are for solo piano. Furthermore, they are mostly miniatures, ranging from barely 30 seconds for some of the shortest preludes to just under 15 minutes for the single-movement sonatas. Only the first and third sonatas, both in four movements, approach the scale of a Chopin sonata.

CHOPIN Sonata No.3

Allegro maestoso Scherzo (molto vivace) Largo Finale (Presto non tanto)

…the shadow of the nocturne is ever-present in Chopin’s larger structures.

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Scriabin often said he was striving for ‘maximum expression with the minimum means’ – a poet’s approach to music. But one principle especially dominated his thinking: ‘From the greatest delicacy (refinement), via active efficacy (flight) to the greatest grandiosity.’ And it was on the basis of this maxim, writes Faubion Bowers, that Scriabin vacillated between vast orchestral scores and the brief fragments of music – ‘shorter than a sparrow’s beak, briefer than a bear’s tail’.

The Scriabin selection in this recital begins with ‘the greatest delicacy’: a prelude for the left hand from 1894, when the composer was 22. This first excursion into writing for the left hand was born of pragmatism: in 1891 Scriabin had irreversibly strained his right hand through excessive practice, destroying his hopes of virtuoso fame. The Opus 11 Preludes, about which Scott Davie has written earlier in this program book, were begun in 1895, when Scriabin embarked on a tour of Europe with his publisher Belyayev. The Prelude No.8 chosen by Yuja Wang – a ‘postcard’ from Paris – has the distinction of being the only Scriabin work to have been recorded by Rachmaninoff, although his wistful tempo is markedly slower than the Allegro agitato marked by the composer.

The two longest pieces in this selection are the Black Mass sonata from 1913 and the Fantasy, Op.28 completed in 1900. Sitting between the third and fourth sonatas in Scriabin’s output, the Fantasy is a single-movement work in sonata form. But, just as Chopin placed his own stamp on this Classical genre, so too did Scriabin approach sonata form with a certain distance from traditional models. In the Fantasy the recapitulation – that section in which the principal ideas are returned – is greatly expanded and presented in fresh colours, as if Scriabin were unwilling to permit the anticlimax of near-literal repetition.

The Prelude Op.37 No.1 dates from 1903 and is the last of these pieces to have been written before Scriabin discovered the theosophical teachings of Helena Blavatsky and there ‘found his wildest imaginings ratified’. The music is marked mesto (mournfully) and Simon Nicholls characterises it as a ‘troubled soliloquy’.

Opus 63 (1912) comprises a pair of ‘poems’ for piano. Yuja Wang offers them in reverse order, beginning with the extreme delicacy and grace of Étrangeté (Strangeness), followed by the winding deceptions of Masque. These poems, furtive and dark in mood despite their light touch, make an ideal prelude to the concluding sonata.

The Black Mass sonata (No.9, Op.68) was one of two ‘demonic’ sonatas that Scriabin began working out during 1911 (the other

Scriabin

SCRIABIN (1872–1915)Russian composer and virtuoso pianist Alexander Scriabin can be thought of as a missing link between the chromatic extremes of Mahler and Schoenberg’s vision of atonality. In 1905 he discovered the theosophical teachings of Helena Blavatsky and came to believe his music could be a bridge to spiritual ecstasy, leading him to explore unique harmonic colours. He associated individual musical keys with particular colours in a kind of synæsthesia, and at his death he was working on Mysterium, a vast multimedia creation with elements of theatre, dance, art, poetry and perfume(!) as well as music.

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Balakirev

was No.6, Op.62). It was to be finished in 1913. This is ‘fire and brimstone’ music, and although the title was the invention of another, it was accepted by Scriabin and captures the spirit of the music. There is a sensual interlude that the composer himself described as ‘poisonous’. The sonata’s ancestors can be found in the more grotesque moments of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, or the ‘Mephistopheles’ motif in Liszt’s B minor sonata, recalled, says Nicholls, in the repeated notes – ‘mystérieusement murmuré’ – that answer the first, dissonant climax.

An Oriental FantasyWhen, in the early years of the 20th century, Ravel composed Gaspard de la nuit, his stated goal was to make it ‘more difficult than Balakirev’s Islamey’. For close on 40 years, Balakirev’s work had held its own as the most challenging of virtuoso showpieces. Nicholas Rubinstein, who gave the premiere of Islamey in 1869, wrote to the composer:

I am working, poor wretched fellow that I am, at your piece, which fills me with terrible delight, and for which I thank you; I shall certainly play it at my concert in Moscow; but it is so difficult that few will cope with it; I want to be one of those few.

The composer Borodin, who heard the first performance, concluded that this ‘eastern fantasy’ was ‘clearly not to the public’s taste’. But even so, it was through this astonishing work that Balakirev became widely known – Rubinstein toured it through Europe, it was a favourite of Liszt’s – and Islamey remains his best-known creation and the staple of more than a few piano virtuosos.

Among its ‘terrors’ are the many rapid repeated notes, tremolos, octaves and massive chords, not to mention double note passages in both hands, extended arpeggio figures and intricate chromatic writing. Balakirev himself was an excellent pianist, but he enlisted Tchaikovsky to play the bass part when he was trying out the work in progress.

The subtitle, ‘Oriental Fantasy’, refers to the inspiration Balakirev took from his summer vacations in the Caucasus, and the tune that forms the basis for the fast dance-like music of the beginning and ending has been identified as a Kabardian dance from the north of the region. The slower music in the middle is based on a Tartar folk song, collected not in a village but in Tchaikovsky’s drawing room, where Balakirev had heard it sung by an Armenian actor.

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA © 2015

Adapted in part from notes by DREW CRAWFORD (Chopin Op.35) and

LARRY SITSKY (Chopin Op.58).

SSO CHAMBER MUSIC

COCKTAIL HOURThree inspiring evenings at the Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House

Lights shimmering on the harbour, a uniquely intimate space, inspiring music, and a delicious cocktail to enjoy – all the elements for one hour of sheer bliss.

Hear individual members of your SSO up close in this year’s new chamber series with music of Brahms, some of the most beautiful chamber music ever written.

BONES BRAHMS & BRASS SAT 16 MAY | 6PM

WEBERN arr. Hetzler Slow Movement in E flat

BRUCKNER arr. Doms Two Motets arranged for trombone quartet

BRAHMS String Quintet No.2

RIFFS BRAHMS FUSIONSAT 6 JUNE | 6PM

MACKEY Heavy Light, for electric guitarFusion Tune, for electric guitar and cello

BRAHMS String Sextet No.2

ECHOES LOVE & NOSTALGIASAT 18 JULY | 6PM

DVOŘÁK Five songs from Cypresses, for string quartet

BRAHMS Clarinet Quintet

COCKTAIL BAR FROM 5.30PMA selection of drinks will be available for cash and may be enjoyed before and during the concert.

SINGLE TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE AT SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM 9250 7777 Mon–Sat 9am–8.30pm; Sun 10am–6pm

^Single concert tickets do not include drink voucher. Booking fees of $5.00–$8.95 may apply.*Drink voucher may only be redeemed at Utzon Room Bar on 16 May, 6 June & 18 July events.

SINGLE CONCERT $49^ NO BOOKING FEES WHEN BOOKING ONLINE AT: CALL 8215 4600

Mon–Fri 9am–5pm

ALL 3 CONCERTS WITH DRINK VOUCHERS $117*SINGLE CONCERT TICKETS ON SALE FROM 16 APRIL

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2015 concert season

INTERNATIONAL PIANISTS IN RECITAL PRESENTED BY THEME & VARIATIONS MONDAY 17 AUGUST, 7PM

CITY RECITAL HALL ANGEL PLACE

This recital will be recorded for later broadcast on ABC Classic FM.

Pre-concert talk at 6.15pm in the First Floor Reception Room. Visit sydneysymphony.com/talk-bios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 3 minutes, 26 minutes, 20-minute interval, 66 minutes The recital will conclude at approximately 9.10pm.

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KIRILL GERSTEIN IN RECITALBÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945) 2 Chromatic Inventions from Mikrokosmos, Book 6

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Sinfonias (Three-Part Inventions) BWV 787–801

INTERVAL

FRANZ LISZT (1811–1886) Transcendental Etudes, S139 (1852)

Preludio (Presto) Molto vivace Paysage [Landscape] Mazeppa (Allegro) Feux Follets. Irrlichter [Will-o’-the-wisps] Vision (Lento) Eroica (Allegro) Wilde Jagd [Wild Hunt] Ricordanza [Remembrance] Allegro agitato molto Harmonies du soir [Evening Harmonies] Chasse-neige [Snow Flurry]

PRESENTING PARTNER

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Kirill Gerstein is the sixth recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award, presented every four years to an exceptional pianist possessing broad and profound musicianship and charisma. Since receiving the award in 2010, he has shared his prize through the commissioning of boundary-crossing new works by Oliver Knussen, Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau, Timothy Andres and Alexander Goehr. That same year he also received an Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Highlights of his 2014–15 season include performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Charles Dutoit) and Philadelphia Orchestra (Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and Thomas Adès’ In Seven Days with the San Francisco Symphony. He also gives a recital in Carnegie Hall’s Keyboard Virtuosos series. In Europe he appears with the Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Gürzenich Orchestra, and in 2014 he returned to the Verbier Festival and featured in the Edinburgh Festival opening concert.

Last year, he released his second solo recording, featuring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Schumann’s Carnaval. His recording of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto (the first recording using the new critical edition from the Tchaikovsky Museum in Moscow) and Prokofiev’s Second Concerto was released earlier this year.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Kirill Gersteinpiano

Born in Voronezh, Russia, Kirill Gerstein studied piano at a music school for gifted children and taught himself to play jazz by listening to his parents’ record collection. At the age of 14, he moved to Boston to study jazz piano at the Berklee College of Music. He then turned his focus back to classical music, attending the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky and earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees by the age of 20. He subsequently won the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and received a Gilmore Young Artist Award (2002), and continued his studies in Madrid with Dmitri Bashkirov and in Budapest with Ferenc Rados.

An American citizen since 2003, Kirill Gerstein divides his time between the United States and Germany, where he has been a professor of piano at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart since 2006. He is also Artist-in-Residence at the Berklee College of Music and a faculty member at Boston Conservatory.

Kirill Gerstein previously appeared in this series in 2008, when he made his Australian debut tour. Last week he performed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the SSO and James Gaffigan.

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Piano Studies

If you’re reading this at a piano recital there’s a good chance you too were once, perhaps still are, a piano student. And even if you didn’t progress much past the five-finger exercises for beginners, it’s possible you played music from the first book of Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos. If you made it a little further, you probably played at least one of JS Bach’s sinfonias, or three-part inventions. But you would have to have reached diploma level and acquired an advanced technique to play Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes.

This program, with its three great composer-keyboardists, brings the ‘practice room’ onto the concert platform. Bartók’s Mikrokosmos collection begins with pieces that any beginner can play but includes in its final book exciting concert pieces for advanced pianists. Bach also had students in mind when he wrote his three-part inventions. These are teaching pieces, or studies. Liszt’s Etudes are literally transcendent in the technical demands they place on the pianist. They’re called ‘studies’ but they’re really an outrageous dare from Liszt to virtuosos everywhere, and it’s no mean feat to offer all twelve in a single program, as you’ll hear tonight.

MikrokosmosBéla Bartók (1881–1945) is not only one of the most famous of Hungarian composers but a key figure in 20th-century music. He was an avid collector and student of folk music (an early ethnomusicologist) and this influenced many of his works, especially in his use of melody, ornamentation and compelling, non-standard rhythms. He is famous in the concert hall for his brilliant and evocative Concerto for Orchestra and for his piano concertos, and his string quartets are central to the chamber music repertoire. But for those who play piano, the six books of Mikrokosmos also count among his best-known creations – Bartók’s legacy not only as composer and performer (he played these pieces in his own recitals) but as a pedagogue.

Bartók’s elder son, Béla junior, recalls his devotion to children, the importance he placed on education, and the ‘most careful attention to detail’ given to the composition and organisation of the Mikrokosmos collection during the 1930s. The first two books were dedicated to his other son, Péter, who remembered playing the earlier volumes as a boy and struggling through the middle volumes, but finding the last two books ‘quite beyond him’.

Mikrokosmos is not a piano method, since it contains no instructions for technique or style, rather it belongs to the rich

BARTÓK Chromatic Inventions 145a & 145b from Mikrokosmos, Book 6

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tradition of educational keyboard literature, going back to Bach, through which young musicians were introduced not only to carefully graded technical challenge but to matters of style and musical language.

The pair of Chromatic Inventions from Book 6 are unusual in that they can be played solo, one after the other, or they can be played together on two pianos. Technically, the Chromatic Inventions cultivate independence of the hands through an almost baroque weaving of melodic lines. And they nod to Bach not only in their title but in the adoption of a similar rhythmic motif to the first of Bach’s Two-Part Inventions.

Bach SinfoniasSincere Instruction [Aufrichtige Anleitung], In which Lovers of the Keyboard, especially those who are keen to learn, are shown a Clear Method, not only (1) to learn to play clearly in two Parts but also, after further Progress, (2) to deal correctly and well with three obbligato Parts; furthermore, at the same time not only have good Ideas [inventiones] but also how to develop them well. Above all, however, they are shown how to arrive at a Singing Style in playing, while also acquiring a strong Foretaste of Composition.

With these words Johann Sebastian Bach introduced the fair copy autograph of his two- and three-part inventions in 1722–23. These pieces had been composed during his years at Cöthen for the instruction of his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. There are 15 of each type, each set moving through those keys (not exceeding four sharps or flats in the key signature) most congenial in the tuning systems of the day.

The fair copy with its elaborately worded title page was effectively part of a portfolio for Bach’s candidature for the job of cantor at the Thomasschule of St Thomas’s in Leipzig, a job in which teaching played a central role. The reader is left in no doubt as to the pedagogical intent of these pieces, nor to Bach’s ability as an author of exemplary teaching materials.

The introduction reflects the attitude of the time, in which a musician was expected to be skilled both as performer and as composer. These inventions or sinfonias are intended equally for the study of keyboard technique (especially independence of the hands and ‘singing style’) and composition.

And so Bach makes masterful demonstrations of how a coherent musical design can be developed from a freely conceived idea (the inventio), first through the emphasis on voice leading or part writing for the left and right hands in the two-part compositions, then in the three-part inventions through the emphasis on three-note harmonies and voices ‘sounding together’ (hence ‘sinfonia’).

Béla Bartók

JS BACH Sinfonias (Three-Part Inventions)

C major, BWV 787 C minor, BWV 788 D major, BWV 789 D minor, BWV 790 E flat major, BWV 791 E major, BWV 792 E minor, BWV 793 F major, BWV 794 F minor, BWV 795 G major, BWV 796 G minor, BWV 797 A major, BWV 798 A minor, BWV 799 B flat major, BWV 800 B minor, BWV 801

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The part-writing begins in the first sinfonia with a sampler of contrapuntal techniques – the family resemblance to the immediately preceding Bartók pieces is obvious. Along the way, Bach inverts his theme and treats it ‘crabwise’. Sinfonia No.9 emerges from its sombre F minor opening as a strict triple fugue. But not all the writing adopts the ‘learned’ frameworks of counterpoint. Sinfonia No.5, for example, is modern for the time, offering an expressive and richly ornamented duet for the two upper voices, accompanied by a bass line suggesting broken lute chords. The brilliance of the final sinfonia is a fitting tribute to the student’s accomplishment.

Transcendental EtudesTonight we’ll hear the 12 Études d’exécution transcendante, published in 1852 when Liszt was 41. It’s a virtuoso marathon, with over an hour of music, that takes performer and listeners on a harmonic, emotional and technical journey.

For Liszt, the journey of composition began in 1824 when he was just 13 years old. Possibly biting off more than he could chew, ’48 Exercises in all the major and minor keys’ were announced but only 12 were published, beginning in C major, and descending through the cycle of fifths before breaking off after the key of B flat minor. There’s no doubt that the tradition of Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues were in the back of his mind. Technically, the pieces show the influence of his teacher Carl Czerny. The pieces reveal their juvenile mindset with absurd difficulties but also a precocious imagination and boldness.

Fourteen years later, in 1838, Liszt published a revised version with a dedication to Czerny. This time 24 were announced but still only 12 appeared (one of these a new substitution). No concessions were made to technique and Robert Schumann’s review described them as ‘studies in storm and dread for, at the most, ten or twelve players in the world’. This assessment did not hinder Schumann’s wife Clara, who promptly learned No.9.

Over the course of the next decade Liszt was a touring virtuoso, a musical celebrity of unparalleled ability and astonishing charisma. The 12 ‘Grandes études’, as they were known, were among his repertoire and, as Alan Walker suggests, it’s likely that the exigencies of playing them in public led to the third revision of 1852, with the more intractable difficulties smoothed out. Although there were some cuts and other structural changes, the primary effect of this last revision was to give the piano writing more refinement of sonority and ease of execution. (In the Molto vivace etude, for example, Liszt removes all trace of a repeated-note technique that must have been problematic even on the lighter piano actions of the day.) They nonetheless remain fiendishly difficult!

LISZT Études d’exécution transcendante, S139 (Transcendental Etudes)

Johann Sebastian Bach

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This final – and in Liszt’s eyes definitive – version was made after he’d officially retired from concert performance. Once more, they were dedicated to Czerny, but now renamed ‘Études d’exécution transcendante’. It was at this point, too, that the evocative and literary titles were added – these etudes or studies have moved beyond their first principle of technical virtuosity in pursuit of true expressive power.Preludio (Presto). This tiny etude, barely a minute long, swoops up and down the keyboard to set the scene.Molto vivace. One of the two etudes without a title, this nervy, fevered caprice leaps around the keyboard with gestures that suggest violin technique rather than piano. Perhaps Paganini is lurking in the background.Paysage (Poco adagio). When Liszt gave this etude the name Paysage (Landscape), he emphasised its fluid and serene character accordingly, removing the agitated passages from its earlier version. The music lilts to the ear while demanding of the performer great delicacy of touch and a seamlessly flowing sound.Mazeppa (Allegro). The etude that began life as a crossed-hand exercise in 1826 has become a tone poem of great power. The title has literary origins (both Victor Hugo and Byron tell the

Portrait of Liszt painted by Henri Lehmann in about 1839, when the composer was at the height of his fame as a virtuoso

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story) and a simple but dramatic scenario: a Ukrainian page, caught in a dalliance with a Countess at the Polish court, is tied naked to a wild horse. The blazing musical variations follow his punishing ride to exhaustion.Feux Follets. Irrlichter. From the power of Mazeppa to the fleeting, ghostly visions of will-o’-the-wisps, captured in a notorious double-note study that calls for absolute lightness and shimmering speed with never a moment to pause.Vision (Lento). The mood shifts again to something darker, even sinister, and yet grand too. There is a suggestion of a funeral procession.Eroica (Allegro). Another ‘march’, but this time one of triumph, with defiant octaves. The title and the key of E flat major both nod to Beethoven.Wilde Jagd (Presto furioso). Liszt gave this etude its German title, ‘Wild Hunt’; in French it was published as Le chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman). There is an aspect of menace and terror in the music, with reckless leaps and unsettled rhythms.Ricordanza (Andantino). This etude (Remembrance) is distinguished by its rhythmic flexibility and poetic rippling as well as its almost operatic atmosphere. It might belong to a set of formidable technical studies, but Liszt’s contemporaries were right to call it a ‘piano-poem’ and it lives up to its name as the perfect souvenir – ‘like a packet of yellow love letters,’ said Busoni.Allegro agitato molto. Fast, very agitated. There is no literary evocation for this etude (Liszt evidently considered the tempo and expressive direction sufficient) and its abstraction is further emphasised by the adoption of classic sonata form – the only one of the etudes to do so.Harmonies du soir. With this, the longest of the etudes, Liszt returns the music to a more idyllic mood. His ‘Evening Harmonies’ suggest a calm landscape and distant bells in an array of gorgeous pianistic colour. After its central point has passed, the etude builds to a mighty climax, but without losing any of its richness or grandeur.Chasse-neige. This etude, in B flat minor, is named for a ‘snow flurry’. (Although the term has since come to mean snowplough, this interpretation was not in use in 1852.) Blinding snow, a blustery wind…the music makes eddies of sound with relentless tremolos and the blur of pedalled chromatic scales. And as Leslie Howard points out, Liszt resists the urge to append an applause-seeking coda to this last etude of the set, instead closing with quiet finality.

YVONNE FRINDLE

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA © 2015

‘Liszt learned the hard way to sublimate technique for musical substance: the three separate versions of the Transcendental Etudes show the evolution from precocious youth, to technical super-athlete, to the clarity and insight of maturity.’MICHAEL KIERAN HARVEY

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MORE MUSIC

LOUIS LORTIEBeginning in 2010, Louis Lortie has been recording Chopin’s piano music for Chandos in a series now up to Volume 3, and including so far: Scherzos, Ballades, Impromptus and the Sonatas No.2 and No.3, with each volume also including a selection from the Nocturnes. But for the Chopin Preludes you need to go back to an earlier recording from 1998, which also includes the Prelude in C sharp minor, the Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, and the Polonaise-Fantaisie.CHANDOS 10588, 10714, 10813 CHANDOS 9597 (Preludes)

To hear Lortie play more Fauré, look for his recording of the Ravel piano concertos, in which Fauré’s Ballade for piano and orchestra forms a delightful addition to the program.CHANDOS 8773

2015 is a Scriabin anniversary year (100 years since his death) and Decca is marking the occasion with the first-ever release of his complete works in an 18-CD set with a distinguished cast of performers. Look out for it in July. Meanwhile, Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes makes an interesting pairing for Scriabin’s as recorded by Marta Deyanova.NIMBUS 5026

PETER SERKINIf Serkin’s recital program has made you curious about the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, start out with harpsichordist Byron Schenkman and a selection of some of the better-known pieces, including the Byrd setting of Dowland’s Lachrymae Pavan.CENTAUR RECORDS 2638

For Serkin, the Nielsen Theme with Variations was a delightful discovery. Nielsen’s piano music is rarely represented on recital programs but there is more to be discovered and enjoyed. One of the more recent recordings of Nielsen’s complete piano works comes from Martin Roscoe.HYPERION 67591

A search on Spotify will turn up a recording of Max Reger himself playing selections ‘From his Diary’. Also available as a download from Presto Classical.

In 1981, Serkin was invited to record Beethoven sonatas on a Graf piano. The result was an acclaimed album comprising the last six sonatas (including Op.109) and the two Op.51 Rondos. This memorable collection was re-released on CD in 2007 and is worth seeking out.MUSICAL CONCEPTS 122

YUJA WANGYuja Wang’s most recent release sees her in collaboration with Leonidas Kavakos for the Brahms Violin Sonatas.DECCA 478 6442

As a concerto artist, Yuja Wang’s latest recording features music by Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto No.3) and Prokofiev (No.2). She’s accompanied by the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel. She has also recorded the Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Claudio Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 1304 (Dudamel) DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 477 9308 (Abbado)

And if you’d like to hear her play more Scriabin, look for her most recent solo recital recording, Fantasia.DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 479 0052

KIRILL GERSTEINIn early 2015, Kirill Gerstein made the first recording of the 1879 version of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. He’s accompanied by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and James Gaffigan, and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2 fills out the disc.MYRIOS CLASSICS 16

Also among his recent recordings is a recital album, Imaginary Pictures, bringing together Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and Schumann’s Carnaval.MYRIOS CLASSICS 13

If you enjoyed Gerstein’s performance of the Transcendental Etudes, look for his 2010 recital album, in which Liszt’s monumental Sonata in B minor is matched with Schumann’s Humoreske, Op.20 and Ophelia’s Last Dance by Oliver Knussen.

MYRIOS CLASSICS 5

Broadcasts

Most Sydney Symphony Orchestra concerts are recorded by ABC Classic FM for live or delayed broadcast. Broadcasts from the International Pianists in Recital series will be promoted in program books as they are scheduled, and broadcast listings can be found at www.abc.net.au/classic

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 2015Fine Music 102.5 broadcasts a regular Sydney Symphony Orchestra spot at 6pm on the second Tuesday of each month. Tune in to hear musicians, staff and guest artists discuss what’s in store in our forthcoming concerts and to hear previews of the music.

finemusicfm.com

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities.

Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, where it gives more than 100 performances each year, the SSO also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA – including three visits to China – have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence.

The orchestra’s first Chief Conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in 1947; he was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdenĕk Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. Vladimir Ashkenazy was Principal Conductor from 2009 to 2013. The orchestra’s history also boasts collaborations with legendary figures

such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky.

The SSO’s award-winning education program is central to its commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The orchestra promotes the work of Australian composers through performances, recordings and its commissioning program. Recent premieres have included major works by Ross Edwards, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry, Mary Finsterer, Nigel Westlake and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra’s recordings of music by Brett Dean have been released on both the BIS and SSO Live labels.

Other releases on the SSO Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Ashkenazy and David Robertson. In 2010–11 the orchestra made concert recordings of the complete Mahler symphonies with Ashkenazy, and has also released recordings of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on ABC Classics.

This is the second year of David Robertson’s tenure as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director.

DAVID ROBERTSON Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

PATRON Professor The Hon. Dame Marie Bashir ad cvo

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Sydney Symphony Orchestra Staff

BEHIND THE SCENES

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Rory Jeffes

EXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT

Lisa Davies-Galli

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING

Benjamin Schwartz

ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Eleasha Mah

ARTIST LIAISON MANAGER

Ilmar Leetberg

RECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER

Philip Powers

LibraryAnna Cernik Victoria Grant Mary-Ann Mead

LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

Kim Waldock

EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER

Rachel McLarin

EDUCATION MANAGER

Amy Walsh

EDUCATION OFFICER

Tim Walsh

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Aernout Kerbert

ORCHESTRA MANAGER

Rachel Whealy

ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR

Rosie Marks-Smith

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Kerry-Anne Cook

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Laura Daniel

STAGE MANAGER

Courtney Wilson

PRODUCTION COORDINATORS

Ollie Townsend

SALES AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING

Mark J Elliott

MARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES

Simon Crossley-Meates

A/ SENIOR SALES & MARKETING MANAGER

Matthew Rive

MARKETING MANAGER, WEB & DIGITAL MEDIA

Eve Le Gall

MARKETING MANAGER, CRM & DATABASE

Matthew Hodge

A/ SALES & MARKETING MANAGER,

SINGLE TICKET CAMPAIGNS

Jonathon Symonds

DATABASE ANALYST

David Patrick

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Christie Brewster

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Tessa ConnSENIOR ONLINE MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jenny Sargant

MARKETING ASSISTANT

Theres Mayer

Box OfficeMANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS

Lynn McLaughlin

BOX OFFICE SYSTEMS SUPERVISOR

Jennifer Laing

BOX OFFICE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR

John Robertson

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

Karen Wagg – Customer Service Team MgrMichael Dowling Tim Walsh

PublicationsPUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER

Yvonne Frindle

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Yvonne Zammit

PhilanthropyHEAD OF PHILANTHROPY

Luke Andrew Gay

PHILANTHROPY MANAGER

Jennifer Drysdale

A/ PATRONS EXECUTIVE

Sarah Morrisby

PHILANTHROPY COORDINATOR

Claire Whittle

Corporate RelationsCORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER

Belinda Besson

CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS EXECUTIVE

Paloma Gould

CommunicationsCOMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA MANAGER

Bridget Cormack

PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Katherine Stevenson

DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Kai Raisbeck

PUBLICITY & EVENTS COORDINATOR

Caitlin Benetatos

BUSINESS SERVICES

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

John Horn

FINANCE MANAGER

Ruth Tolentino

ACCOUNTANT

Minerva Prescott

ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT

Emma Ferrer

PAYROLL OFFICER

Laura Soutter

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

IN-HOUSE COUNSEL

Michel Maree Hryce

John C Conde AO Chairman Terrey Arcus AM

Ewen Crouch AM

Ross GrantCatherine HewgillJennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew Kaldor AM

David LivingstoneThe Hon. Justice AJ Meagher Goetz Richter

Sydney Symphony Orchestra CouncilGeoff Ainsworth AM

Doug BattersbyChristine BishopThe Hon John Della Bosca MLC

Michael J Crouch AO

Alan FangErin FlahertyDr Stephen Freiberg Simon JohnsonGary LinnaneHelen Lynch AM

David Maloney AM Justice Jane Mathews AO Danny MayJane MorschelAndy PlummerDeirdre Plummer Seamus Robert Quick Paul Salteri AM

Sandra SalteriJuliana SchaefferFred Stein OAM

John van OgtropBrian WhiteRosemary White

HONORARY COUNCIL MEMBERSIta Buttrose AO OBE Donald Hazelwood AO OBE

Yvonne Kenny AM

David Malouf AO

Wendy McCarthy AO

Leo Schofield AM

Peter Weiss AO

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Board

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Chair Patrons

SSO PATRONS

Roger BenedictPrincipal ViolaKim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey Chair

Kees BoersmaPrincipal Double BassSSO Council Chair

Umberto ClericiPrincipal CelloGarry & Shiva Rich Chair

Timothy ConstablePercussionJustice Jane Mathews AO Chair

Lerida DelbridgeAssistant ConcertmasterSimon Johnson Chair

Lawrence DobellPrincipal ClarinetAnne Arcus & Terrey Arcus AM Chair

Diana DohertyPrincipal OboeAndrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO Chair

Richard Gill oam

Artistic Director, DownerTenix DiscoveryPaul Salteri AM & Sandra Salteri Chair

Jane HazelwoodViolaBob & Julie Clampett Chair in memory of Carolyn Clampett

Catherine HewgillPrincipal CelloThe Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair

Robert JohnsonPrincipal HornJames & Leonie Furber Chair

Elizabeth NevilleCelloRuth & Bob Magid Chair

Shefali PryorAssociate Principal OboeMrs Barbara Murphy Chair

Emma ShollAssociate Principal FluteRobert & Janet Constable Chair

Janet WebbPrincipal FluteHelen Lynch AM & Helen Bauer Chair

Kirsten WilliamsAssociate ConcertmasterI Kallinikos Chair

Maestro’s Circle

David Robertson

Peter Weiss AO Founding President & Doris Weiss

John C Conde AO Chairman

Brian Abel

Tom Breen & Rachel Kohn

The Berg Family Foundation

Andrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO

Vicki Olsson

Roslyn Packer AO

David Robertson & Orli Shaham

Penelope Seidler AM

Mr Fred Street AM & Dorothy Street

Brian White AO & Rosemary White

Ray Wilson OAM in memory of the late James Agapitos OAM

Supporting the artistic vision of David Robertson, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHAIR PATRONS

PROGRAM, CALL (02) 8215 4625.

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Umberto Clerici has been Principal Cello of the SSO since 2014. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world and served as principal cello at the Teatro Regio in Turin in his native Italy before joining the SSO. Umberto’s chair is generously supported by Garry and Shiva Rich. Their son Samuel recently started learning the cello and aspires to join the SSO one day.

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Learning & Engagement

SSO PATRONS

Commissioning CircleSupporting the creation of new works.

ANZAC Centenary Arts and Culture FundGeoff Ainsworth AM

Christine BishopDr John EdmondsAndrew Kaldor AM & Renata Kaldor AO

Jane Mathews AO

Mrs Barbara MurphyNexus ITVicki OlssonCaroline & Tim RogersGeoff StearnDr Richard T WhiteAnonymous

fellowship patronsRobert Albert AO & Elizabeth Albert Flute ChairChristine Bishop Percussion ChairSandra & Neil Burns Clarinet ChairIn Memory of Matthew Krel Violin ChairMrs T Merewether OAM Horn ChairPaul Salteri AM & Sandra Salteri Violin and Viola ChairsMrs W Stening Principal Patron, Cello ChairKim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey Patrons of Roger Benedict,

Artistic Director, FellowshipAnonymous Double Bass Chair

fellowship supporting patronsMr Stephen J BellGary Linnane & Peter BraithwaiteJoan MacKenzie ScholarshipDrs Eileen & Keith OngIn Memory of Geoff WhiteJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

tuned-up!TunED-Up! is made possible with the generous support of Fred Street AM & Dorothy Street

Additional support provided by:Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus AM

Ian & Jennifer Burton Ian Dickson & Reg HollowayTony Strachan

major education donorsBronze Patrons & above

John Augustus & Kim RyrieMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyBob & Julie ClampettHoward & Maureen ConnorsThe Greatorex FoundationThe Ian Potter FoundationJames N Kirby Foundation Mrs & Mr Judith A. McKernanMr & Mrs Nigel Price

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Through their inspired financial support,

Patrons ensure the SSO’s continued

success, resilience and growth. Join the

SSO Patrons Program today and make a

difference.

sydneysymphony.com/patrons(02) 8215 4674philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com

A U S T R A L I A - K O R E AF O U N D A T I O N

Australia-Korea FoundationCrown FoundationThe Greatorex Foundation

Foundations

James N Kirby FoundationPacker Family FoundationIan Potter Foundation

Sydney Symphony Orchestra 2015 Fellows

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The Sydney Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the orchestra each year. Each gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs.

Stuart Challender Legacy SocietyCelebrating the vision of donors who are leaving a bequest to the SSO.

Playing Your Part

DIAMOND PATRONS $50,000+The Estate of Dr Lynn JosephMr Andrew Kaldor AM &

Mrs Renata Kaldor AO

In Memory of Matthew KrelRoslyn Packer AO

Ian Potter FoundationPaul Salteri AM & Sandra

SalteriMr Fred Street AM &

Mrs Dorothy Street Mr Peter Weiss AO &

Mrs Doris WeissMr Brian White AO &

Mrs Rosemary White

PLATINUM PATRONS $30,000–$49,999Anne & Terrey Arcus AM

Doug & Alison BattersbyThe Berg Family FoundationTom Breen & Rachael KohnMr John C Conde AO

Robert & Janet ConstableMrs Barbara MurphyMrs W SteningKim Williams AM &

Catherine Dovey 

GOLD PATRONS $20,000–$29,999Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth AM

Robert Albert AO & Elizabeth Albert

Christine Bishop Sandra & Neil BurnsJames & Leonie FurberI KallinikosHelen Lynch AM & Helen

BauerMrs T Merewether OAM

Rachel & Geoffrey O’ConorVicki OlssonAndy & Deirdre PlummerGarry & Shiva RichDavid Robertson & Orli

ShahamMrs Penelope Seidler AM

G & C Solomon in memory of Joan MacKenzie

Geoff StearnRay Wilson OAM in memory

of James Agapitos OAM

Anonymous (2) 

SILVER PATRONS $10,000–$19,999

Bailey Family FoundationAudrey BlundenMr Robert BrakspearIan & Jennifer BurtonMr Robert & Mrs L Alison CarrBob & Julie ClampettMichael Crouch AO &

Shanny CrouchThe Hon. Mrs Ashley

Dawson-Damer AM

Paul EspieEdward & Diane FedermanNora GoodridgeMr Ross GrantIan Dickson & Reg HollowayEstate of Irwin ImhofSimon JohnsonMr Ervin KatzJames N Kirby FoundationRuth & Bob MagidJustice Jane Mathews AO

The Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran Meagher

Mr John MorschelDrs Keith & Eileen OngKenneth Reed AM

Mr John Symond AM

The Harry Triguboff Foundation

Caroline WilkinsonAnonymous (2)

BRONZE PATRONS $5,000–$9,999John Augustus & Kim RyrieStephen J BellDr Hannes & Mrs Barbara

BoshoffMr Alexander & Mrs Vera

BoyarskyPeter Braithwaite &

Gary LinnaneMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Howard ConnorsEwen Crouch AM &

Catherine CrouchIn memory of Dr Lee

MacCormick EdwardsDr Stephen Freiberg &

Donald CampbellDr Colin GoldschmidtThe Greatorex FoundationRory & Jane JeffesThe late Mrs Isabelle JosephMr Frank Lowy AC &

Mrs Shirley Lowy OAM

Henri W Aram OAM & Robin Aram

Stephen J BellMr David & Mrs Halina BrettHoward ConnorsGreta DavisBrian GalwayMiss Pauline M Griffin AM

John Lam-Po-Tang

Peter Lazar AM

Daniel LemesleLouise MillerJames & Elsie MooreDouglas PaisleyKate RobertsMary Vallentine AO

Ray Wilson OAM

Anonymous (10)

Stuart Challender, SSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director 1987–1991

bequest donors

We gratefully acknowledge donors who have left a bequest to the SSO.

The late Mrs Lenore AdamsonEstate of Carolyn ClampertEstate Of Jonathan Earl William ClarkEstate of Colin T EnderbyEstate of Mrs E HerrmanEstate of Irwin ImhofThe late Mrs Isabelle JosephThe Estate of Dr Lynn JosephThe Late Greta C RyanJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON

MAKING A BEQUEST TO THE SSO, PLEASE

CONTACT LUKE GAY ON 8215 4625.

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BRONZE PATRONS CONTINUED

Robert McDougallJ A McKernanDavid Maloney AM &

Erin FlahertyR & S Maple-BrownMora MaxwellWilliam McIlrath Charitable

FoundationTaine MoufarrigeNexus ITJohn & Akky van OgtropSeamus Robert QuickChris Robertson &

Katharine ShawRodney Rosenblum AM &

Sylvia RosenblumDr Evelyn RoyalManfred & Linda SalamonMrs Joyce Sproat &

Mrs Janet CookeTony StrachanDavid Tudehope & Liz DibbsMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary

WalshWestpac GroupMichael & Mary Whelan TrustIn memory of Geoff WhiteJune & Alan Woods Family

BequestAnonymous (2) 

PRESTO PATRONS $2,500–$4,999Mr Henri W Aram OAM

Ian BradyMr Mark Bryant oamIta Buttrose AO OBE

Mrs Stella ChenDr Rebecca ChinDr Diana Choquette &

Mr Robert MillinerFirehold Pty LtdDr Kim FrumarWarren GreenAnthony GreggJames & Yvonne HochrothMr Roger Hudson &

Mrs Claudia Rossi-HudsonProf. Andrew Korda am &

Ms Susan PearsonIn memoriam

Dr Reg Lam-Po-TangHelen & Phil MeddingsJames & Elsie MooreMs Jackie O’BrienJuliana SchaefferDr Agnes E SinclairEzekiel Solomon AM

Mr Ervin Vidor AM & Mrs Charlotte Vidor

Lang Walker AO & Sue WalkerYim Family Foundation Anonymous (2)

VIVACE PATRONS $1,000–$2,499Mrs Lenore AdamsonMrs Antoinette AlbertRae & David AllenAndrew Andersons AO

Mr Matthew AndrewsThe Hon Justice Michael BallDavid BarnesMr Garry BessonAllan & Julie BlighJan BowenRoslynne BracherMrs R D Bridges OBE

Lenore P BuckleMargaret BulmerIn memory of RW BurleyMrs Rhonda CaddyMr B & Mrs M ColesMs Suzanne CollinsJoan Connery OAM &

Maxwell Connery OAM

Debby Cramer & Bill CaukillMr John Cunningham SCM &

Mrs Margaret CunninghamGreta DavisLisa & Miro DavisElizabeth DonatiColin Draper & Mary Jane

BrodribbProf. & Mrs John EdmondsMalcolm Ellis & Erin O’NeillMrs Margaret EppsMr Matt GarrettVivienne Goldschmidt &

Owen JonesMrs Fay GrearIn Memory of Angelica GreenAkiko GregoryMr & Mrs Harold &

Althea HallidayJanette HamiltonMrs Jennifer HershonAngus HoldenMr Kevin Holland &

Mrs Roslyn AndrewsThe Hon. David Hunt AO QC &

Mrs Margaret HuntDr & Mrs Michael HunterMr Philip Isaacs OAM

Michael & Anna JoelMrs W G KeighleyDr Andrew KennedyJennifer KingAron KleinlehrerMr Andrew Korda &

Ms Susan PearsonMr Justin LamMr Peter Lazar AM

Professor Winston LiauwAirdrie LloydMrs Juliet LockhartPeter Lowry OAM &

Dr Carolyn Lowry OAM

Kevin & Deirdre McCannIan & Pam McGawMatthew McInnesMacquarie Group FoundationBarbara MaidmentJohn MarRenee MarkovicMr Danny R MayI MerrickHenry & Ursula MooserMilja & David MorrisMrs J MulveneyMr Darrol NormanE J NuffieldDr Mike O’Connor AM

Mr & Mrs OrtisMr Andrew C PattersonMichael PaulAlmut PiattiIn memory of Sandra Paul

PottingerDr Raffi QasabianMr Patrick Quinn-GrahamErnest & Judith RapeePatricia H Reid Endowment

Pty LtdDr Marilyn RichardsonIn memory of Katherine

RobertsonMr David RobinsonTim RogersLesley & Andrew RosenbergIn memory of H St P ScarlettMr Samuel F ShefferDavid & Alison ShilligtonDr Judy SoperMrs Judith SouthamMs Barbara SpencerMrs Elizabeth SquairCatherine StephenThe Hon. Brian Sully QC

Mrs Margaret SwansonThe Taplin FamilyDr & Mrs H K TeyKevin TroyJohn E TuckeyJudge Robyn TupmanDr Alla WaldmanMiss Sherry WangWestpac Banking

CorporationHenry & Ruth WeinbergThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyMary Whelan & Robert

BaulderstoneDr Richard T WhiteMrs Leonore WhyteA Willmers & R PalBetty WilkenfeldDr Edward J WillsProf. Neville Wills &

Ian FenwickeAnn & Brooks C Wilson AM

Dr Richard Wing

Dr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K Wong

Geoff Wood & Melissa WaitesSir Robert WoodsMr & Mrs Lindsay WoolveridgeIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John YuAnonymous (12)

ALLEGRO PATRONS $500–$999Nikki AbrahamsMs Jenny AllumKatherine AndrewsMr Peter J ArmstrongGarry & Tricia AshMr & Mrs George BallDr Lilon BandlerBarlow Cleaning Pty LtdBarracouta Pty LtdBeauty Point Retirement

ResortMr Michael BeckDr Andrew BellRichard & Margaret BellJan BiberMinnie BiggsG D BoltonIn memory of Jillian BowersR D & L M BroadfootDr Peter BroughtonDr David BryantArnaldo BuchDr Miles BurgessPat & Jenny BurnettRosemary CampbellMr JC Campbell QC &

Mrs CampbellJudy ChiddyIn memory of Beth HarpleyMr Phillip CornwellDr Peter CraswellMr David CrossPhil Diment AM & Bill

ZafiropoulosDr David DixonSusan DoenauMrs Jane DrexlerDana DupereDr Nita DurhamJohn FavaloroMrs Lesley FinnMs Julie Flynn & Mr Trevor

CookMrs Paula FlynnMr John GadenClive & Jenny GoodwinRichard Griffin AM

Dr Jan GroseBenjamin Hasic &

Belinda DavieMr Robert HavardMrs Joan HenleyRoger Henning

Playing Your Part

SSO PATRONS

43

“Together, we have an ambition to foster a love of orchestral music in school children of all ages, and to equip their teachers with the skills they need to develop this in our young people…”DAVID ROBERTSON SSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director

PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TODAY

Sue HewittDr Joan-Mary HindsDorothy Hoddinott AO

Bill & Pam HughesMs Cynthia KayeMrs Margaret KeoghDr Henry KilhamDr Joyce KirkMrs Patricia KleinhansAnna-Lisa KlettenbergSonia LalL M B LampratiDr Barry LandaElaine M LangshawDr Leo & Mrs Shirley LeaderMargaret LedermanMrs Erna LevyMrs A LohanMr Gabriel LopataPanee LowMelvyn MadiganMs Jolanta MasojadaMr Guido MayerLouise MillerPatricia MillerKenneth Newton MitchellMrs Judith MortonMr Graham NorthMr Sead NurkicDr A J PalmerDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamDr John PittJohn Porter & Annie

Wesley-SmithMrs Greeba PritchardThe Hon. Dr Rodney Purvis AM &

Mrs Marian PurvisMichael QuaileyMiss Julie RadosavljevicRenaissance Tours

VANGUARD COLLECTIVEJustin Di Lollo ChairBelinda BentleyOscar McMahonTaine Moufarrige

Founding PatronShefali PryorSeamus R Quick

Founding PatronChris Robertson &

Katherine Shaw Founding Patrons

MEMBERSJames ArmstrongPhilip AtkinLuan AtkinsonJoan BallantineJames BaudzusAndrew BaxterAdam BeaupeurtAnthony BeresfordAndrew BotrosPeter BraithwaiteBlake BriggsAndrea BrownMelanie BrownAttila BrungsIan BurtonJennifer BurtonPaul ColganClaire CooperBridget CormackRobbie CranfieldAsha CugatiJuliet CurtinRosalind De SaillyPaul DeschampsCatherine DonnellyAlistair FurnivalAlexandra GibsonSam GiddingsMarina GoJeremy GoffHilary GoodsonTony GriersonLouise HaggertyRose HercegFrancis HicksPeter HowardJennifer HoyKatie HryceVirginia JudgeJonathan Kennedy

Aernout KerbertPatrick KokAlisa LaiJohn Lam-Po-TangTristan LandersJessye LinGary LinnaneDavid LoSaskia LoGabriel LopataRebecca MacFarlingRobert McGroryDavid McKeanNick NichlesKate O’ReillyPeter O’SullivanJonathan PeaseCleo PosaLaurisa PoulosMichael RadovnikovicSudeep RaoMichael ReedeChris RobertsonBenjamin RobinsonAlvaro Rodas FernandezJacqueline RowlandsAnthony Michael SchembriBenjamin SchwartzKatherine ShawCecilia StornioloRandal TameSandra TangIan TaylorMichael TidballMark TimminsMichael TuffyKim WaldockJon WilkieYvonne ZammitAmy Zhou

SSO Vanguard

A membership program for a dynamic group of Gen X & Y SSO fans and future philanthropists

Janelle RostronMrs Christine Rowell-MillerMrs Louise RowstonJorie Ryan for Meredith RyanMr Kenneth RyanGarry Scarf & Morgie BlaxillPeter & Virginia ShawJudge David S ShillingtonMrs Diane Shteinman AM

Victoria SmythDoug & Judy SotherenColin SpencerJames & Alice SpigelmanFred & May SteinAshley & Aveen StephensonMargaret & William SuthersMargaret SwansonDr Jenepher ThomasMrs Caroline ThompsonMrs June ThorntonPeter & Jane ThorntonMs Rhonda TingAlma TooheyMrs M TurkingtonGillian Turner & Rob BishopRoss TzannesMr Robert VeelRonald WalledgeIn memory of Denis WallisIn memoriam JBL WattMiss Roslyn WheelerThe Wilkinson FamilyEdward & Yvonne WillsYetty WindtMr Evan WongMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (34)

SSO Patrons pages correct as of 27 February 2015

n n n n n n n n n n

44

SALUTE

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

EDUCATION PARTNERPLATINUM PARTNER

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNER MARKETING PARTNERVANGUARD PARTNER

PREMIER PARTNER

SILVER PARTNERS

s i n f i n i m u s i c . c o m

UNIVERSAL MUSIC AUSTRALIA

MAJOR PARTNERS

GOLD PARTNERS

Salute 2015_21Jan.indd 1 20/02/15 11:06 AM

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Anne-Marie Heath General Manager

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