Saturday 8 November 2014West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Timothy RedmondPiano: Ji Liu Classic FM Artist

ShostakovichFestive Overture

RachmaninovPiano Concerto No. 2

BartókConcerto for Orchestra

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Cambridge Philharmonic OrchestraConductor: Timothy Redmond

Leader: Steve Bingham

Shostakovich: Festive Overture

Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2

Interval

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

Festive Overture Dmitri Shostakovich Opus 96 (1906-1975)

The three composers in tonight’s programme all underwent major odysseys in the course of their lives. Unlike Rachmaninov and Bartók, whose odysseys involved a transatlantic journey, the youngest of the three, Shostakovich, experienced his odyssey whilst remaining in the same country, but it was no less traumatic.

The evening opens with his Festive Overture, written in 1954. In the renewed cultural thaw presided over by Zhdanov after the end of the Second World War, Shostakovich was reconciled to the need to break off from his personal compositions to produce enough works conforming to the demands of Socialist Realism to be allowed a measure of personal freedom.

The Festive Overture is one such work, produced for the 37th anniversary of the October Revolution. There was always a strand of extrovert joyous music (much of it sardonic) in his work, mostly exhibited in his film scores and occasionally obtruding into his symphonies (for instance, the finales of the sixth and ninth), but by the 1950s even the film scores could be far more searching, as was the case with the score for Kozintsev’s King Lear, written in the summer of 1954. The tenth symphony, and the fourth and fifth string quartets of 1953, show the composer balancing his public persona with private utterances. The song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry was to follow in 1955; it has been described by Ian MacDonald as “one of the most devastating expressions of twentieth-century protest art.” So the Festive Overture should be seen in the context of these contemporary compositions.

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Sergei Rachmaninov Opus 18 (1873-1943)

Moderato

Adagio sostenuto – Piu animato – Tempo I

Allegro scherzando

Rachmaninov composed the Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. He was born into an ancient Russian noble family in 1873 and was regarded as Tchaikovsky’s natural heir. However, in 1897 the premiere of his first symphony was a disaster and Rachmaninov had a long period of self-doubt, from which he recovered in Venice, where he started composing again in 1900.

The second piano concerto is dedicated to Dr Nikolay Dahl, whose treatment had been largely responsible for lifting him out of his depression. It met with immediate success and has subsequently become one of the best-loved of all late romantic concertos.

The opening movement (Moderato) is in C Minor: it begins with a series of bell-like tollings before the introduction of the main theme. A lyrical second theme follows in E flat major. The development plays with both themes with frequent changes of key before the recapitulation with the piano playing a more prominent role in stating the themes. After a short cadenza the coda is initially placid before a final, agitated passage. The second movement is marked Adagio sostenuto – Piu animato – Tempo I. The strings begin with a series of modulations taking the key to E major. After the piano entry, the main theme is introduced by the flute and developed in an extensive clarinet solo. After a short climax the music dies away again to end with the soloist in E major. The final movement is marked Allegro scherzando and this time the orchestral introduction modulates the music back into C minor. The piano states an agitated first theme and then the oboe and violas introduce a lyrical second, followed by a lengthy central development section. A triumphant coda brings the concerto to an end in C major. In 1917, unable to come to terms with the Revolution and the destruction of his family home and estate, Rachmaninov left Russia for New York, but found it difficult to carry on composing, earning a living instead as a pianist. In 1939 he wrote: “I felt like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing, and I cannot acquire the new.”

John Harding

Interval

Concerto for Orchestra Béla Bartók (1881-1946)

In 1940 Bartók emigrated from his native Hungary to the United States to escape the growing turmoil of war. It was not a happy time, especially as this meant leaving behind his roots, his family ties and his sources of income. He was also beginning to suffer from what would be an ultimately fatal illness, and in 1943, while lecturing on folk music at Harvard University, his health took a turn for the worse to a point where it must have seemed doubtful whether he would work again. Yet by the end of the year he had finished the Concerto for Orchestra, his last completed work, and one that would finally establish him as one of the leading composers of the 20th century.

The concerto was written as a result of a commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a substantial new work, something which had been urged by Bartók’s compatriots, the violinist Josef Szigeti and conductor Fritz Reiner. The conductor of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, visited Bartók in his sick bed to inform him of the award and to give him a substantial down payment. This was partly a way of helping with Bartók’s increasing financial problems, and there must have been real doubt in Koussevitszky’s mind whether the work would actually be forthcoming. However the commission had an immediate re-energising effect on Bartók, who promptly transferred to a private sanatorium in upstate New York and set to work. As he wrote to his son, Peter: “I am working on the commissioned piece. I do not know whether there is any connection between this and the improvement in my health, but in any case I am very busy. Practically most of the day is taken up with it. It is a long work: five movements. But the first four are already finished.”

The concerto was completed in less than two months. It is a remarkable work, full of the folk tunes that Bartók had researched all his life, a highly personal and compelling reflection of the times, of Hungary and of the war, but also of hope. As its title suggests, it demands great virtuosity from the orchestra, but it is at heart a symphonic work with its own narrative. As Bartók explained in the programme note for the first performance: “The title of this symphony-like orchestral work is explained by its tendency to treat the single orchestral instruments in a concertant or soloistic manner. The general mood of the work represents – apart from the jesting second movement – a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third movement to the life-assertion of the last one.”

The first performance of the Concerto for Orchestra was given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in New York on 1 December 1944, with Koussevitzky conducting. It received both critical and public acclaim and has become a standard of the orchestral repertoire.

The Five Movements

1. IntroduzIone: andante non troppo – allegro vIvace

The slow introduction, a rising and falling figure followed by shimmering strings and a short flute commentary, is repeated twice in expanded form before the brass sound a lament. This is then taken up by the strings as the music moves forward into the Allegro. Bartók then follows classic sonata form – an exposition, development and recapitulation – with wistful

folk melodies being interspersed with threatening militaristic-sounding outbursts, before a short coda brings the movement to an end.

2. guIoco delle coppIe (game of paIrs) – allegro scherzando

The second movement – the ‘Game of Pairs’ – is akin to a classic scherzo and trio, with the scherzo, introduced by a side drum, consisting of a series of five pairs of instruments playing an extended dance-like tune. The intervals between the pairs of instruments are varied as the tune progresses, with bassoons in minor sixths, oboes in minor thirds, clarinets in minor sevenths, flutes in fifths and muted trumpets in minor seconds, all helping to create different sound textures as the tune unfolds. The trio is a chorale-like interlude. The scherzo then returns, the pairs now being augmented by neighbouring instruments, until the side drum ends the movement as it had begun.

3. elegIa – andante non troppo

The third movement is the emotional heart of the concerto, full of sadness and longing. It begins with an example of Bartók’s so-called night music before calls in the woodwind and brass usher in a series of more troubled sections, reminders perhaps of Bartók’s homeland and its fate in the war. The night music then returns, followed by a more reflective section, before a lone flute brings the movement to a close.

4. Intermezzo Interrotto – allegretto

The Intermezzo starts with a folk tune, followed by a string section before the first theme reappears. But then the whole process is rudely interrupted by a vulgarised march, said to be Bartók parodying the march from Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, the ‘Leningrad’. This was used to bolster Russian morale at a critical time in the war and became very popular in the US, and a great deal more than Bartók thought it merited. By way of contrast, Bartók then re-introduces the peaceful folk melodies as the Intermezzo returns.

5. fInale – presto

After an opening statement from the horns, the strings set off on a frantic rush of notes, with the woodwind and brass later joining in the chase. The music then gradually slows, only to be followed by a wild dance tune, until finally we reach the development section. This then grows ever more urgent until the strings set off once more. There follows a reflective transitional passage before the music begins to rebuild, after which there is a coda with its bold restatements of the theme, and a final flourish on the brass.

Chris Fisher

JI LIU (Piano)In 2014 Ji’s debut CD Piano Reflections was released by Classic FM and immediately went on to become No 1 in the classical charts. Born in 1990, Ji Liu studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, with Dmitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Música Reina Sofía and with Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music.

Engagements during the 2014/15 season include his debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and appearances as soloist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko at the Royal Albert Hall, and in China.

He gives a series of performances of Bach’s Goldberg Variations at Wigmore Hall and in Bristol, and takes part in the Nottingham International Piano Series.

Ji has appeared as soloist at major venues and festivals internationally including the Concertgebouw, Auditorium du Louvre, Salle Cortot, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Rachmaninoff Hall (Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Moscow), Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Hong Kong Town Hall, the Shanghai Oriental Art Centre, the Stavanger Chamber Music and Gstaad Festivals. He has performed the complete piano music of Isang Yung at the Tongyeong Music Festival in South Korea and in 2005/2006 took part in the Verbier Festival & Academy where he received the Tabor Piano Award and CUBS Prize.

As a concerto soloist Ji has performed Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 2 at the Barbican, Liszt’s Totentanz at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Ravel Concertos with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra and the French Republic Guard Orchestra (Canada), and the Beethoven Concertos with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. In 2010 he recorded Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue for the Royal Academy of Music’s own label.

A hugely creative artist, Ji has worked on cross arts collaborations, particularly with visual art, including film and sand animation. Over the next few years he will be exploring the complete Schubert Sonatas and working on a multi-media approach to Schubert’s unfinished works.

www.jipianist.com

Timothy Redmond (Conductor) Timothy Redmond conducts and presents concerts throughout Europe and has been principal conductor of the Cambridge Philharmonic since 2006.

He is a regular guest conductor with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, both in the recording studio and the concert hall, and conducts many of the UK’s leading orchestras. He has given concerts with the Philharmonia, Hallé and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras, with the BBC Concert, Philharmonic and Symphony

Orchestras, and with the Northern Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He has long-standing association with the Manchester Camerata, conducts concerts every season with the London Symphony Orchestra and broadcasts regularly on international TV and radio.

Timothy Redmond is well-known as a conductor of contemporary music. Since working closely with Thomas Adès on the premiere of The Tempest at Covent Garden, he has conducted critically-acclaimed productions of Powder Her Face for the Royal Opera House and St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre. In the opera house he has also conducted productions for Opera Theatre of St Louis, English National Opera, Opera North, English Touring Opera and Almeida Opera, for the Aldeburgh, Bregenz, Buxton, Los Angeles, Tenerife and Wexford festivals and for New York’s American Lyric Theater. As a member of music staff he also spent several seasons conducting at De Vlaamse Opera, Montepulciano, Strasbourg, Garsington and Glyndebourne.

His recordings include Dreams with the French cellist Ophélie Gaillard and the RPO (Harmonia Mundi), discs with Natasha Marsh and Mara Carlyle for EMI, and CDs with the Northern Sinfonia and Philharmonia.

Recent highlights have included a concert of jazz-inspired works to conclude the LSO’s 2012 Stravinsky Festival, a series of concerts with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York premiere of The Tempest, for which he assisted Thomas Adès at the Metropolitan Opera. Last season he toured in China with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, made his debut with the Rotterdam and London Philharmonic Orchestras and gave concerts in Macedonia, Germany and Finland. He also conducted the LSO in their annual BMW Open Air Classics concert to 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square and premiered a new production of Powder Her Face for ENO.

This season sees the release of a new disc with Alison Balsom and Guy Barker for Warner Classics, his Canadian debut with the Regina Symphony Orchestra and regular concerts in this country with the Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras.

Timothy Redmond studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester University and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. He furthered his studies in masterclasses with George Hurst, Ilya Musin, Yan Pascal Tortelier and Pierre Boulez and was recently appointed Professor of Conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Steve Bingham (Leader)Steve Bingham studied violin with Emmanuel Hurwitz, Sidney Griller and the Amadeus Quartet at the Royal Academy of Music from 1981 to 1985, where he won prizes for orchestral leading and string quartet playing. In 1985 he formed the Bingham String Quartet, an ensemble which has become one of the foremost in the UK, with an enviable reputation for both classical and contemporary repertoire. The Quartet has recorded numerous CDs and has worked for radio and television both in the UK and as far afield as Australia. The group has toured

in Europe, the Middle East and Australia and has worked with distinguished musicians such as Jack Brymer, Raphael Wallfisch, Michael Collins and David Campbell. The Quartet’s educational activities have included residencies at London’s South Bank Centre, for several UK festivals and at Radley College. The Quartet is also known for it’s many performances of new works by some of the best young composers in Britain.

Steve has appeared as guest leader with many orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English National Ballet and English Sinfonia. He has given solo recitals both in the UK and America and his concerto performances include works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius, given in venues as prestigious as St. Johns’ Smith Square and the Royal Albert Hall.

Steve is a conductor of some repute, particularly working with amateur orchestras. He is currently musical director for Ely Sinfonia and the City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra, and also runs occasional concerts with his own amateur ensemble, the Ad Hoc Sinfonia. He has a wide-ranging repertoire as a conductor, and is particularly in demand for his enthusiastic approach and natural musicianship. Over the last few seasons he has conducted works from Beethoven to Berlioz, from Rossini to Rautavarra, and from Grieg to Gershwin, alongside numerous premieres.

In the field of World music Steve has collaborated with several notable musicians including guitarist Jason Carter and players such as Sanju Vishnu Sahai (tabla), Baluji Shivastrav (sitar) and Abdullah Ibrahim (piano). Steve also plays live with No-Man, the progressive art-rock duo of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson.

In recent years Steve is much in demand providing violin backing for many different artists and styles, from folk singer-songwriter ballads to prog rock!

Steve is internationally renowned for his solo violin recitals, where he mixes acoustic pieces with live-looped electric violin arrangements in his own unique way. Steve has released four solo albums, “Duplicity”, “Ascension”, “Third” and “The Persistence Of Vision”, alongside many single tracks, and is currently planning two new releases for 2015.

stevebingham.co.uk

1st ViolinsSteve Bingham (leader)Kate Clow (co leader)Paul AndersonLucy AndrewsViola AugsteinSophie ChannonAdele FryersMaydo KayJohn RichardsMeriel RhodesDebbie SaundersLaura SmithRupert SwarbrickPat WelchGerry WimpennyEleanor Winpenny

2nd ViolinsNaomi HiltonEmma LawrenceJenny BarnaJoanna BaxterRoz ChalmersLeila CoupeFiona CunninghamRebecca ForsterAriane StoopAnne McAleerEmily MossEdna MurphyKatrin Ottersbach Sarah RidleySean RockViktoria Stelzhammer

ViolasGavin AlexanderAnne-Cecile DingwallRuth DonnellyJeremy HarmerJo HollandEmma McCaughan

Janet O’BoyleAlun WilliamsAgata Wygnanska

CellosVivian WilliamsCatherine Alexander-KiffSarah BendallHelen DaviesAnna EdwardsMelissa FuClare GilmourHanna Granroth-WildingIsabel GrovesHelen HillsLucy MitchellLucy O’Brien

Double BassSarah SharrockStephen BeaumontStuart ClowAsgeir FabenJohn RichensTony SchollMike ShieldsSusan Sparrow

Flute Cynthia LalliSamantha Martin

PiccoloAlison Townend

Oboe Rachael DunlopCamilla Haggett

Cor AnglaisKaty Wyatt

ClarinetGraham DolbyDavid Hayton

Bass clarinetSue Pettitt

BassoonNeil GreenhamJenny Warburton

Contra bassoonPhil Evans

HornCarole LewisHelen BlackGeorge ThackrayChris WykesPaul Ryder

TrumpetsAndy PowlsonNaomi WrycroftSergio Moreira

TromboneDenise HaylesNick Byers

Bass TromboneAlan Dimond

TubaTom Steer

TimpaniDave Ellis

PercussionDerek ScurllJames ShiresVictor Rouanet

HarpLizzy ScorahAnneke Hodnett

Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra

Cambridge Philharmonic Forthcoming concerts

Saturday 20 December 2014 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

BIZET: Carmen (Concert performance)

Saturday 24 January 2015 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

FAMILY CONCERT: TV and film favourites including Star Wars, Frozen, Thunderbirds and Dr Who

Saturday 14 March 2015 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

Cambridge Firsts

ELGAR HOWARTH: Dover Beach PAUL PATTERSON: Spider’s Web JONATHAN DOVE: There was a Child JONATHAN DOVE: A Song of Joys

Saturday 23 May 2015 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

WAGNER: The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure MENDELSSOHN: Hebrides Overture DEBUSSY: Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faune

Saturday 11 July 2015 Ely Cathedral

ELGAR: The Dream of Gerontius

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