King John Orchestra Concert

Sunday, 26th November 2017, 7.00 pm

PROGRAMME

Conductor – Chris Jessop

Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857), Overture, Ruslan and Ludmilla, Op. 5

GlinkaspenthisearlyyearsasassistantsecretaryoftheStPetersburgDepartmentofPublicHighways,but inhismid-20shegave thisup to studymusic in Italy andBerlin.HeistodaycreditedwithcreatingauniquelyRussiannationalmusicbyfusingtheEuropeanmusical traditionwithRussian folksongsandanationalist approach.He proved hugely influential on later composers including Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov,Borodin,Prokofiev,Stravinsky,andTchaikovsky.

His first opera, Ivan Susanin, was a great success. His second in 1842, Ruslan and Ludmilla, wasinitiallylesswell-received(perhapsbecausethescenariowasreportedlydevisedbyafriendofhis‘inaquarterofanhourwhilehewasdrunk’!),andisnowchieflyrememberedfortheoverture.Theopera,basedonPushkin’spoemofthesamename,tellsthestoryoftheabductionofLudmilla,thedaughterofPrinceVladimir,bytheevilwizardChernomor,andtheattemptofRuslan,oneofhersuitors, torescueher.Ruslantriumphs in theend,afterencounteringahutonhen’s legs,magicalgardens,dragons,agianthumanhead,witches,castles,andamagicsword.Themelodiesoftheoverturemostlycomefromthegeneralrejoicingattheendoftheopera.Aboldandconfidentopening for thebrass,wind,andtimpanimingleswithbustlingpassages forstrings.The more lyrical theme that first appears in the bassoon and lower strings represents Ruslan;Chernomorisrepresentedbywholetonescalesthatdonot‘fit’inthetraditionofWesternharmony,andwouldhavesoundedveryunfamiliartolistenersatthetime.Thethemesdevelopinsonataformbeforeacodathatbringsthepiecetoarousingconclusionthatbefitsthehappyending.

Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975), Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102

1.Allegro2.Andante3.Allegro

Shostakovichwrotethisconcertoin1957forhissonMaxim’snineteenthbirthday.Perhaps as a result of the greater artistic freedom he was enjoying followingStalin’sdeathfouryearsearlier,itisfarmorecheerfulthanalotofhisworks,andfulloffamilyin-jokes.Italsocontainssomeofhismostromanticwriting.

The first movement is characterized by light and elegant rhythmic interplaybetween the orchestra and the soloist, with octaves in both hands for the piano part. Thisplayfulnessgiveswaytotheintenselysoulfulsecondmovement,withthepianoemergingoutofagorgeousandtender introduction for thestrings.Themusicmoves fromminor tomajorandbackagain,insomeofShostakovich’smostmovingwriting.

There is no pause between the second movement and the dance-like third. Here ShostakovichincludesmaterialbasedonHanon’sinfamouspianoexercise,asajokebetweenhimandMaxim–heclaimeditwastheonlywayhecouldgethimtopracticethem!

Lopsided rhythms propel the concerto to its conclusion; although this concerto is sometimesthoughtofasoneofShostakovich’s less importantworks, itsyouthfulvigourandcheekinesshaveensureditspopularitywithpianistsandlistenersalike.

Soloist - Gavin Richards

Gavin Richards is Assistant Head at the Perse School, having served as Director of Music therebetween2002and2014.HehasanHonoursdegree inMusic fromCambridgeUniversityandalsostudiedpianoattheRoyalAcademyofMusicunderthelateAlexanderKelly.Hehastaughtpianotostudents of all ages and has performed widely as a concerto and recital soloist – includingperformances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, andalsowith theKing JohnOrchestra in2015.Hecreated theMusicLandwebsite,whichhasbecomeone of the leading online communities for music education in the UK; he has contributed as afreelancewritertoRhinegoldPublishing’sClassroomMusicandhehasexaminedfortheCambridgeInternationalExaminationsBoard.

--Interval--

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64

1.Andante–Allegro conanima2.Andante cantabile, conalcuna licenza–Moderato conanima–Andantemosso–Allegronontroppo3.Valse:Allegromoderato4.Finale–Andantemaestoso–Allegrovivace–Moltovivace–Moderatoassaiemoltomaestoso–Presto

LikeGlinka,TchaikovskystruckabalancebetweentheEuropeanmusicaltraditionand the inspiration he drew from Russian folk music, and his fifth symphonytypifieshisapproachinthisregard.

The composer sketched various notes for the first movement in April 1888:“Murmurs, doubts, laments, reproaches…shall I castmyself into the embrace offaith? A complete resignation before fate,which is the same as the inscrutablepredestinationof fate…”.Theextenttowhichhedevelopedthis idea isdoubtful

(by June 1888 he was claiming that the piece was not programmatic at all), but it certainly issignificant, and ithasbeen suggested that the recurring theme thatoccurs inall fourmovementsrepresentsanevocationoftheideaoffate.

Thesymphonyopenswiththefatemotif in the lowwoodwind; thisominousstartdevelops intoatentative,questioningallegro,withathemereminiscentofSlavicfolktunes.Thesecondmovementopenswithagorgeousmain themeadapted fromapopular lovesong,playedby thesolohorn.Alushorchestralclimaxisinterruptedbythereturnofthefatethemebeforethemusicfadesaway.

Thethirdmovementisagracefulwaltz,withabusysemiquaversectionforstrings–again,thefatetheme reappears at the end. The fourthmovement reintroduces the fate theme, but in amajorratherthanminorkey.Themusicgrowsinstrengthandgrandeur,andaftertheenergyanddriveofthemiddlesection,thesymphonycomestoatriumphantconclusionwithagrandmarch, inwhichthefatethemeisproclaimedloudlyinthebrasssection.

Tchaikovskyinitiallyhaddoubtsaboutthesymphony,deemingit‘tooinsincere’and‘repellentinitsexcesses’. Critical reception was also somewhat mixed to begin with – one American reviewerlikened it to ‘a horde of demons struggling in a barrel of brandy’! However, the piece grew inpopularityafterTchaikovsky’sdeath,andbecameoneofhismostpopularlarge-scaleworks.

OneofthemostmemorableperformanceswasbytheLeningradRadioOrchestraduringtheSiegeofLeningrad in theSecondWorldWar.Theorchestracontinuedperformingduringthesiegetoraisemorale,andonOctober20th1941playedTchaikovsky’s fifth,broadcasting live toLondon.Bombsbegan to fall as the secondmovement began; the orchestra continued playing until the very lastnote.

e ThisperformanceisdedicatedtothememoryofJamieGardiner,1994-2017e

THE KING JOHN ORCHESTRA – KJO

www.kingjohnorchestra.org.uk

Conductor-ChrisJessop

Chris Jessop has beenMusical Director of the King JohnOrchestra since 2010. He has previouslyconductedtheOrlandoSingersofCambridge,SwaveseyCommunityChoir,StIvesChoralSocietyandtheAddenbrooke’sMusicalSociety,andhasalsobeen theChoralDirectorof theHuntingdonshirePhilharmonicSociety.RepertoireconductedincludesBach'sMassinBMinor,VaughanWilliams'SeaSymphony,Handel'sSamson,MessiahandDixitDominus,andElgar'sSpiritofEnglandandTheMusicMakers.HehasbeenaGPpartneratCromwellPlaceSurgery,StIves,since1996.

OurPlayers

TheKJOwasfounded in2006byparentsofKing’sCollegeSchoolandquicklyexpandedto includeparentsfromStJohn’sandanyoneelsewhowouldliketojoinus.Wewelcomeanyonewhowouldliketheopportunitytoplayinanorchestra:noparticularconnectionwiththeschoolsisnecessary.Therearenoauditionsandanyoneiswelcometojoinuntilasectionisfull,buttoenjoyityouwillneed to be (or have been at some point!) at least Grade 6 standard.We rehearse fortnightly onMondayeveningsduringtermtime.Wehavesomevacanciesinthestringsandbrasssectionsatthemoment. If you are interested in playing, please use the contact form on the website athttp://www.kingjohnorchestra.org.uk/aboutjoining.html,andwewillgetintouch.

Violin1LaurenceDrake(Leader)FrancesBaxter

DavidCope

JulianEdge-Partington

AlexandraHayes

JoanneNewton

RebeccadeRafael

ElizabethTaylor

RosamundWilliams

Violin2AntheaMillarJoannaCargill

SheilaHunter

KitStoner

AndrewTusa

AnnWinterborn

ViolaHeatherSutcliffeSarahSteed

CatrionaBall

JoshHealey

MaryKasanicki

MaryReid

CelloFionaCornishGilesBarton-Owen

DavidCarruthers

JonathanChapter

JohnCheney

HelenClayton

RosemaryGrande

JaxParsonson

CharlotteSale

UrsulaWolff

DoubleBassAlisonMcNaught

CarolPatton

AlanGrayer

Flute1/PiccoloRobertGardiner

Flute2LucindaCzernin

AliceGarnett

OboePhilippaElloway

AlanJackson

MaryJaneO’Sullivan

ClarinetPennyBarton

WendyFray

JamesLoudon

BassoonJonathanGadsbyJeremyFairbrother

HornChrisRogers

SachikoRocca

HollyBaker

SusanFairley

TrumpetNaomiWrycroft

RoryGordon

TromboneNigelLow

JimRowley

BassTromboneLizWhite

TubaRobertSansom

TimpaniKateWishart

OUR CHARITY TONIGHT

ThisyearatourKJOconcertwearesupportingtheliteracycharitySchoolreaders.

In2016oneinthreechildrenfailedtoreachtherequiredreadingstandardattheageof11.Thismeansthatthousandsofchildrenarenotbenefittingfullyfromtheirsecondaryeducation.Evenmorefrighteningisthefactthat48%oftheprisonpopulationintheUKhasareadingageof11orless:evidencethatthelong-termeffectsofilliteracycanradicallyaffectachild’slifechances.

SchoolreadersistheonlynationalliteracycharityintheUKwhichrecruits,matchesandsupportsreadingvolunteerstoreadonaweeklybasiswithprimaryschoolchildren,atnocosttotheschool.WerecruitreadingvolunteersfromnetworkssuchastheWI,andwematchthemtoprimaryschoolsintheirlocalarea.Theschoolthencarriesoutthenecessarysecuritycheckandlinksthevolunteertothosepupilswhoneedextraone-to-onereadingsupport.Onaverageourvolunteersspend2hourseachweekreadingwith10children.

ThecosttoSchoolreadersofgivingreadingsupporttoonechildforayearisjust£15,astheSchoolreadersmodelisbuiltonvolunteers:fromourreadersthemselves,tothosewhorecruitthematcountylevel,toourcounty-basedfundraisers–allaregivingtheirtimeforfree.

ThisyearweareexpandingourserviceinCambridgeshireandaimtobeworkingwith830childrenin39primaryschoolsbyJuly2018.Pleasehelpustoreachasmanyofthesechildrenaspossible.

Thankyouforyoursupport!

Please support generously!

Andfinally,specialthanksto:

KatherineFirthfortheposterillustrationJohnatRyecroftDataforprintingservicesMichaelHolidayandThePerseSchoolforinstrumentloanThestaffofKing’s,StJohn'sandthePerseSchoolsforalltheirsupportandencouragementRobertZiegler,ourPatronforhiscontinuedenthusiasmandsupport