MASTER SERIES

Wed 6 Feb 8pmFri 8 Feb 8pmSat 9 Feb 8pm

LEGENDS BY THE SEAAshkenazy conducts Sibelius

Friday night’s performance will be broadcast live across Australia on ABC Classic FM.

Pre-concert talk by Yvonne Frindle at 7.15pm in the Northern Foyer. Visit bit.ly/SSOspeakerbios for speaker biographies.

Estimated durations: 50 minutes, 20-minute interval, 22 minutes, 23 minutes

The concert will conclude at approximately 10.05pm

Legends by the SeaVladimir Ashkenazy CONDUCTOR

Jacqueline Porter SOPRANO

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)Lemminkäinen Suite, Op.22

Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of SaariThe Swan of Tuonela Lemminkäinen in TuonelaLemminkäinen’s Return

INTERVAL

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande(Mélisande’s Song orchestrated by Charles Koechlin)

Prélude (Quasi adagio)Andantino quasi allegrettoSicilienne (Allegretto molto moderato)Mélisande’s SongLa Mort de Mélisande (Molto adagio)

Jacqueline Porter, soprano

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)La Mer – Three Symphonic Sketches

De l’aube à midi sur la mer (From Dawn to Noon on the Sea)

Jeux de vagues (Play of Waves)

Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea)

2013 season master seriesWednesday 6 February | 8pmFriday 8 February | 8pmSaturday 9 February | 8pm

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

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The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1829–1832), a woodcut by Katsushika Hokusai from his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Debussy kept a print on the wall of his office and used a simplified detail from the woodcut on the cover of the 1905 edition of La Mer (the boats with their crews, dwarfed by the terrifying wave, are omitted).

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INTRODUCTION

Legends by the Sea

The Lemminkäinen Suite is storytelling music based on scenes from the Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala. The most famous movement – often performed alone – is the Swan of Tuonela, with its beautiful solo for the cor anglais. But there’s another side to this music. Played together, the four movements – or ‘legends’, as they’re sometimes called – are more than a suite. ‘It’s like a symphony,’ says Ashkenazy, ‘and it contains some of Sibelius’s best music.’ Sibelius himself considered Lemminkäinen worthy of a place amongst his symphonies.

Originally, we’d programmed the Lemminkäinen Suite in ‘symphony position’ at the end of the concert. But late last year, Ashkenazy decide to move it to the top of the program. And so tonight’s performance sets off with the exploits, trials and triumphs of Lemminkäinen, that wayward hero of the Kalevala. This is youthful music about a young and reckless character, and it shows Sibelius embracing the folk traditions of his homeland as he searches for a distinctive Finnish musical voice.

After interval, the storytelling continues with music composed for Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande – a tragic love story in the vein of the Tristan and Isolde legend. Music for the theatre – ‘incidental music’ – calls for short numbers that will capture a mood or underscore a dramatic moment and Fauré’s jewel-like miniatures do this perfectly. Tonight we perform the orchestral concert suite that he later developed from the theatrical score, but with the addition of Mélisande’s Song.

Then, fi nally, to the sea with another ‘symphony’ in all but name: La Mer. Debussy objected to the term ‘impressionism’ being applied to his music, but it has stuck simply because it’s so apt. The parallels between his musical goals and those of the Impressionists in painting are remarkably close: the deliberate blurring, for example, the play of colour and ‘light’, and evocation rather than sharp depiction. Where Sibelius and Fauré aimed for more literal storytelling and picture painting, Debussy’s symphonic sketches are about the idea of the sea.

COVER IMAGE: Lemminkäinen and his Mother, an illustration by Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931).

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

Jean SibeliusLemminkäinen Suite, Op.22Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of SaariThe Swan of Tuonela Lemminkäinen in TuonelaLemminkäinen’s Return

The Sibelius heard most frequently in live performance and on radio is an orchestral composer. It seems surprising, then, to fi nd him writing to the poet J.H. Erkko in 1893:

Music attains its fullest power only when it is motivated by poetic impulse. In other words, when words and music blend. Then the vague atmosphere music engenders becomes more defi ned and things can be said that not even the most powerful can formulate. Under the spell of Wagner’s music dramas, the young

Sibelius had decided to fulfi l his ambition to create an opera on a grand scale, The Building of the Boat, from a legend in the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. Sibelius was clearly fi red by the Wagnerian possibilities inherent in his proposed tale of a young Finnish hero, his amorous adventures, tests of bravery and journeys to the underworld. Following his initial work on the opera, Sibelius visited Bayreuth, and was overwhelmed by Parsifal and, even more so, by Tristan und Isolde, of which he wrote to his wife Aino: ‘Nothing…made as overwhelming an impression. It leaves one feeling that everything else is pale and feeble by comparison.’

Sibelius wrestled with The Building of the Boat for more than a year, and his correspondence records his varying moods of elation and despair as he begins to master his material, falters as he doubts the strength of the dramatic structure (for he had written his own scenario) and fi nally gives up on the piece altogether. Perhaps his most telling remark during this period, when Wagner’s overwhelming infl uence awed and exasperated him, was: ‘Liszt’s view of music is the one to which I am closest. Hence my interest in the symphonic poem.’

So it was that four orchestral works – four ‘legends’ known collectively as the Lemminkäinen Suite – emerged from the wreckage of The Boat. The best known, The Swan of Tuonela, is a re-casting of the Building of the Boat’s overture, but all are infused with musical ideas originally devised for the spectacular adventures of the would-be opera’s hero Väinö. They are souvenirs of a period in Sibelius’

Keynotes

SIBELIUSBorn Hämeenlinna, 1865 Died Järvenpää, 1957Sibelius is perhaps unique among composers in that he became not only a leading musical figure but a national hero for his country. He was a force in the creation of a distinctive Finnish voice, and much of his music – especially the earlier works – was based on incidents and themes from the Finnish folk epic, the Kalevala. After 1931 Sibelius composed almost nothing, although he did revise and eventually publish two of the orchestral legends heard in this concert.

LEMMINKÄINEN SUITE

The Lemminkäinen Suite is a set of four tone poems or ‘legends’ based on episodes from the life of Lemminkäinen, a sorcerer and hero of the Kalevala. He is young and good looking, and in Sibelius’ suite he ‘sows more than one wild oat’ with the maidens of Saari, and is killed in his attempt to shoot the Swan of Tuonela and thereby win the hand of Pohjola’s daughter. His mother has her own magic and restores him to life, allowing him to return home in triumph.

The four legends were completed and first performed as a suite in 1896.

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composing life when vivid and varied orchestral colour still meant a great deal to him. Although his orchestral palette would become more restrained in the decades to come, he would always hold these pieces in much aff ection. Indeed, towards the end of his life, Sibelius remarked that the Lemminkäinen Suite was worthy to stand as one of his symphonies. The shared musical language of the legends and the quasi-symphonic layout – with the Swan serving as slow movement and Lemminkäinen in Tuonela as a grim scherzo – make of the four ‘movements’ a cohesive whole.

The legends were performed together in April 1896. Sibelius revised them before a further performance in 1897, and continued revising them intermittently until 1937. World War II held up publication of all the movements together until 1954.

The pieces concern themselves with the exploits of Lemminkäinen, the most famous hero in the Kalevala epic, described by one annotator as ‘a jovial, reckless personage whose intrepidity and beauty made him the favourite of women’. We hear, in turn, of his journeys to the enchanted island of Saari (where he sows more than one wild oat) and to Tuonela, the land of the dead; his resurrection there, aided by his mother’s magic powers; and his return home.

Portrait of Sibelius by his countryman Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931)

Ashkenazy’s FavouritesTchaikovsky, Strauss & Walton

Indulge in a few of Ashkenazy’s favourites.

“Walton 1 is an absolute favourite of mine,” says Ashkenazy. “It’s compelling and it has

tremendous energy.” This breathtaking symphony follows Tchaikovsky’s Romantic masterpiece and

Strauss’s elegant Oboe Concerto performed by former Berlin Philharmonic oboist, Hansjörg Schellenberger.

Tickets from $35* Book Now!

SYDNEYSYMPHONY.COMor call 8215 4600 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm* Booking fees of $7.50-$8.95 may apply.

TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet – Fantasy OvertureR STRAUSS Oboe ConcertoWALTON Symphony No.1

Vladimir Ashkenazy conductorHansjörg Schellenberger oboe

Wed 15 May 8pmFri 17 May 8pmSat 18 May 8pm

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Sibelius is interested primarily in the atmosphere of the original stories, and does not follow a detailed program.

The infl uence of Tristan und Isolde is most clearly evident in the fi rst two legends. Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari, opens with two gleaming chords, scored for horns only, that seem to welcome us into a landscape of legend. By the time a series of rising chords resolves on the harmonies that opened the work, we have passed through the portals that lead to the main part of the movement, for we then hear a dance-like theme on the woodwind over a gentle, rustic string accompaniment. A mood of passionate brooding soon follows with a dark, lush theme for the strings: we may assume that our hero has made the maidens’ acquaintance. The main melodic material, now declaimed ardently by the cellos and basses, develops an increasingly intense energy as Sibelius continues to delay any defi nitive harmonic resolution. This is the most overtly operatic music in the suite, like a love duet without singing, and the shadow of Tristan hovers perceptibly over proceedings. The whole movement now takes on the character of a gradual crescendo, with the rustic dance, much more impassioned, interwoven with sensuous developments of Lemminkäinen’s love music. The work ends quietly and expectantly, with woodwind carollings sending the hero on to his next adventure.

Where the fi rst legend is quite lavishly orchestrated, The Swan of Tuonela represents Sibelius’ ability to achieve a unique sound picture by a distinctive treatment of relatively modest orchestral resources. Tuonela is the land of death, surrounded by black waters on which the swan glides, singing. Trumpets, clarinets and fl utes are absent. There is a bass clarinet where there was none in the fi rst legend. But it is the cor anglais solo that dominates everything here. It has been argued that, without the inspiration of the opening of Act III of Tristan und Isolde, Sibelius would not have written The Swan of Tuonela this way. This is a matter of externals. Where the Wagner is full of human pain and longing, the landscape here recalls Neville Cardus’ remark: ‘The scene and drama of the music of Sibelius are nature.’ The fi rst and second violins are frequently divided into four groups each, which, great writer for strings that he was, Sibelius employs to indelible eff ect. Where other composers of this period might use multiple string choirs to create an impression of lusciousness, Sibelius evokes something cold, ancient and complete. Parts of The Swan of Tuonela anticipate the chant-like sonorities Vaughan Williams would create in his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

The Lemminkäinen Suite calls for two flutes (doubling piccolo), two oboes and cor anglais, two clarinets and bass clarinet, and two bassoons; four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (bass drum, triangle, cymbals, side drum, tambourine, glockenspiel); and strings.

The Swan of Tuonela was the first movement to be performed by the Sydney Symphony, in 1945 with Bernard Heinze. The complete Lemminkäinen suite was first performed by an ABC orchestra in 1965 (the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Berglund), and was not performed again until Mikko Franck conducted it in the Sydney Symphony’s 2002 Master Series. The most recent performance of the suite by the Sydney Symphony was in 2007, conducted by yet another Finnish conductor, Hannu Lintu.

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Lemminkäinen in Tuonela is the most macabre of the Kalevala episodes Sibelius chose to illustrate. Setting out to kill the swan, Lemminkäinen is himself killed, cut into pieces, and thrown into the black river. Lemminkäinen’s mother then combs the river with a rake, gathers up the pieces of her son’s body and magically sews them back together. The sense of mystery and menace is evoked in the opening tremolando theme played by double basses and cellos. The melodic ideas that follow do nothing to release the tension, until a gentler theme for strings introduces a more contemplative mood, perhaps created by the arrival of Lemminkäinen’s mother. There is a tremendous sense of confl ict.

Lemminkäinen’s Return is the most vigorous of the four legends, a moto perpetuo of great drive and rhythmic energy. Like much of Sibelius’ music it grows from a tiny germ-like motif. First played by the bassoon, in its extended form this theme is given out brazenly by the brass just before the piece rushes to its exhilarating conclusion. The imagery Lemminkäinen’s Return intends to evoke is very easy to picture in the mind’s eye.

PHILLIP SAMETZ © 2002

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Lemminkäinen’s Destruction and His Restoration to LifeLemminkäinen – something of a Casanova – seeks to win Pohjola’s daughter. Her mother has demanded that he shoot the swan from the river in Tuonela, mythical land of the dead.

The white Swan was on the dark river of Tuonela. Lemminkäinen drew his bow. As he did, Märkähattu grasped a water-snake; he hurled it; he pierced Lemminkäinen with the serpent. Lemminkäinen sank into the murky river; he was tossed about in a whirlpool; he was dashed down the cataract; the stream brought him into Tuonela.

There Tuonela’s bloodstained son, drawing his sword, hewed him into eight pieces and fl ung them into the dark river. ‘Be tossed about for ever with thy bow and thy arrows, thou who camest to shoot the sacred Swan upon our sacred River!’

One day Lemminkäinen’s young wife Kyllikki saw blood trickling from the comb and hair-brush that he had left behind. Lemminkäinen’s mother knew that blood was coming from the body of her son. She gathered up her skirt and went off to fi nd him.… She questioned the trees, she questioned the pathway, she questioned the golden moon in the sky; but they all had their own troubles. She questioned the sun in the heavens, and the sun told her that her son was in Tuonela’s River.

…Then Lemminkäinen’s mother took her magic rake; she raked the river against the current; once, twice she raked it. The third time she raked the river she brought up the hat and stockings of her son. She waded in its deepest water. She drew up the body with her rake of iron…Once again she raked Tuonela’s deep river…his hand she found, half of his head she found, fragments of his backbone she found, and pieces of his ribs.

She pieced all together; the bones fi tted, the joints went together…but still the man remained lifeless. Then Lemminkäinen’s mother bade the bee go forth and fi nd the honey-salve in heaven itself that would give fi nal healing. She called upon her son to rise out of his slumbers, and waken from his dreams of evil. Up he rose; out of his dreams he wakened, and speech came back to him. Even then he would have slain the Swan so that he might win Pohjola’s daughter. But his mother persuaded him, and drew him back with her to his home. There the bride awaited him whom he had won in another place and on another day, Kyllikki, the Flower of Saari.

Extract from the Kalevala, adapted from a retelling by Padraic Colum in Orpheus, Myths of the World (1930).

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Gabriel FauréSuite from Pelléas et Mélisande(Mélisande’s Song orchestrated by Charles Koechlin)

Prélude (Quasi adagio)Andantino quasi allegrettoSicilienne (Allegretto molto moderato)Mélisande’s SongLa Mort de Mélisande (Molto adagio)

Jacqueline Porter soprano

Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande, fi rst performed in Paris in 1893, is quite remarkable for the extent of its infl uence on the musical world in the few years after its premiere, with four major composers producing important ‘Pelléas’ works between 1898 and 1905. Equally remarkable is the stylistic range of the music it inspired; it would be diffi cult to imagine a sharper contrast than that between the brooding power and orchestral virtuosity of Schoenberg’s symphonic poem (1903) on the one hand, and the shadowy understatement of Debussy’s opera (1902) on the other.

By contrast to these works, both of which broke new ground for their respective composers (and for music in general), Gabriel Fauré’s incidental music for the play is relatively conservative, and even, at times, deliberately archaic (a characteristic it shares with Sibelius’ incidental music of 1905). Fauré’s score was written for the fi rst staging of Maeterlinck’s drama in English translation, in London in 1898; it was actually the fi rst ‘Pelléas’ music to be performed, although Debussy had already been at work on his opera for some time (and had, in fact, been approached to write the music for the London production).

Fauré was given only a few weeks in which to compose the score; it was therefore probably as a matter of necessity that he did not orchestrate the pieces himself, but delegated this task to his pupil, Charles Koechlin. The complete incidental music, some of which has been lost, consisted of about seven or eight diff erent pieces, although several of these were repeated, in part or in full, to make a total of 19 numbers. Shortly after the London season, Fauré extracted a concert suite, re-orchestrating three of the numbers himself for somewhat larger forces. A fourth movement, the famous Sicilienne, was added to the suite in 1901, giving the work the form in which it is usually known today; also added at the same time (although now not often heard) was Mélisande’s Song from the fi rst scene of Act III.

Keynotes

FAURÉBorn Pamiers, 1845Died Paris, 1924Fauré found professional security and influence as an organist, and later director of the Paris Conservatoire, composing during the summer. His style was profoundly lyrical and intimate in character and he made a very significant contribution to French music in the realm of song.

PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE

Pelléas et Mélisande tells a tragic story of doomed lovers: Mélisande, who can remember only her name; Golaud, the king’s grandson, who claims her as a bride; and his step-brother Pelléas, who wins her heart. The source is the influential symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck, written in 1892, and prompting four different composers to interpret the story of forbidden love: Debussy, Schoenberg, Sibelius and Fauré.

Maeterlinck’s play was performed once in Paris – it found more support in London, where it was played in French and then, in 1898, in English. It was for the 1898 production that Fauré was invited to compose the music. The complete incidental music included a song for Mélisande, usually omitted from concert performances. Although Fauré had engaged his student Charles Koechlin to help prepare the orchestrations for the theatrical premiere, for the concert suite (Opus 80) he enlarged the orchestra and revised details of colouration, enhancing the music’s evocative and ‘hazy’ atmosphere.

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The suite is considered by many commentators to contain the composer’s fi nest orchestral music.

The Prélude to Act I, which opens the suite, is the most symphonic movement in the score, betraying Fauré’s admiration for Wagner. The fi rst idea, a modal phrase suggesting the character of Mélisande and scored for strings alone, is extended in a continuous arch of melodic development which leads to much darker and more complex harmonic regions than the simplicity of the opening would suggest. After an impassioned climax, the music comes to a standstill on a distant horn call. This solo, consisting of the reiteration of a single note, represents Golaud sounding his horn in the forest; it also appears to be a deliberate musical reference to Hunding’s off stage horn calls at the end of Act II of Wagner’s Walküre (in a not dissimilar dramatic situation).

The inner movements of the suite are considerably slighter and narrower in scope. The Andantino, originally the entr’acte before Act III, depicts Mélisande at her spinning wheel, and consists of a number of expansive melodic lines for wind solos and combinations (with the oboe particularly prominent) over a constantly fl owing string accompaniment.

The Sicilienne was originally composed as part of the incidental music for Molière’s Bourgeois gentilhomme, in a version for cello and piano. The orchestration of this piece for Pelléas et Mélisande features solo fl ute, with much of the piano fi guration played by harp. It has since been arranged for practically every conceivable instrument; the gentle rise and fall of its melody aff ords ample opportunity for expressive playing.

Mélisande’s Song, which follows is perhaps the most enigmatic section of all. Although the text resembles a folk-like ballad (albeit a rather mysterious one), the vocal line is distinctly un-songlike, having rather the character of an improvised recitative; while the orchestra’s musical material centres on a rising fi ve-note phrase, repeated over and over with subtle variations of harmony and colour. As in the fi rst movement, the harmony darkens unexpectedly in the fi nal bars, as the rising phrase is altered chromatically and truncated to just three notes.

Portrait of Fauré in 1889 by John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)

Maurice Maeterlinck (1901)

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The King’s three blind daughters sit locked in a hold.In the darkness their lamps make a glimmer of gold.

Up the stair of the turret the sisters are gone,seven days they wait there and the lamps they burn on.

‘What hope?’ says the fi rst, and leans o’er the fl ame.‘I hear our lamps burning. O yet! if he came!’

‘Oh hope!’ says the second, ‘Was that the lamps’ fl are,or a sound of low footsteps? The Prince on the stair!’

But the holiest sister she turns her about:‘Oh no hope now for ever, our lamps are gone out!

J.W. Mackail after a French text by Maurice Maeterlinck from Quinze Chansons No.5; prepared for the fi rst production of the play in English, in London 1898.

The suite concludes with a Molto adagio, subtitled La Mort de Mélisande, which was used as the entr’acte before Act V of the play. This movement returns to the intensity of the Prélude, and combines a development of the rising phrase from Mélisande’s Song with the implacable tread of a double-dotted funeral march rhythm. Once again the music is an unbroken arch of melody, rising to a climax and then sinking to a quiet coda. The rising phrase is heard once more on the violins, before a gentle upward scale on solo fl ute which brings the work to a close.

ELLIOTT GYGER © 1991/2013

Tonight’s selections from Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande call for pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons; four horns and two trumpets; timpani and percussion; harp and strings.

The Sydney Symphony first performed the concert suite from Fauré’s Pelléas et Mélisande in 1969, conducted by Peter Eros, and most recently in 2005 in concerts conducted by Charles Dutoit.

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Claude Debussy La Mer – Three Symphonic Sketches

De l’aube à midi sur la mer (From Dawn to Noon on the Sea)Jeux de vagues (Play of Waves)Dialogue du vent et de la mer (Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea)

‘Never before had that marvellous music La Mer appeared so seductive and yet mysterious at the same time, so imbued with the enigmatic life of the Cosmos, than on that evening when her great creator, with a gentle hand, was ruling over her waves.’

So wrote a young Russian composer, Lazare Saminsky, on hearing Debussy conduct La Mer in St Petersburg in 1913. But the work’s greatness had by no means seemed self evident when it had fi rst appeared in 1905. Debussy himself was weathering a personal scandal, having left his fi rst wife, and part of the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the Parisian public may have stemmed from its disapproval. The fi rst performance, too, was by all accounts under-rehearsed and the conductor Camille Chevillard unsympathetic to Debussy’s style. The composer and conductor Lalo complained that he could neither hear, see nor feel the sea, and a reviewer in Boston wrote that ‘we clung like a drowning man to a few fragments of the tonal wreck, a bit of theme here, a comprehensible fi gure there, but fi nally this muted-horn sea overwhelmed us’. The point missed by the authors of such remarks, however, is that Debussy’s music (both generally speaking and in regard this work) is not intended as visual imagery, or the soundtrack to some imaginary fi lm. (This is what Debussy’s colleague Satie was burlesquing when he praised the fi rst movement, ‘From dawn to noon on the sea’, by saying he particularly liked the bit ‘around a quarter to eleven’.) The composer may have invited such misinterpretations: in subtitling the work ‘Three Symphonic Sketches’ he of course evokes the media of visual art; moreover, he often used terms like ‘colour’ and ‘shading’ when discussing his music. But in 1903, when he began work on La Mer, Debussy wrote to a friend from the Burgundian countryside:

You may not know that I was destined for a sailor’s life, and that only chance led me in another direction…You will say that the ocean does not exactly bathe the hills of Burgundy, and my seascapes may be studio landscapes, but I have an endless store of memories, and in my mind they are worth more than reality, whose beauty often weighs heavily on the imagination.

Keynotes

DEBUSSY

Claude Debussy once told an enquirer that if he hadn’t been a musician he would have become a sailor. He wasn’t being flippant: he loved the sea, and on one occasion he even persuaded a ship’s captain to take him out to sea in a fierce storm. As a composer he resented the label ‘Impressionist’ and the inevitable analogies between his music and the visual arts, but he did share with the painters a fascination with water. And it’s possible he was influenced by Monet’s attempts to depict the changing effects of light with a series of pictures of the same subject, even though he was less interested in literal representation than in communicating an idea.

LA MER

The titles of Debussy’s three symphonic sketches of ‘The Sea’ are evocative but not pictorial – not to be taken too literally, as Satie’s famous joke about liking the bit ‘around a quarter to eleven’ reveals. In fact, it’s possible to hear these ‘sketches’ as pure symphonic music: a carefully developed opening movement full of imaginative orchestral effects; a playful and inventive interlude; and an almost Romantically structured ‘finale’ with references back to the first movement providing a sense of unity to the whole.

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The work, then, is about the idea of the sea rather than being a representation of it; signifi cantly, much of the composition of the work took place away from the coast.

Debussy’s genius for orchestration and subtle rhythmic organisation certainly make for an evocative work where it is possible to imagine the crash of waves, the call of seagulls and the protean movement of light on water. The fi nal climactic moments of the fi rst movement, for instance, somehow create a sense of emerging from the deep into the light.

Other masterly touches abound: the unusual timbre of the cello section divided into four parts; the use of muted horns (which Debussy admitted to taking from the music of Weber) to evoke space; the soloistic use of wind instruments and harp.

But La Mer is as much ‘symphonic’ as it is ‘sketch’. Its three movements are by no means simply rhapsodic, but rather show Debussy’s subtle and careful approach to form. In the fi rst movement his careful development of short motifs is perfectly symphonic; the second movement, ‘Play of Waves’, is, among other things, a symphonic scherzo; and the third movement – which has one of the rare ‘big fi nishes’ of any work by this composer – is a symphonic fi nale. (This movement, with its references back to the fi rst, also show Debussy’s adherence to the notion of cyclical form that he learned from César Franck and applied in such works as his String Quartet.)

Portrait of Debussy (1884) by Marcel-André Baschet (1862–1941)

In July–August 1905 Debussy found himself in ‘a little English seaside town…too many draughts and too much music’. The town was Eastbourne in Sussex; the music was La Mer, which Debussy was in the process of preparing for publication. Eastbourne also provided a refuge from the scandal and drama of his affair with Emma Bardac. Here he stands on the balcony of the Grand Hotel.

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Debussy’s music is not intended as visual imagery, or the soundtrack to some imaginary film.

The pianist and Debussy expert Roy Howat has also shown how Debussy’s structure corresponds to the ancient Greek idea of the Golden Section where a line is divided so that the ratio of the shorter portion to the longer portion forms the same ratio as the longer portion does to the whole length. (The façade of many a classical temple is built such that the ratio between its height and width corresponds to these divisions.) By applying this formula to time, a composer can plot where signifi cant events (changes of speed, colour moods or metre) will have the greatest dramatic eff ect. Howat has argued persuasively that the moment in the last movement of La Mer where the violins play a soft, impossibly high harmonic represents the Golden Section of the piece.

By a nice paradox, Debussy’s marvellous musical refl ection on the constant fl ux of the sea is achieved by the most painstaking and careful calculation. Not for nothing did the published score carry the intricately designed woodcut The Hollow Wave by the Japanese artist Hokusai.

GORDON KERRY © 2005Keynotes adapted in part from a note by G.K. WILLIAMS

La Mer calls for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, three bassoons and contrabassoon; four horns, three trumpets, two cornets, three trombones and tuba; timpani and percussion (glockenspiel, tam-tam, cymbals, triangle, bass drum); two harps, celesta and strings

The Sydney Symphony first performed La Mer in 1948 with Eugene Goossens, and most recently in 2009, in concerts conducted by John Nelson and Benjamin Northey.

The cover of the 1906 edition of La Mer, featuring a detail from a woodcut by Hokusai.

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MORE MUSIC

LEMMINKÄINEN SUITE

Vladimir Ashkenazy has recorded the third of Sibelius’s legends, Swan of Tuonela, with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, available on a disc with the Second Symphony and Tapiola.EXTON 292

For the complete set of legends, try Mikko Franck and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a recording paired with En Saga. ONDINE 953

Or look for Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in a fi ve-disc collection of Sibelius tone poems; also including performances by Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. BIS 1900

If you’d like to read the Kalevala poem, John Martin Crawford’s 1888 translation is available in a variety of ebook formats from the gutenberg.org site: bit.ly/KalevalaEbooks

PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE

Like Ashkenazy, Seiji Ozawa added Mélisande’s Song to Fauré’s suite when he recorded it with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lorraine Hunt is the soloist in this gem. On the same disc, Fauré’s Dolly Suite, the Pavane, and Après un Rêve and the Elégie with cellist Jules Eskin.DEUTSCHE GRAMMPOHON 423 0892

Fauré wasn’t the only composer to take inspiration from Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande. Best known is the opera by Debussy, but there is also incidental music by Sibelius and an early symphonic poem by Schoenberg. A recording by Serge Baudo and the Czech Philharmonic combines the three orchestral works with Marius Constant’s arrangement of the Debussy opera as a 24-minute ‘symphony’.SUPRAPHON 3899

LA MER

Ashkenazy’s recording of La Mer with the Cleveland Orchestra is available in a release with Debussy’s Three Nocturnes and Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole. ELOQUENCE/DECCA 4674282

And for a broader selection of Debussy’s orchestral music, look for Bernard Haitink’s two-disc collection, recorded with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The program also includes Images for orchestra, Jeux, Nocturnes, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and other works.PHILIPS 438 7422

JACQUELINE PORTER

Jacqueline Porter can be heard performing with Ashkenazy and the Sydney Symphony in Prokofi ev’s Ugly Duckling, a kind of symphonic poem for voice and orchestra, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. On the same disc: suites from Lieutenant Kijé and The Love for Three Oranges, all recorded in 2009EXTON EXCL 00049

Broadcast Diary

February

abc.net.au/classic

Tuesday 19 February, 1.05pmto the memory of an angel (2012)Lothar Koenigs conductorJulian Rachlin violinBerg, Bruckner

Saturday 23 February, 10amrachmaninoff (2012)Vladimir Ashkenazy conductorScott Davie pianoRachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.4 (original version)

Fine Music 102.5sydney symphony 2012Tuesday 12 February, 6pmMusicians, staff and guest artists discuss what’s in store in our forthcoming concerts.

sydney symphony 21

Webcasts

Selected Sydney Symphony concerts are webcast live on BigPond and Telstra T-box and made available for later viewing On Demand.

Our most recent webcast:dancing with the saxophone (2012)

Visit: bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony

Sydney Symphony Live

The Sydney Symphony Live label was founded in 2006 and we’ve since released more than a dozen recordings featuring the orchestra in live concert performances with our titled conductors and leading guest artists, including the Mahler Odyssey cycle, begun in 2010. To purchase, visit sydneysymphony.com/shop

Sydney Symphony Online

Join us on Facebookfacebook.com/sydneysymphony

Follow us on Twittertwitter.com/sydsymph

Watch us on YouTubewww.youtube.com/SydneySymphony

Visit sydneysymphony.com for concert information, podcasts, and to read the program book in the week of the concert.

Stay tuned. Sign up to receive our fortnightly e-newslettersydneysymphony.com/staytuned

Download our free mobile app for iPhone or Androidsydneysymphony.com/mobile_app

Glazunov & ShostakovichAlexander Lazarev conducts a thrilling performance of Shostakovich 9 and Glazunov’s Seasons. SSO 2

Strauss & SchubertGianluigi Gelmetti conducts Schubert’s Unfi nished and R Strauss’s Four Last Songs with Ricarda Merbeth. SSO 200803

Sir Charles MackerrasA 2CD set featuring Sir Charles’s fi nal performances with the orchestra, in October 2007. SSO 200705

Brett DeanBrett Dean performs his own viola concerto, conducted by Simone Young, in this all-Dean release. SSO 200702

RavelGelmetti conducts music by one of his favourite composers: Maurice Ravel. Includes Bolero. SSO 200801

Rare Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff chamber music with Dene Olding, the Goldner Quartet, soprano Joan Rodgers and Vladimir Ashkenazy at the piano. SSO 200901

MAHLER ODYSSEY ON CDDuring the 2010 and 2011 concert seasons, the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy set out to perform all the Mahler symphonies, together with some of the song cycles. These concerts were recorded for CD, with nine releases so far and more to come.

Mahler 9 OUT NOW

In March, Mahler’s Ninth, his last completed symphony, was released. SSO 201201

ALSO CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

Mahler 1 & Songs of a WayfarerSSO 201001

Mahler 8 (Symphony of a Thousand)SSO 201002

Mahler 5 SSO 201003

Song of the Earth SSO 201004

Mahler 3 SSO 201101

Mahler 4 SSO 201102

Mahler 6 SSO 201103

Mahler 7 SSO 201104

22 sydney symphony

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Vladimir Ashkenazy PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC ADVISOR

Vladimir Ashkenazy fi rst came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw and as winner of the 1956 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Since then he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most outstanding pianists of the 20th century, but as a revered and inspiring artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities.

Conducting has formed the largest part of his music-making for the past 20 years, and this is his fi fth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Sydney Symphony. He has also been Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic (1998–2003) and Music Director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo (2004–2007), and he is Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, with whom he has developed landmark projects such as Prokofi ev and Shostakovich Under Stalin and Rachmaninoff Revisited.

He also holds the positions of Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He maintains strong links with a number of other major orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra (where he was formerly Principal Guest Conductor) and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Chief Conductor and Music Director, 1988–96), as well as making guest appearances with major orchestras around the world.

Vladimir Ashkenazy continues to devote himself to the piano, building his comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as the 1999 Grammy award-winning Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, Rautavaara’s Piano Concerto No.3 (which he commissioned), Rachmaninoff transcriptions, Bach’s Wohltemperierte Klavier and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. His most recent solo releases feature the music of Rachmaninoff .

A regular visitor to Sydney since his Australian debut in 1969, he has conducted subscription concerts and composer festivals for the Sydney Symphony, with highlights including the acclaimed Sibelius festival of 2004 and his Rachmaninoff festival of 2007. In 2010–11 he conducted the Mahler Odyssey concerts and live recordings, and his artistic role with the orchestra includes annual international touring.

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Russian-born Vladimir Ashkenazy inherited his musical gift from both sides of his family: his father David Ashkenazy was a professional light music pianist and his mother Evstolia (née Plotnova) was daughter of a chorusmaster in the Russian Orthodox church.

sydney symphony 23

Jacqueline Porter SOPRANO

Jacqueline Porter holds an honours degree in Music Performance and a Bachelor of Arts (Italian) from the University of Melbourne and was a recipient of the 2010 Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust Scholarship.

She appears regularly with Victorian Opera and as a soloist with Australia’s major orchestras and choral societies, and her recitals and concerts are frequently broadcast on ABC Classic FM. She has worked with conductors such as Neville Marriner, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Oleg Caetani and Richard Gill.

Her engagements with the Sydney Symphony include Grieg’s Peer Gynt and Prokofi ev’s Ugly Duckling (also released on CD). Other career highlights include The Bells by Rachmaninoff (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), I Would Sing a Little While by Calvin Bowman (Melbourne Chamber Orchestra), an Adelaide Symphony Orchestra New Years’ Eve broadcast, Opera in the Vineyard with David Hobson, and a broadcast recital of Schumann Lieder (ABC).

In 2012 she made her role debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (Victorian Opera). She also sang in the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s Last Night of the Proms, appeared with the MSO in operatic arias by Mozart and Haydn’s dramatic Scena di Berenice, and returned to the Sydney Symphony to perform Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 by Villa-Lobos.

Jacqueline Porter’s extensive concert repertoire includes Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été, Les Illuminations by Britten, Brahms’s German Requiem, Enescu’s Vox Maris, Fauré’s Requiem, Haydn’s Maria Theresa Mass and Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and his Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony and Serenade to Music.

Her opera roles include Despina (Così fan tutte); Drusilla, La Virtù and Pallade (L’incoronazione di Poppea); L’Amour (Orpheé et Eurydice); Saskia and Hendrickje Stoff els (Rembrandt’s Wife), Clorinda (Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda); and Momus (Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan) – all for Victorian Opera – and Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) for State Opera of South Australia.

24 sydney symphony

MUSICIANS

FIRST VIOLINS

Dene Olding Concertmaster

Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster

Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster

Fiona ZieglerAssistant Concertmaster

Jennifer BoothMarianne BroadfootBrielle ClapsonSophie ColeAmber DavisNicola LewisAlexander NortonLéone ZieglerAlexandra D’Elia*Claire Herrick°Elizabeth Jones*Emily Qin°Julie BattyJennifer HoyGeorges LentzAlexandra Mitchell

SECOND VIOLINS

Kirsty Hilton Marina Marsden Alexander ReadEmma Jezek Assistant Principal

Susan Dobbie Principal Emeritus

Maria DurekShuti HuangStan W KornelBenjamin LiEmily Long Nicole MastersPhilippa PaigeBiyana RozenblitMaja VerunicaEmma Hayes

VIOLAS

Roger Benedict Tobias Breider Anne-Louise Comerford Justin Williams Assistant Principal

Robyn BrookfieldSandro CostantinoJane HazelwoodGraham HenningsStuart JohnsonJustine MarsdenLeonid VolovelskyAmanda Verner*Felicity Tsai

CELLOS

Giovanni Gnocchi*Catherine Hewgill Leah Lynn Assistant Principal

Kristy ConrauFenella GillTimothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleChristopher PidcockAdrian WallisDavid Wickham

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees Boersma Alex HeneryNeil Brawley Principal Emeritus

David CampbellSteven LarsonRichard LynnBenjamin WardHugh Kluger*David Murray

FLUTES

Janet Webb Carolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo

Emma Sholl

OBOES

Diana Doherty David Papp Alexandre Oguey Principal Cor Anglais

Shefali Pryor

CLARINETS

Lawrence Dobell Christopher Tingay Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet

Francesco Celata

BASSOONS

Matthew WilkieFiona McNamara Noriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon

Jack Schiller°†

Roger Brooke

HORNS

Robert Johnson Marnie SebireEuan HarveyBrendan Parravicini†Rachel Shaw°Ben JacksGeoffrey O’Reilly Principal 3rd

TRUMPETS

David Elton Paul Goodchild John FosterAnthony HeinrichsAndrew Evans*Brendon Tasker*

TROMBONES

Scott Kinmont Nick Byrne Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone

Ronald Prussing

TUBA

Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Richard Miller

PERCUSSION

Rebecca Lagos Colin Piper Mark Robinson

HARP

Louise Johnson Meriel Owen*

CELESTA

Susanne Powell*

Bold = PrincipalItalics = Associate Principal° = Contract Musician* = Guest Musician† = Sydney Symphony FellowGrey = Permanent member of the Sydney Symphony not appearing in this concert

To see photographs of the full roster of permanent musicians and find out more about the orchestra, visit our website: www.sydneysymphony.com/SSO_musiciansIf you don’t have access to the internet, ask one of our customer service representatives for a copy of our Musicians flyer.

The men of the Sydney Symphony are proudly outfitted by Van Heusen.

Vladimir AshkenazyPrincipal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Jessica CottisAssistant Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse

sydney symphony 25

SYDNEY SYMPHONYVladimir Ashkenazy, Principal Conductor and Artistic AdvisorPATRON Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO

Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world’s fi nest 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 Sydney Symphony also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence, most recently in the 2012 tour to China.

The Sydney Symphony’s fi rst 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, Zdenek Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. David Robertson will take up the post of Chief Conductor in 2014. The orchestra’s history also boasts collaborations with legendary fi gures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky.

The Sydney Symphony’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, Liza Lim, Lee Bracegirdle, Gordon Kerry and Georges Lentz, and the orchestra’s recording of works by Brett Dean was released on both the BIS and Sydney Symphony Live labels.

Other releases on the Sydney Symphony Live label, established in 2006, include performances with Alexander Lazarev, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Sir Charles Mackerras and Vladimir Ashkenazy. 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 the ABC Classics label.

This is the fi fth year of Ashkenazy’s tenure as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor.

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26 sydney symphony

BEHIND THE SCENES

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Rory JeffesEXECUTIVE TEAM ASSISTANT

Lisa Davies-Galli

ARTISTIC OPERATIONS

DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PLANNING

Peter Czornyj

Artistic AdministrationARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Eleasha MahARTIST LIAISON MANAGER

Ilmar LeetbergRECORDING ENTERPRISE MANAGER

Philip Powers

Education ProgramsHEAD OF EDUCATION

Kim WaldockEMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM MANAGER

Mark LawrensonEDUCATION COORDINATOR

Rachel McLarinCUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER

Derek Reed

LibraryLIBRARIAN

Anna CernikLIBRARY ASSISTANT

Victoria GrantLIBRARY ASSISTANT

Mary-Ann Mead

ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Aernout KerbertORCHESTRA MANAGER

Chris Lewis ORCHESTRA COORDINATOR

Georgia StamatopoulosOPERATIONS MANAGER

Kerry-Anne CookPRODUCTION MANAGER

Laura DanielPRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Tim DaymanPRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Ian SpenceSTAGE MANAGER

Elise Beggs

SALES AND MARKETING

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING

Mark J ElliottSENIOR SALES & MARKETING MANAGER

Penny EvansMARKETING MANAGER, SUBSCRIPTION SALES

Simon Crossley-MeatesMARKETING MANAGER, CLASSICAL SALES

Matthew RiveMARKETING MANAGER, WEB & DIGITAL MEDIA

Eve Le GallMARKETING MANAGER, DATABASE & CRM

Matthew Hodge

John C Conde ao ChairmanTerrey Arcus amEwen Crouch amRoss GrantJennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew Kaldor amIrene LeeDavid LivingstoneGoetz Richter

Sydney Symphony Board

Sydney Symphony Council

Sydney Symphony StaffDATA ANALYST

Varsha KarnikGRAPHIC DESIGNER

Lucy McCulloughCreative Artworker

Nathanael van der ReydenMARKETING COORDINATOR

Jonathon Symonds

Box OfficeMANAGER OF BOX OFFICE SALES & OPERATIONS

Lynn McLaughlinBOX OFFICE SYSTEMS SUPERVISOR

Jacqueline TooleyCUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

Steve Clarke – Senior CSRMichael DowlingJohn RobertsonBec SheedyAmy Walsh

COMMUNICATIONS

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS & SPONSOR RELATIONS

Yvonne ZammitPUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

Katherine StevensonCOMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Janine Harris DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Ben DraismaFOLLOWSHIP SOCIAL MEDIA OFFICER

Caitlin Benetatos

PublicationsPUBLICATIONS EDITOR & MUSIC PRESENTATION MANAGER

Yvonne Frindle

DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Caroline SharpenEXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER

Stephen AttfieldPHILANTHROPY, PATRONS PROGRAM

Ivana JirasekDEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Amelia Morgan-Hunn

BUSINESS SERVICES

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

John HornFINANCE MANAGER

Ruth TolentinoACCOUNTANT

Minerva PrescottACCOUNTS ASSISTANT

Emma FerrerPAYROLL OFFICER

Laura Soutter

HUMAN RESOURCES

HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Michel Maree Hryce

Geoff Ainsworth amAndrew Andersons aoMichael Baume aoChristine BishopIta Buttrose ao obePeter CudlippJohn Curtis amGreg Daniel amJohn Della BoscaAlan FangErin FlahertyDr Stephen FreibergDonald Hazelwood ao obeDr Michael Joel amSimon JohnsonYvonne Kenny amGary LinnaneAmanda LoveHelen Lynch amDavid MaloneyDavid Malouf aoJulie Manfredi-HughesDeborah MarrThe Hon. Justice Jane Mathews aoDanny MayWendy McCarthy aoJane MorschelGreg ParamorDr Timothy Pascoe amProf. Ron Penny aoJerome RowleyPaul SalteriSandra SalteriJuliana SchaefferLeo Schofield amFred Stein oamGabrielle TrainorIvan UngarJohn van OgtropPeter Weiss ao HonDLittMary WhelanRosemary White

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sydney symphony 27

SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS

Sydney Symphony Leadership EnsembleDavid Livingstone, CEO, Credit Suisse, AustraliaAlan Fang, Chairman, Tianda GroupTony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner PrettyInsurance Australia Grou pMacquarie Group FoundationJohn Morschel, Chairman, ANZ

Andrew Kaldor am, Chairman, Pelikan ArtlineLynn Kraus, Sydney Office Managing Partner, Ernst & YoungShell Australia Pty LtdJames Stevens, CEO, Roses OnlyStephen Johns, Chairman, Leighton Holdings,

and Michele Johns

Maestro’s CirclePeter Weiss ao HonDLitt – Founding President & Doris WeissJohn C Conde ao – ChairmanGeoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth Tom Breen & Rachael KohnIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonAndrew Kaldor am & Renata Kaldor aoRoslyn Packer ao

Penelope Seidler amMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy StreetWestfield GroupBrian & Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson oam in memory of the late James Agapitos oam

01 Roger Benedict Principal Viola Kim Williams am & Catherine Dovey Chair

02 Lawrence Dobell Principal Clarinet Anne Arcus & Terrey Arcus am Chair

03 Diana Doherty Principal Oboe Andrew Kaldor am & Renata Kaldor ao Chair

04 Richard Gill oam Artistic Director Education Sandra & Paul Salteri Chair

05 Catherine Hewgill Principal Cello The Hon. Justice AJ & Mrs Fran Meagher Chair

06 Robert Johnson Principal Horn James & Leonie Furber Chair

07 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair

08 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair

09 Emma Sholl Associate Principal Flute Robert & Janet Constable Chair

For information about the Directors’ Chairs program, please call (02) 8215 4619.

Directors’ Chairs

01 02 03 04 05

06 07 08 09

Sydney Symphony VanguardVanguard CollectiveJustin Di Lollo – ChairKees BoersmaRose HercegDavid McKeanAmelia Morgan-HunnJonathan Pease

Ron ChristiansonMatthew ClarkBenoît CocheteuxGeorge CondousMichael CookPaul CousinsJustin Di LolloRose GalloSam GiddingsDerek HandRose HercegJennifer Hoy

Damian Kassagbi Chris KeherElizabeth LeeAntony Lighten Gary LinnaneDavid McKeanHayden McLeanAmelia Morgan-HunnHugh MunroFiona OslerPeter Outridge

MembersMatti AlakargasNikki AndrewsJames ArmstrongStephen AttfieldAndrew BaxterMar BeltranKees Boersma Peter BraithwaiteAndrea BrownIan BurtonJennifer BurtonHahn Chau

Archie PaffasJonathan Pease Seamus R QuickMichael ReedeJacqueline RowlandsBernard RyanAdam WandJon WilkieJonathan WatkinsonDarren WoolleyMisha Zelinsky

28 sydney symphony

PLAYING YOUR PART

The Sydney Symphony 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. Donations of $50 and above are acknowledged on our website at www.sydneysymphony.com/patrons

Platinum Patrons $20,000+Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth am & Vicki AinsworthRobert Albert ao & Elizabeth AlbertTerrey Arcus am & Anne ArcusTom Breen & Rachael KohnSandra & Neil BurnsMr John C Conde aoRobert & Janet ConstableMichael Crouch ao & Shanny CrouchJames & Leonie FurberDr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuff reIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonMs Rose HercegMr Andrew Kaldor am & Mrs Renata Kaldor aoD & I KallinikosJames N Kirby FoundationJoan MacKenzie Violin Scholarship, SinfoniaJustice Jane Mathews aoMrs Roslyn Packer aoPaul & Sandra SalteriMrs Penelope Seidler amG & C Solomon in memory of Joan MacKenzieMrs W SteningMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy StreetPeter William Weiss ao & Doris WeissWestfi eld GroupMr Brian & Mrs Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oamKim Williams am & Catherine DoveyJune & Alan Woods Family Bequest

Gold Patrons$10,000–$19,999Mr C R AdamsonStephen J BellAlan & Christine BishopIan & Jennifer BurtonHoward ConnorsCopyright Agency Limited The Hon. Ashley Dawson-DamerEdward FedermanFerris Family FoundationNora GoodridgeMr Ross GrantThe Estate of the late Ida GuggerHelen Lynch am & Helen BauerRuth & Bob MagidThe Hon. Justice AJ Meagher & Mrs Fran MeagherMrs T Merewether oamMr B G O’ConorMrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet CookeHenry & Ruth WeinbergAnonymous (2)

Silver Patrons $5000–$9,999Doug & Alison BattersbyMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyMr Robert BrakspearMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr Bob & Julie ClampettEwen Crouch am & Catherine CrouchIan Dickson & Reg HollowayColin Draper & Mary Jane BrodribbPenny EdwardsDr C GoldschmidtThe Greatorex Foundation Mrs Jennifer HershonThe Sherry Hogan FoundationMr Rory Jeff esStephen Johns & Michele BenderJudges of the Supreme Court of NSW Mr Ervin KatzThe Estate of the late Patricia LanceMr David LivingstoneTimothy & Eva PascoeWilliam McIlrath Charitable FoundationDavid Maloney & Erin FlahertyDr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June RoartyRodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia RosenblumManfred & Linda SalamonJF & A van OgtropMichael & Mary Whelan TrustCaroline WilkinsonJill WranAnonymous (2)

Bronze Patrons $2,500–$4,999Mr Marc Besen ao & Mrs Eva Besen aoJan BowenM BulmerFirehold Pty LtdStephen Freiberg & Donald CampbellAnthony Gregg & Deanne WhittlestonVic & Katie FrenchWarren GreenMrs Jennifer HershonAnn HobanIn memory of Bernard M H KhawGary LinnaneMatthew McInnesJ A McKernanR & S Maple-BrownGreg & Susan MarieAlan & Joy MartinMora MaxwellJames & Elsie MooreDrs Keith & Eileen OngIn memory of H St P ScarlettDavid & Isabel Smithers

Mrs Hedy SwitzerMarliese & Georges TeitlerDr Richard WingateMr & Mrs T & D YimAnonymous (2)

Bronze Patrons $1,000–$2,499Charles & Renee AbramsMrs Antoinette AlbertAndrew Andersons aoMr Henri W Aram oamDr Francis J AugustusRichard and Christine Banks David BarnesMichael Baume ao & Toni BaumeNicole BergerMrs Jan BiberAllan & Julie BlighDr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff Lenore P BuckleIn memory of RW BurleyEric & Rosemary CampbellThe Hon. Justice JC & Mrs CampbellDr John H CaseyJoan Connery oam & Maxwell Connery oamConstable Estate Vineyards Debby Cramer & Bill CaukillMr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret CunninghamGreta DavisLisa & Miro DavisMatthew DelaseyMr & Mrs Grant DixonMrs Margaret EppsJohn FavaloroMr Ian Fenwicke & Prof. Neville WillsMichael & Gabrielle FieldMr James Graham am & Mrs Helen GrahamAkiko GregoryEdward & Deborah Griffi thIn memory of Dora & Oscar GrynbergJanette HamiltonDorothy Hoddinott aoThe Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret HuntDr & Mrs Michael HunterMr Peter HutchisonMichael & Anna JoelAnna-Lisa KlettenbergMr Justin LamMr Peter Lazar amAssociate Professor Winston LiauwSydney & Airdrie LloydCarolyn & Peter Lowry oamDeirdre & Kevin McCannRobert McDougallIan & Pam McGaw

sydney symphony 29

Macquarie Group FoundationRenee MarkovicA NhanMs Jackie O’BrienMr R A OppenMr Robert OrrellMr & Mrs OrtisMr Andrew C PattersonIn memory of Sandra PaulPiatti Holdings Pty LtdAndy & Deirdre Plummer Robin PotterPottingerErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R ReedPatricia H Reid Endowment Pty LtdCaroline SharpenDr Agnes E SinclairCatherine StephenJohn & Alix SullivanThe Hon. Brian Sully qcMildred TeitlerJohn E TuckeyMrs M TurkingtonIn memory of Joan & Rupert VallentineDr Alla WaldmanIn memory of Dr Reg WalkerThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyAnn & Brooks Wilson amGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary WalshMr R R WoodwardIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John YuAnonymous (14)

Bronze Patrons $500–$999Mr Peter J ArmstrongMr & Mrs Garry S AshBarlow Cleaning Pty LtdMrs Margaret BellMinnie BiggsPat & Jenny BurnettIta Buttrose ao obeMr & Mrs CoatesArnaldo BuchIta Buttrose ao obeThe Hon. Justice JC & Mrs CampbellDr Rebecca ChinMrs Sarah ChissickMrs Catherine J ClarkR A & M J ClarkeCoff s Airport Security Car Park

Mrs Joan Connery oamJen CornishMr David CrossPhil Diment am & Bill Zafi ropoulosElizabeth DonatiThe Dowe FamilyDr Nita & Dr James DurhamMalcolm Ellis & Erin O’NeillIn memory of Peter EverettMr & Mrs FarrellMr Tom FrancisTony Grierson Vivienne GoldschmidtClive & Jenny GoodwinMr Richard Griffi n amIan R L HarperKen HawkingsMrs A HaywardMr Roger HenningHarry & Meg HerbertSue HewittMr Joerg HofmannMrs Kimberley HoldenMr Gregory HoskingAlex HoughtonBill & Pam HughesBeauty Point Retirement ResortNiki KallenbergerMrs W G KeighleyMrs Margaret KeoghDr Henry KilhamChris J KitchingMr Aron & Mrs Helen KleinlehrerMr & Mrs Gilles T KrygerSonia LalMr Luigi LampratiDr & Mrs Leo LeaderMargaret LedermanIrene LeeAnita & Chris LevyErna & Gerry Levy amMrs A LohanMrs Panee LowDr David LuisDr Jean MalcolmPhilip & Catherine McClellandMrs Flora MacDonaldMrs Helen MeddingsMrs Toshiko MericP J MillerDavid & Andree MilmanKenneth N MitchellMs Margaret Moore oam & Dr Paul Hutchins am

Chris Morgan-HunnMrs Milja MorrisDr Mike O’Connor amMr Graham NorthDr A J PalmerJustice George Palmer amDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamMichael QuaileyLois & Ken RaeRenaissance ToursAnna RoPamela RogersLesley & Andrew RosenbergAgnes RossMrs Pamela SayersGarry Scarf & Morgie BlaxillWilliam SewellPeter & Virginia ShawMrs Diane Shteinman amMs Stephanie SmeeMs Tatiana SokolovaDoug & Judy SotherenMrs Judith SouthamMargaret SuthersMr Lindsay & Mrs Suzanne StoneNorman & Lydia TaylorDr Heng Tey & Mrs Cilla TeyMrs Alma Toohey & Mr Edward SpicerKevin TroyJudge Robyn TupmanGillian Turner & Rob BishopProf Gordon E WallMrs Margaret WallisRonald WalledgeMr Palmer WangMs Elizabeth WilkinsonAudrey & Michael WilsonA Willmers & R PalDr Richard WingDr Peter Wong & Mrs Emmy K WongMr Robert WoodsMrs Everly WyssMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (15)

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D O Y O U H A V E A S T O R Y T O

T E L L ?

To find out more about becominga Sydney Symphony Patron, pleasecontact the Philanthropy Officeon (02) 8215 4625 or emailphilanthropy@sydneysymphony.com

30 sydney symphony

SALUTE

PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

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

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

PREMIER PARTNER

Fine Music 102.5

MARKETING PARTNER

GOLD PARTNERS

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS

SILVER PARTNERS

executive search

EDUCATION PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS

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Stuart was the one who gave us self-belief. Then Edo came – he was a builder…

The Sydney Symphony has been at the centre of Lawrence’s musical life since he joined as an associate principal in 1982. (He was appointed principal in 1985.) Over three decades, he’s played under Mackerras, Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de Waart, Gelmetti and now Ashkenazy.

‘Stuart was the one who gave us self-belief. Then Edo came – he was a builder, the demanding maestro. In the 30 years, it’s been fantastic just to be in the orchestra as it gets better and better with every performance.’ Later he adds: ‘The orchestra’s in excellent form. I think I practise more now than I used to – to maintain the stan-dard.’

The concerts that stand out in his memory include Challender’s Mahler 2 and Sinfonia domestica with de Waart in Carnegie Hall. ‘It was astonishing to hear how good the orchestra sounded in a great space,’ he says. ‘Touring every year, as we do now, and playing in other halls has made a huge difference to the culture of the orchestra.’

Among the more recent high-lights are ‘most of the concerts’ with Ashkenazy. ‘I don’t know what it is, but he’s got something! He’s such a great musician, and you just respond to his love of the music.’

The Principal Clarinet chair is supported by Anne and Terrey Arcus. For more information on Directors’ Chairs call (02) 8215 4663.

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Lawrence Dobell didn’t choose the clarinet. His father, a bird dealer and Benny Goodman fan, traded a pair of parrots for a clarinet when Lawrence was 12. ‘I was given the instrument and I just never put it down.’

Playing the clarinet always came easily, which is why it was so devastating when, last year, he broke the little finger of his left hand, enforcing a three-month rest from playing.

The first day back in the prac-tice room was terrible. ‘I put the clarinet together, played for about a minute and my finger kept

missing the key. I just lay on the couch in a catatonic state, think-ing “I can’t play!”’

The left pinkie controls five keys on the clarinet, making its job especially demanding. Recovering his technique presented psycho-logical as well as physical chal-lenges. ‘I’d never picked up the clarinet and not been able to play it, technically,’ Lawrence explains. ‘My fingers had always worked.’ So if a note didn’t speak ‘it felt like a major catastrophe’. ‘Then finally, by the end of last year, I’d started to clear my mind of the finger and just play again.’

IN EXCELLENT FORMPrincipal Clarinet Lawrence Dobell on playing in an orchestra that gets better and better with every performance, and what it’s like to return from an injury.

ORCHESTRA NEWS | FEBRUARY–MARCH 2013

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Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonic © Monika Rittershaus

A summer break is a welcome opportunity to recharge. Yet I always find myself missing the music-making and looking forward to the return of the Sydney Symphony musicians to the stage. I hope you feel the same, and I welcome you to the 2013 season and its celebration of Vladimir Ashkenazy’s continuing relationship with the orchestra and the people of Sydney. This celebration is being expressed in the best way of all: through music, with some of Ashkenazy’s favourite composers and leading guest artists who’ve responded to his invitation to join us here in Sydney.

We have some extraordinary music for you this year; and I also look forward to the visit in July of our Chief Conductor designate David Robertson, who’ll be performing two masterpieces: Verdi’s Requiem and Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. Concerts such as the Requiem will reach not only concert hall audiences but music lovers across the world via live webcasts. These are made possible by our partnership with Telstra BigPond, and with our mobile app you don’t even have to be at home to watch! You are the reason we perform, and as a music lover I look forward to sharing this year’s concerts with you.RORY JEFFES

From the Managing Director Philanthropy HighlightNew Sinfonia ScholarshipLast year we mourned the passing of Joan MacKenzie, a member of the Sydney Symphony Council and one of our most committed supporters and advocates. Joan had enjoyed a long career in fashion – from modelling in New York to leading the David Jones couture department – and she ensured that her support for the orchestra would live on in a characteristically vibrant way through a substantial bequest in her will.

This gift has been generously matched by her nephew Gavin Solomon and his wife Catherine, and the funds have been invested to establish an annual scholarship for a violinist in our Sinfonia mentoring orchestra. The new scholarship will support travel for a regional or interstate participant and private lessons with SSO musicians.

The recipient of the inaugural scholarship will be announced, in the presence of Joan’s relatives and friends, at the Sinfonia’s first concert of the year: Discover Beethoven’s Pastoral on 5 March at City Recital Hall Angel Place.If you’re considering making a notified bequest to the Sydney Symphony, write to philanthropy@sydneysymphony.com or call (02) 8215 4625.

Wheel of FortuneThe first thing that normally comes to mind when someone mentions Carmina Burana is the opening and closing number: ‘O Fortuna!’ It’s both thrilling and ominous: the kind of music that has lent itself to use in movies such as The Omen (1976), Excalibur (1981) and Hunt for Red October (1990). The Latin text also lends itself to comedy: there’s a YouTube spoof that turns it into an illustrated mondegreen, beginning with ‘O four tuna’ and moving on from there.

If you know the music well, there’s another number that might spring to mind: the Roasting Swan, in which the hapless tenor soloist must take his voice into the upper limits of its range as he laments the loss of his snowy whiteness and his imminent death and consumption. (Sometimes this part is assigned to a countertenor, but with the loss of its ‘pained’ effect.)

The texts that Carl Orff set for Carmina Burana were collected by mediæval monks, but these aren’t religious texts. If you follow them during a performance you’ll encounter earthy poetry that’s erotic, humorous and lyrical by turn, and always memorable.

Carmina BuranaSpecial Event Premier Partner Credit Suisse

Thu 21, Fri 22 and Sat 23 March | 8pm

The Score

The rostering of the tutti string players is vastly more complicated. The many variables – which are determined by the musicians’ enterprise bargaining agreement – include ensuring each musician doesn’t exceed the maximum number of calls (rehearsals and performances) permitted for the year, or for any given week. In addition, SSO tutti string players rotate their positions on the stage, changing stand partners as well as how to where they sit. To manage all the intricate details, each section votes one of its number to be the rosterer for two years.

With thanks to orchestra manager Chris Lewis.

The composer tells us which and how many instruments are needed. But in a large symphony orchestra, there’s still some deci-sion-making to be done. Before each season begins, the woodwind, brass and string principals decide amongst themselves who will play in each concert and how indi-vidual parts will be distributed within their sections. Factors include personal preference and musical strengths as well as more pragmatic issues, such as when individuals can be rostered off for a week of guest music-making elsewhere (this practice goes by the unexpected name of ‘black box week’).

Ever wondered who decides which musicians in the orchestra appear in any given performance, or where they sit? Wonder no more…

Ask a Musician

POINT COUNTERPOINTEducation Report

for three days of inspiring work-shops. The experience left one participant, Jessop Maticevski-Shumack, ‘flying like a kite’!

The 2012 Sinfonietta Project was supported by major partner Leighton Holdings and Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. Entries for 2013 close on 11 October and the project is open to all Australian high school students. This year’s open workshop will take place on 28 November. sydneysymphony.com/sinfonietta

True counterpoint belongs to the age of Bach, but this way of composing – note against note – endures as a fundamental aspect of musical technique, like classical draughtsmanship for the artist. So it’s no surprise that Richard Gill chose it as the focus for the 2012 Sinfonietta Project.

This national program cul-minated last November with the assembling of seven talented young teenage composers and the Sydney Symphony Fellows

From left: Jessop Maticevski-Shumack, Nathan Moas, Curt Petroff, Richard Gill, Luca Warburton, Kevin Lee, Michael Taurian and Aidan McGartland

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NEW FACES BEHIND THE SCENES

With the beginning of a new year and the new season, we welcome three new staff members to the Sydney Symphony administration. Eleasha Mah is the new Artistic Administration Manager, replacing Elaine Armstrong, who departed for Melbourne in January. Elaine will be sorely missed, but we’re delighted to gain Eleasha, who brings with her experience from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Globe Theatre in London.

Matthew Hodge joins us from Musica Viva Australia – the third person to have made this chamber–symphonic transition in recent years. He takes on the role of Marketing Manager, Database and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

And Caitlin Benetatos joins us in a new part-time role as the Fellowship Social Media Officer, looking after the blog that follows our Fellows through their musical and educational journey each year (blog.ssofellowship.com).

Late last year we also welcomed two new members to our orchestra management team, both of whom play a crucial role in what goes on behind the scenes at concerts: production manager Laura Daniel and stage manager Elise Beggs.

VALE GUY HENDERSON (1934–2013)

It was with sadness that we learned of the death of former principal oboe Guy Henderson on 4 January after a difficult battle with cancer. Guy was principal in the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra during the 1950s and 60s, and played in the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s first concert in 1975. He was principal oboe of the Sydney Symphony from 1967 until 1998.

Guy will be missed not only as an admired and respected musician and teacher but as a generous colleague and friend and a true gentleman.

Hear Guy Henderson as the oboe soloist in Peter Sculthorpe’s Small Town, performing with the Sydney Symphony: bit.ly/SmallTownSSO

WELCOME TO THE 2013 FELLOWS

We’re delighted to announce that eight outstanding young performers from across the country have been selected for the 2013 Fellowship program. A very warm welcome to Rebecca Gill (violin, 26), Kelly Tang (violin, 26), Nicole Greentree (viola, 24), James Yoo (cello, 24), Laura van Rijn (flute, 26), Som Howie (clarinet, 22), Jack Schiller (bassoon, 21), Brendan Parravicini (horn, 23).

Supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse and directed by our Principal Viola Roger Benedict, the Fellowship program provides Australia’s top young aspiring musicians with an invaluable opportunity to undertake a full-time apprenticeship with the orchestra.

NEW CO-CONCERTMASTER

Our search for a second concertmaster has come to a close, and in January we announced the appointment of Andrew Haveron, from the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Andrew joins us in May.

CODA

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TRUSTMr Kim Williams AM [Chair]Ms Catherine Brenner, The Hon Helen Coonan, Mr Wesley Enoch,Ms Renata Kaldor AO, Mr Robert Leece AM RFD, Mr Peter Mason AM,Dr Thomas Parry AM, Mr Leo Schofield AM, Mr John Symond AM

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