the Mahler 6 program book (5 Jul) PDF
Transcription
the Mahler 6 program book (5 Jul) PDF
Trust is proud of its long standing partnership with the Sydney Symphony and is delighted to bring you the Thursday Afternoon Symphony Series in 2007. In this 75th anniversary season, the Series offers perfect afternoons with some of the best-loved composers – from Beethoven to Wagner. With these concerts bringing together leading conductors and soloists, you’re in for a truly delightful experience. Just like the Sydney Symphony which has been the sound of the city for 75 years, entertaining hundreds of thousands of people each year, Trust has been supporting public works for over 120 years. Whether it be in administering an estate or charity, managing someone’s affairs or looking after their interests via financial planning, superannuation or funds management, people come to Trust because of our independence, personalised service and commitment to ensuring their interests are being looked after. We hope that you enjoy a delightful Thursday afternoon with the Sydney Symphony. Jonathan Sweeney Managing Director Trust Company Limited SEASON 2007 THURSDAY AFTERNOON SYMPHONY PRESENTED BY TRUST MAHLER 6 Thursday 5 July | 1.30pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor GUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911) Symphony No.6 in A minor Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig (impetuous but plenty of vigour) Andante moderato Scherzo. Wuchtig (weighty) Finale. Allegro moderato – Allegro energico This program will be broadcast live across Australia on ABC Classic FM 92.9 on Friday 6 July at 8pm. This program will be webcast by BigPond and can be viewed online from Friday 6 July at 8pm. Visit: sydneysymphony.bigpondmusic.com Pre-concert talk by Dr Wolfgang Fink at 12.45pm in the Northern Foyer. The performance will conclude at approximately 2.50pm. Cover images: see page 30 for captions. Artist biographies begin on page 21. PRESENTING PARTNER It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the fourth concert in the EnergyAustralia Master Series, Mahler 6. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, an emerging star in the international conducting scene, returns to lead the Sydney Symphony in Gustav Mahler’s profound and powerful Sixth Symphony. Premiered in 1906, Mahler’s Sixth was unprecedented in its expressive range – ferocious and tragic music punctuated by moments of serene beauty. The fact that Mahler could compose so dark a work during one of the happiest periods of his life has led some to conclude that this music proves an artist’s power to transcend the present and see the world to come. With one of the most recognised brands in the energy industry, we are proud to be associated with the Sydney Symphony, and we’re very excited to be linked to the Symphony’s flagship Master Series, a showcase for great music performed by the world’s finest soloists and conductors. EnergyAustralia is one of Australia’s leading energy companies, with more than 1.8 million customers in NSW, Victoria, the ACT, South Australia, and Queensland. I hope you enjoy tonight’s performance and have a chance to experience future concerts in the EnergyAustralia Master Series in 2007. George Maltabarow Managing Director SEASON 2007 ENERGYAUSTRALIA MASTER SERIES MAHLER 6 Wednesday 4 July | 8pm Friday 6 July | 8pm Saturday 7 July | 8pm Sydney Opera House Concert Hall Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor GUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911) Symphony No.6 in A minor Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig (impetuous but plenty of vigour) Andante moderato Scherzo. Wuchtig (weighty) Finale. Allegro moderato – Allegro energico Friday night’s performance will be broadcast live across Australia on ABC Classic FM 92.9. Friday night’s performance will be webcast by BigPond and can be viewed online from 6 July at 8pm. Visit: sydneysymphony.bigpondmusic.com Pre-concert talk by Dr Wolfgang Fink at 7.15pm in the Northern Foyer. The performance will conclude at approximately 9.20pm. Cover images: see page 30 for captions. Artist biographies begin on page 21. PRESENTING PARTNER ABOUT THE MUSIC Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) Symphony No. 6 in A minor Keynotes Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig (impetuous but plenty of vigour) Andante moderato Scherzo. Wuchtig (weighty) Finale. Allegro moderato – Allegro energico Born Kalischt, 1860 Died Vienna, 1911 Mahler was worried. His Sixth Symphony had just received its first performance at the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein’s festival in the German city of Essen, and his friend and colleague Richard Strauss had made the offhand remark that the work was ‘overscored’. Strauss’ remark may have been facetious; it was after all at around this time that his Salome was premiered, and Salome’s orchestration sounded to Giacomo Puccini like a ‘badly mixed Russian salad’. But Mahler was worried. According to the young conductor Klaus Pringsheim (who witnessed the exchange) Mahler kept coming back to Strauss’ comment. He ‘asked without envy, without bitterness, almost humbly, reverently, what might be the reason why everything came so easily to the other composer and so painfully to himself; and one felt the antithesis between the blond conqueror and the dark, fate-burdened man’. In his monograph on Mahler, the influential Marxist writer Theodor Adorno caricatured Strauss as a ‘blond Siegfried, a balanced harmonious individual who is supposed, singing like a bird, to shower as much happiness on his listeners as is falsely ascribed to him’. By contrast, Adorno argued, Mahler’s theme is ‘brokenness’; his use of folk music, high romantic angst, bird calls, cowbells and military marches are all ultimately ironic reminders of the fragmentation of society and the self. For Adorno, Mahler’s best music dramatises the discontinuity of the world. Unlike Strauss, Mahler was suspicious of music which needed the explanatory prop of a ‘program’, but this is not say that Mahler’s music is not at some level about nonmusical ideas. Mahler’s Sixth Symphony is comparable to Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) and Mahler himself conceded that the work has a ‘hero’ who faces an inexorable fate – but the crucial difference is that Mahler’s music acknowledges the fear of inevitable oblivion. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony trod a familiar Beethovenian 5 | Sydney Symphony MAHLER Mahler is now regarded as one of the greatest symphonists of the turn of the 20th century. But during his life his major career was as a conductor – he was effectively a ‘summer composer’. Mahler believed that a symphony must ‘embrace the world’. His are large-scale, requiring huge orchestras and often lasting more than an hour; they cover a tremendous emotional range; and they have sometimes been described as ‘Janus-like’ in the way they blend romantic and modern values, self-obsession and universal expression, idealism and irony. SIXTH SYMPHONY The Sixth Symphony was composed during a happy period for Mahler, and yet it is one of his darkest symphonies – the only one to end so grimly and without a hint of optimism. It has a tight ‘classical’ logic, with a traditional structure, firmly anchored in the key of A minor. Yet beneath the abstract formality are hints of autobiography. A soaring theme in the first movement could be Mahler’s wife Alma; children can be heard in the Andante. And originally the finale felled ‘the hero’ with ‘three hammer blows of fate’ – Mahler later reduced these to two. Composed during 1903 and 1904, the symphony was premiered in Essen on 27 May 1906, the composer conducting. 7 | Sydney Symphony LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS- Emil Orlik’s portrait of Mahler, made in 1902, the year before the composer began work on the Sixth Symphony. LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS- path from darkness to light, dramatising the overcoming of various obstacles before final victory. The Sixth by contrast offers no such comfort. The hero may love and fight and occasionally triumph but we are all in the end ‘snared in an evil time’. So the answer to Mahler’s own question about why everything came so much more easily to Strauss might be that in Mahler’s music there is much more at stake. According to the composer’s widow Alma ‘none of his works moved him so deeply at its first hearing as this’. In her memoirs, Alma Mahler tells of how, after the dress rehearsal of the Sixth, she went backstage to find ‘Mahler walking up and down in the artists’ room, sobbing, wringing his hands, unable to control himself…’ Alma Mahler’s accounts of her life have been described as unreliable and occasionally mendacious. Her description of the scene, for instance, continues with the appearance of – who else? – Strauss, who ‘came noisily in, noticing nothing. “Mahler, I say, you’ve got to conduct some dead march or other before the Sixth – their Mayor has died on them – so vulgar this sort of thing – But what’s the matter?” and out he went as noisily as he came, quite unmoved…’ (A marginal note Strauss wrote in his copy of her book amounts to a perplexed denial of the story.) Nevertheless Mahler’s emotions at having composed such a work as this must have been intense. As composer and writer Andrew Ford has noted, in the Sixth Symphony ‘it is as though Mahler has deliberately destroyed his own world, and if Alma Mahler’s story… is perhaps a little exaggerated, it’s not actually implausible’. Mahler’s first four symphonies mine his many songsettings of folk poetry from the collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn and three of them contain significant vocal elements. His three central symphonies are all works of ‘absolute’ as against programmatic music. Nevertheless, his Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Symphonies derive some of their thematic material from two sets of songs to poetry by Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866), the song-cycle Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the death of children) and five songs (which do not constitute a cycle) that include the masterpieces ‘Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen’ (I have lost touch with the world) and ‘Um Mitternacht’ (At midnight). (Alma describes the Kindertotenlieder and Sixth Symphony as premonitions of the death of their daughter and the onset of Mahler’s heart condition.) Alma Mahler with her daughters Maria (‘Putzi’) and Anna (‘Gucki’). In the summer of 1907 both girls contracted scarlet fever and Maria, the elder of the two, did not survive. It was at this time, too, that Mahler learned of his heart condition. Listening Guide For all its epic scale the Sixth is the work, as Mahler put it, of ‘an old fashioned composer’ in that it is cast in a traditional four movement design. From the outset, though, its tone – which led to the occasional use, even in Mahler’s time, of the nickname ‘Tragic’ – is unambiguous. A fully scored A major chord, underpinned by an obsessive rhythmic motif from the timpani, fades and, as it fades, changes to the minor mode. This is music which will end in darkness. The movement begins as a march, though as scholar Michael Kennedy points out it is not the triumphant approach of spring as in the Third Symphony, nor the doom laden funeral march of the Fifth. It is, as Kennedy puts it, ‘modern music [that] marches in with this sinister tramping start’. The movement’s starkly contrasting second subject is a lyrical tune which rises and falls largely by step. Alma describes how on their summer vacation in 1903 when Mahler began work on the piece ‘after he had drafted the first movement, he came down from [his study] to tell me he had tried to express me in a theme. “Whether I’ve succeeded, I don’t know; but you’ll have to put up with it.” ’ Its contour and mood certainly relate to any number of Romantic love-themes. Mahler’s treatment of it, too, reminds one of Berlioz’s use of the Beloved’s idée fixe in the Symphonie fantastique: it is always slightly varied on each appearance. In any event, the yearning lyricism provides a perfect foil for the implacable march with which the movement begins – ‘change and conflict are the secret of effective music’, as Mahler said. Another unique aspect of this work is the celebrated evocation of alpine scenery first heard toward the end of the movement. This striking sound world was said by Mahler to represent the ‘last earthly sounds heard from the valley below by the departing spirit on the mountain top’. Perhaps anticipating bafflement from future performers he noted that ‘the cowbells should be played with discretion – so as to produce a realistic impression of a grazing herd of cattle, coming from a distance, alternately singly or in groups, in sounds of high and low pitch’. Apparently unaware of the contradiction, he went on to say that ‘special emphasis is laid on the fact that this technical remark admits of no programmatic interpretation’. The ordering of the two central movements has a complicated history. In his manuscript, the Scherzo followed the first movement, but Mahler then felt that the piece 8 | Sydney Symphony This photo of Mahler was taken in the loggia of the Vienna Court Opera in 1907, the same year he was obliged to resign from his post as its Director. ‘My Sixth will provide puzzles which only a generation that has absorbed and digested my first five symphonies may hope to solve.’ MAHLER to his friend and critic Richard Specht worked better with the Andante second and Scherzo third. The very first edition had the Scherzo before the Andante but Mahler insisted on erratum slips in those first printed scores and programs to indicate that the order had been changed. He always performed the piece using the Andante–Scherzo order. In 1919, however, the conductor Willem Mengelberg asked Alma for clarification, and in a four word telegram she insisted that it should be Scherzo then Andante. (Alma elsewhere maintained that the order that Mahler had used in Amsterdam was correct; as it happens, Mahler never conducted the Sixth in Amsterdam!) Mengelberg, acting in good faith, used that order, and in 1963 the influential editor of the first critical edition of Mahler’s scores, Erwin Ratz, insisted, on the basis of Alma’s telegram, that Mahler had reverted to the Scherzo–Andante order. That is how the symphony appeared in Ratz’s edition and that is how many conductors had presented the work subsequently. In what we must accept as Mahler’s preferred order, the Andante represents a complete contrast with both the first movement and the Scherzo, but the tone is hardly tragic. Rather, with its horn calls and reminiscence of the cowbells it is poignant and romantic, a relaxation of the work’s dramatic tension. Like the first movement, with which it shares some thematic material, the Scherzo has an insistent rhythm to begin with (which may have prompted Mahler to delay it). There is much Mahlerian irony in this movement, both in the dry clattering of the xylophone and in what Kennedy calls the ‘delicate pastiche Haydn’. The oboe conjures up an innocent, rustic world, and the metrical changes – described by Mahler as altväterlich (literally ‘old-fatherly’) – may recall a Bohemian folk song. As a caution against over-interpreting, it should be noted that the scherzo has been interpreted as ‘diabolical’ and ‘catastrophic’ on one hand, where Alma’s reminiscences insist that it depicts the ‘tottering’ of their children at play before the intrusion of tragedy at the end of the movement. The finale is one of Mahler’s largest and most complex structures, and it bears the weight of the symphony as a whole, recalling material from earlier in the work. Its introductory section contains much of the material that will be developed as the movement unfolds, particularly the impassioned melody heard first high in the violins. The movement depicts a nightmarish world, where the Allegro energico builds intense excitement and momentum, 9 | Sydney Symphony Mahler’s Sixth Symphony was admired by the following generation of composers, including Arnold Schoenberg and his students. Alban Berg wrote to Anton Webern that Mahler’s symphony was ‘the only Sixth, despite Beethoven’s Pastoral’. On the day of the concert, Mahler was so afraid that agitation might get the better of him, that out of shame and anxiety he did not conduct the symphony well. He hesitated to bring out the dark omen behind this terrible movement [the finale]. ALMA MAHLER recalls the premiere of the Sixth Symphony MUSIC COURSES exclusively for adults The Music Practice Choir! JOIN NOW! musicpractice the pty ltd The ‘Tone Deaf’ Clinic Jazz Saxophone Ever been told to ‘just mime the words dear’? It’s an incredible improvisation! The Resonant Voice Jazz Voice Find it, tune it, train it and relish the pleasure of hearing it really sing. Perfect for shower singers who want to come out of the closet. With Two Hands Blues Guitar If you’ve always wanted to play piano or improve your rusty skills. For profoundly talented air guitarists … Relax and let it happen! First Fiddle All That Jazz Jump over the moon when you hear yourself play Pachelbel’s Canon. Experiment, improvise; how far (out) can you go? The Convivial Cellist Beginner Guitar For the ultimate in swoon… Learn the frets without fretting. Clarinet a cappella Chamber Music It’s smooth, it’s velvety, it’s delicious and it’s not fattening! A very civilised way to spend an evening. Seriously Saxophone The Magic Flute Indulge yourself – you know you want to! Pan’s legacy – and still a romantic instrument. Gillian Bonham 9211 7055 www.musicpractice.com.au LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS- This cartoon appeared in Die Muskete on 19 January 1907, eight months after the premiere of the Sixth Symphony. It is labelled ‘Tragic Symphony’, and the caption reads: ‘Good gracious! Fancy leaving out the motor horn! Ah well, now I have an excuse for writing another symphony.’ (Mahler was already working on his Eighth.) straining towards climactic release, only to be brutally interrupted on three occasions. Mahler originally included a sickening thud ‘like an axe-stroke’ at each of these points, but later omitted the third of these axestrokes or ‘hammer blows’ out of superstition. Adorno wrote that in Mahler ‘happiness flourishes on the brink of catastrophe’, and that the immense climaxes of the Sixth’s finale ‘bear their downfall within themselves’. Mahler himself said that the movement describes ‘the hero on whom falls three blows of fate, the last of which fells him as a tree is felled’. The piece ends in dissolution: drum roles, fragmentary motifs, a baleful and comfortless A minor. No wonder Mahler was worried. GORDON KERRY ©2007 Mahler’s Sixth Symphony calls for five flutes (three playing piccolo), five oboes (three playing cor anglais), three clarinets, E flat clarinet, bass clarinet, four bassoons and contrabassoon; eight horns, six trumpets, four trombones and tuba; two sets of timpani and percussion (glockenspiel, xylophone, tam-tam, bass drum (also played with a rute or bunch of twigs), cowbells, hammer, two triangles, snare drum, cymbals, and deep bell sounds offstage); two harps, celeste, and strings. The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony in the 1971 Proms under John Hopkins. Its most recent performance of the symphony was in the 1999 Master series under Edo de Waart. 11 | Sydney Symphony Hammer blows of fate In his revisions of the symphony, perhaps from superstition, Mahler deleted the third of the hammer blows, representing the blows of fate which strike down the ‘hero’. With hindsight, these three blows seem prophetic indeed – within the following year, Mahler lost his position as Director of the Imperial Opera in Vienna, his eldest daughter died, and his heart disease was diagnosed. Andante–Scherzo: The Inside Story From at least the mid-1960s until fairly recently most performances and recordings of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony have placed the Scherzo as the second movement and the Andante third. But Mahler never conducted the symphony this way. As the program page from the Munich premiere shows, when Mahler was conducting his Sixth, the Scherzo was always placed in third spot, as Yannick Nézet-Séguin does in these performances. So how did it come about that the Sixth Symphony was performed with the inner movements reversed for so long? We can blame Mahler’s initial indecisiveness, but his widow, the conductor Willem Mengelberg, and the editor of the 1963 critical edition played a part too. Beethoven, who invented the scherzo genre as a development of the 18th-century’s third-movement minuet, compounded his legacy by occasionally switching the inner movements of the traditional four-movement structure found in symphonies and chamber music. He did this in the influential Ninth Symphony, where the scherzo is the second movement, and Mahler followed suit in his Fourth Symphony. When Mahler set out to write the Sixth Symphony he had the same scheme in mind: scherzo first, then the lyrical ‘adagio’ or slow movement. The symphony was completed, typeset and published this way; a thematic analysis appeared; a piano duet arrangement made – all within the space of a year. Then on 27 May 1906 Mahler conducted the premiere. By this time he had changed his mind, perhaps during the process of piano readings and orchestral rehearsals, and he conducted the symphony with the Scherzo following the Andante. Mahler continued to conduct the symphony with this sequence, marking his autograph and conducting score to show the changes. Meanwhile, the publisher made erratum slips and prepared revised editions. Other conductors honoured Mahler’s preferred order. Then in 1919, eight years after Mahler’s death, Alma Mahler sent a telegram to Mengelberg: ‘First Scherzo, then Andante’. (What she intended by this is unclear, as her Memories and Letters confirms Mahler’s own order.) On the basis of this telegram Mengelberg adjusted the sequence to match Mahler’s original – not final – intention. But other conductors didn’t necessarily follow suit until the publication in 1963 of the International Gustav Mahler Society’s Critical Edition, prepared by Erwin Ratz. 12 | Sydney Symphony In favour… Other conductors supporting the Andante–Scherzo sequence include: John Barbirolli Leon Botstein Mariss Jansons James Judd Charles Mackerras Zubin Mehta Simon Rattle Leonard Slatkin Michael Tilson Thomas Concert program for the Munich premiere of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony (8 November 1906), conducted by the composer. This edition enshrined the Scherzo–Andante sequence, confirmed in 1998 with the publication of the revised Critical Edition. Much of Ratz’ decision and that of the subsequent editors was based not on the historical evidence of Mahler’s changes and performances, but on Alma’s telegram and an analytical interpretation of which sequence best supported the ‘internal structure’. Ironically, Reinhold Kubik, one of the editors of the revised Critical Edition, is among those scholars who have now rallied to restore Mahler’s final intention for the Sixth to concert halls and recording studios in the 21st century. It is he who has brought to light a letter from Bruno Walter, which states that Mahler never contemplated reverting to the Scherzo–Andante order, and just three years ago the IGMS stated a new official position: that the correct order of the inner movements is Andante–Scherzo. The practical implications of a musicological decision like this are tremendous: publishers must now prepare revised editions and music librarians spend hours tagging the orchestral parts of previously published materials; musicians need to be especially alert when flipping back and forth from movement to movement. All to achieve the will of the composer. And for us? Perhaps a chance to listen with fresh ears and to pay attention to the power of Mahler’s emotional logic. SYDNEY SYMPHONY ©2007 Further reading: The Correct Movement Order in Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, essays by Jerry Bruck and Reinhold Kubik, introduced by Gilbert Kaplan (New York, 2004) 13 | Sydney Symphony INTERLUDE Dying without Mahler When new flatmate Trish in the 1983 movie Educating Rita declares ‘Wouldn’t you just die without Mahler?’ it was, says biographer Peter Franklin, a significant stage in Mahler’s popular canonisation. Just as significant is the fact that Trish has the Andante of the Sixth Symphony playing at full bore on her turntable at the time. Because, while Mahler is a now concert hall staple, that hasn’t always been the case, and to some degree his posthumous fortunes were aligned with the development of the long-playing record. It could also be argued that music such as Mahler’s – often deeply personal and emotionally gut-wrenching – begs for a private audience, despite the grandeur of its scale. As one record reviewer commented a few years ago, ‘I doubt that anyone has sold more high-end audiophile systems than Mahler.’ The LP permitted repeated, and careful, hearings of Mahler symphonies. Listening to these works again and again, as Trish evidently does, provides an opportunity for musical immersion in Mahler’s vast constructions. And with that comes a fresh appreciation for the music in the concert hall. Mahler himself recognised that his Sixth Symphony would provide puzzles which only a generation that had ‘absorbed and digested’ his first five symphonies would solve. The technological innovation in recordings combined with the advocacy of a fervent few caused audiences for Mahler to grow, so that the 1955 Record Guide could write: ‘The debate over Mahler’s music continues; but many musicians, as well as members of the general public, have ‘crossed the floor of the House’ in the course of the last twenty years, owing to the efforts of conductors like Bruno Walter, Mengelberg, Van Beinum and Sir Henry Wood, and the enthusiastic advocacy of a few critics.’ Bruno Walter had been a friend of Mahler’s, working under him as coach and chorusmaster at the Hamburg Opera, and it was he who became one of the composer’s most devoted advocates during the decades, writes Michael Steinberg, ‘when to regard Mahler as a great composer was to hold an absurd minority opinion’. In Australia the first performance of a Mahler symphony had to wait until 1940, when Antal Doráti conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the 14 | Sydney Symphony Fourth Symphony. In the decade that followed Australians heard the Fifth (of Adagietto fame) and the First, as well as the Seventh, and in 1950 Otto Klemperer visited to conduct the Second Symphony, a performance that was happily documented and is available on CD. The Sixth Symphony, on the other hand, didn’t receive its Australian premiere until 1971, when John Hopkins conducted it at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Town Hall Proms. By then the world had celebrated the centenary of Mahler’s birth. In 1960 the Trishes of the world – English-speaking, mostly young, undeniably enthusiastic and ‘hungry’ – had discovered Mahler symphonies. What they found were incredible tensions and conflicts, a sense of passion and a cathartic expression that, as Franklin suggests acquired ‘heightened resonance’ in an era of protest movements and critical experimentation with unconventional ideas and lifestyles. By the 1970s Mahler was one of the most frequently performed and recorded of symphonists. Come 1983 and Mahler was sufficiently iconic to become the subject of an oft-repeated quotation from popular cinema. In Educating Rita Trish attempts suicide to the accompaniment of Mahler. It is not the music that has driven her to this but her own sense of emptiness when it stops. ‘Mahler is not for every day, but there are certain moods, common to all of us, which only he has interpreted with such poignancy,’ observed the Record Guide. How did we ever live without Mahler? YVONNE FRINDLE SYDNEY SYMPHONY ©2007 15 | Sydney Symphony ‘Wouldn’t you just die without Mahler?’ WILLY RUSSELL’S EDUCATING RITA 75 YEARS: HISTORICAL SNAPSHOT Keep Music Alive! Orchestras rarely get noticed in the media, except in the arts pages, or when invaded by The Chaser. Exceptions are rarely to do with music. When Eugene Goossens became a person of interest to customs and police, there was wider interest in what they found in his luggage than in ‘his’ orchestra. The most notorious ever, perhaps, of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s playing members claimed to have caused Vladimir Petrov to defect in 1954, in Australia’s biggest spy sensation. Dr Michael Bialoguski, code name ‘Diabolo’, worked under cover for Australia’s intelligence agencies. A Pole who came to Australia as a war-time refugee, he was a medical doctor. He joined Petrov, the Russian embassy official, in visits to King’s Cross for drinking and other pursuits. But Bialoguski was also a violinist of a calibre to be invited by Goossens to play in the SSO (years later he paid London orchestras to let him conduct them in recordings). When in the late 1970s the ABC seemed threatened by reports recommending cuts in government spending (notably the Green Report of 1976), musicians took to the streets with placards: ‘Keep Music Alive!’ The Sydney Symphony’s Musicians’ Association denounced the reports as ‘an attack on the creative, imaginative, and spiritual life of Australia’. More than just the permanence of their employment seemed to depend on the ABC’s viability. Campaigning to ‘Keep Music Alive’, in concert, Sydney Town Hall, December 1978 16 | Sydney Symphony Removing the orchestras from the control of the ABC seemed unlikely: working against it were job security, the protective screen of the ABC between music and government, and sheer inertia. All the more surprising – shocking in fact – when for once in Australian history a political leader took a personal initiative in relation to an orchestra. In 1994 Paul Keating’s government announced in ‘Creative Nation’ that the Government would transfer the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, only, from the ABC to local control. The Prime Minister’s hand was seen in this decision, by which the Sydney Symphony would also receive additional funding to increase its player strength, tour as a ‘cultural export’ and throughout Australia. ‘It is time for the Sydney orchestra to be given the opportunity and freedom to excel’ (the other ABC orchestras ‘may put a case to the Government for divestment if they see fit’.) This started the ball rolling – not always, history records, down the path intended. It’s 2007 and all the orchestras have loosened links with the ABC. The anxious fears of the musicians in 1976 are dispelled. The sky hasn’t fallen. It’s ironic, really, that the musicians in the orchestras should be most anxious about the permanence of the orchestras. The push to have permanent, full-time symphony orchestras in Australia, before the ABC made them a reality, came, largely, not so much from musicians as from music-lovers. They were well-off, well-connected people, who wanted a permanent orchestra in their city to ensure the hearing of music they loved, with the hope that permanence would bring a high standard. Their vision and connections are symbolised by the title of Melbourne’s ‘Lady Northcote Permanent Orchestra 17 | Sydney Symphony Fund’ formed in 1908. The merger of orchestras, in which the guardians of this fund played a part, formed what we now know as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and provided a model for the whole country. The emergence of ‘Radio’ orchestras in each city under the ABC, was not the expected outcome, but probably the only way permanent resources could be ensured. The visionary with whom the Lady Northcote Fund entered into partnership was conductor and educator Bernard Heinze. In 1938 he wrote: ‘…the development of Civic and personal pride in one’s own City Orchestra can in the long run only have the finest results…on these principles we have built up an audience in Melbourne which does not exist in any other City in Australia.’ And here’s ‘Creative Nation’ in 1994: ‘the world’s finest orchestras all operate under local control, and are accountable first and foremost to their cities of residence’. Had the wheel come full circle? Was the ABC’s orchestra founding and stewardship a mere stage on the way to a higher state of being? Those who care may like to be reminded, at any rate, how orchestras became a permanent part of Australia’s national culture. In the news? That would be good, too. David Garrett, a historian and former programmer for Australia’s symphony orchestras, is studying the history of the ABC as a musical organisation. GLOSSARY – within Mahler’s spiritual imagination cowbells were the last earthly sound one heard when ascending the mountain-top toward heaven. Cowbells play a significant role in his Sixth Symphony and in the Seventh (which the Sydney Symphony performed in 2006), and wherever Mahler conducted these works, he travelled with his own personal set of bells. COWBELLS IDÉE FIXE – literally a ‘fixed idea’, an obsession. Berlioz first used the term to refer to the motto theme that recurs in different guises throughout his Symphonie fantastique. – changes in basic pulse, usually in close succession e.g. alternating between march time (four beats to the bar) and waltz time (three beats); metrical changes are characteristic of much European folk music. METRICAL CHANGES – the way in which an orchestral work employs the different instruments and sections of the ensemble; also known as ‘scoring’. An ‘OVERSCORED’ work uses thick orchestral textures and many instrumental colours to extravagant effect (it might be compared with overly rich food). ORCHESTRATION PROGRAM – ‘program music’ is inspired by and claims to express a non-musical idea, usually with a descriptive title and sometimes with a literary narrative, or ‘program’ as well. Program music has been known in some form since at least the 16th century, but flourished in the 19th century, with works such as Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique. In many instances there is evidence of conflict in the composer’s mind: an obvious or stated program being assigned to the music with a simultaneous (or later) denial that there is any PROGRAMMATIC intent behind it. 18 | Sydney Symphony – literally, a joke; the scherzo as a genre was a creation of Beethoven. For composers such as Mozart and Haydn the third movement of a symphony had typically been a MINUET (in a dance-like triple time and featuring a contrasting central section call a trio). In Beethoven’s hands it acquired a joking and playful mood (sometimes whimsical and startling) as well as a much faster tempo; later composers such as Mahler and Shostakovich often gave the scherzo a cynical, driven, or even diabolical character – less playful and more disturbing. SCHERZO In much of the classical repertoire, movement titles are taken from the Italian words that indicate the tempo and mood. A selection of terms from this program is included here. Allegro energico ma non troppo – fast and energetically, but not too much Allegro moderato – moderately fast Andante moderato – at a moderate walking pace The system of a universal ‘musicians’ Italian’ developed during the baroque period, at a time when Italian music was dominant. (In this it has parallels with ‘ballet French’.) It is not always linguistically correct or even capable of direct ‘translation’, but as a lingua franca it is profoundly meaningful to musicians throughout the world. There are also traditions of French and German-speaking composers choosing tempo words and movement titles from their own language. Beethoven, Mahler and Hindemith are among the latter. This glossary is intended only as a quick and easy guide, not as a set of comprehensive and absolute definitions. Most of these terms have many subtle shades of meaning which cannot be included for reasons of space. MORE MUSIC Selected Discography Broadcast Diary MAHLER 6 Dr Wolfgang Fink, Director of Artistic Operations, writes: Among the many remarkable recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No.6 I regard the following as the most outstanding: Vienna Philharmonic with Pierre Boulez JULY Sun 15 July 10am BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO.2 Gianluigi Gelmetti conductor DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 445835 Thu 19 July 8pm Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra with Michael Gielen with music by Berg and Schubert HÄNSSLER 93029 Philharmonia Orchestra with Benjamin Zander This set includes an extra CD with a fantastic commentary on the symphony by Zander. TELARC 80586 (OR AS SACD: TELARC 60586) MORRISON PLAYS SCHIFRIN Lalo Schifrin conductor James Morrison trumpet Ambre Hammond piano Sat 21 July 12.05pm BERND GLEMSER IN RECITAL Bernd Glemser piano Bach, Shostakovich, Rachmaninov Mon 23 July 9.15pm YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN Selected recordings with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal HOMAGE TO MOZART Dene Olding violin-director Gerhard Oppitz piano Ibert, Stravinsky, Mozart Bruckner 7 2MBS-FM 102.5 ATMA SACD22512 SYDNEY SYMPHONY 2007 Rota and Weill Nino Rota’s La Strada and Kurt Weill’s Symphony No.2 Tue 10 July 6pm What’s on in concerts, with interviews and musical samples. This month’s guest: Ron Prussing, Principal Trombone. ATMA ALCD21036 Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony Webcast Diary ATMA SACD2 2331 Mahler 4 with Karina Gauvin, soprano ATMA ACD2 2306 In 2006 selected Sydney Symphony concerts were recorded for webcast by Telstra BigPond. These can be viewed at: http://sydneysymphony.bigpondmusic.com SYDNEY SYMPHONY: LIVE RECORDINGS Available now: Strauss and Schubert Images for Orchestra R. Strauss Four Last Songs; Schubert Symphony No.8 (Unfinished); J. Strauss II Blue Danube Waltz Gianluigi Gelmetti (cond.), Ricarda Merbeth (sop.) Haydn and Debussy works conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin SSO1 Glazunov and Shostakovich Glazunov The Seasons; Shostakovich Symphony No.9 Alexander Lazarev (conductor) SSO2 19 | Sydney Symphony And from Friday 6 July at 8pm: Mahler 6 conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin sydneysymphony.com Visit the Sydney Symphony online for concert information, podcasts, and to read your program book in advance of the concert. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Last year Yannick Nézet-Séguin was announced as the next Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, succeeding Valery Gergiev for the 2008/09 season. He is also the Artistic Director of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal and has garnered three Prix Opus prizes (Discovery of the Year in 1999 and the People’s Prize in both 1999 and 2000) awarded by the Quebec Music Council. He is the recipient of the 2000 Virginia Parker Prize, given by the Canada Council for the Arts. Born in Montreal in 1975, Yannick Nézet-Séguin began piano lessons at the age of five and later entered the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Montreal where he studied piano with Anisia Campos and composition, chamber music, and conducting. While at the conservatory, he also studied choral conducting at Westminster Choir College in Princeton and continued his training with a number of leading conductors, among them Carlo Maria Giulini (1997–98). Since his appointment in 2000 as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, he has worked with all the main orchestras across Canada and is a regular guest at the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and NAC Ottawa orchestras. Following his European debut with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, he has received an unbroken string of re-invitations from every orchestra with whom he has worked, including the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, SWR Radio Orchestra Baden Baden and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Next season will see his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and Deutsche Symphonieorchester Berlin. He records for ATMA Classique; and his acclaimed recordings with the Orchestre Métropolitain include Nino Rota’s La Strada and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, as well as Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony and most recently Bruckner’s Seventh. Yannick Nézet-Séguin first appeared with the Sydney Symphony in 2005, when he replaced Lorin Maazel at short notice, conducting Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony and a Mozart piano concerto (K491) with Stephen Kovacevich. 21 | Sydney Symphony THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CBO, Governor of New South Wales JOHN MARMARAS PATRON Founded in 1932, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities. Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House where the Sydney Symphony gives more than 100 performances each year, the Orchestra also performs concerts in a variety of venues around Sydney and regional New South Wales. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the Orchestra world-wide recognition for artistic excellence. Critical to the success of the Sydney Symphony has been the leadership given by its former Chief Conductors including: Sir Eugene Goossens, Nikolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Stuart 22 | Sydney Symphony Challender and Edo de Waart. Also contributing to the outstanding success of the Orchestra have been collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky. Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti, whose appointment followed a ten-year relationship with the Orchestra as Guest Conductor, is now in his fourth year as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony, a position he holds in tandem with that of Music Director at the prestigious Rome Opera. The Sydney Symphony is reaping the rewards of Maestro Gelmetti’s directorship through the quality of sound, intensity of playing and flexibility between styles. His particularly strong rapport with French and German repertoire is complemented by his innovative programming in the Shock of the New concerts and performances of contemporary Australian music. The Sydney Symphony’s award-winning Education Program is central to the Orchestra’s commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The Sydney Symphony maintains an active commissioning program promoting the work of Australian composers and in 2005 Liza Lim was appointed Composer-in-Residence for three years. In 2007, the Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary and the milestone achievements during its distinguished history. MUSICIANS Gianluigi Gelmetti Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Michael Dauth Dene Olding Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council Chair of Concertmaster supported by the Sydney Symphony Board and Council First Violins 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Second Violins First Violins 01 Kirsten Williams Second Violins Associate Concertmaster Sun Yi Ian & Jennifer Burton Chair of Assistant Concertmaster 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Julie Batty Gu Chen Amber Davis Rosalind Horton Jennifer Hoy Jennifer Johnson Georges Lentz Nicola Lewis Alexandra Mitchell Moon Design Chair of Violin 12 Léone Ziegler Sophie Cole Nicole Forsythe James McCrow Emily Qin Viola Horn First Violin# Rowena Crouch Casey Rippon Victoria Jacono Cello# Horn First Violin+ Martin Penicka Graham Nichols Leigh Middenway Cello+ Horn Assistant Principal First Violin Janine Ryan Matthew Dempsey Pieter Bersée Maria Durek Emma Hayes Shuti Huang Stan Kornel Benjamin Li Nicole Masters Philippa Paige Biyana Rozenblit Maja Verunica Emily Long Cello# Trumpet Second Violin# Jennifer Druery Andrew Evans Alexander Norton Double Bass# Trumpet Second Violin# Genevieve Lang Joshua Davis Natalie Favaloro Harp Trombone# Second Violin Lamorna Nightingale Brett Page Belinda Jezek Flute Bass Trombone Second Violin Elizabeth Chee Adam Jefferey Jacqueline Cronin Oboe# Timpani Viola# Ngaire de Korte Brian Nixon Jennifer Curl Oboe Viola# Alexandra Carson Asst Principal Percussion# Joanna Tobin Clarinet Adam Jefferey Viola+ Robert Llewellyn Percussion Rosemary Curtin Bassoon Kevin Man Viola Lisa Wynne-Allen Percussion Horn# Catherine Davis Principal 02 Susan Dobbie Associate Concertmaster 02 Fiona Ziegler Guest Musicians 01 Marina Marsden Associate Principal 03 Emma West 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 Celeste 23 | Sydney Symphony MUSICIANS Violas 01 02 03 04 08 09 10 11 04 05 06 02 03 Harp Flutes 05 06 07 01 02 03 07 08 -9 04 05 06 02 03 Cellos Double Basses 01 08 01 Violas 01 Roger Benedict 02 Anne Louise Comerford Assistant Principal 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Robyn Brookfield Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Mary McVarish Justine Marsden Leonid Volovelsky Felicity Wyithe 24 | Sydney Symphony Double Basses 01 Kees Boersma Principal Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Principal Double Bass 02 Nathan Waks Associate Principal 03 Yvette Goodchild Piccolo Cellos 01 Catherine Hewgill Principal Principal 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 Kristy Conrau Fenella Gill Leah Lynn Timothy Nankervis Elizabeth Neville Adrian Wallis David Wickham 07 02 Alex Henery Principal 03 Andrew Raciti Associate Principal 04 Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus 05 06 07 08 David Campbell Steven Larson Richard Lynn David Murray Harp Piccolo Louise Johnson Rosamund Plummer Mulpha Australia Chair of Principal Harp Principal Flutes 01 Janet Webb Principal 02 Emma Sholl Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Principal Flute 03 Carolyn Harris MUSICIANS Oboes 01 Cor Anglais 02 Bassoons 01 02 04 05 01 02 03 Clarinets Bass Clarinet 01 02 Contrabassoon Horns 03 03 01 02 02 03 04 Bass Trombone Tuba Timpani 03 Trumpets Trombones 01 Percussion 01 01 02 Piano 02 Oboes 01 Diana Doherty Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Principal Oboe 02 Shefali Pryor Bassoons 01 Matthew Wilkie Principal 02 Roger Brooke Associate Principal 03 Fiona McNamara Associate Principal Cor Anglais 01 Noriko Shimada Principal Principal Clarinets Principal 02 Francesco Celata Associate Principal 03 Christopher Tingay Bass Clarinet Principal 02 Paul Goodchild Associate Principal 03 John Foster 04 Anthony Heinrichs Contrabassoon Alexandre Oguey 01 Lawrence Dobell Trumpets 01 Daniel Mendelow Horns 01 Robert Johnson Principal 02 Ben Jacks Principal 03 Geoff O’Reilly Principal 3rd 04 Lee Bracegirdle 05 Marnie Sebire Craig Wernicke Principal 25 | Sydney Symphony Bass Trombone Percussion Christopher Harris 01 Rebecca Lagos Trust Foundation Chair of Principal Bass Trombone 02 Colin Piper Tuba Steve Rossé Trombone 01 Ronald Prussing NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Principal Trombone 02 Scott Kinmont Associate Principal 03 Nick Byrne Rogen International Chair of Trombone Principal Timpani 01 Richard Miller Principal 02 Brian Nixon Assistant Principal Timpani (contract) Principal Piano Josephine Allan Principal (contract) SALUTE PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Company is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW PLATINUM PARTNER GOLD PARTNERS 26 | Sydney Symphony MAJOR PARTNERS SILVER PARTNERS REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS BRONZE PARTNERS MARKETING PARTNERS PATRONS Australia Post Avant Card Beyond Technology Consulting Blue Arc Group Bimbadgen Estate Wines Lindsay Yates and Partners The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the many music lovers who contribute to the Orchestra by becoming Symphony Patrons. Every donation plays an important part in the success of the Sydney Symphony’s wide ranging programs. J. Boag & Son 2MBS 102.5 – Vittoria Coffee Sydney’s Fine Music Station The Sydney Symphony applauds the leadership role our Partners play and their commitment to excellence, innovation and creativity. 27 | Sydney Symphony DIRECTORS’ CHAIRS A leadership program which links Australia’s top performers in the executive and musical worlds. For information about the Directors’ Chairs program, please contact Corporate Relations on (02) 8215 4614. 01 02 03 04 05 07 08 09 10 11 01 Mulpha Australia Chair of Principal Harp, Louise Johnson 02 Mr Harcourt Gough Chair of Associate Principal Flute, Emma Sholl 03 Sandra and Paul Salteri Chair of Artistic Director Education, Richard Gill OAM 04 Jonathan Sweeney, Managing Director Trust with Trust Foundation Chair of Principal Bass Trombone, Christopher Harris 28 | Sydney Symphony 05 NSW Department of State and Regional Development Chair of Principal Trombone, Ronald Prussing 09 Stuart O’Brien, Managing Director Moon Design with Moon Design Chair of Violin, Alexandra Mitchell 06 Brian and Rosemary White Chair of Principal Double Bass, Kees Boersma 10 Ian and Jennifer Burton Chair of Assistant Concertmaster, Fiona Ziegler 07 Board and Council of the Sydney Symphony supports Chairs of Concertmaster Michael Dauth and Dene Olding 11 Andrew Kaldor and Renata Kaldor AO Chair of Principal Oboe, Diana Doherty 08 Gerald Tapper, Managing Director Rogen International with Rogen International Chair of Trombone, Nick Byrne 06 PLAYING YOUR PART The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the Orchestra each year. Every gift plays an important part in ensuring our continued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education and regional touring programs. Because we are now offering free programs and space is limited we are unable to list donors who give between $100 and $499 – please visit sydneysymphony.com for a list of all our patrons. Patron Annual Donations Levels Maestri $10,000 and above Virtuosi $5000 to $9999 Soli $2500 to $4999 Tutti $1000 to $2499 Supporters $500 to $999 To discuss giving opportunities, please call Caroline Mark on (02) 8215 4619. Maestri Brian Abel & the late Ben Gannon AO ° Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth * Mr Robert O Albert AO * ‡ Alan & Christine Bishop ° § Sandra & Neil Burns * Mr Ian & Mrs Jennifer Burton ° The Clitheroe Foundation * Mr John C Conde AO § Patricia M. Dixson * Penny Edwards ° * Mr J O Fairfax AO * Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre * Mr Harcourt Gough § Mr David Greatorex AO & Mrs Deirdre Greatorex § Mr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor AO § H. Kallinikos Pty Ltd § Mr David Maloney § Mr B G O’Conor § The Paramor Family * Mr Paul & Mrs Sandra Salteri Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet Cooke Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White Anonymous (1) * Virtuosi Mrs Antoinette Albert § Mr Robert & Mrs L Alison Carr § Mr John Curtis § Irwin Imhof in Memory of Herta Imhof ° ‡ Mr Stephen Johns § Mr & Mrs Gilles T Kryger ° § Helen Lynch AM ° Mr E J Merewether & Mrs T Merewether OAM * Miss Rosemary Pryor * Bruce & Joy Reid Foundation * John Roarty in memory of June Roarty Rodney Rosenblum AM & Sylvia Rosenblum § 29 | Sydney Symphony Mrs Helen Selle § Dr James Smith § David Smithers AM & family § Michael & Mary Whelan Trust § Anonymous (2) § Soli Ms Jan Bowen * Mr Chum Darvall § Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway * Hilmer Family Trust § Ms Ann Hoban Mr Paul & Mrs Susan Hotz ° § Mr Rory Jeffes Paul Lancaster & Raema Prowse ° § Mrs Joan MacKenzie § Miss Margaret N MacLaren Ms Gabrielle Trainor Mr R Wingate § Anonymous (2) § Tutti Mr C R Adamson ° § Mr Henri W Aram § Mr Warwick Bailey Mr David Barnes ° Mrs John Barnes Mr Alex & Mrs Vera Boyarsky Mrs F M Buckle ° A I Butchart Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill ° Libby Christie & Peter James Mr Bob & Mrs Julie Clampett § Mr John Cunningham SCM & Mrs Margaret Cunningham Mr & Mrs J B Fairfax AM § Mr Ian Fenwicke & Prof Neville Wills § Mrs Dorit & Mr William Franken ° § Mr & Mrs J R W Furber § Mr Arshak & Ms Sophie Galstaun § In Memory of Hetty Gordon § Mrs Akiko Gregory § Miss Janette Hamilton ° ‡ Mr A & Mrs L Heyko-Porebski ° Dr Paul Hutchins & Ms Margaret Moore ° Mrs Margaret Jack Mr John W Kaldor AM § Mr & Mrs E Katz § Mr Andrew Korda & Ms Susan Pearson § Mr Justin Lam § Erna & Gerry Levy AM Mr Gary Linnane § Mr & Mrs S C Lloyd Ms Karen Loblay § Mr & Mrs R. Maple-Brown § Mrs Alexandra Martin & the late Mr Lloyd Martin AM § Justice Jane Mathews § Mrs Mora Maxwell ° § Judith McKernan ° Mrs Barbara McNulty OBE ° Mr James & Mrs Elsie Moore Mr & Mrs John Morschel Mr R A Oppen § Mr Robert Orrell § Mr Arti Ortis & Mrs Belinda Lim Timothy & Eva Pascoe § Patricia Payn Ms Robin Potter § Mr Nigel Price § Mrs B Raghavan Mr & Mrs Ernest Rapee § Mrs Patricia H Reid ° Mr Brian Russell & Ms Irina Singleman Gordon & Jacqueline Samuels °§ Ms Juliana Schaeffer § Robyn Smiles § Derek & Patricia Smith § Catherine Stephen ° Mr Fred & Mrs Dorothy Street § Mr Georges & Mrs Marliese Teitler § Mr Stephen Thatcher Ms Gabrielle Trainor Mr Ken Tribe AC & Mrs Joan Tribe ° Mr John E Tuckey ° Mrs Kathleen Tutton ° Ms Mary Vallentine AO § Henry & Ruth Weinberg § Mr & Mrs Bruce West Jill Wran § Mrs R Yabsley ° Anonymous (10) § Supporters over $500 Mr Roger Allen & Ms Maggie Gray Mr Lachlan Astle John Augustus ° Mr Warwick Bailey § Mr Marco Belgiorno-Zegna AM Mr G D Bolton ° Pat & Jenny Burnett ° Hon. Justice J C & Mrs Campbell * Mr & Mrs Michel-Henri Carriol ° Mrs B E Cary § Mr Leo Christie & Ms Marion Borgelt Mr Peter Coates Mr B & Mrs M Coles § Mrs Catherine Gaskin Cornberg § Stan & Mary Costigan * Mrs M A Coventry ° Ms Rowena Danziger ° Mr & Mrs Michael Darling Lisa & Miro Davis * Mrs Patricia Davis § Mrs Ashley Dawson-Damer Mr Paul Espie ° Mr Russell Farr Mr & Mrs David Feetham Mr Richard & Mrs Diana Fisher Rev H & Mrs M Herbert ° * Ms Michelle Hilton-Vernon Mr and Mrs Paul Holt Mr Eric C Howie ° Mr & Mrs P Huthnance ° Ms Judy Joye Mrs Jeannette King ° * Mrs J Lam-Po-Tang ° Dr Barry Landa Mrs Joan Langley ° Ms Jan Lee Martin & Mr Peter Lazar § Mr David & Mrs Skye Leckie Margaret Lederman ° Mr & Mrs Ezzelino Leonardi § Mr Bernard & Mrs Barbara Leser Erna & Gerry Levy AM * Mr and Mrs S C Lloyd ° Mr Andrew & Mrs Amanda Love Mr Matthew McInnes § Mr Tony & Mrs Fran Meagher Mr Andrew Nobbs Moon Design Mrs R H O’Conor Ms Patricia Payn § Mr Adrian & Mrs Dairneen Pilton Mr & Mrs Michael Potts Mrs B Raghavan ° Mrs Caroline Ralphsmith Dr K D Reeve AM * Mr & Mrs A Rogers ° Dr Jane & Mr Neville Rowden § Mrs Margaret Sammut In memory of H St P Scarlett ° * Blue Mountain Concert Society Inc ° Mr Ezekiel Solomon Mr Andrew & Mrs Isolde Tornya Miss Amelia Trott Mrs Merle Turkington ° The Hon M. Turnbull MP & Mrs L. Hughes Turnbull Mr & Mrs Franc Vaccher Ronald Walledge ° Louise Walsh & David Jordan Mr Geoff Wood and Ms Melissa Waites Miss Jenny Wu Mr Michael Skinner & Ms Sandra Yates AO Anonymous (12) ° * ‡ § Allegro Program supporter Emerging Artist Fund supporter Stuart Challender Fund supporter Orchestra Fund supporter BEHIND THE SCENES Sydney Symphony Board CHAIRMAN John Conde AO Libby Christie John Curtis Stephen Johns Andrew Kaldor Goetz Richter David Smithers AM Gabrielle Trainor What’s on the cover? During the 2007 season Sydney Symphony program covers will feature photos that celebrate the Orchestra’s history over the past 75 years. The photographs on the covers will change approximately once a month, and if you subscribe to one of our concert series you will be able to collect a set over the course of the year. COVER PHOTOGRAPHS (clockwise from top left): Catherine Hewgill, Principal Cello; former Concertmaster Donald Hazelwood receives an immunisation shot before the SSO’s first overseas tour in 1965; Eugene Goossens, Chief Conductor from 1946 to 1956; an open air concert with conductor John Lanchbery in the Domain, 1983 Festival of Sydney; Sir Bernard Heinze in rehearsal; painting from the Education Program’s 2005 art competition; SSO brass players, 1963; Associate Principal Oboe Shefali Pryor with a student from Broken Hill School of the Air. 30 | Sydney Symphony Sydney Symphony Staff MARKETING AND CUSTOMER RELATIONS ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT Libby Christie EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT Fran Cracknell CUSTOMER RELATIONS Aernout Kerbert Julian Boram ACTING DEPUTY ORCHESTRA MANAGING DIRECTOR ARTISTIC OPERATIONS DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC OPERATIONS Wolfgang Fink Publicity PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER Imogen Corlette DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA MANAGER Greg Low ORCHESTRAL ASSISTANT Angela Chilcott Artistic Administration PUBLICIST OPERATIONS MANAGER ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Yvonne Zammit John Glenn TECHNICAL MANAGER ARTIST LIAISON Customer Relationship Management Ilmar Leetberg ONLINE & PUBLICATIONS MANAGER PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE Robert Murray Tim Dayman Raff Wilson CHIEF CONDUCTOR Lisa Davies-Galli Education Programs EDUCATION MANAGER Margaret Moore DATABASE ANALYST Martin Keen Derek Coutts PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ian Spence STAGE MANAGER Marketing Communications Marrianne Carter MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS EDUCATION CO-ORDINATOR Georgia Rivers Bernie Heard MULTICULTURAL MARKETING PROGRAMMING A/EDUCATION CO-ORDINATOR MANAGER Baz Archer Charlotte Binns-McDonald Xing Jin Library CONCERT PROGRAM EDITOR RECORDING ENTERPRISES Yvonne Frindle RECORDING ENTERPRISES MANAGER LIBRARIAN Anna Cernik Corporate & Tourism LIBRARY ASSISTANT NETWORK GROUP–SALES MANAGER Victoria Grant Simon Crossley-Meates LIBRARY ASSISTANT Box Office Mary-Ann Mead Aimee Paret BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE BOX OFFICE MANAGER Lynn McLaughlin DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIAL Teresa Cahill EXECUTIVE PROJECT MANAGER Rachel Hadfield BOX OFFICE COORDINATOR FINANCE MANAGER Anna Fraser Samuel Li CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR CORPORATE RELATIONS MANAGER REPRESENTATIVES Leann Meiers Wendy Augustine Matthew D’Silva Michael Dowling Shelley Salmon DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Rory Jeffes CORPORATE RELATIONS EXECUTIVE Alan Watt INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER Tim Graham CORPORATE RELATIONS EXECUTIVE PAYROLL AND ACCOUNTS Julia Owens PAYABLE OFFICER PHILANTHROPY MANAGER Caroline Hall Caroline Mark PATRONS & EVENTS MANAGER HUMAN RESOURCES Georgina Andrews Ian Arnold 31 | Sydney Symphony Level 9, 35 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 4972, Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone (02) 8215 4644 Facsimile (02) 8215 4646 Customer Services: GPO Box 4338, Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone (02) 8215 4600 Facsimile (02) 8215 4660 This publication is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s consent in writing. It is a further condition that this publication shall not be circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published. / This is a www.sydneysymphony.com SHOWBILL publication. All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the editor, publisher or any distributor of the programs. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of statements in this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors. Every effort has been made to secure permission for copyright material prior to printing. Publisher Playbill Proprietary Limited / Showbill Proprietary Limited Please address all correspondence to the Concert Program Editor, Sydney Symphony, GPO Box 4972, Sydney NSW 2001. Fax (02) 8215 4660. Email [email protected] ACN 003 311 064 ABN 27 003 311 064 Head Office: 1017 Pacific Highway, Pymble, NSW 2073 Telephone: (02) 9449 6433 Fax: (02) 9449 6053 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.playbill.com.au Operating in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart and Darwin EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN AND ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Brian Nebenzahl OAM, RFD MANAGING DIRECTOR Michael Nebenzahl EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jocelyn Nebenzahl SYMPHONY SERVICES AUSTRALIA LIMITED Suite 3, Level 2, 561 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 GPO Box 9994, Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone (02) 8333 1651 Facsimile (02) 8333 1678 www.symphony.net.au SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE TRUST Mr Kim Williams AM (Chair) Mr John Ballard Mr Wesley Enoch Ms Renata Kaldor AO Ms Jacqueline Kott Mr Robert Leece AM RFD Ms Sue Nattrass AO Mr Leo Schofield AM Ms Barbara Ward Mr Evan Williams AM EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Norman Gillespie DIRECTOR, FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Akhurst DIRECTOR, FINANCE & SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David Antaw DIRECTOR, MARKETING & DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . .Naomi Grabel DIRECTOR, PERFORMING ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rachel Healy DIRECTOR, PEOPLE & CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joe Horacek DIRECTOR, INFORMATION SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claire Swaffield DIRECTOR, TOURISM & VISITOR OPERATIONS . . . . . .Maria Sykes SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Bennelong Point GPO Box 4274, Sydney NSW 2001 Administration (02) 9250 7111 Box Office (02) 9250 7777 Facsimile (02) 9250 7666 Website sydneyoperahouse.com DIRECTOR – PRODUCTION Chris Breeze Overseas Operations: New Zealand: Playbill (N.Z.) Limited, Level 5, 94 Dixon Street, PO Box 11-755, Wellington, New Zealand; (64 4) 385 8893, Fax (64 4) 385 8899. Auckland: Mt. Smart Stadium, Beasley Avenue, Penrose, Auckland; (64 9) 571 1607, Fax (64 9) 571 1608, Mobile 6421 741 148, Email: [email protected] London: Playbill UK Limited, C/- Everett Baldwin Barclay Consultancy Services, 35 Paul Street, London EC2A 4UQ; (44) 207 628 0857, Fax (44) 207 628 7253. Hong Kong: Playbill (HK) Limited, C/- Fanny Lai, Rm 804, 8/F Eastern Commercial Centre, 397 Hennessey Road, Wanchai HK 168001 WCH 38; (852) 2891 6799; Fax (852) 2891 1618. Malaysia: Playbill (Malaysia) Sdn Bhn, C/- Peter I.M. Chieng & Co., No.2-E (1st Floor) Jalan SS 22/25, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan; (60 3) 7728 5889; Fax (60 3) 7729 5998. Singapore: Playbill (HK) Limited, C/- HLB Loke Lum Consultants Pte Ltd, 110 Middle Road #05-00 Chiat Hong Building, Singapore 188968; (65) 6332 0088; Fax (65) 6333 9690. South Africa: Playbill South Africa Pty Ltd, C/- HLB Barnett Chown Inc., Bradford House, 12 Bradford Road, Bedfordview, SA 2007; (27) 11856 5300, Fax (27) 11856 5333. All enquiries for advertising space in this publication should be directed to the above company and address. Entire concept copyright. Reproduction without permission in whole or in part of any material contained herein is prohibited. Title ‘Playbill’ is the registered title of Playbill Proprietary Limited. Title ‘Showbill’ is the registered title of Showbill Proprietary Limited. Additional copies of this publication are available by post from the publisher; please write for details. 14866 – 1/040707 – 26/26TH S50/53