2 012 S E A S O N

Fri 20 July 11am

Mozart meets Copland

Tea & Symphony

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INTRODUCTION

Mozart meets Copland

Some composers fi nd inspiration in nature – Beethoven, Mahler and Richard Strauss, to name just three. Mozart, on the other hand, is a city composer, a true cosmopolitan. His letters speak of journeys to bustling European centres, the delights of the cities, the atmosphere of the opera houses. One of the cities he visited was Paris, where he demonstrated an unerring instinct for pleasing his French audience with dramatic gestures and elegant eff ects. Not long after, Mozart was in Munich, writing an Italian opera for a German audience with a taste for French musical fashion. The result was the ballet music for Idomeneo, and its grand Chaconne and solo for the dancer M. Le Grand.

This program began life with the Copland Clarinet Concerto. Unfortunately we have had to postpone our performance of this piece to a future season. Meanwhile, in the revised program we’ve gained a fresh connecting thread: theatre.

Following Mozart’s ballet music from the opera house, we hear concert music rescued from the theatre. The work is a miniature portrait of nocturnal America circa 1939: Quiet City by Aaron Copland. And Richard Strauss’s witty La Bourgeois Gentilhomme suite represents another rescue eff ort, preserving for the concert hall music originally written for a German production of Molière’s satire. It also represents a return to French infl uence, through the spirit of Molière’s musical partner in crime, Jean-Baptiste Lully.

COVER PHOTOThe Graben, one of Vienna’s most famous streets, decorated for Christmas.AKG-IMAGES/RAINER HACKENBERG

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Mozart meets Copland Nicholas Carter CONDUCTOR

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)Ballet music from the opera Idomeneo

Chaconne et Pas seul de M. Le Grand

Aaron Copland (1900–1990)Quiet CityFeaturing David Elton (trumpet) and Alexandre Oguey (cor anglais)

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme – Suite, Op.60

Overture to Act I: Jourdain, the BourgeoisMenuett (The Dancing Master)The Fencing MasterArrival and Dance of the TailorsLully’s MinuetCouranteEntrance of Cléonte (based on Lully)Prelude to Act II: Dorante and Dorimène – Count and MarquiseThe Dinner (Table Music and Dance of the Kitchen Boys)

2012 season

tea & symphonyFriday 20 July, 11am

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

The music in this program was recorded by ABC Classic FM on Thursday 12 July for later broadcast.

Estimated durations: 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 36 minutesThe concert will conclude at approximately 12.10pm.

Biscuits at Tea & Symphony concertskindly provided by Kambly.

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ABOUT THE MUSIC

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Austrian composer(1756–1791)

MOZART Ballet music from Idomeneo

In 1780 Mozart was commissioned by the Munich court to compose an opera, for performance in the jewel-like theatre there. The opera was Idomeneo, re di Creta, and because of the German passion for French culture, it was to be an Italian opera seria but with a strong French element, including ballet.

Idomeneo is a tragic opera. During a shipwreck, King Idomeneo vows to Neptune that if he and his companions are saved he will sacrifi ce to the god the fi rst human he encounters. This is his son, Idamante. In keeping with the 18th-century preference for a happy ending, the sacrifi ce of Idamante is prevented by order of the voice of a deus ex machina, and the opera ends in general rejoicing. Mozart explained in a letter to his father that the ballet was not an added-on spectacle, but only an ‘appropriate divertissement’ in the opera itself, so Mozart had the honour of composing the ballet music as well. This meant that Mozart was ‘up to the eyes in work’, but he was glad of it ‘for now all the music will be by the same composer’.

Mozart’s Idomeneo ballet music has come down to us in a bundled-together form, with no indication of the original order of the pieces, or where they fi tted into the opera. Very likely the music we hear in this concert, the Chaconne and Pas seul, was part of a danced celebration of the triumph of love that ends the opera. Together they form a single mighty movement, the longest in all Mozart’s instrumental music. The extraordinary scale allows the composer not only a richness of scoring, but also contrasts of tempo and texture. The trademark techniques of the Munich orchestra are also heard, notably in the crescendos built up with repeated fi gures. The music has a galant charm, too. Mozart was deftly poised between Italian and German idioms, and could, on occasion, add a French ingredient to the recipe.

ADAPTED FROM NOTES BY DAVID GARRETT © 2012

The Sydney Symphony first performed a selection from the Idomeneo ballet music under Eugene Goossens in 1950, and most recently in the Mozart in the City series in 2009, directed by Michael Dauth.

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AARON COPLANDAmerican composer(1900–1990)

COPLAND Quiet City

Copland’s music has come to be regarded as emblematic of America, whether the America of the wide open spaces, or its sizzling cities. Quiet City is a piece which captures the character of one of those hard-bitten cities in a night-time mood.

In 1939, Aaron Copland composed incidental music for two plays. One was Five Kings, Orson Welles’s confl ation of Shakespeare’s two Henry IV plays and Henry V. The other was the Group Theatre’s production of Irwin Shaw’s Quiet City. Neither was a theatrical success. After its opening in New York on 16 April 1939, Quiet City lasted only two nights. ‘All that remained of all our hard work,’ remarked Clurman, ‘was a lovely score by Aaron Copland.’ As Copland himself explained:

The script was about a young trumpet player who imagined the night thoughts of many diff erent people in a great city and played trumpet to express his emotions and to arouse the consciences of the other characters and of the audience. After reading the play, I composed music that I hoped would evoke the inner distress of the central character.The concert piece Quiet City extends material heard in

the incidental music, which for dramatic reasons had not been continuous. One of the actors said of the concert version: ‘This was a good example of Aaron’s frugality – he just scooped up all those pages of music and used them later.’ Copland added the cor anglais solo for contrast, and to give the trumpet player some breaks. He rejected critical comparisons with poet Walt Whitman’s ‘mystic trumpeter’:

My trumpet player was simply an attempt to mirror the troubled main character…In fact, one of my markings for the trumpeter is to play ‘nervously’…But Quiet City seems to have become a musical entity, superseding the original reasons for its composition. The work has been called ‘atmospheric’ and ‘refl ective’, and the play’s troubled trumpeter has long since been forgotten.

ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY GORDON KALTON WILLIAMS © 1997

The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of Quiet City on 4 July 1941 with Percy Code conducting. The work was performed most recently in the Mozart in the City series in 2005, directed by Michael Dauth.

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RICHARD STRAUSSGerman composer(1864–1949)

STRAUSS Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme – Suite

The history of Strauss’s ‘would-be gentleman’ begins in 1670 with Molière’s comédie-ballet Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, its music by Jean-Baptiste Lully. To Strauss’s contemporaries, Molière’s play (and Lully’s music) was more museum-piece than masterpiece. But in 1911 Hugo von Hofmannsthal – Strauss’s librettist – toyed with the idea of a ‘little Molière piece’.

This idea grew into a four-hour production that included an adaptation of Molière’s play, renamed Der Bürger als Edelmann (The Bourgeois as Nobleman) with music by Strauss, and in place of the grand ballet that concluded the Molière-Lully comedy, a miniature opera, Ariadne auf Naxos. The two components were soon split up. Ariadne auf Naxos took its place in the operatic repertory, while Bürger als Edelmann was revived separately just once in Strauss’s lifetime. Only through the concert suite has his deft musical portrait of pride and folly survived. There are glimpses of Lully’s music in Strauss’s score. The small theatre orchestra of 36 players turns practical constraints to musical opportunity, suggesting the transparency of the baroque sound-world. But this is 17th-century France heard through 20th-century ears.

Jourdain – the Bourgeois establishes the mood with eight strings, doubled by piano in the manner of a baroque basso continuo. A coarse brass theme interrupts; a sweetly lilting arietta is presented by the oboe. In a few minutes Strauss introduces the blustering of the would-be gentleman, Monsieur Jourdain, and the bemusement of his tutors, hired to provide a crash course in gentlemanly accomplishments.

Jourdain’s favourite dance is the elegant minuet, although his execution of it is anything but, despite the eff orts of The Dancing Master. Heavy accents on weak beats suggest Jourdain’s clumsiness.

The piano emerges from the background for The Fencing Master – almost a miniature piano concerto ‘con bravura’! Its thrusting scales and arpeggios are parried by brass fanfares in a ‘logical demonstration’ of the swordsman’s art.

M. Jourdain is next attended by the Tailor and his ‘hopping’ apprentices. The marked rhythm required for dressing ‘persons of consequence’ is supplied by a sprightly gavotte, after which the tailor dances a stately polonaise. This spectacular violin solo has been described as Strauss’s ‘Superman’ dressed in wig and stockings; Jourdain makes his gauche imitation to disturbing brass chords.

In the original Bourgeois Gentilhomme, the melody of Lully’s Minuet had been unaccompanied, the Dancing Master frantically singing instructions: ‘la la la la la keep time if you please.’ Strauss gives the tune to the oboe,

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dressing it in modern harmonic garb. In the Courante, guests of dubious character descend on M. Jourdain (newcomers to him and to Molière). Their elaborate dance whirls with waltz-like grace.

The Entrance of Cléonte evokes the sound-world of Molière and Lully. Intending to win the hand of Jourdain’s daughter, Cléonte enters disguised as a Turkish nobleman bearing promises of instant elevation to the aristocracy. This grandly exotic scene begins with a subdued procession based on one of Lully’s sarabandes. The central section is gracefully raucous, then the solemn opening theme returns, coloured by exotic percussion instruments.

Dorante and Dorimène are the real, but not entirely noble, aristocrats in Molière’s play. In music dominated by the clarinet and a solo violin, dotted rhythms (mixing long and quick notes) revive a baroque convention for representing majesty.

For the banquet that M. Jourdain unwittingly hosts to the benefi t of Dorante and Dorimène, Hofmannsthal completely revised Molière’s menu to accommodate musical in-jokes. The Dinner begins when six cooks enter carrying an elaborate meal to a coronation march by Meyerbeer. The salmon is served to a watery motif from Wagner’s Rheingold; the saddle of mutton to the bleating sheep from Strauss’s own Don Quixote. A dish of songbirds is accompanied by birdsong from Der Rosenkavalier and an allusion to Verdi’s ‘La donna è mobile’. Finally, the omelette surprises all when a kitchen boy jumps from the enormous platter for what Hofmannsthal intended to be a wild erotic dance. Strauss, however, dishes up a buoyant Viennese waltz – intoxicating, but completely wholesome.

ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY YVONNE FRINDLE © 2010

The Sydney Symphony gave the first Australian performance of the suite from Strauss’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme in 1956 under conductor, Sir Bernard Heinze. Our most recent performance on record was in 1974, with Walter Susskind conducting the Sydney Little Symphony Orchestra.

Molière by Hachette, 1873

RUSSIAN PASSIONSLIADOV KikimoraRACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.2SCULTHORPE Sun Song (1984)TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini

Thomas Sanderling conductorAlexander Gavrylyuk piano

MEET THE MUSIC PRESENTED BY AUSGRID

Wed 15 Aug 6.30pmThu 16 Aug 6.30pm

TEA AND SYMPHONY

Fri 17 Aug 11am(Liadov, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky)

Book Now!Tickets available online from $35*

sydneysymphony.comor call 8215 4600 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Tickets also available at sydneyoperahouse.com9250 7777 | Mon-Sat 9am-8.30pm | Sun 10am-6pm

* Booking fees of $7.50 – $8.95 may apply. Free programs and pre-concert talks 45 minutes before all concerts Listen to audio clips & read programs at sydneysymphony.com Sydney Symphony concerts On Demand at bigpondmusic.com/sydneysymphony

Presenting Partner

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ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR

Nicholas Carter CONDUCTOR

Nicholas Carter has enjoyed a three-year association with the Sydney Symphony, fi rst as Assistant Conductor, working closely with Vladimir Ashkenazy and a number of the orchestra’s guest conductors, and subsequently as Associate Conductor. Last year he was appointed Assistant Conductor at the Hamburg State Opera and he is fast establishing a career as a conductor of exceptional versatility, equally at home in the concert hall and the opera house, and fl uent in a diverse repertoire.

In addition to the Sydney Symphony, he has conducted the West Australian, Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland symphony orchestras, Orchestra Victoria and the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Malaysian and New Zealand symphony orchestras. And for two years he was the Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, assisting Donald Runnicles. In 2011 he conducted a gala performance with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofi e von Otter and the Sydney Symphony.

His operatic work has included conducting for Hamburg (The Barber of Seville), Victorian Opera (Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte) and OzOpera (The Beggar’s Opera and Hans Krása’s Brundibár). He also conducted ChamberMade Opera’s production of The Children’s Bach and was assistant conductor for the 2010 premiere of Brett Dean’s Bliss (Opera Australia).

Born in Melbourne in 1985, Nicholas Carter initially studied violin, piano and singing. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2007 and was a member of the inaugural Victorian Opera Artist Development Program, studying conducting with Richard Gill. He was also a participant in the Symphony Australia Conductor Development Program.

ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR, SUPPORTED BY PREMIER PARTNER CREDIT SUISSE

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MUSICIANS

Vladimir AshkenazyPrincipal Conductor and Artistic Advisor supported by Emirates

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Nicholas CarterAssociate Conductor supported by Premier Partner Credit Suisse

FIRST VIOLINS

Dene OldingConcertmaster

Kirsten Williams Associate Concertmaster

Julie Batty Marianne BroadfootSophie Cole Léone Ziegler Sun Yi Associate Concertmaster

Fiona Ziegler Assistant Concertmaster

Jennifer BoothBrielle ClapsonAmber Davis Nicola Lewis Alexander Norton

SECOND VIOLINS

Marina Marsden Emily LongA/Assistant Principal

Benjamin Li Philippa Paige Biyana Rozenblit Maja Verunica Emma West Assistant Principal

Susan DobbiePrincipal Emeritus

Maria DurekEmma HayesShuti HuangStan W KornelNicole Masters

VIOLAS

Roger Benedict Robyn Brookfield Tara Houghton°Rosemary Curtin*Tobias Breider Anne-Louise Comerford Sandro Costantino Jane Hazelwood Graham Hennings Stuart Johnson Justine Marsden Leonid Volovelsky

CELLOS

Martin Smith*Leah Lynn Assistant Principal

Elizabeth NevilleRowena Macneish°Catherine Hewgill Fenella Gill Timothy NankervisChristopher PidcockAdrian Wallis David Wickham

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees Boersma Benjamin Ward Alex Henery Neil Brawley Principal Emeritus

David Campbell Steven Larson Richard Lynn David Murray

FLUTES

Janet Webb Lamorna Nightingale*Emma Sholl Carolyn HarrisRosamund Plummer Principal Piccolo

OBOES

Shefali Pryor Alexandre OgueyPrincipal Cor Anglais

Diana Doherty David Papp

CLARINETS

Francesco Celata Peter Jenkin*Lawrence Dobell Christopher Tingay Craig Wernicke Principal Bass Clarinet

BASSOONS

Nicole Tait*Fiona McNamara Matthew Wilkie Roger BrookeNoriko Shimada Principal Contrabassoon

HORNS

Ben Jacks Euan HarveyRobert Johnson Geoffrey O’Reilly Principal 3rd

Marnie Sebire

TRUMPETS

David Elton Justin Lingard*Paul Goodchild John FosterAnthony Heinrichs

TROMBONES

Christopher Harris Principal Bass Trombone

Ronald Prussing Scott Kinmont Nick Byrne

TUBA

Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Mark Robinson Assistant Principal

Richard Miller

PERCUSSION

Rebecca Lagos Joshua Hill*Chiron Meller*Brian Nixon*Alison Pratt*Colin Piper

HARP

Louise Johnson

PIANO

Kate Golla*

Bold = PrincipalItalics = Associate Principal * = Guest Musician ° = Contract MusicianGrey = 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.

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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 2011 tour of Japan and Korea.

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. The orchestra has recently completed recording the Mahler symphonies, and has also released recordings with Ashkenazy of Rachmaninoff and Elgar orchestral works on the Exton/Triton labels, as well as numerous recordings on the ABC Classics label.

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

JOH

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AR

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Sydney Symphony BoardJohn C Conde ao ChairmanTerrey Arcus amEwen CrouchRoss Grant

Jennifer HoyRory JeffesAndrew KaldorIrene Lee

David LivingstoneGoetz RichterDavid Smithers am

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY PATRONS

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

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

05 Jane Hazelwood Viola Veolia Environmental Services Chair

06 Catherine Hewgill Principal Cello Tony & Fran Meagher Chair

07 Elizabeth Neville Cello Ruth & Bob Magid Chair

08 Colin Piper Percussion Justice Jane Mathews ao Chair

09 Shefali Pryor Associate Principal Oboe Rose Herceg Chair

10 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 10

Sydney Symphony Leadership EnsembleDavid Livingstone, CEO, Credit Suisse, AustraliaAlan Fang, Chairman, Tianda GroupTony Grierson, Braithwaite Steiner PrettyMacquarie Group FoundationJohn Morschel, Chairman, ANZAndrew Kaldor, Chairman, Pelikan Artline

Lynn Kraus, Sydney Office Managing Partner, Ernst & YoungShell Australia Pty LtdJames Stevens, CEO, Roses OnlyStephen Johns, Chairman, Leighton Holdings,

and Michele Johns

Jonathan PeaseAnna Swan

Sydney Symphony VanguardVanguard CollectiveJustin Di Lollo – ChairKees BoersmaRose Herceg

David McKeanAmelia Morgan-Hunn

MembersNikki AndrewsJames ArmstrongStephen AttfieldAndrew BaxterMar BeltranKees Boersma Peter BraithwaiteAndrea Brown

Ian BurtonJennifer BurtonRon ChristiansonMichael CookPaul CousinsJustin Di LolloRose GalloDerek Hand

Rose HercegDamian KassagbiChris KeherElizabeth LeeAntony LightenGary LinnaneDavid McKeanHayden McLean

Amelia Morgan-HunnHugh MunroPeter OutridgeJonathan PeaseSeamus R QuickJacqueline RowlandsBernard RyanJonathan Watkinson

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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 sydneysymphony.com/patrons

Platinum Patrons$20,000+Brian AbelGeoff Ainsworth am & Vicki Ainsworth

Robert Albert ao & Elizabeth AlbertTerrey Arcus am & Anne ArcusTom Breen & Rachael KohnSandra & Neil BurnsMr John C Conde aoRobert & Janet ConstableDr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda GiuffreIn memory of Hetty & Egon GordonMs Rose HercegMrs E HerrmanMr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs Renata Kaldor ao

D & I KallinikosJames N Kirby FoundationJustice Jane Mathews aoMrs Roslyn Packer aoDr John Roarty oam in memory of Mrs June Roarty

Paul & Sandra SalteriMrs Penelope Seidler amMrs W SteningMr Fred Street am & Mrs Dorothy Street

Mr Peter Weiss am & Mrs Doris Weiss

Westfield Group Mr Brian & Mrs Rosemary WhiteRay Wilson oam in memory of James Agapitos oam

Kim Williams am & Catherine DoveyJune & Alan Woods Family BequestAnonymous (1)

Gold Patrons$10,000–$19,999Mr C R AdamsonAlan & Christine BishopIan & Jennifer BurtonCopyright Agency LimitedThe Estate of Ruth M DavidsonThe Hon. Ashley Dawson-DamerPaul R EspieFerris Family FoundationJames & Leonie FurberMr Ross GrantThe Estate of the l ate Ida GuggerHelen Lynch am & Helen BauerMrs Joan MacKenzieRuth & Bob MagidMrs T Merewether oamTony & Fran MeagherMr B G O’ConorMrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet CookeMs Caroline WilkinsonAnonymous (2)

Silver Patrons$5,000–$9,999Mark Bethwaite am & Carolyn Bethwaite

Jan BowenMr Alexander & Mrs Vera BoyarskyMr Robert BrakspearMr David & Mrs Halina BrettMr Robert & Mrs L Alison CarrBob & Julie ClampettIan Dickson & Reg HollowayMr Colin Draper & Mary Jane Brodribb Penny EdwardsJohn FavaloroMr Edward FedermanMichael & Gabrielle FieldMr James Graham am & Mrs Helen Graham

Mrs Jennifer HershonMichelle Hilton Stephen Johns & Michele BenderJudges of the Supreme Court of NSW Mr Ervin KatzThe Estate of the late Patricia LanceGary LinnaneMr David LivingstoneWilliam McIlrath Charitable Foundation

David Maloney & Erin FlahertyEva & Timothy PascoeRodney Rosenblum am & Sylvia Rosenblum

Manfred & Linda SalamonThe Sherry Hogan FoundationDavid & Isabel SmithersIan & Wendy ThompsonMichael & Mary Whelan TrustDr Richard WingateJill WranAnonymous (1)

Bronze Patrons$2,500 – $4,999Dr Lilon BandlerStephen J BellMarc Besen ao & Eva Besen aoLenore P BuckleHoward ConnorsEwen & Catherine CrouchFirehold Pty LtdVic & Katie FrenchMr Erich GockelMs Kylie GreenAnthony Gregg & Deanne WhittlestonAnn HobanIrwin Imhof in memory of Herta ImhofJ A McKernanR & S Maple-BrownGreg & Susan MarieMora MaxwellJames & Elsie Moore

Justice George Palmer amBruce & Joy Reid FoundationMary Rossi TravelMrs Hedy SwitzerMarliese & Georges TeitlerMs Gabrielle TrainorJ F & A van OgtropAnonymous (3)

Bronze Patrons$1,000-$2,499Charles & Renee AbramsAndrew Andersons aoMr Henri W Aram oamDr Francis J AugustusRichard BanksDavid BarnesDoug & Alison BattersbyMichael Baume ao & Toni BaumePhil & Elese BennettNicole BergerMrs Jan BiberAllan & Julie BlighM BulmerIn memory of R W BurleyEric & Rosemary CampbellDr John H CaseyDebby Cramer & Bill CaukillDr Diana Choquette & Mr Robert Milliner

Joan Connery oam & Maxwell Connery oam

Mr John Cunningham scm & Mrs Margaret Cunningham

Greta DavisLisa & Miro DavisMatthew DelaseyMr Ian Fenwicke & Prof. Neville WillsDr & Mrs C GoldschmidtWarren GreenAkiko GregoryIn memory of the late Dora & Oscar Grynberg

Janette HamiltonDorothy Hoddinott aoPaul & Susan HotzThe Hon. David Hunt ao qc & Mrs Margaret Hunt

Dr & Mrs Michael HunterMr Peter HutchisonMichael & Anna JoelThe Hon. Paul KeatingIn Memory of Bernard MH KhawAnna-Lisa KlettenbergMr Justin Lam Wendy LapointeMr Peter LazarDr Winston LiauwKevin & Deidre McCannRobert McDougallIan & Pam McGaw

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Matthew McInnesMacquarie Group FoundationMr Robert & Mrs Renee MarkovicAlan & Joy MartinHarry M Miller, Lauren Miller Cilento & Josh Cilento

Miss An NhanMs Jackie O’BrienMrs Rachel O’ConorDrs Keith & Eileen OngMr R A OppenMr Robert OrrellMr & Mrs OrtisMaria PagePiatti Holdings Pty LtdAdrian & Dairneen PiltonRobin PotterDr Raffi QasabianErnest & Judith RapeeKenneth R Reed Patricia H Reid Endowment Pty LtdRobin RodgersJohn SaundersIn memory of H St P ScarlettJuliana SchaefferMr & Mrs Jean-Marie SimartCatherine StephenJohn & Alix SullivanThe Hon Brian Sully qcMildred TeitlerAlma Toohey & Edward Spicer Andrew & Isolde TornyaGerry & Carolyn TraversJohn E TuckeyMrs M TurkingtonIn memory of Joan & Rupert Vallentine In memory of Dr Reg WalkerHenry & Ruth WeinbergThe Hon. Justice A G WhealyGeoff Wood & Melissa WaitesAnn & Brooks Wilson amMr R R WoodwardIn memory of Lorna WrightDr John Yu Anonymous (12)

Bronze Patrons$500–$999Mr Peter J ArmstrongMr & Mrs Garry S AshMr & Mrs Anthony Barlow Mrs Margaret Bell Mrs Baiba B Berzins & Dr Peter Loveday

Dr & Mrs Hannes BoshoffMinnie BiggsDr Miles Burgess

Pat & Jenny BurnettIta Buttrose ao obeStephen Bryne & Susie GleesonThe Hon. Justice J C & Mrs CampbellMr Percy ChissickMrs Catherine J ClarkR A & M J ClarkeJen CornishMr David Cross Elizabeth DonatiDr Nita & Dr James DurhamGreg Earl & Debbie CameronMr & Mrs FarrellRobert GellingVivienne GoldschmidtMr Robert GreenMr Richard Griffin amJules & Tanya HallMr Hugh HallardMr Ken HawkingsMrs A HaywardDr Heng & Mrs Cilla TeyMr Roger HenningHarry & Meg HerbertSue HewittMr Joerg HofmannMs Dominique Hogan-DoranMr Brian HorsfieldAlex HoughtonBill & Pam HughesSusie & Geoff IsraelMrs W G KeighleyNiki Kellenberger Dr Henry KilhamMr & Mrs Gilles T KrygerSonia LalLuigi LampratiMrs M J LawrenceDr & Mrs Leo LeaderMargaret LedermanMrs Yolanda LeeMartine LettsAnita & Chris LevyErna & Gerry Levy amMrs Helen LittleSydney & Airdrie LloydMrs A LohanMrs Panee LowCarolyn & Peter Lowry oamDr David LuisMelvyn MadiganDr Jean MalcolmMrs Silvana MantellatoMr K J MartinGeoff & Jane McClellanPhilip & Catherine McClellandMrs Flora MacDonald

Mrs Helen MeddingsP J Miller David & Andree MilmanKenneth N MitchellChris Morgan-HunnMrs Milja Morris Nola NettheimMrs Margaret NewtonMr Graham NorthDr M C O’Connor amA Willmers & R PalDr A J PalmerMr Andrew C PattersonDr Kevin PedemontDr Natalie E PelhamMr Allan PidgeonRobin PotterLois & Ken RaeMr Donald RichardsonAnna Ro Pamela RogersAgnes RossGarry Scarf & Morgie Blaxill Dr Mark & Mrs Gillian SelikowitzCaroline SharpenMrs Diane Shteinman amDr Agnes E SinclairDoug & Judy SotherenMrs Judith Southam Mrs Elsie StaffordMr Lindsay & Mrs Suzanne StoneMargaret SuthersMr D M SwanMr Norman TaylorMs Wendy ThompsonKevin TroyJudge Robyn TupmanGillian Turner & Rob BishopProf. Gordon E WallRonald WalledgeMr Robert & Mrs Rosemary WalshMr Palmer WangDavid & Katrina WilliamsA Willmers & R PalAudrey & Michael WilsonDr Richard WingMr Robert WoodsMr & Mrs Glenn WyssMrs Robin YabsleyAnonymous (24)

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

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SALUTE

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

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

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

PREMIER PARTNER

COMMUNITY PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERSPLATINUM PARTNER

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS

2MBS 102.5 Sydney’s Fine Music Station

MARKETING PARTNER

GOLD PARTNERS

SILVER PARTNERS

executive search

❝I’m in search of the perfect instrument.

❞‘You don’t want to be question-ing yourself on a soft high entry. They’re often much trickier than the big loud entries.’

Ben credits Dale Clevenger, Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as the teacher who had the greatest infl uence on him. ‘He gave me some excellent advice: “If some-thing happens [in performance], you’ve got to forget about it immediately. Focus on the line and phrase. If you focus on what went wrong, it will just happen again.” ’

Perhaps it’s a brass cliché, but Ben cites the big Romantics – Strauss and Mahler – as amongst his favourites to play. ‘It’s such heroic writing. They really let the horn sing and shine through all its registers. The older I get, though, the more I appreciate Brahms. I understand better the intricacy and genius of his writing.’

‘As a professional, I suffer something of an affl iction – I’m in search of the perfect instru-ment. I play four horns, have another on order and am consid-ering a sixth… Is my wife going to read this?’

A quick Google of “hardest instrument to play” reveals a widely held belief that the French horn is the most diffi cult to master. How did Ben Jacks, Principal Horn, come to choose this most capricious instrument?

‘It was a case of simple eco-nomics. My mother was a music teacher. I went to the school where she was teaching, and there was a spare horn in the storeroom. There wasn’t anyone else playing it, so the school was offering free lessons for a semester to encourage someone to try.’

Did the young Ben know what lay ahead? ‘I have a memory of an early lesson with Eric

Bramble [former Associate Principal Horn of MSO]. He said, “Ben, sometimes playing the French horn makes you feel like doing this,” and then kicked a chair across the room and into the wall! He was otherwise a polite, well-spoken professional!’

The challenges to mastering this instrument are inherent in the physics of the French horn. A great degree of fi nesse is required to form exactly the right embouchure, or shape of the mouth, and direct the speed of air through the instrument to achieve the desired note at the desired dynamic. ‘If you think about the physics of it, it can become quite daunting,’ says Ben.

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CHASING PERFECTIONPrincipal Horn Ben Jacks explains how the horn earned its reputation as a fi ckle tool of trade.

ORCHESTRA NEWS | JULY–AUGUST 2012

Proud sponsor of theSydney Symphonyin their 80th yearof timeless entertainment

Orchestra Online

REFRESHING TIMES

Q. What’s black and white and red all over?A. The new Sydney Symphony website!www.sydneysymphony.com

We’ve launched a revamped Sydney Symphony website – up and running since early July!

Your feedback and comments have helped our web agency Deepend design the new site for easy navigation and straightforward ticket purchase.

Our new What’s On calendar allows you to view concerts by month, searching is improved, and you can fi lter for your favourite category of music or for particular artists, making it easier to fi nd exactly what you’re looking for.

We’ve also incorporated lots of fun features, including videos, a live Twitter feed and our annual tour blog. In coming weeks we’ll be reinstating audio samples and podcasts and launching a new historical timeline. Meanwhile, you can still download program books from this season and years past, and pdfs of these Bravo! newsletters.

If you still need an incentive to visit the new site, consider making your next subscription purchase online. After our 2013 season launches on Wednesday 8 August, those who subscribe online before 30 September will receive a free DVD of The Concert. (One DVD per household.)

Your SayThank you Sydney Symphony, for another wonderful Family Classics concert [May]. Special thanks to timpanist Mark Robinson for being so friendly, talking to my son and his friend about percussion instruments. Mark went out of his way to converse with my son. This means an awful lot to a 10 year old.Angie Dalli

Did I really see Dene Olding playing in the back row of the violins at the concert on Saturday 12 May, or was I seeing things? If it was him, what had he done to be so demoted?Jennifer Hotop

It was indeed Dene Olding, our Concertmaster, sitting at the back of the section for this concert. But rest assured, he hasn’t been demoted! Rather, as we’ve recently invited a number of guest musicians to try out for the role of Co-Concertmaster, Dene has been joining the section – albeit towards the back – so that he too can develop an informed opinion about the candidates.

I am very pleased and excited with the news that David Robertson has been engaged from 2014 onwards. My husband and I lived in St Louis for 11 years, and for 10 of those,

we were season ticket holders to the St Louis Symphony. We remember the excitement when David Robertson was appointed there, and were pleased with the sense of renewed vitality he brought to the orchestra. We heard many fantastic concerts with him on the podium. For me, one highlight was a performance of Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony. I really appreciate his commitment to modern music and hope it continues when he arrives in Sydney.Jennifer Milne

A cigar on the piano was all that was missing from last night’s performance of A Gershwin Tribute. The wicked wit of Mr Bramwell Tovey, the mischievous grin of Mr David Jones, the great voice of Ms Tracey Dahl, and last but not least every member of the orchestra made the evening a most memorable experience.Isabell St Leon

My wife and I have been very supportive of the SSO for many years. Last night’s Gershwin concert was out of this world… All we can say is that it demonstrates how world class your concerts are! Please keep up the unbelievably good performances.Peter Kennewel

We like to hear from you. Write to yoursay@sydneysymphony.com or Bravo! Reply Paid 4338, Sydney NSW 2001.

Regional Touring

A tree-change is not without its drawbacks. ‘I was a regular at SSO concerts in Sydney before moving to the mid-North coast 12 months ago,’ said Robyn Neasmith, ‘and had been feeling rather deprived of my “cultural fi ll”.’ When the Sydney Symphony visited Taree on its recent annual regional tour, Robyn was delighted. ‘I got my fi ll!’

By all reports, audiences were thrilled. ‘What was so wonderful was the joy and pleasure that the orchestra gave to so many in the local community who had never had the privilege of seeing them perform ,’ said Robyn.

Conductor Benjamin Northey led the side-by-side forces of the Sydney Symphony and Sydney Sinfonia on a tour to Taree, Grafton and Newcastle, where in addition to giving performances by night, they also presented schools concerts during the day.

More than 2,000 children from regional NSW were enchanted by saxophonist Nicholas Russoniello (2011 ABC/Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year) weaving his way through the audience as he performed Barry Cockcroft’s Black and Blue.

‘The kids loved it!’ said Ben, himself a former saxophonist. ‘The piece was really jazzy, lots

of wailing, very clever stuff. You know, it was at a concert just like this that Leonard Bernstein decided he was going to be a musician. He heard Ravel’s Bolero at a New York Philharmonic schools concert and the rest is history.’

‘We found lots of ways of engaging the kids in the concert, by asking them to come up with words for the main theme of Dvorák’s Ninth Symphony, for instance. Here’s what they worked out: “Peanut butter fi ts on the table, with vegemite, with vegemite, with vegemite on toast.” They sang it so loud!’ laughed Ben. [Try it yourself – you’ll see the words fi t beautifully!]

One special group of music lovers came from St Dominic’s Centre for Hearing Impaired Children. After the concert, Sinfonia cellists went out into the audience to give these children the chance to feel the instruments as they were being played.

‘These concerts aren’t just about potentially sparking the interest of a young musician,’ said Ben. ‘They’re also about fostering an audience who are interested and invested. Concert-goers who, down the track, we hope will really love music.’

WEAVING MAGICAn orchestra on tour fulfi ls cultural needs at night and sparks new interest by day.

Double bassist and Sinfonia member Douglas Rutherford hands his bow to Cowper Public School student Tess Chevalier at the Saraton Theatre, Grafton.

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PN Ribbons of Colour

Some music doesn’t just sound extraordinary – it’s also visually stunning. And Takemitsu’s From me fl ows what you call Time is one of those pieces. It’s scored for fi ve percussionists and orchestra, but it’s no ordinary percussion section you’ll be seeing when we play this piece in September.

Most striking are the fi ve coloured ribbons extending from bells above the stage, and manipu-lated by the soloists, who wear matching colours. These represent the fi ve natural phenomena: water (blue), fi re (red), earth (yellow), wind (green) and sky (white). There’s also a huge array of world percussion – Japanese temple bowls placed on timpani drums, Indonesian wooden angklungs, and Pakistani Noah bells, to name a few.

‘There’s more than the usual amount of preparation,’ says Prin-cipal Percussion Rebecca Lagos. ‘We have to source some strange instruments, work out how we’re going to suspend fi ve bells above the orchestra…’ And that’s before rehearsals have even begun!

A piece like this requires a special kind of mapping. ‘For percussion-ists, every piece has a different combination of instruments. We organise all those different elements into a single instrument. There’s a lot of choreograp hy required, and it may take time before you have your set-up exactly right.’

The fi nal effect is one of solem-nity and ritual. ‘The music sounds incredibly impressionistic and romantic, delicate and beautiful. Anyone expecting a driving, rhythm-based piece will be surprised.’

Symphony for the Common ManThursday Afternoon SymphonyThu 6 Sep | 1.30pmEmirates Metro SeriesFri 7 Sep | 8pmGreat ClassicsSat 8 Sep | 2pm

The Score

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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 Schofi eld AM, Mr John Symond AM

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENTActing Chief Executive Offi cer Jonathan BielskiDirector, Theatre and Events David ClaringboldDirector, Marketing, Communications and Director, Customer Services Victoria DoidgeBuilding Development and Maintenance Greg McTaggartDirector, Venue Partners and Safety Julia PucciChief Financial Offi cer Claire Spencer

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By arrangement with the Sydney Symphony, this publication is offered free of charge to its patrons subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be sold, 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 than that in which it was published, or distributed at any other event than specifi ed on the title page of this publication 16842 — 1/200712 — 21TS S52

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SYDNEY SYMPHONY SPRINT!

Fifteen fearless Sydney Symphony musicians and staff are re-forming Team Sydney Symphony Sprint to take another tilt at the City2Surf on Sunday 12 August. First Violin Jennifer Hoy explains why they’ve chosen Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy as their charit y:

‘All of us at the Sydney Symphony are fortunate enough to be able to perform, experience and share great music every day – we can’t imagine life without it! …We have chosen to run for Nordoff-Robbins because they provide the unique gift of music to people who are in need – including those with physical and intellectual disabilities, mental health problems, and learning and behavioural diffi culties. Help u s make music an everyday part of life for those in our community who need it most!’

If you want to support Sydney Symphony Sprint as they tackle Heartbreak Hill this year, visit their giving page at bit.ly/City2SurfSprint2012

SOUND UPDATE

Work continues with the acoustic improvements to the Concert Hall. The black drapes of the past year are now gone and the original sawtooth panels have been replaced with fl at ones. Acoustician Larry Kirkegaard has been hard at work, refi ning the angles of the new panels. The project team is also looking into issues of wheelchair access and changes to sightlines from the boxes that have resulted from the new panels.

PLAYERS LINKED

In June, 44 student musicians, aged between 11 and 60, took part in the Sydney Symphony Playerlink program in Albury. During three days of intensive workshops, the students worked closely with members of the Sydney Symphony, exploring ensemble playing, musical interpretation and technical skills. The weekend ended with a public concert that included Rossini’s William Tell Overture and the Trepak (Russian Dance) from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

DIAMOND JUBILEE

The Sydney Symphony contributed to the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by recording a song with Gary Barlow (front man with boy band Take That, and head judge on The X Factor in the UK). ‘Sing’ features musicians from throughout the Commonwealth – including the African Children’s Choir, the Slum Drummers from Kenya, and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu – accompanied by the Sydney Symphony. The track is part of a special Diamond Jubilee album, available from iTunes and music shops. More info: bit.ly/JubileeSing

OUR FAMILY JUST KEEPS GROWING

Mark Robinson (Assistant Principal Timpani / Tutti Percussion) and his wife Lindsay welcomed Harris James on Thursday 14 June. Big sister Chloe has agreed to keep him. And double bassist Steve Larson, with partner Melissa Barnard (cellist in the Australian Chamber Orchestra) welcomed their daughter Maia. What are the chances she’s going to be a string player?

CODA

BRAVO EDITOR Genevieve Lang sydneysymphony.com/bravo