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Home , Antonio Pappano, An Alpine Symphony, BBC Symphony Chorus, Kaija Saariaho, Kirill Gerstein, Omar Ebrahim

OTHER WORLDS 2019/20 Concert season at Southbank Centre’s Highlights 2019/20

November Acclaimed soprano Diana Damrau is renowned for her interpretations of the music of , and this November she sings a selection of her favourite Strauss songs. Page 12 September October Principal Conductor and Mark Elder conducts Artistic Advisor Vladimir Elgar’s oratorio Jurowski is joined by The Apostles, arguably Julia Fischer to launch his greatest creative the second part of Isle achievement, which of Noises with Britten’s will be brought to life elegiac Concerto on this occasion with alongside Tchaikovsky’s a stellar cast of soloists Sixth . and vast choral forces. Page 03 Page 07

December Legendary British pianist Peter Donohoe plays his compatriot ’s rarely performed Dynamic Triptych – a unique jazz-filled, exotic masterpiece Page 13 February March January leads We welcome back violinist After winning rave reviews the first concert in our Anne-Sophie Mutter for at its premiere in 2017, 2020 Vision festival, two exceptional concerts we offer another chance presenting the music in which she performs to experience Sukanya, of three remarkable Beethoven’s groundbreaking ’s works composed Triple Concerto and extraordinary operatic three centuries apart, a selection of chamber fusion of western and by Beethoven, Scriabin works alongside LPO traditional Indian styles. and Eötvös. Principal musicians. A love story brought to Page 19 Pages 26–27 life through myth, music and dance. Page 14

April May FUNharmonics As we mark the 250th Antonio Pappano conducts This October the anniversary of Beethoven’s sublime Bach transcriptions, performs the live orchestral birth, Vladimir Jurowski brings and is joined by acclaimed soundtrack to Zog – four of the composer’s pianist Igor Levit for a a new animated film rarely heard works to the rare and eagerly awaited based on Julia Donaldson stage including his performance of Busoni’s and Axel Scheffler’s remarkable choral piece immense Concerto. celebrated picture book. Cantata on the Death Page 36 Page 41 of Emperor Joseph II. Page 29 01 Introduction

A warm welcome to our new season

We have another fine array of concerts for During the second half of the season, we present you to enjoy in 2019/20. We begin the season the first part of a new strand of concerts entitled with the second part of Isle of Noises, our 2020 Vision, offering the chance to hear some exploration of landmark classics inspired by the of the most exciting music written since 2000 British Isles, and including the music of Walton, including works by Thomas Adès, Péter Eötvös, Vaughan Williams, Britten and Foulds, alongside and Kaija Saariaho. Each of these a celebration of a century of great British film will be combined in a concert with works written scores. Other early season highlights include both 100 and 200 years earlier, which along a performance of Mahler's mighty Resurrection the way gives us the perfect opportunity Symphony with Principal Conductor and to celebrate Beethoven’s 250th anniversary Artistic Advisor Vladimir Jurowski, Verdi’s with some of his great masterpieces including glorious under the baton of Edward his first six . Gardner, and a welcome return to the Royal We continue our Wagner Ring Cycle project Festival Hall stage for celebrated soprano with Siegfried in January, and in March our regular Diana Damrau, who performs a selection guest soloist and friend Anne-Sophie Mutter of her favourite Strauss songs. joins us for a performance of Beethoven's Triple After its critically acclaimed premiere with the Concerto, and an evening of chamber music LPO in 2017, Ravi Shankar’s only Sukanya with Principal musicians from the Orchestra. is performed again for one night only in January There really is something for everyone this 2020 – don't miss the chance to join us for this season, so please do join us again to experience special event. the wonder of orchestral music.

Timothy Walker AM Chief Executive and Artistic Director

A selection of this season’s concerts will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and available for 30 days after broadcast via BBC Sounds. © Chris© Blott Y– DECEMB AR ER U 2 N 01 A 9 J ISLE OF NOISES Landmark classics inspired by the British Isles 1689 –2019

Isle of Noises January–December 2019 lpo.org.uk/isleofnoises

‘Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.’

The British Isles have always been of British film scores tells stories of Polish a place where diverse traditions meet fighter pilots and Arabian adventurers; tragic and interact: where ideas are born lovers and 1930s sci-fi. It’s never just been and debated, and where past, present and about country lanes and stiff upper lips. future are in continual, often tempestuous So we’ll dive deeper. Elgar explores his dialogue. Throughout it all, musicians Catholic faith in music of red-blooded in and from Britain have created art passion, and Vaughan Williams summons as varied and as surprising as the nation the spirit of William Blake. There are bold itself – and in Isle of Noises, the LPO new sounds from Thomas Adès, and a vision performs and celebrates that music. of heaven from William Alwyn: his lovely, And it’s not necessarily what you might neglected Lyra Angelica. And to finish, expect – with soloists as dynamic as a rare performance of John Foulds’s Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Nicola Benedetti, Dynamic Triptych: a fusion of Art Deco classics like Elgar’s and Violin modernism with Indian rhythms that might Concertos belong as much to the present also be the greatest as the past. Holst’s will you’ve never heard. British music is rarely be a startlingly new experience when straightforward. We just know that it conducted by Thomas Adès, and a night sounds great. 03 September/October

Friday 27 September 2019 | 7.30pm Jurowski’s Tchaikovsky Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Knussen Scriabin Settings At the dawn of a new century, Alexander Scriabin Britten Violin Concerto saw wondrous musical visions – but then, he was Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 standing on the shoulders of giants. Don’t be (Pathétique) misled by the name ‘Pathétique’: Tchaikovsky’s blazing, autobiographical final symphony summed up a century of Russian music, and Vladimir Jurowski conductor is still one of the classical concert hall’s most Julia Fischer violin uncompromising emotional experiences. As we start our new season, Vladimir Jurowski and the LPO gaze forward and backward, paying homage Vladimir Jurowski to a great friend, the late Oliver Knussen, and exploring one of British music’s most powerful 20th-century masterpieces with Julia Fischer.

Free pre-concert event 6.15pm — 6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall As we continue our Isle of Noises festival featuring landmark classics from the British Isles, we look at how British music continues to be a strong force in the world of – from Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Britten through to current

© Matthias Creutziger © champions and Thomas Adès.

Wednesday 2 October 2019 | 7.30pm To the summit Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Elgar Violin Concerto Richard Strauss once boasted that he could R Strauss An Alpine Symphony depict even a knife and fork in music. So when he set out to portray the Bavarian Alps, the results are exactly as spectacular as you’d Vladimir Jurowski conductor expect, complete with waterfalls, glaciers, and Nicola Benedetti violin an ear-splitting storm. But Vladimir Jurowski will find an extra dimension in Strauss’s vast hymn to nature: the huge vistas and moments of stillness that make this infinitely more than just the world’s greatest musical picture postcard. It should Nicola Benedetti make a fitting counterpart to Nicola Benedetti’s performance of Elgar’s Violin Concerto – still the ultimate proof of the profoundly romantic heart behind Elgar’s veneer of Edwardian reserve. © Simon Fowler Simon © 04 October

Saturday 5 October 2019 | 7.30pm Sheku Kanneh-Mason Royal Festival Hall plays Elgar Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Sibelius The Oceanides found a vast stillness in the endless Elgar Cello Concerto forests of his native , while an ocean Britten Variations on a Theme voyage prompted visions of classical myth of Frank Bridge and elemental power. Susanna Mälkki begins this concert with Sibelius’s warmest tone- Sibelius Symphony No. 6 poem and ends it with his gentlest symphony: in between come two very different visions Susanna Mälkki conductor of nature from two British masters. Fresh Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello sea air blows through every bar of Britten’s youthful Frank Bridge Variations. And Edward

Sheku Kanneh-Mason Elgar retreated to rural Sussex to write his Cello Concerto, a work whose haunted poetry – as Sheku Kanneh-Mason (2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year) will demonstrate – takes on a fresh meaning for each generation.

Concert generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE. © Lars Borges ©

Wednesday 9 October 2019 | 7.30pm The Inextinguishable Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Bartók Dance Suite ‘The struggle, the wrestling, the generation Walton Violin Concerto and the wasting away go on today as yesterday, Nielsen Symphony No. 4 tomorrow as today, and everything returns. (The Inextinguishable) Music is life, and like it, inextinguishable.’ While the Great War ravaged Europe, Carl Nielsen responded with a Fourth Symphony Edward Gardner conductor whose thundering drums represent a struggle James Ehnes violin for the future of life itself. Béla Bartók, meanwhile, went back to the soil: you can practically taste the earth (and the paprika) in his fiery Dance Edward Gardner Suite. It’s a long way from the Art Deco glitter of Walton’s Violin Concerto – but as Edward Gardner and James Ehnes know, it’s all driven by the same irresistible life-force. © Benjamin Ealovega Benjamin © 05 October

Saturday 12 October 2019 | 7.30pm Verdi’s Requiem Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Verdi Requiem Drums thunder, blast, and a massed chorus cries out in terror. When wrote his Requiem, he refused to let his Edward Gardner conductor imagination be constrained by the conventions Elza van den Heever soprano of sacred music. Instead, he brought all his Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano dramatic power to bear on a story of tragedy, Arsen Soghomonyan tenor redemption, and the end of time. The result Gábor Bretz bass- is one of the mightiest of all choral masterpieces. Philharmonic Edward Gardner understands Verdi’s sense of drama from the inside, and he’s assembled a team of soloists worthy of a major operatic production – plus the full London Philharmonic Choir – for an evening of great singing and uninhibited emotion.

Elza van den Heever

‘THE @LPORCHESTRA WERE ON LIGHTNING FORM TONIGHT, NOT FORGETTING THE STUNNING LPC CHOIR. A VERDI REQ TO REMEMBER!’ Audience member © Jiyang© Chen 06 October

Saturday 19 October 2019 | 7.30pm The Resurrection Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Colin Matthews Metamorphosis Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony starts with Mahler Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) a funeral march and finishes in a world reborn. In between come tender memories, distant trumpets and a breathtaking musical panorama Vladimir Jurowski conductor of the Day of Judgment itself. It’s an incredible Sofia Fominasoprano journey, and one that you can only truly experience mezzo-soprano in a live performance, where you can feel the London Philharmonic Choir very air shake. If you only know it from recordings, you haven’t really heard it at all – so join us as Vladimir Jurowski, Sofia Fomina, Sarah

Sofia Fomina Connolly and the combined forces of the London Philharmonic Choir and Philharmonia Chorus commit body and soul to some of the most visionary music that Mahler ever composed. © Alecsandra© Raluca Dragoi Olga& Martinez

Wednesday 23 October 2019 | 7.30pm Holst’s The Planets Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Sibelius Night Ride and Sunrise When a great composer conducts music by Thomas Adès Piano Concerto someone else, something special happens – (UK premiere) as two creative spirits react, respond, and strike Holst The Planets sparks off each other. We can’t wait to hear Thomas Adès’s interpretation of Holst’s The Planets: after all, there’s a profound Thomas Adès conductor philosophy behind those glorious tunes and Kirill Gerstein piano all that dazzling orchestral colour. Sibelius’s Ladies of the London Philharmonic Choir atmospheric nightscape is an old favourite of Adès’s, but only he and dedicatee Kirill Gerstein

Thomas Adès really know what to expect in his brand new Piano Concerto – set to be one of the biggest premieres in the UK this year. Experience musical history as it’s made: this performance should be definitive. © Brian© Voce 07 October

Saturday 26 October 2019 | 7.30pm The Apostles Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Elgar The Apostles At the peak of his fame, and height of his genius, Elgar threw all his creative power into a single epic project: a trilogy of choral works that told Mark Elder conductor the story of early Christianity not (as he put it) Lucy Crowe The Angel Gabriel/ with ‘hymn tunes and rubbish’, but as a The Blessed Virgin Mary sweeping, deeply-felt human drama, glowing Alice Coote Mary Magdalene/Narrator 2 with colour and emotion. Written for huge forces Allan Clayton John/Narrator 1 and filled with music that goes straight to the Roderick Williams Jesus heart, The Apostles is the closest Elgar ever David Stout Peter got to writing an opera. Mark Elder adores Brindley Sherratt Judas it, and with a cast made up of top operatic talent, London Philharmonic Choir it will be an experience to touch the soul. BBC Symphony Chorus

Mark Elder

‘FINELY CRAFTED, TRANSPARENT AND PUNCHY PLAYING @LPORCHESTRA! WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU HERE!’ Audience member © Groves Artists Groves © 08 November

Friday 1 November 2019 | 7.30pm A celebration Royal Festival Hall of British cinema Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Programme includes: Film music was never just about Hollywood – Jarre Main theme (Lawrence of Arabia) and from Lawrence of Arabia to James Bond, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Brief Encounter to Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mvt 1 (Brief Encounter) British cinema has created its own legends, to utterly unforgettable music. As part of our Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, Isle of Noises season, film music maestro Mvt 2 (The Spy Who Loved Me) Anthony Weeden introduces a century of great Arnold Suite (David Copperfield) British film scores. The elegance ofMurder Rota Love theme (Romeo & Juliet) on the Orient Express, the visionary pre-war Rodney Bennett Waltz sci-fi ofThings to Come; the sheer emotion (Murder on the Orient Express) of the Love theme from Romeo and Juliet: these Rodney Bennett Love theme are the soundtracks of all our lives: and you’ll (Four Weddings and a Funeral) never hear them played with more energy or flair. Bliss Suite (Things to Come)

Anthony Weeden conductor ‘@LPORCHESTRA TONIGHT WAS BRILLIANT! Piers Lane piano SUCH AN EXCITING PROGRAMME – LOVED EVERY MINUTE.’ Audience member

Lawrence of Arabia © World History Archive/Alamy Stock Photo/Columbia Pictures Photo/Columbia Stock History Archive/Alamy World © 09 November

Wednesday 6 November 2019 | 7.30pm Knights and angels Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Elgar Froissart ‘When chivalry lifted up her lance on high’: both Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp and Richard Strauss were master Alwyn Lyra Angelica* storytellers, and you can practically smell the R Strauss testosterone when Strauss’s Don Juan leaps into red-blooded life. Elgar’s stirring early overture portrays a more courtly world, making it the Lawrence Renes conductor perfect upbeat to Mozart’s stateliest concerto – Juliette Bausor flute a delightful showpiece for international harp Xavier de Maistre harp virtuoso Xavier de Maistre and the LPO’s own Principal Flute Juliette Bausor. Then discover one of the real hidden treasures from our Isle of Noises: the neglected, radiantly poetic Juliette Bausor harp concerto Lyra Angelica by William Alwyn. It’s heavenly.

*Generously supported by the William Alwyn Foundation. © Benjamin Ealovega Benjamin ©

Saturday 9 November 2019 | 7.30pm Belshazzar’s Feast Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Butterworth A Shropshire Lad This is British music with serious attitude. Elgar Enigma Variations In Leeds, in October 1931 took Walton Belshazzar’s Feast a huge choir and a giant symphony orchestra, added a couple of brass bands, and knocked his audience backwards. Belshazzar’s Feast conductor is definitely not your average oratorio: big, brassy Roderick Williams baritone and shamelessly pagan, it caused a scandal London Philharmonic Choir back then, and it can still set hairs on end today. But then, music in this Isle of Noises has always been more emotional than you might think – Marin Alsop and if anyone can find the tender soul of Elgar’s Enigma Variations, or the raw melancholy of Butterworth’s A Shropshire Lad, it’s that unrivalled American Anglophile Marin Alsop. © Adriane© White

HOLST THE PLANETS STEP OUT OF THIS WORLD Wednesday 23 October 2020 Page 06 12 November

Wednesday 13 November 2019 | 7.30pm Damrau sings Strauss Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Wagner Tristan & Isolde: ‘The symphony must be like the world’, Gustav Prelude to Act 1 Mahler is supposed to have said – but across R Strauss Songs: Das Rosenband; fin-de-siècleEurope composers found exquisite, Ständchen; Traum durch die teeming worlds of emotion even in the smallest forms, and each of Richard Strauss’s orchestral Dämmerung; Wiegenlied; Lieder is like an operatic scene in miniature. Winterweihe; ; Morgen Few living singers understand Strauss like Mahler Symphony No. 5 Diana Damrau – a soprano who, in the words of Gramophone, ‘seems to have the golden touch with everything she sings’. And then Vladimir Jurowski conductor Mahler’s Fifth Symphony spans deep despair Diana Damrau soprano and ecstatic joy, embracing – along the way – the heart-melting Adagietto, possibly the sweetest love-letter ever written in sound.

Diana Damrau © Jürgen Frank Jürgen © 13 December

Saturday 7 December 2019 | 7.30pm Visions of Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Purcell (arr. Manze) Suite Think of Vaughan Williams and you probably Thomas Adès Violin Concerto think of the English countryside. Well, think again, (Concentric Paths) because this is Job: a ballet score so extreme Lawes (arr. Manze) Fantasy in G that it even features a full-scale dance sequence for the Devil himself. It’s as astonishing as Vaughan Williams Job: A Masque it sounds – especially when conducted by for Dancing , a conductor whose ‘unrivalled knowledge, instinct and understanding’ Andrew Manze conductor (The Independent) of Vaughan Williams’s vision Anthony Marwood violin has drawn widespread acclaim. Two exquisite Renaissance miniatures provide the frame, while Manze and violinist Anthony Marwood Anthony Marwood unlock the puzzles of Thomas Adès’s fascinating violin concerto Concentric Paths: a contemporary classic overflowing with ingenuity and enchantment. © Pia Johnson Pia ©

Wednesday 11 December 2019 | 7.30pm Revolution in the head Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Foulds Dynamic Triptych January 1905: teeters on the brink of Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 revolution, and as crowds fill St Petersburg’s (The Year 1905) Palace Square, great and terrible events are about to unfold. With its revolutionary songs and clanging alarm bells, Shostakovich’s Vladimir Jurowski conductor massive 11th Symphony has the immediacy Peter Donohoe piano of a great film score, but charged with massive – and tragic – symphonic power. It’s hard to match that, but tonight Peter Donohoe and Vladimir Vladimir Jurowski Jurowski give a rare London performance of John Foulds’s breathtaking Dynamic Triptych. A dizzying fusion of Indian philosophy and Jazz Age verve, huge in scale and volcanic in energy, it’s arguably Britain’s greatest 20th-century piano concerto you’ve never heard. © Vera© Zhuravleva 14 January

Wednesday 15 January 2020 | 7.30pm Ravi Shankar’s Royal Festival Hall Sukanya Tickets £46–£14 A mythical love story told Premium seats £65 through music and dance Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Shankar Sukanya The London Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere performances of Sukanya in 2017 won universal critical acclaim, described by David Murphy conductor The Telegraph as ‘a charming evening of pure Cast to include: escapism’... Don’t miss this second chance Susannah Hurrell Sukanya to experience a semi-staged performance Alok Kumar Chyavana of the only opera written by the legendary Michel de Souza Aswini Twin 1 Ravi Shankar, brought to life through myth, Njabulo Madlala Aswini Twin 2 music and dance. Suba Das director Gauri Diwakar choreographer After a terrible mistake leaves the ancient sage Chyavana blinded, the beautiful princess Sukanya finds herself marrying for the sake of her kingdom. As a pair of swaggering, meddling gods watch this unlikely union blossom, will love grow in the strangest of circumstances? Taken from the famous Sanskrit texts of the Mahābhārata, the story of Sukanya will be expertly choreographed to combine traditional Indian instruments, Western orchestra, singers and dance ensemble. A one-off chance to recapture the sheer magic of Ravi Shankar, live at Royal Festival Hall.

Part of Southbank Centre’s Shankar 100 celebrations.

Ravi Shankar Vincent © Limongelli 15 January

Saturday 18 January 2020 | 7.30pm Fauré’s Requiem Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Poulenc Seven Tenebrae Responses ‘I not only admire, adore and venerate your Poulenc Organ Concerto music, I have been and still am in love with it.’ Fauré Requiem So Marcel Proust wrote to Gabriel Fauré; and beneath the subtle half-tints and serene melodies of Fauré’s Requiem lie emotions every Bertrand de Billy conductor bit as passionate as those that Proust detected. James O’Donnell organ It’s paired tonight with two 20th-century Katerina Tretyakova soprano masterpieces by a composer whose flippant Stéphane Degout baritone image masked a profound religious faith. London Philharmonic Choir James O’Donnell raises the roof in Poulenc’s flamboyant Organ Concerto, and Bertrand de Billy conducts the Seven Tenebrae Responses: a late choral masterpiece by a composer who aspired to ‘an austerity that smells of orange-blossom or jasmine’. ‘@LPORCHESTRA UTTERLY EXTRAORDINARY. ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME THINGS, IN THE LITERAL SENSE, THAT I’VE EVER HEARD. MIND BLOWN AND GOB THOROUGHLY SMACKED!’ Audience member

Stéphane Degout © Baptiste Millot Baptiste ©

Don’t look now, but the 21st century is already two decades old. It’s old enough to vote, drink and get married. So shake off that post-Millennium hangover and listen – because we can already hear its voice. The fact that 2020 also happens to be Beethoven’s 250th birthday is almost beside the point. The question is: what does Beethoven bring to the party here and now, in London in 2020? Throughout the year, 2020 Vision offers an answer. Just as the defining masterpieces of Beethoven and his contemporaries punctuated the first two decades of the 19th century, we’ve chosen pieces that we believe represent the definitive sound of the 21st – each one separated by exactly two centuries from Beethoven’s world. A piece from 1801 encounters a piece from 2001. Beethoven meets Adès, Dutilleux and Knussen. Louis Spohr encounters . And between them, in a world simultaneously like and entirely unlike that of 1820 or 2020, comes the generation of 1900-1920: the composers of the fin de siècle who saw a century remade in war. Who realised that Sibelius’s Second Symphony came exactly a century after Beethoven’s; that , Rachmaninoff, Méhul and Ravi Shankar all form part of the same big picture? 2020 Vision brings them together to hear what they have to say to each other, and to us: a fascinatingly fresh perspective on familiar classics, alongside music we should never have forgotten and the pieces that everyone who lives in the 21st century needs to hear. That includes you. Look out for related events by the London Sinfonietta during 2020 Vision.

Our 2020 Vision concerts are marked with a 2020 Vision logo to help you locate them. 2020 Vision will continue during the 2020/21 season, details of which will be published in February 2020. 18 February

Saturday 1 February 2020 | 3.00pm Siegfried Royal Festival Hall Tickets £70–£25 Premium seats £100 Please note start time Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Sung in German with English surtitles Series discounts not available for this performance

Wagner Siegfried ‘Simply outstanding’ was how The Guardian described the start of Vladimir Jurowski’s four- year journey through Wagner’s colossal Ring Vladimir Jurowski conductor Cycle. Now, together with a cast that includes Torsten Kerl Siegfried some of the finest living Wagnerians, he reaches Evgeny Nikitin Wanderer the third, and sunniest, part of the saga. Deep Elena Pankratova Brünnhilde in the forest, the orphaned Siegfried has grown Adrian Thompson Mime to manhood without ever knowing fear. A dragon’s Robert Hayward Alberich gold, a sleeping goddess, and the shattered Brindley Sherratt Fafner fragments of his father’s sword will all help shape Patricia Bardon Erda his destiny, and set him on a path that leads Alina Adamski Woodbird to love, glory, and – perhaps – a new world. Part fairytale, part cosmic myth, it’s never less than gripping.

‘FANTASTIC PLAYING – GLOWING AND Generously supported by members of the Orchestra’s Ring Cycle Syndicate.

SONOROUS – BY THE @LPORCHESTRA Please note this performance lasts 6 hours including 30 minute FOR JUROWSKI, AND SOME and 75 minute intervals. MIGHTY VOCAL PERFORMANCES IN DAS RHEINGOLD #LPORING.’ Audience member

Vladimir Jurowski Elena Pankratova © Vitaly© Zapryagaev © Chris© Christodoulou 19 February

Saturday 8 February 2020 | 7.30pm 2001: New century, Royal Festival Hall new sounds Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven Symphony No. 1 With the anarchic chords that open his First Péter Eötvös Snatches Symphony, threw open of a Conversation the doors on a universe of new musical Scriabin Symphony No. 2 possibilities. A century later, in 1901, the young Alexander Scriabin wrote a Second Symphony whose surging melodies and ardent spirit Vladimir Jurowski conductor stand on the brink of a new revelation: and in Marco Blaauw 2001, Péter Eötvös’s brilliantly quirky trumpet Omar Ebrahim narrator concerto revels in its imaginative freedom. In the first concert of our2020 Vision project, Vladimir Jurowski celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday the way he would have wanted – a conversation between the past, the present and the future of music.

Free pre-concert event 6.15pm — 6.45pm | Royal Festival Hall What is the relationship between the past, present and future? Through 2020 Vision we examine what works spanning centuries have to say about one another, and how they enhance our present understanding of them.

Marco Blaauw

‘THANK YOU @LPORCHESTRA FOR LAST NIGHT’S CONCERT. ONE OF THE BEST I’VE EVER HEARD. QUITE BRILLIANT.’ Audience member © Klaus Rudolf Klaus © WALTON BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST

INDULGE YOURSELF Wednesday 9 November 2019 Page 09

22 February

Friday 14 February 2020 | 7.30pm Valentine in Paris Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Humperdinck Prelude, Hansel and Gretel French is the language of love; so this Valentine’s Ravel pour une infante défunte Day, why not whirl your significant other away Ravel Piano Concerto in G for a night out across the Channel? No Eurostar Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (Organ) required: after a brief stop in Humperdinck’s enchanted German forest, and the brief fairytale vision of Ravel’s beautiful Pavane, we’re straight Emmanuel Krivine conductor into a Paris café: here Ravel’s Piano Concerto fills Jean-Efflam Bavouzetpiano the air with the sounds of the Jazz Age. No-one in the world plays it with more panache than the great French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet And then maestro Emmanuel Krivine and the full London Philharmonic Orchestra ignite the fireworks, as Saint-Saëns’s spectacular ‘Organ’ Symphony lights up the night sky. All without leaving the Southbank… © Benjamin Ealovega Benjamin ©

Wednesday 19 February 2020 | 7.30pm 2002: Three adventures Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven Symphony No. 2 Every Beethoven symphony is a journey, and Knussen Violin Concerto in 1802 the energy and daring of his Second Sibelius Symphony No. 2 Symphony strained at the outer boundaries of musical possibility. A hundred years later, Jean Sibelius followed Beethoven’s example and conductor created one of the 20th century’s true symphonic Leila Josefowicz violin epics: a struggle from tranquillity to triumph, rooted in nature and crowned with a melody you’ll never forget. Guest conductor Vasily Vasily Petrenko Petrenko will also bring his unrivalled sense of colour and momentum to Leila Josefowicz’s performance of Oliver Knussen’s 2002 Violin Concerto, described by its (much-missed) composer as ‘a tightrope walker progressing along a (decidedly unstable) high wire’.

Concert generously supported by Victoria Robey OBE. © Mark© McNulty 23 February

Saturday 22 February 2020 | 7.30pm 2003: Fantasy Royal Festival Hall and revolution Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Jörg Widmann for Orchestra Two explosive chords open the ‘Eroica’ Symphony: Ravel Shéhérazade and just like that, Ludwig van Beethoven Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) unleashed two turbulent centuries of musical innovation, exploration and revolution. The ‘Eroica’ still delivers a formidable shock Dima Slobodeniouk conductor today, and Jörg Widmann’s huge, haunting Jamie Barton mezzo-soprano and startlingly emotional Lied for Orchestra, written exactly 200 years later, is just one way of dealing with the aftermath. And for another, join conductor Dima Slobodeniouk and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton in the year 1903, as they board ’s ship of dreams, Shéhérazade, and drift away to a place ‘where fantasy sleeps like an empress’. Escapism has never sounded more seductive.

Jamie Barton © Rebecca Fay Rebecca © 24 February

Wednesday 26 February 2020 | 7.30pm 2004: New visions Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Elgar A tale of night, a tale of fire, a tale of love, and a tale Spohr Violin Concerto No. 2 of Fate. ‘A work of art is unpredictable. It makes Webern Im Sommerwind its own rules’, said the late Einojuhani Rautavaara, Rautavaara Book of Visions but the warmth, poetry and deep, dark beauty of his Book of Visions (2004) casts its spell over this whole concert – whether music from 1904, Osmo Vänskä conductor when Elgar and Webern each chose to throw Sergej Krylov violin their music open to sunlight and warmth, or from 1804, when virtuoso violinist Louis Spohr revelled in a new world of musical possibilities. Osmo Vänskä With the mesmerising Sergej Krylov as Spohr’s champion tonight, you’ll hear why Beethoven was a fan. © Lisa-Marie Mazzucco©

Friday 28 February 2020 | 7.30pm 2005: Poetry and belief Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Not all revolutions are noisy. Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto begins with the piano all alone Chaconne in memory of John Paul II* and playing softly – the kind of enigma that the Enescu Symphony No. 1** American philosopher-pianist Jeremy Denk simply loves to explore. And in this latest instalment of 2020 Vision, conductor Osmo Vänskä follows Osmo Vänskä conductor it up with nearly as many questions as answers. Jeremy Denk piano From 1905 there’s a self-proclaimedly ‘heroic’ symphony with a remarkably poetic soul and, from 2005, Krzysztof Penderecki’s hauntingly beautiful tribute to another great Pole in an age of oppression and doubt: music that – as Beethoven once put it – comes from the heart and goes straight to the heart.

*Generously supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute through the Polska Music Programme. ‘PHENOMENAL CONCERT FROM THE @LPORCHESTRA TONIGHT. A TRULY JOYOUS AND LIFE AFFIRMING ACCOUNT OF THE BEETHOVEN CONCERTO.’ **Generously supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute. Audience member 25 March

Wednesday 4 March 2020 | 7.30pm Igudesman & Joo Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts not available for this concert

Igudesman & Joo Clash of the Igudesman & Joo are masters of the art of Soloists/Big Nightmare Music mashing up classical music masterpieces with their own unique twist. They join the Orchestra for an evening of creativity, madness and hilarity Thomas Carroll conductor with their two acclaimed shows Clash of the Soloists and Big Nightmare Music. Including the music of Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Bach and Vivaldi, the players of the LPO will let their hair down in Igudesman and Joo’s riotous comedy sketches. Performing a variety of famous popular classics with astonishing dexterity and finesse, this will be an unforgettable, laugh- until-you-cry extravaganza – not to be missed! © Julia© Wesely 26 March

Wednesday 11 March 2020 | 7.30pm Mutter plays Beethoven Royal Festival Hall Tickets £54–£19 Premium seats £80 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven Triple Concerto Take three world-class instrumentalists, bring Mahler Symphony No. 1 them together with Beethoven at his most carefree, and the result is – well, judge for yourself as, for one night only, we assemble conductor a ‘super-trio’ of Anne-Sophie Mutter, Khatia Anne-Sophie Mutter violin Buniatishvili and the phenomenal young Spanish Khatia Buniatishvili piano cellist Pablo Ferrández in Beethoven’s Triple Pablo Ferrández cello Concerto. It’s music that’s designed to delight and entertain, and conductor Robin Ticciati follows it with Mahler’s youthful First Symphony, sometimes called the ‘Titan’ – an experience that begins in the silence of the dawn of time itself, and ends with the orchestra (literally) on their feet. This is going to be big.

Anne-Sophie Mutter © Bastian Achard Bastian © 27 March

Wednesday 25 March 2020 | 7.30pm 2006: The new Bacchus Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven Symphony No. 4 ‘I am the new Bacchus, pressing out glorious Kaija Saariaho wine for the human spirit’, proclaimed Ludwig Scriabin Symphony No. 4 van Beethoven, and although his Fourth (The Poem of Ecstasy) Symphony is sometimes considered his most light-hearted, there’s no mistaking the ambition, the fantasy and the pure, electrifying inspiration Omer Meir Wellber conductor that pulses through every note. Omer Meir Johannes Moser cello Wellber knows just how to harness that energy, and when – as in Scriabin’s orgasmic Poem of Ecstasy – to set it free. And cellist Johannes Johannes Moser Moser might be the finest current champion of Kaija Saariaho’s ravishing Notes on Light; a masterpiece from 2006 speaking across two centuries to its counterparts from 1806 and 1906. © Sarah© Wijzenbeek

Thursday 26 March 2020 | 7.30pm Anne-Sophie Mutter Queen Elizabeth Hall and friends Please note venue Tickets £45–£15 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven No. 1 ‘I’ve always loved chamber music, and love Jörg Widmann New work (UK premiere)† it more and more’, says violinist Anne-Sophie Beethoven No. 10 (Harp) Mutter. ‘No other music has such intimacy, allows so much spontaneity and requires such quick reflexes.’ For Mutter and the Principal Anne-Sophie Mutter violin members of the LPO, the opportunity to play Pieter Schoeman violin* Beethoven’s chamber music is a profound and David Quiggle very personal musical pleasure; but tonight at Kristina Blaumane cello** Queen Elizabeth Hall it’s one that we’re able to share. Two Beethoven masterpieces – his playful Anne-Sophie Mutter early String Trio and his kaleidoscopic ‘Harp’ Quartet of 1809 – frame a new commission by Jörg Widmann, a composer who, like Beethoven, remakes tradition even as he challenges it.

† Commissioned by Anne-Sophie Mutter. *Chair supported by Neil Westreich. **Chair supported by Bianca and Stuart Roden.

Part of Southbank Centre’s International Chamber Music Series.

All proceeds from this concert will be donated to Crisis, the national charity for homeless people. © J.D.© Shaw 28 March/April

Saturday 28 March 2020 | 7.30pm 2007: Beethoven’s Fifth Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Sibelius Symphony No. 3 Sibelius’s Third Symphony takes shape amidst Dutilleux Le temps l’horloge the swirling mists of the English Channel; Beethoven Symphony No. 5 Beethoven’s Fifth thunders into life with four notes that absolutely everyone can recognise. ‘Thus fate knocks at the door!’, Beethoven is said Edward Gardner conductor to have declared – but his best-known symphony Sally Matthews soprano is on a one-way race to glory, just as Sibelius’s, completed a century later in 1907, ends with a vision of a whole world drenched in sunlight. Sally Matthews Edward Gardner conducts this latest illuminating pairing in our 2020 Vision project – and, looking back to 2007, accompanies soprano Sally Matthews in the late Henri Dutilleux’s beautiful meditation on transience and love. © Ari© Jóhannsson

Wednesday 1 April 2020 | 7.30pm 2008: Landscape Royal Festival Hall and memory Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Ives The Unanswered Question 1908: Charles Ives’s trumpet asks an eternal Thomas Adès In Seven Days question. 1808: Beethoven offers the only answer Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) that’s ever really been needed: a symphony inspired by the countryside, whose storms, bird-calls and hymns conceal eternal truths Vladimir Jurowski conductor behind some of the most serene music he ever Nicolas Hodges piano wrote. And in between, Thomas Adès takes on the Book of Genesis, in a piano concerto – first performed at Royal Festival Hall in 2008 – that’s Nicolas Hodges simultaneously a meditation on the infinite, and an endlessly stimulating entertainment. A piece, wrote The Guardian, ‘to inspire big thoughts about creation – of the world, or of music, or both’. © Marco Borggreve Marco © 29 April

Saturday 4 April 2020 | 7.30pm The undiscovered Royal Festival Hall Beethoven Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Beethoven King Stephen Overture The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of Beethoven Grosse Fuge princes, but to the young Beethoven, Emperor Beethoven Ah! Perfido Joseph II was more than just a monarch. He was Beethoven Cantata on the Death liberty’s champion; the herald of a new dawn. Unperformed in the composer’s lifetime, of Emperor Joseph II Beethoven’s Cantata is a startlingly powerful meditation on mortality and enlightenment, and Vladimir Jurowski conductor a mirror to his heaven-storming Grosse Fuge – in Soloists to include: Stravinsky’s words, ‘an absolutely contemporary Lise Davidsen soprano piece of music that will be contemporary forever’. Angharad Lyddon mezzo-soprano This is Beethoven the radical, the visionary, the London Philharmonic Choir eternally young, and Vladimir Jurowski opens the evening with the jubilant King Stephen Overture.

‘INCREDIBLE! BREATH-TAKING! RIVETING! THANK YOU, @MAESTROMENA AND @LPORCHESTRA FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY CONCERT @SOUTHBANKCENTRE THIS EVENING!’ Audience member

Vladimir Jurowski © Karen Robinson Karen ©

ORGAN EXTRAVAGANZAS FEEL THE POWER Saturday 18 January 2020 Page 15 Friday 14 February 2020 Page 22 Wednesday 29 April 2020 Page 35 32 April

Wednesday 8 April 2020 | 7.30pm 2009: The Everest Royal Festival Hall of piano concertos Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Méhul Symphony No. 1 ‘Rachmaninoff just doesn’t get any better than Ryan Wigglesworth Augenlieder* this’, wrote The Guardian of Nikolai Lugansky, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 and when it comes to the monumental Piano Concerto No. 3, it’s hard to imagine a living pianist who’s more in tune with its profoundly Russian Vladimir Jurowski conductor soul. This ‘Everest of piano concertos’ dates Sophie Bevan soprano from 1909; alongside it Vladimir Jurowski has Nikolai Lugansky piano placed a 21st-century British classic from 2009 and a real rediscovery from 1809: the fiery, thrillingly dramatic First Symphony by Etienne Nikolai Lugansky Méhul. Forged in the turmoil of the French Revolution, Méhul’s music had a profound impact on the young Beethoven, and when you hear it we think you’ll realise why.

*Supported by Resonate. Resonate is a PRS Foundation initiative in partnership with the Association of British , BBC Radio 3 and Boltini Trust. © Marco Borggreve – Naãve-Ambroisie – Borggreve Marco ©

Friday 17 April 2020 | 7.30pm Jurowski Royal Festival Hall conducts Mahler Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Haydn Symphony No. 26 (Lamentatione) When began his Ninth Symphony Mahler Symphony No. 9 he knew that he was living on borrowed time, and he poured everything he had into some of the 20th century’s most poignant, powerful and Vladimir Jurowski conductor heartbreakingly sincere music – in every sense, the ultimate romantic symphony. Vladimir Jurowski guides us through a glowing world of Vladimir Jurowski hymn tunes, Viennese waltzes, half-remembered songs and distant trumpets, before the sun sets on Mahler’s very own last word: a long, final fade to silence. There’s only really one way to preface that, and although Haydn’s ‘Lamentatione’ Symphony contains both tempests and tranquillity, every note brims over with irrepressible life. © Karen Robinson Karen © 33 April

Wednesday 22 April 2020 | 7.30pm 2010: Crossing cultures Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

John Corigliano Stomp The late Ravi Shankar was a musician who Philip Glass Double Concerto brought worlds together, and when the LPO for violin and cello premiered his Symphony in 2010, it attracted Shankar Symphony global attention. As part of 2020 Vision we look back at a year of genre-defying musical creativity, with Anoushka Shankar returning Karen Kamensek conductor to reprise her solo part in the Symphony, and Daniel Hope violin two of the most adventurous soloists in western Alban Gerhardt cello classical music, Daniel Hope and Alban Gerhardt, Anoushka Shankar sitar playing the brilliant, balletic Double Concerto by Philip Glass, another composer who transcends – and transforms – musical conventions. ’s uproarious Stomp, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin.

Part of Southbank Centre’s Shankar 100 celebrations.

Anoushka Shankar © Anushka© Menon 34 April

Saturday 25 April 2020 | 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter ‘Always the scent of the moist forest – that was Lutosławski Concerto for Orchestra* the incense’, declared Leos Janáček. ‘I felt a Janáček Glagolitic Mass cathedral grow before me in the vast expanse of the hills and the vault of the sky’. For him, the whole of creation was a cause for celebration, Edward Gardner conductor and with its jubilant trumpets, thundering Sara Jakubiak soprano organ and raw, unbuttoned lust for life, there’s Madeleine Shaw mezzo-soprano something elemental about his Glagolitic Mass – tenor a choral work like no other. Edward Gardner James Creswell bass prepares the way with two masterpieces London Philharmonic Choir wrought from ice and fire: Sibelius’s brooding Finnish legend, and the glittering musical firework display with which Lutosławski lit up the skies of post-war Poland.

*Generously supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute through the Polska Music Programme.

Stuart Skelton Sara Jakubiak © Zoe© Barling

Madeleine Shaw James Creswell © Christina© Raphaelle © Ashley© Plante Clockwisefrom top left: Guðmundur© Ingólfsson 35 April

Wednesday 29 April 2020 | 7.30pm Raising the roof Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Ravel La valse Everything old is new again. Maurice Ravel takes Gibbons Pavan in G minor a nostalgic look back at the Viennese waltz, and Nico Muhly Organ Concerto sees a world in turmoil. Saint-Saëns sets out (UK premiere)* to capture the spirit of Beethoven and – with the help of an organ and a full orchestra – ends up by Fauré Pavane blowing the roof off. And New York’s coolest living Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (Organ) composer embraces the King of Instruments, and places his new Organ Concerto amidst Yan Pascal Tortelier conductor ghosts from four centuries. ‘It was important James McVinnie organ that buried in the DNA of this was something old’, says Nico Muhly. With Muhly’s dedicatee James McVinnie at the organ tonight, this should be an ear-tingling experience.

*Commissioned by Southbank Centre, London.

‘@LPORCHESTRA TONIGHT. ELECTRIFYING.’ Audience member

James McVinnie © Magnús Andersen Magnús © 36 May

Friday 1 May 2020 | 7.30pm Levit plays Busoni Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Bach (arr. Respighi) 3 Chorales ‘Joy and pain interweave in the light of the world … Bach (arr. Stokowski) Toccata Thousands of years flash by with glory and and Fugue in D minor strength, revealing that which is indestructible’. Busoni Piano Concerto Extraordinary words – but then, ‘extraordinary’ is the only word for the choral finale of ’s colossal Piano Concerto of 1904. Every Antonio Pappano conductor performance is a major occasion, demanding Igor Levit piano a pianist of quite phenomenal charisma and skill, Gentlemen of the so we’re thrilled to have Igor Levit as soloist. London Philharmonic Choir Antonio Pappano brings all his sense of drama to a masterpiece like no other – as well as a series of Technicolor orchestral transcriptions of one of the few composers who can give Busoni a run for his money.

‘SO MUCH CHARACTER, WARMTH AND BLAZING ENERGY FROM @LPORCHESTRA TONIGHT – IMPECCABLE.’ Audience member

Antonio Pappano © Musacchio & Ianniello Licensed to EMI Classics EMI Licensed to Ianniello & Musacchio © 37 May

Wednesday 27 May 2020 | 7.30pm Epic romance Royal Festival Hall Tickets £46–£14 Premium seats £65 Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk Series discounts Page 47

Sibelius Violin Concerto The forests of Finland extend to the Arctic Circle RachmaninoffSymphony No. 2 and beyond; the steppes of Russia stretch further than any eye can see. There’s something of those vast landscapes in both of these great Romantic Klaus Mäkelä conductor masterpieces – two epic journeys from the Ray Chen violin early years of the 20th century, by turns ardent, elemental and ravishingly tender, and both glowing with glorious melodies. Ray Chen is the soloist in Sibelius’s Violin Concerto – a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st century. And then the remarkable young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä plunges deep into Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony: expect this to be compelling.

‘THE @LPORCHESTRA’S TCHAIK 1 MADE ME SO HAPPY, I MAY HAVE CRIED.’ Audience member

Ray Chen © John© Mac R STRAUSS ALPINE SYMPHONY SCALE GREAT HEIGHTS Wednesday 2 October 2019 Page 03

40 Education and Community events

Education and Community events

This season, our FUNharmonics family concert In addition, you can enjoy the best in young series brings to life two magical flying creatures musical talent through performances from – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Zog the our Education and Community programme dragon, and the mysterious Russian Firebird. participants as part of our year-round series We will also join the celebrations for Beethoven’s of pre-concert LPO Showcase events. 250th anniversary with an orchestral feast Our Foyle Future Firsts and LPO Junior Artists of his most well-known and well-loved music. perform works inspired by our main season themes alongside their mentors from the LPO, and the LPO Soundworks ensemble brings its creative flair to another cross-arts collaboration. See page 42 for more details.

Zog © Orange© Eyes Ltd 2018 41 Education and Community events

Zog Before The Firebird…

Sunday 27 October 2019 Sunday 3 May 2020 12.00 noon–1.00pm 12.00 noon–1.00pm

‘ZOG, THE BIGGEST DRAGON, WAS THE KEENEST ’s magical ballet score The Firebird ONE BY FAR. HE TRIED HIS HARDEST EVERY DAY weaves the tale of a Prince, a powerful bird, and their battle to defeat an evil sorcerer and TO WIN A GOLDEN STAR.’ release 13 captive sisters. But just how did these brave sisters end up under King Katschei’s spell We are delighted to present a live concert in the first place? Composer Paul Rissmann performance of Zog – the latest animated film and librettist Hazel Gould’s fantastic new prequel from Magic Light Pictures, based on the witty to the traditional story may have the answer. storybook written by Julia Donaldson and Join us for some compelling storytelling and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Follow the adventures fantastic new participatory music, followed of the eager, but accident-prone young dragon, by extracts from Stravinsky’s original score. as the LPO performs René Aubry’s lively score to a big screen projection of the film.

Why Beethoven OAE TOTS

Threw the Stew Sunday 27 October 2019 Sunday 16 February 2020 Sunday 16 February 2020 Sunday 3 May 2020 12.00 noon–1.00pm 10.15am/11.15am/12.15am

As the world celebrates his 250th birthday On every FUNharmonics day, we invite our in 2020, let the LPO introduce your family to youngest audience members to join our friends one of the most brilliant composers in the history from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. of music – Ludwig van Beethoven. We’ll hear OAE TOTS workshops offer a magical, interactive some of his most famous orchestral pieces, introduction to music-making for children and will discover the real man behind the music. between two and five, sitting up-close to Why was he so grumpy? Why did he rarely orchestral musicians and taking part with have a bath? And most importantly, why should their parents and carers. Workshops take place you never serve him stew? Inspired by the book in the Level 5 Function Room, Royal Festival Hall – of the same name by cellist . separate tickets required.

Children £8–£12 And there’s more… Adults £16–£24 Before each FUNharmonics concert, there are Book 020 7840 4242/lpo.org.uk free hands-on activities around the building linked Series discounts apply to the concert theme, including opportunities for children aged six and over to ‘have a go’ at different orchestral instruments under expert instruction.

FUNharmonics foyer activities are generously supported by Stentor Music Co. Ltd and Bell Music. 42 LPO Showcase

LPO Showcase Free one hour concerts throughout the season

This season we share with you the bright talent Saturday 28 March 2020 | 6.00pm of tomorrow through our LPO Showcase series Royal Festival Hall As part of 2020 Vision, the Foyle Future Firsts present of inspiring free concerts at Southbank Centre. 21st-century chamber repertoire alongside works All are welcome to join us for a variety of by earlier composers, under the baton of Osmo Vänskä. performances featuring musicians nurtured through our Education and Community Wednesday 8 April 2020 | 6.00pm programmes – Foyle Future Firsts, LPO Junior The Clore Ballroom Artists and LPO Soundworks – as well as student LPO Soundworks offers teenage composers the opportunity ensembles from the Royal College of Music. to collaborate with young people from different disciplines, within London and with regional partners. Following Find out more and get programme updates an intensive week of workshops, the creative members at lpo.org.uk/lposhowcase of our LPO Soundworks ensemble perform their own music, alongside other young artists.

Save the date Saturday 25 April 2020 | 6.00pm Royal Festival Hall Now running for its fourth year, our LPO Junior Artists programme supports exceptionally talented young Wednesday 23 October 2019 — instrumentalists from under-represented backgrounds RCM Performance | 6.00pm to develop their musicianship and gain an insight into Royal Festival Hall the orchestral profession. Hear them perform tonight Student musicians from the Royal College of Music alongside Junior Artists alumni and their LPO mentors. showcase their talent with a performance of chamber works by Thomas Adès.

Saturday 7 December 2019 | 6.00pm Royal Festival Hall The LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts Development Programme bridges the transition between college and the professional platform for up to 16 outstanding young musicians. Meet this season’s new cohort in a lively programme of British music.

LPO Soundworks © Benjamin Ealovega Benjamin © 43 Supporting the Orchestra

WONDER AT THE WORLD OF THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 44 Supporting the Orchestra

Memberships and donations

Friends Benefactors Gifts in wills Support the orchestra that you Join a circle of dedicated Help others to experience love. Get priority booking for supporters and get access the wonder of music by our Southbank Centre concerts to the Beecham Bar, special remembering the Orchestra plus access to final rehearsals. events and Glyndebourne. in your will. From £60 From £600

Contemporaries Group lpo.org.uk/support/ Unmissable concerts, Give a major supporting individuals events, parties and cocktails gift and build significant 020 7840 4212 for young professionals relationships within the who love the arts and music. Orchestra. Donors can choose to have their gift associated From £100 with a player’s chair. From £5,000 45 Supporting the Orchestra

Corporate partnerships

Partner with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to meet your business needs through results-driven, bespoke relationships. By aligning with one of the world’s best known orchestras we can help you:

— Make your events unique OrchLab: Making Music Accessible and unforgettable In 2017 the London Philharmonic Orchestra and JTI continued their long-term partnership — Meet your CSR objectives with the launch of OrchLab, which makes music accessible for disabled adults. The project sees — Bring creativity and diversity members of the Orchestra partnering with to the workplace Drake Music (the leading national organisation — Connect with your stakeholders working in music, disability and technology) to deliver a programme of music workshops — Reach target audiences at home using accessible instruments and technology and abroad developed by Drake Music with service users at Leonard Cheshire centres. Now in its third year, lpo.org.uk/corporate the project has so far delivered over 100 workshops 020 7840 4210 to 110 people and has developed an online platform for sharing content. OrchLab reaches its climax with a whole week of music-making celebrations in November 2019. 46 LPO Plus

Introducing LPO Plus

Earn points as you spend! LPO Plus is the *Certain exclusions apply. new online reward scheme from the London Our multi-buy series discount is not eligible Philharmonic Orchestra. for the LPO Plus points As a member of LPO Plus, you’ll be rewarded reward. See our website for full terms and with points every time you book tickets or buy conditions of the scheme. CDs online at lpo.org.uk.* These points will be worth at least 10% of the order you’re making. LPO Plus points can then be redeemed on future orders*, saving you money every time you redeem them with us. For more details and to join LPO Plus go to: lpo.org.uk/lpoplus 47 Booking information

Booking information

London Philharmonic Orchestra Group bookings Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 With savings of up to 20% on ticket prices, and Monday to Friday 10.00am – 5.00pm many other group benefits, everything has been (£3.50 transaction fee) done to help your group have an enjoyable evening with one of the world’s finest orchestras. lpo.org.uk (£3.00 transaction fee) Benefits include: Southbank Centre – 20% discount for groups of ten or more Ticket Office 020 3879 9555 on selected concerts Daily 9.00am – 8.00pm (£3.50 transaction fee) – A pair of complimentary tickets for the group organiser for groups of 20+ southbankcentre.co.uk – Exclusive ticket offers and special promotions (£3.00 transaction fee) on selected concerts In person at Royal Festival Hall Ticket Office – Flexible reservations until one month before Daily 9.00am – 8.00pm (no transaction fee) the concert – No booking fee All discounts are subject to availability and cannot be combined. School parties receive a 50% discount on ticket prices plus one in ten tickets free. Bookings Ticket prices vary: see the individual concert cannot be made online. pages for ticket price information. We reserve the right to adjust ticket prices and allocations Book now 020 7840 4205 or [email protected] according to demand. (Monday to Friday 10.00am – 5.00pm)

Premium seats: we have selected the very best NOISE membership for students seats in the front stalls to be sold at premium and 18-26 year olds price to ensure you the finest acoustic and view. If you are a full-time student in higher education Age guidance: Evening concerts suitable or aged between 18 and 26, you can get for children aged seven and over unless best available tickets to selected London otherwise stated. Philharmonic Orchestra concerts throughout the year for just £7. Selected concerts are also Book more, pay less: series discounts followed by a complimentary drinks reception – Book 3-4 concerts and receive a 10% discount courtesy of the Orchestra’s Principal Beer – Book 5-7 concerts and receive a 15% discount Sponsor, Heineken. – Book 8-10 concerts and receive a 20% discount – Book 11-14 concerts and receive a 25% discount – Book 15+ concerts and receive a 30% discount 48 General information

General information

Can I exchange my tickets? London Philharmonic Orchestra You may exchange them for another concert Resident at Southbank Centre in the Orchestra’s Royal Festival Hall season and Glyndebourne Festival Opera or for a credit voucher (valid for one year only). 89 Albert Embankment Tickets must be returned to the London London SE1 7TP Philharmonic Orchestra at the address in the right hand column on this page, and arrive Timothy Walker AM at least two working days before the concert. Chief Executive and Artistic Director For ‘Print at Home’ tickets, forward them to [email protected] with a covering HRH The Duke of Kent KG email. We do not offer refunds unless a concert Patron is cancelled. The right is reserved to substitute Vladimir Jurowski artists and vary programmes if necessary. Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor* Limited concessions Pieter Schoeman † 50% off all ticket prices for full-time students, Leader benefit recipients (Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Universal or Pension Credit) Tickets 020 7840 4242 and under-18s (maximum four per transaction. General enquiries 020 7840 4200 Not applicable to Family Concerts). Limited lpo.org.uk availability; appropriate ID will be checked on *Supported by the Tsukanov Family Foundation admission. †Supported by Neil Westreich

Access Visitors with a disability can join Southbank Centre’s free Access Scheme. You may be eligible for tickets at concessionary prices Privacy policy and to bring a companion who can assist you For details of our privacy policy, please during your visit; and to receive information visit lpo.org.uk or call to request details. in alternative formats. For information, please email [email protected], call 020 3879 9555 or visit southbankcentre.co.uk/access. Sound enhancement systems are available. Contact Royal Festival Hall's Ticket Office to collect one (subject to availability): 020 3879 9555. Royal Festival Hall has level access via internal lifts and ramps, and accessible toilets. For further details please call 020 3879 9555. Royal Festival Hall has wheelchair spaces in the boxes, choir seats, side and rear stalls of the auditorium. Assistance dogs are welcome on site. 49 Travel information

Getting to Southbank Centre

Getting to Southbank Centre The Hayward Car Park is now closed Southbank Centre is situated on the Thames to all cars. riverside between the Golden Jubilee Bridge Alternative parking is available nearby at and Waterloo Bridge. the National Theatre car park and Cornwall Road multi-storey car park and is subject By underground to Waterloo, Embankment to charges. Free parking in the National and Charing Cross. Theatre and Cornwall Road car parks is available to Blue Badge holders visiting By rail to Waterloo, Waterloo East Southbank Centre. Please note on Sundays or Charing Cross. when the National Theatre building is closed there is no step-free access from By bus to Waterloo (stopping on Waterloo the car park. A drop-off point is available Bridge, York Road, Stamford Street adjacent to the Level 1 glass lift outside and Belvedere Road). For detailed Royal Festival Hall, on the Queen Elizabeth bus information call 0343 222 1234 Hall slip road off Belvedere Road. or visit tfl.gov.uk/buses. For the latest parking updates you can also visit: southbankcentre.co.uk/ visit/getting-here.

Royal Festival Hall Find us Southbank Centre Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX

Charing Cross Charing Cross Station Queen Elizabeth Hall & Purcell Room National Embankment Waterloo Bridge Theatre

Royal Festival Hall Golden Jubilee Footbridge Hayward Gallery

Belvedere Rd IMAX

London Waterloo East

York Rd London Eye Waterloo

Waterloo Station 50 Find out more

Stay tuned

– Get up-to-the-minute news and glimpse Your feedback behind the scenes of a world class orchestra ‘Kudos to @LPOrchestra for programming – Chat and interact with us and other such a bold season opener. Can’t imagine many audience members orchestras programming Stravinsky, Adès and Lutosławski as an opener. Invigorating.’ – Find out more about the music we play through our interactive online content, ‘I’ll never hear Dvořák 8 the same ever again. articles, interviews and podcasts Absolutely mesmerised. @tSondergard @LPOrchestra.’

‘Full throttle eyeballs out @LPOrchestra Join us on Facebook rendering of Rite of Spring at RFH tonight. Stravinsky would have approved.’ facebook.com/ londonphilharmonicorchestra ‘Incredible Russian concert from @LPOrchestra tonight. The Rachmaninoff was beautiful and the Tchaikovsky was amazingly powerful. As usual Follow us on Twitter the brass section were epically good and such twitter.com/lporchestra a huge sound!’

‘Tchaikovsky 1 from @LPOrchestra Discover us on Instagram tonight. Electrifying.’ instagram.com/ londonphilharmonicorchestra ‘Tonight’s Bruckner 8 with @LPOrchestra was quite exceptional, a thrilling & moving experience.’ Watch us on YouTube youtube.com/ ‘A tense, propulsive, monumental Leningrad londonphilharmonicorchestra Symphony from @LPOrchestra at the @southbankcentre this evening. A splendid start to a weekend.’ Sign up to our regular emails Keep up to date with LPO concerts, ‘Still thinking about last night’s @LPOrchestra Shostakovich, the Leningrad Symphony events, recordings and news. at @southbankcentre. What a mesmerising lpo.org.uk/signup marvel it was.’

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Visit us at lpo.org.uk Get to know more about the music, the players and guest performers through our website, podcasts, videos and online playlists, and sign up to hear about our latest recordings. 51 Recordings/downloads

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Live, studio and archive recordings from our Download or stream online via iTunes, Spotify catalogue including critically acclaimed recordings and others. with Tennstedt, Haitink and Jurowski are available from lpo.org.uk/recordings, London Philharmonic Orchestra Ticket Office 020 7840 4242 (Monday – Friday 10.00am – 5.00pm), all good retail outlets and the Royal Festival Hall shop.

Hollywood ‘The man in charge is one of the go-to guys in the film Blockbusters world, Dirk Brossé – hugely 1980s to 2000s impressive movie credentials Includes music from: ... The London Philharmonic Star Wars/La Vita è Bella/ Orchestra has certainly Gladiator/The Mission/ delivered a terrific disc.’ Indiana Jones Album of the Week (Classics with Dirk Brossé Unwrapped), BBC Radio LPO-0110 Scotland, October 2018

Tchaikovsky ‘Vladimir Jurowski is really the perfect advocate for this Symphonies kind of music. These are Nos. 2 & 3 live recordings, and they’re with Vladimir Jurowski really perfectionist in every LPO-0109 detail and they have this sheen of a historically- informed performance.’ BBC Radio 3, Record Review, November 2018

Poulenc ‘The London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Organ Concerto/ provide impeccable Piano Concerto/ support, conductor Yannick Nezét-Séguin eliciting all that matters with Yannick Nezét-Séguin in Poulenc, transformative LPO-0108 euphoria arising from simplistic originality.’ i, August 2018 52 Diary

The 2019/20 season

All concerts are at September Saturday 12 October November Royal Festival Hall and Verdi Edward Gardner start at 7.30pm unless Friday 27 September Friday 1 November Elza van den Heever otherwise stated. Knussen A celebration Ekaterina Gubanova Britten of British cinema Arsen Soghomonyan Tchaikovsky Gábor Bretz Anthony Weeden Vladimir Jurowski London Philharmonic Choir Piers Lane Julia Fischer Saturday 19 October Wednesday 6 November Colin Matthews Elgar October Mahler Mozart Alwyn Vladimir Jurowski R Strauss Sofia Fomina Wednesday 2 October Sarah Connolly Lawrence Renes Elgar London Philharmonic Choir Juliette Bausor R Strauss Philharmonia Chorus Xavier de Maistre Vladimir Jurowski Nicola Benedetti Wednesday 23 October Saturday 9 November Sibelius Butterworth Saturday 5 October Thomas Adès Elgar Sibelius Holst Walton Elgar Thomas Adès Marin Alsop Britten Kirill Gerstein Roderick Williams Susanna Mälkki Ladies of the London London Philharmonic Choir Sheku Kanneh-Mason Philharmonic Choir Wednesday 13 November Wednesday 9 October Saturday 26 October Wagner Bartók Elgar R Strauss Walton Mahler Mark Elder Nielsen Lucy Crowe Vladimir Jurowski Edward Gardner Alice Coote Diana Damrau James Ehnes Allan Clayton Roderick Williams David Stout December Brindley Sherratt The London Philharmonic London Philharmonic Choir Orchestra gratefully BBC Symphony Chorus Saturday 7 December acknowledges the Purcell (arr. Manze) financial support of Thomas Adès Arts Council England Lawes (arr. Manze) and Southbank Centre. Vaughan Williams

Concert texts Richard Bratby Andrew Manze Illustrations Brett Ryder/Heart Agency Anthony Marwood Design Ross Shaw @ JMG Studio Printer Tradewinds (This brochure is produced on paper from a sustainable source). Wednesday 11 December Foulds Information in this brochure was correct at the time of going to press. The right is Shostakovich reserved to substitute artists and to vary programmes if necessary. Vladimir Jurowski Peter Donohoe The London Philharmonic Orchestra is a registered charity No. 238045. Southbank Centre is a registered charity No. 298909. Diary

January Wednesday 19 February Thursday 26 March Saturday 25 April Beethoven Queen Elizabeth Hall Sibelius Knussen Beethoven Lutosławski Wednesday 15 January Sibelius Jörg Widmann Janáček Shankar Vasily Petrenko Anne-Sophie Mutter Edward Gardner David Murphy Leila Josefowicz Pieter Schoeman Sara Jakubiak Susanna Hurrell David Quiggle Madeleine Shaw Alok Kumar Kristina Blaumane Stuart Skelton Saturday 22 February Michel de Souza James Creswell Jörg Widmann Njabulo Madlala London Philharmonic Choir Ravel Saturday 28 March Beethoven Sibelius Saturday 18 January Dutilleux Wednesday 29 April Dima Slobodeniouk Poulenc Beethoven Ravel Jamie Barton Fauré Gibbons Edward Gardner Nico Muhly Bertrand de Billy Sally Matthews Wednesday 26 February Fauré James O’Donnell Elgar Saint-Saëns Katerina Tretyakova Spohr Stéphane Degout Yan Pascal Tortelier Webern April London Philharmonic Choir James McVinnie Rautavaara

Osmo Vänskä Wednesday 1 April February Sergej Krylov Ives May Thomas Adès Friday 28 February Beethoven Saturday 1 February Beethoven Vladimir Jurowski Friday 1 May 3.00pm Krzysztof Penderecki Nicolas Hodges Bach (arr. Respighi) Wagner Enescu Bach (arr. Stokowski) Busoni Vladimir Jurowski Osmo Vänskä Saturday 4 April Torsten Kerl Jeremy Denk Beethoven Antonio Pappano Evgeny Nikitin Igor Levit Elena Pankratova Vladimir Jurowski Gentlemen of the London Lise Davidsen Adrian Thompson March Philharmonic Choir Robert Hayward Angharad Lyddon Brindley Sherratt London Philharmonic Choir Wednesday 27 May Patricia Bardon Wednesday 4 March Sibelius Alina Adamski Igudesman & Joo Wednesday 8 April Rachmaninoff Méhul Thomas Carroll Klaus Mäkelä Saturday 8 February Ryan Wigglesworth Igudesman & Joo Ray Chen Beethoven Rachmaninoff Péter Eötvös Vladimir Jurowski Wednesday 11 March Scriabin Sophie Bevan Beethoven Nikolai Lugansky FUNharmonics Vladimir Jurowski Mahler Marco Blaauw Robin Ticciati Omar Ebrahim Friday 17 April Sunday 27 October 2019 Anne-Sophie Mutter Haydn 12.00 noon–1.00pm Khatia Buniatishvili Mahler Zog Friday 14 February Pablo Ferrández Humperdinck Vladimir Jurowski Ravel Sunday 16 February 2020 Wednesday 25 March Saint-Saëns 12.00 noon–1.00pm Beethoven Wednesday 22 April Why Beethoven Emmanuel Krivine Kaija Saariaho John Corigliano Threw the Stew Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Scriabin Philip Glass Shankar Omer Meir Wellber Sunday 3 May 2020 Johannes Moser Karen Kamensek 12.00 noon–1.00pm Daniel Hope Before the Firebird Alban Gerhardt Anoushkar Shankar ‘WHEN MUSIC TAKES YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE AND YOU’RE REMINDED OF WHAT MAKES LIFE BEAUTIFUL. UNMISSABLE.’ Audience member

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