COMMUNITY CONCERT Daniel Harding Conductor London Symphony Orchestra Academy Festival Orchestra

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Sunday, July 14, 2019, 7 pm / Santa Barbara Bowl

COMMUNITY CONCERT Daniel Harding conductor London Symphony Orchestra Academy Festival Orchestra

The Community Concert is presented in remembrance of Léni Fé Bland

BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 (1803—1869)

STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite (1919) (1882—1971) Introduction and Dances of the Firebird Dances of the Princesses Infernal Dance of King Kastchei Berceuse Finale

INTERMISSION

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 (1840—1893) Andante sostenuto—Moderato con anima Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato Finale: Allegro con fuoco

The performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 is dedicated to the late Peggy Maximus, in recognition of her generous and longstanding support of the Music Academy.

Daniel Harding conductor

Daniel Harding is Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. Mr. Harding is also Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held for 12 years, and Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has worked for over 20 years. In the 2014-15 season, Mr. Harding devised and curated the celebrated Interplay Festival with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, presenting a series of concerts and related inspirational talks and installations involving artists, academics, scientists and philosophers. A renowned opera conductor, Mr. Harding’s current projects include Teatro alla Scala, Milan, the Teatro Reggio Turin, the Wiener Staatsoper, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and he continues to work regularly with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra Munich, Filarmonica della Scala Orchestra, and Dresden Staatskapelle. Mr. Harding was Principal Guest Conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2017. In 2018 Daniel Harding was named Artistic Director of the Anima Mundi Festival.

ABOUT THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

From delivering artistic excellence on stage, in recordings and on film, to its world-leading music education and community program, the London Symphony Orchestra strives to bring great music to as many people as possible. Established in 1904, the LSO was one of the first self-governing orchestras, built on the values of partnership and artistic ownership. That entrepreneurial spirit continues today. The LSO is the Resident Orchestra at the Barbican in the City of London where it performs 70 concerts per year in addition to the more than 50 it gives worldwide. The Orchestra also programs concerts and workshops at its venue, LSO St. Luke’s, through its pioneering community and education program, LSO Discovery. On stage, the Orchestra works with a close family of artists who continually demonstrate their commitment to this Orchestra, with Sir Simon Rattle as Music Director, Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth as Principal Guest Conductors and Michael Tilson Thomas as Conductor Laureate. The LSO has a history of innovation that helps to keep it relevant and contemporary. With the formation of its own recording label LSO Live in 1999, the Orchestra brought about a revolution in how live orchestral music is recorded. LSO Live has produced over 140 releases and continually embraces new digital technologies – millions now stream its music around the world. Countless more have enjoyed the Orchestra through its leading work in film, which includes hundreds of classic scores from Star Wars to The Shape of Water and Indiana Jones.

The Music Academy’s partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra is made possible by

Lead Sponsors Linda and Michael Keston and Mary Lynn and Warren Staley.

Additional support has been provided in remembrance of Léni Fé Bland.

The Music Academy gratefully recognizes the following sponsors for their support and assistance during the London Symphony Orchestra’s 2019 residency:

Post-Concert Dining Partner Hotel Partner

The Music Academy of the West thanks Lotusland, Santa Barbara Sailing, Folio Press and Paperie, KŌPŪ Pure Sparkling Water, McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, Riverbench Winery, and Visit Santa Barbara for helping to welcome the London Symphony Orchestra.

MUSICACADEMY.ORG LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MUSIC DIRECTOR: SIR SIMON RATTLE OM CBE PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTORS: GIANANDREA NOSEDA, FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH CONDUCTOR LAUREATE: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CHORAL DIRECTOR: SIMON HALSEY CBE

FIRST VIOLINS CELLOS TRUMPETS Carmine Lauri, Leader Tim Hugh Huw Morgan Clare Duckworth Alastair Blayden Niall Keatley Laura Dixon Jennifer Brown Toby Street Gerald Gregory Daniel Gardner David Geoghegan Maxine Kwok-Adams Laure Le Dantec William Melvin Amanda Truelove TROMBONES Claire Parfitt James Barralet Peter Moore Laurent Quenelle Morwenna Del Mar Matthew Knight Harriet Rayfield Miwa Rosso James Maynard

Sylvain Vasseur Deborah Tolksdorf BASS TROMBONE Rhys Watkins DOUBLE BASSES Dan West Julian Azkoul Ander Perrino Morane Cohen-Lamberger TUBA Colin Paris Hilary Jane Parker Ben Thomson Erzsebet Racz Patrick Laurence Julia Rumley Matthew Gibson TIMPANI Thomas Goodman Nigel Thomas SECOND VIOLINS Joe Melvin David Alberman Emre Ersahin PERCUSSION Thomas Norris José Moreira Neil Percy Miya Vaisanen Sam Walton Julian Gil Rodriguez FLUTES Tom Edwards Naoko Keatley Gareth Davies Matthew Farthing

Alix Lagasse Daniel Shao HARP Iwona Muszynska PICCOLO Bryn Lewis Csilla Pogany Patricia Moynihan Andrew Pollock PIANO Louise Shackelton OBOES Joseph Havlat Ingrid Button Juliana Koch Grace Lee Olivier Stankiewicz Greta Mutlu Matthew Draper LSO ADMINISTRATION Philip Nolte Kathryn McDowell, Managing COR ANGLAIS Director VIOLAS Maxwell Spiers Tim Davy, Tours & Projects Edward Vanderspar Manager Gillianne Haddow CLARINETS Miriam Loeben, Tours Manager Malcolm Johnston Chris Richards Andrew Softley, Orchestra Stephen Doman Chi-Yu Mo Personnel Manager Lander Echevarria BASSOONS Benjamin Picard, Librarian Carol Ella Daniel Jemison Alan Goode, Stage & Transport Heather Wallington Lawrence O'Donnell Manager Michelle Bruil George Lee, Stage Manager Samuel Burstin HORNS Cynthia Perrin Timothy Jones Alistair Scahill Angela Barnes Sofia Silva Sousa Julie Landsman

Jonathan Lipton James Pillai

ACADEMY FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

FIRST VIOLINS Dongmin Hyun Liana Hoffman BERLIOZ/STRAVINSKY Amanda Vosburgh Antonia Chandler Nuri Lim Julia Lee STRAVINSKY Haeni Lee TCHAIKOVSKY Antonia Chandler Yu Kai Sun Jinn Shin Steven Harmon Jack Huang Jack Bryant Linda Lee Mizuki Hayakawa TCHAIKOVSKY Yoon Be Kim Marcie Kolacki Gabrielle Pho Alexandria Ott Chas Barnard Steven Harmon Shenae Anderson Ha eun Song Logan Bryck TCHAIKOVSKY Jessie Chen FLUTES TRUMPETS Amy Semes BERLIOZ BERLIOZ Daniel Kim James Dion Blanchard Alex Mayon Alejandro Lombo Sarah Jessen Marin Osawa STRAVINKSY STRAVINSKY Jennifer Ahn Alejandro Lombo Francis Lawrence LaPorte Emma Carleton James Dion Blanchard Alex Mayon Njioma Chinyere Grevious TCHAIKOVSKY TCHAIKOVSKY Hojung Kwon Austin Brown Gustavo Leite Elizabeth Lu Sarah Jessen SECOND VIOLINS BERLIOZ/STRAVINSKY OBOES TROMBONES Yeajin Kim BERLIOZ BERLIOZ Han Na Lee Jini Baik Connor Rowe Liuwenji Vicky Wang Mayu Isom Ethan Shrier Mariko Shimasaki STRAVINSKY Noah Alexander Roper Yixiang Wang Mayu Isom STRAVINSKY Takumi Taguchi Jini Baik Kevin Carlson Diego Campos Medina TCHAIKOVSKY Connor Rowe TCHAIKOVSKY Anne Pinkerton Noah Alexander Roper Alexis Hatch Victoria Chung TCHAIKOVSKY Aidan Ip Kevin Carlson CLARINETS Vikram Iyer Connor Rowe BERLIOZ Esther Roestan Noah Alexander Roper Yaxin Tan Anna Webster Coco Mi Sara Han TUBA Herdís Guðmundsdóttir STRAVINSKY Colin Benton Roy Park TIMPANI Sara Han VIOLAS BERLIOZ/STRAVINSKY TCHAIKKOVSKY BERLIOZ/STRAVINSKY Christine Comer Anna Webster Qian Hui Ho TCHAIKOVSKY Vitor Trindade Sam Matzner Jake Darnell Claire Satchwell Sara Han bass clarinet PERCUSSION Abigail Elder BASSOONS BERLIOZ Molly Wise BERLIOZ Luca Esposito TCHAIKOVSKY Kipras Mazeika STRAVINSKY Laura Liu Nicolas Richard David Yoon Ye Jin Goo STRAVINSKY TCHAIKOVSKY Ariel Chapman Luke Fieweger Maddi Shake Harmony Chiang Nicolas Richard Hyuna Kim TCHAIKOVSKY HARP Esther Kim Bianca Chambul Anya Garipoli CELLOS Kipras Mazeika BERLIOZ/STRAVINSKY HORNS Kelcey Howell BERLIOZ Soyoon Park Gabrielle Pho ABOUT THE PROGRAM

HECTOR BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9 Composed 1844

In early 1834, Hector Berlioz’s reading list included a new French translation of the autobiography of 15th century Italian sculptor Benvenuto Cellini. Berlioz would later write in his own memoirs that having “been greatly struck by certain episodes” in Cellini’s life, he “had the misfortune of believing they would make an interesting and dramatic subject for an opera.” And so, in the spring of that same year he began work on what would become his first complete opera, Benvenuto Cellini.

Berlioz had hoped Benvenuto Cellini would mark his long-awaited conquering of the Opéra de Paris. Instead, the project seemed to be doomed from the very beginning. The conductor at the Opéra, François- Antoine Habeneck, was no great fan of Berlioz in general nor this opera in particular. For his part, Berlioz complained frequently about Habeneck’s conducting, writing later that he entreated the conductor to pick up the pace—“Faster! Faster! Put more life into it!”—during a dance scene in the second act. The audience hissed the work at its 1838 premiere, and Benvenuto Cellini—or Malvenuto Cellini as one cheeky publication took to calling it—was only performed thrice during its original run.

Despite the spectacular failure of his Opéra debut, Berlioz always felt that Benvenuto Cellini had been unfairly maligned, opining in his memoirs the work contained “a variety of ideas . . . and a brilliance of musical color.” It should come as no surprise, then, that Berlioz decided to recycle some of this variety of ideas in a different type of work: Roman Carnival Overture, which was written and premiered in 1844.

A spirited opening gives way to a long, lyrical English horn solo based on a duet between the sculptor Cellini and his love interest, Teresa. Berlioz’s affinity for exposed woodwind writing presents itself through a series of flourishes that interrupt the concluding chords of the serene love melody and launch straight into the overture’s vivacious second half. The music here is also taken from Benvenuto Cellini, specifically the dance scene that in Berlioz’s opinion had so bedeviled Habeneck. In the opera this is a festive carnival scene set in Rome’s Piazza Colonna—hence the overture’s name—and was for Berlioz one of the highlights of the work, conductor notwithstanding. The music is in the form of a saltarello, a rollicking triple meter dance that is named for its characteristic leaping motion (saltarello means “little hop” in Italian). The leaping dance continues apace in the strings, while the winds and brass return to the love duet from earlier before the orchestra builds to its final triumphant gesture.

Luckily for Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture was much better received than its progenitor. The first audience—with François-Antoine Habeneck coincidentally in attendance—even encored the piece. After the successful initial performance, Berlioz, who had conducted the premier himself, could not resist approaching Habeneck and saying, “That’s how it goes.” According to Berlioz, the unhappy conductor did not reply.

IGOR STRAVINSKY Firebird Suite (1919) Composed 1909 - 10 Introduction and Dances of the Firebird Dances of the Princesses Infernal Dance of Kastchei Berceuse Finale

The Firebird was Stravinsky’s first commission for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. Having settled on the exotic Russian folktale of the magical Firebird as a suitable ballet subject and extracted a scenario from his choreographer Mikhail Fokine, Diaghilev took the bold step of approaching Stravinsky, then a young and virtually unknown composer. His gamble paid dividends. The Firebird was first performed on 25 June 1910 at the Opéra de Paris, with the great ballerina Tamara Karsavina in the title role. Opulent decor, choreography and Stravinsky’s luminous score made The Firebird an instant hit, and it remained the mainstay of the Russian Ballet’s repertory until its disbandment.

A mysterious ‘Introduction’ introduces the Firebird, who performs her Dance and Variation. Prince Ivan captures her, and after a brief linking section called ‘Pantomime’ they perform a pas de deux. Ivan releases the Firebird in exchange for one of her magic feathers. Another short linking passage takes him to the magician Kashkei’s palace, where he finds himself surrounded by captive princesses (‘Dances of the Princesses’) and falls in love with the most beautiful of them. After a further linking passage the princesses perform a Round Dance, but Kashkei and his minions arrive and take Ivan prisoner in an exotic Infernal Dance. Ivan uses his magic feather to summon the Firebird, who puts Kashkei and his retinue to sleep in a hypnotic Lullaby. In the Finale, Ivan destroys the magic eggshell in which Kashkei keeps his evil soul. The spell is broken, the captives are freed, and the Prince marries his chosen princess in a radiant, hymn-like epithalamium.

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 Composed 1877-1878 Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo: Allegro Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony, like his opera Eugene Onegin, is closely associated with the great crisis in his life which ended in attempted suicide and mental breakdown. But in fact the Symphony is not an expression of the crisis itself, rather it reflects the emotional states that led up to it. It was begun early in 1877, at a time when he was much occupied with teaching duties at the Moscow Conservatoire, and when the first performances of Swan Lake, the Second String Quartet and the symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini added to his growing reputation. His personal life, though, was spiraling towards disaster as he persisted in the idea that marriage would provide the answer to his terrible loneliness.

At the end of 1876 there began – hesitantly at first – a strange 13-year correspondence with Nadezhda von Meck, another lonely and passionate character, and between the two there developed an emotional intimacy which depended on their never meeting in person. On 13 May 1877 Tchaikovsky wrote to her: ‘I am now absorbed in a symphony which I began to compose as far back as the winter, and which I very much want to dedicate to you because I think you will find in it echoes of your innermost thoughts and feelings’.

The composition of the Fourth Symphony was then well advanced, with the first three movements fully sketched out; by mid-June the finale, too, was fully drafted – but other events interrupted the symphony’s completion. In early May Tchaikovsky was approached by a 28-year-old stranger called Antonina Milyukova, who said she had fallen in love with him some time earlier when she was a student at the Conservatoire. By a fateful coincidence, this was around the time that he began to consider Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin as an operatic subject, and he was tormented by the thought of Onegin’s cruel and cynical rejection of the love offered by the naïve and romantic young girl Tatiana. Tchaikovsky and Antonina Milyukova first met on 1 June and were married just seven weeks later, on 18 July.

For all his protestations to friends, relatives and to Antonina herself, Tchaikovsky found his new wife utterly repugnant, both personally and sexually. Less than three months later, after attempting suicide, he ran away from her, and was taken abroad by his brother, Anatoly. It was in Venice and San Remo that the Fourth Symphony was completed in December and January 1878. The first performance took place in Moscow on 22 February, 1878 under Nikolay Rubinstein. Tchaikovsky was absent, as he was from the more successful St Petersburg premiere later that year.

Composers’ own comments on their music are often unhelpful and misleading, particularly when too much weight is given to casual or self-critical remarks made on the spur of the moment. In the case of the Fourth Symphony, however, Tchaikovsky did do his best to tell Nadezhda von Meck something of what the work might represent:

‘… to you, and only to you, I am able and willing to explain the meaning of both the whole and of the separate movements’.

The introductory fanfare, we learn from this letter, represents Fate, which Tchaikovsky grimly described as ‘the fatal force which prevents our hopes of happiness from being realised, and which watches jealously to see that our bliss and happiness are never complete and unclouded … it is inescapable and it can never be overcome’. The first movement is based on a contrast between the harsh reality of inevitable fate and passing visions of happiness. The second movement conveys the melancholy, both sad and pleasant, that comes from recalling the past. The third movement is emotionally more neutral, consisting of ‘elusive images which rush past in the imagination when you have drunk a little wine and experience the first stage of intoxication’. As for the finale, ‘if within yourself you find no reason for joy, look at others. Get out among the people … find happiness in the joys of others’.

This was written sometime after the Symphony had been completed, and when Tchaikovsky’s frame of mind was very different; and at the end of this letter he tried to minimise its significance, for he realised how commonplace the words were compared with the originality of the musical images he had created. He does reveal, however, a clear progression from interior to exterior, from the self-obsessed first movement, through images of the past and the outer world, to images of ‘the people’ in the finale – which may very well reflect something of his current admiration for Tolstoy, whose Anna Karenina had recently been serialised. When he was composing the Symphony, Tchaikovsky was desperately trying to escape from his own nature and find fulfilment outside his own obsessions, and if he failed miserably in practice, he succeeded remarkably in his music. After the Fourth Symphony and Eugene Onegin it would be several years before he would again be able to compose with such overwhelming emotional conviction.