London Symphony Orchestra Living Music Thursday 7 May 2015 7.30pm Barbican Hall LSO INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN FESTIVAL ISABELLE FAUST Brahms Violin Concerto INTERVAL Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5 London’s Symphony Orchestra Semyon Bychkov conductor Isabelle Faust violin Concert finishes approx 9.40pm The LSO International Violin Festival is generously supported by Jonathan Moulds CBE International Violin Festival Media Partner 2 Welcome 7 May 2015 Welcome Living Music Kathryn McDowell In Brief Welcome to this evening’s LSO concert at the BMW LSO OPEN AIR CLASSICS 2015 Barbican, where we continue the LSO International Violin Festival – a celebration of the violin and The LSO is delighted to announce this year’s the astounding range of music composed for the BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert, taking place instrument, featuring performances from twelve of in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 17 May at 6.30pm. the world’s leading international soloists. Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev will once again be at the helm, conducting works by Shostakovich. It is a pleasure to be joined tonight by soloist Remember to arrive early to secure your place. Isabelle Faust, who plays Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Although Isabelle Faust has previously appeared lso.co.uk/openair in the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert series at LSO St Luke’s, this performance marks her debut with the Orchestra. This evening we are also delighted THE STRAD SUNDAYS to be working with conductor Semyon Bychkov, once again; he concludes the programme with The Strad celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 5. and to mark this milestone it is partnering with the LSO during the International Violin Festival to host The LSO would like to thank Jonathan Moulds for his three free The Strad Sundays. These special events generous support of the International Violin Festival, feature exhibitions in the Fountain Room, where you and our media partner The Strad, who have been can learn about the art of violin making, followed by covering the Festival online and in their magazine, pre-concert panel discussions in the Barbican Hall. alongside hosting a number of free events. We hope to see you at the final The Strad Sunday of the series, Sunday 28 June which takes place on Sunday 28 June. 3–5.30pm, Fountain Room – Photographic Exhibition I hope you enjoy tonight’s performance and will join 6pm, Barbican Hall – Panel Discussion us again soon. In our next concert on 12 May, LSO Making instrument lessons fun for kids Principal Conductor Valery Gergiev concludes his Russians series with violinist Nikolaj Znaider, who lso.co.uk/violinfestival will perform the Tchaikovsky Concerto. A WARM WELCOME TO TONIGHT’S GROUPS Tonight we are delighted to welcome: Adele Friedland & Friends, Powerhouse, Kathryn McDowell CBE DL Oxshott WI Theatre Club, Encore Tickets Ltd & Managing Director King Edward VI Grammar School lso.co.uk/groups lso.co.uk LSO International Violin Festival 3 Coming soon LSO International Violin Festival There are few violinists to match him at the moment. The Guardian on Christian Tetzlaff NIKOLAJ ZNAIDER CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF JANINE JANSEN AT LSO ST LUKE’S Tue 12 May 2015 7.30pm, Barbican Sun 24 May 2015 7.30pm, Barbican Tue 2 Jun 2015 7.30pm, Barbican Thu 21 May 2015 1pm, LSO St Luke’s BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert Balakirev arr Lyapunov Islamey Beethoven Violin Concerto Edward Rushton I nearly went, there* Christian Tetzlaff violin Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Brahms German Requiem Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No 15 Mahler Symphony No 5 Fri 22 May 2015 12.30pm, LSO St Luke’s Daniel Harding conductor Free Friday Lunchtime Concert Valery Gergiev conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Daniel Harding conductor Roman Simovic violin Nikolaj Znaider violin Janine Jansen violin Rachel Leach presenter LSO Platforms LSO Platforms 6pm – Chamber music for strings * UK premiere 6pm – Songs by Tchaikovsky and by Beethoven Shostakovich 020 7638 8891 The LSO International Violin Festival is generously supported by Jonathan Moulds CBE lso.co.uk/violinfestival 4 Programme Notes 7 May 2015 Johannes Brahms (1833–97) Violin Concerto in D major Op 77 (1878) 1 ALLEGRO NON TROPPO concerto had been in his mind for some time; 2 ADAGIO but during its composition there was a revealing 3 ALLEGRO GIOCOSO, MA NON TROPPO VIVACE correspondence with Joachim. We learn, for example, that the concerto was originally to have ISABELLE FAUST VIOLIN had four movements rather than the expected three (an idea Brahms reserved for his Second Piano Brahms didn’t play the violin, but his understanding Concerto, composed three years later). Joachim was of it was second only to that of his own instrument, himself a gifted composer, and in the past Brahms the piano. When he left his native Hamburg for had often sought his advice on compositional the first time, it was to accompany the Hungarian matters. Now it was the solo violin part that Brahms violinist Eduard Reményi on a concert tour during sent to Joachim for his comments and technical help. PROGRAMME NOTE WRITER which a famous episode demonstrated the 20-year- Interestingly, he hardly ever actually took the advice ANDREW HUTH is a musician, old composer’s astonishing musicianship: one his friend offered. He knew perfectly well what was writer and translator who writes evening he discovered that the only available piano effective and playable. extensively on French, Russian was tuned a semitone flat, and coolly transposed and Eastern European music. Beethoven’s C minor sonata up into C-sharp in order Brahms misses no opportunity to to play it at the right pitch. It was through Reményi that Brahms met the violinist Joseph Joachim, with show off the essential character of JOSEPH JOACHIM (1831–1907) whom he formed one of the closest friendships of the violin. There is brilliance, power was an influential violinist and his life, and whose playing was at the back of his teacher. He described Brahms’ work mind whenever he composed for the violin. Joachim and lyricism in the solo part. as one of the four great German knew better than to pester the obstinate composer violin concertos: ‘The greatest, most for a concerto, but must have known that it was only The first performance of the new concerto was uncompromising, is Beethoven’s. a matter of time before one eventually appeared. given in Leipzig on 1 January 1879. Joachim played, The one by Brahms vies with it in of course, and Brahms conducted. It was entirely seriousness. The richest, the most It came in the summer of 1878, soon after the Joachim’s decision, though, to begin the concert seductive, was written by Max Bruch. Second Symphony, with which it shares something with the Beethoven Concerto, of which he was the But the most inward, the heart’s of its character. Not only is there a clearly symphonic most famous player of the day. Brahms didn’t care jewel, is Mendelssohn’s.’ cast to the music, but also the open lyricism that for the idea. ‘A lot of D major’, he commented, but Brahms associated with the key of D major. Both his unspoken objection was that he always disliked works were composed at the same lakeside village inviting comparisons with Beethoven, who was in Carinthia; coincidentally, 50 years later Alban Berg a very different type of composer. The only real would write his Violin Concerto on the shores of the similarities between the two concertos are that they same lake. are roughly equal in length and proportion, with a first movement longer than the other two together. Since Brahms tended to cover his tracks and say little about the gestation and composition of Brahms misses no opportunity to show off the his music, we usually know very little about its essential character of the violin. There is brilliance, background. It is quite possible that ideas for the power and lyricism in the solo part, which makes lso.co.uk Programme Notes 5 Johannes Brahms Composer Profile enormous demands on the player. For all its depth Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, the son of and subtlety of construction, though, the overall an impecunious musician; his mother later opened form of the concerto is almost obstinately traditional, a haberdashery business to help lift the family out of ignoring the innovations of Mendelssohn in his poverty. Showing early musical promise he became a famous concerto or even those found in the later pupil of the distinguished local pianist and composer Beethoven concertos. Eduard Marxsen and supplemented his parents’ meagre income by playing in the bars and brothels The first movement is a spacious design, with a long of Hamburg’s infamous red-light district. orchestral exposition. Although the themes are not in themselves extensive, they evolve from one another In 1853 Brahms presented himself to Robert into long developments by soloist, orchestra, or Schumann in Düsseldorf, winning unqualified both in partnership. This is the last of the great violin approval from the older composer. Brahms fell concertos in which the composer left it to the soloist in love with Schumann’s wife, Clara, supporting to provide the expected cadenza. her after her husband’s illness and death. The relationship did not develop as Brahms wished, After so symphonically conceived a first movement, and he returned to Hamburg; their close friendship, the other movements are more relaxed in mood and BRAHMS on LSO LIVE however, survived. In 1862 Brahms moved to Vienna structure. The Adagio is coloured by the sound of where he found fame as a conductor, pianist and the wind instruments, the soloist weaving delicate Brahms box set composer. The Leipzig premiere of his German traceries around the main theme, but never playing Symphonies Requiem in 1869 was a triumph, with subsequent it in its full form.