18–20 February Sydney Town Hall SIMONE YOUNG CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN Principal Partner 2021 CONCERT SEASON Thursday 18 February, 1.30pm SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA THURSDAY AFTERNOON SYMPHONY Saturday 20 February, 2pm GREAT CLASSICS Sydney Town Hall PATRON Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC Founded in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities. Resident at the iconic Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra also performs in venues throughout Sydney and regional New South Wales, and international tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the Orchestra worldwide recognition for artistic excellence. SIMONE YOUNG The Orchestra’s first chief conductor was Sir Eugene Goossens, appointed in 1947; he was followed by Nicolai Malko, Dean Dixon, Moshe Atzmon, Willem van Otterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Zdenêk Mácal, Stuart Challender, Edo de CONDUCTS Waart and Gianluigi Gelmetti. Vladimir Ashkenazy was Principal Conductor from 2009 to 2013, followed by David Robertson as Chief Conductor from 2014 to 2019. Australia-born Simone Young has been the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Designate BEETHOVEN since 2020. She commences her role as Chief Conductor in 2022 as the Orchestra returns to the renewed Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra's concerts encompass masterpieces from the classical repertoire, music by some of the finest living composers, and collaborations SIMONE YOUNG conductor ESTIMATED DURATIONS with guest artists from all genres, reflecting the Orchestra's versatility and diverse LAUREN FAGAN soprano 14 minutes, 13 minutes, appeal. Its award-winning education program is central to its commitment to the interval 20 minutes, future of live symphonic music, and the Orchestra promotes the work of Australian 36 minutes. composers through performances, recordings and its commissioning program. LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) COVER IMAGE ‘Leonore’ Overture No.3, Op.72 Simone Young Photo: Nic Walker Simone Young SECOND VIOLINS CELLOS CLARINETS TUBA Ah! perfido (Oh, faithless one), Op.65 Chief Conductor Marina Marsden Catherine Hewgill Francesco Celata Steve Rossé Designate Principal Principal Associate Principal Principal Donald Runnicles Marianne Edwards Leah Lynn Christopher Tingay Principal Guest Associate Principal Acting Associate TIMPANI Conductor James Burke Emma Jezek Principal Principal Mark Robinson Symphony No.7 in A major, Op.92 Vladimir Ashkenazy Assistant Principal Kristy Conrau Acting Principal Conductor Laureate Alexander Morris Poco sostenuto - vivace Alice Bartsch Fenella Gill Principal Bass Clarinet Elizabeth Neville PERCUSSION Andrew Haveron Victoria Bihun Allegretto Christopher Pidcock BASSOONS Rebecca Lagos Concertmaster Emma Hayes Adrian Wallis Principal Presto Chair supported by Shuti Huang Matthew Wilkie David Wickham Vicki Olsson Monique Irik Principal Emeritus Timothy Constable Allegro con brio Wendy Kong Timothy Nankervis Fiona McNamara * = Guest Musician FIRST VIOLINS Benjamin Li Nicole Masters DOUBLE BASSES Tobb Gibson-Cornish ° = Contract Musician Andrew Haveron Principal Rebecca Gill Kees Boersma † = Sydney Symphony Concertmaster Maja Verunica Principal Noriko Shimada Fellow Harry Bennetts Principal Alex Henery Grey = Permanent Associate VIOLAS Contrabassoon Principal Member of the Sydney Concertmaster Tobias Breider David Campbell HORNS Symphony Orchestra Sun Yi Principal Steven Larson not appearing in Ben Jacks Associate Justin Williams Richard Lynn this concert Principal Concertmaster Acting Associate Jaan Pallandi Fiona Ziegler Principal Benjamin Ward Geoffrey O’Reilly Principal 3rd Horn Assistant Rosemary Curtin Concertmaster Graham Hennings FLUTES Euan Harvey Kirsten Williams Stuart Johnson Joshua Batty Rachel Silver Associate Justine Marsden Principal Marnie Sebire Concertmaster Felicity Tsai Emma Sholl TRUMPETS Emeritus Amanda Verner Associate Principal Jenny Booth Leonid Volovelsky Carolyn Harris David Elton Sophie Cole Dana Lee† Principal Georges Lentz Anne-Louise OBOES Anthony Heinrichs Nicola Lewis David Johnson* Comerford Diana Doherty Emily Long Associate Principal Principal Alexandra Mitchell TROMBONES Sandro Costantino Nicola Bell* Alexander Norton Jane Hazelwood Scott Kinmont Anna Skálová Shefali Pryor Associate Principal Léone Ziegler Associate Principal Nick Byrne Lerida Delbridge Alexandre Oguey PRINCIPAL PARTNER Christopher Harris Assistant Principal Cor Anglais Principal Bass Concertmaster Trombone Claire Herrick Ronald Prussing Principal WELCOME ABOUT THE ARTISTS PRESENTING PARTNER SIMONE YOUNG conductor Simone Young AM, General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Music Director of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg from 2005 – 2015 is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. She has conducted complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Vienna Staatsoper, the Staatsoper Berlin and Staatsoper Hamburg. Her Welcome to Simone Young conducts Beethoven, Hamburg recordings include the Ring cycle, Mathis der proudly supported by Emirates. Maler (Hindemith), and symphonies of Bruckner, Brahms Two great musical spirits meet as Chief Conductor Designate Simone and Mahler. Her 2012 Hamburg Opera and Ballet tour to Young masterfully interprets the music of Beethoven. An overture to his Brisbane, (Das Rheingold in concert, and Mahler Symphony only opera, Fidelio and one of his most-loved pieces, Symphony No.7 No. 2 “Resurrection”), won her the 2013 Helpmann Award Simone Young feature in today’s program. for the Best Individual Classical Music Performance. Photo: Nic Walker Almost 20 years ago, Emirates and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra met Simone Young’s most recent engagements have included to partner in a great synergy of culture and travel. COVID-19 has caused return invitations to the New York and Monte Carlo both of our organisations to navigate through uncharted skies, but we are Philharmonic Orchestras; the Helsinki, Barcelona, proud to do this side by side. Cincinnati, and Minnesota Orchestras; Orchestre Emirates has led the way in response to COVID-19 with safety initiatives de Paris; and the West Australian and Queensland to boost travel confidence. We continue to seek ways to support our Symphony Orchestras. community during this challenging time and we hope today’s music helps The BBC Symphony, Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Dresden, to brings joy during these times. and London Philharmonic Orchestras, the Staatskapelle It is my pleasure to welcome you to this performance of Simone Young Dresden, the Bruckner Orchestra, Linz, City of Birmingham conducts Beethoven, and we wish you all the best for the year ahead. Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Wiener Symphoniker, are among the leading orchestras Simone Enjoy your listening and exploring! Young also regularly conducts. Maintaining her passionate interest in and understanding of the voice, her recent invitations to conduct opera have included Reimann’s Lear (Madrid), Fidelio, a Verdi Gala and Der Rosenkavalier (Berlin State Opera), Lohengrin and Elektra (Zürich), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henze’s Das verratene Meer (Vienna State Opera), and Tannhäuser (Munich). Simone Young has been Music Director of Opera Australia, Barry Brown Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and Emirates’ Divisional Vice President Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, for Australasia Lisbon. Her many accolades include a Professorship at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, Honorary Doctorates from Griffith University, University of Western Australia, Monash University and the University of New South Wales; the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France, the Goethe Institute Medal and the Sir Bernard Heinze Award. Simone Young has been the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor Designate since 2020. She commences her role as Chief Conductor in 2022 as the Orchestra returns to the renewed Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. Simone Young's appearances are generously supported by both Bob Magid OAM & Ruth Magid and Emirates. ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE MUSIC LAUREN FAGAN soprano Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, had a tortuous gestation. The first performance in 1805 was a flop. It was far too A graduate of Covent Garden’s prestigious Jette long, but more importantly, the occupation of Vienna by Parker Young Artist Programme, Lauren Fagan has Napoleon’s troops had caused the evacuation of local developed into one of today’s most accomplished aristocrats so the small audience was made up mainly of young sopranos and had the honour of representing her French officers. Cuts and revisions followed for a revival native Australia in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the the following year, but in 1814, three librettists and four World Competition. Recent role debuts as Alcina for overtures later, Beethoven made the final version. The the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe, Violetta work was now a triumph. Vienna was celebrating the final in Rodula Gaitanou’s new production of La Traviata for defeat of Napoleon, but more importantly, Fidelio was now Opera Holland Park and Mimi in the classic Phyllida a powerful, focused piece of theatre. Lloyd production of La Bohème for Opera North were met The model for Fidelio was a then-fashionable French with unanimous critical acclaim for her richness of tone, genre, later known as ‘rescue opera’. The story was based