Where will the music take you?
Chamber
Orchestra of Europe/
Bernard Haitink
5 & 7 Jun
Join one of the best-loved conductors as he celebrates
his 85th birthday with one of the world’s greatest chamber
orchestras and star soloists. Featuring works from Mozart,
Beethoven, Ravel and Schumann.
barbican.org.uk
Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra Amsterdam
Bruckner Symphonies: Paths to Revelation
Thu 3–Sat 5 Apr 2014
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam
Mariss Jansons conductor
A Barbican International Associate Residency
Part of Barbican Presents 2013–14
Barbican Presents is supported by BB Energy Holdings NV
Programme produced by Harriet
Smith; printed by Mandatum Ink;
advertising by Cabbell
(tel. 020 3603 7930)
Confectionery and merchandise
including organic ice cream,
quality chocolate, nuts and
nibbles are available from the
sales points in our foyers.
Please turn off watch alarms,
phones, pagers etc during the
performance. Taking photographs,
capturing images or using
recording devices during a
performance is strictly prohibited.
If anything limits your enjoyment
please let us know during your
visit. Additional feedback can
be given online, as well as via
feedback forms or the pods
located around the foyers.
The Residency
Thu 3 Apr
7.30pm, Hall
Mozart Violin Concerto No 3
interval 20 minutes
Bruckner Symphony No 4, Romantic
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mariss Jansons conductor
Frank Peter Zimmermann violin Fri 4 Apr
Masterclasses
Members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Amsterdam lead masterclasses with musicians
from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama as
part of the Orchestra’s international associate
residency at the Barbican.
Masterclasses are free and open to the public,
please email [email protected] if
you wish to reserve a place.
9.30am, Milton Court Concert Hall
Violin Masterclass with Vesko Eschkenazy
10am, Silk Street
Percussion Masterclass with percussionist
Nick Woud
2pm, Guildhall School Lecture Recital Room
Cello Masterclass with cellist Gregor Horsch
2.45pm, Milton Court Concert Hall
Oboe Masterclass with oboist Lucas
Macías Navarro
5.30pm, Guildhall School Lecture Recital Room
Trombone Masterclass with trombonist
Raymond Munnecom
2
6.30pm, Milton Court Concert Hall
Trumpet Masterclass with trumpeter Omar
Tomasoni
7.30pm, Hall
Haydn Cello Concerto No 1
interval 20 minutes
Bruckner Symphony No 7
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mariss Jansons conductor
Truls Mørk cello Sat 5 Apr
6.30pm, Hall
Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1
interval 20 minutes
Bruckner Symphony No 9
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mariss Jansons conductor
Lars Vogt piano Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to the second Barbican
International Associate Residency by the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra under its Chief
Conductor Mariss Jansons. For these three
concerts, Maestro Jansons has chosen to
pair three of Bruckner’s greatest symphonies
with concertos by the three Classical figures
whom the composer held in reverential
esteem: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
Bruckner’s symphonies are often taken to be
statements of a simple religious faith. But their
blazing final affirmations are the hard-won
result of a more complex spiritual journey
that traverses a range of emotional states,
sacred and secular: troubled uncertainty,
protean energy, awe in the face of nature,
prayerful reflection, rustic lyricism, anguish and
elemental force. Whether or not one shares the
composer’s faith, ultimately what makes this
music speak to us is its sense of hope in the face
of all this: optimism in the face of the human
condition and, in the case of the unfinished
Ninth Symphony, in the face of mortality.
Maestro Jansons’ command of these vast musical
edifices is masterful. We hope that you will be
able to stay with us across this sequence of three
performances by one of the world’s leading
orchestras, the ultimate destination of which is
the profoundly moving ‘farewell’ of the Ninth
Symphony. Creative learning is an essential part
of the residency, and if you have time, do come
and join RCO musicians and students from the
Guildhall School of Music & Drama for the
series of masterclasses that take places in the
Guildhall School’s new Milton Court Concert
Hall and other venues within the school.
The Barbican would like to thank its supporters
for making this residency possible, in particular
the Gordon family and the SHM Foundation.
Paul Keene
Classical Programmer
Barbican Classical Music Podcasts
3
Stream or download our Barbican Classical Music Podcasts
for exclusive interviews with the world’s greatest classical
stars. Recent artists include Leif Ove Andsnes, Mariss
Jansons, Harry Christophers, Maxim Vengerov, Joyce
DiDonato and many more.
Available on iTunes, Soundcloud and the Barbican website
Thursday 3 April
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91)
Violin Concerto No 3 in G major, K216 (1775)
1 Allegro
2 Andante cantabile
3 Rondeau: Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo
Frank Peter Zimmermann violin
4
Mozart wrote at least four of his five violin
concertos in a single year, 1775, when he was
19 years old and already a highly experienced
composer. At this time he was still in the employ
of the Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo
of Salzburg, and chafing increasingly at the
reins of his servitude. The Archbishop was an
educated, cultured man, in tune (up to a point)
with the rational-liberal ideals of the European
Enlightenment, but he did little to encourage
his brilliant young court musician, especially
when Mozart absented himself from his post for
long periods in order to look for employment
elsewhere. The Archbishop had somewhat
limited expectations when it came to church
music, and in 1775 – the year the four violin
concertos were composed – he closed down
the court theatre, effectively denying Mozart
the chance to shine on the operatic stage.
Still, Mozart had many musician admirers
in Salzburg, and he took the opportunity to
compose a wide range of instrumental pieces
for them. Next to nothing is known about why
he wrote so many solo works for violin around
this time (a substantial Concertone for two
violins and orchestra dates from the previous
year) – or why he never seriously returned to
the form again. But as Konzertmeister (leader)
of the Archbishop’s orchestra Mozart would
almost certainly have been expected to provide
solo music for his employer’s entertainment,
and he may well have played the solo parts
himself – he certainly had the capability. If
so, the Archbishop’s verdict is unrecorded.
While there is technically brilliant writing in these
concertos, the general tendency is more towards
lyrical beauty, formal balance and wit. After
hearing one particularly virtuosic violin concerto,
Mozart wrote to his father that although he had
quite enjoyed it, ‘you know that I am no lover
of difficulties’. Several times, on hearing violin
playing that pleased him thoroughly, he wrote
that ‘it went smoothly as oil’. The first movement
of the G major Concerto does however make a
feature of placing the solo violin quite high up: the
first solo entry takes the orchestra’s fanfare-like
opening theme and lifts it up two octaves – and
this sets a trend for the whole movement. The
higher notes on the violin are harder to place
accurately, still harder to play ‘smoothly as oil’,
but it does mean that the soloist often stands out
bright and clear above the orchestral texture.
As the marking Andante cantabile suggests,
the emphasis in the central slow movement is
on melody. Also striking is the sensuous richness
of the orchestral writing – this despite what to
modern audiences will probably seem a fairly
restricted sound-palette: just oboes, horns and
episode, with a bass drone imitating bagpipes.
Like the ‘Strassburg’ tune that features in the
finale of this piece, this may well be based on
a local folk-song. Perhaps the words would
have meant something to Mozart’s audience
– perhaps even to the archbishop himself. If
so, alas, that message is irretrievably lost.
Thu 3 Apr
strings. There are also some telling moments of
dialogue between the soloist and the orchestral
oboes and violins: this concerto is no mere star
vehicle. The finale alternates a brief, courtly
Andante grazioso with a jig-like Allegro ma
non troppo – if this is a contest then the faster
dance music wins in the end. But at the heart
of the movement is a slower, more rustic dance
interval: 20 minutes
Anton Bruckner (1824–96)
Symphony No 4 in E flat major, Romantic
(1874–8; 1880)
1 Bewegt, nicht zu schnell [Lively, not too fast]
2 Andante, quasi allegretto
3 Scherzo: Bewegt [Lively] –Trio: Nicht zu schnell. Keinesfalls schleppend
[Not too fast. But not dragging]
4 Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell [Lively, but not too fast]
Fourth Symphony was provided with a naively
descriptive programme (dawn over a medieval
town, processions of knights, hunting scenes,
etc.). Yet Bruckner probably had little to do
with this; if he did consent, it could be because
his arm was twisted by over-zealous friends,
anxious to help the still largely unconverted
musical public get to grips with such a long,
complex and highly original new work.
Still, the Fourth Symphony does have an
extraordinary power to evoke moods or mental
pictures; and for many these are unmistakably
German (or Austro-German) Romantic pictures.
The opening – solo horn calls sounding
5
Bruckner gave titles to two of his symphonies:
No 3 is the Wagner Symphony, a homage
to his idol Richard Wagner, while No 4 is the
Romantic. But for some time the fashion, in
both concert programmes and recordings, was
to ignore both. Some clearly found it hard to
see why Bruckner should have singled out his
Fourth Symphony in particular as ‘Romantic’.
All Bruckner’s symphonies are clearly products
of the Romantic era, however much they may
owe to the counterpoint of Palestrina and Bach,
or to the architecture of the medieval and
Baroque cathedrals in which Bruckner (a superb
organist and a devout Roman Catholic) worked
and found refuge. When it first appeared, the
through quietly shimmering string tremolandos
– is clearly spacious woodland music, in the
tradition of Schubert or Weber’s national
classic Der Freischütz. It is also one of the most
magical beginnings to a symphony in the entire
repertoire. As the high woodwind take up this
theme, in counterpoint with the horn, one may
hear echoes of the famous Bach/Gounod Ave
Maria, composed 15 years before Bruckner
began work on the Fourth Symphony in 1874.
What this beginning also reveals is Bruckner’s
new-found confidence as a symphonist. From
the initial horn theme, through the long following
crescendo to the arrival of the second main
theme, fortissimo, on heavy brass, the music
flows forward like a great river. At no point does
this movement let us down. Bruckner may allow
himself pauses for breath or reflection, like a
walker stopping to admire a fine view, but soon
the momentum is re-established. The horn theme
returns twice in its original form: at the start of
the recapitulation (embellished by a touchingly
simple countermelody on flute) and at the very
end of the movement, where its first phrase
sounds out thrillingly on all four horns in unison.
6
The slow movement is something of a departure
from Bruckner’s normal practice. Instead of a
profound, songful adagio meditation, it has
more of the character of a funeral march, or
a melancholy nocturnal procession. Although
the tempo marking, Andante, quasi allegretto,
suggests a fairly mobile pace, the underlying
pulse is slow, the musical landscape spacious.
The composer Hugh Wood compared this
movement tellingly to a big Central European
forest – the kind of very un-English woodland
where it’s possible to see considerable distances
between the trunks of high-arching trees. This
feeling of immense shadowy space is enhanced
by the second theme: violas singing long, calm
phrases through quiet pizzicato string-chords.
There are moments of almost mesmerising
stillness, in which solo woodwinds and horns
call to each other like solitary birds, widely
separated: the embodiment in music of the
marvellous German word Waldeinsamkeit – the
unique sense of aloneness one feels in a forest.
Eventually this movement builds to a magnificent
climax – one of the few passages in the Fourth
Symphony which directly recalls Bruckner’s idol
Wagner. But the splendour soon fades, and we
are left with the march rhythm on timpani and
lamenting phrases on horn, viola and clarinet.
In the Scherzo the long-forgotten programme
for once makes a kind of sense: the horn and
trumpet fanfares do suggest ‘hunting’ scenes.
But there is something cosmic about this music,
as though the horses were careering across the
skies rather than pounding the earth. In contrast,
the central Trio section is a delicious example
of the cosy, rustic gemütlich Bruckner: a lazily
contented Ländler (the country cousin of the
Viennese waltz) introduced by oboe and clarinet.
In his younger days Bruckner had augmented
his meagre teacher’s salary by playing in village
bands and the experience left a deep imprint on
his symphonic style – especially on his scherzos.
After the Trio, the Scherzo is heard again. Then
begins the longest and most exploratory of the
four movements, the Finale. Bruckner claimed
that the main theme had come to him in a dream,
played by a friend, the conductor Ignaz Dorn,
who had died not long before Bruckner started
work on this symphony. ‘Dorn appeared to me
… and said, “The first three movements of the
Romantic [Fourth] Symphony are ready, and
we’ll soon find the theme for the fourth. Go to
the piano and play it for me.” I was so excited I
woke up, leapt out of bed and wrote the theme
down, just as I’d heard it from him.’ If by this
Bruckner means the elemental unison theme for
full orchestra that enters at the height of the first
crescendo, it’s not surprising he was so excited.
Interestingly this theme is one of the few things
that remained essentially unchanged in the two
major revisions Bruckner made of this movement.
Arriving at the final form of the Finale caused
Bruckner a lot of trouble, and there is evidence
that he wasn’t satisfied even after he’d completed
the second revision (1880). Commentators have
tended to agree with him: although there are
splendid ideas, there are also passages in
which the composer momentarily seems to lose
his way. But then he is attempting something
unprecedented here: not a fast Classical
finale, but a huge summing-up that contrasts
dramatic assertion with moments of uncertainty
or with meditative calm. As the composer and
writer Robert Simpson observed, this is music
that not only demands patience, it actually
expresses it. Patience is ultimately rewarded.
The final long crescendo, beginning in minorkey darkness with the first theme sounding
quietly through shimmering strings, is one of
Bruckner’s most thrilling symphonic summations,
ending in a blaze of major-key glory.
Programme notes © Stephen Johnson
Fri 4 Apr
Friday 4 April
Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Cello Concerto No 1 in C major, Hob VIIb/1
(1761–5)
1 Moderato . 2 Adagio . 3 Allegro molto
Truls Mørk cello
The First Cello Concerto is a relatively early
work, probably dating from around the time
Haydn composed his highly characterful early
set of symphonies, Nos 6–8: Le matin, Le midi
and Le soir. It was written for his friend Joseph
Franz Weigl, principal cellist in the orchestra of
Haydn’s employer Prince Nikolaus Esterházy,
not long after Haydn had taken up the post of
vice-Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court. Haydn
wasn’t a cellist, but the solo writing in the First
Concerto suggests that he must have spent a lot
of valuable time looking over Weigl’s shoulder.
From the very first solo entry, with its sonorous
chordal writing (the first chord sweeps across all
four of the cello’s strings) and eloquent use of the
bright high A string (the register in which the cello
is best able to hold its own against an orchestra)
the writing is challenging, but never unidiomatic.
Haydn’s growing confidence as a composer
can be sensed throughout this concerto. The first
movement’s main theme has tremendous panache
and it is developed with flair and vivacity. In the
gentler, more lyrical slow movement Haydn
handles the relationship between soloist and
orchestra with subtlety. The orchestra presents the
main theme, then begins to repeat it as the cello
enters on a single sustained note – but only two
bars later the cello gently takes the melody from
the orchestra and elaborates upon it elegantly.
Haydn repeats this procedure several times in
this movement, but always with slightly varied
effect. Something similar happens at the first solo
entry in the finale, and at several later key points
(at one of which the cello enters on a thrilling
high G). But this rapid, brilliant, feline movement
teases the ear in different ways. One idea – all
rapid upward running scales concluding on
an expectant trill – seems to promise a typical
Classical-era rounding-off. But Haydn keeps
us waiting for the moment of final resolution.
When it finally comes, the feeling of release is as
exhilarating as in any of his great symphonies.
interval: 20 minutes
7
For a century and a half after Haydn’s death a
huge question mark hovered over his two cello
concertos. The second, the amiably tuneful
D major Concerto, was known and played, but
its authenticity was widely doubted. It was only
when Haydn’s signature was discovered on
the manuscript in 1951 that the issue was finally
laid to rest. As for the First Cello Concerto, it
was known that Haydn had written this work
some time between 1761 and 1765, but the score
had vanished, and was presumed irretrievably
lost. Then, in 1961, Oldřich Pulkert, archivist
of the Prague National Museum, found the
manuscript in a formerly private collection and
certified it as genuine Haydn. When the Czech
cellist Miloš Sádlo gave the First Concerto its
20th-century premiere the following year, with
Charles Mackerras conducting, it was instantly
welcomed by cellists all over the world as a major
rediscovery. It was timely too. The cello’s reputation
as a concert solo instrument was on the rise. Long
underrated concertos such as those of Elgar and
Schumann were at last being reappraised, and
less than two years earlier Shostakovich’s First
Cello Concerto had had its hugely successful
premiere. What better time for Haydn’s concerto
to make a triumphant return to the world stage?
Anton Bruckner (1824–96)
Symphony No 7 in E major (1881–3)
1 Allegro moderato
2 Adagio: Sehr feierlich und sehr langsam [Very solemn and slow]
3 Scherzo: Sehr schnell [Very fast] – Trio: Etwas langsamer [Somewhat slower]
4 Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht schnell [Lively, but not fast]
8
For Bruckner, the years leading up to the
composition of the Seventh Symphony were
a severe test of his belief in his vocation as a
composer, and of his lifelong religious faith.
In 1868, at the age of 44, Bruckner had left
his Upper Austrian homeland for Vienna,
full of hope. But, despite the encouragement
of the conductor Johann Herbeck (who had
recently given the world premiere of Schubert’s
‘Unfinished’ Symphony) and his growing
reputation as an organist, Bruckner the composer
experienced rejection and mockery from the
Viennese musical establishment. Herbeck did
eventually manage to persuade a reluctant
Vienna Philharmonic to perform the Third
Symphony in 1877, but it was a catastrophe.
Herbeck died suddenly, leaving Bruckner to step
in and conduct the performance himself, even
though he had little previous experience with
orchestras. The hall gradually emptied, then the
orchestra walked off and left Bruckner alone
on the platform. As if that weren’t bad enough,
he was then subjected to a hideous mauling in
the press. Bruckner is often said to have lacked
confidence; the very fact that he kept going at
all – and, moreover, kept writing symphonies
– suggests that at a deeper level he must have
had great reserves of strength. For some listeners
that inner strength is evident in his music – the
Seventh Symphony very much included.
Encouragement did eventually come. In 1881,
the year Bruckner began the Seventh Symphony,
the belated premiere of the Fourth under Hans
Richter drew praise from some quarters of the
Viennese press. Bruckner was overjoyed. It was
at a rehearsal for that performance that – with
typically gauche enthusiasm – he pressed a coin
into Richter’s hand and told him to ‘drink my
health in a glass of beer’. Richter was so touched
that he had the coin attached to his watch chain in
remembrance. Soon afterwards, Bruckner began
work on one of his most grandly affirmative
works, the Te Deum, which he dedicated proudly
‘to God, for having brought me through so much
anguish in Vienna’. Then a few months later,
on 23 September, Bruckner set down his first
ideas for the Seventh Symphony. Apparently the
symphony’s wonderful opening melody came to
Bruckner in a dream: the conductor Ignaz Dorn,
a friend from Bruckner’s younger days, appeared
to him and played the theme on a viola, with
It is easy to believe that the long arching first
theme (cellos and violas, with horn at first)
could have come straight from the unconscious
mind – a gift of nature or, as Bruckner would
have believed, from God. The vision intensifies
as the theme is repeated, crescendo, then it
fades. A more melancholy second theme (oboe
and clarinet) aspires to recover lost glory, and
eventually it sounds as though it might succeed,
in a long crescendo over a repeated bass note,
topped with brass fanfares. But this is suddenly
cut off – a typical Brucknerian tantalising effect
– and a more animated third theme follows,
now with an earthy dance character (strings
in unison, with woodwind and brass support).
After this, Bruckner allows us memories of his
original vision; but it is only at the end of the
movement, as the timpani enter for the first time,
pianissimo, that the home key is fully regained,
and the symphony’s opening motif rises steadily
through the orchestra, crescendoing, above a
long-held major triad. Bruckner may have had
the elemental one-chord crescendo that opens
Wagner’s Das Rheingold at the back of his
mind, but the impact here is quite different – in
any case this is an ending, not a beginning.
It is said that Bruckner composed the Adagio
in the knowledge that Wagner hadn’t long to
live. There is an unmistakable note of mourning
in the noble first theme, in which Bruckner
uses – for the first time – a quartet of so-called
‘Wagner tubas’ (more like horns than the familiar
bass tuba). Bruckner idolised Wagner – to an
Fri 4 Apr
extent that seems to have embarrassed even
Wagner himself – yet his music rarely sounds
like Wagner. Just before the lovely second
theme (strings, 3/4), horn and tubas introduce
a reference to the opening of Tristan und Isolde,
but unless it’s pointed out, you’d hardly notice
it: the effect is pure Bruckner. After both main
themes have returned, the first is brought back
again, with swirling violin figures, to initiate the
symphony’s longest and mightiest crescendo. In
some performances the climax is crowned by
a cymbal clash, with triangle and timpani. (This
wasn’t Bruckner’s idea, but a suggestion from
two friends.) Either way, it’s a thrilling moment:
a revelation of pure light, after which tubas,
joined by horns, sing a magnificent minor-key
elegy leading, at last, to major-key peace.
Like many of Bruckner’s earlier scherzos, the
third movement of the Seventh Symphony
reveals its rustic roots at almost every turn; but
there is an elemental drive in its obsessively
repeated main rhythm. The central Trio section
is much gentler, more song-like – a pastoral
interlude in the middle of the driven dancefest.
The Scherzo returns, then comes the Finale.
Unusually for Bruckner this is the lightest (and
in most performances, the shortest) of the four
movements. Again there are three themes:
a dancing, dotted theme (violins); a not-toosolemn chorale on violins and violas above a
‘walking’ pizzicato bass; and a jagged version
of the first theme for full orchestra. Excitement
builds towards the coda; then Bruckner at last
reveals that the Finale’s dancing first theme
is simply the opening motif of the symphony
in disguise. Thus the work closes with a
splendid confirmation of the first movement’s
opening vision. A circle has been closed.
Programme notes © Stephen Johnson
9
the words, ‘This will bring you success’. As it
turned out, the first performance of the Seventh
Symphony – significantly, not in conservative
Vienna, but in much more progressive Leipzig –
was one of the greatest triumphs of Bruckner’s
life. One critic wrote, ‘How is it possible that he
could have remained so long unknown to us?’
Saturday 5 April
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Piano Concerto No 1 in C major, Op 15
(1795, rev 1800)
1 Allegro con brio . 2 Largo . 3 Rondo: Allegro scherzando
Lars Vogt piano
The Piano Concerto we know as Beethoven’s
First is actually his third. When he was 13 he
composed a Concerto in E flat, but only the
piano part survives – it’s interesting, but no
precocious masterpiece. He probably began
the Concerto in B flat, later published as No 2,
some time in his 18th year, but this was revised
and rewritten extensively during the following
12 years, and even then Beethoven conceded
in a letter to his publisher that it was ‘not one
of my best’. It is an engaging work, but only in
the rapid dancing finale does he at last seem
to abandon caution and allow his familiar
tigerish playfulness something like free rein.
10
It isn’t hard to see why he decided to publish the
C major Concerto as his official ‘No 1’. There
is a confidence in the basic thematic material,
and in its development, that marks an advance
on the First Symphony, also completed in 1800.
There is also a new kind of dramatic tension
in the relationship between the soloist and the
orchestra. In this Beethoven had clearly learnt a
great deal from the concertos of Mozart. Even so,
the element of strife – the feeling that piano and
orchestra are at times struggling with each other
for supremacy – is authentically Beethovenian.
and drums. Beethoven even allows this orchestral
introduction to stray into mysterious new tonal
regions – something Mozart never did. When the
piano enters for the first time, it doesn’t try to assert
itself against the orchestra (as it does so thrillingly
in the Third Piano Concerto), but seems at first to
opt for soothing lyricism. Only when the orchestra
fights back does the soloist respond with brilliant
cascading fortissimo figures. The drama of this
long first movement is here presented in essence:
sometimes the piano pits its strength against the
might of the orchestra, sometimes it tries subtler
methods: a sudden commanding hush, seductive
melody or a surprising twist to the harmony.
The slow movement is far gentler in tone (the
winds reduced to clarinets, bassoons and horns),
and the piano mostly leads, with displays of
almost vocal lyricism for the piano well suited to
the ‘singing’ quality in Beethoven’s playing noted
by several of his contemporaries – Beethoven
gave the premieres of all his numbered piano
concertos except for the Fifth. But this is no
straightforward aria for the piano: there are
still moments of telling dialogue, even outright
contention, between piano and orchestra. And the
same is true, in simpler, more knockabout terms,
of the sprightly Rondo finale. There is one truly
The first moment’s opening theme, introduced by
sublime moment just before the end, however. The
the orchestra, is arresting and highly memorable – opening phrase of the first theme seems to unwind
excellent material for theatrical development. But
into a quiet piano trill, and then, via a delicious
where most Classical concertos have the orchestra right-hand run, comes to a peaceful close. Oboes
merely present the main themes, Beethoven
and horns seem to be moved: they echo the
brings in an element of drama from the start. The piano slowly and reverently for just a moment –
first statement of the theme is on strings alone,
then a brief but thunderous orchestral fortissimo
pianissimo, and it is only when we have heard
sweeps the concerto to a suitably brilliant close.
it in its entirety – almost – that it is allowed to
explode on full orchestra, enhanced by trumpets
interval: 20 minutes
Symphony No 9 in D minor (1887–94)
Sat 5 Apr
Anton Bruckner (1824–96)
1 Feierlich [Solemn], misterioso
2 Scherzo: Bewegt, lebhaft [With movement, lively] – Trio: Schnell [Fast] –
Scherzo
3 Adagio: Langsam, feierlich [Slow, solemn]
Bruckner was having doubts about God – or
at least about whether God was on his side,
creatively speaking. Bruckner’s doctor, Richard
Heller, felt sure that the composer ‘had drawn up
a contract with his “dear God”. If He willed that
the symphony, which was indeed to be a hymn
of praise to God, should be finished, He should
give Bruckner the time he needed for his task; if
he died too soon and his musical offering was
left incomplete, God had only himself to blame.’
It was to be a very close-run thing. When
Bruckner died on 11 October 1896, he was
almost certainly working on the last pages of
the sketch-score – these would have been the
very pages to which souvenir-hunters helped
themselves after Bruckner’s death. Where they
ended up is anyone’s guess, though a kind
of harmonic draft for the ending has turned
up, suggesting that the symphony was to end
triumphantly in D major – highly suitable for a
‘hymn of praise’. In one of the most frustrating
reminiscences in musical history Dr Heller tells
how Bruckner ‘went over to the piano and played
me parts of the symphony with shaking hands,
but with undiminished accuracy and strength. I
have often regretted the fact that I cannot play
or write down music after one hearing,’ he adds,
‘because then I might be able to give some idea
of the end of the Ninth Symphony.’ Bruckner’s
biographer Max Auer also claimed that he saw
a page of the score – either at or near the end of
the finale – in which all the leading themes were
‘piled on top of each other, as in the finale of the
Eighth Symphony’. A few precious extra leaves
of sketch-score have turned up in recent years,
but alas this crucial page was not among them.
Bruckner had good reason to take special
pains over the Ninth Symphony. It is clear from
his remarks at the time that the Ninth was to
be nothing less than a summing-up of his life’s
achievement, incorporating quotations from
some of his most successful works – the Seventh
and Eighth Symphonies, the Mass in D minor
and the Te Deum. Then there was the element of
homage to one of his musical idols. In one of his
lectures at the Vienna University, Bruckner told the
class: ‘I’ll write my last symphony in D minor, just
like Beethoven’s Ninth. Beethoven won’t object.’
Beethoven might not have complained, but others
might (and did) make unflattering comparisons.
Most of all, the symphony was to bear the
dedication ‘dem lieben Gott’ (‘to dear God’),
thus indicating that for Bruckner the Ninth was a
special expression of his life-long Roman Catholic
faith. No wonder then that he was so desperate to Bruckner clearly did not want his Ninth Symphony
get it right – or so ready to give in to distractions.
to be performed as a three-movement torso.
At the same time, there are suggestions that
He repeatedly insisted that if he failed to finish
11
Unfinished masterpieces have always had
a special fascination. For some there is a
special poignancy in the ‘what if?’ question.
And with Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony that
question has become more interesting, and the
controversy more heated, in recent times. The
basic circumstantial facts are clear enough.
Bruckner started work on his Ninth Symphony
in August 1887; he was still working on it on
the day he died, nine years later. As his anxiety
about the Ninth Symphony increased, so did
the bizarre obsessive behaviour that had so
worried his friends in the past. There were also
too many professional distractions: extensive
revisions of four symphonies and two of his
Masses; plus the composition of two big choral
works: Psalm 150 and the cantata Helgoland –
interesting pieces, though it has to be said that
neither represents Bruckner at his very best.
the finale, then the Te Deum should be used in
its place. This has been tried, but musically it
makes little sense. The whole idea smacks of a
desperate remedy – somehow the symphony
must end with that promised ‘hymn of praise’.
And yet the fact remains that the three movements
Bruckner did complete in full orchestral score
do form a satisfying musical experience in their
own right. As such the Ninth Symphony has
remained in the repertoire as one of the great
‘Unfinished’ symphonies. Indeed, the structure
formed by these three magnificent movements
– two long, slow-paced movements framing a
compact, faster Scherzo with central Trio – is
remarkably well balanced. Moreover the climax
of the Adagio is quite powerful enough to form
the highpoint of an hour-long symphony, though
this terrifying dissonant fortississimo is surely
a long way from the kind of vision Bruckner
expressly intended as the culmination of his last
symphony. And yet the quietly resigned coda,
with its fleeting tender references to earlier
works, can be seen as a kind of answer to the
dark probing of the first movement and the
nightmare visions of the Scherzo. In fact it makes
such a moving ending that some musicians and
commentators have expressed relief that fate
– or providence – intervened and prevented
Bruckner from completing his planned finale.
12
While it is true that the Ninth Symphony still
has that grand, spacious feeling one so often
finds in Bruckner – the quality that has led to
his symphonies being described as ‘cathedrals
in sound’ – the first movement’s structure
may initially seem baffling. This is a very
different matter from the tightly concentrated,
thematically economical first movement of
the Eighth Symphony. Here there are so many
themes, so many sudden changes in tempo and
direction: the experience can be like walking
expectantly up the aisle of a great cathedral
only to find oneself suddenly gazing into the
crypt. The reassuring formal signposts of what
textbooks call ‘sonata form’ are there – three big
groups of themes, followed by a development
and condensed recapitulation – but for the
newcomer they are by no means easy to make
out. At times the very tonal foundations of this
cathedral seem to shake under our feet, but
Bruckner draws everything together in the
movement’s awe-inspiring final crescendo,
culminating in a piercing high A for trumpet.
Formally the Scherzo is clarity itself. This is a
big A–B–A structure, with a weirdly animated
central Trio section. This Scherzo’s pounding
repetitive rhythms and harsh dissonances have
invited comparison with Bartók, Prokofiev or
Shostakovich. But the Trio section inhabits a
very different world. For a start – and very
unusually for Bruckner – it is faster than the
Scherzo, and instead of the rustic or idyllic
pastoral imagery Bruckner usually evokes in his
trios, this music is feverish, disturbingly sensual,
and just as forward-looking as the Scherzo.
The Adagio begins with more restless searching,
initiated by an anguished unaccompanied
violin motif, leaping upward just over an octave
then plunging back downward – Bruckner’s
young friend Gustav Mahler was clearly hugely
impressed by this idea. After the first climax
comes music of true Brucknerian nobility in a
hymn-like elegy for the four so-called ‘Wagner
tubas’. Even more than in the first movement,
the listener may sense a kind of spiritual journey
here. There are moments of radiance amid the
tormented searching crescendos and the long
wintry melodies. But the final climax contains the
most agonising music in the whole symphony, with
trombones, tuba and the other bass instruments
bellowing out the Adagio’s opening ‘missed
octave’ violin theme, now stretched even wider.
The culminating discord is left hanging in the air,
unresolved. Yet somehow the coda manages to
bring a sense of peace and long-sought tonal
stability, as clarinets and oboes, tubas then horns
recall the ‘Miserere’ from the Mass in D minor, the
slow movement of the Eighth Symphony and the
opening theme of the Seventh. This may be a long
way from the ‘hymn of praise to God’ with which
Bruckner intended to close his last symphony, but
it is hard to imagine a more moving farewell.
Programme notes © Stephen Johnson
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Jansons conductor
‘It’s my task to find out the orchestra’s special
qualities and preserve them. Then, if through
a natural process my own individuality
adds something – and theirs to me – that
will be fine.’ And fine it most certainly is, a
fact that became readily apparent after his
appointment as chief conductor of the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam in 2004.
Music is in Mariss Jansons’ blood. His father was
a conductor and his mother an opera singer.
When he was just a boy, the family moved to
St Petersburg where he later studied violin and
conducting. He continued his studies with Hans
Swarowsky in Vienna and Herbert von Karajan
in Salzburg. In 1973, he was appointed assistant
to Yevgeny Mravinsky with the St Petersburg
orchestra, which Jansons’ father Arvids had
also conducted. From 1979 to 2000, he served
Mariss Jansons has made numerous
appearances throughout the world as a guest
conductor of the Berlin, London and Vienna
Philharmonic orchestras, as well as the leading
orchestras in the United States. He was appointed
music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra in 1997 (a post he held until 2004)
and music director of the Bavarian Radio
Symphony Orchestra in 2003. Making his first
guest appearance with the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra in 1988, he returned nearly every year
thereafter and was appointed its chief conductor
in 2004. He is the sixth conductor to hold the
post since the orchestra was founded in 1888.
Mariss Jansons places considerable significance
on his work with young musicians. He has
conducted the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra
on its Europe-wide tour and worked with the
Attersee Institute Orchestra, with which he
appeared at the Salzburg Festival. In Munich
he gives regular concerts with various Bavarian
youth orchestras and the Academy of the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Mariss Jansons has received various distinctions
for his achievements, including the Austrian
Decoration of Honour for Science and Art,
and Latvia’s highest honour, the Three-Star
Order. Last year he was awarded the Ernst
von Siemens Music Prize and received both
the Federal Cross of Merit of Germany
and the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
13
Marco Borggreve
as music director of the Oslo Philharmonic
Orchestra, bringing it great international acclaim.
About the performers
About the
performers
Stéphane de Bourgies/Virgin Classics
return to the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony
orchestras.
Truls Mørk continues to give regular recitals at
major venues and festivals throughout the world.
Truls Mørk
Truls Mørk cello
Truls Mørk’s compelling performances have
established him as one of the pre-eminent cellists
of our time.
He has appeared with orchestras including the
Orchestre de Paris, Staatskapelle Dresden, New
York and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras
and Boston, Chicago and Cleveland Symphony
orchestras, among others. Conductors with whom
he has worked include Myung-Whun Chung,
Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Mariss
Jansons, Sir Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
14
Forthcoming highlights include concerts with
the Berlin, London and Munich Philharmonic
orchestras, Philharmonia Orchestra, Vienna
Symphony Orchestra and WDR Symphony
Orchestra, Cologne. As well as the current
tour, he also tours with the Orchestre de la
Suisse Romande, performing Brahms’s Double
Concerto with Vadim Repin. Highlights in North
America include performances with the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra and a return to the
Philadelphia Orchestra. This year also sees his
He is a committed performer of contemporary
music and in 2012 gave the UK premiere of
Rautavaara’s Towards the Horizon with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra. Other premieres
have included Pavel Haas’s Cello Concerto
with the Vienna Philharmonic under Jonathan
Nott, Krzysztof Penderecki’s Concerto for Three
Cellos with the NHK Symphony Orchestra under
Charles Dutoit and Haflidi Hallgrímsson’s Cello
Concerto, which was co-commissioned by the
Oslo Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony and
Scottish Chamber orchestras.
His recording of Towards the Horizon with the
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under John
Storgårds was nominated for a Grammy Award.
His award-winning discography also includes
C P E Bach cello concertos with Les Violons
du Roy under Bernard Labadie, Brahms’s
Double Concerto with Vadim Repin and the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo
Chailly and Haflidi Hallgrímsson’s works for
cello and orchestra. He has recorded widely
for Virgin Classics, including Schumann’s Cello
Concerto with Paavo Järvi and the Orchestre
Philharmonique de Radio France and the Cello
Suites of Bach and Britten.
Initially taught by his father, Truls Mørk continued
his studies with Frans Helmerson, Heinrich Schiff
and Natalia Schakowskaya. His numerous
awards include the Norwegian Critics’ Prize in
2011 and the 2010 Sibelius Prize. Truls Mørk plays
the 1723 Domenico Montagnana ‘Esquire’.
Lars Vogt piano
Lars Vogt has rapidly established himself as one
of the leading pianists of his generation. Born
in the German town of Düren in 1970, he first
came to public attention when he won second
prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano
Competition and has enjoyed a varied career
for over 20 years. His versatility as an artist
ranges from Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and
Brahms via Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov
to works such as the Lutosl/awski concerto.
A keen chamber musician, Lars Vogt is now
increasingly working with orchestras both as
conductor and directing from the keyboard.
Orchestral highlights this season include the
current tour with the Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, a tour of
China and concerts in Berlin and Vienna with
the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
under Tugan Sokhiev, and an appearance
with the Dresden Staatskapelle under
Christian Thielemann in Paris’s Théâtre des
Champs-Élysées. In Switzerland he features
as artist-in-residence with the Zurich Chamber
Orchestra. Other concerto appearances include
concerts with the NDR Hamburg, Gürzenich
Orchestra, Cologne, Munich Chamber
Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de
During 2013/14 he also continues to develop
his new role as conductor and director from the
keyboard, working with the Cologne and Zurich
Chamber orchestras, Arte del Mondo and the
Royal Northern Sinfonia. He also undertakes
several chamber projects, including recitals with
Ian Bostridge at the Edinburgh Festival and with
actor Klaus Maria Brandauer in Vienna, as well
as six concerts in North America with Christian
Tetzlaff and trios with Christian and Tanja
Tetzlaff in Paris, Berlin, Salzburg and Zurich.
Lars Vogt enjoys a high profile as a chamber
musician and recent appearances have included
London, Paris, Munich, Vienna, Madrid, Rome
and New York. In June 1998 he founded his
own festival in Heimbach, Germany. Known
as ‘Spannungen’, its success has been marked
by the release of 10 live recordings on EMI.
He enjoys regular partnerships with Christian
Tetzlaff and Thomas Quasthoff and occasional
collaborations with Klaus Maria Brandauer
and comedian Konrad Beikircher. In 2005
he founded ‘Rhapsody in School’, which has
become a high-profile education project across
Germany. He was recently appointed Professor
of Piano at the Hanover Conservatory of Music.
His award-winning discography includes
Hindemith’s Kammermusik No 2 with the Berlin
Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, concertos
by Schumann, Grieg and Beethoven with the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
under Sir Simon Rattle, solo works by Liszt,
Schubert and Schumann, Mozart concertos
with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra and
Mozart violin sonatas with Christian Tetzlaff.
15
Lars Vogt
About the performers
France, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre de
la Suisse Romande and City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra. Outside Europe he
returns to the NHK Symphony in Tokyo with
Sir Roger Norrington and performs with the
Boston and St Louis Symphony orchestras.
Franz Hamm
precocious: he he began playing the violin at
the age of 5, and at 10 gave his first orchestral
concert, performing Mozart’s G major Concerto,
K216 – the work he performs with the Royal
Concertgebouw. In 1976 he won the Youth Makes
Music competition in Germany. His roster of
teachers includes Valery Gradov (at Folkwang
Hochschule in Essen), Saschko Gawriloff (at
the Berlin Staatliche Hochschule), and Herman
Krebbers (private studies in Amsterdam).
Frank Peter Zimmermann
Frank Peter Zimmermann violin
Since the mid-1980s, Frank Peter Zimmermann
has been recognised as one of the leading
German violinists, not merely for his formidable
technical skills and interpretive acumen but also
for his ability to adapt his style to accommodate
the demands of a broad range of repertory,
from J S Bach to contemporary composers.
He has a particular affection for the music
of Mozart and Prokofiev, two composers of
obviously disparate styles whose works he
has performed to international acclaim.
His repertoire also includes the concertos of
Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Sibelius and
Stravinsky, as well as solo and chamber works
by Bach, Debussy and Ysaÿe. In addition, he
has delved into more adventurous fare, taking
on works by Ligeti, Matthias Pintscher and other
contemporary composers. His award-winning
discography includes numerous recordings for
labels including EMI, Sony, Philips and Teldec.
16
Frank Peter Zimmermann was born in Duisburg,
Germany, on 27 February 1965. He was notably
In 1983 Frank Peter Zimmermann launched
his career, performing in numerous critically
acclaimed concerts across Germany and parts
of Europe. He made his US debut the following
year with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,
and over the next few seasons appeared with
the Boston, Chicago and Washington National
symphony orchestras. He also gave concerts
in South America, Japan and Australia.
In the early years of his career he collaborated
in chamber works with German pianist
Alexander Lonquich; since 1998 he has regularly
performed with Italian pianist Enrico Pace.
Since the turn of the century, Frank Peter
Zimmermann has turned more conspicuously
to contemporary music, recording Ligeti’s Violin
Concerto for Teldec (2002) and premiering
Matthias Pintscher’s en sourdine the following
year, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
under Peter Eötvös. Among his recordings
is an ECM disc released in 2006 that might
be viewed as a microcosm of his style and
broad tastes: the CD, a collaborative effort
with cellist Heinrich Schiff, contains chamber
works for violin and cello by J S Bach,
Honegger, Martinuº, Pintscher and Ravel.
About the performers
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is one of the
very best orchestras in the world. But what makes
the orchestra so special? Time and time again,
critics have lauded its unique sound, which stands
out among thousands of others. The RCO’s string
section has been called ‘velvety’, the sound of
the brass ‘golden’, the timbre of the woodwinds
‘distinctly personal’, while the percussion have an
international reputation. Although the exceptional
acoustics of the Concertgebouw, designed by the
architect A L van Gendt, also play an important
role in this respect, no other orchestra sounds like
the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Main
Hall. The influence exerted on the orchestra by
its chief conductors, of whom there have been
only six in the last 125 years, is also important.
As is that of the musicians themselves. The Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra is made up of 120
players hailing from over 20 countries. Despite
its size, the orchestra actually functions more like
a chamber orchestra in terms of the sensitivity
with which its members listen to, and work in
tandem with, one another. Indeed, this requires
both a high individual calibre and a great sense
of mutual trust and confidence. The atmosphere
onstage, the orchestra’s roots in Amsterdam and
the organisational structure (the RCO Board also
includes members of the orchestra) all converge
to create the right circumstances for exceptional
music-making. The musicians are allowed to shine,
yet still share responsibility for the collective. They
also share the aim of achieving and delivering
the highest level of quality at every performance,
an ambition that goes far beyond simply playing
all the notes perfectly. That’s how magic is made
and a concert becomes a truly unforgettable
experience.
Mariss Jansons was welcomed as the orchestra’s
sixth chief conductor in September 2004. Serving
before him in that capacity were Willem Kes
(chief conductor from 1888 to 1895), Willem
Mengelberg (1895–1945), Eduard van Beinum
(1945–1959), Bernard Haitink (1963–1988) and
Riccardo Chailly (1988–2004). Willem Mengelberg
laid the foundation for the orchestra’s acclaimed
Mahler tradition. Eduard van Beinum introduced
Bruckner’s symphonies and French music. The
Christmas Matinee concerts conducted by
Bernard Haitink and televised in many European
countries earned him wide acclaim. Haitink
was appointed conductor laureate in 1999.
Conductor emeritus since 2004, Riccardo Chailly
provided a great impetus to the programming
of contemporary music and opera. Under the
direction of Mariss Jansons, the orchestra has
consistently focused on composers such as
Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss and Brahms, as
well as important 20th-century composers such as
Shostakovich and Messiaen, to whom large-scale
thematic projects have been devoted.
During Willem Mengelberg’s 50-year tenure,
leading composers conducted the orchestra on
more than one occasion. Through the years, the
orchestra has continued its collaboration with
composers such as George Benjamin, Oliver
Knussen, Tan Dun and Thomas Adès, who over
the last few years have followed in the footsteps
of such conductor/composers as Richard Strauss,
Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky,
Bruno Maderna, Witold Lutosl/awski, Otto Ketting,
Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Hans Werner Henze
and John Adams.
Programming is based on two essential elements:
tradition and renewal. The orchestra has long
been praised for its performances of the music of
17
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mahler and Bruckner. It also upholds a number of
special long-established concert traditions, such as
the Passion and Christmas Matinee performances.
In addition, the special AAA project series
(Alive, Adventurous, Alluring) features music
programmed around various changing themes.
The orchestra also collaborates with worldrenowned guest conductors and specialists. For
instance, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who is largely
responsible for the orchestra’s reputation when it
comes to 18th-century repertoire, was appointed
honorary guest conductor in October 2000.
18
The Concertgebouw Orchestra was founded in
1888. On the occasion of its 100th anniversary
in 1988, the orchestra officially received the
appellation ‘Royal’. It celebrated its 125th
anniversary last year. In addition to some 80
concerts performed at the Concertgebouw in
Amsterdam, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
gives 40 concerts at leading concert halls
throughout the world each year. The orchestra
participates in residencies in Paris (Salle Pleyel),
Brussels (BOZAR), London (Barbican Centre)
and Frankfurt (Alte Oper). The orchestra reaches
some 250,000 concert-goers a year. Thanks
to regular radio and television broadcasts in
collaboration with its media partner, the Dutch
broadcasting network AVRO, that exposure is
further increased. The orchestra has made over
1,100 LP, CD and DVD recordings to date, many
of which have won international distinctions. In
2004, the Concertgebouw Orchestra launched its
own in-house label, RCO Live. In celebration of its
125th anniversary, in 2013 the orchestra undertook
a world tour, visiting six continents in a single
year. In addition RCO Editions was launched, the
orchestra’s innovative online application for iPad
and iPhone.
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is sponsored
by ING and Unilever.
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Chief Conductor
Mariss Jansons
Conductor Emeritus
Riccardo Chailly
Conductor Laureate
Bernard Haitink
Honorary Guest
Conductor
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Violin 1
Vesko Eschkenazy
leader
Liviu Prunaru leader
Tjeerd Top
Marijn Mijnders
Ursula Schoch
Marleen Asberg
Keiko Iwata-Takahashi
Janke Tamminga
Tomoko Kurita
Henriëtte Luytjes
Borika van den Booren
Marc Daniel van Biemen
Christian van Eggelen
Mirte de Kok
Junko Naito
Benjamin Peled
Jelena Ristic
Nienke van Rijn
Valentina Svyatlovskaya
Michael Waterman
Violin 2
Henk Rubingh*
Caroline Strumphler
Susanne Jaspers
Josef Malkin
Anna de Vey Mestdagh
Paul Peter Spiering
Herre Halbertsma
Leonie Bot
Marc de Groot
Arndt Auhagen
Sanne Hunfeld
Mirelys Morgan Verdecia
Jane Piper
Eke van Spiegel
Annebeth Webb
Joanna Westers
Viola
Ken Hakii*
Michael Gieler
Saeko Oguma
Frederik Boits
Roland Krämer
Guus Jeukendrup
Jeroen Quint
Eva Smit
Eric van der Wel
Martina Forni
Yoko Kanamaru
Vilém Kijonka
Edith van Moergastel
Vincent Peters
Jeroen Woudstra
Cello
Gregor Horsch*
Johan van Iersel
Fred Edelen
Benedikt Enzler
Yke Viersen
Arthur Oomens
Daniël Esser
Sophie Adam
Chris van Balen
Jérôme Fruchart
Christian Hacker
Julia Tom
Double Bass
Dominic Seldis*
Thomas Brændstrup
Jan Wolfs
Mariëtta Feltkamp
Carol Harte
Rob Dirksen
Pierre-Emmanuel
de Maistre
Georgina Poad
Nicholas Schwartz
Olivier Thiery
Flute
Emily Beynon*
Kersten McCall*
Julie Moulin
Mariya
Semotyuk-Schlaffke
Piccolo
Vincent Cortvrint
Oboe
Lucas Macías Navarro*
Alexei Ogrintchouk*
Nicoline Alt
Jan Kouwenhoven
Bass Trombone
Raymond Munnecom
Cor anglais
Miriam Pastor Burgos
Timpani
Marinus Komst*
Nick Woud*
Clarinet
Olivier Patey*
Hein Wiedijk
E flat Clarinet
Arno Piters
Bass Clarinet
Davide Lattuada
Bassoon
Ronald Karten*
Gustavo Núñez*
Helma van den Brink
Jos de Lange
Contrabassoon
Simon Van Holen
Horn
Laurens Woudenberg*
Peter Steinmann
Sharon St Onge
Fons Verspaandonk
Jaap van der Vliet
Paulien
Weierink-Goossen
Tuba
Perry Hoogendijk*
Percussion
Mark Braafhart
Gustavo Gimeno
Herman Rieken
Harp
Petra van der Heide*
Gerda Ockers
* Principal
Touring Staff
Managing Director
Jan Raes
Director of Artistic
Administration
Joel Ethan Fried
Planning & Production
Manager
Frauke Bernds
PR & Press Manager
Anne Christin Erbe
Trumpet
Omar Tomasoni*
Hans Alting
Bert Langenkamp
Wim Van Hasselt
Tour Manager
Else Broekman
Trombone
Bart Claessens*
Jörgen van Rijen*
Nico Schippers
Personnel Manager
Harriët van Uden
Peter Tollenaar
Timpani
Mathias Müller
Thomas Greenleaves
Tenor/Bass Trombone
Martin Schippers
Assistant Tour Manager
Manon Wagenmakers
Librarian
Douwe Zuidema
Stage Manager
Jan Ummels
Stage Hand
Johan van Maaren
Ton van der Meer
Do more
at the
Barbican
As part of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Amsterdam’s Barbican International Associate
residency, Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning
Division also programmes a number of events
providing you with a chance to meet and hear
the musicians in different ways. During this
residency a number of musicians from the
orchestra will be providing masterclasses for
students at the Guildhall School of Music &
Drama, which are open for the public to watch.
Further details about these masterclasses
can be found on page 2.
To book your free place please email
[email protected]
Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning
Our Creative Learning team work across the
Barbican Centre and Guildhall School of
Music & Drama on a programme of learning
in music, dance, theatre, film and visual art.
With activities for schools, families, young
people and communities and an emerging
artists programme, audiences of all ages,
backgrounds and abilities can experience the
arts and become more involved in our work.
Image: Einstein on the Beach, 2012 © Lucie Jansch
art s
Barbican
Patrons
A rewarding
experience
for all
Join our growing family
of Barbican Patrons to
get closer to the Barbican’s
world-class arts and
learning programme.
To find out more, please contact the
Development team on 020 7382 6185
or [email protected]
Chamber
Orchestra of Europe/
Bernard Haitink
5 & 7 Jun
Join one of the best-loved conductors as he celebrates
his 85th birthday with one of the world’s greatest chamber
orchestras and star soloists. Featuring works from Mozart,
Beethoven, Ravel and Schumann.
barbican.org.uk
Where will the
music take you?
classical music 2014–15
season now on sale
barbican.org.uk/classical1415