2020 SEASON

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRAThe Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) gave its inaugural performance at Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (DFP) on 17 August 1998. With the initial search for outstanding musicians involving a worldwide audition tour, the result was a symphony orchestra made up of musicians from 25 nations, including Malaysians, a remarkable example of harmony among different cultures and nationalities.

A host of internationally-acclaimed musicians have performed with the MPO including Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Yehudi Menuhin, Joshua Bell, Harry Connick Jr., José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Chris Botti and Branford Marsalis, many of whom have praised the MPO for its fine musical qualities and vitality.

With each new season, the MPO continues to present an exciting programme of orchestral music drawn from over three centuries, as well as the crowd-pleasing concert series. Its versatility transcends genres, from classical masterpieces to film music, pop, jazz, traditional, contemporary and commissioned works.

The MPO regularly performs in major cities of Malaysia. Internationally, it has toured Singapore (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2018), Japan (2001, 2009 and 2017), Korea (2001), Australia (2004), China (2006 and 2019), Taiwan (2007) and Vietnam (2013). The MPO has also released 21 commercial CDs.

Its Education and Outreach Programme (ENCOUNTER) reaches beyond the concert platform to develop musical awareness and appreciation through dedicated activities at such diverse venues as schools, colleges, hospitals and community centres.

The MPO’s commitment to furthering musical interest in the nation has been the creation of the Malaysian Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (MPYO); its debut concert at DFP in 2007 was followed by a Peninsula Malaysia tour. The MPYO has also performed in Sabah and Sarawak, Singapore, Brisbane, Hong Kong and Jakarta.

The MPO remains steadfast in its mission to share the depth, power and beauty of great music. Its main benefactor is PETRONAS and its patron is YABhg. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Haji Mohd Ali.

Sat 4 Jan 2020 at 8.30pmSun 5 Jan 2020 at 3.00pm

Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraPietari Inkinen, conductor

PROGRAMME

CHOPIN Les Sylphides - Grande Valse Brillante, Op. 18 5 mins

SIBELIUS Valse Triste, Op. 44, No. 1 4 mins

FARQUHAR Ring Round the Moon, Short Suite 15 mins

KHACHATURIAN Masquerade Suite - Waltz 4 mins

DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance, No. 10 (Op. 72, No. 2) 4 mins

CHOPIN Les Sylphides - Waltz, Op. 64, No. 2 5 mins

STRAUSS II Tales from the Vienna Woods, Waltz, Op. 325 11 mins

STRAUSS II Perpetuum mobile, Op. 257 3 mins

STRAUSS I Chinese Galop, Op. 20 2 mins

STRAUSS II Annen Polka, Op. 117 5 mins

STRAUSS II Persian March, Op. 289 2 mins

STRAUSS II Artists' Life, Waltz, Op. 316 9 mins

STRAUSS II On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz, Op. 314 4 mins

All details are correct at time of printing. Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS reserves the right to vary without notice the artists and/or repertoire as necessary. Copyright © 2020 by Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS (Co. No. 462692-X). All rights reserved. No part of this programme may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owners.

INTERVAL 20 mins

PIETARI INKINENconductor

In September 2017, Pietari Inkinen became Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbruecken. Inkinen is also Chief Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he has held since the beginning of the 16-17 season. He has also been Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra since 2015.

The music of Wagner has been a distinct focus of Inkinen’s career and in the summer of 2020 he will conduct a new production of the Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, directed by Valentin Schwarz. In autumn 2018, Inkinen returned to Melbourne to conduct Die Meistersinger, following his acclaimed performances in 2013 and 2016 of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, directed by Neil Armfield. He will conduct his first Tristan und Isolde in 2020 for Opera Queensland. The title role will be taken by Simon O’Neill, a long-time collaborator of Inkinen, with whom he recorded a highly acclaimed Wagner disc for EMI with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2010.

Recent and future highlights as a guest conductor include engagements with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gurzenich Orchestra, NDR Hamburg, SWR Stuttgart, BBC Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Budapest Festival Orchestra. In previous seasons Inkinen has also conducted RSB Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Orchestra of Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestras as well as the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Leipzig Gewandhaus. He has conducted opera productions at the Finnish National Opera, Dresden Semperoper, La Monnaie in Brussels, Staatsoper in Berlin and the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.

From 2008 to 2016, Pietari was Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra where he now holds the title of Honorary Conductor. Inkinen also held the title of Chief Conductor of the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele from 2014 to 2019.

Also an accomplished violin soloist, Inkinen studied at the Cologne Music Academy with Zakhar Bron, winning various awards and prizes for his solo work, before taking further studies in conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

© Jan Kolman

The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off its 2020 season with a programme of joyous music with an international flair, all of it derived from dance. Nothing serious on this programme – just a baker’s dozen (13) of short pieces guaranteed to lift your spirits, make you smile, and get you dancing, or at least tapping your feet. The first half of the programme consists of works by a variety of European composers (and one from New Zealand), while the second half is devoted entirely to Johann Strauss, both father and son. So, put on your dancing shoes and let’s get started!

The opening and closing numbers in the first half of the programme come from the same ballet score. Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) did not write any ballet music but so many of his piano pieces are eminently danceable that other composers could not resist orchestrating them. The score called Les Sylphides went through many different versions, but in its original form it was presented in orchestrations of Chopin’s music by the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov. The ballet was described as a “romantic reverie”, and is generally considered to be the first ballet solely about mood (not plot). Serge Diaghilev and his Ballets russes gave the first performance in Paris on 2 June 1909 to choreography by Michel Fokine. The title is entirely appropriate: sylphs dancing in the moonlight, all clad in long white tutus.

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) wrote a number of works, long and short, based on or inspired by scenes, legends, and literature of his native Finland. Valse triste is one of these. It was composed in 1903 as one of six pieces of incidental music to accompany the play Kuolema by the composer’s brother-in-law, Arvid Järnefelt. Its success was immediate, and it has probably been second only to Finlandia in carrying Sibelius’ name around the world.

PROGRAMME NOTES

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David Farquhar (1928-2007) was a New Zealand composer whose best known work is his music for Ring Round the Moon. It was originally commissioned for a production of Christopher Fry’s work of the same title, an adaptation of Jean Anouilh’s play L’invitation au château. Years later, in 1957, Farquhar condensed nine dance numbers into a suite, and in 1975, he shortened this suite to six numbers. The music has also been choreographed by Arthur Turnbull, in which form it is called The Wintergarden.

Most of the music of Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) is thoroughly steeped in modal melodies, driving rhythms, exhilarating dance patterns and instrumental combinations reminiscent of folk orchestras of his Armenian heritage. The music for Masquerade (1941) is no exception. Masquerade is a play by Mikhail Lermontov dealing with the free-wheeling life of the Russian upper class in the early 19th century. In 1944, Khachaturian arranged a concert suite of five numbers, of which the Waltz is the first.

In 1878, Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) wrote a set of eight Slavonic Dances (Op. 46). So successful were these dances that his publisher asked for eight more, which became Op. 72. of folklore, spontaneous inspiration and masterful composition characterize the dances. All the tunes, however originally “folk-like” they may sound, are by Dvořák, while rhythms and instrumental colours are of true folk origin. The one we hear at this concert is a dumka, a folksong of Ukrainian origin, usually of melancholic, brooding character derived from the genre of epic laments or ballads.

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A deft combination

Dazzling ballrooms, glittering chandeliers, a froth of champagne bubbles, dance music, infectious gaiety, romantic strolls through the Prater, splendid buildings and dance music galore are the nostalgic images conjured up by Vienna of the 19th century. Composers like Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Karl Millöcker and Franz von Suppé are forever associated with that era of high spirits and ebullience. But one name stands in a class by itself: Johann Strauss (1825-1899). All the music in the second half of this programme is by him with the exception of the Chinese Galop (1828), written by his father, also called Johann (1804-1849). To distinguish the two, they are commonly identified as Johann I and II, or as Sr. and Jr. When the older man died at the age of just 45, their respective orchestras merged, but the Strauss phenomenon had become such a rage that there were eventually six different orchestras playing nightly in Vienna. Johann II reportedly flitted from one to the other every evening, putting in a brief appearance at each.

More than any other kind of music, it is the waltz that conjures up visions of Vienna as a kind of romantic never-never land. A Strauss “waltz” is actually a whole string of waltz tunes, usually arranged in contrasting moods, keys and tempos, and all framed by an elaborate introduction and a coda. It has been calculated that if all the melodic ideas of the approximately 170 waltzes by Johann Strauss II were added up, the total would exceed 700. Superb orchestrations, lilting rhythms, melodic inspiration, and an air that perfectly captured the whole golden age of the Emperor Franz Josef coalesced in waltzes that are far more than mere dance music; they are musical masterpieces, great tone poems that reflect a glamorous era.

Tales from the Vienna Woods (1868) is full of references to rustic idylls. Artists’ Life (Künstlerleben, 1867) evokes Vienna’s artistic community in all its blithe gaiety and carefree abandon. And of course, there is the Blue Danube (On the Beautiful Blue Danube, to give it its full title), the composition that may rightly be called Austria’s unofficial national anthem. Written originally as a choral waltz in 1867 for the Vienna Men’s Choral Association, the Blue Danube’s text (by Josef Weyl) was soon superseded by a purely instrumental version, the form in which it is familiar today.

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Depiction of 'Tales from the Vienna Woods' i.ytimg.com

In addition to waltzes, the Strausses also penned hundreds of other dance pieces. Marches in particular seemed to stimulate composers to evoke foreign countries and places. The Persian March (1865) was actually dedicated to the reigning shah of the time, though the first performance took place in Vienna’s Volksgarten. One might easily imagine a procession of attendants clad in red and gold escorting the shah into his palace.

The polkas is a lively folk dance in 2/4 metre originating in Bohemia around 1830. Many polkas take their name from programmatic or extra-musical associations. The Annen Polka (1862) was written for the name-day of St. Anna of the Roman Catholic Church.

Perpetuum mobile (1862) is neither a waltz, nor a polka, a quadrille, a march, or a member of any other established genre, but in its own way it seems to summarize the whole magical, wonderful world of Vienna, a perpetual motion of joy and frivolity. It consists of a series of variations on an eight-bar theme, and gives every section of the orchestra a chance to stand briefly in the spotlight. The short piece can be repeated ad infinitum … or until the conductor calls a halt to the proceedings!

The music of the Strauss dynasty rules the world through its seductive melodies, sumptuous orchestration, lilting waltzes and frisky polkas, which sweep millions of listeners into a magical, exhilarating orbit and send them radiantly happy into an idealized, romanticized Vienna of their dreams.

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Critically acclaimed pianist Yevgeny Sudbin performs Rachmaninoff’s adored Second Piano Concerto – sure to tug at

our collective heartstrings with its sweeping themes and lush harmonies! Maestro Kochanovsky conducts Lutosławski’s

dynamic, folk-inspired Concerto for Orchestra.

Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraStanislav Kochanovsky, conductor

Yevgeny Sudbin, piano

RM94 RM122 RM150 RM188

SAT 11 JAN 2020 8:30PMSUN 12 JAN 2020 3:00PM

Critically acclaimed pianist Yevgeny Sudbin performs Rachmaninoff’s adored Second Piano Concerto – sure to tug at

our collective heartstrings with its sweeping themes and lush harmonies! Maestro Kochanovsky conducts Lutosławski’s

dynamic, folk-inspired Concerto for Orchestra.

Malaysian Philharmonic OrchestraStanislav Kochanovsky, conductor

Yevgeny Sudbin, piano

RM94 RM122 RM150 RM188

SAT 11 JAN 2020 8:30PMSUN 12 JAN 2020 3:00PM

Note: Sectional string players are rotated within their sections. *Extra musician.

MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

CONDUCTOR LAUREATEKees Bakels

RESIDENT CONDUCTORGerard Salonga

FIRST VIOLINCo-ConcertmasterPeter DanišPrincipalMing GohCo-PrincipalZhenzhen Liang

Maho DanišMartijn NoomenSherwin ThiaRuna BaagöeMiroslav DanišEvgeny KaplanMarcel AndriesiiTan Ka MingPetia Davies*Graeme Norris*Marco Roosink

SECOND VIOLINSection PrincipalTimothy PetersAssistant PrincipalLuisa Theis

Stefan KocsisAnastasia KiselevaCatalina AlvarezIonuț MazareanuChia-Nan HungYanbo ZhaoLing YunzhiRobert Kopelman*Kim Ji Won*Matthew Hassall*Kylie Liang

VIOLASection Principal*Caleb WrightCo-PrincipalGábor Mokány

Ong Lin KernSun YuanFan RanThian Ai Wen*Tseng I-Chia*Danish Mubin*Hyunjae Bae

CELLOCo-PrincipalCsaba KörösAssistant PrincipalSteven RetallickSub-PrincipalMátyás Major

Gerald DavisLaurențiu GhermanJulie DessureaultElizabeth Tan SuyinSejla Simon

DOUBLE BASSSection PrincipalWolfgang Steike

John KennedyJun-Hee ChaeNaohisa FurusawaRaffael BietenhaderAndreas Dehner

FLUTESection Principal*Ignacio de Nicolas GayaCo-PrincipalYukako YamamotoSub-PrincipalRachel Jenkyns

PICCOLOPrincipalSonia Croucher

OBOESection PrincipalSimon EmesCo-Principals*Kelsey Maiorano*Michael Austin

COR ANGLAISPrincipalNiels Dittmann

CLARINETSection PrincipalGonzalo EstebanCo-PrincipalDavid Dias da SilvaSub-PrincipalMatthew Larsen

BASS CLARINETPrincipalChris Bosco

BASSOONSection PrincipalAlexandar LenkovSub-PrincipalDenis Plangger

CONTRABASSOONPrincipalVladimir Stoyanov

HORNSection PrincipalsGrzegorz Curyla*Saul LewisCo-PrincipalJames SchumacherSub-PrincipalsLaurence Davies*Zsolt PeterAssistant PrincipalSim Chee Ghee

TRUMPETSection PrincipalSergio PachecoCo-PrincipalsWilliam Theis*Yoram LevySub-PrincipalJeffrey MissalAssistant PrincipalMatthew Dempsey

TROMBONESection PrincipalMarques YoungCo-PrincipalFernando BorjaSub-Principal*Alejandro diaz Pineda

BASS TROMBONEPrincipal*Prapat Prateepphleepon

TUBASection Principal*Daniel Honaker

TIMPANISection PrincipalMatthew Thomas

PERCUSSIONSection PrincipalMatthew PrendergastSub-PrincipalsJoshua VonderheideTan Su Yin*Chan Tsz Ho

HARPPrincipalTan Keng Hong

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DEWAN FILHARMONIK PETRONAS – 462692-XMALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA – 463127-H

Box Office:Ground Floor, Tower 2,

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50088 Kuala Lumpur

Email: boxoffice@dfp.com.my

Telephone: 603 - 2331 7007

Online Tickets & Info: mpo.com.my

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