listings - london symphony orchestra season listings 20-21.pdf · clara schumann romances op 21...

LISTINGS

MAIN SEASON CONCERTS Performances in the Barbican Hall featuring the full Orchestra, joined by our family of conductors, guest artists and, in selected concerts throughout the season, the London Symphony Chorus. LSO main season concerts usually start at 7pm or 7.30pm, with an interval.

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS45-minute performances by LSO and Guildhall School musicians at LSO St Luke’s, with introductions from presenter Rachel Leach.

SINGING DAYSGet to grips with classic choral works at these sessions, led by LSO Choral Director Simon Halsey.

PANUFNIK COMPOSERS WORKSHOPHear new orchestral works in progress, as composers on the Panufnik Composers Scheme workshop their music with the LSO.

DISCOVERY DAYSImmerse yourself in music, history and ideas at these study days, which feature the chance to sit in on a morning LSO rehearsal at the Barbican, before an afternoon session with chamber music performances and talks.

DISCOVERY SHOWCASESDiscover new musical voices in showcases by composers taking part in the LSO’s Jerwood Composer+ and Soundhub schemes, and watch as promising young musicians from east London perform alongside their LSO mentors.

FAMILY CONCERTSEnjoy the spectacle of a live symphony orchestra with your family in these themed programmes, and get into the spirit with free activities and workshops in the Barbican foyers beforehand. Suitable for 7 to 12-year-olds and their families.

MORE …For information about live-streamed concerts, open rehearsals, relaxed performances at LSO St Luke’s, and opportunities to take part in community music-making groups, visit lso.co.uk

A Guide to our Concerts & Events

HALF SIX FIX Concerts with the full Orchestra in the Barbican Hall lasting just over an hour to kick-start your evening. Hear from the conductor as they introduce the music from the stage, delve deeper through digital programme notes, get a close-up view of the musicians on our big screens, bring your drinks into the concert hall, and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.

BBC RADIO 3 CONCERTS Friday recitals at our venue LSO St Luke’s, lasting just over an hour. The concerts are curated by BBC Radio 3 and recorded for future broadcast, and link to the repertoire and artists featured in the Orchestra’s main season concerts.

Olivier Stankiewicz (Principal Oboe) Sarah Quinn (Second Violin)

16 Our Concerts lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 17

Multibuy Concert PackagesSave up to 40% on your season by booking three or more concerts at the same time. There are two different types of multibuy package to choose from – Flexible and Explorer. Flexible packages allow you to make your choice from the full season, while Explorer packages give you additional discounts and benefits when you book three or more concerts from a series of curated collections.

FLEXIBLE EXPLORER

Explorer Collections Unlock savings and benefits with just three or more concerts.

WEEKEND EXPLORER COLLECTION

Sunday 13 September Tippett Piano Concerto Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle & Peter Donohoe

Sunday 1 November Szymanowski Violin Concerto No 1 Duparc Songs with Sir Antonio Pappano, Christian Tetzlaff & Joyce DiDonato

Sunday 8 November Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 Shostakovich Symphony No 13 with Gianandrea Noseda & Simon Trpčeski

Sunday 6 December Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 Hindemith Mathis der Maler – Symphony with Sir Simon Rattle & Krystian Zimerman

Sunday 31 January Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 5 Ravel Boléro with Elim Chan & Javier Perianes

Sunday 7 March Sibelius The Tempest Adès Totentanz with Thomas Adès

Sunday 13 June Ravel Piano Concerto in G major Berlioz Lélio with François-Xavier Roth & Alice Sara Ott

WEEKDAY EXPLORER COLLECTION

Tuesday 15 & Thursday 17 September Berg Wozzeck with Sir Simon Rattle

Wednesday 21 October Elgar Violin Concerto Brahms Symphony No 4 with Robin Ticciati & Christian Tetzlaff

Thursday 29 October Varèse Arcana Berlioz Symphonie fantastique with François-Xavier Roth

Thursday 5 November Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 Zemlinsky Sinfonietta with Susanna Mälkki & Christian Tetzlaff

Thursday 21 January Barber, Weill, Gershwin & Copland with John Wilson & James Ehnes

Thursday 11 February Janáček Taras Bulba Debussy La mer with Duncan Ward

Thursday 11 March Francisco Coll Violin Concerto Ravel La valse with François-Xavier Roth & Patricia Kopatchinskaja

HALF SIX FIX EXPLORER COLLECTION

Early evening concerts, with introductions from the conductor, a relaxed atmosphere, and a close-up view of the musicians on our large screens.

Wednesday 28 October Varèse Ionisation & Arcana with François-Xavier Roth

Wednesday 11 November Shostakovich Symphony No 13 with Gianandrea Noseda

Wednesday 27 January Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances with Marin Alsop

Wednesday 17 February Varèse Intégrales Bartók Violin Concerto No 2 with François-Xavier Roth & Isabelle Faust

Wednesday 17 March Rachmaninoff Symphony No 3 with Sir Simon Rattle

Thursday 8 April Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6 with Gianandrea Noseda

Wednesday 26 May Sibelius Symphony No 5 with Michael Tilson Thomas

Our new Explorer Collections have been created to help you make the most of the season, giving you the most varied and in-depth experience, plus exclusive benefits, from everything the LSO has to offer.

To receive a 20% discount and additional benefits, select three or more concerts from one collection – you can then add any further concerts from across the full season, and get the same or greater discount. See the table opposite for the discounts available.

lso.co.uk/explorer

18 Multibuy Concert Packages lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 19

Vivace Allegro Moderato ExplorerCollections

Any 12+ concerts

from the full season

Any 8-11 concerts


Any 4-7 concerts


3+ concerts from an

Explorer Collection

Discount on Tickets 40% 30% 20% 20%Free Pair of Wildcard Tickets for a Half Six Fix concert or the Conducting Competition Final

✓ Include a 3+ Explorer package to

unlock benefit ✓

20% Off BBC Radio 3 Concerts ✓ Include a 3+ Explorer package to

unlock benefit ✓20% Off LSO Live recordings ✓ Include a 3+ Explorer package to

unlock benefit ✓Top-Up Discount to use on any later ticket purchases 40% 30% 20% 20%

See page 44 for ticket prices and further details. lso.co.uk/multibuy Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. See page 44.

Create your SeasonExplore the themes, series and world-class artists appearing throughout the season – for the very best value. We offer a number of different ways to save on your booking. Read on for more information, or turn to page 27 for details of other offers.

WOZZECKWOZ

ZECKFriday 4 September 1pm LSO St Luke’s

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT BRAHMS AND BEYOND

Brahms Horn Trio Strauss Andante for horn and piano Korngold Much Ado About Nothing Benjamin Gilmore violin Alec Frank-Gemmill horn Daniel Grimwood piano

Recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3

Sunday 13 September 10am–5pm Barbican & LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY DISCOVERY DAY: GREAT BRITISH COMPOSERS OF THE 20TH & 21ST CENTURIES

Attend a morning LSO rehearsal conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, followed by an afternoon of talks and chamber music, focusing on Britten, Tippett, Thomas Adès and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Sunday 13 September 7pm Barbican

RATTLE SEASON OPENING

Mark-Anthony Turnage Last Song for Olly (world premiere)* Tippett Piano Concerto Interval Thomas Adès Luxury Suite from ‘Powder Her Face’ Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Peter Donohoe piano

* LSO commission generously supported by Susie Thomson

Recorded for broadcast by Mezzo

Part of Thomas Adès at 50 at the Barbican

Tuesday 15 September 7.30pm Thursday 17 September 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE WOZZECK

Berg Wozzeck (concert performance)

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Anja Kampe Marie Christian Gerhaher Wozzeck Thomas Blondelle Drum Major John Tomlinson Doctor Peter Hoare Captain Evan LeRoy Johnson Andres Alexander Kiechle Apprentice Tomasz Kumiga Apprentice Anna Lapkovskaja Margret Graham Clark The Fool Guildhall School Singers

Generously supported by the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne

September 2020Friday 18 September 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT

Wednesday 23 September 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE MELODIC REVOLUTIONS

Ligeti Atmosphères Wagner Prelude from ‘Lohengrin’ Webern Six Pieces Wagner Prelude and Liebestod from ‘Tristan and Isolde’ Interval Brahms Symphony No 2

Sir Simon Rattle conductor

Friday 25 September 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Brahms String Sextet No 1 in B-flat major Webern Langsamer Satz Strauss Prelude to 'Capriccio'

Quatuor Arod Adrien La Marca viola Bruno Philippe cello Recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3

Sunday 27 September 11am–4.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY SINGING DAY: CARMINA BURANA Accompanied by piano

Simon Halsey conductor

Christian Gerhaher (15 & 17 Sep)

15 & 17 September with Sir Simon Rattle, LSO Music Director Introduction by Paul Griffiths

In 1917 Alban Berg, a composer and a soldier, started work on a project that had been nagging him: making an opera of Georg Büchner’s play of army life, Wozzeck, in which a simple batman, much put upon, suddenly explodes into violence. Büchner’s quick lines exposed the rudiments of emotional life, the tendons of frustration, desperation, hopelessness, and love. Moreover, the script offered a waiting template for a new kind of music. Freed

from tonality, melodies can move in all kinds of directions, harmonies shake us by their ignorance and waywardness. Musically, as dramatically, this is a world without absolutes.

The action is straightforward: a love triangle whose sides fail to meet. The Drum Major is thoroughly self-absorbed. His victim Marie is helpless in her attraction to him. The real love in the piece, between Marie and Wozzeck, is a thing of the past.

Around this, Berg built a classic three-part form. The first act establishes the central relationships – or non-relationships – and ends with Marie’s succumbing to the irresistible. The second builds from the arousal of Wozzeck’s suspicions to their confirmation. The third is the double catastrophe, for Marie and for Wozzeck, leaving their child to face the future.

Season Highlight

20 LSO Season 2020/21 Booking Details page 44 Season Highlight 21

Friday 2 October 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Brahms Scherzo Op 4 Clara Schumann Romances Op 21 Missy Mazzoli Bolts of Loving Thunder Brett Dean After Brahms Brahms Klavierstücke Op 119

Jeremy Denk piano


Friday 9 October 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT: STRING EXPERIENCE SHOWCASE

Young musicians on the LSO’s prestigious String Experience scheme perform a recital of chamber music, curated by LSO Second Violin Sarah Quinn.

Thursday 15 October 7.30pm Barbican

GARDINER STRAVINSKY

Stravinsky Circus Polka (for a young elephant) Bartók Piano Concerto No 3 Interval Stravinsky The Fairy’s Kiss

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor Piotr Anderszewski piano



Brahms Botschaft; Am Sonntag Morgen; Auf dem Kirchhofe; Dein blaues Auge; Meine Liebe ist grün Mahler Rückert-Lieder Korngold Glückwunsch; Alt-Spanisch; Desdemona’s Song; Under the Greenwood Tree Berg Seven Early Songs

Katarina Karnéus mezzo-soprano Joseph Middleton piano Recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3

Saturday 17 October LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY / JERWOOD COMPOSER+ DES OLIVER

A concert featuring the music of Julius Eastman, and new music by composer and curator Des Oliver at the culmination of his time as an LSO Jerwood composer.

Start time and further details to be announced.

Generously supported by Jerwood Arts

Sunday 18 October 2.30pm Barbican

LSO DISCOVERY FAMILY CONCERT For 7- to 12-year-olds

Plus Free Family Workshops 12–2.15pm Barbican Foyers

Wednesday 21 October 7.30pm Barbican

LSO ARTIST PORTRAIT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF

Elgar Violin Concerto Interval Brahms Symphony No 4

Robin Ticciati conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin 6pm Barbican Foyers LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital Recommended by Classic FM

October 2020

Des Oliver (17 Oct) Robin Ticciati (21 Oct)

Hollie Harding (31 Oct)


BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF & FRIENDS

Bartók Violin Sonata No 2 Franck Violin Sonata

Christian Tetzlaff violin Kiveli Dörken piano


Wednesday 28 October 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX VARÈSE

Berlioz March to the Scaffold from ‘Symphonie fantastique’ Varèse Ionisation; Arcana

François-Xavier Roth conductor & presenter

Thursday 29 October 7.30pm Barbican

ROTH SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

Varèse Ionisation; Arcana Interval Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

François-Xavier Roth conductor


BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF & FRIENDS

Dvořák Terzetto Suk Piano Quintet

Christian Tetzlaff violin Florian Donderer violin Timothy Ridout viola Tanja Tetzlaff cello Lars Vogt piano


François-Xavier Roth (28 & 29 Oct; 17 & 18 Feb; 11 Mar; 13 Jun)

Saturday 31 October LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY / JERWOOD COMPOSER+ HOLLIE HARDING

An evening of new music curated by Hollie Harding, at the culmination of her time as an LSO Jerwood composer.

Start time and further details to be announced.

Generously supported by Jerwood Arts

LSO PLATFORMS: GUILDHALL ARTISTSThese free 45-minute recitals feature musicians from Guildhall School, including students on the Orchestral Artistry specialism as part of the Guildhall Artist Masters programme. To find out more visit lso.co.uk/lsoplatforms

22 LSO Season 2020/21 Booking Details page 44 lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 23

TETZ LAFF Friday 6 November 6pm

LSO St Luke’s Please note start time

BBC RADIO 3 RUSH-HOUR CONCERT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF & FRIENDS

Jörg Widmann 24 Duos Kodály Duo Op 7 Christian Tetzlaff violin Tanja Tetzlaff cello


Sunday 8 November 7pm Barbican

NOSEDA SHOSTAKOVICH ‘BABI YAR’

George Stevenson New work (world premiere)* Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 3 Interval Shostakovich Symphony No 13, ‘Babi Yar’

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Simon Trpčeski piano Alexander Vinogradov bass Gentlemen of the London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

* Commissioned through the Panufnik Composers Scheme, generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust Concert supported by LSO Patrons

Thursday 5 November 7.30pm Barbican

LSO ARTIST PORTRAIT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF

Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 Interval Sibelius Tapiola Zemlinsky Sinfonietta

Susanna Mälkki conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin 6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Friday 6 November 1pm LSO St Luke’s

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF

Bach Partita No 2 in D minor BWV1004 Bartók Sonata for Solo Violin Christian Tetzlaff violin


November 2020


LSO ARTIST PORTRAIT CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF & JOYCE DIDONATO

Martinů The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca Szymanowski Violin Concerto No 1 Interval Duparc Selected Songs Liszt Les Préludes

Sir Antonio Pappano conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin Joyce DiDonato mezzo-soprano

Part of Pappano & Friends at the Barbican

5.30pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Christian Tetzlaff (21, 23 & 30 Oct; 1, 5 & 6 Nov)Susanna Mälkki (5 Nov)

Season Highlight

‘I have been performing with the LSO for nearly 30 years; we’ve been ageing together and it’s a wonderful feeling. In this series, we will be playing three of my favourite pieces, all from the 20th century – Elgar’s Violin Concerto, Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto and Syzmanowski’s First Violin Concerto – as well as a chamber music series of BBC Radio 3 Concerts at LSO St Luke’s.

It’s simply a fantastic time to be a musician if you can play with an orchestra like the LSO, because the boundaries have disappeared. It’s about daring to really speak a language, and to throw yourself into the concert with total commitment – and that’s the experience I have with the LSO again and again. Even in a quick rehearsal you can really get to the core of things.

And for me, now, at the age of 53, and having played with the LSO a lot, it’s much more natural – we know each other, and it’s much easier to say, ‘This is what I think, this is what I feel’. You actually allow yourself to go to the edges of the piece’.

21 October; 1 & 5 November, Barbican 23 & 30 October; 6 November, LSO St Luke’s Violinist Christian Tetzlaff introduces his LSO Artist Portrait

PAPPANO & FRIENDS AT THE BARBICANSir Antonio Pappano brings together artists and influences that are dear to his heart, conducting the LSO, the Santa Cecilia Chorus in Rossini, and accompanying Jonas Kaufmann and Anita Rachvelishivili in recital.barbican.org.uk

Booking Details page 44 lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 2524 Season Highlight

Multibuy Packages Save up to 40% on your season booking when you book three or more concerts at the same time. Turn to page 18 for full details.

Wildcard Tickets Experience the LSO for less with Wildcard tickets. For £10 or £15 you are guaranteed entry to the concert, but you won’t know your exact seat until the day of the performance.

You could get lucky with a top price seat in the stalls or circle worth £60, or be upstairs in the balcony. That’s the chance you take to save.

Limited Wildcard allocations are available on a first come first served basis for every main season concert and Half Six Fix, with releases staggered through the year.

Following an initial release, Wildcards may rise in price from £10 to £15, so make sure you book early.lso.co.uk/wildcard

Young People Under-18s can attend any LSO concert for just £5, while registered students can attend selected events for £9 and members of the Young Barbican scheme for 14–25 year-olds can get tickets for £10.

lso.co.uk/otherdiscounts studentpulselondon.co.uk barbican.org.uk/youngbarbican

Group Bookings The LSO offers a warm welcome to groups, with exclusive discounts and benefits when you bring 10 or more people. Groups get 20% off the full ticket price, or 30% off for multiple group bookings.

lso.co.uk/groups

Booking fees apply. All discounts and offers are subject to availability and cannot be combined. Please see page 44 or our website for full details.

LSO East London Academy Showcase (21 Nov)

Wednesday 11 November 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX SHOSTAKOVICH ‘BABI YAR’

Shostakovich Symphony No 13, ‘Babi Yar’

Gianandrea Noseda conductor & presenter Alexander Vinogradov bass Gentlemen of the London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

Thursday 12 November 7.30pm Barbican

NOSEDA PROKOFIEV FIFTH SYMPHONY

Shostakovich The Age of Gold – Suite Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1 Interval Prokofiev Symphony No 5

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Seong-Jin Cho piano

Friday 13 November 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Saturday 14 November 10–10.45am LSO St Luke’s 11.30am–12.15pm

LSO DISCOVERY MUSICAL STORYTELLING For under-5s

LSO musicians retell a popular children’s story through music. Dance and sing your way through the concert as the instruments bring the tale to life.

Friday 20 November 7.30pm Barbican

LSO / EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL SOWETO KINCH: THE BLACK PERIL A new orchestral performance of Soweto Kinch’s The Black Peril. The work reflects on a period of civil unrest and racial conflict that broke out at the end of World War I, inspired by the sounds of ragtime, proto-jazz, West Indian folk music and the classical works of black composers of the period. Ticket prices and further details to be announced. Part of EFG London Jazz Festival and Serious’ Giant Steps Talent Development Scheme

November 2020Saturday 21 November 6pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY LSO EAST LONDON ACADEMY SHOWCASE

Promising young musicians from East London present an evening of orchestral repertoire alongside their mentors from the LSO.

LSO East London Academy developed by the LSO in partnership with the local Music Services in ten East London boroughs: Bexley, Barking & Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. LSO East London Academy is made possible through the generous support of The Henocq Law Trust and Linklaters LLP.

Sunday 22 November 11am–4.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY SINGING DAY: ELGAR Accompanied by piano


Friday 27 November 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s



RATTLE TRISTAN AND ISOLDE

Wagner Act Two from ‘Tristan and Isolde’

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Nina Stemme Isolde Stuart Skelton Tristan Jamie Barton Brangaene Graham Clark Melot Stephen Milling King Marke Repeated on Tuesday 1 December

SAVE OTHER WAYS TO

David Ballesteros (Second Violin)

26 LSO Season 2020/21 lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 27

HINDE MITH Sunday 6 December 7pm

Barbican

RATTLE BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO 3

Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 Interval Hindemith Overture to ‘The Flying Dutchman’ as sight-read by a second-rate spa ensemble at 7am by the fountain – for String Quartet Hindemith Kammermusik No 1 Hindemith Mathis der Maler – Symphony

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Krystian Zimerman piano Concert supported by LSO Friends

Wednesday 9 December 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS 4 & 5

Hindemith Symphonic Metamorphosis Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 Interval Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Krystian Zimerman piano


December 2020Tuesday 1 December 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE TRISTAN AND ISOLDE

Wagner Act Two from ‘Tristan and Isolde’

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Nina Stemme Isolde Stuart Skelton Tristan Jamie Barton Brangaene Graham Clark Melot Stephen Milling King Marke Repeat of Sunday 29 November

Thursday 3 December 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTOS 1 & 2

Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2 Hindemith Symphonic Dances Interval Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1


Sunday 6 December 2–5.30pm

LSO DISCOVERY DISCOVERY DAY: HINDEMITH

Explore the life and music of Paul Hindemith ahead of the evening concert at this afternoon session, featuring a talk and chamber music.

Afternoon only. Venue and further details to be announced.

Krystian Zimerman (3, 6, 9 & 17 Dec) Alice Sara Ott (20 & 22 Dec; 13 Jun)

Thursday 17 December 6pm Barbican Please note start time

RATTLE BEETHOVEN PIANO CONCERTO MARATHON

Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1 Beethoven Piano Concerto No 3 Interval Beethoven Piano Concerto No 2 Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 Interval Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5


Sunday 20 December 7pm Tuesday 22 December 7.30pm Barbican

NOSEDA CARMINA BURANA

Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 2 Interval Orff Carmina Burana

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Alice Sara Ott piano Christina Poulitsi soprano Sunnyboy Dladla tenor Elliot Madore baritone Tiffin Boys’ Choir London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director 20 December

Season Highlight

Paul Hindemith entered the golden 20s on the rise. He was appointed to a prestigious teaching position in Berlin, and his music was regularly performed and widely admired. But by the end of the next decade he was an outlaw and an exile. So what happened?

He had soaked up the thriving atmosphere of Berlin and written it into his music. The beating heart of urban life became the melodies rippling through Kammermusik No 1 (1922). And Overture to 'The Flying Dutchman' as sight-read by a second-rate spa ensemble at 7am by the fountain – for

String Quartet (1925) captured the cultural hedonism of its day with a bawdy blend of slapstick sonorities and satire at the expense of Wagner, the high priest of Romanticism.

But with National Socialism on the rise, more serious issues occupied Hindemith’s mind. The Mathis der Maler Symphony (1934) was adapted from his opera about a painter who questions his responsibility to society only to choose his art above all else. Inevitably this was unacceptable to the Nazi censors who did not tolerate anything but unfailing allegiance. He was denounced,

blacklisted and wrote the Symphonic Dances – a bitterly ironic title – in despair.

Hindemith eventually escaped to the US, where, with World War II raging at home, he tapped into the promise and optimism of the New World with his virtuosic Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber (1943), showing that even in the darkest moments of human catastrophe, music can always find enough space to hope.

3, 6 & 9 December with Sir Simon Rattle, LSO Music Director Introduction by Mark Parker

Booking Details page 44 lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 2928 Season Highlight

Friday 8 January 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Sunday 10 January 7pm Tuesday 12 January 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

Elgar The Dream of Gerontius

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Alice Coote mezzo-soprano Stuart Skelton tenor John Relyea bass London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director Sun 10 Jan 5.30pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Thursday 14 January 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE WEILL, SCHUMANN & SCHUBERT

Weill Mahagonny: Ein Songspiel Schumann Piano Concerto Interval Schubert Symphony No 9, ‘The Great’

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Mitsuko Uchida piano Guildhall School Singers Simon Halsey chorus director This performance is funded in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation For Music, Inc., New York, NY

Friday 15 January 1pm LSO St Luke’s

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT ELGAR PLUS

Elgar Violin Sonata Schumann Piano Quartet

Nash Ensemble



WILSON LETTERS FROM AMERICA

Barber The School for Scandal Weill Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra Interval Gershwin arr Bennett Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture Copland Symphonic Ode

John Wilson conductor James Ehnes violin This performance is funded in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation For Music, Inc., New York, NY

6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital



Elgar Concert Allegro for solo piano Schumann Fairy Tales Elgar Sospiri Wagner Wesendonck Lieder

Christine Rice soprano Brett Dean viola Nash Ensemble Recorded for future broadcast by BBC Radio 3

Wednesday 27 January 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONIC DANCES

Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Marin Alsop conductor & presenter


ALSOP RACHMANINOFF SYMPHONIC DANCES

Weill Symphonic Nocturne from ‘Lady in the Dark’ Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 Interval Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances

Marin Alsop conductor Eric Lu piano This performance is funded in part by the Kurt Weill Foundation For Music, Inc., New York, NY

January 2021

Eric Lu (28 Jan) Elim Chan (31 Jan)Marin Alsop (27 & 28 Jan)Unsuk Chin (7 Jan) Mitsuko Uchida (14 Jan)

Monday 4 January 7pm Barbican NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF GREAT BRITAIN Gabriella Smith Field Guide Adam Schoenberg Losing Earth Strauss Alpine Symphony Cristian Măcelaru conductor National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain 6pm Barbican Teen Hangout Free pre-concert event


RATTLE HAYDN, SCHUBERT & UNSUK CHIN

Haydn Symphony No 86 Unsuk Chin Violin Concerto No 2* (world premiere) Interval Schubert Symphony No 9, ‘The Great’

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin

* Co-commissioned by the LSO, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

Performance supported by the National Bank of Greece to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Greek Independence, within the context of the ‘Bicentennial Initiative 1821–2021’ with the participation of the leading foundations of Greece.



Schumann Märchenbilder Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor

Nash Ensemble


Sunday 31 January 7pm Barbican

CHAN RAVEL, SAINT-SAËNS & RIMSKY-KORSAKOV

Ravel Mother Goose – Suite Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 5 Interval Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Español Ravel Boléro

Elim Chan conductor Javier Perianes piano Recommended by Classic FM


ROTH28 & 29 October; 17 & 18 February; 13 June Varèse and Berlioz, introduced by François-Xavier Roth, LSO Principal Guest Conductor

February 2021

Friday 5 February 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Elgar Chanson de matin & Chanson de nuit Kreisler Liebesfreud & Liebesleid Wagner arr Liszt Liebestod from ‘Tristan and Isolde’ Schumann Piano Quintet

Nash Ensemble


Thursday 11 February 7.30pm Barbican

WARD LA MER

Bartók Violin Concerto No 1 Janáček Taras Bulba Interval Chausson Poème for violin and orchestra Debussy La mer

Duncan Ward conductor Isabelle Faust violin 6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Friday 12 February 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Saturday 13 February 7pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY SOUNDHUB PHASE II SHOWCASE

Composers on Phase II of LSO Discovery’s Soundhub scheme present new music, joined by LSO musicians.

LSO Soundhub is generously supported by Susie Thomson

Wednesday 17 February 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX VARÈSE & BARTÓK

Varèse Intégrales Bartók Violin Concerto No 2

François-Xavier Roth conductor & presenter Isabelle Faust violin


Thursday 18 February 7.30pm Barbican

ROTH VARÈSE, BARTÓK & STRAUSS

Varèse Intégrales Bartók Violin Concerto No 2 Interval Strauss Ein Heldenleben

François-Xavier Roth conductor Isabelle Faust violin 6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Thursday 25 February 7.30pm Sunday 28 February 7pm Barbican

NOSEDA SHOSTAKOVICH ‘THE YEAR 1905’

Britten Violin Concerto Interval Shostakovich Symphony No 11, ‘The Year 1905’

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Janine Jansen violin

28 Feb 5.30pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Friday 26 February 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Sunday 28 February 10am–5pm

LSO DISCOVERY DISCOVERY DAY: BRITTEN & SHOSTAKOVICH

A morning LSO rehearsal at the Barbican conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, followed by an afternoon featuring a talk and chamber music.

Afternoon venue and further details to be announced.

Janine Jansen (25 & 28 Feb)Isabelle Faust (11, 17 & 18 Feb)

Season Highlight

‘I find the theme behind this season fascinating, because you get to experience the fragility of composers, yet strangely enough, there was more creativity in this difficult period. Varèse is a completely unique example in 20th-century music and a champion of modern music. He’s one of my heroes.

Varèse found new ways of making a symphony orchestra sound like it had never sounded before, for example in Arcana. I have many friends who came to classical music through this work because it’s so powerful.

It’s like the first time you walk through Manhattan. You look up at the towers and think, ‘I didn’t imagine the world could be like that’. You have to experience it in a concert hall with all the sounds coming at you.

At the same time, Varèse was interested in forming new ensembles, and with every piece he created a new form. Ionisation is a masterwork of the 20th century written just for percussion, and the first time a composer showed that these instruments behind the

orchestra could have expression like any other instrument.

I like to combine composers, and Varèse and Berlioz work very well together. Berlioz was a radical person, someone who thought that music could change our lives. For the first time in music history, with his Symphonie fantastique we see the composer really explain that his own emotions, stories, doubts and love were the work’s material. It speaks to us immediately because we too have dreams, nightmares, joys and disappointments.’


March 2021

Monday 1 March 7pm Barbican Please note start time

DONATELLA FLICK LSO CONDUCTING COMPETITION FINAL

Berlioz Overture: Carnaval Romain Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn Ravel Daphnis and Chloe – Suite No 2

Jury to include: Lennox Mackenzie Chair Ivor Bolton Vassily Sinaisky Kirill Karabits Sian Edwards Sir James MacMillan David Alberman

Tickets also allow entry to the earlier rounds and final rehearsal from 27 February to 1 March. Visit lso.co.uk/conductingcompetition for more details.

Recorded for broadcast by Medici.tv

Sunday 7 March 10–10.45am LSO St Luke’s 11.30am–12.15pm



Sunday 7 March 7pm Barbican

THOMAS ADÈS 50TH BIRTHDAY CONCERT

Kurtág Ligatura – Message to Frances-Marie (The Answered Unanswered Question) Sibelius The Swan of Tuonela from ‘Lemminkäinen Suite’ Sibelius The Tempest – Suite No 2 Interval Adès Totentanz

Thomas Adès conductor Christine Pendrill cor anglais Christianne Stotijn mezzo-soprano Simon Keenlyside baritone

Part of Thomas Adès at 50 at the Barbican

Monday 8 March 10am–1.30pm & LSO St Luke’s 2.30–6pm

LSO DISCOVERY PANUFNIK COMPOSERS WORKSHOP

Eight composers hear their new work rehearsed by the LSO and François-Xavier Roth, with mentors Colin Matthews and Christian Mason.

François-Xavier Roth conductor

Free entry, booking essential

The Panufnik Composers Scheme is generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust

Thursday 11 March 7.30pm Barbican

ROTH RAVEL, STRAVINSKY & FRANCISCO COLL Ravel Alborada del gracioso Francisco Coll Violin Concerto (UK premiere)* Interval Stravinsky Jeu de cartes Ravel La valse

François-Xavier Roth conductor Patricia Kopatchinskaja violin * Co-commissioned by the LSO, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg & Philharmonie Luxembourg, Seattle Symphony, the NTR ZaterdagMatinee, Radio 4’s concert series in the Concertgebouw and Bamberger Symphoniker, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Friday 12 March 1pm LSO St Luke’s

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Simon Höfele trumpet


Thomas Adès (7 Mar)

Sunday 14 March 2.30pm Barbican

LSO DISCOVERY FAMILY CONCERT For 7- to 12-year-olds

Plus Free Family Workshops 12–2.15pm Barbican Foyers

Wednesday 17 March 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX RACHMANINOFF THIRD SYMPHONY

Rachmaninoff Symphony No 3

Sir Simon Rattle conductor & presenter

Thursday 18 March 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE RACHMANINOFF THIRD SYMPHONY

Haydn Symphony No 86 Dvořák The Golden Spinning Wheel Interval Rachmaninoff Symphony No 3

Sir Simon Rattle conductor 6pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital Recommended by Classic FM

Friday 19 March 12.30pm LSO St Luke's LSO DISCOVERY FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT

Sunday 21 March 11am–4.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY SINGING DAY: STRAVINSKY Accompanied by piano


Sunday 21 March 7pm Barbican

RATTLE CORRESPONDANCES

Schubert orch Newbould Andante from Symphony No 10 Mahler Adagio from Symphony No 10 Interval Dutilleux Correspondances Debussy Jeux Ravel Daphnis and Chloe – Suite No 2

Sir Simon Rattle conductor Barbara Hannigan soprano 5.30pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Friday 26 March 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Stravinsky Suite Italienne Chopin Cello Sonata

Laura van der Heijden cello Petr Limonov piano


Patricia Kopatchinskaja (11 Mar) Barbara Hannigan (21 Mar)

THOMAS ADÈS AT 50 AT THE BARBICANThe Barbican’s artistic family celebrate one of the UK’s greatest contemporary composers. Highlights include the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing his Dante-inspired ballet music trilogy, the opera The Tempest, and a birthday concert with the LSO.barbican.org.uk

Booking Details page 44 lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 3534 LSO Season 2020/21

NOSEDA

Thursday 8 April 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX TCHAIKOVSKY ‘PATHÉTIQUE’

Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6, ‘Pathétique’

Gianandrea Noseda conductor & presenter

Friday 9 April 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Programme to include songs by Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger and Cécile Chaminade Louise Alder soprano Joseph Middleton piano


Sunday 11 April 7pm Barbican

NOSEDA TCHAIKOVSKY, DEBUSSY & MARK SIMPSON

Debussy Three Nocturnes Mark Simpson Violin Concerto (world premiere)* Interval Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6, ‘Pathétique’

Gianandrea Noseda conductor Nicola Benedetti violin Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

* Co-commissioned by the LSO, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra & WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

5.30pm Barbican LSO Platforms: Guildhall Artists Free pre-concert recital

Thursday 15 April 7.30pm Barbican

RATTLE MAHLER SIXTH SYMPHONY

Mahler Symphony No 6



MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERT

The winners of the Solo Piano Competition, Marilyn Horne Song Competition, and Duo Competition at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West present a showcase at LSO St Luke’s, featuring new works by Ellen Reid, Conrad Tao and Tyshawn Sorey.

Free entry, no ticket required

The lead sponsors of the Music Academy of the West/London Symphony Orchestra partnership are Linda and Michael Keston and Mary Lynn and Warren Staley. Additional support has been provided in remembrance of Léni Fé Bland.

Thursday 22 April 7pm Barbican Please note start time

RATTLE STRAVINSKY BALLETS

Stravinsky The Firebird – Ballet Interval Stravinsky Petrushka (1947) Interval Stravinsky The Rite of Spring


Recorded for broadcast by Mezzo

Friday 23 April 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s



BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT BAROQUE TRAVELS

Works by J S Bach and François Couperin

Blandine Rannou harpsichord


Gianandrea Noseda (8, 11 & 12 Nov; 20 & 22 Dec; 25 & 28 Feb; 8 & 11 Apr)

Nicola Benedetti (11 Apr)

April 2021 Season Highlight

‘As a conductor you try to get inside the music, to find the element of truth that is hidden behind the notes – but knowing that you will never get to the ultimate truth, because you can’t talk to the great masters. There is something the composer wanted to say strongly, emotionally, historically, and it’s there, written in the music … you

have to try to solve the enigma. What drives me as a conductor is going back to the score, because when you are working with a great orchestra there will always be something that will surprise you.

Shostakovich speaks to me, and I’m sure he speaks to the soul of 21st-century people. He lived his whole life with

this dualism of, ‘Should I be myself, or should I say what the Soviets want me to say? How can I give the impression of accomplishing what they want, but stay 100% myself?’ Sometimes in his music there is 98% sadness and 2% euphoric happiness in the same moment – and vice versa.’

8, 11 & 12 November; 20 & 22 December; 25 & 28 February; 8 & 11 April Shostakovich, Prokofiev & Tchaikovsky, introduced by Gianandrea Noseda, LSO Principal Guest Conductor


HALF SIX FIX

Friday 7 May 1pm LSO St Luke’s

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Debussy Rhapsody Edmund Finnis Four Duets Gavin Higgins Three Broken Love Songs Weber Grand Duo Concertant Mark Simpson clarinet Richard Uttley piano


Saturday 8 May 2.30pm Barbican

LSO DISCOVERY FAMILY CONCERT For 7- to 12-year-olds Plus Free Family Workshops 12–2.15pm Barbican Foyers

Thursday 13 May 7.30pm LSO St Luke’s

LONDON SYMPHONY CHORUS A ROAR OF WAR Britten Advance Democracy Tippett Five Spirituals from ‘A Child of Our Time’ Holst Choral Hymns from The Rig Veda – Set 3 Jonathan Dove Who Killed Cock Robin? Judith Weir Storm Parry My Soul, There is a Country

London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director



Trio sonatas by J S Bach and Telemann

L’Apothéose


Thursday 20 May Barbican

LSO DISCOVERY SHOWCASE

London Symphony Orchestra LSO Discovery Groups

Start time and further details to be announced. Recommended by Classic FM



Works by Gaspar Sanz, Santiago de Murcia, Kapsperger and others

Concerto Zapico


Michael Tilson Thomas (26 & 27 May; 3 Jun)Mark Simpson (11 Apr & 7 May)

May 2021

Wednesday 26 May 6.30pm Barbican

HALF SIX FIX SIBELIUS FIFTH SYMPHONY

Sibelius Symphony No 5

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor & presenter

Thursday 27 May 7.30pm Barbican

TILSON THOMAS SIBELIUS SECOND SYMPHONY

Joel Järventausta New work (world premiere)* Shostakovich Piano Concerto No 2 Interval Sibelius Symphony No 2

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Yuja Wang piano

* Commissioned through the Panufnik Composers Scheme, generously supported by Lady Hamlyn and The Helen Hamlyn Trust

Friday 28 May 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


At Half Six Fix you can experience the LSO in a different way. The concerts begin at 6.30pm, as Marin Alsop, François-Xavier Roth, Gianandrea Noseda, Michael Tilson Thomas and Sir Simon Rattle conduct an early-evening fix of music. The pieces are introduced from the stage by our conductors and big screens show close-ups of the musicians. You’re welcome to bring drinks into the Barbican Hall and you can read digital programme notes on your phone.

Follow up the concert with dinner or drinks in one of the Barbican’s bars and restaurants, including the Martini Bar (on level 1). The Barbican is also in walking distance of dinner at St Paul’s, a night-time stroll over the Millennium Bridge and the charming pubs of Farringdon. Or head home for a restful night in.

Season Highlight

Alix Lagasse (First Violin)

28 October 11 November 27 January 17 February 17 March 8 April 26 May


LSO LIVE

June / July 2021

Thursday 3 June 7.30pm Barbican

TILSON THOMAS SIBELIUS FIFTH SYMPHONY

Copland Orchestral Variations Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 Interval Sibelius Symphony No 5

Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Yuja Wang piano

Friday 4 June 1pm LSO St Luke’s


Works by Matteis, Finger, Pepusch, Croft, Geminiani and Carbonelli

Illyria Consort


Friday 11 June 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s LSO DISCOVERY FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT

Sunday 13 June 10am–5pm Barbican & LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY DISCOVERY DAY: BERLIOZ & VARÈSE

Attend a morning LSO rehearsal conducted by François-Xavier Roth, followed by an afternoon at LSO St Luke’s featuring a talk and chamber music performances.

Sunday 13 June 7pm Barbican

ROTH VARÈSE, RAVEL & BERLIOZ

Varèse Ecuatorial Ravel Piano Concerto in G major Interval Berlioz Lélio, or The Return to Life

François-Xavier Roth conductor Alice Sara Ott piano Guildhall School Musicians London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

Friday 18 June 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Yuja Wang (27 May & 3 Jun)

Sunday 11 July 10–10.45am LSO St Luke’s 11.30am–12.15pm



Friday 16 July 12.30pm LSO St Luke’s


Saturday 17 July 7pm LSO St Luke’s

LSO DISCOVERY SOUNDHUB PHASE I SHOWCASE

Composers on Phase I of LSO Discovery’s Soundhub scheme present new music, joined by LSO musicians.

LSO Soundhub is generously supported by Susie Thomson

Our award-winning record label

Explore the entire LSO Live catalogue on Apple Music.Try it free for 3 months. applemusic.com/lso

Ben Thomson (Principal Tuba)

Musical Storytelling (11 Jul)

New subscribers only. Plan automatically renews monthly after trial. Terms apply.

lso.co.uk | 020 7638 8891 4140 LSO Season 2020/21 Booking Details page 44

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