UMS PRESENTS ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Yannick Nézet-Séguin Music Director Hélène Grimaud Piano Thursday Evening, February 19, 2015 at 7:30 Hill Auditorium • Ann Arbor 47th Performance of the 136th Annual Season 136th Annual Choral Union Series Photo: Yannick Nézet-Séguin; photographer: Marco Borggreve. 3 UMS PROGRAM Maurice Ravel Ma Mère L’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant (Pavane of Sleeping Beauty) Petit Poucet (Tom Thumb) Laideronnette, Impératrice des pagodes (Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas) Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête (Conversations of the Beauty and the Beast) Le Jardin Féerique (The Enchanted Garden) Ravel Concerto for Piano in G Major Allegramente Adagio assai Presto Ms. Grimaud WINTER 2015 I N T E R M I SSI O N Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Andante — Allegro con anima Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza Valse: Allegro moderato Finale: Andante maestoso — Allegro vivace 4 Tonight’s performance is hosted by Randall and Nancy Faber and the Faber Piano Institute, and by Ken and Penny Fischer. Endowed support from the Mary R. Romig-deYoung Endowment Fund. Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM, WRCJ 90.9 FM, and Ann Arbor’s 107one. Special thanks to Daniel Herwitz, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of Comparative Literature, History of Art, Philosophy, and Art & Design at the University of Michigan, for speaking at this evening’s Prelude Dinner. Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of lobby floral art for this evening’s concert. Special thanks to Kipp Cortez for coordinating the pre-concert music on the Charles Baird Carillon. The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra appears by arrangement with Columbia Artist Management, LLC. Get ready to be enchanted by a world of fairy tales, delighted by a brilliant European re-imagination of American jazz, and, finally, agitated, soothed, caressed, and shaken by the complex emotional journey that is a Romantic symphony. Ravel’s coolness” and Tchaikovsky’s heart-on-the-sleeve intensity complement each other perfectly. Taken together, they represent some of the myriad ways in which music can reflect human experience — whether by responding to stories and to other people’s music, or by attempting to make sense of human strivings, human suffering, and triumph at a level words can never reach. What’s more, great composers can accomplish all this in a manner that seems effortless to the listener, no matter how much hard work went into the composition. If listening to music is indeed a journey, it is not an exhausting one — it is, rather, exciting, inspirational, and joyful. Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Suite) (1908–1911) Maurice Ravel Born March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, France Died December 28, 1937 in Paris S N A P S H O T S O F H I S T O R Y… I N 1 9 1 1 : •Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris •The Michigan stage flag is adopted by Public Act 209 •The Lincoln Memorial Commission is established to find an ideal site for the proposed Lincoln Memorial •The first official air mail flight takes place in India •Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose has nothing to do with the famous collection of English nursery rhymes. This Mother Goose (or Ma Mère l’Oye) is French, and has been known for her fairy tales since the late 17th century. In 1697, Charles Perrault (1628–1703) collected some old and new tales in a book that became known popularly as Mother Goose; his collection contained, among others, the stories of Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. WINTER 2015 UMS premiere: Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Victor Kolar, December 1923 in Hill Auditorium. Ravel was inspired by Perrault’s collection and other fairy tales when, in 1908, he decided to write a short suite for piano duet, intended as a gift for Mimi and Jean Godebski, the children of his friends Cipa and Ida Godebski. He orchestrated the suite in 1911, and subsequently expanded it into a ballet score. However, the work is more often performed in the original suite form, consisting of the orchestrations of the five movements for piano duet. “Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant” (Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty): The Pavane is a slow dance of Spanish origin to which Ravel had first turned in his early Pavane for a Dead Princess. This new Pavane is rather brief, consisting of a single motif, soft and delicate, repeated by various instruments of the orchestra. “Petit Poucet” (Tom Thumb): The score is preceded by a short excerpt from Perrault’s story: BE PRESENT N O W T H AT Y O U ’ R E I N Y O U R S E AT… He thought he would be able to find the path easily by means of the bread he had strewn wherever he had walked. But he was quite surprised when he couldn’t find a single crumb; the birds had come and eaten them all. 5 UMS WINTER 2015 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 6 Tom Thumb’s wanderings are depicted here by a steady motion in eighth notes in the strings, over which the woodwind play a quiet “walking” melody. The birds referred to in the story are indicated by a solo violin playing harmonic glissandos against a twittering flute and piccolo. “Laideronnette, Impératrice des pagodes” (Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas): The story on which this movement was based was written by the Countess d’Aulnoy, a contemporary of Perrault. The heroine is a beautiful princess who was made ugly by a wicked witch. She travels to a distant country inhabited by tiny, munchkin-like people called “pagodes.” (Eventually, as one might expect, she is restored to her original beauty and finds her Prince Charming.) As in the previous movement, Ravel concentrated on a single image from the story, and he wrote it down at the head of the score: She undressed and got into the bath. Immediately the pagodes and pagodesses began to sing and to play instruments. Some had theorbos (large lutes) made from walnut shells; some had viols made from almond shells; for the instruments had to be of a size appropriate to their own. The music is a study in turn-ofthe-century Orientalism, with a lively pentatonic melody (playable on the black keys of the piano), colorfully orchestrated. In a more serious middle section, Little Homely dances with the Green Serpent (who will turn out to be Prince Charming, also disguised by an evil spell). The dance of the “pagodes” then returns. “Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête” (Conversations of the Beauty and the Beast): This story is very well known, but few actually remember the name of its author, Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1757). Again, the words that are relevant to the music are reprinted in the score: “When I think of your good heart, you don’t seem so ugly.” “Oh, I should say so! I have a good heart, but I am a monster.” “There are many men who are more monstrous than you.” “If I were witty I would pay you a great compliment to thank you, but I am only a beast.” ... “Beauty, would you like to be my wife?” “No, Beast!” ... “I die happy because I have the pleasure of seeing you once again.” “No, my dear Beast, you shall not die. You shall live to become my husband.” ... The Beast had disappeared, and she beheld at her feet a prince more handsome than Amor, who was thanking her for having lifted his spell. The movement is in the tempo of a slow waltz. The Beauty is represented by the clarinet, the Beast by the contrabassoon. The two instruments take turns at first, and then join in a duet that becomes more and more impassioned. After a fortissimo climax and a measure of silence, an expressive violin solo (with harmonics) brings the movement back to its original tempo as the Beast is transformed into a handsome prince. “Le Jardin Féerique” (The Enchanted Garden): This movement does not seem to be based on any particular fairy tale. It is a celebration of the splendor of this miraculous garden, where the sun never goes down and everyone lives a blessed and happy life. The music is a single crescendo from a soft and low string sonority to a veritable feast of sound, resplendent with harp, celesta, and glockenspiel. Ravel UMS premiere: Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard with the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach, January 2002 in Hill Auditorium. S N A P S H O T S O F H I S T O R Y… I N 1 9 3 1 : •Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gives a speech calling for rapid industrialization, arguing that only strong industrialized countries will win wars while “weak” nations are “beaten” •The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the US national anthem •Nevada legalizes gambling •Construction of the Empire State Building is completed in New York City •John Haven Emerson of Cambridge, Massachusetts perfects his negative pressure ventilator (“iron lung”) just in time for the growing polio epidemic WINTER 2015 Some of the most original piano music in the first half of the 20th century was written by Maurice Ravel. In the early Jeux d’eau (1901) and the great cycles Miroirs (1904–05) and Gaspard de la nuit (1908), Ravel developed what he himself called “a special type of writing for the piano,” and he defended his priority against critics who tried to trace his style to that of Debussy. Himself a highly competent pianist, Ravel was a frequent performer of his own music (his performances survive on record). Thus, it is not entirely surprising that he should want to write a concerto; what is surprising is that it took him so long to do so. As a matter of fact, Ravel toyed with the idea as early as 1906, according to biographer Arbie Orenstein. He was then thinking about a concerto based on Basque themes, from Ravel’s native region in the Pyrénées. The projected work even had a title: Zaspiak-Bat, which means “The Seven Are One” in the Basque language — an allusion to the unity of the four Spanish and three French Basque provinces. But Zaspiak-Bat seems never to have progressed beyond the stage of initial sketches; World War I intervened, and Ravel, who had enlisted for military duty, complained in a letter to a friend: “Impossible to continue Zaspiak-Bat, the documents having remained in Paris.” Instead, the composer took up other projects, and the concerto plans remained on the back burner until the late 1920s. It was in 1928, after his American tour, that he began seriously to think about a concerto again. In the wake of this tour — and the recent, wildly successful première of Boléro — Ravel wanted to make the most of his popularity, and decided to return to the concert stage as a pianist, as his friend Igor Stravinsky had done a few years earlier. His work on a piano concerto was interrupted by Paul Wittgenstein’s commission to write a concerto for the left hand only. Ravel worked on both concertos more or less at the same time. Asked by music critic Michel D. Calvocoressi to compare the two pieces, Ravel made the following statement: BE PRESENT Concerto for Piano in G Major (1931) Planning the two piano concertos simultaneously was an interesting experience. The one in which I shall appear as the interpreter is a concerto in the truest sense of the word: I mean that it is written very much in the same spirit as those of Mozart and Saint-Saëns. The music of a concerto should, in my opinion, be light-hearted and brilliant, and not aim at profundity or at dramatic effects. It has been said of certain great classics that their concertos were written not “for” but “against” the piano. I heartily agree. I had intended to entitle this concerto “Divertissement.” Then it occurred to me that there was no need to do so, because the very title “Concerto” should be sufficiently clear. 7 UMS WINTER 2015 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 8 The concerto for left hand alone is very different. It contains many jazz effects, and the writing is not so light. In a work of this kind, it is essential to give the impression of a texture no thinner than that of a part written for both hands. For the same reason, I resorted to a style that is much nearer to that of the more solemn kind of traditional concerto. One has to understand Ravel’s way of thinking to unravel some of the puzzles contained in this statement. One might be surprised by the implication that Mozart’s concertos are without “profundity” or “dramatic effects.” Ravel, however, understood those terms in a very specific way, and the real meaning of his remark was something he left unsaid. By the “great classics” whose concertos are “against the piano” he probably meant Brahms (and possibly Tchaikovsky), whose expansive Romanticism he had been at pains to avoid. He had boundless admiration for Mozart, as had, among French composers before him, Camille Saint-Saëns; by mentioning these two names, Ravel defined an artistic lineage for himself and, by the same token, implicitly distanced himself from the Beethoven-Wagner-Franck-d’Indy line with which he was out of sympathy. Ravel emphasized his debt to Mozart in the Piano Concerto in G Major, but there are also many signs of jazz influence in the piece, particularly in the first movement. Ravel had been interested in jazz since the early 1920s when it first became the rage in the Parisian clubs that he frequented. He had included a “Blues” movement in his Sonata for Violin and Piano, written between 1923 and 1927. His enthusiasm grew considerably, however, after his visit to the US. At a party given in New York in honor of his 53rd birthday, Ravel met George Gershwin, of whose Rhapsody in Blue (1924) he was very fond. Gershwin asked Ravel to take him on as a pupil, but Ravel declined, saying, “You would only lose the spontaneous quality of your melodies and end up writing bad Ravel.” The first movement has many of the trappings of classical sonata form: a succession of contrasting themes, and a clearly recognizable moment at which the recapitulation begins. But the emphasis, as always with Ravel, is not so much on motivic development as on the juxtaposition of self-contained melodies. The first one of these melodies is introduced by the piccolo in a very fast tempo; the piano accompanies it with lively figurations. This theme has been said to suggest a Basque folk melody: it probably contains material from the abandoned Zaspiak-Bat concerto. After this first theme, the tempo slows down, and the high-pitched E-flat clarinet plays the first of several jazz-related motifs. The movement, which remained true to Ravel’s original “Divertissement” idea, has a magnificent piano cadenza at the end, preceded by two other striking solo passages: one for the harp, and one in which one woodwind instrument after another plays virtuoso flourishes against the sustained melody of the first horn. The second movement opens with a long, expressive piano solo. It is a single uninterrupted phrase that goes on for more than three minutes; after a while, the piano is joined by the flute, oboe, and clarinet. There is a middle section where the piano plays in a faster motion against the slowmoving melodies in the orchestra. The initial long phrase then returns, played by the English horn, and accompanied by the crystalline 32nd notes of the piano. Ravel said that he had modeled this movement on the “Larghetto” from Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet (K. 581); the connection is subtle, but can be clearly heard in the softly moving long phrases in 3/4 time and the rich ornamentation of the melodic lines. The last movement is a lively romp in perpetual motion. Like the first movement, it is a cavalcade of themes including (1888) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia Died November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg UMS premiere: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Victor Herbert, November 1902 in University Hall. Despite his growing international fame, Tchaikovsky was constantly plagued by self-doubt. Early in 1888, he went on a three-month European tour, conducting his own works with some of the world’s finest orchestras, was fêted in Leipzig, Paris, London, and Prague, and made the acquaintance of Dvor ˘ák, Grieg, and Mahler. Yet his private life was not free from turmoil. One of his closest friends, Nikolai Kondratyev, died in the summer of 1887 in Aachen, Germany — in the composer’s arms. Tanya and Vera Davydova, two of his favorite nieces, also died the same year. It must have been hard to escape the thought that life was a constant struggle against Fate, a hostile force attempting to thwart all human endeavors. After his return from abroad, Tchaikovsky decided to write a new symphony, his first in 10 years. Characteristically, the first sketches of the new work, made on April 15, 1888, include a verbal program portraying the individual’s reactions in the face of this immutable destiny, involving stages of resignation, challenge, and triumph: Introduction. Complete resignation before Fate, or, which is the same, before the inscrutable predestination of Providence. Allegro. (1) Murmurs of doubt, complaints, reproaches against XXX. (2) Shall I throw myself in the embraces of faith??? A wonderful program, if only it can be carried out. WINTER 2015 Symphony No. 5 in e minor, Op. 64 S N A P S H O T S O F H I S T O R Y… I N 1 8 8 8 : •Handel’s Israel in Egypt is recorded onto wax cylinder at The Crystal Palace in London, the earliest known recording of classical music •George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film •The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public in Washington, DC •During a bout of mental illness, Vincent van Gogh infamously cuts off the lower part of his own left ear in a brothel and is removed to the local hospital in Arles •The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is inaugurated BE PRESENT allusions to marches, dances, and folk songs, and containing some jazzy “smears” in the trombones and demanding solos for the woodwinds. The hijinks continue until the timpani and the bass drum put an abrupt end to the music. As he said in the statement quoted above, Ravel was planning to play the piano part in his concerto himself. Sadly, he was prevented from doing so by the onset of his illness which proved fatal. He developed a progressively incapacitating nervous disorder that made it impossible for him to play the piano, though in 1932, he could still conduct. He entrusted the solo part to Marguerite Long, a great pianist who had been a close friend and dedicated performer of his works for many years, and they took the concerto on tour in some 20 European cities. In January 1933, Ravel conducted the premiere of his Concerto for the Left Hand, and shortly afterwards finished the three songs Don Quichotte à Dulcinée for voice and orchestra. But soon he was no longer able to read music or sign his name, much less to compose (though his hearing, his musical judgment, and his intelligence in general remained unimpaired). The Piano Concerto in G Major remained Ravel’s penultimate composition, a fact belied by the work’s freshness and youthful vigor. One may understand Ravel’s distress when, in the last year of his life and gravely ill, he burst into tears: “I still have so much music in my head. I have said nothing. I have so much more to say.” 9 UMS WINTER 2015 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 10 Tchaikovsky never made this program public, however, and in one of his letters even went out of his way to stress that the symphony had no program. Clearly, the program was an intensely personal matter to him, in part because he was reluctant openly to acknowledge his homosexuality, which seemed to him one of the hardest manifestations of the Fate he was grappling with. Many people believe this is what the mysterious “XXX” in the sketch stands for. (In his diaries, Tchaikovsky often referred to his homosexuality as “Z” or “That.”) What, if anything, are we to make of all this? Should we listen to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 as a program symphony? And anyway, how concerned should we be about thoughts the composer never wanted to divulge, especially those regarding his sexual orientation? It is certain that the “program” had a deep influence on Tchaikovsky’s thinking during the gestation period of Symphony No. 5; without it, the symphony would not be what it is (in particular, the opening theme — the “Fate theme” — wouldn’t return so ominously in all four movements). At the same time, the “program” in itself is insufficient to explain the finished work as the “meaning” of many other themes is by no means always clear. Moreover, Tchaikovsky had already written a “Fate” symphony in his Symphony No. 4, for which a more detailed program survives. The similarities of the two programs do little to explain the great differences between the two works. (The program of Symphony No. 4 is problematic in itself: no sooner had Tchaikovsky written it down in a letter to Mme. von Meck than he found it hopelessly “confused and incomplete.…”) As for the last question: while we obviously shouldn’t be too preoccupied with a composer’s most private thoughts and feelings, in Tchaikovsky’s case we can’t completely ignore them either, since there is ample evidence to suggest that he was both unable and unwilling to separate his extra-musical preoccupations from his composing. The four movements of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 are linked by a common theme, usually played by the brass instruments and apparently symbolizing the threatening power of Fate. English musicologist Gerald Abraham noted that this theme was taken almost literally from an aria in Glinka’s opera A Life for the Tsar, in which it was sung to the words “Ne svodi na gore” (Do not turn to sorrow). The theme is heard in the “Andante” introduction of the first movement, soon to be followed by a more lyrical, lilting idea as we move into the faster “Allegro con anima” tempo. (The accompaniment of the “fate” motif, however, remains present as a stern reminder.) The entire movement swings back and forth between lyrical and dramatic moments. We would expect it to end with the final fortissimo climax. Instead, the volume gradually decreases to a whisper. The mysterious last measures are scored for the lowest-pitched instruments in the orchestra: bassoons, cellos, double basses, and timpani. The second movement is lyrical and dream-like, suggesting a brief respite from the struggle. The first horn plays a beautiful singing melody, eventually joined by the full orchestra. A second idea, in a slightly faster tempo, is introduced by the clarinet. Soon, however, an intense crescendo begins that culminates in the fortissimo entrance the Fate theme. The first theme returns, again interrupted by Fate; only after this second dramatic outburst does the music finally find its long-desired rest. The third movement is a graceful waltz with a slightly more agitated middle of the scale that serves as the opposite pole to the tonic, i.e. the keynote). There have been performances where some people mistakenly thought that the piece was over and started applauding. The final resolution, however, is yet to come, in the form of a majestic reappearance of the Fate theme and a short presto where all “doubts, complaints, and reproaches” are cast aside and, against all odds, the symphony receives the triumphant ending it needs. BE PRESENT section. Again we expect a respite from the fate theme and the emotional drama it represents. Yet before the movement is over, there is a short reminder, subdued yet impossible to ignore, scored for the clarinets and bassoons. In the “Finale,” Tchaikovsky seems to have taken the bull by the horns: the Fate theme dominates the entire movement, despite the presence of a number of contrasting themes. At the end of a grandiose development, the music comes to a halt on the dominant (the fifth degree Program notes by Peter Laki. ARTISTS B concerts in London, Paris, Vienna, New York, Toronto, Tokyo, and Beijing. Additionally, they have embarked upon a series of much-lauded recordings, including an internationally awarded recording of works by Maurice Ravel for EMI Classics and numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. Furthermore, Maestro Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic have combined their versatility in projects ranging from operas to family shows and from subscription concerts to community projects. Maestro Nézet-Séguin’s upcoming schedule with the Rotterdam Philharmonic is comprised of a muchanticipated tour of the US (February 2015), Zürich, Geneva, St Gallen, Lugano, and Vienna (April 2016), and the continuance of the orchestra’s residency in the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. WINTER 2015 orn in Montreal in 1975, YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN has been music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic since 2008. He received his first piano lessons at the age of five. At the Montreal conservatory he studied piano, composition, chamber music, and orchestral conducting. At the same time he was trained in choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. After his graduation he continued his studies with some of the greatest conductors, among them to be Carlo Maria Giulini. In 2000, Maestro Nézet-Séguin was appointed artistic leader and principal conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, a position that he still holds. The same year, he conducted his first opera production. In 2005 he made his debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic where he was appointed as music director. He also acts as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he has worked with all major orchestras worldwide and has conducted operas in the most prestigious theatres. Maestro Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic have had numerous successful tours, including T h e R O T T E R D A M PHILHARMONIC ranks among Europe’s foremost orchestras, being internationally known for the intense energy of its performances, its acclaimed recordings, and its innovative audience approach. With performances from the local venues to concert halls 11 H Photo: Mat Hennek UMS WINTER 2015 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 12 worldwide the orchestra reaches an annual audience of 150,000 to 200,000. Since 2010, the Rotterdam Philharmonic has been a resident orchestra of the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; this season’s schedule also includes a tour to the US in February 2015. The Rotterdam Philharmonic was founded in 1918. From 1930, under chief conductor Eduard Flipse, it developed into one of the foremost orchestras of the Netherlands. In the 1970s, with Jean Fournet and Edo de Waart, the orchestra gained international recognition. In 1995, Valery Gergiev’s appointment as music director heralded a new period of bloom. He was succeeded by Yannick NézetSéguin, with whom the orchestra has made numerous successful tours and recordings. In September 2013 Jir ˘í Be ˘lohlávek joined the Rotterdam Philharmonic as its principal guest conductor. Home of the Rotterdam Philharmonic is De Doelen Concert Hall, but the orchestra can frequently be heard in other locations from local venues to the most prestigious halls at home and abroad. Since 2010, the Rotterdam Philharmonic has been a resident orchestra of the Paris Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. With all of its concerts, educational performances, and community projects, the Rotterdam Philharmonic reaches an annual audience of 150,000 to 200,000. Since the ground-breaking Mahler recordings with Eduard Flipse in the 1950s, the Rotterdam Philharmonic has made a large number of critically lauded recordings. At present the orchestra has contracts with Deutsche Grammophon and BIS Records; in recent years it also recorded for EMI and Virgin Classics. For the rereleasing of historical recordings the orchestra formed its own label, Rotterdam Philharmonic Vintage Recordings. ÉLÈNE GRIMAUD was born in 1969 in Aix-en-Provence where she began her piano studies at the conservatory with Jacqueline Courtin and subsequently under Pierre Barbizet in Marseille. She was accepted i nt o t h e P a r i s Conservatoire at age 13 and won first prize in piano performance a mere three years later. She continued to study with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her wellreceived debut recital in Tokyo. The same year the renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris. This marked the launch of Ms. Grimaud’s musical career, highlighted by concerts with most of the world’s major orchestras and many celebrated conductors. Her recordings have been critically acclaimed and awarded numerous accolades, among them the Cannes “Classical Recording of the Year,” Choc du Monde de la musique, Diapason d’or, Grand Prix du disque, Record Academy Prize (Tokyo), Midem Classic Award, and the Echo Award. In September 2013, Deutsche Grammophon released her album of the two Brahms Piano Concertos; the first concerto with Andris Nelsons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the second recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic. When she took the Brahms on tour to Southeast Asia, The Straits Times of Singapore said: “Her playing was distinguished by superb timing and consistency of touch, and seamless interplay between piano and orchestra.” Throughout this season, Ms. Grimaud will perform her new recital program inspired by water in the US, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, UK, and France. include her return to the Berlin Philharmonic with Valery Gergiev, Orchestre National de Lyon with Leonard Slatkin, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic with Yannick NézetSéguin. BE PRESENT In December 14, she made her debut at the Park Avenue Armory performing her recital program as part of a largescale installation created by the artist Douglas Gordon: tears become…streams become…. Her orchestral engagements WINTER 2015 TO U R PA RT N E R S SPONSORS SUBSIDIZERS UMS ARCHIVES This evening’s performance marks the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra’s second appearance under UMS auspices, following its UMS debut in November 1977 under the baton of Maestro Edo de Waart at Hill Auditorium. UMS welcomes Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin and pianist Hélène Grimaud, who make their UMS debuts this evening. 13 UMS ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA WINTER 2015 Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director Valery Gergiev, Honorary Conductor Jir˘í Be ˘lohlávek, Principal Guest Conductor Designate 14 FIRST VIOLIN Igor Gruppman, Concertmaster Marieke Blankestijn, Concertmaster Quirine Scheffers Edward LeCouffe Aesil Kim Itamar Shimon Arno Bons Mireille van der Wart Shelly Greenberg Cor van der Linden Rachel Browne Maria Dingjan Marie-José Schrijner Noëmi Bodden Petra Visser Sophia Torrenga Annelieke Schaefer-van Beest Loortje van den Brink SECOND VIOLIN Charlotte Potgieter Frank de Groot Laurens van Vliet Agnes Tönkö Ebred Reijnen Tomoko Hara Elina Hirvilammi Staphorsius Jun Yi Dou Bob Bruyn Letizia Sciarone Eefje Habraken Maija Reinikainen Sumire Hara Wim Ruitenbeek VIOLA Anne Huser Maartje van Rheeden Galahad Samson Alison Ewer Kerstin Bonk Lex Prummel Janine Baller Francis Saunders Veronika Lénártová Pierre-Marc Vernaudon CELLO Floris Mijnders Joanna Pachucka Daniel Petrovitsch Geneviève LeCouffe Mario Rio Gé van Leeuwen Eelco Beinema Carla Schrijner Pepijn Meeuws DOUBLE BASS Peter Luit Matthew Midgley Ying Lai Green Harke Wiersma Robert Franenberg Peter Leerdam Jonathan Focquaert Joost Maegerman Arjen Leendertz FLUTE Juliëtte Hurel Désirée Woudenberg FLUTE/PICCOLO Wim Steinmann OBOE Remco de Vries Karel Schoofs Hans Cartigny Anja van der Maten OBOE/ENGLISH HORN Ron Tijhuis CLARINET Julien Hervé Jan Jansen C L A R I N E T/ B A S S CLARINET Romke-Jan Wijmenga BASSOON Pieter Nuytten Marianne Prommel BASSOON/ CONTRABASSOON Hans Wisse FRENCH HORN Martin van de Merwe Bob Stoel Jos Buurman Wendy Leliveld Richard Speetjens TRUMPET André Heuvelman Ad van Zon Arto Hoornweg Simon Wierenga Jos Verspagen TROMBONE Pierre Volders Alexander Verbeek Remko de Jager BASS TROMBONE/ CONTRABASS TROMBONE Ben van Dijk TUBA Hendrik-Jan Renes T I M PA N I / PERCUSSION Randy Max Danny van de Wal Ronald Ent Martin Baai Koen Plaetinck HARP Charlotte Sprenkels ACA D EMY OF S T. M A RT I N IN THE F I EL DS JEREMY D EN K , P I A N O Wednesday, March 25, 7:30 pm Hill Auditorium The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields — one of the finest chamber orchestras in the world and recipient of the 2012 UMS Distinguished Artist Award — is renowned for its polished and refined sound, rooted in outstanding musicianship. Formed in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, and working without a conductor, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Today, the Academy performs some 100 concerts around the world each year, with as many as 15 tours each season. Pianist Jeremy Denk joins the ensemble for two piano concertos by J.S. Bach, bookended by works for string orchestra by Igor Stravinsky. P ROGRAM Stravinsky Concerto in D Major J.S. Bach Piano Concerto in d minor, BWV 1052 J.S. Bach Piano Concerto in f minor, BWV 1056 StravinskyApollo S P O NS OR ED BY Masco Corporation Foundation, Linda Samuelson and Joel Howell, Gary and Diane Stahle, Marina and Bob Whitman, and Ann and Clayton Wilhite ME D I A PART N ER S WGTE 91.3 FM and WRCJ 90.9 FM Tickets on Sale Now For more information, visit www.ums.org or call 734.764.2538. TONIGHT’S VICTOR FOR UMS: COMERICA BANK SUPPORTER OF THIS EVENING’S PERFORMANCE BY THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS. CBC-4009-SupportAds-5.5X4.25-MM.pdf 1 4/7/14 12:34 PM Let’s raise expectations of what our community can be. Join Comerica Bank in supporting our community. As a proud sponsor, together we can raise expectations of how great our community can be. ® MEMBER FDIC. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LENDER. RAISE YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
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