BBC Philharmonic Concert Thursday 12 March
Programme Notes Thanks for taking the plunge and booking to hear your first orchestral concert at the Royal Concert Hall. We’ve got a great programme lined up for you with one of the world’s best orchestras so we hope you have a great evening. We’ve put together some information about the concert that you might find useful, including programme notes to introduce the pieces and YouTube links to get to know some of the music before the big day. Feel free to print them off and bring them to the concert if you like. We also thought you might like to know a bit about the performers, so… BBC Philharmonic This is one of the world’s best orchestras, based in Manchester at the new BBC studios in Media City. The BBC Phil, as it’s affectionately known, has been performing since 1934 and, as you’d expect from a BBC ensemble, broadcasting and recording take up a lot of its schedule. As a symphony orchestra (that is, a large orchestra capable of playing all the big pieces in the repertoire) it has over 80 players performing regularly. On those occasions when it plays really huge pieces, this number can go above 100 players. As you can imagine, when you get this many players on stage they make an awesome sound. Juano Mena ‐ conductor Juanjo, who comes from the Basque region in Northern Spain, is the BBC Philharmonic’s Chief Conductor, regularly performing with the orchestra and in charge of the really high profile concerts they give, including major music festivals around the world and our own BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Juanjo is a really whole‐hearted conductor who finds it difficult to resist having a bit of a dance on the podium, and he really loves conducting Spanish and French music, so this concert is tailor‐made for him. Alexandra Soumm – violin Alexandra is a rising star violinist who’s originally from Moscow but now lives in France. She was a member of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artist scheme in 2010‐12, which gave her the opportunity to work with most of the BBC’s orchestras. She founded the charity Esperanz’Arts in 2012, to bring the arts to children and she’s a ‘Godmother’ of El Sistema, France, an organisation that offers opportunities for young people in deprived communities to learn a musical instrument and to play in orchestras. Alexandra plays on a violin made in Italy around 1785, by the great violin maker Giovanni Baptista Guadagnini. Finally… Just in case you might be wondering what to expect at a classical concert, please don’t worry about anything. Above all, we believe that orchestral concerts are fantastic entertainment, to be enjoyed no matter how much you know about this kind of music. There’s no dress code, so wear what you like, sit back, relax and let the sound of the BBC Philharmonic blow you away!
Alberto Ginastera (1916‐83) Suite from Estancia Los trabajadores agricolas (The farm workers) Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance) Los peones de hacienda (The Cattlemen) Danza final (Malambo) (Final dance: Malambo) Alberto Ginastera came from Argentina. In Spanish, the language of Argentina, an Estancia means an estate or ranch ‐ a huge cattle farm spread over the pampas: rolling, grassy plains (Argentina is still where much of the world’s corned beef comes from). But this is music from a ballet, written in 1941, and it’s about the folk who work on the farm: rounding up the cattle, reaping the corn, working hard and playing hard. In a word: cowboys! (or gauchos, as they’re known in Argentina). Ginastera loved the scenery of Argentina. He was fascinated by the gaucho lifestyle, and he also loved the folk music of his native country, with its pounding rhythms and passionate tunes. So he put them all into Estancia. This is a “suite” (set) of four dances from the ballet, each one painting a different scene in sound.
What to listen for: 1. The farm workers: The string instruments and French horns (in the brass section, at the back left of the orchestra) pound out a strong rhythm – as the farmhands set about their work, digging the earth like parts of a huge machine. 2. Wheat Dance: Imagine fields of grass and wheat, stretching as far as the eye can see, swaying gently in the breeze. The flute (the brightest‐sounding of the woodwind instruments, in the middle of the orchestra) sings a quiet, still tune; gradually the whole orchestra joins in. 3. The Cattlemen: Here come the gauchos – tough men, riding horses. Listen out for the trumpet (the loudest of the brass instruments, on the back row of the orchestra), and the pounding timpani (the big copper‐coloured drums). You can tell these guys mean business! 4. Final dance – Malambo: The Malambo is a wild, energetic dance where gauchos let their hair down – and show off some incredible physical moves. In the final scene of the ballet, everyone cuts loose: listen out for the jangle of the tambourine and the wooden, rattling sound of the xylophone – both in the percussion section, at the very back of the orchestra. What else could I listen to? Ginastera’s great friend, the American composer Aaron Copland, wrote his own cowboy ballet: Rodeo. If you like this, you’ll love that!
YouTube Real gauchos in action on an estancia in modern Argentina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epWMYS‐rZ8k A contemporary dance version of the ballet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg1NKLwsFM8 The famous Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, under its conductor Gustavo Dudamel, plays the Malambo from Estancia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRcC1‐PLLW8
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What Else Could I Listen To? Like Spanish‐sounding music? Like brilliant violin playing? Then try the Carmen Fantasy by the man who first played the Symphonie Espagnole, Pablo de Sarasate. He borrows themes from Bizet’s Carmen, so if you keep listening tonight, you’ll recognise the tunes too!
YouTube The great German violinist, Anne‐Sophie Mutter, plays Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb21g7WCaAI This is what Spanish guitar music really sounds like: John Williams playing Albeníz’ Sevilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfRLMopjDKA Anne Akiko Meyers plays the Allegro non troppo from Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw20rHFqaPQ …and Leonidas Kavakos plays the Rondo from Symphonie Espagnole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mrBwfmpARo
Symphonie Espagnole: Pictures
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A painting of the violinist Pablo de Sarasate (and his celebrated moustache) in 1877.
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What’s Next?!!
We have plenty of other spectacular concerts in the Nottingham Classics 2014‐15 season, so visit www.trch.co.uk/nottinghamclassics for full details of these. If you want to find out more about classical music then try our FREE Classical Music Roadmap event on Thursday 19 March. This informal, user‐friendly introduction is presented by conductor and pianist Jonathan James in the Level 4 foyer of the Royal Concert Hall at 7pm. You’ll get to know 1000 years of music in an hour, hear legendary recordings of great classical pieces on a state‐of‐the‐art hi‐fi system and hear some live piano music in the Royal Concert Hall from the wonderful young pianist Konya Kanneh‐Mason. And, of course, the bar will be open! To book your FREE ticket, call the box office on 0115 989 5555.