Sun, 10 Mar 2024

Oliver Till conductor Tina Bowles leader Mei-Ting Sun piano

Holst - Jupiter from The Planets Dohnanyi - Variations on a Nursery Tune Nicholas Singer - New commission on a theme of LMO Prokofiev - Symphony No 7 Held at the beautiful Jerwood Hall, St Luke's, a gala celebration of 70 years of music making and raising funds for medical charities. The dramatic programme evokes childhood by pairing Dohnanyi’s variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with Prokofiev’s final symphony which was commissioned by the Children’s Division of State Radio, and opens with Holst’s portrayal of an “abundance of life and vitality”: Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity from The Planets. We were also delighted to be commissioning presenting the world premiere of a new work by talented former member Nicholas Singer.

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Programme Notes

Gustav Theodore Holst (1874 - 1934) - Jupiter from "The Planets" Op 32

Holst was an English compser, arranger and teacher and is best known for his 7 movement orchestral suite, The Planets, which he described as "a series of mood pictures".

Jupiter, the bringer of jollity, is the fourth movement of the suite.

Holst portrays Jupiter's supposedly characteristic " abundance of life and vitality" with music that is buoyant and exuberant. Nobility and generosity are allegedly characteristics of those born under Jupiter, and in the slower middle section Holst provides a braod tune embodying those traits. It is no better known as "I Vow to Thee My Country" from its use as a patriotic hymn, though it seems probably that Holst did not think of it in those terms.
 

Ernst von Dohnányi (1877 - 1960) - Variations on a Nursery Tune Op 25

On the manuscript of this piece, there is an inscription which reads "For the enjoyment of friends of humour, to the annoyance of others".

Variations on a Nursery Tune was premiered in Berlin on 17th February 1914. It begins with a dramatic introduction and then the theme is introduced, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Dohnányi pokes fun at nearly every composer his audience of 1914 would have been familiar with, as each variation alludes to a different work, or composers' distinctive compositional style.

Dohnányi was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor; he was born in Pozsony (now Bratislava), and from the age of 17 he studied piano and composition in Budapest. He made his debut as a pianist in Berlin in 1897 where he was recognised as a performer of high merit and he subsequently taught in the Hochschule in Berlin from 1905 until 1915. These were turbulent times in Europe; returning to Budapest, Dohnányi gave numerous performances and gained renown as a teacher, but it is thought to have suffered for his solidarity with Jewish colleagues. After the German invasion of Hungary in 1944 he moved to Austria, then in 1949 to the USA. Here he continued to compose and became interested in American folk music, taught at the Florida State University School of Music for  10 years and became an American Citizen.
 

Sergei Surgeyevich Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) - Symphony No 7 in C# minor Op 131

Prokofiev is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th Century and his masterpieces span numerous music genres.

He was born in rural Sontsivka, now in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, then studied at the St Petersberg Conservatory. He left Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and made his living as a composer, pianist and conductor in America and then in Europe. Then, in 1936 he returned to the Soviet Union to concentrate on composition, and some of his greatest successes date from this period.

The 7th Symphony was Prokofiev's last, completed in 1952, a year before his death. Most of the symphony is nostalgic and restrained in mood, ending with a cheerful vivace returning to the wind theme from the first movement and tinkling sounds from the tuned percussion. Prokofiev originally wrote the symphony with a quiet ending, but he was allegedly persuaded to finish with an energetic and optimistic coda so as to win the Stalin Prize of 100,000 roubles. The premiere in Moscow on 11th October 1957 was well-received, then four years later, the symphony was awared the pertigious Lenin Prize.
 

Nicholas Singer - Fantasia for London Medical Orchestra

Nicholas Singer has been composing for TV, film and video games for 25 years. He was nominated for an Emmy in 2016 for his work on the feature documentary Night Will Fall.

Nicholas writes, "I joined the LMO in 2018, but took a break recently to focus on our newborn son, which gave me a chance to reflect on what the orchestra has meant to me over the years. During that time I was given the privilege of writing this piece, inspired by our baby's sense of curiosity, wonder and discovery, while also embodying the sense of joy, community and positivity that comes with playing in the LMO. I am extremely grateful to Oliver and the orchestra for the opportunity."

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The Concert Soloist

Mei-Ting Sun

Critically acclaimed pianist Mei-Ting has been heard in many of the world's greatest concert halls performing an extensive repertoire that includes the complete works for solo piano of Brahms, Chopin, and Debussy, in addition to all 32 Sonatas of Beethoven. After winning several major competitions, including the first Piano-e competition and the National Chopin Competition of the US, Mei-Ting's career has taken him throughout most of the North and South Americas, Asia, and Europe, at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Tonhalle in Zurich, and Obecni Dum in Prague. His career has led him to perform in 22 countries across 5 continents.

He has collaborated with many major orchestras, including the Orquestra sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, the Prague Philharmonia, Orquesta Nacional de España, the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, working with eminent condictors including Jakub Hrůša, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Antoni Wit, Michał Nesterowicz, Pabol González, and Antoni Ros-Marbà.

While performing the complete works of other composers, Mei-Ting transcribed and arranged several orchestral and operatic works. A large portion of this project is based on works by Richard Strauss, which will be released as a monograph album in 2024. His most recent transcription of Sibelius' Symphony No 5 for two pianos will be premiered in Finland in July of 2024.

Mei-Ting is a Yamaha artist, and professor of piano and postgraduate tutor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

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The Concert Players

Conductor: Oliver Till

First Violins

• Tina Bowles (Leader)
• Rachel Barbanel
• Eva Babjak-Garai
• Dominie Craddock
• Mary Dentschuk
• Steve Dobson
• Holly Garvey
• Katina Laoutaris
• Catherine Menon
• Mary Nicholls
• Lucinda Platt
• Steve Rowlinson

Second Violins

• Nichola Blakey (Principal)
• Ursula Antolik
• Lucy Atherton
• Poppy Boyd-Taylor
• Marnie Breadin
• Mark Bullard
• Susan Grayeff
• Aytaç Mevlit
• Eve Naftalin
• Eleanor Sherlock
• Gerry Shortall
• Catherine Sides
• Jan Toporowski
• Bronwen Whitaker

Violas

• Geoffrey Irwin (Principal)
• Tom Boswell
• Talia Boylan
• Nigel Franklin
• Rachel Gibson
• Jamie Masters
• Hannah Style
• Josephine Tsakok

Cellos

• Josh Salter (Principal)
• Hilary Evans
• Libby Fogg
• Hannah Franklin
• Janet Hermann
• Sopika Toumazi
• Charlotte Youngs

Double Basses

• Darren Edwards
• Francois Moreau
• Jenn Morgan
• Tom Skrinar

Piccolo

• Mo Talukder

Flutes

• Graeme Scott
• Natalie Ryan

Oboes

• Sumitra Lahiri
• Adrian Hall
• Ming Li Kong

Cor Anglais

• Adrian Hall

Clarinets

• Lindsey Glen
• Margaret Phillips

Bass clarinet

• Rita Porzi

Bassoons

• Louise Johnston
• Rosalind Hedley-Miller

Contrabassoon

• Mark Stopard

French Horns

• Simon Ashdown
• Tom Brett
• Susie Hubbard
• Julie Rooke

Trumpets

• Mike Dockerty
• Glyn Jones
• Charlotte Webb

Trombones

• Chris Dicken
• Peter Gough
• Rob Heath

Tuba

• Stephen Brassett

Timpani

• Stuart Delve
• David Coronel

Percussion

• David Coronel
• Sharon Moloney
• Adam Payn

Piano/Celeste

• Daniel Chappell

Harp

• Rosanna Rolton