rise of the concerto - academy of ancient · pdf fileas play-director of a period-instrument...

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to tonight’s concert, and to welcome the brilliant Alina Ibragimova for her debut tour with the AAM. Needless to say, we’re delighted to be working with her.

Tonight is a night of many firsts: Alina makes not only her debut with the AAM but also her debut as play-director of a period-instrument orchestra. Turn to page 9 to read her personal insights into the programme, period-performance and what it’s like to play-direct.

It’s been an exciting start to the year at the AAM. In January we announced a major new Association at London’s Barbican Centre. Aside from being a positive move in terms of securing the future of the AAM in today’s climate, we’re excited at the prospect of new collaborative

opportunities, and at the capacity for ever-more ambitious programming, which will undoubtedly enrich our concert-giving beyond London.

Do turn to pages 18 and 19 to read in greater detail about these developments and other news at the AAM, including a performance of Handel’s Water Music on the River Thames as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

For now, though, I wish you a wonderful evening.

Michael Garvey AAM Chief Executive

A C A D e M y o F A N C I e N T M u s I C , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 s e A s o N 1

Listen again on BBC Radio 3you can listen again to tonight’s programme on saturday 3 March at 10pm, on BBC Radio 3. The broadcast — as well as the performances in Ludlow and Bury st edmunds — has been chosen by the BBC to form part of ‘Music Nation’: a uK-wide countdown event for the

London 2012 Festival, and the finale of the Cultural olympiad.

www.bbc.co.uk/radio3

Alina Ibragimova director and violin

23 February Dartington Great Hall, Totnes, uK 24 February Assembly Rooms, Bath, uK27 February West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, uK29 February Wigmore Hall, London, uK3 March Assembly Rooms, Ludlow, uK 4 March The Apex, Bury st edmunds, uK

Rise of the concerto

2 A C A D e M y o F A N C I e N T M u s I C , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 s e A s o N

ProgrammeHeINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VoN BIBeR (1644–1704)Passacaglia in G minor for violin from the Rosary sonatas (c.1676)

JoHANN seBAsTIAN BACH (1685–1750)sonata in e major for violin and harpsichord BWV1016 (1725) Adagio — Allegro — Adagio ma non tanto — Allegro

JoHANN seBAsTIAN BACH (1685–1750)Concerto in A minor for violin BWV1041 (c.1730) Allegro — Andante — Allegro assai

ANToNIo VIVALDI (1678–1741)Concerto in D major for violin ‘L’inquietudine’ RV234 (c.1727) Allegro molto — Larghetto — Allegro

ANToNIo VIVALDI (1678–1741)Concerto in D minor for two violins and cello from L’estro armonico op.3 No.11 RV565 (1711) Allegro — Adagio e spiccato, Allegro — Largo e spiccato — Allegro

HeINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VoN BIBeR (1644–1704)Battalia (1673) Sonata — Allegro ‘Die liederliche Gesellschaft von allerley Humor’ — Presto — ‘Der Mars’ — Presto — Aria — Die Schlacht — Adagio ‘Lamento der verwundten Musquetir’

JoHANN seBAsTIAN BACH (1685–1750)Concerto in e major for violin BWV1042 (c.1730) Allegro — Adagio— Allegro assai

Interval of 20 minutesPlease check that your phone is switched off, especially if you used it during the interval

Would patrons please ensure that mobile phones are switched off. Please stifle coughing as much as possible and ensure that watch alarms and any other devices that may become audible are switched off.

Tonight’s performance will end at approximately 9.25pm


The seventeenth century saw dramatic changes in the role of instruments. Whereas in previous centuries little instrumental music had been written down, composers from 1600 onwards increasingly experimented with the range of techniques and colours possible on instruments. obbligato instrumental parts were introduced in vocal music as a way to create a variety of textures and colours. A repertory of instrumental music (both for ensembles and for soloists) developed, eventually ranging from solo violin and solo keyboard music to concertos for solo instrument and orchestra. Composers explored the techniques idiomatic to particular instruments — delicate ornaments on the cornett, long cantabile melodies on the oboe, or double-stopping and rapid figuration on the violin.

The increasing role of instruments in seventeenth-century music was summarised by the word ‘concerto’. Baroque writers explained the etymology of the word in different ways: some theorists derived the term from the Latin concertare, meaning ‘to compete or struggle together’; others pointed to the notion of a harmonious agreement (concordare). In the first half of the seventeenth century, the term ‘concerto’ usually referred to vocal music for solo singers and obbligato instruments. It is used, for instance, as the title for Claudio Monteverdi’s seventh Book of Madrigals (1619), which contains a multiplicity of scorings for voices and instruments.

By the end of the seventeenth century the term ‘concerto’ increasingly referred to music for instrumental ensemble which featured a contrast between a tutti ensemble and soloist (or group of soloists). such concertos for instrumental ensembles became the staple fare of musical life in the early decades of the eighteenth century. Concertos were played in theatres, as preludes to (or interludes in) the dramatic action. They were performed in Italian churches, as extravagant

musical offerings that evoked solemnity or wonder at the religious ritual. And concertos were used at German courts such as those at Berlin or Cöthen, to amuse and entertain the noble residents as well as the servants.

Tonight’s concert showcases three of the composers who around 1700 experimented with the different ways in which the violin might interact with other instruments. starting with Biber’s Passacaglia where the violinist accompanies herself, we move to Bach’s experiments in the varied ways a harpsichordist could accompany the violin, before hearing concertos by Vivaldi and Bach. All these pieces show the musical diversity and heterogeneity that was essential to the baroque conception of the concerto.

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704)A central european pioneer of violin playing was the Bohemian violinist Heinrich Biber. For most of his life he worked at the salzburg court, composing a succession of string sonatas as well as large-scale vocal works. Best known among Biber’s output are his Rosary Sonatas for solo violin. In the manuscript, each of these fifteen sonatas is preceded by a small engraving showing one of the mysteries of the Rosary. Possibly the sonatas were performed as musical meditations for the salzburg Confraternity of the Rosary, which used the same engraved illustrations in its printed regulations.

Biber’s Mystery Sonatas conclude with his Passacaglia, one of the first surviving pieces for unaccompanied violin. It too is preceded by an illustration, this time showing the Guardian Angel holding the hand of a child (see page 6). The piece is built over a constantly repeating bass theme of four descending notes, whose constant presence may symbolise the unending watchfulness of the Guardian Angel. Biber masterfully controls the ebb and flow of musical tension, repeatedly building the texture to imply

stephen Rose charts the rise of the concerto


multiple lines from the single instrument, before reducing the texture to the unadorned bass.

Throughout his output, Biber shows a love of pictorial effects that was characteristic of seventeenth-century German violinists. As Johann Joachim Quantz commented in 1752, in former times German instrumentalists “were more intent upon recreating the songs of birds, for example those of the cuckoo, the nightingale, the hen, the quail etc., than upon imitating the human voice”. Indeed, one of Biber’s violin pieces, the Sonata violino solo representativa, incorporates

bird-calls and the sounds of farmyard animals. Tonight we hear his Battalia, a light-hearted depiction of a military confrontation. such a topic might seem like an obvious excuse to use trumpets, yet Biber confines himself to a string orchestra, getting the string players to imitate the repeated notes of the military signals. Another section of the piece depicts the song of the soldiers — a collage of different melodies, all out of tune — and the piece ends with a tongue-in-cheek lament, as wounded musketeers sink to the ground in agony.

Biber: the musical revolutionaryIn 1789, Charles Burney, the english music historian and composer, wrote that “of all the violin players of the last century Biber seems to have been the best, and his solos are the most difficult and most fanciful of any I have seen of the period.” But as well as his reputation as the violin virtuoso of his time, Biber pushed boundaries in his writing for instruments — for the violin in particular.

The work that opens the concert tonight — his famous Passacaglia for solo violin — is not only thought to be the first work for solo violin, but ends the Mystery Sonatas, which remain the most extensive example of scordatura, whereby the strings are tuned differently from their usual G-D-A-e tuning. The technique opens up a whole new spectrum of harmonic possibilities, and requires the performer to embody the idea of mystery; the scordatura score bewilders any visual sense of the music for the player, so that the musical meaning becomes entirely dependent on the sensory act of performing it. Indeed this reflects a belief in the counter-reformation that the spiritual is evoked by sensory engagement; the constant watchfulness of the Guardian Angel represented by and embodied in the ostinato of the final Passacaglia is a case in point. (An ostinato is a musical pattern which is repeated perpetually as other things change around it.)

Biber’s Battalia spells out his experimental verve unmistakably. It is unique not only as a pioneering work of ‘programme’ music (music which attempts to represent non-musical ideas without using words — here, a battle scene), but it also uses a vivid array of extended techniques we tend to associate with the 20th century avant-garde. Biber asks string players to pluck the strings with both left and right hands and to play ‘col legno’ (literally ‘with the wood’) giving a dry, staccato effect, and asks the cellists and double bass player to use ‘snap’ pizzicato, imitating battle cannons..

But perhaps the most aurally striking of these techniques is the tonal cacophony we hear in the second movement of Battalia: the so-called ‘quodlibet’ imitates “the dissolute horde of musketeers” by simultaneously sounding eight popular songs in several keys. Biber gives the instruction, “here it is dissonant everywhere, for thus are the drunks accustomed to bellow with different songs”.


Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)Around 1700 Italian innovations in violin playing were spearheaded by Antonio Vivaldi. Best known today are Vivaldi’s concertos for solo violin, where he combined his showy and passionate technique as a player with the conventions of dramatic writing used at the Venetian opera. He also pioneered the use of the ritornello (a repeating musical section) to hold together these otherwise often quirky or quixotic pieces. Many of Vivaldi’s concertos were written for the Pietà delle ospedale, the girls’ orphanage in Venice where he worked as a violin teacher. At the orphanage chapel the girls performed concerts from behind a metal grille, in order to protect their modesty, and it is easy to see how Vivaldi’s dramatic style of composition evolved partly to engage and enrapture an audience who could not see the players. Vivaldi’s showy and dramatic style of composition is exemplified by his Concerto in D major for violin ‘L’inquietudine’ RV234. As the title implies, this piece seeks to portray a turbulent emotional state through its tumultuous figuration and unpredictable harmonies. The first movement consists of continuous rollicking figuration for the soloist, playing sometimes alone and sometimes in unison with the other strings. Vivaldi maintains the same chord for several bars at a time, building tension in listeners who may expect a faster harmonic rhythm. The central Largo offers a brief moment of stately splendour via its dotted rhythms and upbeat flourishes reminiscent of the French overture. The finale is a series of harmonic shocks, with the opening figuration in D major followed suddenly by a dissonant chord on e major, and later diversions to other unexpected and foreign keys. A different side to Vivaldi is heard in his Concerto in D minor for two violins and cello from L’estro armonico RV565. This piece uses the same scoring as Arcangelo Corelli’s concerti grossi, with a concertino group of two

violins and cello heard in relief against the full string orchestra. Compared to Corelli, Vivaldi writes much more virtuosic lines for the soloists, notably in the driving semiquaver figuration. unusually for Vivaldi, the concerto is in more than three movements. It opens with just the solo instruments playing non-stop figuration that iterates the home key of D minor. Following a series of slow and dramatic chords, the whole orchestra plays a fast-paced fugue; this has some of the incisiveness of Corelli’s counterpoint, but also is driven forward by Vivaldi’s inimitable figuration. The penultimate movement (Largo e spiccato) is an elegant siciliano, with the two solo violins soaring in duet over the accompaniment of the orchestral upper strings. The two solo violins again dominate the finale, sometimes playing in parallel thirds, sometimes clashing against each other in angry dissonance. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)Johann sebastian Bach’s style as a concerto composer was heavily influenced by the example of Antonio Vivaldi. Bach came from a central German family of organists and town musicians that had had relatively little exposure to the dramatic styles of Italian string music. But in 1713, during Bach’s time as organist at the court of Weimar, one of his patrons brought copies of Vivaldi’s concertos back from Amsterdam. Bach eagerly transcribed these pieces (including the Concerto in D minor for two violins and cello) for performance on the harpsichord or organ. In his earlier compositions Bach had delighted in elaborate fingerwork on the keyboard, so it is easy to see why he was attracted to the exuberant figuration of Vivaldi’s music. More importantly, Vivaldi’s concertos showed him how to pace his harmonies and to create a clear structure through use of a ritornello. No longer would Bach write pieces that rambled through page upon page of figuration. Instead, as Bach’s first biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel wrote, Vivaldi’s music taught Bach “how to think musically”, showing him how to organise and connect his ideas.


A page from Biber’s carefully-prepared and beautifully-preserved presentation m

anuscript of the Rosary sonatas, dating c.1674. The Passacaglia form

s the sixteenth and final movem

ent. each of the first fifteen movem

ents is headed by a small engraving of the m

ysteries of the rosary, w

ith the Guardian Angel heading the sixteenth.


Throughout his output Bach pushed the boundaries of what was considered possible on instruments. He experimented with newly-invented instruments, whether woodwind such as the oboe d’amore and oboe da caccia, or keyboard instruments such as the fortepiano and a hybrid lute-harpsichord (Lautenwerk). equally ground-breaking is his solo violin music. Bach’s unaccompanied Violin sonatas and Partitas take the tradition of unaccompanied violin music already established by Biber to new heights, with movements of unprecedented length and complexity. Bach also wrote accompanied sonatas for violin; here the keyboard becomes an equal partner to the stringed soloist, with the keyboardist’s right hand in melodic dialogue with the violin.

Bach’s Sonata in E major for violin and harpsichord BWV1016 shows the many ways in which a violinist can interact with his or her chamber partner at the keyboard. The piece is in four movements, slow—fast—slow—fast, in the manner of the Italian sonata da chiesa. In the opening Adagio the violin takes the lead, with its florid melody soaring over a chordal accompaniment on the harpsichord. yet in the ensuing Allegro the instruments are made equal: this movement is a fugue in three parts, with the theme heard first in the keyboardist’s right hand, then in the violin, then in the keyboardist’s left hand. The third movement is built on a repeating bass theme (the same technique encountered in Biber’s Passacaglia, but here with a more elaborate theme); initially the harpsichordist accompanies the unfurling melody in the violin, but later the relationship is reversed, with the same melody in the keyboardist’s right hand while the violinist accompanies with double-stopping. The finale is in an uncomplicated trio texture, with a moto perpetuum theme bubbling away in the violin and in both hands of the keyboard part.

Bach probably wrote his violin concertos during his time in Leipzig, possibly for performance

around 1730 at the Collegium Musicum that he directed. Although these pieces come from relatively late in his career, they still show the strong influence of Vivaldi. In the Concerto in A minor for violin BWV1041, the first movement draws on the rhythmic energy of Vivaldi’s music, giving it a characteristically Bachian twist by ensuring constant rhythmic momentum wherever possible. The upbeat pattern of the initial theme is elaborated in the solo violin part, creating a sense of similarity between all the themes of the movement. Bach frequently pushes the music to a climax, marked by chromatic harmonies and the use of instruments at the extremes of their register. In the Andante the soloist spins a lyrical melody, while the continuo interjects regularly with a rhythmic figure in various keys. All the interest is in the outer parts, and the other instruments merely fill out the harmony. The finale is a fugal gigue; later the solo part becomes flashier, culminating in figuration over an expectant pedal before a pause; and then the fugal opening returns, adorned by solo bariolage. Bach’s Concerto in E major for violin BWV1042 opens with a ritornello that can be easily recognised whenever it occurs, thanks to its forthright triadic shape. In the subsequent semiquavers there is also a Vivaldian drive to the dissonant chord on the main beat. yet the first movement is also influenced by vocal music, being structured in a da capo form like an operatic aria. Vocal analogies are again relevant for the Adagio, where the solo melody is decorated with tuneful sweetness. The finale, however, is in the realm of instrumental music pure and simple, being a triple-time dance built from phrases of elegant symmetry.

stephen Rose © 2012Dr stephen Rose is Lecturer in Music at

Royal Holloway, university of London


Alina Ibragimova director & violin

The Times has written that Alina Ibragimova performs with “a mixture of total abandonment and total control that is in no way contradictory” and that she is “destined to be a force in the classical music firmament for decades to come”.

Born in Russia in 1985, Alina is a former pupil of the Moscow Gnesin and yehudi Menuhin schools, and of the Royal College of Music in London.

Performing music from the baroque to new commissions on both modern and period instruments, Alina Ibragimova has appeared with, among others, the London symphony orchestra, BBC symphony orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, stuttgart Radio symphony and the Philharmonia, with

conductors including sir Charles Mackerras, sir John eliot Gardiner, sir Mark elder, Richard Hickox, Carlo Rizzi, yannick Nézet-séguin and Gianandrea Noseda.

In recital and chamber music Alina has appeared at venues including London’s Wigmore Hall (where she and her regular recital partner Cédric Tiberghien have recently performed the complete Beethoven Violin sonatas), Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, salzburg’s Mozarteum, Vienna’s Musikverein, and Brussel’s Palais des Beaux Arts.

Alina records for Hyperion Records. The New York Times said of her recording of Js Bach’s sonatas and Partitas that her “combination of intelligence and intuition, vulnerability and steel will surely prove revelatory”; and she has recorded concertos by Hartmann and Roslavets, and sonatas by szymanowski and Beethoven with Cédric Tiberghien.

Alina has been a member of the BBC New Generation Artists scheme, a recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust award, and winner of a Classical BRIT Award. she performs on a 1738 Pietro Guarneri of Venice violin kindly provided by Georg von opel. In May 2011 Alina won the young Artist Award at the RPs Music Awards.

These performances with the AAM represent Alina’s debut with the orchestra, and are also the first time that she has directed a period-instrument orchestra.

Alina’s recording of Js Bach’s sonatas & Partitas

This is an absolutely compelling set of performances, the kind that have you on the edge of your seat wondering at the freshness of it all and what she might do next. Every phrase in these familiar works seems newly minted, every bar totally alive.” THe GuARDIAN, 2009

Alina will be signing copies of the CD after the concerts in London, Cambridge, Ludlow and Bury st edmunds. Please ask any member of staff at these venues for details.

“

© sussie Ahlburg


In conversation with Alina Ibragimova

Here are a few of the best bits from a conversation we had with Alina a few months ago. Listen to the full interview at www.aam.co.uk/resources.

Tell us a little about the programme…“I think with any music it’s important to find a way to programme it that brings out its special elements. The pieces in this programme all have special characters that are contrasting and that help each other come out. They’re not just the birth of something, it’s incredible music in itself — it fills all the spectrum of colours and emotions; everything that music is about, really.

“I’m going to start with the Biber Passacaglia, which is a piece for solo violin — I like the idea of starting with just one person and then expanding into a larger group. “For me, Vivaldi is one of the most exciting composers that ever lived. I never get bored of his music. I’ve heard people complain that the Four seasons are played too often, but for me it always stays fresh… It has so much character and humour. There’s a lot of showing off, emotional moments, beautiful lyrical melodies… It’s really incredible music.”

What’s it like to tackle such well-known repertoire — do you feel pressure to do something new?“I always try to approach music from a clean score, so to speak; I try not to listen to recordings, just because once you hear something — whether you love it or you hate it — it’s going to be there in the back of your mind. I like to think that I can start from nothing. I don’t really believe in doing something to try and make it different or trying to make it ‘new again’. I think music speaks for itself.“

Why play on period instruments?“For me, it’s a beautiful sound-world — it’s something completely different from modern instruments. It’s to do with resonance, it’s to do with articulation, and the freedom that you can find within it. It’s a completely different world of music-making.”

What’s it like directing from the violin, as opposed to being a soloist?“I guess I’ll have to show things more — I’ll have to be a little more active. But in the end, it’s the same as playing in a string quartet — it’s all chamber music. It’s all about communication and reacting to each other and being spontaneous.“

For me period instruments make a beautiful sound-world — it’s to do with resonance, articulation, and the freedom you can find within it.”

“


There’s also a difference in the way we approach our music making. Composers prized the creativity of musicians, expecting them to make the music come alive and to communicate its thrill to the audience — an ethos we place at the heart of all that we do. Very often we don’t have a conductor, but are directed by one of the musicians, making for spontaneous, sparky and engaged performances. It’s not just about researching the past; it’s about being creative in the present.

In everything we do, we aim to recapture the intimacy, passion and vitality of music when it was first composed. The result? Performances which are full of energy and vibrancy, the superb artistry and musical imagination of our players combined with a deep understanding of the music’s original context.

Academy of Ancient Music: our ethos

The history of the AAM is the history of a revolution. When Christopher Hogwood founded the orchestra almost forty years ago, he rejected the decades-old convention of playing old music in a modern style. Hogwood and the AAM were inspired by original performances and, along with musicians across europe, were beginning to discover the sound worlds which Bach, Handel and Haydn would have known. These bold initial steps would lead to a radical transformation in musical performance, allowing baroque and classical masterworks to be heard anew from that day to this.

so what’s different about the AAM? Partly it’s the instruments, which are originals (or faithful copies of them). The stringed instruments have strings made of animal gut, not steel; the trumpets have no valves; the violins and violas don’t have chin-rests, and the cellists grip their instruments between their legs rather than resting them on the floor. The result is a sound which is bright, immediate and striking. Additionally, the size of the orchestra is often smaller, meaning that every instrument shines through and the original balance of sound is restored; and where possible we play from first edition scores, stripping away the later additions and annotations of editors and getting back to composers’ initial notes, markings and ideas.

NEW IMAGE HERE

“a band that, for nearly 40 years, has consistently established a benchmark of veracity and authority in getting composers’ music played as it was intended to be played: free of accretions, stripped of varnish, and as straight and true as an arrow”G L A S G O W H E R A L D, 2010

o N 19 J A N u A R y W e R e T u R N e D F o R A N A A M P L I F Y s I D e - B y - s I D e W o R K s H o P A T T H e u N I V e R s I T y o F C A M B R I D G e , e x P L o R I N G C o R e L L I ’ s C o N C e R T I G R o s s I o P .6 T o G e T H e R W I T H s T u D e N T s . V I s I T W W W . A A M . C o . u K / A A M P L I F y T o F I N D o u T M o R e .


Academy of Ancient Music: our past, present and future

The AAM was founded in 1973 by Christopher Hogwood, under whose leadership the orchestra developed the global reputation for inspirational music making which continues today. In its first three decades the AAM performed live to music lovers on every continent except Antarctica, and millions more heard the orchestra through its astonishing catalogue of over 300 CDs: Brit- and Grammy-Award-winning recordings of Handel operas, pioneering accounts of the Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn symphonies, and revelatory discs which championed neglected composers.

This artistic excellence was fostered by a stunning roster of guest artists: singers Dame emma Kirkby, Dame Joan sutherland and Cecilia Bartoli and pianist Robert Levin were among those performing regularly with the AAM. A range of collaborations continue to inspire the group with new ideas and fresh approaches. The current relationship with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge recently produced the world’s first live classical cinecast, with Handel’s Messiah streamed live into hundreds of cinemas across the globe; and ongoing work with the likes of soprano elizabeth Watts, tenor Andrew Kennedy and cellist steven Isserlis lies at the heart of the AAM’s present-day artistic success.

In 2006 Richard egarr succeeded Hogwood as Music Director, and the orchestra continues

its tradition of enthralling audiences old and new. Already egarr has directed the first-ever performances in China of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Js Bach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos, and has led tours throughout europe and to Australia, America and the Far east. Recent recordings, including a complete cycle of Handel’s instrumental music opp.1-7, have won MIDeM, edison and Gramophone Awards. In 2007 egarr founded the Choir of the AAM, which a year later was awarded the title of ‘Choir of the year’ at the Beijing Classical elites.

The future is just as bright. Performances in 2011–12 feature music from Monteverdi to Beethoven, with outstanding artists including Alina Ibragimova and Anna Prohaska making their AAM debuts. From september 2012, the AAM will become Associate ensemble at the Barbican Centre in London.

Meanwhile the AAMplify new generation scheme continues to flourish: hundreds of young music lovers will be welcomed to AAM concerts this season, and the musicians of the future will rehearse and perform side by side with the orchestra in Cambridge and, for the first time, in London.

Visit www.aam.co.uk to find out more, or pick up a season brochure tonight.

Dawn of the cantataProgramme includes:

B MARINI Sonata sopra fuggi dolente (1655)

MONTEVERDI Act 1 scene 2 from Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria (1640)

ZANETTI Saltarello della Battaglia (1645)

MONTEVERDI Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (1624)

James Gilchrist tenor

Jonathan Cohen director & keyboards

LONDONThursday 26 April 20127.30pm Wigmore HallTickets £18–£32020 7935 2141www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Free pre-concert discussions with Jonathan Cohen and BBC Radio 3’s sara Mohr-Pietsch at 6.30pm

Academy of Ancient Music

www.aam.co.uk

“ Musicke so delectable, so rare, so admirable, so super-excellent, that it did even ravish and stupifie all those strangers that had never heard the like” THoMAs CoRyATe, eNGLIsH TRAVeLLeR To VeNICe, 1608

Anna Prohaska soprano

CAMBRIDGESaturday 28 April 20127.30pm West Road Concert HallTickets £14–£2701223 503333 www.aam.co.uk/concerts

Benjamin Hulett tenor



Board of DirectorsAdam BroadbentKay Brock LVo DLJohn everettMatthew FerreyJames GolobJohn GrievesHeather JarmanChristopher Purvis CBe (Chairman)John ReeveTerence sinclairDr Christopher Tadgell

Development BoardAdam BroadbentKay Brock LVo DLDelia Brokeelizabeth de FriendKate DonaghyJohn everettMatthew FerreyJames GolobJohn GrievesMadelaine GundersAnnie NortonChristopher Purvis CBeJohn ReeveChris Rocker Terence sinclair (Chairman)Dr Christopher TadgellMadeleine Tattersallsarah Miles WilliamsAlison Wisbeach

Music Director Richard egarr

Emeritus DirectorChristopher Hogwood CBe

Chief ExecutiveMichael Garvey

Orchestra ManagerAndrew Moore

Head of External Relationssimon Fairclough

External Relations Manager: CommunicationsToby Chadd

Communications OfficerAnna Goldbeck-Wood

External Relations Manager: Developmentoriel Williams

Concerts & Administration Managersamantha Fryer

Finance Managerelaine Hendrie

Concerts & Administration TraineeGraham sale

Violin IRodolfo Richter *Bojan Čičić Liz MacCarthyPierre Joubert

Violin IIWilliam ThorpRebecca LivermorePersephone GibbsJoanna Lawrence

Viola Jane Rogers Marina Ascherson*

Cello Joseph Crouch* Imogen seth-smith* Double bass Judith evans

Theorbo William Carter

Harpsichord Alastair Ross

Joseph Crouch cello

It’s not cool to love Vivaldi’s L’estro armonico concertos: they’re altogether too popular, too ‘likable’. But, while I may have played them at more gigs than you can shake a stick at, I love them every time. I am still struck by their irrepressible and infectious joy, just as I was when I first heard them on a record at home. That LP featured AAM with soloists Monica Huggett and Catherine Mackintosh who, fifteen years later, became two of the most important inspirations in my gradual shift from over-enthusiastic music student to over-enthusiastic professional cellist.”

*Sponsored chairs

Leader Lord and Lady Magan

Principal cello Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell

Principal fluteChristopher and Phillida Purvis

Sub- principal violasir Nicholas and Lady Goodison

Sub- principal celloNewby Trust Ltd

“

Academy of Ancient Music


supporting the Academy of Ancient Music

Having fun, getting closer to the music and securing the future of a great tradition. That’s what supporting the Academy of Ancient Music is all about.

The music we are enjoying tonight only ever came into being through a tradition of patronage. Js Bach composed his instrumental masterpieces at the courts of Weimar and Köthen; Haydn enjoyed the backing of the esterházy family; Mozart’s patrons included the Archbishop of salzburg and emperor Joseph II.

The AAM exists to keep this music alive — but income from ticket sales covers only a third of the cost of staging concerts like tonight’s. Just like the composers of old, the orchestra relies on generous support from those who value its work and care about its future.

over the next few years the AAM will be doing more than ever to develop the audiences, musicians and arts managers of the future through its AAMplify new generation programme, to bring baroque and classical music to a global audience through recordings and online work, and to enrich people’s lives through its concerts. In order to do so it must raise a total of £2.8 million by 2015. Through the generosity of individual philanthropists, Arts Council england and other funders and supporters £1.3 million has already been secured. £1.5 million remains to be raised.

The future of ancient music is in our hands. Read on to find out how you can help.

Join the AAM society

The AAM society is the AAM’s core group of regular supporters. Members’ annual gifts provide the vital ongoing support without which the orchestra would be unable to continue to perform.

Members enjoy a close and ongoing involvement with the life of the orchestra: they dine with the musicians after performances in London; they receive regular invitations to open rehearsals, private recitals and other special events; and at least once each year they are invited to travel with the orchestra on tour internationally.

Membership starts from £250 per annum (£100 for young supporters aged up to 40) and goes up to £20,000+. Gifts can be made annually or by regular standing order. Those giving over £1,000 receive invitations to regular recitals and other special events held in the homes of fellow members. Those giving over £5,000 have the opportunity to sponsor a specific position in the

orchestra, and are invited to join the Council of Benefactors which meets annually to receive an update on the orchestra’s performance from the Chief executive and Chairman.

To join the AAM society, please either contact the AAM or complete and return the membership form on page 21.

“The AAM’s Porto-Lisbon trip was memorable. We socialised with the players, heard wonderful music twice over with soprano Carolyn Sampson, had an exclusive tour and tasting of Graham’s Port, and were introduced to Porto’s extraordinary churches by an expert — with an optional trip to the Gulbenkian thrown in. All smoothly organised, relaxed and with the bonus of excellent company, meals and wine”. e L I Z A B e T H D e F R I e N D A A M S O C I E T Y M E M B E R


“We love the AAM’s excellent performances, academic depth and innovative programming, and as AAM Society members we share the musical life of this superb ensemble project by project. The AAM is as welcoming and friendly as it is enlightening, and as professional behind the scenes as it is on stage!” R I C H A R D A N D e L e N A B R I D G e s A A M S O C I E T Y M E M B E R S

From time to time, syndicates are formed to support special artistic projects. Members enjoy a particularly close involvement with the work they are supporting. It’s not too late to get involved with Musical Revolutions, the concert

series at the heart of the AAM’s 2011–12 London and Cambridge season. Please contact the AAM to find out more.

support a special project

The AAM Tomorrow Fund has been established for those who want to invest at a substantial level in the long-term future of the orchestra. support from the Fund is making major strategic initiatives possible, including the development of the AAMplify new generation

programme and the revitalisation of the AAM’s recording programme. The Fund was established by a generous leading gift from Lady sainsbury of Turville, and major gifts have subsequently been received from other individual and institutional supporters.

Invest in the AAM Tomorrow Fund

over the last four decades the AAM has brought joy and inspiration to millions of people. our aim over the next is to begin to build an endowment which will ultimately enable it to do so in perpetuity.

Leaving a legacy is one of the most enduring ways in which you can support our work: gifts of any size have a real impact in enabling the AAM to keep baroque and classical music alive for generations to come. By supporting our work in this way you may also be able to reduce the overall tax liability due on your estate.

Leave a legacy

Generous tax incentives exist for uK taxpayers supporting charities like the AAM. under the Gift Aid scheme the eventual cost of making a gift to the AAM could be as little as half of its

value to the AAM — and for donors who make gifts of shares the cost could be lower still. Further information is available from the AAM.

Tax-efficient giving

• Contact Simon Fairclough, Head of External Relations, on 01223 341096 or [email protected]

• Visit www.aam.co.uk and click “support the AAM”

To find out more


The AAM is indebted to the following trusts, companies, public bodies and individuals for their support of the orchestra’s work:

AAM Funders & supporters

Special giftsThe Academy of Ancient Music extends its grateful thanks to Lady sainsbury of Turville, who has supported the orchestra’s work at a particularly significant level this year.

The Chairman’s Circle(Donations £20,000–£49,999 per annum)Matthew FerreyCHK Charities LtdDunard Fund

The Hogwood Circle(Donations £10,000 - £19,999 per annum)Lord and Lady MaganChristopher and Phillida Purvis *Mrs Julia RosierDr Christopher and Lady Juliet TadgellLady Linda Wong Davies (KT Wong Foundation)

Principal Patrons (Donations £5,000 – £9,999 per annum)Richard and elena BridgesChristopher Hogwood CBe *Mrs sheila MitchellNewby Trust Ltd *Chris Rocker and Alison WisbeachTerence and sian sinclairand other anonymous Principal Patrons

Patrons (Donations £2,500 – £4,999 per annum)Adam and sara BroadbentRichard and elizabeth de FriendMr and Mrs Je everettMr and Mrs James Golobsir Nicholas and Lady Goodison *John and Ann GrievesGraham and Amanda HuttonMark and Liza LovedayJohn and Joyce ReeveMark Westand other anonymous Patrons

Principal Benefactors (Donations £1,000 – £2,499 per annum)Lady Alexander of WeedonGeorge and Kay BrockMrs D BrokeMr and Mrs Graham BrownClive and Helena Butler

Jo and Keren Butlersir Charles Chadwyck- Healey BtPeter stormonth DarlingKate DonaghyThe Hon simon eccleselma Hawkins and Charles RichterProfessor sean HiltonLord HindlipJohn McFadden and Lisa Kabnick *David and Linda Lakhdhir steven Larcombe and sonya LeydeckerMr and Mrs C NortonLionel and Lynn PerseyNigel and Hilary Pye *Mr and Mrs Charles Rawlinsonsir Konrad and Lady schiemann *JG stanfordMr Michael stumpJohn and Madeleine TattersallMarcellus and Katharine Taylor- Jonesstephen Thomassarah and Andrew WilliamsMrs R Wilson stephensCharles Woodwardand other anonymous Principal Benefactors

Benefactors (Donations £500 – £999)Dr Aileen Adams CBeBill and sue BlythClaire Brisby and John Brisby QC *Mr and Mrs edward Davies- GilbertCharles DumasMr and Mrs Jean- Marie eveillardsimon FaircloughMarshall FieldMichael and Michele Foot CBeAndrew and Wendy GairdnerHon William GibsonThe Hon Mr and Mrs Philip HaversDr and Mrs G and W HoffmanHeather Jarman *susan LathamTessa MayhewMr and Mrs Hideto NakaharaRodney and Kusum Nelson- JonesNick and Margaret ParkerBruno schroder and FamilyPeter ThomsonRobin VousdenPippa Wicks

oriel WilliamsPeter and Margaret WynnJulia yorkeand other anonymous Benefactors

Donors (Donations £250 – £499)Angela and Roderick Ashby- Johnsonelisabeth and Bob Boas *Mrs Nicky BrownJeremy J BuntingMr Alexander ChaddDr and Mrs s ChallahDavid and elizabeth Challenstephen and Debbie Dance Derek and Mary DraperBeatrice and Charles Goldiesteven and Madelaine GundersGemma and Lewis Morris HallMrs Helen HiggsLord and Lady Jenkin of RodingAlison KnockerRichard Lockwoodyvonne de la PraudièreJane Rabagliati and Raymond CrossRobin and Jane RawAnnabel and Martin RandallArthur L Rebell and susan B CohenDenys RobinsonMr and Mrs Timothy RobinsonMichael and Giustina RyanMiss e M schlossmannMichael smithRt Hon sir Murray stuart- smith *Janet unwinPaul F. Wilkinson and Associates Inc.and other anonymous Donors* denotes founder member

Musical RevolutionariesHilary BartonCottisford TrustHon William GibsonHeather JarmanMark and Lisa LovedayMrs sheila MitchellMr and Mrs Charles RawlinsonMichael and Giustina RyanRobin VousdenMr Charles Woodwardand other anonymous Musical Revolutionaries

The AAM society

AAM Business ClubCambridge university PressKleinwort BensonRoyal Bank of Canada

Public fundersArts Council englandorchestras LiveCambridge City Council

Trusts and foundationsCHK Charities LtdDunard FundJohn ellerman Foundationesmée Fairbairn FoundationFidelity uK FoundationGatsby Charitable FoundationNewby Trust Ltdsir siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary settlementConstance Travis Charitable TrustGarfield Weston FoundationJ Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trustand other anonymous trusts and foundations


Join the AAM society

I would like to join the AAM society

I would like to give membership of the AAM society to someone else as a gift

Your details

Name: ........................................................................................................................................

Address: ....................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................................

Telephone: .............................................................................................................................

email: ..........................................................................................................................................

Gift membership — member’s detailsPlease complete this section only if you are giving society membership to someone else as a gift.

Member’s name: ................................................................................................................

Member’s address: ............................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................................

Member’s telephone: ......................................................................................................

Member’s email: .................................................................................................................

Membership level The Chairman’s Circle £20,000+

The Hogwood Circle £10,000–£19,999

Principal Patron £5,000–£9,999

Patron £2,500–£4,999

Principal Benefactor £1,000–£2,499

Benefactor £500–£999

Donor £250–£499

young supporter (under 40 only) £100–£249

Date of birth: ..................................................................................................................

Acknowledgement Please acknowledge my gift using the following form of wording

.......................................................................................................................................................

I would prefer to remain anonymous

Payment detailsI would like to make my donation by

I enclose a cheque for £................................ (please make payable to ‘AAM’)

I enclose a CAF cheque for £................................ (please make payable to ‘AAM’)

I would like to pay by standing order (please complete the standing order section below)

I would like to make a gift of shares (please contact the AAM)

Three-year pledgeBy pledging to support the AAM over a three-year period, you can help the orchestra to plan for the future with confidence.

Please tick here if you are able to pledge to support the orchestra at this level for three years.

Leaving a legacy Please tick here if you would be willing to receive information about remembering the AAM in your will.

Matched giving My firm operates a matched giving policy. Please contact me to discuss this further.

Gift Aid declarationPlease complete this section if you pay uK income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax which the AAM will reclaim on your donations in the appropriate tax year.

Please treat this donation and all donations that I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise as Gift Aid donations.

signed: .....................................................................................................................................

Date: ...........................................................................................................................................

Donations made by standing orderPlease complete this section if you would like to make your donation to the AAM by standing order.

Name of bank: .....................................................................................................................

Bank address: ........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................................

Account number: ...............................................................................................................

sort code: ................................................................................................................................

Please pay Academy of Ancient Music, Lloyds TsB, Gonville Place Branch, Cambridge, sort code 30-13-55, Account number 02768172 the sum of

£......................................................................................................................................................

per month

quarter

year

starting on: .............................................................................................................................

signed: ......................................................................................................................................

Date: ...........................................................................................................................................

Full name: ...............................................................................................................................

Please return your completed form to:Simon FaircloughHead of External RelationsAcademy of Ancient Music32 Newnham RoadCambridge CB3 9EY


AAM to perform at Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

We are proud to announce that the AAM will play a leading role in this summer’s celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. on sunday 3 June, we’ll perform Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks and Water Music on ‘The edwardian’, the second of ten musical herald barges which will intersperse the Thames Pageant.

The music which we will perform is particularly fitting. The Water Music was composed for a similar royal procession which King George I took along the Thames in 1717; and the Music for the Royal Fireworks was commissioned by King George II in 1749 for a national celebration in Green Park to mark the end of european war.

Richard egarr, AAM Music Director, commented that he was “relishing the chance to put Handel’s

glorious music back at the heart of national life, bringing it out of the concert hall and into the public arena for which it was written.” The Pageant, which will be broadcast live to a global audience of millions, is expected to be “bigger than the olympics”, according to Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Throughout the summer we will tour major venues across europe performing this music, as well as the Coronation Anthems and excerpts from Messiah. The tour includes Château de Versailles in Paris, symphony Hall in Birmingham, edinburgh’s usher Hall and Luxembourg’s Philharmonie. you can catch the performances at London’s Barbican Hall on 26 september, and at Corn exchange, Cambridge on 27 september; booking is now open for both of these performances.

Latest news at the AAM

CANALeTTo’s FAMous PAINTING oF A sIMILAR THAMes PAGeANT oN LoRD MAyoR’s DAy, C.1747


2012–13 AAM London & Cambridge season announced

Full details of our 2012–13 London & Cambridge season have been announced online, and you can browse all of the concerts at www.aam.co.uk/concerts.

Highlights of the season include a programme of Italian baroque music with soprano Bernarda Fink; a Good Friday performance of Js Bach’s st John Passion at the Barbican with elizabeth Watts, sarah Connolly and James Gilchrist; concerts with sopranos Lucy Crowe and sophie Junker exploring Handel’s years in Italy; and a welcome return for AAM founder and emeritus Director Christopher Hogwood to conduct Handel’s opera Imeneo.

Booking for performances at Wigmore Hall and West Road Concert Hall opens later in 2012, and you can book now for performances at the Barbican. To receive a copy of our 2012–13 season brochure by post, just email us [email protected] or sign up at the CD sales desk at concerts in Cambridge and London.

A new member of staff

We’re delighted to welcome Graham sale to the team as our new Concerts and Administration Trainee. The AAM’s traineeship forms part of AAMplify, the AAM’s new generation scheme that aims to bring the audiences, musicians and arts managers of tomorrow to the heart of the orchestra’s work. Graham replaces our previous Arts Management Trainee Anna Goldbeck-Wood, who remains with us in the new position of Communications officer.

To read more about opportunities offered through the AAMplify new generation scheme, visit www.aam.co.uk/AAMplify.

AAM becomes Associate Ensemble at the Barbican

From september 2013 the AAM will become Associate ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre. Working in collaboration with the Barbican, we will produce ever-more ambitious performances in London, which we will subsequently bring to venues around the uK and the world — including to our regular season in Cambridge. The Association begins in september with a performance of some of Handel’s most jubilant music, including the Coronation Anthems and Music for the Royal Fireworks, and continues in the 2012–13 season with performances of Js Bach’s st John Passion and Handel’s Italian opera Imeneo.

AAM Chief executive Michael Garvey commented that “the Association at the Barbican and our appearance as part of the Jubilee celebrations will crown a spectacular year for us. From April 2012 we will also receive regular Arts Council funding for the first time — a wonderful testimony to the orchestra’s artistic excellence and vision for the future.”

Listen again

The pre-concert discussions with Alina Ibragimova and BBC Radio 3’s sara Mohr-Pietsch will be available as a podcast from 28 February. Just head to www.aam.co.uk/resources, or search for ‘AAM pre-concert talk’ in iTunes. you can also listen again to tonight’s concert, which will be broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on saturday 3 March. Turn to page 1 for more details.

New offices....

on Friday 17 February we relocated to King’s Parade, opposite King’s College Chapel and directly above Primavera art gallery. our new address is 11b King’s Parade, Cambridge CB1 7sJ.

Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore streetLondon W1u 2BPDirector: John GilhoolyThe Wigmore Hall TrustRegistered Charity No.1024838

Wigmore Hall is a no-smoking venue.

No recording or photographic equipment may be taken into the auditorium, nor used in any other part of the Hall without the prior written permission of the Hall Management.

Wigmore Hall is equipped with a ’Loop’ to help hearing aid users receive clear sound without background noise. Patrons can use the facility by switching their hearing aids over to ’T’.

In accordance with the requirements of City of Westminster, persons shall not be permitted to stand or sit in any of the gangways intersecting the seating, or to sit in any of the other gangways. If standing is permitted in the gangways at the sides and rear of the seating, it shall be limited to the numbers indicated in the notices exhibited in those positions.

Facilities for Disabled People:

Please contact House Management for full details.


www.brittensinfonia.com

Mark Padmore brings all his artistry to this Viennese programme of beguiling song including Mahler’s captivating Rückert-Lieder.

Padmore sings MahlerCambridgeWest Road Concert Hall Wednesday 16 May 2012, 7.30pmBox Office: 01223 357851

LondonSouthbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Thursday 17 May 2012, 7.30pmBox Office: 0844 847 9910www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Mozart: Lucio Silla 8 March, 7.30 pm

The first UK performance since 1998 of the grandest and arguably the greatest of Mozart’s early operas. A superb young cast, headed by Natalya Romaniw and Rowan Hellier, is conducted by Ian Page.

Mozart: Apollo et Hyacinthus 14 May, 7.30 pm

A rare performance of Mozart’s astonishing first opera, with an outstanding cast including Klara Ek, Lawrence Zazzo and Andrew Kennedy, to coincide with the launch of Classical Opera’s new recording on Linn Records.

Cadogan Hall, London SW1 Bookings 020 7730 4500 www.cadoganhall.com

www.classicalopera.co.uk

Classical Opera at Cadogan Hall

AAM.indd 1 2/13/2012 9:39:00 PM

rise of the concerto - academy of ancient · pdf fileas play-director of a period-instrument...

Documents