European Union Chamber Orchestra

 

Gernot Sussmuth - director

Nicola Benedetti - violin

 

Thursday 15 February, 2007, 7.30 pm

St Chads Church, Shrewsbury

Pre Concert Talk with Nicola Benedetti and Gernot Sussmuth 6:30pm

 

HAYDN (1732 - 1809) - Symphony No 22 in Eb (Philosopher)

Adagio; Presto; Menuetto; Presto

Referring to his employment from 1766 - 1795, Haydn described his situation, his attitude and his talent: "My prince was satisfied with all my works - I was praised, and as head of an orchestra I could experiment, observe what heightened the effect and what weakened it, and so could improve, expand, take risks. I was cut off from the world, there was no-one near me to torment me or make me doubt myself and so I had become original."

For the previous six years, he had been employed as Kapellmeister at Eisenstadt. Symphonies seem to have been Prince Anton's principal requirement and of course Haydn managed to explore a variety of possibilities. Five of the early symphonies, including No 22 which dates from 1764, hark back to the church sonata format by starting with a complete slow movement. The great solemnity of the first movement enhanced by the dark sonority of two cors anglais (instead of oboes) must account for the nickname of "philosopher", given to Symphony 22. Its other movements, including the Trio of the Minuet, remain in the essentially bright key of E flat and the Finale can only be described as exuberant with its arpeggio figures and wide leaps in the violins.

MOZART (1756 - 1791) - Violin Concerto in G major K216

Allegro; Adagio; Rondeau

By the time Mozart came to compose his concertos, the Baroque Concerto Grosso had almost totally disappeared and had been replaced by the 'modern' concept of solo player with an orchestral accompaniment. Mozart is known to have completed five Violin Concertos, thought bearing in mind the contemporary practice of publishing works in groups of six it is possible that he planned and even started another; at any rate, the five which were completed had to wait nearly a century for publication. All five were composed in Saltsburg between April and December of 1775 and they are an important group in a study of Mozart's development to maturity. How different the five concertos are from each other is remarkable but each retains all the hallmarks of the Mozartian style, namely a constant interplay between soloist and orchestra and so tension and release, and at the same time a perfect balance with the 'accompanying' orchestra.

This third concerto in the joyful key of G major has a particular ebullience. Its opening theme bounces off an octave leap in the base line and leads to a unison run of semi-quavers. The development section is constructed from thematic threads of repetitive notes and playful upward motives. By contrast in the slow movement the soloist sings a serene and seamless melody over a throbbing and reflective accompaniment. The last movement, a Rondo in compound time, is almost operatic in its details. Its joyousness is interrupted by short Andante and Allegretto sections. 

MICHAELA PLACHKA (b.1986) - You Gave Us Quiet

This composition was written for an international course for composers in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic in the summer of 2005. EUCO took part in the course enabling young composers to hear their works rehearsed and performed. The composer writes, "in this short piece I took some special aspects of Moravian folklore and used them in a different context. Typical of this is modal harmony and coloratura melody. For me it is a reminiscence of time full of pleasure and rest".

DVORAK (1841 - 1904) - Serenade for Strings in E major Op. 22

Moderato; Tempo di Valse; Scherzo; Larghetto; Allegro vivace - moderato

Dvorak's Serenade dates from 1875, a year which marked the start of his successes as a composer. He had won respect from fellow composers in Vienna and a jury which included Johannes Brahms and the critic Eduard Hanslick awarded him an annual stipend of 400 florins, a salary which exceeded that of the Theatre where he had been employed until 1871. In the same year, his string quintet received a prize from a respected Czech cultural organisation.

The Quintet was one of many inspired chamber works of the period and in it Dvorak had penetrated the special sonority of five-part string writing. A well-grounded technique and a renewed confidence led him to complete in just twelve days his Serenade for String Orchestra. In the first movement, the music grows out of calm and gently flowing melody, heard at the start and finish on the cellos and bass. The ensuing Waltz, in the relative minor key, is charming - even exquisite, and includes a most lyrical Trio section in D flat major. After a lively Scherzo in F major there is a Largo which is probably the artistic peak of the Serenade, passionate yet serious. It too has a middle section in which a spring breeze just disturbs the calm of night. The Finale provides a sharp contrast with its driving dotted rhythms and its exuberant gestures. The music of the first movement is heard briefly before a whirlwind brings this remarkably cohesive work to a close.

GERNOT SUSSMUTH

Gernot Sussmuth made his first public appearance playing Haydn's Violin Concert in G at the age of nine.  He won various Youth competitions and in 1980 began studies at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin.  He led the Orchestra of the Conservatories of the (former) DDR and his first professional position was as concert-master of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has led the New Berlin Chamber Orchestra for concerts at the Salzburg Festival and in the UK in 2003.

From 1991 to 1999 Gernot Sussmuth was a member of the celebrated Petersen Quartet, as well as a soloist. The Quartet won many international prizes including First  Prize of the Chamber Music Competition, 'Vittorio Gui' in Florence.  For three years Sussmuth was one of the leaders of the Berliner Staatskapelle, under Daniel Barenboim and in 2002 he took up a post as concert-master of the Wieman Staatskapelle. Since 1992 Sussmuth has also been a Professor at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin.

EUROPEAN UNION CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Patron: HM Queen Sofia of Spain

The EUCO gave its first concerts in 1981 and has since gained a worldwide reputation as a musical ambassador for the European Union.  Regular tours take it worldwide and performances have included those in the presence of Queen Noor of Jordan, the King and Queen of Belgium and its own Patron, Queen Sofia of Spain.  In 1999 EUCO gave a concert to mark the 77th birthday of King Sihanouk of Cambodia in the Royal Palace at Phnom Penh and in 2000 performed for the birthday of Princess Galyani in Bangkok.

An annual schedule of some 60 concerts includes prestigious halls such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Frankfurter Alte Oper, Brussels' Palais des Beaux Arts, Leeds Town Hall and the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.  The Orchestra's regular European tours also include international festivals such as Flanders, Echternach, Bodensee, Mecklenburg, Vorpommern, both Prague Spring and Autumn Festivals and Estonia's Glasperlenspiel.

With assistance from the European Commission, EUCO tours regularly throughout South and South East Asia, North, South and Central America and the Middle East. 2003 included a sixth tour of Mexico with concerts for the prestigious Festival Cervantino and two concerts in Washington DC, one of which was recorded by NPR for national broadcast.  In 2004, in addition to its European schedule, ECUO toured South America, including a concert in the prestigious Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and for the fourth time to Sri Lanka and Thailand.  In 2005 its tours took it again to Europe, Vietnam, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and to West Africa for the first time.

The Orchestra has performed with many legendary artists including Yehudi Menuhin, James Galway, Lazar Berman, Mischa Maisky, Severino Gazzeloni and Igor Oistrakh.  It regularly commissions works from leading European composers and has to its credit 18 CDs on ASV, Carlton, Hyperion, Koch and Regent.

The European Union Chamber Orchestra Trust is a registered Charity.

EUCO has received funds from the British Council, Goethe-Institute, the Ministry of Culture of Spaion, the Ministry of Foreign Affaires of Italy and the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland.

NICOLA BENEDETTI

Named BBC's Young Musician of the Year in 2004, violinist Nicola Benedetti has captivated audiences and critics with her performances and poise, leading the London Times to call her a "a shining beacon for the beleaguered cause of classical music..."

Born in Scotland of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. Nicola left the Yehudi Menuhin School at the end of 2002 and has since been studying privately with Maciej Rakowski, whilst living in London and enjoying her busy schedule.

Throughout the 2004-2005 season, Nicola took part in many prestigious engagements, including her solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall and events in Windsor Castle and for Her Majesty The Queen and at the Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament. Further performances included the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Scottish National Orchestras, City of London Symphonia, London Mozart Players and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, with whom she recently recorded her second DG disc featuring Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto No 1 and a commissioned work by James Macmillan.

In the 2005-2006 season, Nicola performed a list of high profile engagements including her BBC Prom debut in London and concerts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and the Philharmonia Orchestras. Her US debut tour began with a performance for the exclusive Academy of Achievement Summit at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Centre and continued in recital at New York's Merkin Hall and with the La Jolla Music Society, along with orchestral performances including the Greenville Symphony. She returned to the United States in Spring 2006 for a recital of Ravinia's Rising Stars series and a performance at the Kravis Centre in Florida, among others. Also in early 2006 she performed for Colin Powell at the Jewish National Fund meetings in Glasgow, and in the Spring, she was featured in a BBC documentary broadcast throughout the United Kingdom.

Her upcoming and recent engagements include performances with the English Chamber and RTE National Symphony Orchestras, the Deutsches Sinfonie Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the Tonhalle and Tonkunstler Orchestras, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the London Philharmonic.

An exclusive Universal/Deutsche Grammophon artist, Nicola recorded her debut album with Daniel Harding and the London Symphony Orchestra. It features Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No 1, the very same work which catapulted her to nationwide fame after she performed it to win Britain's prestigious title of BBC Young Musician of the Year. It also includes shorter pieces by Brahms, Chausson, Massenet, Saint-Saens and a commissioned work by John Taverner. Released in Europe in May 2005, the disc received critical acclaim and debuted at No 1 on the BBC music charts, and was released in the United States in March 2006.

In addition to her performance and recording activities, Nicola has devoted herself to humanitarian and educational causes. In 2005, she undertook a tour of schools throughout the United Kingdom in conjunction with the Sargent Cancer Care for Children Practice-a-thon, in which she encouraged pupils of all ages to pick up their instruments and enjoy classical music. Nicola is also a UNICEF Supporter.

Nicola plays an Earl Spencer Stradivarius violin.