LSO Discovery
Friday
Lunchtime Concert
Friday 19 February 2021 12.30pm
Friday 19 February 2021
LSO Discovery Lunchtime Concert
Andrea Clearfield Wolf Night from 'Songs of the Wolf'
Poulenc Elegie
Saint-Saëns Morceau de Concert
Angela Barnes horn
Caroline Jaya-Ratnam piano
Rachel Leach presenter
This performance is broadcast live on youtube.com/lso. Available to watch for free for 90 days from broadcast.
Recorded at LSO St Luke's in COVID-19 secure conditions.
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Andrea Clearfield
Wolf Night from 'Songs of the Wolf'
✒️1994 | ⏰7'
Andrea Clearfield was born in Philadelphia into a music-loving family. She began learning piano aged five before progressing onto flute and timpani at school. She is now a highly respected and award-winning composer writing in all genres. Alongside a busy composing schedule, she is the founder and host of the Philadelphia Salon concert series and holds the post of Composer-in-Residence with National Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Her work has been described as ‘vivid’, ‘galvanizing’ and ‘stunning’.
Songs of the Wolf was written in 1994 for Norwegian horn player Froydis Ree Wekre. Clearfield seeks to combine imagery of the north – the woods, the mythology and ‘the essence of the wolf’. The first movement, Wolf Song, is inspired by a poem by Manfred Fischbeck.
Note by Rachel Leach
Francis Poulenc
Elegie
✒️1957 | ⏰10'
Poulenc was born into a very wealthy and successful Parisian family, and young Francis had access to the very best teachers. Poulenc’s first influences were fellow French musical geniuses Debussy and Ravel, but as a young man he turned against this when he met composer Erik Satie and joined Les Six – a group of six like-minded composers intent on stirring things up a bit.
While walking through London in 1957, Poulenc saw a notice on a news billboard of the tragic death of horn player Dennis Brain. He immediately went home and wrote this piece as a tribute to him. Brain was one of the world’s greatest horn players: his recordings of Mozart’s Horn Concertos are still regarded as the definitive versions. Poulenc had worked with Brain and held him in highest regard. Elegie features all the hallmarks of Poulenc’s style – rhythmic energy and syncopation alongside serene calm, as well as an uncharacteristic flirtation with serialism.
Note by Rachel Leach
Camille Saint-Saëns
Morceau de concert Op 94
✒️1887 | ⏰10'
1 Moderato
2 Adagio
3 Allegro non troppo
Saint-Saëns (pronounced San-Son) began his career as a child prodigy like no other. He became famous at the age of just ten when, during his first public recital, he asked the audience to choose any Beethoven piano sonata and then proceeded to play it perfectly from memory (there were 32 sonatas to choose from!).
As a young composer he was a rebel with a totally new sound. Fast forward to the end of his life and he had become a grumpy old man, publicly critical of all that was new. Morceau de concert (piece for concert) was written in 1887 to explore the possibilities of the new valve horn system. Its first performer, Henri Chaussier, had invented a system called ‘omnitonic’, which supposedly made playing in any key easy. Chaussier’s system did not become the standard and his horn is now in a museum in Brussels. Saint-Saëns’ piece, however, was an instant success and with a few small changes can now be played on any horn.
Note by Rachel Leach
Artist Biographies
Angela Barnes
LSO Horn
Having started horn lessons with her mother aged eight, Angela Barnes went on to study at Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she has recently been invited to return as Professor of Horn. During her final year of study she was offered the second horn position with the LSO, and upon joining became the first female member of the brass section.
A keen chamber musician, Angela features in the second instalment of the Cala Records ‘London Horn Sound’ series and appears alongside tenor Allan Clayton in Britten’s Canticle III, recorded for BBC Radio 3 as part of the New Generation Artists scheme.
Solo appearances include Strauss’ Second Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra as part of the BBC YMOTY 2002 Final, and as part of the solo quartet in Schumann’s Konzertstuck with the LSO. She is very much a cat person, currently besotted by her cross-eyed ginger tom, Eddie.
Caroline Jaya-Ratnam
piano
Caroline Jaya-Ratnam read music at Cambridge University, where she held an Instrumental Award and a Choral Exhibition award. Following her Masters degree she was appointed Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music.
Caroline is in particular demand as an accompanist. BBC Radio 3 performances include numerous In Tune broadcasts, while television appearances include accompanying international opera singers Rolando Villazon, Danielle de Niese and Bryn Terfel. She is the recipient of several national accompanist prizes and has given duo recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall. She has appeared at the BBC Proms with the London Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra, and has broadcast live as a concerto soloist from the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Caroline is a freelance repetiteur for the English National Opera and Glyndebourne. As a singer she tours with Synergy Vocals, specialising in Steve Reich. She is a Professor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
Thank You for Watching
Join Us Next Time
Friday 26 February 2021 12.30pm GMT
LSO Discovery Lunchtime Concert: Relaxed performance
Eduard Pütz Blues for Benni
Alejandro Civilotti Solitudes
(movements I, III & V)
Astor Piazzolla Tango Oblivion
Andy Akiho Karakurenai
Arvo Pärt Spiegel im Spiegel
German Clavijo viola
José Moreira double bass
Sam Walton percussion
Rachel Leach presenter
Relaxed performances are particularly suited to anyone who would prefer a more relaxed performance style, including people with autism, sensory and communication impairments, and learning disabilities. There will be opportunities to get creative, so have your paints, pens or other art materials to hand.
The broadcast on 26 February features an adapted BSL interpretation which will include more visual and gestural elements. There will also be closed captions provided by StageText and accessible digital programme notes available to download in advance or on the day.
We hope you will join us from the comfort of your own home where you'll be free to move and make as much noise as you like!