LSO Discovery
Free Friday Lunchtime Concert
TODAY'S CONCERT
Antonín Dvořák Nocturne in B major for Violin and Piano
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Piano Trio in E minor
Antonín Dvořák Poco adagio and Allegro from Piano Trio No 4, ‘Dumky’
Benjamin Gilmore violin
David Cohen cello
Evelyne Berezovsky piano
Rachel Leach presenter
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Antonín Dvořák (1841 to 1904)
Nocturne in B major for Violin and Piano
✒️ 1883 | ⏰7 minutes
Antonín Dvořák was born and spent most of his life near Prague. He had a good musical education from the age of six and grew up to be a fine viola player and teacher. In the 1870s he quit his orchestral job to pursue composing full time and gradually began to make a name for himself. His music was an intriguing mix of classical structure (especially in his nine symphonies) and romantic expression, often with a hint of Czech folk. Dvořák was a good friend of Johannes Brahms – the two had met in 1875 after Brahms had heard the younger composer’s string quintets and admired them. Brahms then helped Dvořák to get international recognition by introducing him to his own publisher. Without Brahms’ generosity we might never have heard of Dvořák.
The Nocturne in B major was written just before Dvořák found fame. It was originally intended as a string quartet slow movement but Dvořák couldn’t quite make it fit alongside the other movements. Eventually he reworked the material into a one-movement work for string orchestra and, in 1883, wrote this version for solo violin and piano.
Note by Rachel Leach
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 to 1912)
Piano Trio in E minor
✒️ 1893 | ⏰9 minutes
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was born in Holborn, London. His mother, Alice Martin, was a white English woman and his father Daniel Taylor, a visiting medical student, was from Sierra Leone. Alice named her son after the famous poet and he was raised in a household of love and music. His first violin lessons were from his grandpa who noticed the boy’s musical potential. The family then raised enough funds to send him for ‘proper’ lessons and this led to a place at the Royal College of Music (RCM) at the age of just 15.
The Piano Trio we will hear today was written for a composition lesson with Charles Villiers Stanford, who immediately recognised Coleridge-Taylor’s enormous talent, declaring him the most gifted of his students. The score was then ‘lost’ in the RCM library and has only just resurfaced. It features three short, dramatic movements and hints at the great future that lay ahead for its composer.
Note by Rachel Leach
Antonín Dvořák (1841 to 1904)
Piano Trio No 4, ‘Dumky’
✒️ 1891 | ⏰12 minutes
2 Poco adagio
5 Allegro
Dvořák’s Piano Trio No 4, ‘Dumky’, is now one of his most beloved and famous chamber works. It was written in the year running up to his move to New York and was an immediate hit with audiences, so much so that Dvořák performed it over 40 times on his ‘farewell’ tour. The title comes from a type of Ukrainian folk music called Dumka which is characterised by a dark, brooding character interspersed with lighter, joyful sections. Today we will hear the Poco adagio, a movement of contrasts and playful joy, followed by the lively yet melancholy Allegro.
Note by Rachel Leach and Alice Manning
About the Artists
Benjamin Gilmore
LSO First Violin, Leader
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore enjoys a busy life as an orchestral and chamber musician, joining the LSO as Leader in August 2023. He was concertmaster of the Philharmonia Orchestra between 2019 and 2023, and has been a member of the Navarra Quartet since 2021. He is also a member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and from 2016 to 2019 was leader of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, to which he continues to return as guest leader and director. A lover of opera, he is also a frequent guest concertmaster with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
Benjamin studied with Natalia Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Pavel Vernikov in Vienna, and received further guidance and inspiration from Julian Rachlin and Miriam Fried. He won prizes at the Oskar Back, Joseph Joachim and Salzburg Mozart competitions, and has participated in festivals such as Kuhmo, Prussia Cove and Ravinia. Benjamin’s father was the musicologist Bob Gilmore, his grandfather is the conductor Lev Markiz, and his mother Maria Markiz has variously been a musicologist, interpreter, equestrian and data analyst. He is married to Hannah Shaw, a violist, and enjoys cooking and cycling, in both of which disciplines he makes up in enthusiasm what he lacks in proficiency.
David Cohen
LSO Principal Cello
David Cohen has established a reputation as one of the most charismatic and exciting young cellists of today. He has been hailed by critics as 'Magnificent' (Gramophone), a musician who 'demonstrates total commitment, combining vitality with expressive feeling in the most spontaneous manner' (The Strad), and 'an individual, and an exceptionally gifted one,' (New York Stereo Review). David was appointed Principal Cello of the LSO in 2022.
In his remarkable musical journey, David has worked as a soloist with some of the most distinguished conductors in the industry such as Lord Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Vladimir Ashkenazy, among others. His triumphant solo debut in Japan with the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in June 2007, led him to be immediately re-invited for the 2009/10 season.
David is the Artistic Director of the Melchoir Ensemble and the founder and Artistic Director of the chamber music festival, 'Les Sons Intensifs' in Lessines, Belgium. He is also a professor at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Mons in Belgium, a position he has held since 2000, and at Trinity Laban in London.
David plays on the 'Ex-Pergamenschikow cello', a magnificent Dominicus Montagnana circa 1735, thanks to the kindness and generosity of Mrs Pat Morton and the help of the Razumovsky Trust.
Evelyne Berezovsky
piano
Described by Le Monde as a pianist with 'a huge temperament, dazzling technique and a heart to match', Evelyne Berezovsky is emerging as one of the most exciting artists of her generation. Amongst others, she has performed concertos with the Tokyo Mozart Players under François-Xavier Roth, Musica Viva under Alexander Rudin, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra under Andris Poga, Thailand Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic under Gudni Emilsson.
She has been invited to perform at major venues such as the Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre, Moscow Philharmonic Hall, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and festivals such as La Roque D'antheron and Fêtes d'Olympia in France, Les folles journées du Japon (Japan), Lorin Maazel's Festival (USA) as well as being a regular guest at Pianos Folies de Touquet (France).
Born in Moscow in 1991, Evelyne started playing the piano at the age of five. She has studied with renowned professors Hamish Milne, Elisso Virsaladze, Rena Shereshevskaya and recently has been working with Maria João Pires. Evelyne is a Grand Prix winner at the Gyorgy Cziffra International Competition (2019) in Paris, France.
Rachel Leach
presenter
© Kevin Leighton
Rachel Leach was born in Sheffield. She studied composition, and her music has been recorded by NMC and published by Faber. She has won several awards including, with English Touring Opera (ETO), the RPS award for best education project 2009 for One Day, Two Dawns.
Rachel has worked within the education departments of most of the UK’s orchestras and opera companies. The majority of her work is for the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Rachel has written well over 20 pieces for LSO Discovery and 15 community operas, including seven for the English Touring Opera.
Increasingly in demand as a concert presenter, as well as presenting the LSO Discovery Free Friday Lunchtime Concert series, she regularly presents children’s concerts and pre-concert events for the LSO, LPO, Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal College of Music and Royal Northern Sinfonia.
© Kevin Leighton
© Kevin Leighton
Next Friday Lunchtime Concert
Friday 2 February 2024
featuring musicians from the Guildhall School
Luciano Berio Azerbaijan Love Song from ‘Folk Songs’
Antonio Vivaldi Gemo in un punto e fremo from ‘L’Olimpiade’
Gustav Mahler Lob des Hohen Verstandes from ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’
Samuel Barber Solitary Hotel from ‘Despite and Still’
Henriëtte Bosmans Complainte du petit cheval blanc and Les Médisants from ‘Dix mélodies’
Kurt Weill I’m a Stranger Here Myself from ‘One Touch of Venus’
George Gershwin Someone to Watch Over Me from ‘Crazy for You’
Kurt Weill The Princess of Pure Delight from ‘Lady in the Dark‘
Roza Herwig mezzo-soprano
Edward Picton-Turbervill piano
Rachel Leach presenter
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