Symphony for the Common Man - Sydney Symphony Orchestra

From the Managing Director
This year has already seen many wonderful musical
experiences as part of our 80th anniversary year,
and there are many more to come, not least when
our artistic leader Vladimir Ashkenazy returns in
October for concerts in preparation for our tour
of major venues in China. Then in November, he
will be back for Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of
Spades, which we’ll be presenting in concert. This
is a personal highlight of our season for me, and
something I urge you not to miss.
As I welcome you to this edition of Bravo!, we have
just launched our 2013 season. Next year presents
an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful musical
partnership between the Sydney Symphony and
Vladimir Ashkenazy. The programming includes many
artists and friends he admires – Pinchas Zukerman,
Murray Perahia performing in recital, and Lisa Gasteen,
to name but a few. It promises to be an outstanding
season for your orchestra and audiences alike and
I very much look forward to sharing it with you.
RORY JEFFES
Ask a Musician
Nita Lawrie asked us a great question via Facebook:
Why was the orchestra arranged quite differently
on stage for the Tchaikovsky? (Absolutely fantastic
concert btw.)
For those who weren’t there, in
our performance of Tchaikovsky’s
Pathétique Symphony, the first
and second violin sections sat left
and right of the podium, with the
cellos and violas in the middle
in front of the conductor. (The
double basses had moved to the
left, behind the cellos.) It’s often
called an ‘antiphonal’ arrange-
Insider Tips
ment. For some orchestras, it’s
their basic configuration.
This layout is requested by our
conductors from time to time,
depending on the music we’re
playing. It was a common arrangement
for orchestras right into
the late 19th century, so there’s
a lot of music that would have
been composed with this layout
Just in time for our 2013 season launch,
‘Box Office’ Steve shares some of his
Top Tips for helping ensure a hasslefree
subscription purchase.
requests, it’s important to let us know early and thus
improve your chances of securing the seats you want.
give us a clearer idea of where you want to sit. Also,
in case your preferred seat isn’t available, offering
alternative options is helpful.
don’t have any particular seating preferences, try to
avoid calling first thing on Monday morning, when
we’re super busy in the box office.
renewal form means a shorter wait before you have
your tickets in hand.
trained staff join the box office team, and as we all
know, it can take a little while to get into the swing
of things. Your patience is truly appreciated!
The US Consul General Niels Marquardt hosted a welcome for
David Robertson, who will begin his tenure as Chief Conductor
and Artistic Director in 2014. From left: Rory Jeffes, Orli Shaham,
David Robertson, John Conde and Niels Marquardt.
in mind. One practical result is
that it gives listeners a kind of
stereo effect between the first and
second violins, and in some pieces
this brings out the question-andanswer
gestures in the music, for
example the first movement of
Brahms’s Fourth Symphony. So
it’s not unknown for conductors to
request this kind of arrangement
for Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms,
Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, to
name a few.
By contrast, the Vaughan Williams
Fantasia that began this
concert called for a special layout
of the strings, dictated by the fact
that the orchestra is functioning as
three ensembles in one.
Photo: Ken Butti