SSO Gala: Beethoven Violin Concerto • Crusell Sinfonia Concertante by Singapore Symphony

SSO GALA

Beethoven Violin Concerto â&#x20AC;¢ Crusell Sinfonia Concertante 19 & 20 MAY 2017 FRI & SAT | VICTORIA concert hall Home of the SSO

LAN SHUI Music Director

19 & 20 May 2017 | Fri & Sat

SSO Gala: Beethoven Violin Concerto • Crusell Sinfonia Concertante Singapore Symphony Orchestra Lan Shui, conductor

JEREMIAH LI Senbonzakura Gossamer Shrouds the Tal (World Premiere)

10’00

Commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra

BERNHARD HENRIK CRUSELL Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat major, Op. 3

28’00

1. Allegro 2. Andante sostenuto 3. Allegro ma non tanto Ma Yue, clarinet Han Chang Chou, horn Zhang Jin Min, bassoon

Intermission 20’00

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

42’00

1. Allegro ma non troppo 2. Larghetto 3. Rondo Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Post-Concert Symphony Chat Victoria Concert Hall, stalls level I 20 May 2017

Concert duration: 1 hr 55 mins Let’s go green. Digital programme booklets are available on www.sso.org.sg. Scan the QR code in the foyer to view a copy.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Since its founding in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has been Singapore’s flagship orchestra, touching lives through classical music and providing the heartbeat of the cultural scene in the cosmopolitan city-state. In addition to its subscription series concerts, the orchestra is well-loved for its outdoor and community appearances, and its significant role educating the young people of Singapore. The SSO has also earned an international reputation for its orchestral virtuosity, having garnered sterling reviews for its overseas tours and many successful recordings. The SSO makes its performing home at the 1,800-seat state-of-the-art Esplanade Concert Hall. More intimate works and all outreach and community performances take place at the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall, the home of the SSO. The orchestra performs 100 concerts a year, and its versatile repertoire spans all-time favourites and orchestral masterpieces to exciting cutting-edge premieres. Bridging the musical traditions of East and West, Singaporean and Asian musicians and composers are regularly showcased in the concert season. This has been a core of the SSO's programming philosophy from the very beginning under Choo Hoey, who was Music Director from 1979 to 1996. Since Lan Shui assumed the position of Music Director in 1997, the SSO has performed in Europe, Asia and the United States. In May 2016 the SSO was invited to perform at the Dresden Music Festival and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. This successful five-city tour of Germany and Prague also included the SSO’s return to the Berlin Philharmonie after six years. In 2014 the SSO’s debut at the 120th BBC Proms in London received critical acclaim in the major UK newspapers The Guardian and Telegraph. The SSO has also performed in China on multiple occasions. Notable SSO releases under BIS include a Rachmaninov series, a Debussy disc, Seascapes featuring sea-themed music by Debussy, Frank Bridge, Glazunov and Zhou Long, and the first-ever cycle of Tcherepnin’s piano concertos and symphonies. The SSO has also collaborated with such great artists as Lorin Maazel, Charles Dutoit, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Neeme Järvi, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas Kavakos and Gil Shaham.

“A fine display of orchestral bravado for the SSO and Shui” The Guardian

Lan SHui

conductor

Lan Shui is renowned for his abilities as an orchestral builder and for his passion in commissioning, premiering and recording new works by leading Asian composers. As Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since 1997, American Record Review noted that Shui has “turned a good regional orchestra into a world-class ensemble that plays its heart out at every concert”. Together they have made several acclaimed tours to Europe, Asia and the United States and appeared for the first time at the BBC Proms in September 2014. Lan Shui held the position of Chief Conductor of the Copenhagen Phil from 2007 to 2015, and from 2016 he became their Conductor Laureate. He recently concluded a four-year period as Artistic Advisor of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, Shui has worked with many orchestras. In the United States he has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Baltimore and Detroit symphony orchestras. In Europe he has performed with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Gothenburg Symphony, Tampere Philharmonic and Orchestre National de Lille. In Asia he has conducted the Hong Kong, Malaysian and Japan Philharmonic orchestras and maintains a close relationship with the China Philharmonic and Shanghai Symphony. Since 1998 Shui has recorded over 20 CDs for BIS – including a Rachmaninov series, a Seascapes disc and the first-ever complete cycle of Tcherepnin’s symphonies with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra – and also music by Arnold and Hindemith with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, which has received two Grammy nominations. Lan Shui is the recipient of several international awards from the Beijing Arts Festival and the New York Tcherepnin Society, the 37th Besançon Conductors’ Competition in France and Boston University (Distinguished Alumni Award) as well as the Cultural Medallion – Singapore’s highest accolade in the arts. Born in Hangzhou, China, Shui studied composition at the Shanghai Conservatory and graduated from The Beijing Central Conservatory. He continued his graduate studies at Boston University while at the same time working closely with Leonard Bernstein at the Tanglewood Music Festival. He has worked together with David Zinman as Conducting Affiliate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as Associate Conductor to Neeme Järvi at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and with Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic and Pierre Boulez at The Cleveland Orchestra.

Frank Peter Zimmermann

violin

Frank Peter Zimmermann is widely regarded as one of the foremost violinists of his generation. Praised for his selfless musicality, brilliance and keen intelligence, he has been performing with all major orchestras in the world for well over three decades, collaborating on these occasions with the world’s most renowned conductors. His many concert engagements take him to all important concert venues and international music festivals in Europe, the United States, Asia, South America and Australia. Highlights during 2016/17 include engagements with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Kirill Petrenko, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Yannick NézetSéguin, the Göteborg Symphony Orchestra and Eivind Aadland, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Juraj Valcuha and Rafael Payare, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Alan Gilbert, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Alan Gilbert, the Orchestre National de France and Juraj Valcuha, the Berliner Barock-Solisten, the Bamberger Symphoniker and Manfred Honeck, the Wiener Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša and the orchestra of the Russian-German Music Academy and Valery Gergiev. Zimmermann is also an avid chamber musician and recitalist. With his string trio, the Trio Zimmermann (with viola player Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra), he undertook a major European tour in December 2016. Numerous award-winning CD recordings of Zimmermann, covering a wide and varied range of repertoire, are available on BIS Records, Decca, EMI Classics, Sony Classical, and ECM Records. Zimmermann was awarded the Premio del Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Siena 1990, the Rheinischer Kulturpreis 1994 and in 2002 the Musikpreis of the city of Duisburg. In 2008 he received the Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Born in Duisburg, Germany, Zimmermann started playing the violin when he was five years old, giving his first concert with orchestra at the age of ten. He is a former student of Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers.

Ma yue

clarinet

Ma Yue has been the Principal Clarinetist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra since 1993. He began learning the clarinet at the age of ten with his father Ma Hong Ye and later under Zhang Ren Fu and Tao Chun Xiao. In 1980, he was admitted into the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and after graduating, he joined the school’s teaching faculty and was the Principal Clarinetist of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he went to the U.S. to further his education at the University of Alabama, studying with Scott Bridge. He later became the Principal Clarinetist and Assistant Conductor at the University of Alabama Symphony Orchestra and was also a member of the Alarida Octet and Tuscaloosa Symphony. In 1990, he went on to pursue an Artist Diploma at the Konservatorium und Musikhochschule in Zurich, Switzerland. Ma Yue has been actively performing with various orchestras. He performs frequently as a Guest Principal with China Philharmonic Orchestra and as a soloist with China Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Macau Orchestra. In 2013, Ma Yue was ranked as one of China’s top ten musicians by CCTV and has been invited to become a jury member of the Sixth Beijing International Music Competition – Clarinet. He has also been invited to become the art adviser and judge of the Singapore International Orchestra Arts Festival 2013 and to serve as a jury member for the 1st Unisa International Flute and Clarinet Competition 2014 organised by the University of South Africa (UNISA) Music Foundation. He is currently a member of the artist faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

Han Chang Chou

horn

Han Chang Chou entered the Shanghai Music Conservatory in 1973, studied the French horn under his father, the award-winning French horn Professor Han Xian Guang. Other teachers include Barry Tuckwell and Gerd Seifert. In 1978 he was the Principal French Horn in the Beijing Central Philharmonic and in 1987, he was appointed Principal French Horn at the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. In 1995, Han was invited to perform as a soloist at the 27th International Horn Society workshop in Yamagata, Japan. He also performed as one of the soloists with the Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2002. Han served as Guest Principal French Horn in the China Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000, and has been the Guest Principal French Horn of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra since 2009. Other orchestras which he has worked with are the SaarbrĂźcken Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Philharmonic and Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductors whom Han has worked with include Mstilav Rostropovich, Seiji Ozawa, Claudio Abbado, Christoph Eschenbach and Riccardo Muti. Han is currently a Professor of the French horn at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.

zhang jin min

bassoon

Zhang Jin Min graduated from Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music in 1982, and won a French government scholarship to study at the Paris Conservatoire where he obtained an advanced performance certificate and was awarded a gold medal for chamber music. From 1984 to 1985, he headed the Brass and Woodwind Departments at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, and managed the China National Youth Orchestra. He later received a scholarship to pursue the Master of Music Degree at the Geneva Superior Conservatory. He was a member of the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande before joining the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Principal Bassoonist in 1987. As a soloist, Zhang has performed with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on several occasions and has played with many other renowned orchestras. He has also given solo performances on the French national broadcasting network. In 2000, he was appointed Guest Principal Bassoonist of the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2012, he has been a member of the Artistic Advisory Committee in the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Zhang has been a visiting artist at major conservatories in Europe including the Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland, Academy of Saint-Maur in France, and Graz Academy of Music in Austria. He has taught and conducted masterclasses at many conservatories in China, and is currently a Visiting Professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He has also been appointed as Visiting Professor of the China Orchestral Academy at the Central Conservatory. He was honoured by being named as the first artist consultant to the China Association of Musicians (Bassoon Association) for his outstanding contributions to music in China. He has given masterclasses and solo performances in Hochschule der Künste, Bern and he is also a board member of the Asian Double Reed Association. Zhang has been a member of the artist faculty of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music since 2003 and in 2013, appointed as the Adjunct Associate Professor of Bassoon.

Jeremiah Li

composer

Jeremiah Li Kai Han composes music that is challenging and virtuosic, with an unyielding tenacity towards the treatment of dissonances. His music draws from a variety of cultures: Western Classical, Japanese Anime, and traditional Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and Chinese. He is also partial to ostinati.Â Jeremiah has performed in many countries, and was the runner-up for the first Con/un/drum Competition with the piece â&#x20AC;?Remembering the First Dawn over the Crystalline Celestial Gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. Jeremiah holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kansas where he studied with Forrest Pierce, Kip Haaheim and James Barnes. He also studied with Zechariah Goh Toh Chai during his time in NAFA. In his spare time, Jeremiah used to sit quietly with a cup of tea and fold complex origami models, but now has his hands full with his newborn baby girl.

The Orchestra Lan Shui

Jason Lai

Joshua Tan

Choo Hoey

Okko Kamu

Lim Yau

MUSIC DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR

CONDUCTOR EMERITUS

PRINCIPAL GUEST CONDUCTOR

Choral Director

FIRST VIOLIN

CELLO

BASSOON

Igor Yuzefovich° Concertmaster Lynnette Seah Co-Concertmaster Kong Zhao Hui* Associate Concertmaster Chan Yoong-Han Fixed Chair Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Duan Yu Ling Foo Say Ming Gu Wen Li Jin Li Cindy Lee Sui Jing Jing Karen Tan William Tan Wei Zhe

Ng Pei-Sian Principal Yu Jing Associate Principal Guo Hao Fixed Chair Chan Wei Shing Song Woon Teng Wang Yan Wang Zihao* Peter Wilson Wu Dai Dai Zhao Yu Er

Zhang Jin Min Principal Liu Chang Associate Principal Christoph Wichert Zhao Ying Xue

SECOND VIOLIN Michael Loh Associate Principal Hai-Won Kwok Fixed Chair Nikolai Koval* Priscilla Neo Chikako Sasaki* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Lillian Wang Wu Man Yun* Xu Jue Yi* Ye Lin* Yeo Teow Meng Yin Shu Zhan* Zhang Si Jing*

VIOLA Zhang Manchin Principal Guan Qi Associate Principal Gu Bing Jie* Fixed Chair Ho Ying Ying^ Marietta Ku Luo Biao Shui Bing Tan Wee-Hsin Tong Yi Ping Janice Tsai^ Yang Shi Li

DOUBLE BASS Guennadi Mouzyka Principal Yang Zheng Yi Associate Principal Karen Yeo Fixed Chair Olga Alexandrova Jacek Mirucki Wang Xu

FLUTE Jin Ta Principal Evgueni Brokmiller Associate Principal Roberto Alvarez Miao Shanshan

PICCOLO Roberto Alvarez Assistant Principal

OBOE Rachel Walker Principal Pan Yun Associate Principal Carolyn Hollier Elaine Yeo

COR ANGLAIS Elaine Yeo Associate Principal

CLARINET Ma Yue Principal Li Xin Associate Principal Liu Yoko Tang Xiao Ping

BASS CLARINET Tang Xiao Ping Assistant Principal

CONTRA BASSOON Zhao Ying Xue Assistant Principal

HORN Han Chang Chou Principal Gao Jian Associate Principal Jamie Hersch Associate Principal Marc-Antoine Robillard Associate Principal Kartik Alan Jairamin

TRUMPET Jon Paul Dante Principal David Smith Associate Principal Lertkiat Chongjirajitra^ Sergey Tyuteykin

TROMBONE Allen Meek Principal Damian Patti Associate Principal Samuel Armstrong

BASS TROMBONE Wang Wei Assistant Principal

TUBA Hidehiro Fujita Principal

TIMPANI Christian Schiøler Principal Jonathan Fox Associate Principal

PERCUSSION Jonathan Fox Principal Mark Suter Associate Principal Mark De Souza Lim Meng Keh Zhu Zheng Yi

HARP Gulnara Mashurova Principal

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments. ° Igor Yuzefovich plays an instrument generously loaned by Mr & Mrs G K Goh ^ Musician on temporary contract

Musicians listed alphabetically by family name rotate their seats on a per programme basis.

Supporting the Local Arts and Cultural Scene Partner of SSO since 1978 NSL is a long-standing sponsor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). We have been instrumental in helping the Orchestra reach out to the community-at-large as SSO brings music to the world. A leading industrial group in the Asia Pacific with businesses in Precast & Prefabricated Bathroom Unit and Environmental Services, NSL believes that while achieving business goals is important, its actions need to also create a positive impact on the community, environment and all stakeholders.

NSL LTD 77 Robinson Road #27-00 Robinson 77 Singapore 068896 Tel: 6536 1000 I Fax: 6536 1008 I www.nsl.com.sg

Esplanade Presents

Classics

9 JUN 2017, FRI, 7.30PM ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL

“Philippe Herreweghe's Beethoven is characteristically muscular and gritty, bringing out all the music's visceral excitement.” – BBC Music Magazine The Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, led by artistic director and principal conductor Philippe Herreweghe, makes its Esplanade Concert Hall debut with Beethoven Symphonies Nos 5 & 7. The well-loved orchestra from France is devoted to the performance of music written from the mid-18th to early 20th century, and has toured many cities in Europe, as well as Australia, China, Japan and Korea. (1hr 30mins, including 20min intermission)

$160^, $120^, $80*, $50**

Limited concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens: $65*, $35**

^Esplanade&Me savings

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Black card: 15% | White card: 10%

^5% Discount for Friends of SSO (Cat 1 & 2 only) Present Friend of the SSO card (agents) / Quote password (internet & hotline) upon purchase.

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Photo Credit: Arthur Pequin (Orchestre des Champs-Elysées), Michiel Hendryckx (Philippe Herreweghe)

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Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is operated by The Esplanade Co Ltd (TECL), which is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered Charity and an Institution of a Public Character. UEN: 199205206G Information correct at time of print.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DONORS OF THE SSO BENEFIT DINNER 2017

The SSO Benefit Dinner is an annual gala event organised by the SSO Ladies’ League to raise funds for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and its affiliated groups. This year, the SSO Benefit: Café Society held on 22 April 2017, placed the spotlight on nurturing young musicians.

Above $150,000 Christopher Ho & Rosy Ho $100,000 to $150,000 Interchem Pte Ltd $50,000 to $70,000 Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd G K Goh Holdings Limited Tote Board Joseph Grimberg

$25,000 to $35,000 Far East Organization Kris Foundation Mr & Mrs Goh Geok Khim Stephen Riady Group of Foundations United Overseas Bank Limited UPP Holdings Limited Anonymous Dr Julie Lo & Mr Eugene Lai Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi-Martin & Christopher Martin Paige Parker & Jim Rogers Mdm Tan Siew Hoon

$10,000 to $20,000 Thomas Zuellig Tan Kong Piat (Pte) Ltd Credit Suisse At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy Pte Ltd DBS Bank Limited Hi-P International Limited LGT Bank (Singapore) Ltd Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd One North Capital Pte Ltd OSIM International Limited PSA International Van Cleef and Arpels Harpreet K. Bedi & Satinder S. Garcha Lito & Kim Camacho Pauline Chan & Jean Nasr

Choo Chiau Beng Tan Choo Leng Amy & Kevin Gould Jullie Kan, Johanes Oeni and Christian Rothbuehler Maisy Koh & Dr Beh Swan Gin Anonymous Liew Wei Li Olivia Lum David Ong Andreas & Doris Sohmen-Pao Teo Poh Jin, Kim Anonymous Geoffrey and Ai-Ai Wong Grace Yeh Yong Pung How

$3,000 to $5,000 Electrolux S.E.A. Pte Ltd F&N Foods Pte Ltd Loke Cheng Kim Foundation Fullerton Fund Management Company Ltd Douglas & Odile Benjamin Sharon Chandran Chng Hak-Peng

Professor & Mrs Lim Seh Chun Dr Gralf Sieghold Taizo Son Tan Sook Yee Manju Vangal & Aruda Vangal Thorsten Walther Dr Tan Chin Nam

Up to $2,000 Prive Clinic Pte Ltd Lawrence & Celeste Basapa Julian & Sandra Chang Patrick Chong Prof Arnoud De Meyer Laurence & Daniel Harel Judy Hunt Kris Wiluan Colin Lee Joseph Lau Anonymous

Ondina & Mark Montgomery Seah and Siak Ronald P. Stride Jean Yip Salon Pte Ltd

J W Central Pte Ltd Carmen Benitez Heather Carmichael Eugenia Gajardo Dr Ho Ching Lin (SNEC) Mdm Lau Leok Yee Lim Swee Lin Elizabeth Leong Loh Kia Hui Frances Low Patrick Low Sara Taseer Grace Wong Violet Yeo

*This list reflects donations of $1,000 and above as of 7 May 2017.

THANK YOU ZHANG JIN MIN

The SSO is deeply grateful to Zhang Jin Min, who will step down as Principal Bassoon, a role he has helmed since 1987, after the 2016/17 season. A familiar face (beard and bassoon) amongst concert-goers here, Jin Min has enchanted and entertained audiences here with his music-making for 30 years. He was also a member of the Artistic Advisory Committee in the SSO. During his long career, he has performed with numerous orchestras and taught at renowned conservatories across China and Europe. Jin Min is currently Adjunct Associate Professor of Bassoon and Head of Woodwind Studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, where he will continue to be a source of musical wisdom.

SUPERCHARGED SUNDAYS AT OSCAR’S Supercharge your afternoons at Oscar’s Sunday Brunch, from freshly shucked oysters, Boston lobsters, to premium roast London duck and free ﬂow champagne. Balance all that indulgence at the 4 metre-long salad bar, chilled shakes and organic pastas prepared by chefs at the theatrical stations.

Specially for Friends of SSO, enjoy 20% off total bill. For reservations, visit www.connoisseur.sg or call 6432 7481 Prior reservations necessary. Subject to availability. Black-out dates apply. A valid Friends card must be produced. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with other promotions, discounts or vouchers.

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SSO DONORS

PATRON SPONSOR Tote Board Group (Tote Board, Singapore Pools & Singapore Turf Club) $700,000 and above Temasek Foundation Nurtures CLG Ltd $100,000 and above Christopher Ho & Rosy Ho Anonymous $50,000 and above John Swire & Sons (S.E. Asia) Pte Ltd Singapore Press Holdings Ltd Tan Chin Tuan Foundation Lee Foundation, Singapore Joseph Grimberg Far East Organization Kingsmen Exhibits Pte Ltd Mr & Mrs Goh Yew Lin Anonymous GK Goh Holdings Limited NSL Ltd TransTechnology Private Limited Aquilus Pte Ltd

For more information or to make a donation, please contact the Development & Sponsorship Team at 6602 4238 / 6602 4237 or peggykek@sso.org.sg.

$20,000 and above Interchem Pte Ltd Singapore Institute of Management Keppel Corporation Ltd Stephen Riady Group of Foundations Pontiac Land Group Van Cleef and Arpels United Overseas Bank Ltd Ms Paige Parker & Mr Jim Rogers Mdm Tan Siew Hoon Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Singapore

Holywell Foundation Kris Foundation Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore Pte Ltd Saga Tree Capital Advisors Pte Ltd Anonymous Mrs Christina Ong Doris & Andreas Sohmen-Pao Mrs Dorothy Chan Geoffrey Wong Ee Kay & Wong Ai Ai Tan Choo Leng

$10,000 and above Dr & Mrs Thomas Zuellig S R Nathan Anonymous Rubina Watch Co Pte Ltd Maisy Koh & Dr Beh Swan Gin Lim & Tan Securities Pte Ltd Christine Yeh At-Sunrice Global Chef Academy Pte Ltd Binjai Tree Boardroom Limited BTG Pactual Commodities (Singapore) Pte Ltd Bulgari Fraser And Neave (S) Pte Ltd Hong Leong Foundation Latham and Watkins LLP LGT Bank (Singapore) Ltd Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd Nomura Asset Management Singapore Ltd One North Capital Pte Ltd OSIM International Limited Prima Limited PSA International Pte Ltd

Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd The Silent Foundation Ltd Total Trading Asia Pte Ltd Wowz Entertainment Pte Ltd Astrie Sunindar-Ratner Prof Cham Tao Soon Mr & Mrs Choo Chiau Beng Andress Goh Lai Yan Desmond Lim Yu Jin Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous Mrs and Mr Laura Hwang & Michael Hwang Leong Wai Leng Liew Wei Li Lito & Kim Camacho Odile & Douglas Benjamin Olivia Lum Mr & Mrs Yong Pung How Yong Ying-I

$5,000 and above Juliana and Clemente Benelli Tan Chin Nam Ross and Florence Jennings AIA Singapore Private Limited ComfortDelgro Corporation Limited CV Shipping Pte Ltd Loke Cheng Kim Foundation Beppe De Vito Ms Cham Gee Len Devika and Sanjiv Misra

Anonymous Mr and Dr Peter Sheren Professor and Mrs Lim Seh Chun Lin Diaan-Yi Goh Sze Wei Mr & Mrs Simon Cheong Mr and Mrs Steven Goh Mr and Mrs W K Leong Tan Sook Yee

$1,000 and above Anonymous Julian Chang Anonymous Judy Hunt Li Yuezhi Ronald P Stride & Janet Stride Chandra Mohan Rethnam Prive Clinic Pte Ltd Robert Khan & Co Private Limited Dimple Sameer Aswani Helen Leong Mrs Ivy Teh Kris Taenar Wiluan Ng Keng Hooi Lawrence Basapa & Celeste Basapa Marie Elaine Teo Mr Robert & Cheryl Huray Tan Khai Hee Thorsten Walther Tong Moi Eng Electronic and Engineering Pte Ltd Fred Kim Christopher & Bernice Franck Shang Thong Kai and Tiffany Choong Didier Coutte Gianluca Castaldi Toshitaka Aoki Gael Bomblain Obgyn Consultants Pte Ltd Wilmar International Limited Abigail Tan Pei Jun Alessandro Raniolo & Christine Pillsbury Anonymous Connie Chaird and Darren Yong Edmund Lin & Trina Liang-Lin Elizabeth Fong Anonymous Gan Chee Yen Mrs Heather Carmichael John Lim Juliana and Sheng Gao Kevin Chang Pang-Hua Anonymous Dr Lau Kheng Tiong Lee Suan Yew Luca & Barbara Tonello Ms Manju Vangal and Mr Arudra Vangal Michael Lien & Tan Kheng Ju Anonymous Patrick Lee Radakrishnan Somalingam Drs Raymond & Tika Tay Richard R. Smith Seah & Siak Sheila Patel Steven Luk Tan Boon Kheng Anonymous Anonymous Tony & Serene Liok Dr Wong Yik Mun

Anonymous Aznan Abu Bakar Pauline Ang Hooi Yeong Cees & Raife Armstrong Kanti Bajpai Marcie Ann Ball Bao Zhiming Steven L Bernasek John & Eliza Bittleston Michel Blanc Roberto Cartelli Chai Huei Chuen Chan Wai Leong Cynthia Chee Christopher Chen Cheng Wei Margaret Chew Sing Seng Chong Mi-Li Pamela Jennie Chua Kheng Yeng John S Davison Arnoud De Meyer Maureen Derooij Helene Fahy-Blanquet Ridzuan Farouk Warren Fernandez Christopher John Fussner Brian Holt Gambrill Rolf Gerber Goh Chiu Gak Jerry Gwee Mark Edward Hansen Donald Harding Guy J P Hentsch William H Hernstadt Ho Soo Foo Susanna Ho Choon Mei Liwen Holmes Richard Jerram Michele & Dr Daniel Kahn Lilian Khoo Khor Cheng Kian AndrĂŠ Klein Belinda Koh Yuh Ling Takashi Kousaka Michael Kuschel Kwee Nee Chia Irene Anonymous Vincent Lam Ho Ming Matthew Latham Janin Lau Ying Hui Eugene Lee Mr & Mrs Lee Kip Lin Lee Shu Yen Siong Ted Lee Leong Keng Hong Leow Oon Geok Xiao Li Bettina Lieske Lim Eng Neo Lim Hong Eng Janet

Ling Yu Fei Richard Logan Michelle Loh Loh Pong Tuan Jeffrey Loke Sin Hun Victor Loo Low Boon Hon Donny Low Low Nguok Kwong Eunice Mah Li Lien Adelina Mah Li Ting Craig McTurk Gillian Metzger Joseph Mocanu Azima Moiz Kathleen Moroney Vincent Musumeci Mr & Mrs Willem Mark Nabarro David Neo Chin Wee Hunter Nield Todd On Herve Pauze Raymond Phua Chee Whee Monica Pitrelli Derek Quah Robin Ian Rawlings Jonathan Reiter Charles Robertson Andreas Ruschkowski Bernard Jean Sabrier See Tho Kai Yin Shih Chih-Lung Naoyoshi Nick Shimoda Jeremy Snoad Bernhard Steiner Tan Boon Ngee Joyce Tan Tan Kok Huan Tan Kok Kiong Anonymous Ivan Tan Meng Cheng Robert Tan Tan Vern Han Daniel Tando Niyazi Taneri Teo Ee Peng Tian Xiao Ye Mr & Mrs Neil Tottman Peter White Wong Liang Keen Wong Yoke Kang Anthony Wu Peichan Valerie Satoru Yano Patricia Yih David Harris Zemans Zhang Jian Zhang Naxin *This list is for donations from 1 Apr 2016 to 31 Mar 2017.

In Collaboration with Esplanade

16 june 2017, fri, 730pm | 17 june 2017, sat, 5pm esplanade concert hall In this adventure for the whole family, Orchestra of the Music Makers is joined by a cast of international and local singers for this staged concert performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's beloved opera, Hansel and Gretel. Directed by Edith Podesta and conducted by Chan Tze Law, come and venture into the forest for an unforgettable fantastical musical performance 1hr 50mins (including 20min intermission)

*pip’s club special

(purchase 4 tickets and get 10% off) Not part of PIP’s Club? It’s a club for kids to experience the arts from young and it’s free to join! Sign up for PIP’s Club at www.esplanade.com/pips-club

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Tickets from Esplanade Box Office and SISTIC authorised agents. SISTIC hotline: 6348 5555. For school bookings, please call Esplanade Box Office at 6828 8389. No admission for infants-in-arm and children below 4 years old. Tickets are required for all patrons. Full ticketing details at www.sistic.com. Terms and conditions apply.

As part of Pops is an Esplanade series of accessible concerts, featuring homegrown symphonic bands and orchestras.

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Musician Chair The Singapore Symphony Orchestra thanks the following organisations for supporting artistic excellence initiatives through our Musician Chair Programme. $100,000 and above

Up to $50,000

Principal Cello

FIXED CHAIR, Cello

Ng Pei-Sian

Guo Hao

CORPORATE SEATS The Singapore Symphony Orchestra appreciates the support of companies in our Corporate Seats scheme. The scheme supports the Orchestra through regular attendance of subscription concerts. $20,000 and above

Up to $10,000

Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Pte) Ltd

Hong Leong Foundation

Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry,

Stephen Riady Group of Foundations

Singapore

Nomura Asset Management Singapore Ltd Prima Limited

1979 FUND

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the following corporations and individuals for their contributions towards the 1979 Fund. The 1979 Fund is a campaign for contribution to the SSO Endowment Fund. $20,000 and above

Up to $5,000

Ms Tan Choo Leng

Ms Cham Gee Len Dr Tan Chin Nam

$10,000 and above Prof Chan Heng Chee

This list is for donations from 1 Jan 2016 to 30 Apr 2017.

Mrs Odile Benjamin

Jeremiah Li (B. 1980)

Senbonzakura Gossamer Shrouds the Tal (World Premiere) 10’00 Commissioned by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra

“Senbonzakura“ is Japanese for “one thousand sakura petals” and “tal” is Mongolian for “plains”. This piece paints an imaginary scene: thousands of sakura flowers gently descending onto the rolling plains of Mongolia. The piece starts with a “long-song“-like melody in the flute that is picked up by a trio of soloists in a heterophonic texture. The scale is pentatonic, but does not belong to any tradition. A brief development and chordal interlude leads to a Mongolian folk song in the throat-singing tradition, represented here by the bassoon. A descending motif in the strings leads into the second section: sakura flowers are heard gently fluttering down sporadically, then faster as more and more flowers appear, covering the plains. Eventually the rain of sakura flowers stop, leaving the plains clothed in a soft pink raiment – a combination of two cultures, each represented by their own folk song in the violin and viola.

Programme note by Jeremiah Li

Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775-1838)

Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat major, Op. 3 28’00

As a clarinetist and composer, Bernhard Crusell occupies a comparable musical niche to that of Franz Clement, the violinist who premiered Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Both were acknowledged as masters on their respective instruments, and were likewise successful composers. Crusell kept abreast of the technical developments that transformed the clarinet during his lifetime and which he learned about on his travels to Germany and France. His first clarinet had just two keys, but by 1810, he was using one with 11 keys. Crusell was likewise an early adapter to the downturned reed, perhaps because, as some of his contemporaries noted, it was better suited to his crooked teeth. His tone, described as being exquisitely beautiful and admired for its evenness throughout the clarinet’s entire range, was in part attributed to the new type of reed. As a four-year-old boy, Crusell slipped away to listen to a shop assistant play the flute, whom in Crusell’s telling of the story was the only person in the small town of Uusikaupunki, in present-day Finland, that had any interest in music whatsoever. Scoldings and more severe punishments did not deter him and his parents yielded, realising that no harm would come from this innocent pastime. His musical horizons broadened when the family moved when he was eight years old. He quickly learned to play a friend's clarinet by ear, and was soon taking lessons from a member of a military band. When he was 13, a family friend introduced him to a Swedish military officer, who recruited him to play with his unit’s military band, and provided him with an education. When the officer was transferred to Stockholm, he took the boy with him, where Crusell would spend the rest of his life. The sinfonia concertante was a musical genre that flourished in the later part of the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th century. Combining both the symphonic and concerto forms, it most likely developed in France, and gained popularity in German-speaking countries, eventually finding its way to England. Sinfonia concertante were intended to be entertaining, with the middle movement in a contrasting mood and key from the outer ones. Crusell opted for clarinet, bassoon and horn as the solo instruments for his Sinfonia Concertante, although more diverse combinations were common. His contribution to the genre is in line with the conventions of the time. The lively first movement is in standard concerto form, with the soloists given equal opportunity to shine in both individual passages, as well as unison ones where all three

instruments play together. The second movement is stately and sombre, while the third is a theme and variations on a melody from an opera by the Italian composer Luigi Cherubini. It was first performed on 2 April 1808 in Stockholm with Crusell on clarinet and Johan Conrad Preymayr, his future son-in-law playing the bassoon. Crusell composed a comic opera, Lilla slavinnan, based on the tale of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, which premiered in 1824 and is still performed today in both Swedish and Finnish. Unsurprisingly, the highlight is the slave girl Zetulbé’s aria with a clarinet obbligato. His linguistic skills – he was fluent in German and French, as well as conversant in Italian – were put to use in the first Swedish translation of Mozart’s opera, Le Nozze di Figaro. Crusell’s concertos and chamber music, which were later dismissed as ”a consequence of the resplendent legacy of gaudy French rags that [King] Gustave the Third, God bless his memory, left to Sweden“ were pretty much forgotten for over a century. In the mid-20th century, his instrumental music was rediscovered and recorded by leading musicians of the time. Crusell is now ranked as one of Sweden’s most important composers, and his clarinet music is recognised as being equal to that of Carl Maria von Weber and Louis Spohr, contemporaries who also wrote for the instrument. Finland, where Crusell was born, and Sweden, where he lived most of his life, both claim him as their own. Uusikaupunki, which as a boy he bemoaned as being practically devoid of music, hosts an annual summer festival devoted to woodwind music, named the Crusell Music Festival.

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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 42’00

Napoleon’s first occupation of Vienna ended in January 1806 when his armies left the city to do battle with, and ultimately triumph over the Prussians. His troops had entered Vienna two months earlier after their victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. Their presence in the city had doomed the premiere of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. The opera celebrated the triumph of love over tyranny, which understandably rubbed the French the wrong way under the circumstances, and the Viennese were in no mood to be entertained, let alone charitable. The same year saw the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, with a pared-down Austrian Empire appearing on the evolving map of Europe. By the end of the 1806, however, Vienna’s cultural life was reviving and Beethoven was naturally in the thick of it. The Violin Concerto in D major is linked to two men who were his friends and to whom he had turned to for advice while composing Fidelio. He first encountered Franz Clement when he was a 13-year-old child violin prodigy. Clement would later become an acclaimed violin virtuoso noted for his clear tone and the elegant expressiveness of his playing, as well as a composer and a conductor. Clement had conducted the premiere of Beethoven’s Third Symphony ”Eroica“ in 1805 and commissioned him to compose the concerto for a concert that he was presenting. The hand-inscribed inscription on the manuscript reads, ”Concerto for Clement, out of compassion“. Beethoven could be a charismatic, humorous and a warm-hearted, although a challenging friend. The concerto is dedicated to Stephan von Breuning, whom he met in Bonn as a boy. Von Breuning’s mother permitted the young Beethoven unlimited access to the piano in her music room and engaged him as a piano teacher for her children. The two men eventually moved to Vienna and became friends, as well as collaborators. The occasional ruptures in their relationship were undoubtedly due to Beethoven’s prickly personality; Von Breuning’s son later claimed that coping with the mercurial composer affected his father’s health. The elder von Breuning, who had been ill, died two months after his friend. Legend has it that Beethoven worked on the concerto right up until the end and that Clement had to sight read it at its first performance on 23 December 1806. Whether true or not, the two men were well-acquainted with one another’s styles and Clement apparently was not unduly stressed by the situation. Beethoven’s violin concerto is similar in several aspects to one that Clement premiered at the

same concert as the ”Eroica“. They share the same key, and Beethoven began his with five beats on the tympani, a device that Clement had used in his own D-major violin concerto. The following year, Beethoven adapted the work into a piano concerto at the request of the Italian pianist and composer Muzio Clementi, expanding the role of the timpani in the first movement. The concerto met with mixed reviews. Critics and the public alike were perhaps unwilling to accept this tender and more sensitive side of Beethoven’s musical personality, so different from the ”heroic“ Beethoven, which was in full display in his other works from those years. Some critics thought it too long. Violinists purportedly complained that the solo part was unplayable, as its most demanding technical passages lie in the stratospheric heights of the violin’s range. That was not the case for the 12-year-old Joseph Joachim, who performed the concerto in London in 1844 to great acclaim with Felix Mendelssohn conducting. Joachim was, however, considered the greatest violinist of his time.

Programme notes by Rick Perdian

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